Prologue
A Child's Promise
~~~

"Gar? Gar where did you go? It's getting dark and Mrs. L is looking for– GAAHH!"

"RAWR!!" The little blonde boy jumped out of the bushes and scared the living daylights out of her. She fell on the ground into a leaf pile and kicked up every single leaf she wasn't sitting on.

"Gar!! That's not funny!" She shouted as Gar rolled on the ground in laughter.

"I got you! You said you could never be scared and I got you! Ha!" She started playing with her long black hair in her hands. Her sign of embarrassment.

"N-no you didn't!"

"Raven! Garfield! Dinner!" Raven's mother called through the window.

"Yay! Food!" They both screamed out. They raced eachother to the house in excitement.

Garfield Logan and Raven Roth were just as close as their parents were. Both 7 years old, they'd always get into mischief, regardless of the limitations. Once they were locked in Raven's room in a time-out on the top floor of the house, and somehow they both made it to the fridge in the kitchen downstairs on the other side of the house.

All they wanted was some ice-cream.

In school they'd always protect eachother too. Raven was teased a lot for having really pale skin, being called a vampire. Gar didn't hesitate to step in. So many times the little child wanted to get physical, but Raven hated violence at the time, so he always held back. Had it not been for her however, he probably would have wailed on them.

"Mommy, what's for dinner?" Raven asked as Gar struggled to climb up into the chair. He was a few inches shorter than Raven, so he struggled with...vertical problems...that Raven had no issues with. As usual she gave him her hand and helped to pull him up onto the chair.

"Thanks, Rae!" He gave her a huge, gaudy smile and she giggled in response. A classic exchange between the two.

"It's chicken on the menu today guys." Mrs. Logan says. "Well for us. You're getting tofu and green beans, Gar."

"Hey, Rae, where's your dad?" Gar asks.

"Daddy? He's at work." The two began to talk amongst themselves.

"Again? He's always at work when I'm here. Isn't that kinda weird?"

"No...? Daddy works all the time because he loves me and Mommy. And Mommy stays at home all the time so we get money from him every week."

"Don't you miss him?"

"Nope. I talk to him over Mommy's computer!"

"Oh. I don't know what I'd do if I was you, Rae. I'd miss my Daddy too much." Raven looked at his plate and got an idea.

"Mrs. L? Can I try his tofu?"

"No! My tofu!" Gar shouted.

"Calm down, kiddo! She'll have her own."

"Oh. Ok!" Gar's mother gave her a small plate of the squishy white blocks and she took the entire block into her mouth at once, eager to try something new. As soon as she tasted it though, she made a face and spat it back onto the plate.

"Raven! Don't spit out your food at the table like that!"

"Sorry, Mommy, but it tasted yucky!" Raven whined. Mrs. Logan giggled a bit at the little girl's reaction to her son's favorite food.

"It's an acquired taste for sure. Gar is the only one I've ever seen really like it, let alone not spit it out."

"When did he become a vegetarian anyways? He's so young." Mrs. Roth asked.

"Ooh!! I can answer that, Mommy! He saw Mr. L kill a chicken once and got sad!" Raven interjected excitedly.

"Raven, don't use the 'K' word."

"Sorry Mommy..."

"Well, he never did like the meat we'd give him when he was even a baby. But that is pretty much the short of what solidified it. Wrong place wrong time kind of thing. Heh..." He abashedly admitted. "At least we don't have to fight with him to eat his vegetables. Like someone we know." Mr. Logan and everyone else turned to Raven.

"You won't get me to eat veggies unless there's sweets involved!" She crossed her arms and made a pouty face causing everyone to laugh at her. That was the usual way of Raven. Nothing happens without sweets as a prize.

The years went by and their friendship only flourished. Only to have it break down and crumble right before the most developmental and arguably difficult portion of their lives.

Middle school was just around the corner, being only one more year out. But things were already beginning to change. Gar had started growing into his own in terms of his height, Raven's personality was maturing, and they were as close as ever.

But in the summer between their 4th and 5th grade year, Gar was turning 10 and was supposed to go over to Raven's house like they did every year. Raven had even bought a present for him. She was wholely sure he would love it.

Raven waited on the porch for him. She waited hours upon hours and soon it was nighttime. Arella, her mother, had come out there to sit with Raven who had fallen asleep. She was woken up by someone shouting her name. To no suprise it was Gar.

"Gar!" She ran down to hug him. "Happy birthday!" She shouted gleefully as she squeezed him. But when she tried to let go he didn't, and instead he started crying on her shoulder. "Gar...?"

She looked at her mother for some backup and her motherly instincts kicked in. She carried the two kids inside and sat them on the couch. That's when the Raven and Arella noticed Gar's appearance. His clothes were scorched, his face and hair covered in soot.

"Gar! Honey, calm down!" She kneeled down to try and get eye level with them in order to calm Gar down. Raven's everlasting hug eventually brought him to a sniffle. "Can you tell us what happened?" He sniffed and nodded.

"Mama was making me a cake to bring over here. Daddy was helping me get dressed in my favorite clothes." He looks down at his burned shirt and sniffs. "Then Mama screamed. It was really loud and it scared us. So Daddy told me to stay in my room and he said he'd be back. It took him too long so I went downstairs...

"The kitchen was on fire." He stated solemnly.

"It spread really really fast to the rest of the house. The fire blocked the front door so I ran up the stairs. But the fire got to my room before I did. There wasn't anywhere else to go so I jumped out the window and landed on the trampoline. Then I ran here." He looks at Raven. "I don't think Mama and Daddy made it out..." Then he started crying again.

Police cars and firetrucks started blasting their alarms down the street, most likely going to Gar's house.

"Did you call 911, Gar?" Arella asks. He shakes his head. "Someone else must have then. Gar we need to get you back to your house so you can talk to the police."

Raven walked holding Gar's hand as he continued to sniffle. When they got there the police were there searching for survivors.

"Ma'am please step back." A policeman demanded.

"This boy was in that fire. He ran to my house in a panic."

Arella was questioned as Raven and Garfield were wrapped in blankets and sat in the ambulance. Gar was eventually questioned as well.

Arella gave Gar's full name, his parents' names, her's and Raven's and all of Gar's family members that she knew. She explained how he got to be at her house in the first place. All the officer had in response was, "Too bad this happened on his birthday."

Gar answered with his story of what happened. Giving the same ending as before, "I don't think Mama and Daddy made it out too..."

Even Raven was questioned a bit.

"Did you know his parents well?"

"Yes. They are my second family." She replies with a deadpan face.

"Does he always come over for his birthday?" She nodded. The officer looked around.

"Where's your father? I don't see him with you."

"At work."

"What does he do?"

She cocked her head.

"You know, what's his job?" The officer clarified.

"His job? It's... it's um..." Before she could answer, the policeman was called over to somewhere else.

"I'll be right back, sweetheart."

Arella then meandered her way over.

"Mommy he asked about Father..."

After a long and lengthy process, the force deduced a few things: That this was an arson case and a murder case; the Roths were suspects, specifically Mr. Roth; and Gar was to go live with his aunt and uncle in the next two states over.

Nobody was happy with this verdict at all. The only reason they suspected the Roths was simply because the two of them had failed to give much information about the conveniently absent Mr. Roth. They suspected the daughter and wife were in cahoots with him.

One day Raven was with her best friend, the next her best friend was being taken to a different state by his aunt. But to Arella's surprise, Raven hadn't shed one tear yet.

"Rae?" Gar questioned Raven while they were waiting for his aunt and uncle to get off the plane and exit the terminal.

"Yeah?"

"Can you promise me something?"

She nodded.

"Someday we'll see each other again and nothing will change between us." Gar held out his pinkie to her. She looked at it then looked at him.  She made the pinkie promise, then hugged him. She hugged him with all the warmth she had given him that night a month prior.

But she was biting back tears.

"I promise." She cracked a tiny smile.

His aunt then came to get him and all of his things. This is when Raven released her pent up emotions and cried an ocean's worth as she watched her best friend leave her. She was to start her last year of Elementary School, and potentially the rest of her life in school, without her best friend.

The two always kept that promise in their minds. They'd see eachother again and they'd never change. Nothing would be different.

They wanted everything to be exactly the same.

But as most know, things don't always work the way you want them to.

~~~

Hai :> I am super excited to be writing another AU again and I'm really excited for this one! The last AU I did went really well so I figured, why not?

Give me feedback. Lots of feedback! I want to improve (and I just want to hear what you guys think lol)

Oh! Also I'll be drawing a few things for this book too! I'll mention that at the end of those chapters.

Again, really excited! This is basically a teaser. The book will be coming out next Saturday, April 7th.

Word Count: 1842