This is just a prologue, explaining some of the backstory that's necessary to read the rest of the story. Sorry it's a bit choppy, I might work on rewriting it soon. Please enjoy!

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Six-year-old Anastasia Halloway cowered from her mother's usual anger. She had dragged the young girl into the back room of the café they owned to correct her of yet another mistake she managed to make. The girl was used to this, of course, but she was expected to do way more than she was capable of.

Her parents were young, in their late twenties, and as a result were inexperienced. Her mother, Margaret, had grown up in a rich family. Margaret's parents had passed away some time before Ana was born, so she had already inherited her portion of the money from her parents. Even though she was rich, she still owned a small café because of her love of money. She couldn't seem to get enough of it. Nobody else but her small family knew she was rich, and she was determined to keep it that way.

She was not, however, the only child. She had a brother named Derek who was also driven by greed, which was somewhat amplified because he was the younger of the two. He was more obsessed with money than his sister was, and desperately yearned for the money she inherited. He was willing to do anything to get it; he had even suggested incest with her so he could have all the money to himself. He gave everybody around him an uneasy feeling. Deep down, everybody knew he was trouble.

He lingered at his sister's café often, occasionally trying to make a move on her, which caused fights between her and her husband. Poor Ana had to suffer through these things, always knowing something was wrong but never knowing why.

Ana knew that basically her only purpose to her mom was to do most of the work at the café. She had to take orders, serve people, clean the tables afterward, wash dishes as needed, and clean the floors at the end of the day. When she failed to do everything right, if she made one mistake, her mother punished her. She scolded her for not doing the impossible. And her only reward for doing it right was that she was allowed to live with her own parents, and she was fed and clothed.

Her father, however, was different. She hardly ever saw him, but when she did, they never really said anything to each other besides the casual conversation.

Ana had managed to do something wrong again. "M-mommy..." She whimpered once her mother had finished scolding her.

"What?" Her mother replied in a harsh tone.

Her daughter looked up at her, tears streaming down her face. "Do you love me, mommy?"

Her mother simply looked back at her daughter, then departed to the kitchen to cook, not saying anything.

Ana took a moment to silently sit on the floor and wipe her tears away, calming herself down, then proceeded to go back out into the dining room and pretend nothing had happened. She wasn't surprised by her mother's actions, after all. She reacted as she always had.

In the café there sat a few people, mostly regulars. The few regulars who were present included an old couple, two women who were chatting, and a young man with chocolate brown hair and eyes that matched.

This man was Josh Dun. He was in his early twenties, and had been visiting the café every now and then shortly after Ana had turned six years old. She had never talked to him on a social level, but something about seeing that young man sparked a strange feeling of glee in her. She was drawn to him first to take his order.

She slowly walked to his table, pen and paper in hand. She squeaked out, "May I take your order?"

One glance at the Halloway girl was enough for Josh to know something was wrong. Her puffy, red, tear-stained eyes along with a few bruises on her arms proved it. So instead of telling her what he wanted, he asked, "What's wrong, sweetie? Are you okay?"

Ana stared at him with a strange look, as if she wasn't used to being asked such a question, and immediately burst into tears.

Josh was at a loss of what to do. The other customers stared. He tried to comfort the girl with words, but when he failed, he let her embrace him tightly.

If Ana's parents had witnessed this strange happening, she would have been punished again. Fortunately, her mother was busy cooking and her father was out buying supplies. Even so, she quickly pulled away from the kind man and wiped her tears away, taking his order after explaining she was fine.

As the poor girl shuffled away, Josh made a vow, that he would go to the café as often as possible to try to make that girl's life better.

Sorry it's a bit short, I promise it'll get a little better

Please don't forget to comment and vote and all that crap!

Stay sexy, frens.

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