Heart of Ice

1. A New Beginning

It's a scary thing, leaving home. Luckily for Hollie, she never had a place she called home, no place that gave her that warming comfort, and no place that when she left she just missed it with all her heart. So moving halfway across the world was an easy endeavour for her, there was nothing she was leaving behind.

But living with a group of people she'd only met once before was scary for her. Not the fact that she's only met them once, but the fact she wasn't going to be living alone. She's always been alone, she likes it that way; or at least, that's what she's convinced herself.

But these are the steps you have to take if you want to make it in life, and more than anything, Hollie wanted to be the most famous singer-songwriter in the world. And she was already half way there, she's performed sold out shows all across Europe, but she hadn't quite cracked America yet; and her best chance of doing that was moving into this house, filled with about ten different YouTubers. Maybe if their fans started seeing her on their channels, she might get a little extra exposure to boost her career.

"Hey, Hollie. Welcome to the house." Carter says, running out of the front door as Hollie makes her way down the driveway to the house, much to her dismay. She's never really been a people person. She can act enthusiastic and uplifting in interviews and whilst meeting fans, but if she was going to live with these people, she'd have to let them see the real her.

"Hi." She smiles a little, as he wraps his arms around her, encasing her in a hug as she refuses to hug him back, still holding on to a suitcase in each hand. "Thanks again for letting me stay with you guys, I really appreciate it."

"Don't even mention it, we're all so excited for you to live here." He explains eagerly, like an excited little puppy dog. "Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone."

Now it should be noted that this was the last thing that Hollie wanted, she just wanted to go to her new room, unpack her stuff and go to sleep. She's been on a plane all day and was craving some rest and relaxation. But alas, she had to put on her fake smile for the following few hours.

After two hours of meeting everyone she was going to be living with, talking to them, and being shown round the house, Hollie was very nearly left alone. Chase had gone out to see his fiance, Brandon, Danny and Nate had all gone to the cinema, and the three girls have visited a friends house. To a normal person, this might not seem like a very warm welcome, but Hollie Anderton wasn't your average person, and to her it was perfect. No pressure to make small talk with everyone all evening.

"And then there were three." Dylan says, walking into the living room where Hollie and Carter were sat, just as Hollie was about to make an excuse to leave and go to bed. But Hollie hadn't spoken to Dylan much all day, he was in a meeting when she arrived, so maybe getting to know a little more about him wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. "So, Hollie, how are you liking the house?"

She takes a deep breath before replying, thinking about what she wants to say. "It's pretty remarkable. I've never seen a house so big in my life."

"Well with the money you earn I'm sure your house back in England was not far off this one." He comments, quick as a flash, but he couldn't be more wrong. And that's something that Hollie had learnt in the past two years since being in the spotlight, almost everyone's opinions on you are wrong.

"Actually," she starts, wanting him to know some of the truth about her life, but also not wanting to give too much away. Because the thing about the past is that sometimes it's just too painful to talk about, no matter how much time has passed. It's almost like getting a nasty cut on your arm; the wound may heal but the scar will always remain. "I lived in a tiny, one-bed house, just about big enough to fit my guitars and piano in."

"Wait seriously?" Carter asks, getting involved in the conversation. "Why wouldn't you just buy a bigger house?"

"I didn't need to." She answers straight away, as if it was obvious, but after seeing the boys's faces, she knew she had to explain what she meant. "I spent so much of my life travelling for work, going on tours or to interviews and gigs, that I was never at my house anyway. And when I was living there, I spent pretty much all my days at the recording studio writing up new songs for my albums. All I needed out of that house was the bed, so there was no point getting somewhere bigger."

Before she arrived, Dylan was slightly worried about Hollie living in this house with them. Not because of who she is, but because of how old she is. Before she moved in, he was the youngest in the house, twenty three years old. Everyone else is older, but Hollie is just nineteen, so he thought she might be a little too immature to be living with them, even though they act like five year old's half the time. But hearing her speak like this made her sound wise beyond her years; she's only nineteen but speaks with such maturity. But I suppose that's a result of going through so much at such a young age.

"Sorry, I have to take this." Carter announces, looking at his phone, breaking Dylan from his thoughts. He quickly exits the room, holding his phone up to his ear, leaving Dylan and Hollie alone.

"I have a question." Dylan starts, wanting to learn more about his new housemate. "Your songs are all so amazing and heartfelt, but they're all really sad and emotional."

She looks at him for a few seconds, wondering where he's going with this. "So, your question is...?" She asks, trailing off.

He chuckles nervously before asking his question. "How are your songs so sad when you always act so happy?" He questions. He's only met her a day but he can already tell that she's such a kindhearted person. Of course, she's not quite as bubbly and enthusiastic as she is on camera, but people rarely are. But she's definitely not sad, he thought, until a more unpleasant thought crossed his mind. What if she's just hiding that sadness away?

"Well I'm not going to go and shout my whole life story from the rooftops," she starts, avoiding eye contact with him, nervous to admit this information out loud. "But let's just say that I didn't exactly have the easiest life growing up. So all these songs are about things that have happened to me through the years, even though I'm in a much better place now." She explains, hiding the truth from him. Not that what she said was a lie, she truly is in a better place now, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have a long way to go to feel whole again.

And as for acting happy all the time? It's an unspoken truth of the world that miserable people quite often want to make other people miserable too, but Hollie doesn't. Maybe she's realised that it doesn't help in anyway. Or maybe, just maybe, she's acting the way she wishes she could feel, rather than how she truly feels.