To Follow The Sun by Badger Lord (PG)

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Fandom: THE DEAD ZONE
Pairing: Johnny/Sarah
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Badger's Den
Why this must be read:

We know that Johnny and Sarah had a long friendship which grew into a deep love, but we rarely get more than a glimpse of what their life together was like before the accident, before Sarah moved on to marry Walt. This story touches on three moments of that time: their first meeting as children, the idyllic period of their engagement, and the moment when Sarah finally let him go.

The little girl plopped down into the snow, frustrated with her attempts at fitting in. She only wanted a single chance to belong, but children are often cruel and refused to grant her even that wish. She held her head in her hands with her elbows on her knees, blowing a stray lock of fine brown hair out of her eyes.

She missed her old home, where the golden sun shone bright and the sky was clear for most of the year. Since she moved to Cleaves Mills it seemed as if all it ever did was rain or snow, forcing her to stay indoors and watch the other children through the windows as they skated freely. Since she had just turned six, she had gotten a new pair of skates for her birthday. Today was supposed to be her first day of skating. Instead she was forced to stick to the sidelines as usual, watching the other children have their fun, gamboling and roughhousing with each other freely in the crisp New England weather.

As she stared silently at the snow-covered ground, two battered blue skates appeared, blocking her view of the crushed snow.

"Hello," a boyish voice said.

She looked up, and was stunned to see a boy of about her age smiling sympathetically at her. His face was flushed from skating and golden hair shielded his eyes from view.

To Follow The Sun