

### Werewolves & Romance

A Collection Of Short Stories

Eleanor Butler

Copyright © Eleanor Butler 2015

Distributed by Smashwords

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

All characters and events in this publication are fictitious, any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or any events, past or present, are purely coincidental.

Cover Design by R.Atanassova@Elementi Studio Ltd.

eBook formatting by <http://ebooklaunch.com/>

This book is dedicated to everyone who ever dared to dream. Just remember dreams can come true if you believe hard enough.

Contents

Alex & Genevieve

Vulnerable

Second Appearance

Moving On

Alternate Ending

The Secret

Cassandra Riley

New Crush

Long Distance

Forbidden

# Alex & Genevieve

It hurts to breath because every breath

I take proves I can't live without you.

Anonymous

July 2011

I closed my eyes and let myself get lost in the music as I sang the lyrics to For Good from Wicked. My voice echoed through the school music room and instinct took over, with my fingers carefully finding the right keys. I smiled. Nothing compared to the feeling I got when I was playing the piano. I swayed a little as I disappeared a little more into the song.

"Hello, Selena. I feel like this is going to become a pattern for us," a voice suddenly said and I felt myself jump.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realise anyone would want this room," I began as I turned. Then I saw who was behind me and the rest of my words died in my throat.

"I'm beginning to think that the only songs you actually know how to play are from Wicked," she said. I felt my hands clench into fists.

"What are you doing here, Alex?" I demanded as her blue eyes met mine. She smiled, igniting the feelings inside me and I had to fight the urge to kiss her.

"I know I told you I'd wait for you but that was a year ago," she replied. "I got bored and it was ridiculously easy to find the school you were attending."

"Do you not speak English? Would it help if I said it in another language?" I asked. "Je ne veux pas être avec vous. Comprendre?" For a second Alex just looked at me before she burst into laughter.

"I didn't know you spoke French," she said. "At least I'm assuming that was French. I didn't actually understand a word." I rolled my eyes as I gathered my music.

"I'm not sure why you're here, Alex, and I don't care," I said. "Just stay away from me." I left the room and made my way through the school. As I reached my room, I looked down at my shaking hands.

"Quelqu'un me tuer maintenant," I muttered.

"Demi, I have to tell you something," I said as I walked into the room I had shared with her for a year. I dumped my music on my bed and turned to face her.

"You can tell me on the way to the dining hall," she said as she grabbed my wrist.

"You remember that girl I told you about? Alex Kelly?" I asked as we walked quickly along the hall and began descending the staircase that led into the entrance hall.

"You mean your ex-girlfriend?"

I nodded. I was about to finish my story when a call from the principal's doorway interrupted us.

"Ah, Selena!" I looked up to see the principal, Miss Berry, walking toward us. Alex was with her and I had to resist the urge to flee.

"Hello, Miss Berry," I said. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Actually, there is," she said. "We have a new student starting. Selena and Demetria, this is Alex."

"Selena and I have actually met before," Alex informed Miss Berry. "I lived in Blackall, Selena's hometown, for a few months."

"Splendid," Miss Berry said. "Selena, I'm going to make you Alex's buddy. Her roommate, Jadyn, unfortunately won't be back for three weeks. If you could just show Alex around and make her feel welcome, that would be wonderful."

"I'd be happy to help out," I said and Miss Berry smiled.

"Brilliant. Now that is sorted, let's go and have some dinner before it's cold," she said and led the way into the dining hall.

"Hey! Wait up, _buddy_!" the shout echoed around the entrance hall as Demi and I made our way up the stairs after dinner. I turned to see Alex taking the stairs two at a time.

"Kill me now," I begged Demi.

"Is spending time with your ex really going to be that horrible?" Demi asked.

"Yes!" Demi rolled her eyes at me but didn't reply before Alex reached us.

"Isn't this going to be fun?" Alex said enthusiastically. "Me, my _buddy_ and her new girlfriend."

"I'm not her girlfriend," Demi informed Alex. "We're just friends."

"Of course," Alex replied. "I bet you didn't even know she was gay."

"Alex, just tell me why you're here," I hissed through gritted teeth. "If it's to get me back, you can forget about that."

"Oh, sweet Selena," Alex sighed as she cupped my cheek in her hand. "If I told you what I'm doing here, it would ruin the surprise." I grabbed her hand and yanked it away from my cheek.

"Come on, Demi," I said. "We should go back to our room. We've got that assignment due in English soon." Demi and I turned to continue on our way to our room but Alex's voice stopped us before we could take another step.

"But, _buddy_ , you're supposed to show me around. After all, you wouldn't want me to tell Miss Berry you neglected me, would you?" I took a deep breath and counted to ten before replying.

"Of course I'll show you around," I replied. "I'll see you in our room later, Demi."

"Good luck," Demi said before escaping. I watched her leave enviously.

I glared at Alex. "Come on, let's get this over with."

"...and here we are back in the entrance hall," I said to Alex an hour later. "Now I really have to get back to my room and work on that assignment. I'll show you around the grounds in the morning."

"Thank you, _buddy_."

"Can you find your own way back to your room?" I asked and Alex nodded.

"I'll see you in the morning, _buddy_."

"Night," I replied before escaping. It was a short walk to my room. Demi was already lying in bed but she sat up as I came in.

"Did you have fun?" she asked facetiously as I collapsed on my bed.

"It was a real barrel of laughs," I muttered.

"Why did you two actually break up?" Demi asked. "All you've told me is that she's your ex." I stood up and stripped off my uniform before pulling on my pyjamas. I crawled into bed and lay there as I tried to think of what to say

"My mother didn't approve," I said eventually deciding to go with the truth. "That's why I got sent to boarding school. Mum found out about us. She offered me a choice. I could go to boarding school or I could go and live with my aunt in Western Australia."

"I take it you chose boarding school then," Demi said.

"I figured it was the lesser of the two evils. I loved Alex and I wanted to stay with her but I didn't want to lose my mother either. I'd rather be in Toowoomba only eight hundred and fifty kilometres from her than in Perth where I'd be over three thousand kilometres from her."

"Can I ask why your mother didn't approve," Demi asked softly. I rolled onto my side so I could look at her.

"If I tell you, it can't leave this room," I said. Demi nodded. "My father left my mother for another man."

"Oh," Demi said.

"Yeah," I said. I rolled onto my back. Demi said nothing further and eventually I heard her breathing deepen and become even. I continued to stare at the ceiling as thoughts of Alex swirled through my head. It was a long time before I fell asleep.

"...this is the pool," I said. "It rarely gets used this time of year."

"This is certainly a step up from Blackall State School," Alex commented.

"That concludes your tour of the grounds," I said as I glanced at my watch. "I have to go. I've got a piano lesson in twenty minutes."

"On a Saturday?" Alex asked.

"My old teacher, Miss Carter, left last term," I explained. "Her replacement only started yesterday so I'll be having lessons on Saturdays to make up for lost time, not that it's your business."

"I'll see you at lunch then, buddy," Alex said. We walked into the entrance hall together before splitting up. I made my way to the stairs while Alex wandered in the direction of the library. I quickly changed clothes and grabbed my music case before heading downstairs to one of the music rooms. As I walked through the doors, my new teacher looked up and smiled.

"Selena Harris?" she asked.

"That's me," I replied.

"My name is Genevieve Brooks," she said. "I was just reading through the notes from your last teacher. She was very impressed with you."

"She was a wonderful teacher," I said.

Miss Brooks smiled. "You've been playing piano for eleven years," she murmured. "It says here that you also play guitar."

"Yeah but it's just for fun," I admitted. "My main focus is piano."

"I'll get you to play a piece for me," Miss Brooks said. "I'd like to use this lesson as an opportunity to see where you are."

"Sounds good," I replied as she quickly looked through a folder.

"I'll start you off easy," she said as she pulled some sheets of music out. "Are you familiar with The Moonlight Sonata?"

"I learnt it a couple of years ago but it's been a few months since I played it," I said as I took the music from her. I arranged it on the music stand.

"Whenever you're ready," Miss Brooks said. I look a deep breath and cleared my head. As I'd told Miss Brooks, it had been a while since I'd played the piece and I took a moment to study the notes before I took another breath and placed my fingers on the keys. I took one last breath and began playing.

"Very nice," Miss Brooks said when I finished. "You're very talented. There were a few hiccups but that's to be expected if you haven't played the piece recently. Before we continue with the lesson, there is one thing I'm interested in."

"What's that?"

"Miss Carter mentioned that you also sing," Miss Brooks explained. "Any chance you could demonstrate?" I felt my cheeks grow hot.

"I'm not very good," I warned her. "I only sing for fun."

"That doesn't matter," Miss Brooks replied.

"Any requests?" I asked. Miss Brooks shook her head so I began to play Defying Gravity. When I had finished, Miss Brooks clapped.

"You're a very capable young woman," she said as she pulled out some more sheet music. "I'm going to cut our lesson short today. I want you to start learning the second movement of the Moonlight Sonata to play for me at our next lesson." My next lesson was on Tuesday.

"You want me to learn a whole piece in three days?" I swallowed. I was an accomplished pianist, sure, but I had other classes.

"I have faith you can do it," she said. "I won't be expecting perfection. I'll leave you alone to practice." She handed me the music.

"See you later," I murmured as she left before turning my attention to the sheet music she had left me.

I took a deep breath and gently flexed my fingers before resting them on the keys. I closed my eyes for a second and cleared my mind before opening my eyes and slowly beginning to play the notes. I had barely played six bars before I made the same mistake I'd been making all morning. I groaned and let my head drop on the keys.

"Good morning, _buddy_!" a cheerful voice suddenly said and I groaned again.

"As if my morning wasn't bad enough," I muttered under my breath.

"I distinctly remember making plans to meet you for lunch yesterday, yet at twelve o'clock I was all alone at the dining room table," Alex said. "A girl could think she was being avoided."

"Can't you take a hint," I muttered before speaking up. "Alex, I wasn't at lunch because I was busy."

"What have you been doing that's kept you so busy?" Alex asked as she sat on the piano bench beside me.

"My piano teacher wants me to learn the second movement of the Moonlight Sonata by Tuesday," I said. "I'm freaking out just a tiny bit."

"Which part can't you get?" Alex asked. I rested my fingers on the keys again and played the piece up to the passage where I once again made a mistake.

"Play that line again," Alex said. She studied my hands for a second before moving to stand behind me.

"What are you doing?" I asked as her arm encircled me. Her chest was pressed against my back and I found myself torn between fleeing the room and kissing her.

"Relax," Alex commanded as she moved my hands. "This is what you need to do." Slowly she played the last few notes I'd played and I immediately saw what I had been doing wrong.

"I thought you didn't play piano," I said in an attempt to distract myself from the feel of Alex against me. As if she could read my mind, Alex suddenly moved away but my celebration was cut short as a second later she sat down beside me. Barely an inch separated us.

"Alex," I whispered - but before I could say anything else, she was kissing me.

With that one little kiss, everything came flooding back. For a year I'd tried to push my feelings for Alex away. I'd tried to make myself forget her. But as she gently cupped my cheek in her hand I remembered why I loved her. However, it wasn't to last. A second later a face floated across my mind's eye and I pulled back so fast I fell off the piano bench.

"Are you alright, Selena?" Alex was on her feet and reaching out a hand to help me up within seconds. I ignored it and pulled myself to my feet.

"We can't get back together, Alex," I said. "Nothing has changed."

"You're sixteen years old," Alex reminded me. "When will you start thinking for yourself?"

"When you start respecting my decision," I fired back. "I know it doesn't make sense to you but my mother is the only family I have. I'd like to keep her in my life."

"Is having your mother in your life worth denying your feelings for me?" Alex asked.

"I don't know," I admitted. "But I'm not sure I'm ready to find out." As I began to walk away, Alex's hand shot out and grabbed mine. Gently she reached up to brush away a tear I hadn't realised was falling away.

"Don't do this, Selena," she murmured. "Please don't keep hurting yourself." I reached up and for a second rested my hand on Alex's before gently pulling it away from my face.

"If you really care about me, please leave," I replied. "Because I'm not going to change my mind any time soon." I squeezed Alex's hand once before I dropped it and grabbed my music. I left the room without another word. Demi wasn't in our room when I reached it and I gratefully allowed myself to fall to pieces.

It was a month later that I picked up the guitar again. I glanced down at my fingers on the strings as I played. Between my schoolwork and my piano practise it had been a long time since I'd gotten in a solid hour of practise on my guitar but after watching this YouTube artist Alex Goot cover Everytime We Touch, I'd been hit with an overwhelming urge to play my guitar. I'd spent the rest of the day learning the song. I continued singing as the door opened and Demi came into the room. As I played the last notes, I looked up to find Demi staring at me.

"What are you looking at?" I asked. She sat down on her bed before answering.

"It's obvious you love her, Sel," she said. "So stop torturing yourself and tell her."

"So I can lose the only parent I have left in my life?" I knew lashing out at Demi wouldn't help but I couldn't stop myself. "No thanks. I've only seen my father a handful of times since he left. The only good thing he's doing is paying for my education here. I don't want my relationship with my mother to end up like that."

"Selena Mikayla Harris!!" Demi cried and I jumped. "Cut the bullshit. I know you, and we both know that's not the real reason you left Alex. The truth is you're scared."

"You don't know what you're talking about," I muttered and Demi rolled her eyes.

"Don't play dumb, Selena," she sighed. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. You love Alex so much it hurts and that scares the stuffing out of you. So you choose to ignore it."

For a second I sat there in silence. No, I hadn't even realized that was the true reason I was pushing Alex away but, now that Demi had pointed it out, I knew she was right. Ever since I had seen Alex for the first time in that music room a year ago, I had fallen completely and utterly in love with her and it had scared me. So instead of facing it, I'd subconsciously pushed my feelings for Alex aside and used my mother as an excuse not to be with her.

"When did you become so smart?" I asked. Demi rolled her eyes.

"I was just able to look at it from a different point of view," she said. "Now do us both a favour and go tell Alex you love her."

"Aye, aye captain," I said. I set my guitar back on its stand before leaving the room.

Alex's room was just down the hall so it took no time to get there. However, it wasn't Alex who opened the door after I knocked. It was her roommate Jadyn.

"Is Alex here?" I asked. Jadyn shook her head.

"She had a guitar lesson with that new teacher, Miss Brooks," she explained. "Did you want to wait for her?"

"I will go and wait for her outside the music room," I said. "Do you know which one they are in?"

"Number four," Jadyn replied.

"Thanks," I said. "Catch you later." I made my way to the stairs and down two flights before reaching the entrance hall. Being a Sunday afternoon it was empty and my footsteps echoed as I crossed to the hall containing the classrooms and music rooms. Number four was halfway down. I knocked on the door and waited a minute but there was no answer. Stepping closer I could hear no noise from inside. I slowly opened the door to see Miss Brooks and Alex sitting at the piano. I knew immediately they were awfully close but it took a minute for my brain to fully comprehend what I was seeing. They were kissing and, as I watched, Miss Brooks' hand slipped into Alex's hair. A cry of pain escaped me. Alex pulled back. I knew the exact moment she realised it was me and I'd seen the kiss: all the blood drained from her face.

"Selena," she called but I was already fleeing. I ran back down the hall and burst into the entrance hall. I could hear Alex chasing me even as I ran up the stairs.

"How'd it go?" Demi asked as I burst into our room and shut the door behind me. I couldn't speak. Every breath was a struggle after my dash upstairs and tears were flowing freely down my cheeks. I tried to even my breathing out but, before I could, the door burst open.

"Selena, please let me explain," Alex cried.

Demi held up a hand. "Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" A fresh wave of tears rolled down my cheeks as Alex studied her hands.

"Selena walked in on me and Miss Brooks..." her voice trailed off but she didn't need to finish the sentence. Demi understood and she covered her mouth.

"Oh my god, Sel," she said, as she pulled me into a hug. "I'm sorry."

"We were only kissing," Alex whispered.

"Doesn't make a bloody difference," Demi hissed. "It's still wrong."

"She's only seven years older," Alex snapped. "Besides it's not like Selena and I are a couple." I pulled away from Demi and wiped my cheeks.

"I wanted us to be," I said. "I was coming to tell you I love you."

Alex's cheeks grew pale again. "It just happened," she murmured. "One minute she was asking me about you, the next she was kissing me."

"And what about the fact that she's your teacher?" Demi interjected.

"I didn't want this to happen," Alex spat.

"Just leave, Alex," I said. Suddenly I just wanted to lie on my bed and sleep.

"Selena..." Alex pleaded but I ignored it.

"Go," I said, pointing to the door.

One Year Later

"This is going to be my last song of the night," I announced to the audience. "I want to dedicate it to anyone who has ever suffered a broken heart." I slowly strummed the opening chords before launching into the first verse.

"That was Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus," I said as I play the last few chords. "You've been a wonderful audience. I'll be here all week. Good night." I stood up and did a little bow as everyone burst into applause. I smiled before setting my guitar on its stand and walking offstage.

"Were you singing that song to anyone in particular, Sel?" Demi asked as I sat at her table.

"Of course. I was singing it to you," I told her. Demi rolled her eyes.

"You sounded awesome tonight, by the way," Demi added. "I really think you should consider trying to sign to a label."

"You know that's not going to happen, Demi," I reminded her. "My mother wants me to study classical music at university and perhaps try to join an orchestra."

"Maybe you could do both?" Demi suggested as a woman in a purple suit approached our table.

"I'm looking for a Selena Harris," she said.

"That's me," I replied. "Awesome suit."

"Thanks. My name is Whitney Young," she told me as she handed me a business card. "I'm the head of Young Records. I saw you perform and I have to say I'm impressed. Would I be correct in saying you haven't had any formal voice training."

"Yes. Singing in something I just do for fun," I said. Whitney smiled.

"You've certainly got a lot of raw talent," she informed me. "I'd like to discuss signing you to Young Records if you're interested?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't!" I said.

"That's what I thought," Miss Young said. "Give me a call tomorrow and we'll set up some meetings. The number's on the card." She walked away, leaving me staring after her.

"Did that really just happen?" I muttered as I turned to look at Demi.

"It really happened," Demi murmured.

"Oh my freaking God," I whispered.

"You can say that again," Demi said.

# Vulnerable

Love is giving someone the power to destroy you...

but trusting them not to.

Anonymous

November, 2009

I pulled my boyfriend Archer Moore closer as my fingers tangled in his hair. We'd been together almost a year and I never tired of the taste of his lips. If anything, it grew more intoxicating each day. I pulled back and inhaled deeply before opening my eyes to find him staring at me.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked. I seductively trailed one hand down his arm before answering.

"I was just thinking about how much I love kissing you," I admitted as I felt my cheeks grow warm. Archer burst into laughter before pulling me close to kiss me again. The kiss only lasted seconds before he pulled away but I still felt drunk on the taste of him. I made a small noise of protest as he stood and he laughed again.

"I love kissing you too," he told me as he glanced at his watch. "But I have to go or I'll be grounded." I sighed and flopped back against my pillows. Archer's mother had insisted he have a nine o'clock curfew on school nights and a ten o'clock on weekends.

"You're sixteen years old," I grumbled. "When will you mother start trusting you?" Archer put his hands either side of me as he leaned in to kiss my cheek.

"Don't complain," Archer whispered in my ear. "Mum wanted to make it eight but Dad intervened." I allowed a tiny smile to creep over my face. For as long as I had known Archer, Mrs Moore had disliked me. Archer said it was because I was dating her baby boy but I sometimes wondered if it was something else.

"Are we still able to see that movie on Friday?" I asked. The last time we'd made plans to see a movie, Mrs Moore had suddenly remembered a family gathering and we'd been forced to cancel. I suspect the thought of what we could get up to in a movie theatre got to her, though she needn't have worried. Archer and I were both still virgins and we had no plans to change that status anytime soon.

"Dad intervened again," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow at school." He went to leave and was almost at my bedroom door when I pulled him back.

"Aren't you forgetting something," I murmured. Our lips were only inches apart and Archer closed the distance without saying anything further. My hands crept up to cup his face as the seconds turned into minutes. Eventually Archer pulled away.

"Now I really have to go," he muttered. "Before we enter dangerous territory."

"See you tomorrow," I said as he finally walked out the door. A strange feeling came over me as I sat on my bed. Archer and I had been dating for a year. We'd said goodbye hundreds of times but for the first time I felt there was something missing from it.

It wasn't until I was walking to school the next day that it hit me why I felt something was missing. Archer and I had ticked off a few important milestones in our relationship but there was one that remained unticked. We hadn't said 'I love you' yet and I realised now I was ready to say it.

A voice suddenly cut through my thoughts.

"Are you ignoring me now, Lauren James?" My best friend Carson Lucas fell into step with me.

"Carson, what have I told you about sneaking up on me?" I hissed as I placed on my hand on my now rapidly beating heart. Carson rolled her eyes.

"I've been following you and calling your name for two blocks," she said. "You were really out of it. What's on your mind?" I smiled. There was a reason Carson was my best friend. She knew me better than anyone else in the world.

"When did you first say 'I love you' to Xavier?" I asked, referring to Xavier Cullen, Carson's boyfriend of eleven months.

"I think it was after about four or five months of dating," she said thoughtfully. "Why do you ask?" I swallowed and turned my head away.

"No reason," I said but although I had attempted a light-hearted tone, I knew I hadn't fooled Carson.

"Have you and Archer said it to each other yet," she asked gently. I shook my head. I could have lied to her but I knew it would be a fruitless attempt.

"No. Is there something wrong with us?" I wondered. It was a rhetorical question but Carson answered.

"Different couples take different amounts of time," she told me. "Just because I said it early in my relationship with Xavier doesn't mean you need to. It should be when the time feels right." I chewed my lip.

"Thanks, Carson," I said. I felt better after talking to her but I was still glad when we reached the school gates a minute later. I suddenly needed to feel Archer's kiss and reassure myself that he was mine.

"I'll see you at lunch," I said to Carson as I left her.

"See you," she called after me.

I hurried through the school grounds to the spot Archer and I had claimed as ours. Archer was waiting for me. As usual his eyes lit up when he spotted me and before I could talk, he was kissing me. His kiss was urgent and I wondered if he'd had the same feelings as I had.

"Good morning," he said as he pulled away. I was breathless and rested my hand against the wall beside us before answering.

"That was... different," I said and suddenly he looked worried.

"I got a little excited," he said. "It is our one year anniversary on Friday, after all." I felt myself deflate at his words and I had to work hard not to let my disappointment show on my face.

"That's right," I said. I tried to make my tone sound upbeat but I knew it hadn't worked. Archer, thankfully, was too busy describing what he had planned to notice.

"I was thinking we could go out to the beach for dinner," he was saying. "And of course we're catching that new movie you've been dropping hints about for a month." For a second I was distracted by my need to defend myself and I was grateful.

"I have not been dropping hints for a month," I said. "It was a week at the most."

Archer laughed. "I'm just joking," he said. "If it means I'd get to spend time with you, I'd sit through a hundred chick flicks." I smiled and quickly hugged Archer.

"It's not going to be that bad," I said as I stood with my head against his chest. We stayed like that until a teacher walked past.

"Thirty centimetres, Lauren, Archer," she said as she went past. Archer and I separated silently. We stayed that way until the teacher's footsteps had faded into the distance.

"I was thinking five o'clock on Friday," Archer said. "Dad said he'll drive us out to the beach." A sudden thought hit me at the mention of his father.

"How did you get your mother to agree to this plan?" I asked. Archer smiled mischievously.

"I have my ways," he said. I rolled my eyes.

"Seriously, how did you get her to agree?" I asked.

"Dad helped," he admitted. "He agreed to be a chaperone. That's part of the reason he's driving."

"You shouldn't have gone to all this trouble for me," I said. Inside I was screaming, but I tried to keep a calm face. Archer was the first guy to ever go to this much trouble for me

"Thank you," I said, moving in close and kissing him. I slid my arms around his waist as I did.

"Nothing's too good for my girl," Archer said simply. I smiled and leant my head against his chest again. I listened to his heartbeat until the teacher walked past again.

"What did I say earlier," she said and we sprang apart. I sat on a nearby bench as we waited for the teacher's footsteps to fade.

"So I was thinking I'd pick you up at four tonight 'cause of the time it will take to drive out," he said.

"It's a date," I said and grinned.

The rest of the week passed slowly, the way it always does when you're looking forward to something. Friday finally dawned and I grew increasingly excited throughout the day to the point that my English teacher asked me to stay behind while the rest of the class left for the day.

"Is everything all right, Lauren?" my teacher asked and I nodded.

"Why?" I asked. She moved to sit on the front of the teacher's desk.

"I've taught you for almost four years," she reminded me. "You've always been my most studious student yet today your mind was somewhere else."

"I'm just celebrating an anniversary today, that's all," I explained. Thankfully she seemed to accept the explanation.

"Have a good weekend, Lauren," she said as I slipped my bag over my shoulder.

"See you next week," I said as I hurried from the classroom. Archer was waiting for me out the front of the school and I pulled him close for a kiss.

"Everything ok?" he asked when I pulled back. "Carson said you got held back."

"Yeah, it was fine," I said as I slipped my hand into his. "Where is Carson?"

"She had to go into the office for something," Archer replied. A second later the office door opened and Carson joined us.

"Ready to go?" she asked and I nodded.

"Carson is going to help me get ready," I explained when I saw Archer's confused expression

"Is this a good idea?" Archer asked. "I know what you two are like when you're together." Carson laughed. "I'll have her ready by four," she said. "I have an anniversary celebration of my own to get to." I frowned. This was the first time I'd heard this.

"What anniversary are you celebrating?" I asked. Unless I'd gotten the date for my anniversary wrong, Carson and Xavier weren't due to celebrate a year together for another three or four weeks. Carson's face turned red.

"I'd rather not say," she muttered. Archer started laughing. I turned away from Carson. I was suddenly disgusted. I knew Carson didn't share my belief of saving yourself for marriage - after all, we'd been best friends for years, - but I hadn't realised that ship had actually sailed. I was a little disappointed. We were sixteen. We didn't know where we would be in ten years' time.

"I've never been so glad to see your house," Carson muttered as she opened my gate.

"See you at four," Archer said. He kissed me before walking away. I watched him leave.

"You'll see him again in less than an hour, Lauren," Carson reminded me before dragging me inside.

"Carson," I said as she finished braiding my hair.

"Yeah," she murmured but I knew she wasn't really listening to me. She was caught up in what she was doing.

"I'm going to tell Archer I love him tonight," I declared. I heard a thump and knew Carson had dropped the brush. I also knew that her attention was now fully on me.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Laur?" she asked as she grabbed the brush. I smiled.

"I have never been more sure of anything in my life, Carson," I said. "I love Archer." Carson was silent as I got to my feet and walked over to my cupboard. She stayed silent as I changed.

"I'm happy for you, Laur," she finally said, as I studied myself in my mirror.

"Thanks," I said. "So what do you and Xavier have planned for the evening?"

"Dinner at that new restaurant in town," she said. "We've both been saving for a month."

"That sounds great," I said. I started to say something else before hesitating. Carson was watching me and I knew she had seen my hesitation.

"Something on your mind, Lauren?" she asked.

"You've only been together eleven months," I said. "I just wondered how you were celebrating the anniversary of that." Carson turned away but not before I saw the hurt flash across her face.

"Remember last year, during the Christmas holidays?" she asked. "When we went to that party at Nick Darke's house?" I sat on my bed.

"Yeah," I replied. "You got absolutely smashed." Carson's stance tightened. She'd been in a bad place that night after only recently getting out of her first serious relationship.

"Remember when we got separated?" she said. I nodded. I had left her to use the toilet and it had taken me forty-five minutes to find her. I'd found her in the guest bedroom.

"You mean you and Xavier hooked up at Nick's party," I said. "We only met Xavier for the first time that night." Carson spun to face me.

"It wasn't exactly my proudest moment," she whispered. I was hurt that Carson had kept this from me but, as I studied her, I could see how upset she was.

"Everything happens for a reason," I said. I patted the bed beside me and Carson walked over.

"I'm sorry I never told you," she said.

"Forget about it," I said as I hugged her. As I pulled away I heard a car pull into the driveway.

"Good luck," we said to each other before leaving my room.

"Are you ready?" Archer asked as I joined him outside.

"Yes," I said.

Forty-five minutes later, I watched Archer's dad drive away. He had decided to go to a nearby café while we ate our picnic and would pick us up later to take us to the movie. I turned to face Archer as he spread the blanket out.

"I've got chicken and pasta," he said as he placed the picnic basket on top. "Plus a salad and for dessert we have chocolate-covered strawberries." I sat down next to him.

"This looks great, Arch," I said as I studied the spread. "Did you make this yourself?" Archer nodded as he handed me a plate.

"I might have had a little help but I did most of it myself," he said and I felt a rush of love towards him.

"Thanks," I said as I leant over to kiss him. "Thanks for everything." Archer smiled as he pulled back.

"It was nothing," he said. "I enjoyed cooking for my favourite girl." At these words I was hit with an overwhelming urge to say those three little words. At the same time fear slid in. I suddenly felt vulnerable and I was afraid Archer wasn't going to say it back. I started fiddling with a loose thread on my dress until Archer's hand closed over mine. His expression was filled with love and this caused some of the fear to leave. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I have to tell you something," I said. I kept my eyes locked with his. "I... I love you." Archer shook his head.

"What did you say?" he whispered and I froze.

"I love you," I said again. My voice was stronger this time. Archer looked at his lap and for a second I thought he wasn't going to say it back. My heart began to sink before he suddenly looked up and smiled his smile that always made my heart melt.

"I love you too, Lauren James," he said. He kissed me and the rest of the world floated away as I got lost in that kiss. His hands crept up to cup my face and I knew I would never forget this moment, not as long as I lived.

# Second Appearance

It's hard to tell your mind to stop

loving someone when your heart still does.

Anonymous

T Magazine

2011

It has only been three months since the movie 'What About Love' starring Taylor King and new actress Harmony Hansen was released into cinemas. Since then, the two actresses have signed on for a TV series to continue from where the movie finished. We sat down with the girls to talk about how their lives have changed since landing these roles and how Harmony is finding living in America.

T Magazine: First of all, it's wonderful to meet the both of you.

Taylor: It's lovely to meet you.

T Magazine: First of all, could you tell us the name of your character and a bit about their personality and whether they are like you?

Taylor: I play Sharni Taylor. At the beginning of the movie, Sharni is very quiet and reserved. She has just turned sixteen and is struggling to come to terms with her sexuality. I'm a very outgoing person so she is the complete opposite of myself.

Harmony: I play Charlotte Wilde. She's a very confident and outdoing lesbian in her junior year of high school. It was interesting for me to play her, not just because I was shy in high school but because I wasn't really 'out'.

T Magazine: Harmony, I understand this is the first movie you've done. What was it like joining the project with such little experience?

Harmony: It had been hard but I pushed myself and I think I have done very well.

T Magazine: At the end of the movie, Charlotte and Sharni were beginning to realise their feelings for each other. What can we expect in the show?

Harmony: Things become complicated between them. The movie ended with their first kiss but who knows what could happen now.

Taylor: Some ghosts from both girls' pasts will return. We have just started shooting episode five and it's already pretty complicated.

T Magazine: How have your lives changed since you both got the roles?

Taylor: I've been acting since I was eight but this is by far the biggest project in my career. I've definitely started to get recognised a lot more and I've had to move because my address was leaked.

Harmony: This was the first project I've done since moving to LA. Unlike Taylor, who'd experienced a little fame before this, I was thrown in the deep end. I went from being an absolute nobody to being recognised when I go to the shops. It can be unsettling but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

T Magazine: I understand you moved here from Australia after you finished school, Harmony. How are you finding America so far?

Harmony: I've lived here about two years now and, I have to say, the only thing I still can't get used to would be that you guys drive on the wrong side of the road. In Australia we drive on the left but here in America you drive on the right.

T Magazine: I imagine that can be confusing. Before we finish the interview, is there anything you'd like to say to the fans.

Taylor: Thank you all for watching the movie and we hope you love the show just as much.

Harmony: Thank you for everything. We love you guys and hope you all watch the show, starting September.

T Magazine: Good luck with the first season.

Harmony: Thanks.

Taylor: Thank you.

Three weeks earlier

Chad Gray made his way out of the pub and down the street, unaware that he was being tailed by a twenty-year-old girl. He walked slowly as he found it a struggle to put one foot in front of the other. He was beginning to regret the last three shots as he turned off the main road and made his way down a quieter street. That was his first mistake. His second was paying more attention to where he was walking than to what was happening behind him. He was barely ten metres down the street when the girl jumped him, going straight for his neck. She sank her teeth into his neck and started sucking. Chad was dead within minutes. The girl barely noticed as she finished drinking. She stood and pushed her red hair out of her blue eyes. As she did, it was as if she had come out of a trance; as she looked at Chad with the teeth marks on his neck, she could barely believe she had done that. A single tear slipped down her cheek as she fled the scene.

May 2012

"Do you love me Charlotte?" Sharni asked as we sat on my bed. I glanced down at her hand stroking mine before answering.

"Of course," I said. Sharni's eyes met mine.

"Then tell me the truth," she said. "Where were you last Thursday?" I took a deep breath before answering. I had thought we'd moved past her not trusting me but apparently not.

"I was at home," I said. Sharni immediately pulled her hands away.

"Why do you keep lying to me!" she demanded. "I know you were with her." Before I could say another word, Sharni leapt to her feet and ran out of the room. I sighed and allowed my head to fall into my hands.

"Cut," a voice yelled a second later. "Good job everyone. Go home and get some sleep."

As I walked to my dressing room a few minutes later, Taylor, who played Sharni, fell into step beside me.

"Are you coming tonight, Harmony?" she asked as she snagged a bottle of water from the snack table. I shook my head.

"I'd love to, Tay, but I've been promising my mum I'd call her for the last three weeks," I said.

"How long till she comes out?" she asked as she took a sip of water.

"Five weeks," I grinned. My excitement was contagious and Taylor smiled too.

"I'll let you off the hook tonight," Taylor said as we reached our dressing rooms. "But you better be there Friday."

"Wouldn't miss it," I replied. I walked into my room and over to the sink where I wiped as much of the makeup off as I could before changing into my clothes. I grabbed my bag and left the dressing room. It was ten o'clock at night but Queensland was seventeen hours ahead of Los Angeles. It would be about three in the afternoon for Mum. By the time I got to my apartment, Mum would be home from work.

"Five a.m. start tomorrow, Harmony," someone reminded me as I walked past them.

"See you then," I smiled. Three years had passed since I'd left Australia. I'd spent a year in Los Angeles auditioning for anything I could and was almost ready to give up when I heard about the audition for the role of Charlotte Wilde. After several tense weeks the role was mine. The movie had surpassed everyone's expectations and now had been picked up for a TV show. After the pilot was watched by two and a half million people, the show was given the green light for a full season. We were almost finished shooting the first season. I was sad but I was looking forward to having a break. I pulled into the driveway of my apartment building and minutes later I walked through my front door. I dumped my bag on the table before grabbing my phone.

"Hello, Mum," I said a minute later.

It was gone three a.m. as Aaron Blue stepped off the stoop of his favourite pub. He stopped for a minute to steady himself before beginning to slowly walk down the street. A few turns later and he was into the quiet part of town. As he started walking down his street, he suddenly became aware he was being watched but it was too late to do anything. Before he could scream he was yanked into the alleyway between two fences and he felt a mouth fasten itself on his neck.

I felt the fog lift and looked down at my arms. A scream started to rise in my throat but I stopped it before it left my mouth. I spun and ran away as fast as I could. I made it to the park near my apartment before I had to stop. Tears streamed freely down my cheeks as I curled into a ball.

"What's happening to me?" I whispered.

"You're experiencing the bloodlust," a voice replied. My next sob froze in my throat. I pulled myself to my feet and faced the person I never expected to see again.

"Katarina!" My voice was hoarse from both shock and my breakdown.

"Hello Harmony," she said. She was as beautiful as ever. Her silver blonde hair hung almost to her waist and her grey eyes that had haunted my dreams studied me as I took a defensive pose.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"It's great to see you, too," Katarina replied. "I'm fine, thanks." I clenched my hands into fists.

"Now is not the time for jokes," I said. "It's been three years, Katarina. Why did you suddenly choose now to reappear in my life?"

"I have my reasons," she said.

"Do they include screwing everything up for me?" I asked. "They must if you bought Oakley." A frown briefly crossed Katarina's face before she smiled.

"I told you it would be a waste of your time," she called. "She's strong."

"Tell me, Harmony, have you experienced any blackouts lately?" Oakley's voice reached me before he appeared.

"Why do you care?" I hissed.

"Because your father asked us to protect you, Harmony," Katarina informed me. "Your father never wanted you to become like him. We were supposed to stop the change happening." A little sliver of pain slid into me.

"You're telling me the only reason you came to my school three years ago was because you were ordered to?" My voice rose with each word.

"Have you killed?" Oakley asked. I stared at him while Katarina hit him with her signature glare.

"Why does any of this matter?" I asked. Katarina sighed.

"It's only going to get worse, Harmony," she said. "Unless you learn to control the bloodlust you're only going to kill more people. The blackouts will become more frequent."

"We're here to help you, Harmony," Oakley said. His voice was sincere for the first time since I had met him, but I was still filled with anger.

"I've been a vampire for two years!" I shouted. "Why are you just now deciding to help me?"

"The bloodlust usually hits most new vampires within weeks," Katarina explained. "But not with you. We thought you may have escaped it until we heard about an unsolved homicide two months ago."

"When we realised that it was you behind it we came straight here," Oakley said.

"You're telling me the only way I can learn to control this is to spend time with my ex and the guy who broke us up. Sounds like all kinds of fun. Sign me up." Sarcasm dripped off my voice.

"You think this is a party for me?" Oakley said. "I can think of a thousand other things I would rather be doing right now." Katarina pulled a hundred dollar note from her pocket.

"Oakley, do me a favour and get lost," she said. Oakley grabbed the money from her hand and was walking down the street before she could blink.

"Laters," he called.

I suddenly became aware of how close Katarina was and I walked away. She followed as I walked through the park to a nearby bench. Katarina silently studied me as I stared into the distance until I started fiddling with a button on my shirt. Her hand closed over mine.

"Harmony." Somehow she managed to say a dozen things with that one word. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm fine," I said. I pretended to study a tree a few metres from us to avoid her eyes. Katarina sighed. Her hand cupped my chin as she gently turned my face towards her.

"Don't lie to me, Harmony," she whispered. At those words, the memories I'd tried to bury broke free. Emotions filled me up and threatened to overwhelm me before I abruptly stood up. I walked away from Katarina and took a few deep breaths.

"Don't do that," I warned her. "Don't act like you love or care about me. That may have worked when you first met me but I'm not that scared little girl any more. I don't need you." Katarina's eyes travelled slowly down my body and along my arm to my wrist where her bracelet rested.

"You need me more than you think you do, Harmony," she said. I was saved replying as One Direction's _What Makes You Beautiful_ filled the air. I pulled my phone out of my pocket.

"I have to get ready for work," I said. "All this can wait till later." Katarina lifted an eyebrow but stayed silent as I walked quickly away from her.

I turned the water in the shower up as hot as I could stand it and stood there for fifteen minutes before wrapping a towel around myself. My sleepless night was obvious in the slight purple shadows under my eyes and I knew my makeup artist wouldn't be happy. I pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt before heading into the kitchen. I wasn't surprised to find Katarina there. She handed me a travel cup of coffee.

"You can't avoid this, Harmony," she informed me. "Eventually you're going to hurt someone you know."

"Thanks for the coffee," I said. I grabbed my bag with my keys and purse before leaving the apartment. Katarina followed me. She stood silently as I locked my door and walked down to my car. I opened the door and slid into the driver's seat as Katarina slid into the passenger's seat. I stopped and watched as she put her seatbelt on.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I don't know what sort of driver you are and I happen to like living," she replied.

"I meant why are you getting into my car?" I demanded.

"Someone needs to come with you and make sure you don't kill someone," Katarina told me. I growled under my breath. It was a silent ride to the studio and it stayed silent as we walked to my dressing room.

"Harmony." I heard my name as I rested my hand on the doorknob and, when I turned, Taylor was coming out of her dressing room.

"Morning," I said.

"I didn't know you were bringing someone to set today," Taylor replied.

"Neither did I," I muttered under my breath. "This is my friend from Australia. She showed up unexpectedly." Katarina smiled at Taylor.

"Katarina Wolf," she introduced herself.

"Harmony, you're due in makeup," one of the assistants said.

"I'll be there in a second," I said. "Katarina, please stay in my dressing room. I'll be back in a minute."

"See you on set," Taylor called as I walked away.

I only saw glimpses of Katarina between takes but, when I did, each time she shot me a disapproving look. When we finally stopped for lunch I quickly escaped to my dressing room. Everyone was gathered in the lunch room so, by the time I reached it, I was alone. I breathed a sigh of relief as I sat on my lounge chair and closed my eyes but my peace only lasted a few seconds before I heard her come in.

"Well, that was enlightening," Katarina said. "I do have one question though."

"What is it?" I asked. I kept my eyes closed as I waited for her to reply.

"Tell me this, does anyone know that you're really gay?" she asked.

"No," I said. "I didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable."

"Because lying to them is so much better." Katarina's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Don't you have anything better to do with your time than torment me?" I groaned.

"No." I felt the lounge shift and knew she was sitting beside me. "I'm not going anywhere until I convince you that you need help."

"I can't just drop everything," I said. "I have people counting on me."

"Think about this, Harmony. Taylor could be the next person you hurt." Katarina's tone was serious and I finally opened my eyes to look at her.

"Fine," I said. "We've got a couple of days off this weekend. Will that be enough time?"

"No, but it's a start," Katarina replied.

"Good." I pulled myself up and made my way back to set where Taylor was already waiting. The set was still being set up for the next scene and I knew I had a few minutes to talk to Taylor.

"Taylor, I can't make it Friday," I said. "Something has come up." Hurt flashed across her face.

"You promised you'd be there," she began but before she could say anything else Blair, the director, came up to us.

"This is an important scene, girls," he said. "Let's try to do this in a few takes." As he gave the crew their instructions, Taylor and I had our hair and makeup touched up before we got into our places. I took a deep breath as quiet was called for.

"And action," the director shouted a second later.

"I love you, Sharni," I said. "I've always loved you."

"I love you too, Charlotte," Sharni replied. She leaned forward and kissed me. We kissed for a few moments before I pulled back to look into her eyes.

"I need you," I whispered. "Say you need me too."

"I'm scared," Sharni murmured. "I've never done this before."

"Neither have I," I admitted. "But only because you are the first person I have wanted to do this with." I slowly rubbed my hand up Sharni's arm before trailing it back down, only my fingertips touching her skin. My fingers slowly made their way down her stomach before slipping under her shirt. That was as far as I got before Sharni pulled me close and kissed me again. Her hands tentatively moved to the hem of my shirt. She slowly slid my shirt up my body and over my head. I smiled into her lips before rolling her onto her back. I brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes before continuing to kiss her.

"Cut," Blair called. I quickly hopped off Taylor and grabbed the shirt she'd dropped on the floor. "That was perfect, ladies. We just need one more like that and then we're done." Taylor and I moved back to our starting point and our makeup was quickly touched up before silence was called for once more

"And action," the director called.

As I walked back to my dressing room that night after we'd finished for the day I found that I was glad Katarina hadn't stuck around after lunch. I wasn't sure I wanted her to see the scenes we'd just filmed. I filled a glass with water and had just sat down when a knock came on my door.

"Come in," I called. I wasn't surprised when Taylor walked in.

"So what's the deal, Harmony?" she said. "Why are you skipping Friday?" I took a gulp of water to give myself time to think of an excuse.

"Katarina is only in town for a week," I said. "I just want to spend as much time as possible with her." The words tasted sour in my mouth but I forced them out.

"You could have brought her," Taylor told me. I sighed as I realised that, if I wanted Taylor to let this go, I would have to admit at least one secret to her.

"Taylor, you may want to sit down," I said as I patted the chair beside me. "I have to tell you something."

"Are you a wanted criminal?" Taylor teased before she saw my expression. "Whatever it is, Harmony, it doesn't matter." She sat beside me and took one of my hands.

"You may change your mind once you hear it," I whispered. "The truth is Taylor, I'm gay."

"What?" she said. Her face told me she'd understood me but I repeated myself anyway.

"I'm gay." Taylor moved back a few inches and I involuntarily flinched.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

"Because _What About Love_ was the first role I booked," I explained. "I didn't want to do anything to compromise that, including telling you about my sexuality."

"One question. You're not in love with me, are you?" I laughed as I took in the look on her face.

"I love only one person," I said and it was as if a lightbulb went on in Taylor's face.

"It's Katarina, isn't it," she said. "I saw the way you looked at each other but I dismissed it, because I could've cut the tension between you with a knife."

"It is," I said. "We were planning to go away for the weekend and figure things out. We left it in an awkward place when I came to America."

"Good luck," Taylor said. "Next time, please just tell me the truth."

"I will," I said as Taylor stood. "We're good, right?" Taylor glanced at me thoughtfully.

"Of course," she said. "As long as you never lie to me again. We're both professionals, after all."

"See you next week," I said.

"See you," Taylor replied. I swallowed the last of my water before grabbing my bag and heading for my car.

"So tell me again why we're out in the middle of nowhere?" I asked Katarina as we walked through the forest.

"Two reasons," Katarina replied. "We have no one to witness our activities out here and it's safer if you don't learn to control the bloodlust on humans."

"Because it's so much better to kill the wildlife," I muttered but Katarina chose to ignore me as we emerged from the forest on the bank of a river.

"We're here," she said. "This is where we'll make camp. Follow me." She dumped her bag on the ground and began to walk upstream.

"Are our bags safe here?" I asked. Katarina turned and rolled her eyes at me.

"I specifically chose this spot because it's miles from the nearest camping spot," she said. "The only thing we need to worry about is animals and they won't be interested in our bags. We haven't got any food." I reluctantly dropped my bag to the ground before following Katarina. We walked for another ten minutes before she stopped.

"Open your senses," Katarina instructed me. "Tell me what you smell." I took a few deep breaths.

"There's a herd of deer north of us," I said.

"Very good," Katarina said. "What else?"

"I don't feel drawn to the blood," I replied. "Whenever I'm with humans, I feel drawn to their blood."

"Exactly," Katarina said. "That's the first lesson you need to learn. You're drawn to humans. The longer you go without feeding, the stronger that draw becomes. Eventually it overwhelms you and causes you to black out, as you know."

"Is there a point to this little discussion?" I asked.

"You need to feed at least once a week," Katarina said. "You don't need to take much. The reason I brought you out here is so you can learn the signs for when a body has lost too much blood and learn to stop before you kill someone."

"How?" I asked.

"I want you to attack a deer," Katarina commanded.

"Come again?"

"I want you to attack a deer," Katrina repeated. "You have the strength of ten men and, in case you hadn't notice, your gaze has the power to hold any living thing. Now attack!" I was tempted to refuse but Katarina's expression was stony. Reluctantly I moved softly through the forest until I saw the herd. I saw one on its own and I stalked it as it moved further away from the rest. I waited until it was distracted by some grass before I made my move. The deer looked up as I got close but, once its eyes met mine, the creature froze. The blood tasted strange but it satisfied my thirst. After a few gulps I tried to make myself pull away but I couldn't and soon I watched the light fade from the deer's eyes. Katarina found me still clutching the body and correctly interpreted the look on my face.

"Don't beat yourself up," she said. "It's only the first day. You can't expect to master it straight away. I would have been shocked if you had." I ignored her words as I stood up.

"Let's try this again," I said.

Three Weeks Later

I tracked the deer for a few metres before it became aware of my presence. As our eyes met, my gaze halted the deer, allowing me to bring it down. I took a couple of gulps before allowing the deer to get to its feet. It stumbled slightly as it walked away but soon was running again. I watched it go with a smile. It had taken a long time to get to that point but it had been worth it. My mother was flying into Los Angeles International airport in two weeks. It was nice to know I'd be able to enjoy the time with her instead of worrying about blacking out and killing her.

"I think we can officially say you've mastered it," Katarina said as she appeared through the trees.

"I never thought I'd say this but thank you, Katarina," I said.

"No problem," she replied. "I think my next job is to teach you how to feed without getting blood on yourself." I glanced down to see my shirt was stained red.

"Let's make camp," I said. "No point in heading back now. It's almost six." We made our way through the forest to the river where we'd left our bags. I stripped to my underwear and waded into the water while Katarina built a fire. I watched her and sighed. Spending every weekend with Katarina for the past three weeks had brought back the feelings I thought I'd buried. More times than I cared to admit I'd wanted to kiss her but something had stopped me. Katarina turned in my direction and I sank under the water. When I surfaced she had stripped to her bikini and was walking towards me.

"You missed a spot," she said with a smile as she reached me. She leaned in to wipe my nose, bringing her lips tantalisingly close. My breathing hitched as she looked into my eyes.

"Kiss me," I whispered before I could change my mind; surprise covered Katarina's face.

"You kiss me," she murmured. I slowly wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. I enjoyed the feel of skin on skin before I pressed my lips to hers. The coolness of the river fell away as heat spread through my body and a second later I found myself being carried out of the river. Katarina lay me on the sleeping bag before pulling back to look me in the eyes.

"I love you, Harmony," she said.

"I love you, Kat," I said, using her nickname for the first time since she'd returned to my life. I gently pulled her face down to mine and kissed her again before trailing my fingers along her shoulders to the ties of her bikini top.

When I woke the next morning I was alone in the tent. I started to panic, but then the smell of cooked bacon reached me. I pulled on some clothes before leaving the tent. Katarina was sitting beside the fire poking at a frying pan on the coals.

"Where have you been hiding that bacon?" I asked as I sat on a log behind her. She turned to look at me with a grin.

"I will never tell you," she said as she moved back and sat on the log beside me.

"Good morning," she whispered before kissing me.

"Morning," I replied when she pulled away and returned to the fire.

"Breakfast will be ready soon," Katarina said.

"I'll pack the tent up while you finish." I went to stand up but, before I could, Katarina grabbed my hand and pulled me back down for one last kiss. All too soon I pulled my hand free. I rolled the sleeping bags up and dumped them along with our bags beside the fire before taking the tent down. I had just finished when Katarina called me over for breakfast. Eating took longer than usual as we kept stopping to kiss. After we finished Katarina washed the plates and frying pan while I checked to make sure we weren't leaving anything behind.

"You ready?" Kat asked as she put the plates into her bag.

"Let's go," I said, pulling my bag onto my back.

Katarina and I had barely made it through the front door of my apartment before I pushed her against the wall and kissed her.

"I see you two have made up," Oakley observed and I turned to see him watching us from the kitchen. Katarina and I backed away from each other.

"Why are you still here, Oakley?" I asked. "It's not as if you've actually made an effort to help me."

"Blame Katarina," he replied. "She wanted to help you by herself. She thought some alone time in the woods would help you thaw toward her." I turned to Katarina.

"That's why you did this?" I demanded. "To get me back?" Katarina looked worried.

"It wasn't the only reason but, yeah, it was a huge part of it," she admitted. "Are you mad?"

I pushed her against the wall again. "Oh, I'm furious," I growled and my tone made Katarina's face turn white. "I'm furious at myself for wasting three years." Delight filled Katarina's face at these words before I kissed her. I could hear Oakley pretending to gag but I ignored him.

"Get a room," he muttered.

"If you don't like it, the door is right there," I said. "Don't let it hit you on the way out." Katarina gently pushed me towards the door.

"Take a walk with me," she whispered in my ear. I nodded and allowed her to pull me out of the apartment. Five minutes later we were walking along the street.

"I hope I don't get recognised," I murmured. It was the first time I'd been in public without sunglasses and a hat in a year.

"Scared to let your fans see your girlfriend?" Katarina's tone was joking but I could hear the subtle underlying hurt. I pulled her into an alley and pressed her against the wall. I tried to say something but, being this close to her, it was hard to think.

"I'm just scared that you'll end up hurt," I managed to say." Do you want to become the next Justin and Selena? Not a week goes by without a rumour they've broken up or one of them has cheated." It was Katarina's turn to push me against the wall. She planted her hands against the brick to form a cage that I didn't want to escape.

"I don't care what they say," she informed me. "Not while you're mine." Thinking was suddenly the last thing on my mind as she leaned in to kiss me. I wrapped my arms around her neck and allowed myself to get lost in it.

The minute I walked into the studio the next day Taylor was on me.

"Harmony, have you read the paper today?" she asked.

"Nope," I said. "Should I have?"

"Harmony, you're wanted in Blair's office," his assistant informed me before Taylor could reply. I glanced at Taylor and saw her face was filled with sympathy. I kissed Kat's cheek.

"I won't be long," I said.

"She's wanted, as well," the assistant said and I began to feel worry creeping over me. Katarina and I followed Blair's assistant through the studio to his office. He was reading the paper but he set it down as we were lead in.

"You must be Katarina Wolf?" he said to Kat as his assistant shut the door.

"Guilty as charged," Kat replied. "How do you know my name?" Blair smirked, a cruel smile that I didn't like.

"I read this really interesting story in today's paper," he said as he grabbed his paper and closed it. He turned the front page towards us. The first thing that caught my eyes was the main picture. It was Katarina and I kissing in an alley. The headline was a predictable Harmony Hansen's Secret. Katarina laughed.

"Must have been a slow news day," she said. Blair glared at her.

"You think this is funny?" he growled.

"You think this is going to ruin her career?" Katarina asked. "Not likely. Your entire show is about two girls who fall in love. Do you know how much more relatable Harmony is going to be because she's gay?"

Blair took a couple of deep breaths before responding. "You better hope your girlfriend is right, Harmony, because if this starts to hurt the show's reputation then you're gone. You're not irreplaceable." The smile dropped from Kat's face. I swallowed.

"It won't," I promised.

"You better get to makeup," Blair told me. "We start shooting in half an hour." Katarina and I left the office.

"It never occurred to me this might impact your career," Katarina said. "I don't want to be the reason you get fired." I smiled and took her hand.

"You were right," I told her. "It's not going to ruin the show. We can only go up from here." I kissed her cheek before we continued to makeup. I just hoped that I wouldn't be eating those words soon.

# Moving On

A life with love will have some thorns,

but a life without love will have no roses.

Anonymous

2011

During the first moments after Penny left the house, I was motionless. I knew I had done the right thing when I'd told Penny to leave. I wasn't going to be the guy who broke a couple up but even with this thought in my mind, my pride was still hurt. I couldn't believe Penny had known about my crush all this time. I was lost in thought but after some time I became aware of a ringing noise and realised it was my phone. I pulled it out and saw I had a text from Katherine.

How'd it go?

I told her. She doesn't want to hurt Henry

Shit, I'm sorry Ty

Forget about it Kat. It's my own stupid fault.

You want me to come over?

Maybe tomorrow. I just need to be alone for now.

I dropped my phone on the coffee table and turned my gaze to the wall. For twenty minutes I sat there not moving or thinking before I stood. I had come to a decision. Penny's rejection had hurt but at least she knew how I felt. Now I could move on.

January, 2012

I had barely walked into the school grounds and made myself comfortable at our favourite spot when I saw Kat walking toward me.

"So how was the coast?" I asked her. Kat and I had spent the first week of the school holidays together but then she had gone to spend Christmas with her grandmother and visit her aunt on the Gold Coast. It showed in her skin which was no longer as pale and her blonde hair was filled with sun streaks.

"It was hot," she informed me. "How were the rest of your holidays?"

"My holidays were kind of boring," I admitted. "At least until last week, anyway."

"What do you mean?" Katherine asked but before I could answer a cheery voice came from behind me.

"There you are. I was beginning to think I would never find you."

"Do we know you?" Katherine's tone was icy and I jumped in before the situation grew sticky.

"Zarah Chase, this is one of my oldest friends, Katherine Fields," I said. "Kat, Zarah moved here just last week. Her father is the new policeman."

"Pleased to meet you, Zarah," Katherine's manners overcame her distaste for Zarah.

"When you say 'friend', what do you mean?" Zarah asked. I glanced at her and saw she was glaring at Katherine. Kat also noticed and began to laugh. I joined in once I realised what Zarah was implying.

"He means friend," Katherine assured Zarah. "Ty and I have known each other since kindergarten. Plus he's not my type."

"Did you get your timetable?" I was hoping to change the subject and it worked. Zarah pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket.

"You're in a different homeroom," I muttered as I studied her timetable. "But we have Maths and English together." As I handed her timetable back, the bell rang.

"Which way do I have to go?" she asked.

"You see those stairs?" I said. "Your class is the second door on the right at the top."

"Thanks." Zarah kissed my cheek. As she headed for the stairs, Katherine and I made our way to our own homeroom.

"Looks like you've moved on from Penny," Katherine commented as we turned a corner and joined the line outside our own homeroom. I glanced around to make sure no one was listening before I answered.

"You know I'll always love Penny, Kath," I said softly. "But it's been six months. I need to be realistic and the reality of the situation is that Penny and Henry aren't going to break up any time soon."

"You should have fought for her, Tyronne." All traces of the earlier joking tone were gone from Katherine's voice and I knew she was serious now.

"What good would that do?" I asked. "Either I would humiliate myself by having Penny reject me again or Henry would get hurt by Penny dumping him. It's a lose-lose situation. Zarah is a nice girl and I really do like her."

"Does she know she's just a rebound?" Katherine inquired. I rolled my eyes.

"Penny and I never actually dated," I reminded her. "We're both just looking to have some fun." Katherine opened her mouth to reply but, before she could, our teacher arrived and we walked into the classroom.

"So what's the deal with you and Katherine?" Zarah asked during lunch. "You guys seem really close. How come you never hooked up?" I choked on my chocolate milk and spent a few minutes coughing before I could reply.

"As Katherine said, I'm not her type." Zarah seemed to think about my words for a few seconds before she realised what they meant. Her jaw dropped as she did and she leaned in close to whisper her next words to me.

"You mean she bats for the other team?"

"Yeah," I replied. Zarah's cheeks turned scarlet.

"Oh, my gosh! I feel so stupid now," she muttered. "I practically accused her of sleeping with you." I grinned and gently squeezed Zarah's hand.

"You weren't to know. Katherine only likes to tell the people she really trusts," I explained. "When we were in Year Eight a couple of Year Twelve boys found out. They thought they could make her into a real girl. They almost raped her, so she's kept it pretty quiet since then."

"What happened to the guys?" Zarah asked.

"Let's just say the sentence wasn't long enough," I said, my hands clenching into fists at the memory. I took a bite of my sandwich to give myself a chance to calm down. As I chewed I looked around the courtyard where we were sitting. I started to swallow before something caught my eye and I began to choke.

"Something up?" Zarah asked as she patted me on the back. I didn't respond and, while I took a drink of water, Zarah followed my line of sight to Penny sitting twenty metres away. She was playfully kissing a guy.

"Everything's fine," I said when I could finally talk. Zarah's gaze travelled to my hand.

"You're crushing your sandwich," she informed me. I looked down and sighed. I chucked the sandwich in the bin and grabbed one of Zarah's napkins to wipe my hands.

"That girl used to be one of my best friends," I confessed.

"What happened?" Zarah asked.

"He was in love with her and refused to fight for her." The voice came from behind. Katherine stood there with her arms folded and I glared at her.

"I decided not to pursue her," I said. "She got with that guy and I didn't want to break them up."

I soon began to regret telling Zarah about my crush on Penny. Our relationship had been slowly growing from friendship into something more. Then once she found out about Penny, it was like she'd put a wall up. No matter what I did, she refused to let our relationship go further and by the Easter holidays I was almost ready to give up. Katherine had gone to visit family so I'd have Zarah to myself and I vowed that if she wasn't mine by the end of the holidays, I would give up.

April

On the Wednesday before we went back to school Zarah and I met up outside her house to ride out to a little creek I'd found a couple of years ago with Penny and Katherine.

"How did you all meet?" Zarah asked as we sat on the grass to rest before we went swimming.

"Penny and Katherine were already friends," I replied. "Their mothers have known each other since they were in high school."

"And you moved to town before prep, right?" Zarah asked and I nodded.

"My father got transferred when I was five," I replied. "Katherine was the first person I talked to on my first day. She introduced me to Penny and the rest is history."

"When did you first realise you loved Penny?" Zarah asked. She had put this question to me several times before but each time I had avoided answering. Something told me this time I should answer.

"The three of us have always had a close relationship," I explained. "It was a common joke that I'd end up with one of them some day. I always shrugged it off. Then, when we were twelve, one day I suddenly looked at Penny differently. I no longer saw the girl I'd played in the mud with when we were five; she was a young woman. Seeing her in that way made me realise my feelings had grown beyond friendship." Zarah moved close to him.

"So you've been in love with Penny for four years," she murmured. "Four years and you just let that guy have her."

"You make Penny sound like a trophy," I complained. "Yeah, I love her. Yeah, it hurts to see her with another guy. But it doesn't hurt nearly as much as it would if Penny hated me for causing her and Henry to break up." At this point Zarah pulled me close and kissed me.

"That is the sweetest thing I've heard," she said when she pulled back.

"I wasn't trying to be sweet," I admitted. "It was the right thing to do."

"All this time I was avoiding taking our relationship to the next level," Zarah said. "I was afraid to let myself love you because I thought you might change your mind and decide to pursue Penny." I cupped her face with my hands and softly stroked her cheek with my thumb.

"A part of me will always love Penny but she's my past now," I said. "You're my future and I really like you. Never forget that." Before she could reply I had pulled her close again to kiss her.

I snuck up behind Zarah where she was sitting on Tuesday morning and covered her eyes with my hand.

"Guess who," I whispered in her ear.

"Zac Efron," she exclaimed. "I knew you'd realise I was the girl for you." I rolled my eyes as I sat on the bench beside her.

"Sorry to disappoint but it's just me," I replied. Zarah leaned in close to kiss me.

"You're way better than Zac," she whispered against my lips before kissing me again.

"Are my eyes deceiving me?" Katherine asked as she appeared around the corner. Zarah slipped her hand into mine.

"Nope," she said. "Ty and I are official." Kat sat down beside Zarah.

"When did this little love connection happen?" Kat asked. I glanced at Zarah and smiled.

"Last week," I said. Zarah returned my smile before kissing me again. Kath groaned.

"No PDA," she muttered.

"You can say that again," another voice said. I froze. It was a voice that I'd know anywhere though it had been a while since I'd heard it up close.

"Penny," I said. Zarah started to pull her hand out of mine but I held it right and squeezed it as I glanced at her.

"What do you want, Penny?" Katherine asked. Penny glanced at her before her gaze returned to me.

"Henry and I broke up last week," she replied. "I was hoping for a second chance."

"Because you got dumped?" Disbelief coloured my words.

"He only dumped me because he realised I loved you," Penny whispered and I burst into laughter.

"Forget it, Penny," I said. "You had your chance. I've moved on."

"I know you still love me, Ty," she said. "Give me a chance to prove I love you, please." I glanced at Zarah again. I was suddenly unsure what to do. Penny was right, I did still love her but I loved Zarah too. I looked to Katherine but she shrugged her shoulders helplessly. I was stood up and walked away as I wondered what I was going to do.

# Alternate Ending

True love stories never have endings.

Richard Bach

"We can't be together anymore," Piper said. Katie looked shocked. This was not what she had been expecting.

"What did Marcus say?" Katie demanded.

"He said he would tell the whole school if I dumped him," she said. "And I can't have that, Katie, I just can't." Tears began to form in Piper's eyes as she stared at Katie. Katie took a deep breath.

"I hope that one day you realise what a mistake you're making. And for what? A little bit of fear?" she said. Katie turned and left the room. Seconds later Piper heard the front door slam. She wiped the tears from her eyes before reaching into her pocket for her phone.

It's over. I choose you.

2015

As Piper Jackson strolled through the bookshop a smile slowly crept over her face. It had been a long time since she'd been able to just look through the books. Five years had passed since she had chosen Marcus over Katie. She had stopped writing during her first year of university until Marcus had dumped her during the Christmas break. After that, she had found that she had a lot to write about. Since then she'd published a few short stories and two novels but this, her third one, was poised to be her most successful to date. The first draft of the fifty-five thousand word manuscript had taken only three months to write between classes during her last year of uni. From the moment she wrote the first sentence she knew she had something special. Six months later it was released and it immediately began climbing to the top of the bestseller list. A year later and The Choice had been released in America. A few signings had been arranged for her in conjunction with this. Piper's smile grew bigger as she reached the young adult section and found her book. She slowly ran her finger along the spines of the book.

"Piper!" Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the voice of her agent, Bailey. "It's time. Are you ready?"

"Let's do this," she replied as she walked past Bailey and up the stairs that led to the second floor. It was time to enjoy every minute of this while she could.

Los Angeles

"So you have an interview with T Magazine this morning and then the signing before we head to Seattle," Bailey said to Piper as they walked out of the hotel.

"Sounds good," she said as she paused to look at the newsstand.

"After Seattle, we head over to the west coast for a few signings before we head back to Australia for a couple of weeks. Then we're flying to England for the European release," Bailey continued but Piper barely heard her as she grabbed a copy of the New York Times.

"Oh, my gosh," she muttered under her breath.

"Do you have a problem with your schedule?" Bailey asked.

"Huh?" Piper glanced at Bailey briefly before her attention returned to the paper. "No, it's not that." She flipped through the pages quickly.

"You know you could just buy that," Bailey told her. She ignored her agent as she found the page she was looking for.

"Why now?" she whispered. Bailey glanced at the headline of the story over her shoulder.

"Katie George: Out of the Closet," she read. "So they finally got some actual proof. About time. I've gotten sick of reading about their theories."

"How do you know Katie George?" Piper asked.

"She's one of the biggest movie stars on the planet," Bailey informed her. "You'd have to be living under a rock not to know who she is. Why, are you saying you don't?"

"Oh, I do know her," Piper assured her. "But not as the world's biggest movie star. I knew her in high school."

"So, let me get this straight. You knew Katie in high school?" Bailey asked as they left the magazine interview.

"Yeah, we were friends for a little while during our last year," Piper said.

"Yet you've never seen any of her movies," Bailey said incredulously.

"I've had bad experiences at the movies," Piper replied. "Plus I haven't had time."

"I know that look." Bailey's eyes narrowed as she spoke. "I might be just your agent but I'm not stupid. There's something you're not telling me."

"You're right. You are just my agent." A hard edge crept into Piper's voice. "So forgive me if I'm not falling over to tell you all my secrets." Hurt and astonishment crossed Bailey's face before she wiped it smooth.

"Wow," she said. "I know when I'm not wanted. I think you can find your own way to the bookstore from here. I have some things to do so I'll meet you back at the hotel." Piper regretted her harsh words as she walked past Bailey but she pushed it aside as she continued on to the book store. She read a chapter of the book before sitting at the table to begin the signing. As she waited she found her mind drifting back to the first signing she'd ever done. Back then she had only had twenty people. Now there was a couple of hundred waiting.

"Hi, my name's Val," the fifteen year old girl at the end of the line said. "I loved you book. I read it in a day and got all my friends to buy it." Piper smiled as she wrote a quick message in the book.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," she said as she handed the book back and turned to the next person. She had gotten into a rhythm of signing books until she looked up to smile at the next person in line, someone wearing sunglasses and a floppy hat. Piper recognised her immediately.

"Wh-what name is that?" she asked after a minute when she realised that she had been staring.

"Katie," the girl replied. "I look forward to reading your book." Piper scribbled a quick message and handed the book back. As she did, Katie dropped a scrap of paper on the table but before Piper could say anything else she was gone. She shoved the paper into her pocket before forcing a smile on her face.

"Hi, what name is it?" she said by way of greeting the next person.

After meeting Bailey back at the hotel, they took a taxi to the airport together. Once they were seated on the plane that would take them to Seattle, Piper pulled the scrap of paper out of her pocket. She unfolded it and read the short message.

P,

I know it's been a while but I heard you were going to be in town and I couldn't resist seeing you.

K

A phone number was scrawled underneath and, on instinct, she found herself pulling her phone out before she realised what she was doing. She quickly shoved the phone and paper back into her pocket before looking out at the runway and sighing.

"I could ask what's wrong but then I would have to actually care about the answer," Bailey said. Piper continued to stare out the window.

"I was joking, Piper," Bailey finally said after a few minutes of silence.

"I don't really feel like talking, ok," Piper murmured.

"Whenever you feel like sharing what's going on, that's fine," Bailey replied. "You were my first client and you've sort of become like a sister. You can tell me anything and I'll still be here." Piper turned at these words and for the first time since before the signing, she looked Bailey in the eyes.

"Katie and I were more than friends," she said. "We met at a literature festival on the Gold Coast. I had a boyfriend, Marcus, at the time. I'd been with him nearly a year." Her voice cracked on the last word and she fell silent.

"Did you cheat on Marcus?" Bailey asked gently.

She nodded. "In the couple of months I knew Katie, she made me feel things I had never felt in the whole year I was with Marcus," Piper confessed. "I had never even considered the possibility I might be gay but I realised then my relationship with Marcus was a sham. Our relationship was purely physical - but Katie? Katie had a way of making me tell her things I had never told anyone and I loved her."

"So what happened?" Bailey inquired as the plane taxied down the runaway and began its climb into the sky.

"I started seeing both of them at the same time," Piper admitted. "Katie knew but Marcus didn't, so when he caught me with Katie he gave me an ultimatum - stay with him and end things with Katie or..." her voice cracked again and she fell silent.

"Or stay with Katie and have Marcus leave you?" Bailey guessed.

"I was seventeen years old," Piper whispered. "I was scared. So I made a decision I regret to this very day. I ended things with Katie."

"So what happened to Marcus?" Bailey asked. "Because I know you're not with him now." Piper laughed bitterly.

"Marcus dumped me," she explained. "During the holidays after our first year of university."

"Which brings us back to your sigh a few minutes ago," Bailey said. "What was that all about?"

"Katie turned up at the signing," Piper muttered. "She gave me her number."

"Oh," Bailey responded. "Well, that complicates things."

New York City

"You're going to have to talk about it eventually," Bailey said in Piper's ear as she passed a book back.

"Is the middle of the book signing a really good time to discuss this?" Piper replied as she waited for the next person to move up to the table.

"Perhaps not," Bailey said as a teenage girl approached the table. "But we will discuss it. You can't keep this bottled inside."

"Hey, I loved your book so much," the girl said as she handed her copy to Piper. "I read it in a few hours and I loved it so much I bought all your other books the next day."

"I'm glad you enjoyed them," Piper said. She handed the book back and accepted the book from the next person in line. Half an hour passed peacefully but as she handed back the most recent book she'd signed, she heard it:

"Is that Katie George," a voice called. Bailey and Piper exchanged glances.

"Don't be ridiculous. What would Katie George be doing at a book signing?" Piper heard another person say just before Katie appeared and moved through the crowd to Piper.

"No sunglasses and big hat this time?" Piper said.

"No," Katie said.

"What are you doing here?" Piper asked.

"I gave you my number and yet, here we are, three days later and I haven't heard from you," Katie said. "I was in New York for work so I decided to find out why."

"Katie, is this really the best place to do this," Piper said.

"I'm not leaving here until you agree to at least sit down and talk to me," Katie said. Piper looked around the room and saw that everyone in the line was watching her. She knew they were all waiting for her answer but when she caught their eyes they looked away.

"Here is the address of my hotel," she said reluctantly as she wrote in on a piece of paper. "Meet me there in two hours."

"Looking forward it to it," Katie said as she took the piece of paper and tipped her imaginary hat to Piper. Piper watched her leave before allowing herself to smile.

"Make this quick," Piper said as she ushered Katie into her hotel room. "By the way, this is my agent Bailey Smith." Katie immediately dropped onto the bed and, with a smile, propped herself up with a pillow.

"How's Marcus?" she asked casually as Piper pulled her jacket off and draped it over a chair.

"He dumped me," Piper told her. "As I'm sure you're aware or you wouldn't be asking with that smug look on your face."

"I heard it differently," Katie said. "I heard you dumped him because he cheated on you." Piper could feel Bailey's eyes on her but she ignored this.

"Just tell me why you're here, Katie, so you can get out," she growled.

"I'm sorry. That was mean," Katie admitted. "I came here because I never stopped loving you. You broke my heart but I don't care. I know your book is about us." Piper sighed but she didn't have a chance to respond because Katie was off the bed and pulling her into her arms to kiss her. Piper pulled away just as quickly.

"Why would you do that?" she whispered. She couldn't look at Katie as she struggled to hide the feelings the kiss had stirred up.

"I told you why," Katie replied and Piper was inexplicably filled with anger. She walked over to her suitcase and pulled a newspaper out.

"Then explain this," she hissed as she shoved it at Katie. Katie glanced down at the paper. It was the one Piper had seen in Los Angeles with the headline Katie George: Out of the Closet. Underneath was a picture of Katie kissing Nicole Reed. This was an actress Piper had heard of only because she had been considered to play the lead role in the movie adaption of one her books. Katie studied the newspaper for a second before bursting into laughter as she glanced up and met Piper's eyes.

"You think this is funny?" anger and confusion filled Piper's voice.

"I think this is hilarious," Katie managed to say. "Nicole and I worked on a movie together last year. That's where this picture is from. She's not my girlfriend."

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Piper asked. Her attention was focused on Katie and she barely noticed Bailey leave the room.

"You can choose to believe me or you can choose not to, Piper," Katie said. "But I'm telling the truth."

"I think you should leave," Piper murmured.

"Don't do this, Piper," Katie begged. "If I walk out that door now, that's it. You'll never see me again." Piper said nothing and Katie began to walk toward the door. As she watched Katie prepare to leave her life for the second time, she wondered if this was what she really wanted. Did she really want to let Katie go again? Or would she be making the second biggest mistake of her life. No, she couldn't do this again.

"Wait!" Katie paused and that was enough to make her rush forward. She thrust Katie against the door and Katie showed no resistance. As she kissed Katie she prayed this choice wasn't the one she would regret.

"I have to say, Piper, you're sending me some mixed signals," Katie joked as she rested her forehead against Piper's. "First you tell me to leave and then you kiss me."

"It wasn't until you were leaving that I realised I wanted you to stay," she confessed.

"Before you fully commit to this, Piper, I need to ask you a question," Katie said. "Are you sure you're ready for this? Are you sure you're ready for the attention you'll receive being Katie George's girlfriend?"

"Now who's having doubts?" Piper teased but her voice shook a little. Katie grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"I care about you. I just want to be sure you're ready for the spotlight," Katie replied. "If we're going to be together, you're going to have to learn to deal with the paparazzi."

"I can handle anything as long as it's with you," Piper declared. Katie smiled as she slipped her arms around Piper's neck.

"I love you," she said as she gazed into Piper's eyes and for a second Piper couldn't breathe.

"You love me," she finally managed to say.

"I love you," Katie repeated. Piper pulled Katie's arms from around her neck.

"Oh shoot, I have to pack," she said. "Bailey and I have a flight in four hours. We're flying back to Australia for a couple of weeks before the European release of my book." She glanced over at her suitcase before returning her gaze to Katie. As she did, she thought she a hint of sadness on Katie's face but a second later she smiled and Piper dismissed it.

"Can I tag along?" Katie asked. "I haven't got anything else in my schedule for a couple of weeks. I don't start shooting my next movie for a month." Piper bit her lip.

"Sure," she said finally and Piper grinned.

"I haven't been back to Australia in a few years," she confided. "I can visit my parents." Piper smiled before heading into the bathroom to grab her bath bag. When she came back out, Katie was sitting on the bed.

"There's just one more thing, Piper," Katie said as she pulled her onto the bed beside her. "You don't have to feel pressured to say I love you just because I did. Whenever you're ready is fine with me." Piper smiled gratefully at Katie.

"Thanks," she said.

One Year Later

Los Angeles

"I'd like to propose a toast," Katie said as she slipped her arm around Piper's waist. "To my beautiful and bestselling girlfriend, may this book be as successful as the last." Piper grinned as she gave Katie a quick kiss. Bailey pretended to gag and Piper lightly punched her arm.

"I'd like to congratulate you on the news The Choice is going to be made into a movie," Bailey added. "Here's to the movie being as successful as the book." All three lifted their glasses before taking a sip of champagne.

"I just hope the signings for this book aren't as eventful as the last," Piper replied with a grin.

"I'll second that," Bailey said. "So do you think you'll write a third book for this series?" Katie glared at Bailey while Piper rolled her eyes.

"Considering the first two have been about my personal life, no," Piper said. "I've had enough relationship drama to last me a lifetime."

"I promise you that there will be no more of that," Katie said. "All's well that ends well."

Piper kissed Katie again. "Couldn't have said it better myself," she said with a grin.

As Katie turned to Bailey and asked her a question about the upcoming book signings, Piper studied them. She was the happiest she had been in a long time and she hoped this time her romance with Katie would last.

# The Secret

It's not hard to find someone who tells you they love you;

It's hard to find someone who actually means it.

Anonymous

December 2010

Two days have passed since my best friend Jessy Picket kissed me. It's been twenty-four hours since I admitted to myself and her that I loved her back. I haven't told my boyfriend Usher Johnson yet. Honestly, I'm terrified. I don't want to hurt Usher but I know I'm going to, whatever I tell him. Either way, he'll be the guy who couldn't hold onto his chick.

I stopped writing for a minute and looked at what I had written before checking the clock. It was noon. I stood and hid my journal in its hiding spot before heading downstairs.

"Mum, I'm going to see Usher," I called into the kitchen as I walked past.

"Don't stay too late," she called back. I left the house and walked quickly through the streets to Usher's house. His mum answered the door when I knocked.

"Hello, Aster," she said and smiled warmly.

"Hello, Mrs Johnson," I replied. "Is Usher here?"

"He's still in bed," she said before turning and calling upstairs. "Usher, your girlfriend is here to see you." There was a thump and a second later Usher's face appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Give me five minutes to get dressed," he told me before disappearing again.

"Would you like something to drink while you wait, Aster?" Mrs Johnson asked.

"No thanks," I said. Mrs Johnson wandered back into the kitchen while I sat on the bottom step and waited for Usher. A couple of minutes later he bounded down the stairs.

"Morning," he said. He leaned to kiss me but I pulled away.

"Can we go for a walk?" I asked. He nodded, a look of concern clear on his face.

"Mum, Aster and I are going for a walk," he called. "We won't be long." As we walked out the front door, Usher reached for my hand and I allowed him to take it. I squeezed his hand as we walked toward the nearby park and he squeezed back as he smiled at me. We were silent until we reached the park. Usher sat down on one of the benches and patted the space beside him but I didn't sit.

"Usher, I need to tell you something," I said. Usher looked up at me with a smile, his eyes so trusting.

"You can tell me anything, Aster," he said. I bit my lip as I tried to think of a way to tell him.

"I'm in love with someone else," I said, eventually deciding the direct approach was best. The smile fell off his face as the words sank in.

"Who is he?" he asked. His voice was steady but I could see his fingers tightening into a fist.

"It's... someone you don't know." At the last second I decided not to tell him the whole truth. I had no time anyway. Before I had finished talking, Usher stood up.

"Screw you, Aster," he said. "We could have had something special." He stormed off and I watched him go with only one thought in my head: this was not going to be the last I heard of Usher Johnson.

Numbness spread through me as I left the park. I walked through the streets of the town, unsure where I was heading until I reached it. Jessy and I had built a tree house in this huge tree on the edge of town with our fathers when we were ten. My feet automatically carried me to the highest part and I curled in a ball. I'm not sure how long I lay there but the sun was beginning to go down when I heard the sound of movement below me.

"Aster!" Jessy's voice drifted up through the branches to me. "Aster, are you here?" I stayed silent and after a minute her voice faded away. I thought Jessy had left until she appeared at the top of the ladder. The relief on her face was clear as she finished climbing into the room.

"I've been calling and texting you for hours," she said. "Don't tell me you're having second thoughts?"

"I broke up with Usher," I explained. My voice sounded hollow. "He wasn't happy when I told him I had feelings for someone else." Jessy pulled me into a hug.

"So you didn't tell him it was me that you had feelings for?" she said.

"No," I said. "I've already hurt his heart. Why should I hurt his pride as well?"

"I know this is all new to you, Aster," Jessy began and I sighed. I knew Jessy well enough to know when she was gearing up for a speech. "But maybe you should tell him the truth. Usher is upset with you now but he'll get over that. It hurts me to admit this, but Usher loves you. That love isn't going to just go away and, if you don't end this now, Usher may hold onto some idea that you could get back together. Trust me; I know what I'm talking about." When Jessy finished talking I knew she hadn't just been talking about Usher. She had been talking from personal experience. The numbness I'd felt since breaking up with Usher changed to regret and I took Jessy's hand.

"I'm sorry, Jess," I said. As usual with her I didn't have to say anything. She knew exactly what I was talking about.

"Forget about it, Aster," she said. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that we're together now."

"It does matter," I corrected her. "You might not care but I do; I'll do anything to make it up to you."

On Tuesday morning I got up early and made my parents pancakes. As they sat down to eat I made my move.

"Mum, Dad, I have to tell you something," I said. "Usher and I broke up."

"Why?" Mum asked as she poured cream over her pancakes. I looked down at my hands for a second as I tried to think of the words.

"I love someone else," I said finally.

"And who would that be?" Dad asked immediately. "Do you know where he lives? I'd like to have a little chat with him."

"It's not a he, exactly," I admitted.

"What do you mean?" Mum asked as she placed her knife and fork down.

"I'm in love with Jessy," I blurted. For a second my parents stared at me in silence then Mum sighed with relief.

"Tell us something we don't know, sweetie," she said as she returned to eating her breakfast.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"We may be old and slow to you, Aster," Dad said. "But we are your parents and we know you almost better than you know yourself."

"I've suspected that Jessy's feelings for you went beyond friendship for a couple of years," Mum confessed. "I've also known you were gay since your first boyfriend dumped you. You were upset but not in the way a girl normally is when her relationship ends." I nodded but I still wondered about one thing.

"If you knew about my sexuality, what did you think I was going to tell you just know?" I inquired. "You seemed really worried."

"We thought you might be about to say you were pregnant," Mum laughed. "We're not stupid, Aster, and I wash your clothes, remember. No chance of you getting pregnant though, thank goodness."

I laughed. "I suppose not," I murmured. "Thanks for being so cool with this." I hugged both of my parents.

"You're our little girl, Aster," Dad reminded me. "It's our job to love you no matter what you tell us."

"I better get to school," I said. "Enjoy the pancakes and I'll see you tonight."

"Have a good day, sweetheart," Mum called as I left the house.

After lunch on Tuesday I sent a quick text to Usher.

Meet me after school, please. We need to talk.

Usher, who was in the same class, turned to look at me a minute later. I thought he was going to refuse until he nodded his head. When the bell rang and we had been dismissed he came over to me.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked. I glanced around and saw our teacher was watching us.

"Let's go somewhere private," I said. Usher followed me out of the school and down the road to the beach.

"Tell me what you want to tell me, Aster," Usher said. "I've got things to do." I sat down in the sand just beyond the reach of the waves and a few second later Usher sat beside me.

"I wasn't completely honest when I broke up with you," I said. "I did break up with you because I like someone else but I lied about it being someone you don't know."

"Who is it?" Usher asked.

"It's..." my voice trailed off and I coughed. "It's Jessy."

Usher frowned. "There isn't a guy named Jesse in our school," he said. "There's only your friend..." This time it was his voice that trailed off as he put two and two together.

"I'm gay, Usher," I said in a gentle voice.

He shook his head. "No. No way," he said. "How can you be gay? You slept with me!" His voice rose and I quickly looked around to make sure we were still alone.

"So I'm straight because I slept with you?" I muttered. It was the wrong thing to say.

"I always thought there was something off about Jessy," Usher hissed. "I pushed it aside though, because she was your best friend. It's not true, Aster. She's got inside your head. You're as straight as I am." He was on me before I knew what was happening. He pressed me back into the sand and kissed me. His hands grabbed my wrists and pinned them above my head. Hot grains dug into my skin and I immediately started struggling. Usher either didn't notice or was choosing to ignore it. I stopped and wriggled my legs. One appeared to be trapped under Usher's body but the other moved freely. I quickly brought that one up and managed to knee Usher in a sensitive spot. He rolled off and I scrambled to my feet. Usher dived forward to grab my ankle but, before he managed, I was running.

I didn't want to go home. I knew my parents would be there and they would only ask questions. I went to Jessy's place instead. Mrs Picket answered and I cursed my luck.

"Good afternoon, Aster," she said as she took in my sand-covered uniform. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine." My voice broke on the last word and I paused for a minute.

"Has something happened?" Mrs Picket asked.

"I'm fine," I repeated when I was sure I wouldn't cry. "Is Jessy here?"

"Jessy, Aster is here to see you," Mrs Picket called down the hall. Jessy appeared a second later and, after taking one look at me, she pulled me down the hall into her room.

"What happened?" she said as she led me over to the bed.

"I told my parents," I said. Jessy's face lit up.

"That's great!" she exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you." I tried to smile and failed.

"There's more," I said. "I told Usher and he forced himself on me." The smile dropped from Jessy's face as she grabbed my hand.

"He didn't..." Jessy paused midway through the sentence, unsure of how to finish the question. I shook my head.

"But he would have if I'd let him." That was when the tears finally started falling and Jessy pulled me into a hug.

"I won't let him hurt you again," she promised.

January 2011

As I walked through the school to where my locker was, a pair of hands suddenly covered my eyes.

"Guess who?" a voice whispered in my ear.

I grinned. "Selena Gomez?"

"Very funny," Jessy said as she pulled her hands away.

"Oh, it's you!" I pretended to be disappointed as I turned around. Jessy stuck her tongue out at me.

"Feeling comedic today, are we?" she said. I slipped my hand around her waist until it was resting in the small of her back and pulled her close.

"I've missed you," I murmured. As I kissed her, I heard several gasps around me and looked at a nearby table to see several Year Ten students.

"What, you never seen a girl kiss another girl?" I asked. "Try watching an episode of Glee." Jessy pulled me into a more private spot before holding out her hand.

"Something you want?" I asked.

"Give me the drugs," she said. "You're obviously high." Her tone was severe but she grinned as she said it and I knew she wasn't serious.

"Only on love." I grinned.

Jessy rolled her eyes. "Come on, we're going to be late for home group," she said as the bell rang.

Jessy led me to a table near the courts that was not checked by teachers very often.

"I missed you this week," she said, referring to her visit to her family for the last week of the holidays. "Grandma was starting to think something was wrong with me because I kept gazing into the distance so often."

"I think Mum wanted to kick me out," I admitted. "I moped around the house."

"I'm glad to hear you missed me," Jessy said as she kissed me. As I relaxed into it, I felt eyes on us. I pulled away to see a girl watching us with something in her gaze that could only be described as longing.

"Jessy, do you know that girl over there?" I asked as I turned to her. Jessy was already looking at the girl.

"That's Danielle Bradshaw," Jessy said. "She's in Year Ten. Her friend Indiana Swan was on the netball team with us last year." I frowned and chewed my lip thoughtfully.

"What's her deal?" I asked.

"I've never seen her with any guy," Jessy replied. "But she's only fifteen." I smiled. It was good to know I could still count on Jessy to know what I wanted to know without me saying anything.

"I had dated half the guys in our class by the time I was fifteen," I reminded her.

"Only because you were confused and trying to make yourself feel something," Jessy replied.

"Something tells me there's more to Daniella than meets the eye," I insisted. "I am going to find out what it is."

"Can't we just enjoy our last year of high school?" Jessy complained.

"That sounds boring," I said. "I don't do boring." Jessy rolled her eyes.

"Do what you like then," she said. "Just don't drag me into it."

"Oh, Jessy," I said. "I wouldn't dream of it."

# Cassandra Riley

You cannot escape the responsibility

of tomorrow by evading it today.

Abraham Lincoln

July, 2011

England

"They're coming to England," Destiny said to Ryder as she closed her phone. "Where's Alexis?"

"She went to get some coffee," Ryder replied. He ran his hands through his hair and rubbed his face.

"I think you need more than coffee," Destiny informed him as she took in his bloodshot eyes. Ryder rolled his eyes.

"So what's the plan?" he said.

"Follow them," Destiny said. "Wait until we have an opportunity to take them without arousing suspicion."

"And you think they can help us?" Ryder asked.

"Conor was one of Joe's most valuable employees," Destiny reminded him. "Joe is almost nothing without him."

"Do they know about you?" Ryder wondered.

"They might," Destiny admitted. "They are my cousins but they've never met me."

Australia

Lucy walked through the lounge room and into her bedroom, checking under the furniture to ensure they hadn't forgotten anything. She could hear Cassandra and Louis in the kitchen fighting over who would do the washing up and she smiled. It was nice to know that, despite being half-vampires and hunted by a two-hundred-year-old vampire, they could still act like normal siblings. She sat down on the window seat in her bedroom and looked around the room. She was going to miss this place. They'd only lived here for a year but she had grown to love it, though she knew it was time to move on. It had only been a week since Conor was arrested but they knew it would not be long before his employees came after them or broke Conor out of prison.

"Lucy!" Cassandra suddenly called and appeared in the doorway. "What are you doing in here?"

"Just being sentimental," Lucy replied. She walked to the doorway. "I'll do the washing up." An hour later they carried the last of the kitchen stuff down to the four-wheel-drive.

"Let's go," Louis said. They were staying with Cassandra's parents while arrangements were made before they flew to England.

"Who's driving?" Lucy joked as Cassandra climbed into the back of the car. She just managed to squeeze herself in and buckle her seatbelt. Louis looked around before tossing the keys to her. Lucy stared down at them.

"What's the problem?" Louis asked. "You've got your P's, haven't you?"

"Just barely," Cassandra put in. "I'd like to make it home alive." Louis rolled his eyes.

"I know you haven't had your license that long, Lucy," Louis said. "But I need to do some work for my book." Louis had been looking for an agent and spending his free time writing letters.

"I'll drive," Lucy said. "But if we die, it's on your back." Louis grinned.

"That's my girl," he said.

"So who are we staying with in England again?" Lucy asked.

"Our family is originally from England," Cassandra piped up from the back. "We still have contacts over there, especially with the council." Every country in the world had a vampire council. Their main responsibilities were dealing with the rogue vampires but occasionally they would step in and help with the safety of certain vampires, especially where half vampires were concerned. There were only four half-vampire families in the world. The Riley's were one of them.

"There's a group of vampires living in Birmingham," Louis added. "We'll be safe with them." They sat in silence for the rest of the drive, caught up in their own thoughts, until they pulled into the town they considered their hometown. Louis spoke first.

"Can you make a stop at the shopping centre before we head over to my parents' house?" he asked. "There are a couple of things I want to pick up."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Lou?" Cassandra replied. "Lucy is basically a missing person. What if we see someone who knows her mother?"

"What if we see my mother?" Lucy added. Louis opened the glove box and pulled out an Australia cap and a pair of black sunglasses.

"You can wear these," he said. "I promise we'll be quick." Lucy sighed but pulled into the parking lot of the centre. She put the cap and sunglasses on.

"Look at the bright side," Cassandra said as they walked in. "At least you've dyed your hair." Lucy didn't bother to reply. She and Cassandra followed Louis as he grabbed some toothpaste and headed to a chocolate aisle.

"Lucy Wilson?" The voice interrupted Lucy's thoughts. She knew the voice but turned to confirm her suspicions. However, it was not her mother, as she had feared. It was her mother's best friend, Judith.

"Louis, we've got to go," Lucy said. Louis took one look at her face and dropped everything he'd been holding onto the shelf. They hurried down the aisle and out of the store, Judith's call following them.

"Wait till I tell your mother."

The drive to the Riley's house was only a short one but to Lucy it took forever. She kept expecting a police car to pull out behind her at any second. As they pulled into the driveway of Cassandra and Louis' childhood home, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Dad, please tell me that you've arranged everything with the England Council and we can leave tonight," Louis said as they hurried into the house.

"What, no hello?" Mr Riley replied. "No 'glad to see you, Dad'?"

"Excuse our lack of manners," Lucy said. "We've got a slight problem."

"What do you mean by slight problem?" Mr Riley enquired.

"We stopped by the shopping centre to grab some essentials and Lucy's mum's best friend saw us," Cassandra supplied.

Mr Riley shook his head. "What were you thinking?" he said. "I've arranged everything but your flights are for Friday. I'll call and see if we can move them up. " He pulled his mobile out and scrolled through his contacts.

"It's me," he said. "The kids are here but they've got to leave now. There were some problems." Mr Riley nodded as he listened to what the person at the other end said.

"Yep, thanks for that, Austin," he said. "See you." He hung up the phone as a knock came on the door.

"Open up!" a voice called. "I know you've got her in there! Lucy!" Mr Riley groaned and rubbed his eyes.

"You three go out the back," he said as he handed Louis his phone. "I'll keep her busy. Call Austin Peterson. He'll be able to give you the flight details. Call me when you land." Louis nodded as they hurried through the house and out the back door. Minutes later they were back in the car and heading toward Brisbane.

England

Ryder James ran his hand through his brown hair and sighed.

"You should get some sleep," Alexis Black said from across the room. "They don't fly out till Friday." Ryder rubbed his eyes. He knew Alexis was right; he'd been running on adrenaline for forty-eight hours. He'd been a vampire for years and his limits were higher than humans but even vampires had their limits.

"Call me if there's any news," Ryder said. He had almost reached the door when the phone rang.

"Hello," Alexis said as she picked it up. "No, it's Alexis. Destiny went to get some sleep." Ryder paused where he was as he listened to Alexis' end of the conversation.

"They're flying out tomorrow!" Alexis said. "What happened? Ok, thanks for letting us know. Bye."

"What happened?" Ryder said as Alexis hung up the phone. He walked back across the room to her.

"There was a situation with Lucy's mother," Alexis replied. "They couldn't stay at the Riley's home."

"Will the plan still work?" Ryder asked.

"Of course," Alexis said. "We'll just be putting it into action sooner than expected. And you can still get some sleep. They still won't land for two days."

Ryder grinned. "I'll see you later," he said. He kissed Alexis' cheek and left the room.

A week later Lucy watched the scenery pass by the train window. They had been in England for a few days but this was the first time they had left the house.

"This is our stop," Cassandra said from the other side of the train. With the great hurry to leave Australia, they had only brought enough clothes for a couple of days. Since they were sure that Lucy's mother hadn't followed them to England, they were going to the nearby shopping centre to get clothes.

"Ok, let's meet back here in an hour," Louis said as they left the train station and crossed the road to the shopping centre.

"Should we really be splitting up?" Lucy called after his retreating back. Though she knew her mother wasn't here, she still wasn't sure they should be out in public.

"Stick with Cassandra if you're worried," he replied. A few seconds later he disappeared into the crowd. Lucy sighed.

"Louis can protect himself," Cassandra reminded her.

"Let's just get out of here as quickly as possible," Lucy said. She headed toward a nearby escalator, Cassandra hot on her heels.

As they headed up the escalator, a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes watched their every move, while her companion pulled out her phone to send a text.

You take Louis. I'll take the girls with Destiny.

Aye Aye, Captain Alexis.

Alexis glanced up as she read Ryder's reply to her text. He was standing ten metres away and, as his eyes met hers, he grinned. Alexis frowned and gestured in Louis' direction. Ryder immediately disappeared into the crowd after him. Alexis turned to Destiny.

"Let's go," she muttered. Both girls adjusted their sunglasses before following Lucy and Cassandra. For the next half an hour, they followed the two girls as they went from store to store. As they followed Lucy and Cassandra out of the fifth shop she saw their opportunity as Lucy mentioned to Cassandra she needed the toilet. Alexis and Destiny followed the two girls. As Alexis kept her eye on them, Destiny texted Ryder:

We've got a shot to take them. What about you?

I'm ready too.

Let's go.

Destiny slipped her phone into her pocket and looked at Alexis. As their eyes met, she nodded. Alexis smiled and they quickened their pace.

As Lucy waited for Destiny to come out of the toilet, she pulled out her phone.

"Hey Louis, we're ready?" she said when he picked up. "We're in the toilets just by the entrance where we came in. Five minutes? See you soon." The toilet door opened and Lucy turned to talk to Cassandra but before she could say anything everything went black.

Lucy opened her eyes and found herself in a pitch black room. She sprang to her feet.

"Don't bother running," a voice said before the lights flicked on. Lucy groaned and hunched over.

"Who are you?" Lucy asked as her eyes adjusted to the light. She saw that the voice belonged to a girl. "Do I know you?"

"Cassandra knows me," the girl said. "Or should I say she knows what I am. Let me introduce myself. My name is Alexis Black. My friends are Ryder Edwards and Destiny Days." Lucy turned to see a boy and girl coming into the room.

"How would Cassandra know you?" Lucy asked. She turned back to Alexis but not before she saw the look on Cassandra's face on seeing Destiny.

"Let me clear something up for you," Destiny spoke up. "Cassandra knows what Alexis is but she doesn't know her. The person she knows is me and she knows me because I'm her cousin."

# New Crush

It takes a minute to have a crush on someone,

an hour to like someone and a day to love someone

but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.

Anonymous

January 2013

"Look alive, people," Jessica Owen said as she appeared in the doorway to the office. "We've got a new staff member coming out here to meet you lot."

"Oh good," Rose, who was the last new staff member, said. "I'm no longer the newbie." Jessica frowned as she took in my face.

"I'd at least try smiling, Quinn," she told me. "You might scare her off with that look." The other girls laughed but I just glared at her.

"What's the point?" I muttered. Jessica rolled her eyes. After working together for over a year she was used to my little mood swings.

"Quinn, today is not the day to look like someone died. You have two choices. Choice one is smile and pretend to be thrilled to be here. Choice two is hide in the toilet."

I smiled.

"Happy now?" I asked.

"Yes," she said as she turned to fetch the new employee. "And you might want to put your name badge on."

I sighed but I grabbed the badge from my drawer and clipped it on just as the new staff member walked through the door a second later. I did a double take as she smiled nervously at us. With her long red hair and blue eyes, she looked uncannily like Natasha. As the other girls introduced themselves, I turned away for a minute to compose myself.

"I'm Rose and that's Quinn," Rose said as I turned back to face her.

"Hello," she said. "I'm Emily."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," I said as I struggled to keep my voice even.

"Doesn't seem like that," Emily said. "Is something wrong?"

"You just look like somebody that I used to know," I admitted.

"Who would that be?" Emily asked.

"Just my old girlfriend, Natasha Waterson," I mumbled.

"Natasha Waterson," Emily repeated. "Your surname wouldn't be Michele by any chance?"

"Depends who's asking?" I replied, suspicion creeping into my voice.

"Just Emily Martin," Emily said. "Natasha's cousin."

"Funny, I dated Nat for four years and she never mentioned a cousin," I said to Emily as she passed me my coffee before sitting down.

"Did she ever tell you why she moved here?" Emily asked. "Why she and her parents left Maryborough?"

"Only that her mum got a job transfer," I replied.

"That's half true," Emily said. "But Natasha's mother only accepted the transfer because she had a fight with her sister. My Mum, that is. I wanted to visit Natasha once she moved but I was in my last year of university. And then I got a job."

"And now Natasha's dead," I said. "How did you know my name, though, if you hadn't seen Natasha since she left Maryborough?"

"I did some digging before I moved here," Emily said. "I was the only person in our family who knew Natasha was gay."

"Why have you just now approached me?" I asked. "It's been nearly three years since Nat and her parents died."

"There's a lot of reasons why I have waited this long to approach you. One of the reasons is it took me a long time to get a job here," Emily admitted. "Also it's not easy to go up to a total stranger and say 'Hi, your dead girlfriend was my cousin. Want to get coffee?'"

"You're here now, anyway," I said. "Will you be staying here permanently?"

"I hope to. Mundubbera seems like a nice place," Emily said. "I have to ask - have you dated anyone since Natasha?"

"No beating around the bush, huh," I said and Emily blushed. "I have a girlfriend at the moment." A wave of air hit me and I looked over to the open door to see Winter walking in.

"What's her name?" Emily asked.

"You can meet her right now," I informed her. "She just walked in. Winter, over here!"

"Winter Tyler, meet Natasha's cousin, Emily Martin," I said as Winter sat down at our table.

"Nice to meet you," Winter said as she shook Emily's hand.

"Did you know Natasha," Emily asked.

"No," Winter said as she shook her head. "I moved to town about two years ago."

"What do you think of Mundubbera?" Emily asked.

"I've spent more of my time in Gayndah, actually," Winter said. "I only finished school at the end of last year."

"You're only eighteen?" Emily said as she glanced at me. I held my hands up defensively.

"It's only a two year age gap," I said. "And we're taking things slowly."

"If she makes you happy you can do what you want," Emily grinned. "Nat would want you to be happy."

"Does your mum know why you moved here?" I asked. Emily shook her head as her phone rang. She glanced at it and smiled.

"Speak of the devil," she said. "I have to take this. Hey, Mum, how are you?" Emily walked out of the café and disappeared from sight around a corner.

"So were you here by coincidence, or did Mum tell you where I was?" I asked Winter.

"I was looking for you," she said. "Quinn, we need to talk."

"Talk about what?" I asked. Winter's expression was serious and I had a feeling she didn't want to talk about our plans for the next day.

"I like you, Quinn," she said. "But it feels like every time I move a step closer to you, you take one back. I've tried to ignore it. You were with Natasha for four years and I know you loved her but I can't do it anymore. I can't be in a relationship with you when I'm second guessing whether you love me or not."

"So you're breaking up with me." My voice was sharper than I intended and Winter moved back a little.

"I didn't say anything about breaking up," she said. "I was just going to suggest we take a little break so you can figure out your feelings. Your last girlfriend died, Quinn, and you barely had time to get over that before you started dating me. I want to give you a little space to decide if you really want to be with me."

"You leave for university in a couple of weeks," I reminded her. "This might as well be a break up."

"You know what they say," Winter said as she got to her feet. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"I can't believe you're doing this," I muttered.

"Don't think this is easy for me," Winter said. "I care about you. I care about you a lot. That's why I'm doing this. I have to know if you feel the same as me or if we should just stay friends."

"Whatever," I said. Winter sighed and kissed my cheek.

"Just think about it, Quinn," she said before leaving the cafe.

Emily returned fifteen minutes later.

"Where's Winter?" she said.

"She wants to take a break," I muttered. "Something about wanting to see if I felt the same way about her as she does for me."

"Oh I'm sorry, Quinn," Emily said.

"Forget about it," I said. "I thought she understood that the love I felt for Nat is not the type of love that goes away easily - but apparently not."

"So what are you going to do?" Emily asked.

"Do you have your car?" I asked. "I left mine at home."

"It's just across the road," Emily replied. "Are we going somewhere?"

"Do you trust me?" I said. Emily nodded and I stood up. I walked out the door, Emily on my heels. We walked over to her car and climbed in. I instructed her to drive out of town. We drove for fifteen minutes before I told Emily to turn into another road. Soon we were pulling up beside the falls.

"What are we doing here?" Emily asked but I just climbed out the car. After a moment's hesitation, she followed me. I hadn't been here for a couple of weeks and I brushed some leaves off Nat's plaque before turning to Emily. She was looking around in confusion. I smiled.

"Nat and I planted these roses," I explained. "Nat wanted somewhere we could come and be ourselves."

"I'm still failing to see why we're here," Emily admitted. I pointed to the rose bush in front of the plaque.

"I planted this for Nat for the anniversary of her death," I said. "The roses are yellow."

"Her favourite colour," Emily said. "What's the quote?"

"Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a teardrop," I read. "It's my favourite quote of all time and I think it really sums up my relationship with Nat."

"It is a great quote," Emily said. "But I'm still failing to see why we're here."

"Because this is a fitting place to admit this," I said. "I've known what my feelings are for Winter for a while now."

"Why didn't you tell Winter then?" Emily inquired.

"Because if I say it out loud, it makes it real," I confessed. "If I finally allow myself to fully commit to Winter then I'm admitting my relationship with Natalie is over."

One Month Later

"Tell me you've at least spoken to her," Emily said as we walked into work. I debated whether or not to answer. I had been avoiding Emily for a week because I knew she was going to ask about Winter and I didn't want to talk about her.

"What would I tell her?" I asked. "That I love her but I haven't told her because I don't want to admit my relationship with my dead girlfriend is over." Jessica looked up as we passed her desk.

"What are you to talking about that is so important it can't wait until after work?" she said. I rolled my eyes.

"Nothing you need to know about," I said. Jessica rolled her eyes again.

"It's your job on the line," she muttered as Emily and I continued to my desk.

"Quinn, it's been a month," Emily said as I sat down at my desk and started my computer. "If you wait any longer, she might find someone else."

"I've got work to do," I said.

"At least talk to her," Emily said. "You don't have to tell her how you feel straight away."

"Whatever," I said. Emily sighed but she continued toward the back of the office without another word.

"When did you and Emily become so chummy?" Jessica asked as she walked past me to use the photocopier.

"If you must know, Emily was Natasha's cousin," I said. Jessica's cheeks turned red. Everyone is town knew about Nat's house burning down and the secret of us being a couple.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said. As I took in the look on her face and her body language, I felt horrible.

"Don't worry about it," I said. "I'm just annoyed about something and taking it out on you." A smile crept hesitantly over Jessica's face.

"If you ever want to talk, I'm here," she offered. I smiled.

"I might just take you up on that offer," I said.

It was beginning to spit that evening when I left work and walked up the street to the supermarket. As I passed the café, I glanced in. It took a moment for my brain to process what I had seen but when it did I walked back a few steps and looked in again. Winter was there, with a girl. It felt like someone was stabbing me in the stomach as I watched the girl put her hand on Winter's arm. I walked slowly back to my car, forgetting all about the shopping and the rain. Once I got home, I pulled my phone out.

"Come on, Emily, pick up," I muttered as I walked through the house.

"Hello," Emily said. I could hear the sound of a door closing in the background.

"Did you just get home?" I asked.

"Quinn, is that you?" she said. "Is something wrong? Are you pacing?" I stopped in the middle of the kitchen as I answered.

"You were right. I just saw Winter with someone else."

"What did you do?" Emily said warily.

"I didn't confront her, if that's what you're thinking," I said. "I left and came home." I opened the fridge door as I talked and examined the contents.

"Would you hate me if I said 'I told you so' right now?" Emily asked.

I grabbed a bottle of orange juice and poured myself a glass before saying, "No more than I hate myself."

"You're going to talk to her now, aren't you?" Emily said.

"I'm going to text her," I said. "Talking might lead to yelling at the moment."

"I'm going to hang up," Emily said. "I'll call you in the morning."

"Bye," I said. I hung up the phone and started a new text message to Winter.

Are you at home?

I carried my glass of juice into the lounge room and sat down as I waited for her to reply. I was beginning to think she wasn't going to when my phone vibrated.

Maybe, why?

I hit reply and typed quickly.

I wanted to talk, that's all.

As I waited, I tried to think of something to have for tea with the limited items I had. I was deep in thought and almost didn't notice when Winter's message arrived.

Why now? It's been a month.

I avoided the question and sent:

Can you talk?

Winter's reply was short but hardly sweet.

This better be good. I'll meet you at my place in twenty minutes.

I was halfway to Winter's house when the rain turned from spitting to a downpour. I regretted not driving to her house but it was too late now. When I reached Winter's house, I made my way to her window and I knocked on it. Seconds later the curtains parted and Winter lifted the window open.

"Did you walk here, Quinn?" Winter asked as she took in my soaked clothes and dripping hair.

"Yes," I said. "I really needed to talk to you."

"Come around to the front door," she said. "You can come inside, you know." Winter let me in the front door and I waved to her parents in the lounge room.

"Hello, Mr and Mrs Tyler," I said.

"Quinn, you're soaking wet," Mrs Tyler said as she jumped to her feet and disappeared. She returned a minute later with a towel. "Silly girl, you should have driven."

"I didn't think it would start raining so hard," I said. "Thanks." I took the towel and wrapped it around myself.

"We're just going into my room to talk for a little while," Winter said. "I'll leave the door open."

"Do your parents know we broke up?" I asked.

"Just say your bit and leave, Quinn," she said. "I have things to do."

"Shouldn't you be in Brisbane?" I asked.

"I came home to get the last of my stuff," she said. "Now get to the damn point already.

"I know how I feel about you, Winter," I said. "I've known since the day you broke up with me. Actually, if I'm truthful, I've known for months."

"How come you didn't say anything before," she asked. "I've been waiting four weeks."

"Are you sure?" I said. "I saw you with that girl at the café, Winter." I expected Winter to deny it but she simply shook her head.

"She was just a friend," Winter said. "I went to school with her in my hometown. Why do you care, anyway?"

"Because I love you," I said. The words burst out and I almost smiled at the shocked look on Winter's face.

"You love me?" she asked. I was hit with a sudden urge to touch her and I pulled her against my body, wrapping the towel around her. She barely noticed that she was getting wet as I started talking again.

"I had some stuff to deal with," I said. "But I'm ready to fully commit to this relationship. Please tell me I'm not too late." Winter smiled and I knew I was forgiven.

"Of course you're not," Winter said. "That's all I was waiting for."

"I'm sorry I made you wait so long," I said. "Just do me one favour. Kiss me." As her lips touched mine, my arms tightened around her and I wished I could stay in that moment forever.

Eighteen Months Later

"We're pulling into town now," Winter said. "I'll see you a minute, Mum." She closed the phone and I saw her glance at me out of the corner of my eye.

"I thought she was going to keep you talking until we got to the house," I said. I navigated the streets before stopping in front of Winter's parent's house.

"See you tomorrow," Winter said as she leaned across to kiss me.

"See you," I echoed.

"Don't have too much fun without me," she said. She climbed out of the car before grabbing her bag from the back seat and walking up the path to the front door. She turned to wave and I waved back before pulling back onto the road. As I drove to my house, I thought about the last eighteen months we'd spent together in Brisbane, Winter attending university and me working for the Brisbane council. We hadn't been home since we'd left and I was looking forward to the two weeks we'd decided to spend here. As I pulled into my drive and climbed out of the car, I saw Emily sitting on the veranda with a man I'd never seen before.

"Hello, stranger," Emily said as I climbed the stairs.

"Hey, Em," I said. "Who's the dude?" Emily and the guy exchanged smiles.

"Quinn, this is my fiancé, James Jared Anderson," Emily informed me.

"Fiancé?" I gasped before throwing my arms around Emily. "Congratulations! When did this happen?" Emily pulled away and allowed James to slip an arm around her waist.

"James was your replacement," she explained. "We become friends and then a year ago started dating. James proposed two weeks ago."

"I'm so happy for you," I said. I pulled my house keys out of my pocket and unlocked the front door. "I think a celebration is in order. I don't have any wine or champagne so you'll have to settle for water." Emily grinned as she and James followed me into the kitchen.

"Water will be fine," she said. "I'm just glad that you finally know. It's been torture keeping this to myself." I filled three glasses with water and handed then around before lifting one.

"Here's to Emily and..." I trailed off as I glanced at James. "Do you have a nickname? James Jared is kind of a mouthful to say all the time." He grinned.

"Everyone calls me JJ," he said.

"Here's to Emily and JJ," I said, holding my glass up. "I wish you many years of happiness."

"Who's the dude?" were Winter's first words the next day as she joined Emily, JJ and I at our table in the café. JJ rolled his eyes as he grinned.

"Should I get used to being known as the dude?" he asked.

"Winter, meet JJ," Emily jumped in before anyone else could talk. "My fiancé." Winter looked him up and down.

"Your fiancé," she said. "Where were you hiding him last year?" Emily laughed.

"We've only been together a year," she said. "He took Quinn's job."

"So how are things at work?" I asked.

"Everyone says they miss you," JJ said. "They ask about you all the time. You're a hard person to replace."

"I might pop in there after we've eaten," I said. "I wouldn't mind saying hello to everyone."

"So how's university?" Emily asked Winter.

"It's tougher than I expected," Winter admitted. "But I love it."

"Emily mentioned that you work for the Brisbane council," JJ said. "That must be a shock after working for the council here." I felt a breeze from the direction of the door but didn't turn as I answered JJ.

"It was but I've learnt a lot in my time there. I'll miss it when Winter's finished university." JJ was about to reply when a voice spoke from behind me.

"Quinn Michele," it said. I turned at the sound of my name to see a woman I knew very well. "I thought it was you."

"Harriet Adams," I said. My mouth went dry and, to my surprise, Emily jumped up.

"Harriet, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Emily, I was about to ask you the same thing," Harriet said.

"You know her?" I asked Emily.

"You could say that," Emily said. "I went to her church in Maryborough."

# Long Distance

Don't cry when the sun in gone,

because the tears won't let you see the stars.

Violeta Parra

January 2011

Rockhampton

Luke Walker ran his hands through his girlfriend's auburn hair as he kissed her and smiled as she sighed. They continued to kiss and Luke felt Gabrielle's hands slowly edge their way down to the bottom of his shirt. Slowly she began to pull it up but before she had it past his ribs Luke rolled Gabrielle onto her back before moving away from her.

"What's up?" Gabrielle asked as she raised herself up on her elbows. Luke smiled as he watched her. Sunlight streamed through a nearby window and highlighted the red in her hair. Luke studied her before Gabrielle coughed and Luke realised that she was waiting for an answer.

"We were getting a bit heated there, that's all," he said.

"Your point is?" she said. "It's not like we haven't done anything, Luke."

"Yeah but there was no chance of your parents getting home at any minute like the other times," Luke replied.

Gabrielle glanced at the clock. "It's five thirty," she said. "My parents won't be home for at least an hour."

Luke looked at his hands. "I don't have any protection," he muttered. Gabrielle sighed and, though he couldn't see, he suspected she was rolling her eyes. He heard a drawer open and then something appeared in his lap.

"Problem solved," Gabrielle said. Luke opened his mouth to ask where she had got a condom but, before he had a chance, Gabrielle was kissing him. He could tell immediately that this time there would be no stopping her. She broke their kiss only long enough to slip their shirts off. As Luke reached up to cup Gabrielle's face, her hands crept to his belt and she had just undone it when music filled the room. Luke swore as he walked onto the veranda outside Gabrielle's room to answer his phone. Gabrielle groaned and slumped onto her bed.

"Hello," Luke almost snarled. "Oh, Mum. No, I'm fine. Gabby and I were just doing some studying. Come home? Why? Ok, I'll be in there in ten minutes." Luke appeared in the doorway, tucking his phone back into his pocket.

"I have to go," he said as he redid his belt. "Don't know why. Mum just said that Dad wanted me home for a big announcement." He grabbed his shirt and pulled it on. As he turned to leave, Gabrielle's hand reached out and locked on his arm.

"See you tomorrow at school," she said. She pulled his face close and kissed him. He was about to say he was staying when she pulled away suddenly.

"See you," he said before leaving the house. Gabrielle sighed and sat on her bed.

Luke wasn't waiting in their meeting spot the next morning nor was he in home group. He wasn't in their first three classes of the day. It was lunch time before Gabrielle finally saw Luke heading into the library.

"Where have you been all day?" she asked when she found him in the non-fiction section. Luke glanced at a couple of Year Eight students trying to pretend they weren't listening.

"Can we talk about this somewhere more private?" he asked. Gabrielle folded her arms.

"Are you breaking up with me?" she asked. Luke was quick to reassure her.

"Of course not," he said. "It's just something I'd rather say in private." he said. He took her hand and led her out the library.

"Where are we going?" Gabrielle asked as they passed the classrooms.

"The oval," Luke said. He didn't say another word until they were on the other side of the oval. There was some guys playing touch on the oval and Luke watched to ensure they wouldn't come close.

"What did your mother want yesterday? I thought she might have been telling you to dump me," Gabrielle said. Although they had been together almost eighteen months, Luke's mother had still not warmed to Gabrielle. In the first few weeks of their relationship, she had gone as far as to tell Luke to end things with Gabrielle.

"It's not that, Gabby," Luke reassured her. "Mum's starting to like you now."

"Then what is it, Luke?" she demanded. "You're starting to freak me out." Luke glanced at her for a second before quickly turning his attention back to the touch guys.

"My father got a transfer," he said. "We're moving to Brisbane in two weeks."

For a minute, Gabrielle was speechless. "But Brisbane is seven hours away," she finally said. "How are we supposed to see each other?"

"I honestly don't know," Luke said. Gabrielle forced a laugh.

"I thought you said you weren't going to break up with me," Gabrielle said. Luke finally looked at her.

"I'm not going to break up with you," he said. "I don't want to end it like this. We are going to make this work."

"I love you, Luke," she said. Luke smiled for the first time.

"I love you too, Gabby," he said before kissing her.

Gabrielle

Rockhampton: April

I met Luke Walker the day of my fourteenth birthday when I literally ran into him at the cinema. At first we were friends, then six months later he asked me out on a date. Our first kiss was a week later. Luke was a year older and the subject of sex came up quicker than I would have liked. I tried to ignore him but eventually I gave in. Luke was the cutest guy in our class with deep blue eyes and bleached blonde hair. He could have had any girl in the school but he had chosen me. If sleeping with him meant I could keep him a little longer, it was a price I was willing to pay. If only I had known that I'd soon lose him anyway, I'd have hesitated about paying it.

"This is Gabrielle Robinson." The voice floated across the grass to me as I read through my English notes. "Gabrielle is one of the most hardworking Year Eleven students." I looked up to see Miss Green walking toward me. She had a new student with her. His black hair accented his green eyes and pale skin. I smiled in greeting.

"I only do so well because I have great teachers," I replied as I held my hand out. "You can call me Gabby."

"This is my nephew, Ashton," Miss Green said as I shook Ashton's hand. "His parents have temporarily re-located to America."

"It's good to meet you, Ashton," I said.

"Call me Ash," he said with a slight accent.

"Would that be an English accent I hear?" I asked and Ash nodded.

"I lived in London until last year," he explained. "My parents are authors and they like to immerse themselves in the cultures they're writing about."

"So how come you didn't go to America with them?" I asked.

"Because I heard there was a beautiful girl that went to this school," he said. "And I wanted to meet her."

I laughed. "Sure, sure," I rolled my eyes as the bell rang. "What class do you have now?" Ashton quickly checked his timetable.

"English," he said.

"Me too," I said. "Come on, I'll show you the way." I linked my arm with his and we walked toward the classroom.

I was at the café where I worked when I next saw Ashton.

"Gabrielle, I'm just making a trip to the bank," Harry Baxter said as I washed up the cutlery and crockery from the lunch rush. "Josie is in the kitchen if you need help."

"Ok." I returned to washing plates and was almost finished when the front door opened.

"I'll be with you in a second," I called before washing the last cup and letting the water out of the sink. I washed my hands before heading around the corner to the counter.

"Gabrielle," Ashton said and I paused in wiping my hands on my apron.

"What are you doing here?" I blurted before I could stop myself. Ashton laughed.

"My aunt mentioned this place had good coffee," he replied. "But she neglected to mention it also has hot staff." My hands grew sweaty.

"Look, Ashton, you should know I have a boyfriend," I said.

"Where was this boyfriend hiding at lunch?" Ashton asked. He didn't seem upset; in fact, I could only detect amusement in his face.

"He moved to Brisbane a few months ago," I said. Ashton smiled.

"And you're still together?" he asked. I heard footsteps behind me and quickly grabbed the notepad we wrote orders on.

"What can I get you?" I asked as I grabbed a pen.

"A flat white and a piece of that chocolate cake," Ashton pointed to a cake in the display case as he spoke.

"Have here or take away?" I asked as I scribbled his order down.

"Have here," Ashton replied.

"Would you like the cake warmed up?" I asked and Ashton nodded "That'll be about ten minutes." Ashton walked over to a table.

"That your boyfriend?" Harry said as I turned to the coffee machine.

"He's just a new guy at school," I muttered. I knew Harry was just teasing but I was shaken up after my conversation with Ashton.

"Does he know that?" Harry asked. I followed his gaze and saw he was looking at Ashton. Ashton himself was watching me. When our eyes met he smiled and my heart skipped a beat.

"Your boyfriend is back again," Harry informed me a week later as he came into the storage room.

"He's not my boyfriend, Mr Baxter," I said. "You met my boyfriend, remember. Luke Walker."

"I'm just teasing ya, kid," Harry said. "And don't call me Mr Baxter. That's my father."

"Yes Harry," I said before leaving the storeroom. I walked out to the front of the café and straight to Ashton's table.

"Do they not have the word boyfriend in England?" I asked and Ashton frowned.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Ashton, you're a nice guy but you'd been here every day this week," I said. "It's not funny anymore. This is borderline harassment. I have a boyfriend, ok."

"You think he hasn't cheated on you?" Ashton said. His cool cracked for the first time and anger leaked through.

"If Luke has cheated that is between us," I said. "But I'm not going to cheat on him. We can only be friends."

"Whatever." He tried for a chipper tone but I could hear the hurt in his voice. He stood and left the café.

"That went well." I looked over at the counter to see Josie watching me.

"How much of that did you hear?" I asked.

"All of it, I'm afraid, as did the rest of the café." I glanced around and saw some of the other customers looking at me. My cheeks grew hot and I escaped into the kitchen. Josie followed.

"Gabrielle, he clearly likes you," she said. "I can tell you like him, too. What's stopping you?" I narrowed my eyes at her. Josie was in my class at school and although we didn't share many classes I knew she knew about Luke and me.

"I have a boyfriend," I reminded her. "Luke Walker. I know you know him. You've been on the soccer team together since year one."

Josie rolled her eyes. "Luke is seven hours away, Gabby. Wake up. Luke's a teenage guy and Ashton is here. The choice seems easy to me."

"Even if it means throwing away what I had with Luke?"

"We only live once," Josie told me. "You're sixteen years old. Take some risks." With those words Josie returned to the counter.

Luke

Brisbane: April

"Class, please welcome our new student, Luke Walker," my home group teacher, Mr Wool announced. "Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself, Luke?"

"I just moved here from Rockhampton," I said. "I have a girlfriend, Gabrielle, back there. I like all sports but basketball's my favourite."

"Thank you, Luke," Mr Wool said and I escaped to the only empty seat beside a blue- eyed girl. She smiled and my hormones told me to smile back but instead I turned away. I had no intentions of cheating on Gabrielle. The bell rang as I returned my attention to Mr Wool.

"Go to class," he said. I grabbed my books and left the room. I paused outside the door and was looking to see where my first class was when my timetable was snatched from my hands.

"We've got English first," the blue-eyed girl said. "I can show you the way."

"Thanks," I said. She handed my timetable back before leading the way.

"I'm Ivory Sams, by the way," she said as we walked.

"Can I be frank, Ivory?" I said and she nodded. "I don't have any friends so I can't afford to offend anyone but nothing is going to happen between us. I really care about my girlfriend."

Ivory shrugged. "Can't blame a girl for trying," she said as we reached the classroom.

"Have you lived in Brisbane long?" Ivory asked. She had asked me to grab a coffee with her after school and I had reluctantly agreed, a decision I hoped I wouldn't regret.

"Since January," I replied. "My father is a policeman and he got transferred to the station here."

"You grew up in Rockhampton?" she said.

"For most of my life," I said. "What about you? Have you lived in Brisbane long?"

"Been here my whole life," Ivory admitted. "I couldn't imagine living anywhere else."

"Do you know where I could get a part-time job?" I asked. "I need to save some money so I can visit Gabby."

"There's a job going here," Ivory told me as she pointed out a sign in the window.

"I don't know how to make coffee," I admitted.

"You don't need to," a voice cut in and I saw one of the staff looking at me. "They're just looking for someone to clear tables and do the washing up. It's only three hours a day, three days a week, but the pays ok and it's better than working at McDonalds."

"Sounds alright," I said. "I'll take an application."

Gabrielle

Rockhampton: May

"Josie," I said as I caught up with her between classes. "Can I swap shifts with you?"

"Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"I have to go to Brisbane to see Luke," I said.

"What about Ashton?" Josie asked. Josie had been there to witness Ashton and I growing closer over the last month.

"It's because of Ashton that I'm going. I need to end things with Luke," I said. "But I have to do it in person. I owe him that."

"I'll swap shifts," she said. "Good luck." I squeezed her hand before hurrying to my next class.

"Mum," I called as I walked into the house that afternoon.

"Why aren't you at work, Gabrielle?" Mum asked as I found her in the kitchen.

"I have to go the Brisbane," I said. "I have to see Luke."

"You have to see him now?" Mum exclaimed. "In the middle of the week?"

"I'll be back by the weekend, I promise," I said.

"Can't it wait till the holidays?" she asked.

"No, it can't," I said.

"Can I say anything to change your mind?" Mum replied.

"No," I said.

Luke

Brisbane: May

With each day I spent in Brisbane I found myself grow closer to Ivory and further from Gabrielle. Two weeks after we met, I kissed her for the first time. We soon had a routine of Ivory walking to work with me. She would do her homework until I finished then we'd hang out until we had to go home. That is until that day. It was three-fifteen when we reached the coffee shop. I kissed Ivory goodbye and went to walk inside. That was when I saw Gabby sitting at a table. I knew she'd seen everything. Her eyes met mine and she rushed out of the cafe. She passed by me but pretended I wasn't there. I followed her.

"Gabby," I said as I caught up with her. "Gabby, it's not what you think."

"So you're not cheating on me?" she asked. "I just imagined that kiss?" Tears were falling down her cheeks and I wanted to wipe them away.

"It just happened," I said. "I didn't mean for it to happen."

"Don't give me that crap, Luke," she said. "I've had feelings for another guy but I didn't act on them. I didn't want to cheat on you." Ivory reached us then.

"Luke, you're gonna be late for work," she said. "Who's this?" She looked Gabby up and down. I could tell by her smile that she didn't see Gabby as a threat.

"My name is Gabrielle," Gabby said and Ivory's cheeks paled. "I can tell by your face I don't need to say anything else. You know who I am."

"Your name came up once or twice," Ivory stammered. "You're his girlfriend from Rockhampton."

"Don't worry," Gabrielle said. "I won't be his girlfriend much longer. I came here to break up with him."

"Why?" I interjected.

"Because I thought you deserved that," Gabby informed me. "I didn't think you deserved to be cheated on." Anger and hurt mixed inside me.

"You said yourself you like someone else," I sneered. "Don't try to make yourself a victim."

"I do like someone else," Gabby's voice quivered as she spoke. "But, as I said, I haven't made a move on them. I'd never hurt you." I could hear the unspoken words at the end of the sentence 'like I'd hurt her'.

"Gabby," I said. I grabbed her arm but she pulled it away.

"Forget it, Luke," she said. "We were kidding ourselves, anyway. Things ended the day you left Rockhampton. Let's just move on." With those words Gabrielle disappeared into the crowd.

January 2012

Rockhampton

"Are you sure you want to move to Brisbane, Gabrielle," Ashton asked.

"I can handle it," I assured him. It had been eight months since I had last seen Luke and meanwhile I had completed Year Eleven and was gearing up for Year Twelve. Ashton had decided to finish his education in Australia rather than join his parents in New Zealand. He had been a big help with helping me to forget Luke.

"If you're sure," he said. "But university is still a year away. You can change your mind."

"I can't boycott a city just because Luke lives there," I said. Ashton lifted his cup to take a sip but the cup stopped halfway to his mouth.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear," he muttered and I turned in my chair to see what Ashton was looking at. I saw Luke getting out of his car. He'd grown his hair long and dyed it but I still knew it was him.

"Gabrielle," he said as he reached us.

"Luke," I said. "Where's your girlfriend?"

"She stayed in Brisbane," he said. He glanced at Ashton. "Is this your new boyfriend?"

"He's just a friend," I replied. "Can I help you with something?"

"I wanted to apologise, Gabby," Luke said. "I hurt you and it's been eating me up since."

"Yet you're still seeing her," I reminded him. "Yet you're only apologising after seven or so months." A flash of anger crossed Luke's face.

"I really like her, Gabby," he said.

I sighed. "I accept your apology, Luke," I said. "Please leave now."

"I never meant for this to happen," Luke said before he walked back to his car.

"Are you ok," Ashton asked.

"Surprisingly yes," I said. "I needed to forgive Luke so I could move on." I grabbed Ash's hand and he squeezed it, smiling broadly.

"I'm happy to hear that," he said.

# Forbidden

The love that lasts the longest

is the love that can never be.

S. Maugh

The beach had always been my safe place. For as long as I could remember I'd written songs and the beach was the place I went to write. Some of my best songs were written as I sat in the sand dunes watching the waves. Music had always been my passion. I never showed my songs to anyone. In a way they were like my diary. If only I had known one Saturday in January my safe place was about to be tainted.

January 2014

"Come on, Ash, just one game, please," my best friend Megan Knight called out. We'd been at the beach for almost four hours and I had spent the majority of that time sitting in the sand dunes, writing in my notebook while Megan played soccer with the boys.

"I'm fine over here," I called back. Megan shrugged and returned to the game. I grinned. There were two reasons that Megan Knight was my best friend. She was friendly and fun to be around but she also accepted me as me. Not too many people bothered to take the time to get know me and I appreciated Megan for making that effort. Suddenly full of inspiration, I returned to writing in my notebook. I got caught up and by the time I heard the shouted warning, it was too late. I looked up just in time to feel a ball slam into my face. I felt myself lose consciousness and, when I next opened my eyes, Megan and a woman I had never seen before were bent over me.

"Ashley, thank God," Megan said. "I'm sorry! It was just an accident." I slowly sat up, my head clutched between my hands.

"What happened?" I murmured. My head was throbbing and I felt my stomach shift.

"You got hit in the head with the soccer ball," Megan informed me.

"She probably should go to the hospital," the woman said. "Is your car nearby?" Megan turned red.

"Ashley drove here," she explained. "I don't have my licence."

"I'm fine," I protested as I stood up. Another wave of nausea and dizziness hit me. I almost fell over but the woman reached out and steadied me. As she did, I felt a zap of electricity and I stared at her but was saved from having to say anything when Megan spoke.

"Ashley, don't be stupid," Megan said. "You need to see a doctor."

"My car is nearby," the woman said. "I can drive her." Megan smiled gratefully.

"I'll call her parents and get them to meet you at the hospital," she said.

"By the way, my name is Sydney Scott," the woman said. "If her parents ask."

"I'm Megan Knight," Megan said. "This is Ashley Nicole."

I had a concussion and the doctor recommended that I miss the first day of school.

"I know you don't want to miss any school," he said. "But you need rest." Fifteen minutes later, I repeated all of this to my parents when they arrived in the hospital lobby.

"We'll take you home at once," Mum said. She put her arm around me and began to lead me to the door but before we went through it, I turned back to Sydney.

"Thanks for bringing me to the hospital," I said.

"Yes, thank you," Mum said.

"It was no problem," Sydney replied. "Feel better soon, Ashley." I smiled once more before allowing my mother to lead me out to the car.

February 2014

Mum took the doctor's instructions to heart, even deciding to keep me home from school for the first week. As I walked into the gates on my first day back, Megan immediately rushed up to me.

"I'm so sorry I didn't visit," she said. "I came after school the first couple of days but your mother said you were sleeping."

I smiled. "It's fine, Meg," I said. "Mum probably wouldn't have let you see me, even if I had been awake."

"I'm surprised she let you come back today," Megan replied. Megan and I had been best friend for years and she knew that my mother could be a tad over-protective at times.

"I had to beg," I said. "She wanted to keep me home for another week but Dad stepped in."

"Really?" Megan said, her eyes growing wide. My father was a quiet man who usually let Mum have her own way. For him to disagree was a big deal.

"So who do you have for English?" I asked. Megan grinned and pulled her timetable out.

"Ms Conroy," she said. "What about you?" I glanced at my own timetable.

"Same." I grinned. I looked up at Megan to see she wasn't smiling.

"Ash, there's something you need to know about Ms Conroy's class," she started to say but before she could finish the bell rang.

"Come on, let's go to home group," I said. "You can tell me what you wanted to tell me at morning tea." Little did I know that, by morning tea, I'd have found out for myself what Megan wanted to tell me.

English was the first class of the day and Megan and I were the first students to reach the classroom. Ms Conroy appeared a minute later and we followed her into the classroom.

"You'll be happy to know that you haven't missed much, Ashley," Ms Conroy said as I approached her desk. "We've got a student teacher here at the moment so I've been taking things more slowly than usual to show her the ropes."

"That's good," I said. Ms Conroy pulled a plastic sleeve filled with sheets from amongst her books.

"All the bits and pieces you'll need are in there," she said. "I'm sure Megan will be able to lend you her notes. We'll be doing a written assignment first, looking at magazine ads. I'll be handing the coversheet out today and I'll explain more then."

"Ok," I said before returning to my seat. As we had been talking, more students had made their way into the classroom and now the classroom was almost full.

"I think that's everyone," Ms Conroy said as one last student walked inside and sat down. "As I was just saying to Ashley, the cover sheet for your first assignment will be given out today. Miss Scott, if you don't mind." The last part was directed to a brown-haired, green-eyed woman as she came through the door. As she walked around the classroom, handing out the neatly stapled documents, I thought she looked familiar but it wasn't until I saw her face as she handed me my copy that I realised who she was. She seemed to realize at the same time.

"Oh, crap," Sydney Scott muttered.

"Can't I for once just meet someone and be happy?" I said to Megan at lunch time. I'd known that I was gay since I was twelve. I'd dated a couple of people but had never had anything serious. But when I had seen Sydney at the beach, I'd known immediately that I wanted more than just a causal relationship with her but now it seemed that it would never happen.

"Is that what you wanted to tell me?" I asked Megan. "That Sydney was a student teacher here?"

"Yeah," Megan said. "I wanted you to at least have some warning."

"But how did you know that I liked her in the first place?" I asked. Megan rolled her eyes.

"I'm slightly insulted," she said. "I've been your best friend for fourteen years. I know you almost better than I know myself."

"Doesn't look like it matters, anyway," I said. "We can hardly start a relationship while she's a student teacher here."

"Oh no," Megan said as she grabbed her bag. "She's coming this way. I'll see you later, ok."

"I didn't realise that you were a student here," Sydney said as she reached me.

"Life's full of little surprises," I said. "I didn't know that you would be a student teacher here."

"We didn't exactly have time for a long chat," Sydney replied.

"I realised nothing can happen between us now, if that's why you're here," I said. "Unless you didn't feel what I felt."

"No, I felt it," Sydney replied. "I just wanted to make sure you understood that nothing can happen."

"It's crystal clear," I said. "Can I finish my lunch now?" For a second it looked as if Sydney was going to say something else but then she seemed to change her mind.

"See you around, Ashley," she said before walking back toward the school buildings.

Over the following weeks, despite telling myself numerous times that it was wrong and nothing could happen, my feelings for Sydney grew more intense. I knew she felt the same way; I often caught her looking at me. A month after I returned to school, Sydney left and returned to university. That should have been the end of it. But I knew it wasn't. The universe couldn't let me off that easy. I'd see Sydney Scott again. I just didn't know when.

April 2014

Time passed slowly after Sydney left but soon it was the Easter holidays. Megan was spending the two weeks we had off with family, so my trips to the beach would be solo. I was in my usual spot, putting the finishing touches on a song, when I saw her and suddenly I was more inspired than I had ever been. I quickly scribbled lyrics on my notebook.

I saw you,

On that beach,

Our eyes met

And my heart leaped

One kiss,

That's all it took

To make me

Fall in love with you

They weren't perfect but I was pretty happy with how they sounded. My head was down as I worked on the second verse and didn't realise she was approaching until a shadow fell over me. I glanced up and our eyes met.

"Hello, Ashley," she said as she sat beside me. I quickly shut my notebook before answering.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm going to be doing some student teaching here next term," she explained.

"I know that," I replied. "I meant - what are you doing on the beach?"

"A little birdie told me this is where you like to spend time," she told me.

"Do you think spending time with me is the best idea?" I asked.

"Ashley, it's not my fault," she said. "It's the law."

"The law is stupid," I muttered. We sat in silence for a few minutes. As I tried to think of an excuse to leave, Sydney spoke.

"What's the use of fighting it," she said. I opened my mouth to say something but, before I could, she was kissing me. The kiss only lasted seconds but it confirmed what I'd been thinking. I was falling in love with Sydney. Before I could say anything, however, she leapt to her feet and fled.

I didn't see Sydney again during the holidays, not that I expected to. I was glad when second term commenced. English was my last class of the day and I was going mad by the time I walked into the classroom. Sydney did not appear in the classroom and I approached Ms Conroy after class.

"Miss Scott decided not to return to this school," she said. "She did not say why. I myself only found out this morning."

"Thanks," I said before leaving the classroom. I knew Sydney had left because of me. I told Megan as much when I caught up with her.

"Forget about it, Ash," Megan said. "At least, this way, her career is not ruined. Her reputation is still intact."

"I guess so," I said but I could not help wishing that some day I would see Sydney Scott again.

June 2015

"Selena Harris is running a song writing competition!" I squealed. A year had passed since Sydney walked away from me. Compared to those few weeks with her, the last few months of high school had been uneventful and I'd been glad to move to Brisbane for university with Megan.

"I'd be excited if I actually knew who Selena Harris was," Megan commented from her bed. We were in our room and Megan was studying for a test she had coming up while I was reading the paper.

"Remember that video I showed you last week?" I asked. "Of that girl covering the One Direction song?" Megan nodded.

"Yeah, she was awesome," she said.

"That's who I'm talking about," I said.

"You should totally enter, Ash," Megan told me.

"Don't worry I plan to," I replied. "I already know the song I'll use."

# Acknowledgements

First all of, I would like to thank my mother, Judith, for always supporting me. A massive thanks to R.Atanassova@Elementi Studio Ltd for designing the awesome cover for this book and the first book. Much appreciation goes to Jim Parsons from Oz-Edit for helping make this book much better than I ever could on my own. I'd also like to give a shout-out to Gennessa, Katrina, Lata and Leah for willingly reading the early drafts of this book and helping me improve it and to my English teachers who helped make me the writer I am today. I'd also like to acknowledge Lucy, Kaelyn, Stacy, Rose, Rosie, Bria and Chrissy. Not only have their YouTube channels inspired my writing and helped me through tough times but they've helped lots of young people suffering through the same thing as the characters in my story, so thank you. Be sure you check out Alex Goot's channel, which I mention in the book. He is one of many talented YouTube artists. The links to all the channels are below. Lastly my heartfelt gratitude goes to everyone who has read the first book. You helped give me the courage to continue to share my stories.

www.youtube.com/user/kaelynandlucy

www.youtube.com/user/ThisHEARTonaSTRING

www.youtube.com/user/RoseEllenDix

www.youtube.com/user/TheRoxetera

www.youtube.com/user/BriaAndChrissy

www.youtube.com/user/gootmusic

### Turn The Page for a sneak peek of

### Romance & Vampires, coming 2016.

T Magazine

30 September, 2013

Three months have passed since Landon Walsh burst onto the scene as a featured artist on Dalton Harper's new album. Since then he has featured on Selena Harris' One Love single which peaked at number one on the ARIA charts. We sat down with Landon to discuss how he began his music career, his first EP and his thoughts on opening for Selena Harris on her first world tour.

T Magazine: It's nice to meet you, Landon. Thanks for being here.

Landon: It's great to be here. Thanks for having me.

T Magazine: So tell us, how did you get your start in music?

Landon: I'd always sung around the house. I started piano lessons when I was six. I stayed with it for two years before switching to the guitar. When I was ten, I started singing lessons. I posted my first video on YouTube when I was fifteen and my career has taken off from there.

T Magazine: You're now working on your debut EP with Young Records. How's that going and what made you decided to sign with Whitney Young's label?

Landon: The EP is coming along very well. I've had the opportunity to write with some fantastic people and I'm really excited for people to hear it.

T Magazine: Who has been your favourite person to write with?

Landon: That would be Dalton Harper. I covered one of his songs on my YouTube channel, which caught his attention, thanks to the number of keen fans I have. He then contacted me and we met up while he was recording his latest album. We were just chilling out but we ended up writing a song. It made the cut for the album and Dalton asked me to feature. It was an incredible experience recording in a professional studio and Dalton was a pleasure to work with.

T Magazine: What made you decide to sign with Young Records?

Landon: Whitney Young and Dallas Harper (Dalton's father) both offered me record deals but I decided to go with Young Records because it felt like the right fit for me.

T Magazine: You're opening for Selena Harris on her world tour. What are you most looking forward to?

Landon: Just getting out there, performing for the fans. They are the reason we are able to do what we do.

T Magazine

16 December, 2013

It's only been a little over three months since eighteen year old Selena Harris first appeared on the pop music scene with her debut single One Love featuring Landon Walsh but in that time she has established herself as an artist who's here to stay. Her second single, Beautiful, was released on the eighteenth of November and was written with the talented Regan Wood. Unlike her first single, this one peaked at number two on the ARIA charts. Her debut album, One Love, was only released Friday but there's no doubt it will also top the charts. Featuring songs written mostly by Selena, Whitney Young's name also makes an appearance. Her manager Peter Shelley's name is on the deluxe edition track Should've Been Me. We were lucky enough to have Selena take time out of her busy album release promo to sit down with us.

T Magazine: It's good to have you here, Selena.

Selena: It's good to be here.

T Magazine: Can you tell us how you got your start in music?

Selena: When I was five I started taking piano lessons and fell in love with the instrument. Until I was about thirteen or fourteen, I actually wanted to be a concert pianist but then I picked up the guitar. I started writing songs around that time. I still wasn't thinking about being a singer till my last year of high school when a friend asked me to sing at her birthday party. Afterwards, one of the guests, who was the owner of a local club, asked me to perform. That was when I first started to take this seriously.

T Magazine: What made you decide to sign with Young Records?

Selena: At the time I'd met Whitney I'd been playing in clubs around Brisbane for about eight months. I'd heard rumours about labels being interested in me but Whitney was the first one to approach me. Once she had, the other labels put in offers but I felt Whitney's was the best so I took it. I'm glad I did as Whitney introduced me to my manager Peter Shelley.

T Magazine: What was the inspiration behind One Love?

Selena: I'm eighteen years old so a lot of the songs are love songs. There are also a few influenced by something I went through a couple of years ago. I wrote the title track with Landon Walsh. We were talking about his relationship with Laura Price and how they've been together two years. Landon said something about having only one love and it grew from there. I though the song really summed up the whole album so I chose it for the name.

T Magazine: Who are your musical inspirations?

Selena: That's a huge question. There are so many artists who inspire me in different parts of my music but if I had to choose three, I'd say:

Taylor Swift - Not only is she a hugely successful artist but she's an amazing songwriter. She's definitely influenced my song writing.

Selena Gomez - This is kind of obvious choice since we share the same first name but I also love her music.

Regan Wood - I remember buying Regan's first album. I was thirteen. He was only fifteen. It was the first album I bought. It's crazy to think I've now written a song with him.

T Magazine: Your first tour kicks off in January in Brisbane. What are you most looking forward to?

Selena: Being able to perform music I wrote by myself in studios all over the world. A year ago, I was playing clubs in Brisbane for a couple hundred people. Now in less than six months I'll be playing for twenty thousand at Madison Square Garden. I've never been out of Australia but, in February, thanks to my amazing fans, I'll be playing in London. It's crazy. To top it off, Landon Walsh and Dalton Harper will be opening for me.

T Magazine: Is there anything you want to say to the fans?

Selena: Thank you a billion times. All of this is only possible because of every single one of you who bought the album. You have made my dreams come true and I cannot express how grateful I am.

T Magazine: Good luck with the tour.

Selena: Thank you

Check out the list of dates & set list for Selena's One Love Tour below and be sure to grab your ticket for a show near you before they sell out.

Opening Act(s)

Landon Walsh

13 January 2014 - 21 May 2014

Come Back

Where You Belong

England

Grey

Blue Eyes

Girl

Dalton Harper

9 June 2014 - 19 September 2014

Burning

We Are Young (Cover)

My Heart's In Two

Bad

Some Nights (Cover)

Care

Main Act

Selena Harris

Should've Been Me

Save Me

Cry

Kissed You

Dear Darlin' (Olly Murs Cover)

Love Again

Heartbreak

Haunted

What If

Why

Mine (Taylor Swift Cover)

Beautiful

Torn

More Than This

Encore

One Love (featuring Landon Walsh/Dalton Harper)

Leg 1 – Australia & New Zealand

13 January 2014

Brisbane

Brisbane Entertainment Centre

14 January 2014

Brisbane

Brisbane Entertainment Centre

15 January 2014

Sydney

Allphones Arena

16 January 2014

Melbourne

Rod Laver Arena

17 January 2014

Hobart

Derwent Entertainment Centre

18 January 2014

Adelaide

Adelaide Entertainment Centre

19 January 2014

Perth

Burswood Dome

21 January 2014

Christchurch

CBS Canterbury Arena

23 January 2014

Wellington

TSB Bank Arena

25 January 2014

Auckland

Vector Arena

Leg 2 - Europe

17 February 2014

London

The O2 Arena

18 February 2014

Manchester

Manchester Arena

19 February 2014

Liverpool

Echo Arena

20 February 2014

Sheffield

Motorpoint Arena

21 February 2014

Nottingham

Capital FM Arena

22 February 2014

Birmingham

LG Arena

24 February 2014

Glasgow

Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre

26 February 2014

Dublin

The O2

27 February 2014

Belfast

Waterfront Hall

1 March 2014

Cardiff

Motorpoint Arena

3 March 2014

Madrid

Palacio Vistalegre

4 March 2014

Barcelona

Palau Sant Jordi

5 March 2014

Paris

Zenith

6 March 2014

Oberhausen

Konig Pilsener Arena

7 March 2014

Berlin

O2 World Arena

8 March 2014

Munich

Olympiahalle

9 March 2014

Milan

Mediolanum Forum

10 March 2014

Verona

Verona Arena

11 March 2014

Zurich

Hallenstadion

12 March 2014

Copenhagen

Parker Stadium

13 March 2014

Fornebu

Telenor Arena

14 March 2014

Stockholm

Ericsson Globe

15 March 2014

Helsinki

Hartwall Arena

16 March 2014

St Petersburg

SKK Peterburgsky

17 March 2014

Moscow

Olimpiyskiy

18 March 2014

Lisbon

MEO Arena

19 March 2014

Brussels

Forest National

Leg 3 – North America

21 April 2014

Los Angeles

Staples Centre

22 April 2014

Washington D.C.

Verizon Centre

23 April 2014

Portland

Rose Garden

24 April 2014

Las Vegas

MGM Grand Garden Arena

25 April 2014

Phoenix

Comerica Theatre

26 April 2014

Houston

Toyota Centre

27 April 2014

Kansas City

Sprint Centre

28 April 2014

Denver

Pepsi Centre

29 April 2014

Oklahoma City

Chesapeake Energy Arena

30 April 2014

St Louis

Scottrade Centre

1 May 2014

Miami

American Airlines Arena

2 May 2014

Charlotte

Time Warner Cable Arena

3 May 2014

Chicago

Soldier Field

4 May 2014

New York City

Madison Square Garden

6 May 2014

Montreal

Bell Centre

7 May 2014

Toronto

Molson Canadian Amphitheatre

8 May 2014

Winnipeg

MTS Centre

9 May 2014

Vancouver

Rogers Arena

11 May 2014

Mexico City

Foro Sol

12 May 2014

Monterrey

Arena Monterrey

14 May 2014

Louisville

KFC Yum! Centre

15 May 2014

Nashville

Bridgestone Arena

16 May 2014

Atlanta

Philips Arena

17 May 2014

Philadelphia

Wells Fargo Centre

18 May 2014

Pittsburgh

Consol Energy Centre

19 May 2014

Minneapolis

Target Centre

20 May 2014

Dallas

American Airlines Arena

21 May 2014

Seattle

Key Arena

Leg 4 – South America & South Africa

9 June 2014

Rio de Janeiro

Estadio Olimpico

11 June 2014

Lima

Lima Estadio Nacional

13 June 2014

Cape Town

Cape Town Stadium

Leg 5 – Asia

30 June 2014

Dubai

The Sevens Stadium

2 July 2014

Tokyo

Zepp Tokyo

4 July 2014

Singapore

Indoor Stadium

6 July 2014

Kuala Lumpur

Stadium Merdeka

8 July 2014

Bogor

Sentul

City International

10 July 2014

Hong Kong

Asia World Arena

12 July 2014

Bangkok

Challenger Hall

14 July 2014

Seoul

Olympic Park Gymnastics Arena

Leg 6 – Australia & New Zealand

1 September 2014

Brisbane

Brisbane Entertainment Centre

3 September 2014

Newcastle

Newcastle Entertainment Centre

5 September 2014

Sydney

Allphones Arena

7 September 2014

Melbourne

Rod Laver Arena

9 September 2014

Hobart

Derwent Entertainment Centre

11 September 2014

Adelaide

Adelaide Entertainment Centre

13 September 2014

Perth

Burswood Dome

15 September 2014

Christchurch

CBS Canterbury Arena

17 September 2014

Wellington

TSB Bank Arena

19 September 2014

Auckland

Vector Arena
