Hey! I know you all have been waiting for this for forever...but the truth is that I just got lazy. -.- It didn't feel like starting something that I knew I'd have to finish one way or another... *sigh* But I'm doing it now just for you guys! :D This is the story you guys voted for: a cool romance story with a twist and a happy ending. So here you go! :D

Disclaimer: Okay, so I got the overall idea from a book called Die For Me by Amy Plum, but I changed the plot and obviously the characters. Speaking of! I own none of them! :(

~L~

She looked at them, but her mind didn't register. Was it true? Could it be? Were they really dead? No. Never. Her parents were infallible, indestructible beings that could never be torn from her life. So...why did they lay there, cold, pale, and motionless on those stainless steel morgue tables? That was the question she was still trying to answer.

She didn't know what it was – the mortician telling her that it was almost time, her brother sobbing quietly in the corner of the room, or her own mind working to reveal reality to her – but something inside her snapped, and hot tears streamed down her crimson cheeks, over her trembling lips.

She couldn't hear or see much of anything through her sobs, but she vaguely registered someone on some far-off planet telling her that they were going to cremate her parents now. The teenage girl sobbed harder and started ripping chunks of her own hair out and weaving them into her mother's. She wanted a part of her to be with her mother forever.

They rolled the bodies away, lives taken away by a foolish drunk driver, and Amy turned away, unable to watch them burn.

~L~

...Five Months Later...

"Don't you want to go outside?" a friendly, familiar voice asked from across the room.

"Not really, Grace..." Amy responded. Those three words seemed to drain her of all the energy she had. Her grandmother sighed and sat on the windowsill next to her. They both sat in silence and looked out at the vast English countryside. Grace had thought it would be a good idea for Amy and Dan to get away from their old lives and their old routine and go to one of Grace's many homes around the world. She thought it would help them recover if they could get some fresh air and let the sun thaw their cold hearts.

It had worked fairly well for Dan. Color had returned to his cheeks, and he was out at his friends' houses nearly every night. Amy had no doubt that he was partying and drinking away his sorrow like any other fifteen-year-old boy who had just lost his parents would. Grace didn't seem to be very aware of his habits, but Amy was almost positive that the old woman knew more than she let on.

Amy, however, had barely left the house in months. She would stay in all day and read or write. Her grandmother was extremely concerned for her, but whenever question arose, she would claim she was fine and slip away to her room or the library.

"Look... Amy, I want you to go out today. I don't care if you protest because I'm ordering you as your legal guardian to go out and get some fresh air, feel the sunlight on your skin, not this phony, synthetic light in the house. Okay?"

The redhead sighed and kept looking out the window, knowing that arguing with her grandmother was futile and would only waste both of their time. She bit her bottom lip, her brows coming together to create a crease right in between them. This expression had been on her face a lot lately. It was the face she used when she was trying to cope with something.

"Please, Amy? You could go to the library or a museum. Anything!"

The slightest smile played at her lips. "Okay, Grace. But only for you."

The woman sat back, leaning her spine against the side of the window. She was satisfied that she had won but not surprised in the least. Amy caught this gesture, and a cold fist wrapped itself around her heart. Her mother and grandmother were so alike that it was painful to watch. Maybe it might be good to get away from it all for a change. Maybe she could pretend that life was normal while she was out.

"I think I'll go to the library today."

Grace smiled warmly at her and patted her cheek. "I love you," she whispered.

The redhead smiled. "I love you, too."

~L~

It was only twenty minutes into her outing, and she was already regretting leaving the dark, comforting silence of her bedroom. Everyone she made eyes contact with seemed to be looking into her soul, discovering her darkest secrets, and judging her for them. She kept her head down and eyes on the steps of the bus that had taken her from the small, quiet town just outside of London into the very heart of the capital.

By the time she had taken her sixth step on the concrete sidewalk, she was more than ready to turn around and go back to Grace's estate. She was honestly about to when she spotted the library a few blocks ahead. She sucked in a deep breath and decided that she had already come too far to go back now.

She walked the few blocks to the library, opened the doors and stepped inside. The rooms were lit with dim lighting with dozens of reading lamps scattered at various overstuffed chairs to create the perfect reading environment. Row after row of shelves of books dominated the many rooms of the library, and she felt an unquenchable desire to read all of them and obtain every bit of information that she possibly could.

With a newfound courage, she started browsing through the books and settled for an old book that she had heard about but never read, A Father's Promise. It was a heart-tugging story about a Jewish boy and his father who got separated during Hitler's rule over Germany. She curled up on a large chair in the corner and settled in for hours of reading.

~L~

"Excuse me, honey, but the library closes in fifteen minutes."

Amy looked up from her book into the friendly eyes of the librarian. She closed the novel, muttered an apology, and made her way to the doors. She was just about to step out into the chilled, late-night air when she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. She spun around, expecting the librarian and was nearly knocked off her feet by gorgeous eyes the color of honey. They sparkled with a hint of playfulness, but there was something else, too, something cold and hard behind them.

He was leaning forward toward her, the strap of her bag hanging on two fingers of his right hand. "Aren't you forgetting something, miss?"

His smoother-than-silk voice penetrated her senses and left her with nothing to say. He seemed to notice that she had stopped breathing because a devilishly frustrating smirk graced his lips. This one, lone gesture ignited a fire inside her, and suddenly, for no reason apparent to her, she was incredibly angry with him. Her brows knitted together, shadowing her jade green eyes, and her lips pulled down into a scowl.

"Thanks," she muttered as she snatched her bag from his fingertips. He let the strap slide from his grasp as laughter sneaked up his throat and made its way from his lips. Amy's cheeks turned scarlet red, and anger burned in her throat. He was mocking her!

With a huff, she turned on her heel and briskly made her way to the bus stop that would take her far, far away from his strange, infuriating boy. His laughter seemed to follow her out the door and fueled her anger all the way home.

~L~

Okay, so I hope you guys like it so far! :D Please review to tell me!

~Sugar