Author note: Insert author note here

"How do you plead?" came the judge's gruffly voice.

"Guilty," I said, smirking proudly.

"You do?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Well I did kill someone," I shrugged, "unless you find me innocent."

He narrowed his eyes and banged his gavel on his deck like he was almighty. "Eve Anomie-Elyse Jenadae Carter, you are found guilty for the murders of at least over twelve men, counting the president, Ned Neeley, and ten of his men, who are unknown at the moment."

"Did you count the man I killed at the docks?" I asked, grinning arrogantly.

The Judge – Judge Patterson – rolled his eyes and banged his gavel once more. "By the end of this week if you have not paid the fine of thirty dollars you'll have life sentence in jail. Dismissed."

"I object!" Cadince shouted, standing to her feet.

"On what grounds?"

"On the grounds of self defense! Are you mad? We lived half of our lives as slaves to that treacherous man and his lackeys! I find it unfair that you put an innocent girl in jail for merely standing up for her rights. What would you have done if you were put through a series of tests to test your mental and physical abilities?"

Everybody stared at Cadince, astonished by her strong and intense words.

"Young woman, are you Miss. Carter's attorney?" the judge asked.

Cadince looked at me shortly, and said in a deep and sure of herself voice, "yes!"

"Miss Idi, sit down!" my real lawyer demanded.

Cadince lowered her head and sat down. "Miss. Carter may have been a prisoner to this man's games, but she still has no alibi for the death of the president," Judge Patterson said.

"Or at least not one that'd I wish to bring to the public. In other words, I'll get you that money your honor," I said. "And I'll get it to you today."

"Miss. Carter you may be able to pay off half of your sentence, but you still belong in jail," Judge Patterson announced.

I stared straight into his eyes, not blinking or looking away. "Judge, with all do respect, sir, I must disagree with you and say that I do not belong in jail."

Judge Patterson swallowed hard. "You dare to question my authority?" he asked.

"I question your brainpower," I shrugged. "I may be guilty for murder, sir, but it was for self defense."

"But you do not have an excuse for the president."

"I do, your honor," I said in a low voice. "But you wouldn't believe me even if I tried to explain it. Do I feel bad for my deeds? No; because they did me wrong, so why should I get the guilt trip?"

The judge sighed through his nose and slammed his gavel down upon his desk once more. "Pay the fine of thirty dollars…and you're free. I don't know how you do it, young lady, but you are a smooth talker."

I shrugged and walked away from the judge towards my friends. "Thirty dollars isn't that bad," I said, making them grin.

"Let's go grab something to eat," Cadince said. "And then…"

"The funeral," Stephen finished for her.

I lowered my head slightly and nodded. We left the courthouse, but the group felt empty. To the naked eye we may look like a well kept group of children, but in reality – in our reality – life screwed us over. Scars and bruises that haunted us all kept us shattered and broken, and there were many pieces to pick up to bring things together. It may take awhile, but we were getting things up and running. Our past was our fear, and our fear was our past…But looking ahead I saw a different future. A future of…freedom.

We entered Joy's Diner, smiles and all, not counting our broken hearts – my broken heart. I still felt this sharp pain deep within me whenever a thought about Spot sprung up. Watching him walk away was tough, but replaying it over and over again in my mind was difficult.

It was as if we never met, as if our love never existed. It was only a week ago, the week I spent in jail, or what they call the refuge. Spot disappeared from my life so quickly it was as if he was never there. To him I was only Eve Carter, the girl read about each and every day in the newspaper. There never was an Anomie Parker…

My brother, Kaiden Carter, was now in my care. While I was in the refuge Cadince looked after him, feeding him daily and acting motherly to him. But she told me of the night he mourned the death of Erica.

We ordered our food shortly, and then waited patiently as we talked about different kinds of things.

"I'm so hungry I can eat a horse," Stephen said, rubbing his stomach.

"You're always hungry," Cadince laughed, Daniel sitting on her lap.

"I can tell you one thing, I'll always love Stephen's strange appetite," I said, laughing as well.

Stephen grinned, and as Cadince opened her mouth to speak, I didn't hear a word of it. A figure outside, walking by, caught my full attention. My mind was set on him as he glanced into the diner, giving me one of his expressionless looks. He looked back ahead as if he didn't know me and continued walking.

"I'll be back," I said, standing to my feet.

Stephen shrugged and continued to talk with Cadince. I rushed to the door and ran out into Brooklyn. I turned in circles, looking for him, but he was gone. It was like he walked in the shadows, unseen and uncaring, but talked about amongst the people.

I sighed and shook my head, turning back to the door and walking in. There was no point in looking for him, I didn't exist.

As time sped by I found myself standing over Erica's grave, listening to the preacher read from his bible. There were many of the students crowded around, releasing tears for Erica Lynn Cassidy.

I brought my hand up to my eye and wiped away the teardrop that dared to escape. Daniel stood beside me, holding my other hand as he cried into my shirt. Stephen stood on my other side, his head bowed, and Cadince stood with Jack, the new couple close together.

"And we mourn the death of a loved one, a friend, a daughter, who risked her life daily for the safety of her friends…"

I bent down to Daniel's level and gripped him into a hug, allowing him to sob on my shoulder. His sobs were muffled and hoarse, and his shaggy blonde hair fell all in his face. I looked up, and nearly fell over once I seen who was on the other side.

Spot Conlon stood beside Blade, wearing nothing but black, and holding that damned cane in his hand. He stared down upon the grave, looking as if he were listening intently to the preacher.

I allowed tears to stroke my cheeks, but not for my loss of a friend, but the loss of Spot Conlon. Nothing hurt worse than love other than love itself, and now I knew why they called it falling. He was like a dream to me, just standing still and looking handsome, concentrating on the one thing he came here for. I knew there had to be a reason why the girls adored him so.

He slowly, very slowly, looked up and his eyes stopped on me. They were unreadable and dead, a look of pain settled on his face. I wasn't quite sure what he could've been thinking at that moment, but something made me stare back.

All I wanted was to look away; to leave Brooklyn for good. To leave New York. I could've turned around and ran, taking Daniel with me. But I stayed, and stared at him.

Finally, he looked away, settling his eyes once more on Erica's grave. I sighed and shook my head, slowly rising from the ground.

"C'mon, Danny," I whispered, taking his hand and turning around.

"Where are you going?" Cadince asked.

"Away," I told her. "Far away."

We turned around and left, me holding on tightly to my brother, not even daring to let him go. I only glanced back once, to find Spot watching me, watching me walk away, just as I had done to him.

I looked forward; feeling the pain and hurt in my heart deepen. Everything was lost…

Three days past, and on the third I finally paid my thirty dollars to the judge. My father fled town, so it seemed, and the house was mine.

"Danny, wake up," I said, walking by his room.

I heard him yawn as I made my way down the steps, passing by the maids. I pulled back the curtain only to find it raining harder than ever.

"It's raining cats and dogs out there," said one of the British maids.

"So it is," I said, letting the curtain go.

Daniel stumbled down the steps, rubbing his eyes. "It's raining?" he asked, yawning yet again.

"Yeah," I said, smiling warmly. "Go eat breakfast."

He nodded in response and rushed for the kitchen. A knock came upon the door, and a maid walked forward.

"I'll get it," I said, stopping her.

She nodded and turned away, walking up the steps. I pulled on the knob and opened the door, only to find the air to be our visitor. Nobody was around to claim the visit, except a lonely red rose lying on the ground.

I furrowed my eyebrows and picked it up, smelling the well-bloomed petals. I looked around, squinting my eyes to see through the rain, only to spot a figure walking away down the sidewalk.

"Spot?" I said to myself.

I stepped out into the rain and descended the stairs. The raindrops kissed my cheeks, and leaked from my hair. The figure was getting even further away, so I decided to run after them.

I didn't exactly run, only walk as fast as my legs would allow. Just as we neared a shop, the figure was gone, just like magic.

I pushed the wet hair out of my eyes and looked around, and once I turned towards the alley I nearly jumped forty feet into the air.

"Why are you following me?" the person asked.

"Spot?" I asked, squinting my eyes once more.

"What?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Did you…? Did you….?" I held up the rose as if to ask if he left it for me.

"No," he said bluntly.

"Oh," I said, looking down.

He shrugged and walked away. I sighed deeply and turned the other way, getting ready to give up on him forever, but his words stopped me. Remembering him tell me he loved me gave me a sudden hope.

I twirled around, water flinging off of my clothes. "I love you Spot Conlon!" I said through the rain.

He stopped walking, and stood there momentarily. Slowly he turned around, looking at me with those mesmerizing eyes. "Dat ain't da foist time some goils told me dat, doll," he said as if I were dumb. "Stand in line."

My tears mixed in with the rain, my emotions getting the best of me. "Fine!" I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Fine…"

I looked down at the rose and dropped it, watching it fall to the ground. I turned around and began to walk away.

"Hey, dat wasn't cheap ya know!" he called out.

I stopped walking, a small smile creeping on my face. I turned around to find Spot smirking. "I don't buy a rose for just anybody," he told me.

He walked forward and picked it up, and walked towards me. "So don't lose it," he whispered as he held it out to me.

I took the rose and looked him in the eyes, the pain and hurt washed away. In one swift movement I threw my arms around him and his lips met mine, my heart racing uncontrollably. We pulled away briefly and laughed, but found ourselves lip locking once again.

"I love you too," he whispered in my ear.

I can't say that all stories end with "and they lives happily ever after", because that was just the beginning of my new life.

Author note: THE END! I don't know if I want to write a sequel, but I'll think about it. So, how did you like it? I enjoyed writing it for you, and I enjoyed your nice reviews. Thanks a lot guys! And I'll appreciate it if you stopped by my website (you can find the link in my profile) and sign my guestbook. Thanks a billion!