~ I know, I know, there're already several different versions of an alternate ending to the party scene - and therefore the entire book - but I had to write my own. And another thing... I read this book several months ago, so forgive any mistakes I make regarding things that actually happened in the book.

Please, be kind people. This is my first story (obviously), so... enjoy! :)

P.S. I don't own any part of Thirteen Reasons Why, nor do I own Hannah and Clay. I only own the frickin' tears Jay Asher caused me to shed while I was reading this book. ~

Chapter One: To Save Your Heart, I Give You Mine

It's all I can do not to die inside at the sight of this beautiful girl crying before me. I don't know what to do, and she's begging me to leave; half of me wants to consent to her pleas, while the other half screams inside my head, ordering me to hold her and never let go. It's obvious I should go with the latter, and I want to, of course. Still, some part of me feels that going against her wishes will make it worse. Either way, I have to decide soon, or all hope will be lost, and this fallen angel will be left to die alone in her mind.

I make my decision, and in a milisecond I'm back across the room. Gently pulling her face from the pillow she'd been shrieking into, I hold her soft, tear-streaked cheeks in my hands and force her to look into my eyes.

"Please, tell me," I whisper, searching her bright eyes; there are no words to describe the pain felt there. "Hannah, I only want to help you...."

She looks away, and her hands release their fierce grasp on the pillow, reaching up to meet my own. She curls her fingers around mine, slowly removing my hands from her face, and once she has them fully away and clutched in her own, she drops them, and my hands fall back to my sides. It's agonizing to watch, because I can tell she didn't really want to let me go.

"Go away." She looks at me then, pleading against her own words with her eyes, but daring me to listen to the order falling from her lips, daring me to prove I really am different from all the rest.

I take a step closer to the bed, to where she's sitting on the very edge, with shoulders hunched. I attempt to say something, but she cuts me off with the same words, only her voice has grown in volume.

"Go away," she repeats a third time, her voice louder still, until she's yelling. "Just go!"

"I won't leave you," and before the words are completely out, I've got my arms around her. To my surprise, she's hugging me back, her arms locked around me as if she thought I were going to evaporate - as if at any moment I would change my mind, and stalk out the door. "I will never leave you, Hannah."

"I wish...." she begins, but lets the rest trail off into nothing more than a breath.

"What?" I ask in little more than a whisper.

"I wish sometimes, wish that the world didn't hold so many layers of Hell, so many degrees of pain." She sighs and lets out a single sob into my chest, where she has buried her face. "I... I wish sometimes I could die. That I could just cease to exist. I would lie cold in death, and no one would care." The last part cuts at my heart, and I hold her tighter. It makes me remember all those nights at the theater, wanting to ask her... wanting to tell her... needing her to see.

"No, no, no, I would care." I pulled away slightly, looking at her face. "Don't you see? Can't you tell? Hannah, I love you...." I can hardly believe I've just put into words the secret feeling I've sheltered for quite awhile now, but it's been said, and it can't be taken back - you can't take back the truth. And why would you want to?

Did you like that at all? Review! I have the second chapter ready, and a third in the making... if anyone cares, that is. So please, review for the sake of Hannah and Clay!