"I thought you liked puzzles," he said, placing a small daisy in her hand. She took it, her eyebrows furrowed as she concentrated on making Firefly the flower crown she wanted. Her hands moved through the tangles of leaves and stems, somehow forming a majestic crown. Deathbringer watched in awe.

"I do," Glory said, pausing enough to give him a dazzling grin. "They calm my tortured mind." She laughed.

Deathbringer stared down at the grass, his lips tilting upward. His gaze found a small, white, fluffy flower, and he reached out and grasped the dandelion, plucking it out gently as possible.

It felt smooth in his hands. He was careful not to drop any seedlings as he handed the flower to Glory.

"Make a wish," he said softly.

Glory's eyes sparkled. She took it and closed her eyes for a long moment and blew it, scattering tens of little seeds ready to bloom. Glory watched until they disappeared from sight.

He placed his arm over her shoulders, and she rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes half-way. He grinned lazily. "Every time a flower dies, new seeds come from it." Glory paused, staring at the lonely, empty dandelion in her hands. "So is death good or bad?"

The question puzzled him. "Huh," he said, frowning. "I guess I never thought about it before."

"Look at dandelions. They die, but their seeds take their place. The world moves on," Glory stated as she narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.

Deathbringer tilted his head. "I guess you're right."

Glory chuckled lightly, tangling her tender, pale hand with his. He felt excitement bloom in his heart, along with care and love. He handled her hand like a glass vase ready to break at the slightest touch. " I'm always right, dear husband." She met his eyes and gave him a small smile to to let him know she was joking. "Let's ask Firefly when she gets back from the woods," she whispered, amusement in her eyes, "She seems to think she knows everything."

Deathbringer laughed. "We have to give her credit, though," he murmured. "She says she's in catalyst class."

"She has lied before," Glory chuckled. Deathbringer stroked her golden hair, bright as a lion's mane in the sunlight.

Glory closed her eyes, and her breathing abruptly slowed. Then the gentle breathing became nothing. No rising of the chest. No inhale or exhale. Her smile became emotionless, and the pale blush on her cheeks disappeared.

"Glory?" He said, panicked. He gripped her hand tighter. It seemed cold and paler than usual.

Her beautiful green eyes didn't open, and all she did was smile and reply:

"You're full of surprises, Deathbringer Black."

~

Deathbringer jolted awake.

His alarm clock screeched, and he rubbed his eyes as he hurriedly turned it off.

Crap.

Seven thirty. His school started in five minutes.

He jolted from the bed, putting random clothes that reached his hand first. A dinosaur T-shirt and jeans. Will have to do. He didn't even have time to brush his teeth, and he whirled through his room, shouting.

He ran from his house, got his bicycle, and sped to school, his hair puffy and his eyes half-closed.

"Dude!" Deathbringer didn't stop, but he did turn, and lost his balance. He toppled to the ground, taking the bicycle with him.

He groaned as he got up, his head buzzing.

"You okay?"

He slowly opened his eyes, and saw a boy a few years younger than him, with multi-colored eyes. "No," he huffed. He slowly patted the dirt of his jeans as he straightened. He winced.

The boy nodded at his arm, which was scratch up and bleeding. "You could get infected."

" I've gotten infected before, " Deathbringer snapped. "Get out of my way, I have to get to school."

The boy stared at him, puzzled. "It's six in the morning."

He gaped at him, his eyes widening. "No, it isn't."

"Yeah, it is."

Deathbringer licked his lips. "Show me."

The boy showed him his watch, confused. "Look, you dropped something." He handed his Walkman to him, grinning sheepishly. "I didn't know whether to stop you. Maybe your girlfriend is in the hospital because she was in a car accident and she called for you. Maybe your mom was being held hostage by a creepy killer, and the Walkman is actually a suitcase containing a check for five million dollars. I don't know."

Deathbringer stared at him. "You're a weird kid."

He shrugged. "People tell me that. But I don't know anybody's life except my own, and that's that."

Deathbringer started to grin. "I'm Deathbringer. What's your name?"

"Blue."

~

"He got the tapes?" He growled.

Fierceteeth bit her lip. "Yeah. Last time I checked, he was on tape ten, but I don't know about now..."

He cursed, clenching his fist. "Stupid idiot. And you let him go all the way to ten? He might get my tape any second now."

" I thought it was in your house, " She stammered.

"It is," he spat. "what did Darkstalker do about it?"

"He's trying to get the twelfth tape away. He sounded pretty angry last time I checked."

"You're such a great help," he muttered, a dangerous glimmer in his eyes. "Why don't you go now?"

" B-but you said you would give Strongwings back if I told you. Remember? "

"My patience is getting thin." He stood up. " go now. "

Fierceteeth straightened, her eyes furious. "No! You promised. I did everything you asked me to do!"

"So what?" he taunted. "What are you going to do about it, little girl?"

Fierceteeth bristled, although fear was overwhelming her. "I'm stronger than you think. And if you're doing anything to him, I'll kill you, I swear I will—"

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him, pressing a knife on her throat. She gasped in fear.

"Take her away," he ordered, disgusted. He released her, and his friends placed their hands on her mouth, and dragged her away from him.

It did not stop her from screaming.

~

Let's see. What are words to describe you?

Intelligent. Beautiful. Obsessed.

Good.  Innocent. Hilarious.

What I found about you is that sometimes even the best, kindest people could be bad inside.

Don't worry. I won't tell anyone.

"Welcome to your tape, Cricket Hive"

~

"I don't think I ever saw you here before."

Blue Silk nodded. "I just moved here from Pantala High. My dad persuaded me to come, but I had to leave my sister behind." Blue frowned, like something bothered him. " I like it here, though. "

He carefully placed the band-aid on Deathbringer's knee, smiling contently. "There."

Deathbringer's gaze traveled over the huge room. "Wow, your family must be rich." He felt a hint of jealousy, comparing this beautiful mansion to his crappy apartment. Blue's room was way bigger than his entire house.

"Yeah," Blue said, shrugging it off. He looked uncomfortable. He put the medicine back into the first-aid kit, closing it tightly. "My dad's the CEO of a company named FlameSilk™. It became pretty popular, I guess."

Deathbringer ran his fingers through a stone statue, narrowing his eyes. "Neat."

"I'm about to move to Pyrrhia High. Is that where you go?"

Deathbringer nodded, pressing his lips together. "Somebody died a few months ago in our school."

Blue's eyes widened. "Who? Did you know her?"

He gulped. "Yeah."

Blue stared at him. "Wait. Isn't it Glory Bright?"

He clenched his fists and released them again. The name— the dream....

"Yes," he breathed. " Yeah, it was. "

Blue narrowed his eyes. "Wait. Why do you have a Walkman with you? Do you listen to cassettes?"

Deathbringer stepped away, not meeting his eyes. "Something like that."

Blue looked away. "My friend...my friend knew her. Glory Bright."

He looked up, interested. The small boy was brushing invisible dust from his shirt.

"Who?"

Blue's face contorted into a pained expression. "She goes to Pantala High. She was really smart...She didn't want me to go..."

Blue's voice faded away. He forced a smile. "Anyway. That's sad. But I'm really excited to go to a new school. I have a few friends there. Few friends of my sister's."

He tried to grin. "That's nice. Well, I better get going."

" Yeah... " Blue stared at him. It gave him a chill. This boy was...different. Somehow. "See you in school. But before you go, would you like to eat breakfast? You seemed like you didn't eat any. The way you were going to school." He gave him a teasing grin.

He was about to refuse when his stomach threatened to kill him if he said no. He sheepishly grinned.

"That would be nice."

~

"Welcome to your tape, Cricket Hive"

The normal.

The sun-kissed, golden hair. The glasses. The intelligent glimmer in your dark brown eyes. The whirl of curiosity in your face. The purse you always carried. The freckles.

We met in a science fair.

I was standing there with my boxes, feeling extremely stupid next to the genius geeks that made refrigerators and robots. I made a door. Out boxes. Stupid? Yes. The school counselor had forced me to make something with my own hands and e refer me to science fair without permission.

I didn't win anything, surprise surprise.

You. You were a different story, dear Cricket.

You made a robot with a personality chip. Everyone just watched in awe as the robot giggled and made sarcastic comments, one after one. You got first place, and got a scholarship to Harvard. People from all around the world offered you jobs.

When a reporter asked you, "How did you feel like when you build this?"

"Well, you know. One bad wiring and I'll set the entire house on fire." You laughed naturally.

"Do you take many risks?"

I'll never forget what you said next:

"I am a scientist. Sometimes risks are necessary."

After all the chaos, I silently slipped away and cut my door into little pieces and stored them safely in the Dumpster.

I whirled in surprise when someone tapped me on the shoulder.

It was you, Cricket.

You have me a smile. "You seem sad."

The thing is, I felt jealous. Jealous that someone I didn't even know was so intelligent and so smart. So beautiful. So carefree. So...unlike me.

"I would think a smart person like you would have a bigger vocabulary," I huffed, banging the Dumpster shut. The smell made me gag.

You seemed surprised. "Words are words. They mean the same to me."

I turned away, fuming. "Stop bothering me, genius."

It hurt. It hurt to see somebody's life so perfect. So simple. So promising.

"I'm not a genius," you replied, tilting your head. "I think differently than others."

" And that makes you a genius. " I crossed my arms over my chest. "Everyone's crowing over you. You should go there, Cricket Hive. You belong there."

You stared at me, speechless. "The thing is, I don't." You have me a defeated grin. " I belong with books. And Blue. "

"Who's Blue?"

" Someone who sees me as who I am, " You said sadly.

I started to feel sorry for you. Sorry for the harsh words. "I'm Glory."

You smiled, and lowered your glasses. Your brown eyes were as warm as the sun. "Nice to meet you, Glory."

~

We started to call. Sometimes I waited for you at Pantala High, and sometimes you waited for me at Pyrrhia High. We got a few cups of hot chocolate and sat down, eating cinnamon rolls.

We started warming up on each other.

At least that's what I thought.

One day, I wrote a poem. A poem about loneliness. A poem about desolation.

A poem with secret meanings behind it.

"They never will listen
As for my eyes
They tell a tale
That wont compromise
The deep sadness
And as usual
It always turns into madness
I want to go away
So, so far away
So they
Can stay at bay..."

A poem that was better than anything you created. At least to you. You seemed shocked when I read it to you.

You never felt that sort of emotion, I'm guessing. You never felt that way. Somehow, in a twisted way, you thought the piece was the most beautiful thing in the world.

I did too.

You tried to write a few poems by yourself. I saw the wrinkled papers in your pocket. It fell when you were in my car.

I feel awed to say: mine was better.

And you knew it. I knew it.

You weren't used to being beaten. Slowly, you turned aggressive. We stopped talking. You spoke harshly.

And one day, you stole my poem.

How? Only a genius mastermind can figure it out.

I'm not a genius mastermind.

You turned it in to a contest. And, you know what? You got first place. You got on the news.

When they recited the poem, I knew it was mine.

The way You were on TV, smiling smugly, like the entire world was yours, it broke my heart.

I trusted you. I loved you. I thought you were my friend.

I thought of you who would never, ever betray me...

A few weeks later, you came to my house. You seemed triumphant. "Did you like my poem?" You asked me.

That woke something in me. Failure.

"Yes, I did," I said, avoiding your eyes. I was waiting for you. For you to laugh and say you were joking, or burst into tears and beg for my forgiveness.

Anything.

You didn't. You just leaned down and looked at me straight in the eye: "I hope you keep my secret?"

I stared at the ground. "I won't tell anyone."

You left, and I watched you go. My hands were shaking. I never wrote a poem ever again.

And that day, reality declared war on me.

And I lost.

~

Thanks a bunch for Orangutan101 for helping me!

Special thanks to Shadow_Omega for helping me with the plot and writing the AMAZING poem!!!!! Check out her stories!

(Sorry for such a long chapter)