An year later

Tsunami

In the daytime, she would work her butt off doing schoolwork. Her mother had agreed that she needed some space, and she lived in the dormitory with her friends.

Tsunami could never tell her what had really happened when the fire happened. But it was best that it stayed secret.

The afternoons were the best. She went swimming with Riptide. Sure, sometimes people would flood them with questions and sometimes they would scream at her to leave him, but then they would laugh about it and swim. They would talk about the colleges they wanted to go to. They would talk about swimming and then they would play in the water like little kids.

She knew it wouldn't last, but it was nice to think sometimes that it would.

She didn't see Riptide for his handsomeness or his laid-back style. She didn't want to "change" him, and she certainly didn't want to force him into things he didn't like. She didn't want to be jealous anymore. She had lived her entire life wanting to protect everyone that she had bristled when someone she never knew came into her life. Now she knew that she had to let it be.

She didn't let the past haunt her. She wanted to move on, and that was what she did.

Of course, it wasn't that easy. Sometimes she couldn't sleep and the dreams haunted her. Thinking about Clay made her feel horrible. Sometimes tears would just come, but her friends were there, too. It was like a little sleepover between the four of them.

Once, they were walking around the ocean. They walked, gripping each other's hand, smiling. She stared at the sky and the ocean. She felt something burst inside her- happiness, longing.

With each step, the world became more beautiful. With each wave splashing the beach, the world became fuller. The smell if the ocean was so refreshing, it cleared her mind.

As they walked, Riptide turned to her. Something was different about him as he asked the question. His blue eyes were sparkling, and she knew that be would understand her, that he would do anything with her, for her. "Tsunami, what's your dream?"

My dream.

She pointed at the ocean. She pointed at the rocks, she pointed at the salty breeze in the air, she pointed at the sand.

She pointed at the sky and the steps in the sand they had made. She pointed at the waves splashing at the rocks and the birds soaring in the air. And she turned and pointed at him.

And he understood.

~

Starflight

He and Fatespeaker had met in the library. She had talked so much that he had told her that you were supposed to be quiet in the library. And somehow, they became friends.

She appreciated him for who he was- not tolerated him, opr hated him, or thought he was annoying.

Somehow, the quietest kid in the room and the most loudest could find similarities in their lives that nobody else could understand.

His friends had welcomed her when she wanted to sit at their lunch table. They had looked at them in a puzzled way for about a few seconds, and then they accepted it. Just like that.

Fatespeaker had comments about everything. About Starflight's weird habit of tapping his foot when he was reading, and how Glory always had a knack for opening tight water bottles. How Sunny always had a compliment for everyone the moment they sat down. How Tsunami always laughed hardest at sea puns.

"I just notice things," she had said. Tsunami had once joked that Fatespeaker and Starflight were the insufferable group, always saying something about everything.

He didn't mind. He understood her, and she understood him. He knew somehow that they could help each other. Fatespeaker was far from perfect, and so was he- but they had a connection.

And once, when they were eating lunch, her hand had brushed his for a few seconds. Nobody else had noticed, but he stiffened. He felt confused and embarrassed.

A simple mistake, he told himself. But why was blood rushing to his ears?

In the corner of his eye, he could have sworn that Fatespeaker had a big grin on her face.

~

Sunny

She spent her days constantly worrying about Peril. She had gotten in trouble after people learnt that she had escaped with Sunny's car.

She's dangerous to society, they had said. And that moment, Sunny knew that Peril had been right.

But after a few months, people started to forget about her. Sunny constantly checked her email, but nothing came. She decided that Peril had a reason for not contacting her. Seeing that she heard no news about Peril getting caught, she tried to think that everything was alright.

The best thing was that she could see her friends slowly becoming happy again. They had all found their soulmates. There was no guarantee that they would last forever, but they had them nevertheless.

She was happy to see Starflight becoming friends with Fatespeaker- and the expression on his face when their hands brushed, when he thought no one was looking- it had been priceless. But for his sake, Sunny had never said anything about it.

Tsunami had found Riptide. And Glory had Deathbringer, and Sunny knew they would do anything for each other.

The thing that bothered her was the fact that everyone felt sorry for her. She felt fine on her own, really. She was happy enough to see her friends happy.

She knew beautiful things awaited in life. Fate waited.

She didn't need anyone, at least not yet. She wasn't ready. Maybe she would never be.

But right now, she was fine on her own.

~

Glory

What she expected was a horrible woman ready to kill her. What awaited her was a confused girl.

She and Deathringer exchanged a look when Greatness greeted them. "Hey! Are you guys my family? Nobody has been visiting me for weeks."

Glory felt a desire to scream things at her. She hated to look at her. Greatness is a monster!

"Do you remember anything?" Deathbringer asked gently.

She felt angry at him. At them. How can he be gentle with her, after everything we went through, after seeing how monstrous she was-

Then Deathbringer looked at her. And she understood.

Greatness wasn't a monster anymore. She was a confused girl with her memory wiped away completely. Being confused and utterly hopeless— Glory knew the feeling.

"No. They won't even tell me who I am," Greatness said. She seemed close to tears. "I've been in confusion for months."

"You're name is Greatness. We're your friends," Deathbringer said with a smile.

"We can help you," Glory added slowly. She remembered being lost. She remembered being confused. She remembered not belonging anywhere. If her friends hadn't been there, who knew she would have been now?

But helping Greatness, of all people? The evil girl that didn't give a second thought about killing her and her friends?

But all her doubts were gone when Greatness looked at her. The look on her face seemed like Glory's words had lightened up a Christmas tree. The hope and happiness- as delicate as a child's- it warmed Glory's heart.

~

When Deathbringer said he was leaving for college, it hurt more than she thought it would.

"Are you going to go far?" She had asked in the park.

Deathbringe grinned. "No, I'm not. I'll visit on the weekends when I can. Honestly, education has never been my thing, but I realized that it's pretty important."

She had turned and stared at the stars. There weren't any in the city. But she knew they were there. Just hidden.

That was when she realized she was like the stars. The stars were her feelings for Deathbringer. They were hidden because of bad things, because the people had poisoned the air with pollution. Her heart was polluted. But with effort, she could get it back, clean and new.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked. Deathbringer was staring at the sky, too. It made her wonder what he was thinking about.

"I'm thinking about time," she replied. "You remember what I said in the hospital? About us and being ready and all?"

"Yeah." Deathbringer turned and stared at her expectantly. It felt like he could read her mind.

"I'm still not sure about much. I'm so imperfect, you know? It's like my feelings are jumbled." She met his eyes. "But I know I love you. Forever? Who knows? But I tried to distance myself and it makes me crazy." She paused. "If you still feel the same about me, I'm ready to try this."

She held her breath. Deathbringer stared at her for a moment and nodded.

She closed her eyes and kissed him. It wasn't rough or passionate. It was soft and promising. Promising a happy tomorrow. The night had been hard and horrible. But the sun would come up, and she would greet it with open arms.

That night, it felt like the skies were full of stars.

~

Clay

The more they traveled, the more he learned about Peril.

They had managed to move out to Washington as Lena and Chris Daniels. They went to high school and lived with Thorn, a woman that worked to destroy the assassin organization. Ruby had told them to go to her.

Thorn had warned them that if they were to be taken under her wings, they had to cut all their contacts. They had no choice but to agree.

Clay looked for sign of his friends in newspapers and TV. He had gotten an article about Glory's retirement from Hollywood. He had a chance to see Glory's scarred face.

She tried to protect me when I lost control, he realized. He could feel tears swelling in his eyes. But Glory in the picture seemed happy. And it was what he wanted, right?

He and Peril studied together and worked together. They had dyed their hair in the first chance they had. Their hair was both in the color black, since they were supposedly siblings. Peril wore glasses, and he wore a cap. And sometime in the future, he planned to get contacts so that his eye color was different.

"Do you regret running away?" Peril asked once. "Living like this?"

He had thought for a moment. "No. It was for the best. We had to sacrifice a few things to keep other people safe."

"Was there any other way?" Peril whispered.

He stared at her for a moment. "Peril," he whispered. "I know it's hard. But we had to do this. What if somebody got control of us?"

Peril sighed. "I know. It's just...not fair."

He didn't know what to say. Of course, it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that they had to go through this just because of things they couldn't control, just because of a possibility.

Peril must have noticed his expression. "But, you know. With you, it's not as bad."

Clay looked at her. "Really?" He was still having a hard time getting used to her black hair and glasses. Peril nodded and reluctantly took his hand in hers.

They kept each other in control. Peril's presence helped to calm him. His did the same for her.

They didn't say any more. But with her, he knew he would get through it. With her, he would get through anything.

~

Can you believe that this fanfic is almost over?

I'm sorry if the ending isn't satisfying to any of you. Believe it or not, I have created a whole little world with this stuff. This fanfiction will forever hold a special place in mah hea—

Let's get that stuff in the epilogue lol.

Anyway, I hope you guys can imagine what happened to those characters after this event! Tell me in the comments.

If the "this might not last forever but whatever" thing annoys you, sorry. I just keep reading clichè stuff on books EVERYWHERE, so I'm REALLY getting annoyed. So I tried to put as least as possible.

My mind: this entire Hollywood plot is clichè!

Me: shut up!

Okay. So. Thank you all.