To Syberian Quest, because we'll both go down with this ship, even if it sinks to the bottom of the ocean, forever forgotten.


get ready, get set, now let go

"Let's get married."

I glanced up from my book and raised an eyebrow. "You're joking, right?" I asked, a small frown gracing my lips. He shook his head and stood up, pulling me closer to him, causing my novel to fall out of my hands. I sighed into his chest and waited for him to speak.

"No, let's do it," he said, his breath touching my hair in a way that sent chills down my back.

"No proposal?" I asked, glancing up at him playfully.

He smiled and ruffled my hair a bit, and I crinkled my nose as strands fell onto my face. "Do I really need to?" he asked, pouting a bit, and I laughed.

"I guess not," I told him. "Although it'd be nice, since it's every girl's dream for her boyfriend to propose to her in a lavish way, don't you think?"

He laughed and held me a little tighter. I stood there, not saying anything.

: :

"What next?" Ian asked, glancing over at me as we walked side-by-side down the sidewalk in the park. Our hands were tauntingly close, but neither of us made the move we wanted to.

"How about we go see a movie?" I offered, lost for any new ideas. He didn't seem very excited, however, so I said, "Or we could just walk. It's been a while since we did that, don't you think?"

He didn't answer and simply took my hand. I was a bit startled by how rushed and sudden he was, but I immediately got used to it. His hand felt warm - it always did, and it made me wonder if I was always cold - and we walked.

: :

"How about this dress?" I asked Sinead, failing at my pose I tried to show her. She laughed a bit, almost snorting, and took in the simple white I dress I wore. She frowned a bit and I immediately knew what she was thinking. I sighed and walked back into the dressing room.

I walked back out, a different dress on this time. It was strapless, beads adorning the chest-area and slowly disappearing as they made their way towards the hem of the dress. It was still simple - and I enjoyed simple things - but not too simple. Sinead smiled when she saw me, and I released a breath in relief.

"I can't wait until I get married," she whispered as I bought the dress. I smiled at her, but didn't respond. I felt terrible for hoping it would take her a much longer time to get engaged.

::

"Your fiancé and I just went go-kart racing," Dan said over the phone. I could hear the rustling of a wrapper as he ate in the background, and I heard the diner's busy chatter from behind. "We're eating right now, but he's in the bathroom."

"Okay," I told him softly, slowly turning the channel on the TV remote. I wasn't the least bit interested in what was on, however.

"You know, I'm pretty excited for this wedding," he admitted, and I could hear the grin in his voice. I attempted to match it but failed.

"Yeah," I said quietly. "It'll be amazing, don't you think?"

"Won't it!" Dan exclaimed, excited. "Man, I never thought I'd be so excited for my sister's wedding, but here I am, counting the days!" I smiled a bit and murmured a goodbye before hanging up.

: :

"I'll be home late tonight," his voice rang over the voicemail's speaker. I sat, curled up on the couch, listening. "I'm sorry, honey. It's just a late night tonight, and they want us to stay even longer. Don't wait up for me though, because you need your rest. I love you." Then the beep came and I was there in an empty house again.

The silence almost drove me mad.

: :

"Where are you taking me?" I asked as I stepped into the passenger seat of Ian's Mercedes. He didn't say anything as he started the engine, and I wondered if he was mad at me.

"You'll see," he finally said as we reached a stoplight. I stared at him, but he didn't meet my eyes. I frowned and leaned back in my seat, wondering where he wanted to take me.

When I saw the horizon of the sun setting over the water, I knew.

He parked in an almost-empty parking lot and stepped out of the car. I followed slowly after him as he took off his shoes - it was then I noticed he was wearing sandals, which he usually did not do, for he was not a casual person - and walked through the sand. I tried catching up with him, hurriedly throwing my shoes up and catching them as I tried jogging after him.

I linked my arm through his and smiled up at him, but he didn't match my smile. We just walked - something that was becoming more frequent, it seemed - and watched the sun. I didn't know if he had anywhere in mind as he walked down towards the water, then stopped and turned so we were parallel to it.

"Let's run," I finally said, not looking at him. I could feel his stare though. "Let's run away and never look back. They won't even notice we're gone." I turned to stare at him, and what I saw almost broke me. In his eyes was shattered hope, and I knew it was mirrored in mine.

There wasn't really a point anymore, it seemed.

But I wanted to try. I let go of him and started running, each step more difficult than the other as the sand sunk my feet down deeper. I could hear him running after me, and I turned around and felt him tackle me. We laid there, covered in the sand, staring at each other.

"Never run away from me," he whispered, his voice more desperate than angry.

I couldn't stop my voice from breaking as I answered, "Never."

: :

"Congratulations!" Sinead's cheery voice rings from the side. I almost cringe, but I keep my cool. His grip on me tightens and he looks at me, worried, but I smile anyway. "Everything was just so beautiful!"

I agree quietly. Everything is gorgeous, and I didn't really expect less from him. All of our family is here, ready to witness a moment they deemed as one of the most memorable events since Nellie's wedding. The decorations are breath-taking, seeing as how his sister is a wedding planner, and the food was delicious. It was all so perfect...

"Congratulations, Amy," Ian's voice finally speaks up from Sinead's side. I see their intertwined fingers and my heart hurts a bit. "And congratulations, Evan." Evan smiles a little stiffly and pulls me towards the other guests. I don't look back to see them staring after us.

: :

"I think they'd notice if we were gone," he said later that day, when the sun had finally set and all the was visible were fires set by the few beach-goers left. His arm was behind me and we laid there, staring at the sky as nothing happened.

Nothing and everything, that is.

"Wouldn't it be nice if they didn't, though?" I whispered, burrowing myself closer to him for heat, even though it was summer and the night was already warm.

He murmured an approval into my hair, and we just laid there. We knew it'd be the last time thing would be able to be this way.

We had so much time to fix things. We had time, but we wasted it. Instead of fixing the problem that was so obviously there, we chose to enjoy the company instead, because that was easier. But all because something's easier doesn't make it better.

"We should go now," he finally said, and shuffled a bit. I sighed disappointingly and nodded. We started our way back to the car, our fingers intertwined. They stayed that way the whole car ride home, until we reached my house.

Then he let go.


A/N: I'm evil, and I know it. No need to tell me. This was originally supposed to be very happy, but Evan just spoils my mood. He's not even that bad of a guy (a bit clingy, but whatever) and yet I hate his guts. And Amy's guts. Yep, and hers... I wanted you guys to think it was Ian, naturally, but at the same time, I hinted that it wasn't. Everything - even the last scene - is past tense, EXCEPT the SECOND TO LAST scene, which is the brief wedding scene.

... so yeah. I guess this is canon with Evan/Amy (WHY?), but at the same time, I still have Amy/Ian. I hope this wasn't too short, but I didn't want to make it annoyingly long with odd scenes. I just added hints here and there. For example, Dan wouldn't have been so friendly with Ian - therefore it couldn't have been him. Or Amy didn't want Sinead to get married so fast, because she's currently dating Ian. And ya...

I don't know why I wrote this. I just wanted to dedicate something to someone, honestly, so I chose Sy. I'm going to post one more story actually, aha. (You see, this is why I left FF - to focus on my work, but I ended up procrastinating anyway - but here I am, still writing. I need some therapy or something...) Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed.