A/N: Hey, to everyone reading this, probably not my best, but I wanted to try and write this idea that's been wondering through my mind, this starts out, four months after HTSAEM, the couple is of course Paire (canon), and it will focus mainly around them, there will be some secondary characters, as you'll see later. The titles of the chapters are fragments of songs, that helped me inspire, anyway, please read and comment.

CHAPTER 1

"YOU'VE BEGUN TO FEEL LIKE HOME"

It's been four months already.

People say time is all you need to heal, she smiles with sarcasm at how ironic life is, she could heal any physical wound, but the spiritual pain still remained in her soul, and it didn't seem to hurt any less even after all this time.

Her eyes were fixed on the sky as she watched the sunset, all the colors mixing into one, the cool breeze making her golden waves move slightly, and the image of his face deep inside her head.

Although it was merely 6 o'clock, the field was empty, her classmates were probably getting ready for some party like every weekend, and just like them she did the same thing every Friday, only instead of behaving like any normal teenager, if she ever was one, she came here and sat on the benches and stared into the sky, remembering that one night when everything had changed.

The sun was now out of sight, and the orange tone had been replaced for a blue darker one, it was getting cold, but she didn't feel like going home just yet, maybe she'd stay a little longer, enjoying the silence.

But she didn't get to do that quite long, as she saw a dark figure come up the steps and sit next to her, his eyes staring with interest at her.

"What are you doing here, West?" she said coolly, his presence disturbing the calm she was longing for.

"I came for you, of course" he replied never taking his eyes off of her. "You shouldn't be here Claire, you're freezing." He put an arm around her shoulders but she stood up immediately.

"What's the matter?" his voice was filled with concern, but Claire didn't feel like explaining herself to him, she just needed some more time, to clear her head.

"Did my dad send you to look for me?" she looked away into the night and put her arms around herself.

"He called me, you told him you were going to the library for a paper, but since you didn't come home, he begun to worry" he stood up to meet her eyes, but she still refused to face him.

"They treat me like a child" her response was full of anger and sarcasm, how could they? Her own family, after knowing all she went though, still dare to not give the treatment she deserved.

"They're worried about you, and so am I" Claire looked down and smiled sardonically, but he held her arms and made her look at him.

"Claire, I'm your boyfriend, talk to me" she took a deep breath and escaped his grip, picked up her bag, not giving him time to say anything, sand walked down to the field she turned around to see him.

"It doesn't make a difference, don't you see it, West?" her voice was nearly cracking and her eyes were welled up "Life never gets better." She turned her back on him and started walking away, losing herself in the darkness.

"You're wrong"

She stopped dead in her tracks, taking a few seconds to recognize that voice, the one she would always remember, the one she couldn't forget. It all came back to her just as if it had happened yesterday.

"Hey, it gets better"

"What?"

"Life, after high school...it gets a lot better"

She looked around to find where they sound had come from, she saw West looking confusedly at a point located a few feet to her right, she followed his gaze and then she saw him, standing there like nothing had ever happened, like yesterday was four months ago, and everything was still the same.

His bangs still hid his loving brown eyes, he still had his crooked smile and his stare was on her, and only her, like he always made her feel. She felt her heart pounding loudly and tears rolling down her cheeks freely, he was there, he came back for her, she remembered what he'd said.

"You're not alone, Claire"

She left her bag fall to the ground and began running in a slow manner towards him, she threw her arms around his neck and felt him embracing her as well, and lifting her off the ground. She buried her face in his neck and breathed in his warm and musky scent, he smelled like home.

She felt him inhale deeply, and knew he felt the same way, like they never wanted to let go again, feeling safe in each other's arms, now she wasn't even sure what she was crying about, she was feeling too many things at the moment to choose just one. She moved her face to see him and focused her hazel eyes on his, she leaned forward and closed her eyes, resting her forehead against his, and finally let herself feel again.

"Peter"