Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: goes along with "Lost", except there's a far different ending...
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"You'll never understand!" she yelled, almost sobbing. That was how much she believed what she was saying, and if only she'd known how wrong she was. She was such a combination of sad and furious, and he thought she was beautiful when she was like that.
"Please, listen to me," he said, placing one hand on her shoulder, trying to stop her and knowing he'd get nowhere. "You're the one who doesn't understand." It was true - if she only knew how many fights he'd had with himself because of her, things would be different. He hadn't come to terms with his feelings, but she didn't even know he had them!
"Just stop! I can't listen to you." Angrily, she moved out of his reach, her hair turning a magnificent shade of fire-engine red. "You're better off without me, or at least that's what you think, and nothing I do will ever change that."
Oh, if only she knew that everything she'd ever done had changed the circumstances, that even then, even as she moved away from him, he was just trying to find the right words. He watched as she turned to walk away, and suddenly he knew what needed to be done. "You've changed more things than you think." As he spoke, she turned around, still on the other side of the room but staring straight at him. "I just want better things for you."
She did leave after that, but as she walked away, he noticed a change. Her movements were less forceful, and her expression was that of someone who has just changed their entire perspective on the world. He really hoped he'd said and done the right things; if he hadn't, he knew he would regret whatever happened, no matter what it was.
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The next day, he saw her again, just for a brief second in which she handed him an envelope with his name on it. Before he could open it, she was gone, back to wherever it was that she had come from. Something told him that she didn't want to be there when he read the letter, which worried him. If she couldn't face what she herself had written, how could he? Still, he unfolded the piece of paper, wondering what it was that she couldn't say aloud...
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Until last night, my world was black, a sad and tragic place. Unrequited love does that to you, I guess, and that was the icing on the poisonous cake. Last night was supposed to be my last shot, one final chance to see if anyone really cared. To my surprise, someone did.
You saved me. I know that you won't understand that, that you're probably wondering what you saved me from, but it's really quite simple. I could only see one way out of how I was feeling, ending everything I'd ever had, but you stopped me from doing it. Just by telling me you wanted better things for me, even though I knew that what you meant is that I deserve better than you, you gave me something I haven't had for a long time - hope. I know your feelings for me aren't the same as my feelings for you, but right now, I don't care. You saved me, and I really hope that you understand how much that means to me.
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As he finished reading the letter, he was hit with an unfamiliar surge of emotions. Peace - because for the first time in a long time, he'd done something right. Sadness - because she'd been so close to breaking. More than anything else, he felt love - because even though he still hadn't worked out what he thought of her, she loved him, and he had saved her.