Chapter 1: Pause and Play

"Live in the present, remember the past, and fear not the future." -Christopher Paolini

Disclaimed. I don't own anything!

"Hey, there she is!"

Amy Cahill's eyes widened as she spotted Hamilton Holt and Jonah Wizard making their way towards her. She quickly grabbed her suitcase and began to run away, trying not to push the people around her as she did. Jonah and Hamilton, however, didn't care to turn the JFK Airport upside down. As long as they caught Amy, everything else didn't matter.

"Amy, stop right there!" Amy heard Jonah scream.

Not even when she was about to die could she do whatever she wanted. And then the most dreadful thing happened.

Amy wasn't sure when or why, but her foot got caught up in something, making her drop her bag and begin to fall to the ground. She'd definitely be caught now.

Pause.

You're probably wondering why Amy Cahill, the girl who practically leaders the peace between branches, is being chased by two of her closest friends. Well, it all began with one visit to the doctor…

After several tests and research, Amy was diagnosed with a terminal disease –meaning, she had less than six months to live. Obviously, after hearing this, Uncle Fiske thought that she'd miraculously get cured if she spent her last days on a hospital bed, unable to do anything. Amy was all set to do as told…until she realized she was about to die. At eighteen, and that she hadn't done anything she'd ever dreamed of because of the Vespers.

And her number one dream? Travel around the world. So she began to choose the countries she'd like to visit, book flights and hotels…all behind everybody's backs. They'd probably blow a gasket if they found out. Of course, Amy would spend more time with her family –after one month of traveling to the places she'd always wanted to visit.

So the day she was heading to her first destination, she left a note on her room explaining everything, and silently left. Too bad that when she was boarding the plane, she could already see Hamilton, Jonah and a bunch of other Cahills fighting with security. Her phone was blowing up with Uncle Fiske's messages and voicemails, and a few from Dan and Nellie. At the end of the day, she ended up disposing of her precious phone and escaping Hamilton and Jonah (luckily).

Yes, this was a very un-Amy thing to do –disobey her uncle and make everybody worry about her –but she wouldn't like to be about to die, and think that she never got to fulfill at least one of her dreams.

Play.

Amy felt the impact in her head first, before the pain spread all over her body. She shut her eyes as she got up. She didn't want to see her cousins grabbing her and taking her to a limousine, where a very angry Uncle Fiske would definitely be waiting.

But after a few seconds, Amy didn't hear any angry I got you! Or felt two pair of hands grab her and begin to push her outside.

She opened her eyes, and to her relief and surprise she spotted Jonah and Hamilton running toward another direction. Who knew whom they had seen? Amy didn't care, though. She was safe…for now.

Sighing shakily, she grabbed her bag and began to make her way toward Gate 24, where her flight to Barcelona, Spain would be waiting.

Until a hand grabbed her shoulder.

Her green eyes widened as she slowly turned around, accepting defeat. It was obvious that she wouldn't even make it to her first destination. But when she saw the person behind her, she couldn't believe how Hamilton or Jonah hadn't spotted her.

"Ian?" she asked, nearly exclaimed in relief.

Ian adjusted his suit, a small smile making a way to his chiseled-like face. "Hello, Amy."

Amy smiled, relieved that it hadn't been one of her two persecutors. Tucking a strand of reddish-brown hair behind her ear, she looked back up at Ian. "What are you doing here in New York?"

Ian began to walk. "Art business. We got a buyer here who wants a whole collection of abstract paintings."

Amy, now walking next to him, nodded. "That's good…right?"

Ian nodded. "Very good. So, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be training or whatever you do in Boston?"

Amy remained silent for a while. After pondering, she decided not to tell Ian about her disease and traveling around the world behind her family's back. By the way he was acting, he probably didn't even know. "Well, for my eighteenth birthday present, Fiske granted me one of my wishes –travel around the world."

"Your birthday was in April."

"Belated birthday gift. We decided to wait until summer vacations so I wouldn't miss classes."

Ian nodded. For a while they both remained silent, until Ian broke the silence. "Hamilton and Jonah where chasing you…care to explain?"

Amy bit her lower lip, trying to come up with an explanation.

"I've also been meaning to ask you if you're okay...that fall looked pretty hurtful."

Amy burned bright red as she glared at Ian, who was in the verge of laughing. Before she could come up with a reply, she spotted Hamilton's large back and Jonah's tall figure, standing a few steps in front of her.

Not taking her eyes from the figure, she told Ian, "Look, I can't talk to you right now. I-I've got to go…but it was nice to see you. Hope you have a nice return trip."

Amy began to walk away, her head down as she tried to hide her face.

But Ian soon began to walk in pace with her. "Actually…I've got something to aske you."

And soon, Amy' s head dawned with realization. It was no coincidence that Ian had found her in the airport…Uncle Fiske had sent him. Shaking her head, she turned to look at Ian. "Please don't tell me Uncle Fiske sent you."

"What? Why would Fiske send me?" Ian asked, a confused look on his face.

"He didn't?"

"No…I actually wanted to ask you where you were heading."

Taking a glance at her cousins, she walked closer. "Not before you tell me why you want to know."

Ian pressed his lips together. After a while, he sighed. "Look…things haven't been doing so well back home. I wasn't really planning to return to London just yet. And after deducting that you're doing this trip behind Fiske's back, I though it'd be nice to join you. I mean, we're sort of doing the same thing. Natalie expects me to return today, you know."

Amy remained silent. Ian had lied to her plenty of times before, and she had fallen for all of them. But this time, he seemed sincere. And they weren't on the clue hunt. After a long time of debating with herself whether she should or shouldn't, she came to a decision. "Fine. But if in thirty minutes you're not waiting with me for our flight to Barcelona, then I'm going without you."

Ian smirked, nodding. "Of course. What was your flight again?"

Amy took out her ticket. "245."

"Good…I'll see you in a few minutes, then. And hopefully you'll have an explanation for me."

Amy nodded as she watched Ian walk away. She turned around and began to walk over to Gate 24, making sure her cousins didn't spot her. Hopefully, she had made the right decision by inviting Ian along.

And if she didn't…well, she'd just have to escape again.

a/n: Hi and thanks for reading :) As if you hadn't noticed, I'm a new writer here in FF. So if you liked this and want to review, feel free to add some tips. I also want to warn you about my updates: I'm not sure how soon they will come, since some weeks I'm packed with homework and others I'm free. By the way, this story was inspired by a movie. I don't remember it's name right now, but I will post it when I find it out.

Once again, thanks! Hope you liked it,

-Elizabeth :)