Disclaimer: Not mine, all FFC. "In This Life" belongs to Colin Raye

In This Life

~For all I've been blessed with in this life
There was an emptiness in me
I was imprisoned by the power of gold
But one honest touch could set me free

Juliette Waybourn watched Auggie Ciceros face as he painted whatever it was he was painting. It was something that she had always loved doing; it was private and speical, something just between them. She was one of the only ones that he allowed to actually watch him while he created his works of art.

His handsome face was contorted in concentration, and he was chewing on the end of his lip. Deep brown eyes remained glued to his canva, the golden flecks in them highlighted by the serene glow that sparkled in them.

A slight smile curved his lips, and a streak of blue paint marred his smooth skin, just below his temple, on his cheek. Julitte almost giggled, but kept it to herself. He might take her mirth the wrong way, and the last thing in the world that she wanted to do was hurt him in any way. He was...her life.

"What you smilin' at, twig?" His eyes didn't even leave the canvas when he said it. Julitte laughed in spite of herself, and he looked over at her, his eyes sparkling.

"You have paint on you're cheek."

"Oh." Auggie replied. putting his brush down and reaching for a rag to wipe it off.

"Don't. It looks cute!" Julitte pleaded, smiling brightly. Her love looked at her with his sparkling eyes, and laughed.

"Cute huh? Well, if you say so." Auggie smirked. "I guess I could handle being cute, for you."

Julitte beamed at him, her eyes glowing. "Good. What are you painting? Can I see yet? Are you done?" She leapt to her feet and bounced on her toes a little bit.

"Woah, slow down Jules. Yeah, it's done." He turned his easal around, and showed it to her. 'What do you think?"

Juliette stared at the picture in shock. Her eyes stared right back at her, the blue deepths hinting at a smile. Her lips were pulling at the corners, and she looked so...beautiful.

"It's me." She squeaked.

"Yeah." Auggie nodded, blushing slightly.

"You made me look...beautiful." Juliette whispered.

"You are beautiful." He told her, moving forward to hold her. She laid her head on his shoulder, allowing his heat to sink it. Auggie was the only one that had ever made her feel as beautiful as the girl in the picture was.

~Let the world stop turnin'
Let the sun stop burnin'
Let them tell me love's not worth going through
If it all falls apart I will know deep in my heart
The only dream that mattered had come true
In this life, I was loved by you

"Damn it." Ezra Friedkin muttered, slamming the phone down as hard as he could. That made him feel a little better, so he picked it up and slammed it down again. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

"What did the phone do to deserve that kind of treatement?" A dry voice asked from behind him. Ezra whirled around, and glared at Daisy Lipenowski. "Hey, what's you're problem?"

"Nothing." Ezra snapped, turning to leave the room. He stormed out of the lodge and stompped toward the deck. When he reached it, he crouched down behind one of the boats, and hoped that no one would see him.

"Ezra?" Daisy's voice wasn't so dry now--this time it held concern and worry.

"Go AWAY, Daisy." Ezra told her, not even turning to look at her. He felt, rather then saw her sit down next to him.

"I WOULD, but I think being around you would be more exciting right now." Ezra snorted at her comment, and still refused to look at her. Daisy sighed, and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look into her eyes. "Hey. What's you're problem?"

"Don't want to talk about it." Ezra muttered, looking at her mouth so he wouldn't have to look into her searching dark eyes.

"Too bad." Daisy informed him, tilting his chin again so he really had to look her in the eye.

"Daisy..." Ezra complained.

"Ezra." She stared into his eyes, silently breaking his defenses down with just a glance. Ezra looked away, then back at her, before finally giving up. "My mother called. She wants to come see me." Daisy, sensing that he wasn't finished, stayed silent. "The same weekend my father's coming up."

"Fate works in mysterious ways." Daisy said.

"I think Fate is trying to kill me." Ezra mumbled sourly. He was surprised when Daisy grabbed his hand and squeezed, as hard as she could. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"Don't say things like that." She hissed, her eyes flashing.

"Why...oh. Yeah. Sorry." Ezra whispered, realzing what she was thinking about. Daisy loosened her grip on his hand, but didn't let go.

"Just don't do it again." She told him.

"I promise." Ezra told her, looking at her seriously.

"Good." Daisy interlaced her fingers with his, and then turned to look out across the lake. Ezra looked down at their entwined hands, then back up at her, then finally out across the lake. A slight smile pulled at his lips. Since he was staring out across the lake, he missed the matching smile on Daisy's face.

~For every mountain I have climbed
Every raging river crossed
You were the treasure that I'd longed to find
Without your love I would be lost

"I love you, Shel." Scott Barringer whispered to Shelby Merrick, who lying with her head on his shoulder.

"I love you too." Shelby told him, snuggling closer to him, her blonde hair spilling across his chest. The pale gold color contrasted with the dark blue of his shirt, as he stroked the silky strands with one hand. The other one was laced tightly through Shelby's.

"Wonder how long we're gonna be on shuns this time?" Scott wondered out loud, a hint of a smile pulling at his lips.

"I don't care if it's for the rest of my life." Shelby whispered. "I am not mov..." She trailed off, sitting up quickly.

"Shelby?" He asked, sitting up as well. The young woman was chewing on her lip, her eyes wide and worried. "What?"

"That last time we were out here...we had nearly the same conversation." Shelby reminded him, chewing on her lip.

"Yeah? So? You think our relationship is dull?" Scott wondered what she was getting at.

"That was right before..."

"My dad and the skank showed up." Scott finished for her, remembering. He shuddered slightly, and reached out to pull Shelby into his arms. She came willingly, lying her head on his shoulder. "Did I ever thank you for helping me get through that?" He asked into her hair.

"Yeah. Did I ever thank you for helping me with my past?" Shelby asked, pullling back to look at him. Scott smiled, and leaned into kiss her softly. She responded, and they held on for just a few seconds.

When they broke away, Scott eyes glowed. "Yeah."

Shelby smiled at him, and then leaned in for another kiss. For just a moment, time stood still, and everything was right, here in this little world they had made for themselves.

~Let the world stop turnin'
Let the sun stop burnin'
Let them tell me love's not worth going through
If it all falls apart I will know deep in my heart
The only dream that mattered had come true
In this life, I was loved by you