My story is not told a lot, if it ever has been. My name? Well, that's not important, the story itself is, but if you must know my name, my name is Andrew. I don't like nicknames. It's just Andrew. Now, I could give you some boring life biography, but, honestly, none of that is important. My real story, the story I want to tell, well, that story starts in September . . .

***

"Do you know how much I hate school?" I complained to my best friend, Jimmy.

"A lot by the sound of it." He threw open the school doors. "Besides, you complain every year." I had to grab Jimmy's sleeve and pull him along as he had stopped to stare at a girl and showed no signs of moving ever again.

"I have every right to complain, no matter how often it is!" I retorted as soon as Jimmy was away from the girl.

"Which is, on average, every two minutes. You complain about English, Math, French, Gym, Art . . ."

"Okay! I get it!" I cut him off, throwing my hands up. I got some weird looks, but hey, I'm popular enough to get away with it, "Besides, who doesn't hate school?

"Erm," Jimmy thought for a second, "Cassie Dallwood." He named a ninth grader who worshipped textbooks.

"Think of someone normal!" I insisted. Jimmy bit his lip, I could see his small brain working.

"I can't." He sighed, admitting defeat. He opened his locker, and stuffed his things in unceremoniously.

"Exactly, because no one normal likes scho-oo-l." I managed to stutter out. My attention had been caught halfway through the word. "Who's that?" I demanded, pointing at a girl standing talking to someone I didn't recognize.

"Her," Jimmy asked, running a hand through his blonde hair. "That's Candace Stevens, she's gone to our school forever. But mmm, is she ever looking good in red."

"Stop drooling," I insisted, not wanting to get my new shoes wet. "Besides, I'm not talking about Candace, I'm talking about the girl she's with."

"Dunno, must be a newb," Jimmy shrugged, unconcerned. I knew that Jimmy could barely see the girl, so I pulled him over to the side so that he could get a better look. "DUDE! It's a hottay!" He cried. "So not my type, but you now, she is still WHOO-HOO-HOO!" Jimmy cheered. We got no weird looks this time. See, in our school, the only way to know if you were hot or not was by Jimmy. So, because of this, everyone looked toward the girl he was whooping about.

She had blue hair (obviously dyed) thrown up into a ponytail. Her clothes were all black. A tank top and tight black pants. Her stomach was showing, and her hair curled until it hit her butt.

"Getting a better look?" Jimmy purred in my ear. "I thought you weren't into girls." He reminded me. I'm not gay, don't get me wrong, it's fine if you are, but I don't swing that way. What he means is, I find that relationships like the kind that are established in high-school are petty and that one should wait until they are out in the world to start looking.

"There's something about her." I said softly. Jimmy wasn't paying any attention though, he had made his way over to the duo and was beginning to flirt with Candace. I hurridly ran over and joined them. The first thing I noticed was that the girl did not have a bookbag. All she had was one of those cloth guitar cases slung over one shoulder, and from the looks of it, the guitar was in it.

"Hey Andrew." Jimmy announced, as though he hadn't seen me for twenty years. "You know Andrew right, Candace?"

"Of course," Candace was a blonde on the tall side. She was the kind of person who you would expect to be on the cheerleading squd, but Candace is a soccer player, she's pretty ruthless too.

"I was just saying how I'd love to take Candace out, and that we should make it a double, you could go with, ummm. I'm sorry, I didn't get your name." He turned to the girl.

"My name is Ember, and you better not forget it." She told him, with an edge to the setance. I wondered what made her so bitter, why she insisted that he not forget her name.

"Right. Ember." Jimmy smiled. "So, what do you guys think?" I looked at Ember. She looked back with a small shrug.

"Sure." I agreed.

"Great!" Jimmy said enthusastically. "Now, if you'll excuse us," Jimmy pulled Candace away from us by the hand.

I rolled my eyes. "We're just lucky he hasn't gotten a detention yet." I told her. She gave a small giggle.

"MR MCARTHY! MS STEVENS! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!" I heard a female voice mumble an explanation. "DETENTION! MY OFFICE AT NOON! THE BOTH OF YOU!"

"I think we spoke to soon," Ember told me, a twinkle in her neon eyes. I blushed like a fool.

"Why am I not surprised?" I grumbled, trying to play it cool.

"Because he's your friend, and you know what's he like."

"Did you just move here?" I had to know if I'd seen her before, though I was sure she'd remember it.

"Yeah. Turned sixteen, ran away, never want to go back." She confessed. We both stood there awakwardly until my gaze rested on the guitar case again.

"Do you play?" I asked, motioning to it.

"Would I have a guitar with me if I didn't?" Okay, so she had me there.

"You should come to my place later. I play the bass, maybe we could write a song or something." I said in a rush.

"Cool, are you trying to break into the biz?"

"I wanted to when I started taking lessons, then I started composing my own pieces, and I realized I didn't want to play, I wanted to write." I admitted. I wondered why I was even telling her this. Jimmy didn't know I played, let alone wrote songs. I'd be teased off the earth!

"I assume you want me to keep this a secret." She asked wryly.

"What would give you that idea?" I stammered nervously.

"You're the type of guy that comes off as a follower, one of the crowd. If anything was different then you would try to hide it. Then if it became cool, or you became successful because of what you were doing, then it would be okay to tell."

"You're very perceptive." I observed.

"I have to be." She said mysteriously.

The bell rang, and I realized belatedly that I didn't have my things for class.

"Meet me on the front steps at final bell." I commanded, running into the crowd.

Through the entire day I could not get my mind off of Ember. I thought that relationships between us seventeen year olds were petty and sex-filled, yet Ember made me feel something I had never felt before. I liked her. As I let my mind wander, I found a daydream. I was married to Ember. We had four little children. Two looked like me, brown hair brown eyes. One had purple hair, green eyes, one blonde hair blue eyes. I was just kissing Ember's lips when the bell rang. Final bell. I would see her again. I passed Jimmy and ended up on the front steps before anyone else could even get to their lockers. I knew that Ember was a year below me, so it would take a long while before she got to this end of the building.

"Hey, Andrew." She greeted me.

"Hi," I suddenly felt nervous. I had barely met the girl and already I was dreaming of our children? I blushed at the secret. "Ready to go?" She nodded and I led her away. I looked over and saw Jimmy and Candace heading into the woods. Bad Jimmy. I thought.

I opened my front door. "Mom?" I yelled. There was no answer. I kept walking, and heard Ember's quiet steps behind me. I found a note on the table.

I turned back around to Ember. "My mom's gone for the day, so we can be as loud as we want."

"The loud you are the better you sound." Ember replied like a true artist.

"True, so true." My stomach grumbled. "Hungry?" I asked, while digging about in the fridge.

"Just a bit," She admitted, setting the guitar onto the table. I pulled a fruit tray out of the fridge and set it on the table with a flourish. "You wish is my command, m'lady."
"Why thank you kind sir," She said with a giggle. I sat down and she took the seat across from me. I took a strawberry, but she spun the tray to get to the pineapple. I wrinkled my nose.

"How can you eat that stuff?" I asked.

"Like this," Ember answered, popping the little fruit into her mouth.

***

Days went by like this, and every passing moment, I felt myself falling harder for her. I knew she didn't return my affections however, but one afternoon, I knew I had to try.

"I'm really glad I met you, Andrew," She said. We were sitting in my basement and Ember's guitar was leaning against the wall, a songwriting notebook in her hand. She wouldn't let me see what she was writing.

"Oh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's the first time anyone's said that about me."

"Why am I not surprised?" She teased with a light laugh. "But, seriously, I am. I wasn't very social back at my old place, and I'm glad I've found someone I can connect with." I felt like I was seeing into Ember's soul. A rare occurance, and one that shouldn't be taken lightly.

"I'm glad I met you too. I'm finally hanging around with someone who has an IQ higher than two." I loved her smile, the way her lips curved into a perfect image. I found myself moving closer to her, "And you know what Ember?" I whispered in her ear. The blue hair waved when my breath hit it.

"What?" She breathed back, her voice low.

"This." I told her. I grabbed her chin and pulled her lips to mine. I heard the notebook clatter to the floor in her surprise. I felt her small arms wrap around my neck, and I automatically pulled her onto my lap, so that she was as close as possible, but it was still not close enough. She was intoxicating, a poison that I needed more of.

My hands moved under her shirt, and while Ember shivered, she didn't resist me. That gave me courage, and I knew the house would be empty for the next few hours . . .

***

I have a problem. I have a problem. I have a problem. And, just in case you didn't hear me the first time- I have a problem.

I thought that I loved Ember, and maybe in a way, I do. But, it's friendly love. Maybe brotherly love. Okay, so, not brotherly love, since I did sleep with her. And now you've found the problem. I slept with her. The purest form of love. A precious gift. I took that from her, I gave mine to her too. But, after she had left, I was left alone with my thoughts, and they were not satisfying ones.

I thought that after making love to her I would be closer to her than ever before, but it was not the truth. I found out that all I wanted from Ember was one trip around the world. One time. I was just attracted to her. Since I am not Jimmy, and still new to the world of women, I had no idea how exactly to tell the difference. I was just attracted to her. And now I needed nor wanted anything from her. I was now through with Ember. I was completely over her. And here lies the problem.

I still want to be her friend. I know it will be difficult, but I think if I can explain things just right . . . I have to keep reminding myself of Ember's temper, and how I should be wearing something bullet proof, wait, no, missile proof, when talking to her. Last time I had really seen Ember was about two days ago. I didn't see her at school, and I had Candace tell her that I had relatives visiting and I was unavailable after school. It technically wasn't a lie. My little cousin Jake was there for three hours everyday.

The days are passing and I still don't know what to do about Ember. Candace told me that Ember wonders about me, but there is something more reserved about her now. It's almost Christmas. I'm standing in the mall. I need to know if I should buy Ember a gift or not. I've got lots of money, and I've seen her guitar. It's a ratty old purple thing. I could get her a sleek new black shiny one. Easy to tune . . . I think she'd love it. Then she'd throw it at me. It's been just over a week. Christmas in two days.

I woke up Christmas morning. There were no joyous sounds in the house. No cheering or smells of pancakes. I have two younger sisters who think that the crack of dawn is too late for Christmas morning, so it was weird not to hear these sounds. My cellphone vibrated beside me. I grabbed it. There was a text from my girl Stacey.

Merry Christmas honey. I just need to be sure, you and what's her face are over right?

Kisses,

Stace.

Yeah Baby. Me and oh my. What's her name? Amber? Ellen? No, something to do with fire. Flame? Ashes? I dunno, but it's been two weeks now, you're my one and only.

Why would Stace even be worried about that girl. She was a whole year younger than me and was nothing of importance. I forgot her name, so how special could she be?

I trudged downstairs where my little sisters were sitting, tears streaming down their faces. My parents were sullenly cooking.

"Andrew!" They yelled out, running to me. Their arms wrapped around my waist. With all of the sorrow around here you'd think someone had died . . . Oh no! It could have been Gramps. He's been sick for awhile now.

"Katy, Jess, what's wrong?" I asked, bending down in to a crouch, and hand on each seven year old shoulder.

"She died!" They wailed together, tears dripping fat down pale faces.

"Who died? What happened?"

"The house-"

"Caught on fire-"

"The police say that-"

"She set it on fire."

"She had no family-"

"So she was the only-"

"One that died."

"We're gonna miss-"

"Her. She was so-"

"Nice. She loved us."

"Whoa, guys, slow down." I hated when they finished each other's sentances. It was almst like they could read each other's minds, being twins. All I'd gathered was some girl killed herself by burning her house down.

"She left a letter for you." Said Jess. She handed me a blue envolope. I opened it and sat on the stairs.

Dear Andrew,

It is my time to say goodbye. I know you said it a long time ago, but I could not. This was the only way to rid myself of you. I am not sorry that I did it. I had to forget you someway, and this was the only way to do it. First though, I need to tell you a story.

My parents forgot that I was their child. They did not know who I was when I came home one night. They forgot me, that's why I left.

Andrew, they did not remEmber my name, but you will Andrew. You will remEmber my name. Somehow, I will make you know who I am.

The letter was not signed. I had no idea who it was from, nor did I care. But the story, the 'You will remember my name' part scared me. A memory was tugging at me, talking to me. It was a memory of someone saying that, or something close to it. They were talking to Jimmy, and I knew Jimmy didn't forget it. But whatever.

***

"Pumped for the concert?" Stacey cheered as I drove through town.

"Stoked." I replied casually. I couldn't wait. This was the hottest band to ever arrive on the planet. I pulled into a parking spot and we hurried to our seats.

The lights dimmed. The first act took off, running like scared chickens as the real show came out. The lead singer looked a little familiar, but I suppose that was from seeing pictures of her everywhere. You know, it's funny, but, for the life of me, I cannot remember her name. She sang for hours, making us laugh, cry, sing along, be angry at some chump.

"Okay everybody!" She yelled into the mike as the band played the last chords of the song she had finished. "We have time for one more song. This is a song that is very special to me. It's dedicated to someone in this very audience. I told him. I told him, and now he will see."

She opened her pretty little mouth and the words seemed to pour out of her very soul.

"Yeah! Ohh-ooohhh!
"It was, it was September,
"Wind blows, the dead leaves fall,
"To you, I did surrender,
"Two weeks, you didn't call...
"Your life goes on without me,
"My life, a losing game,
"But you should, you should not doubt me,
"You will remember my name...
"Oh, Ember, you will remember!
"Ember, one thing remains!
"Oh, Ember, so warm and tender!
"You will remember my name!
"Your heart, your heart abandoned,
"Your wall, now perishing,
"Like bad dreams in cold December,
"Nothing but ashes remain . . .
"Oh, Ember, you will remember!
"Ember, one thing remains!
"Ember, so warm and tender!
"You will remember my name!
"Oh-woo-oh-woo, Ember!
"You will remember!
"Ember, one thing remains!
"E-e-ember, so warm and tender!
"You will remember my name!
"Yeah! You will remember my name!"

She closed her mouth as the last notes drifted to the rafters. She took the mike again. "Do you remember me now?" She yelled. "Do you remember me now, Andrew? My name is Ember. Do not forget it."

This is just a one-shot. I will not add more. I do not have time to add more. I refuse too. I probably shouldn't spent all of my time on this as I have other fanfics to update. Especially Silence, but I for one, do not find that cliffy mean. I've done worse, and with the plot obvious now. Whatever.

I have some Danny Phantom summaries that I'm willing to hand out if anyone needs something to write. Just pm me. Ideas are appreciated, you'll get your credit. Complaints ignored unless it's in the form of constructive criticism. Reviews motivate me. Don't own it. I hope some of you will check out my other fics. If something confuses you please don't be afraid to ask questions. Something I write may make sense to me but not to you.

~DI4MGZ~