(A/N) Srry haven't been here i a long time. I was really lazy, and was trying to find that same writting drive I used to have, but somehow I managed to get it back.

P.S. I dunn own TDI/TDA or Sometimes by Nine Days, or Second Chance by Shinedown.

Anywas here we go with this one shot.

"Shadows they fall on the stage of you own life,
Trailing behind foot steps,
There's comfort in ghosts who are no longer with you,
Hiding behind your death"- Sometimes, Nine Days

The dark clouds started clustering over head, dimming grey sky. The air was cooler, crisper, and mustier, compared to the illumiated, humid skies of summer. It was fall now.

I truged through the crunchy browned leaves, keeping my head down, as if my combat boots were the most interesting things in history. I looked up timidly when I reached my destination.

"Hi Stine, it's me, you still remember my voice right? It's Gwen...It's been a while since the last time hasn't it?" I said quitely. My voice cracked a little, faltering my composure. "I'm sorry it turned out this way, I'm sorry for the rare visits! I live far away now...I ran away with your band after what happened...I wanted to start fresh I guess..." I was on the urge of breaking down again. Incedents from that night suddenly flared up in my mind, like an untamed fire. My voice sounded hollow against the chilly autum wind. I causiously reached out, and drifted my porcilne fingers along the grey tombstone, and then I laided down the bouquet of purlpe irisis I bought. Purple was Stine's favorite color. "I'm stronger now, I won't run away from my problems again." I sighed and wiped my eyeliner stained tears away.

"I changed a lot, even if my outer appearance is still quite similar. I'm no longer that skinny awkward looking girl who's always slitting her wrists, drowning herself in her own depression, complaining to the world how no one understands her...I have matured from that 'Leave me alone, no one gets me' stage." I paused slightly, spacing out, and let my thoughts travel back in time to the image of me sprawled out on the floor of my bathroom, warm crimson blood seeping slowly down my forearm. Stine was there. He was there cleaning my wounds for me. They had been caused by my little stupid self destruction episode due to the fact my immaturity, and insecurity. Stine helped me throw down the walls of safety, but when he died so suddenly, my walls shot up again immidiately.

I glanced up and focused my blurry vision on his tombstone.

Duncan Stine Conner
Febuary 8th 1990-March 29th 2006
Your presence is a gift from the lord
Your unique and one of a kind
The clock will never stop ticking
But you will always be remembered for being yourself

I stood there silently gazing, swaying in the wind like a fragile ragg doll, one wrong word said, and I would snap...

"Well I guess I'll tell you what's going on. I can actually sing now, not just in my dreams, but actually touring with your band. If someone told me during high school that I was going to be a famous rock star, I would look at them and think that they had issues..." I chuckled slightly at that thought. "I haven't forgotten your singing voice yet, or your teal blue eyes, or your eyebrow piercing. I made my self remember, so you wouldn't be just a memory lingering at the bottom of the pit inside my head."

"And you...you should be..." I stuttered quietly, swallowing a painful lump. "And you should be on tour with me, and...and the band..." I could feel the salty tears welling up in my eyes, ready to spill out any minute. "We should be pulling pranks in the tour bus, chatting away until 5am in our bunk-beds, or even...or even complaining about how much we screwed up on the concert...but instead you are here...lying motionlessly in your coffin bed, 30feet under ground."

I closed my eyes, and exhaled a sigh. "It's unfair how things are huh? I still have a long road to walk, many more albums to record, heck I still have to finish college...but...but you just had to..." I allowed my voice to trail, not wanting Stine's death to hit me again. "Six years ago when people used to mention your name, I would cringe, or flinch, it would feel like a blow to the heart. I've become tougher since I had ran away with the band, and supporting myself only made me more mature. Mum wasn't even pissed of when she found the note I left, she called me telling me it would help me forget, but instead I yelled at her telling her I didn't want to forget. I haven't talked to anyone from this town since...not Mum, not my brother, not LaShawna, not Cody, not even Trent, we didn't even break up...I just, I just left...I fucked up didn't I?" I clumsyly wiped at my smeared face.

I cleared my throat so I wouldn't sound so broken, what I was going to say was going to be important, I didn't want to stumble on the numb tears that were probably trickleling down my pale cheeks, no matter how hard I tried to redeem myself.

"I haven't decided to move back here though. I have to leave soon you know, no one knows I'm here either..." I took in another deep breath, and steadied my voice. "There's something I need to tell you, I never regreted meeting you, never will regret becoming your best friend. You had brought me every emotion possible to maintain. I will always cherish over friendship, I don't believe it's over. So thanks Stine you weren't just a nemises, you...you were real, you were my best friend. So...so thanks for being there..." I said as I smiled bitterly, looking at his grave one last time.

Suddenly I felt the pressence of someone behind me. Someone watching me. I thought I was the only one in this graveyard, at this time. After all who would be up at this time anyway? For heavens sake it was only 3:00am on a Saturday. The tension seemed so familiar, but yet so distant. It felt like a childhood song that you would sing when you were younger, but can't exactly remember all the lyrics, just the tune.

I turned around, and my heart skipped a beat. Forest green eyes speckled with brown. Intense forest green eyes, speckled with brown, they always used to bore holes through my own hazel eyes. The moment i stared into those capturing eyes, I felt as if we were sixteen again. My heart clenched and started pounding violently against my ribcage, my spine started to stiffen. It seemed as an eternity had passed, not just a few mere seconds.

Same shaggy black hair, toustled to frame his face messily, he still towered over me, but his intense eyes, they changed. There was a distinct glisten of sadness in them.

"You're here..." He said unsurely, and reached down and grazed his finger tips across my collar bone, checking if I was actually standing in front of him. "Gwen, you're here." This time he sounded sure of himself.

I stiffled a half smile, "Yeah I guess...what a coincidence..." This time I didn't run away from my problems, I stood there allowing my eyes to concentrate on his.

"Coincidence, huh?" He asked calmly, and grinned, "Maybe there's a reason..."

I tilted my head like a confused puppy, and then nodded in agreement. The atmosphere thickened with silence.

"Why are you here at this time?" I asked breaking the awkward slience that was slowly building between us.

"I...to be honest I've been too stressed out lately, I just need a break from everything, you know? I started having flash backs, and you were in them. I couldn't fall asleep afterwards so I decided to take a walk, buut somehow, I lost control, and they led to 'our' tree, and then eventually I just ended up here..." He managed a small chuckle. "I could ask you the same Gwen, why are you here"

"We just stop here for the night...we're leaving again at 9:00. I just couldn't help myself from running to a 24h cornner store, getting a bonquet of flowers, and coming to visit Stine's grave...I miss him you kno..." I said ready to break again. I am a strong person, I will not cry infront of Trent, I will not cry, I will not...

The rims of my eyes started to sting with unshed tears. I bit down hard on my bottom lip to keep myself from crying.

"Gwen..." He said gentally and lifted my chin up, forcing me to look at those intense green orbs of his. I stared for a few seconds not saying anything.

I quickly snapped out of our gaze, and ran. I ran away from my problems again. Why can't I just face them like Stine always wanted me too? I felt stupid for ever running away ever, but that didn't make me stop to face Trent, it only made me speed up. I could hear his foot steps echoing behind, contrasting with mine.

"Gwen hold on, Gwen, it's okay, your not alone, not anymore," He grabbed my wrist, his grip was frim, but he made sure it didn't hurt me. After all this time I was the one who had hurt him, and yet he's still being careful in not hurting me.

I was still determind to make a run for it but I was too weak, I'm stubbon this way. His grasp tightened.

"Gwen don't run away anymore, why did you just leave that day? You know you cant always just pack your bags, and run. Why did you just disapear without telling annyone? It's okay having someone there for you, okay?" He bloted out. "You should have had LaShawna comfort you, you could have me help you out! But you just had to leave!" He yelled despreately.

More tears gathered in my orbs, and rolled down my cheeks, dripping down the length of my neck.

"Sorry, really..." My voice had sounded forgien to me. It was all I was capable of murmuring. "I wrote to you evey day, but I just couldn't figure out how to fit the words in correctly...but it got eaiser when I realized that you won't ever read them..." Frustration started to fill up my insides, soon I started too feel rage, he can't expect me to carry on, can he? I've lost too much already. First it was Dad, he died when the car crashed on my 5th birthday when we went to pick up the cake. Then Stine, the first person I opened up to since my dad passed. I shook my wrist out of his grasp, and tried to run.

Not after the second step I took I was lifted into the air, and then embraced into his arms. I tried to squrim away, but his arms wouldn't buge. They only brought me closer to him. Once I got tired of my pointless attemps to get away, I just gave in and pressed my teary face into his chest.

We stood there for a while, me crying my little heart out, and him running his fingers through my short choppy hair. Soon I calmed down, slowly looked up, making contact with those intense forest green orbs.

This time it was him who broke the silence. "So you have a boyfriend yet?"

"Oh me?"

"Yeah you. Who else is here?" He asked, hummor lacing his voice.

"No, too busy with touring and stuff." I said not looking him in the eye. "Do you?" What a stupid question, ofcourse he does now, he's probably married now.

"No Gwen I don't have a boyfriend." He answered sarcastically, "and no girlfriend either, too busy with school, I'm in med school now suprise huh?"

"Yeah."

Slience again.

A cold breeze blew past. I shivered and placed my hands in my pockets.

"Gwen, will I ever see you again?" He asked sadly.

"I'm not sure..." I shrugged. "Do you think everything happens for a reason?"

"Yeah, I do" He answered without hesitation.

"So tell me Trent, what is the reason of us meeting today?" I questioned curiously.

He looked down at me a his lips curved into a slight smile, "Well, right after you left I tought to myself, 'I need to see her again, even if it's just for a few minutes.' And I guess my wish has been granted." He replied sheepishly.

"So if we ever see each other again, what will the reason of our next encounter be?"

"I only have one reason in mind..." He said softly. "Right after this meeting, I'm going to think to myself, 'I hope I see her again, and this time I hope it will be longer then the last one.'" He's smile became larger.

"Oh" It was all I could say. "So if its supposed to happen, I guess it will happen..."

Another chilly breeze rushed by.

"Bye Trent I'll see you later, I guess..." I tried to sound cold, I tried to get him to forget me. It will only hurt him more because I already promise myself that I won't come back ever again.

I began to walk away, away from my past, toward the bus. Suddenly he turned me around and dropped a midnight blue velvet box in my hand.

"Gwen, have this...I want you to remeber me, and all the shit we went through...I got this to remember you, but now that my wish is granted I want you to keep it. You know to remeber all the shit we've been through, and this, this encounter."

My gaze met his, they were filled with dessperation. I wanted to give the box back but I somehow couldn't. I took in a deep breath, and lifted the cover. There in the satin inside od the box sat a pendant. It was a silver guitar pick, our initials were engraved into it with delicacy.

I opened my mouth to protest, but instead, he pulled me into a bear hug. It was warm and comforting. He held me tight, as if he would never ever see me again.

"Goodbye Trent, I have to go, we're leaving this town soon." I said quietly.

His hug tightened.

he remained silent.

"I'll see you later Gwen" He said as he kissed my forehead.

"Sometimes you got to set free what you love
Just to bring it back..." -Sometimes, Nine Days

"Maybe goodbye is a second chance..."-Shinedown

Please R&R, it really inspires me to go further.

thnx

x}