A/N: I was thinking of Shiver and Linger one night and all these ideas came to my mind. None of them will be near as good as 'Remembering Sam' but I'll do the best I can with them!

Disclaimer: own nothing

Taste Disappointment Twice

I can live through seeing my supposedly dead brother die again. And it was my fault too, which only makes it worse in a way.

I can survive. I'm a durable girl. I can manage through about anything. I learned about werewolves and I'm still sane. I nearly gave myself away to a rockstar without a second thought on the matter.

I have to say that I've done millions and millions of stupid things and that I will easily regret every single one of hem when I'm that old lady on a porch yelling, "GET THE HELL OFF MY LAWN!" But that doesn't mean I won't think back and say, "Damn, that was a hell of a time..."

And I can live through my regrets. But I have to say that if I can't bear something it's tasting disappointment.

It's like that bile in the back of your throat. It's the sour on the tip or your tongue that won't go away. You can drink all the ginger ale in the world, but it doesn't settle the disappointment that you can still feel inside.

I tasted it once watching Jack die his horrible death. We had hopes for it to work. We thought it'd be perfect. We thought it'd be his cure. We thought Jack would make it.

Seeing his final breaths, I knew that churning feeling wouldn't end. That taste on my tongue never left. I was upset. I'd trusted Grace and I'd trusted the cure. I guess putting too much faith in it was a jinx or something of the sorts. And then Jack was gone.

We learned how to kill someone who was already dead that day...

I have to say that it was a life lesson. I respected Jack and I looked up to him and to see the strongest guy I knew fall to the simplest thing... I guess it taught me that through all the defenses you put up, something will always get around them. And I have the defenses of the freaking White House.

Twice was what made it sickening. Twice made it stick with me. Twice made me look back and think, Aw hell, why am I feeling this way again? Is there something wrong with me? Twice made me see that you really don't know what you got 'till it's gone.

Cole disappearing into the forest for the winter left me entirely crushed. I stare out my window at night with my solemn expression and know that I won't see the beautiful green eyes of a wolf staring out of the trees at me. Because my father would've killed Cole in a heartbeat. It was sickening to think that.

I had to call Grace lucky. She had Sam outside her back window, his golden eyes always shining out. I could never see Cole. And now I could never see Grace.

To taste disappointment twice was to see Cole run off and know I wouldn't see him again for months. And with him was my only friend in the world. And with me was the love of her life. And now we were pairs scattered in two different worlds, people trapped on the cusp of being somewhere and yet not in the same moment.

And I hated seeing the snow disappear when I was little. It was cold with its crisp, white beauty. But now I couldn't wish away the snow fast enough. Because seeing the snow vanish meant Cole would be back with me for the spring and the open arms of summer's warm embrace.

And when he didn't come to me on the first warm day of the year, disappointment was right there on the tip of my tongue, never failing to show up.

A/N: Isabel and Cole are so cute. But don't expect much of them from me. I'm more Shelby, Sam and Grace-centric. Please review!

~Sky