The light fractured as the glass twirled – his only movement. It was like a prism; just another scientific invention. It was light, but coloured – it wasn't just black and white. Light shed colour and colour shed light. It was simple.

"Shit..." he murmured; his voice hoarse. He couldn't believe it – his hand fisted over his heart. It was painful. It was staggering. His breath was short. There wasn't anything there anymore. He could feel the hollowness. He could feel the emptiness begin to invade.

'Get away from me...'

Her eyes glimmered with emotion – it was only once. Her words tore through his chest; tearing down the walls. She was lethal in her words. She knew where his weaknesses were. She knew just where to hit to get him staggering.

'Get. Away. From. Me...'

He didn't know where it came from – he had done everything to gain her trust. He had done everything that she had asked of him and he knew...he knew she loved him. It was in her eyes and her smile. Her laughter still rung through his ears.

His hands fisted; the feelings raging through his veins. He didn't know what was happening but, he couldn't take it. She always ran away and he always ran after her – he couldn't anymore. He couldn't be the shoulder she expected him to be anymore without anything in return. He just wished he could stop time and go back. He didn't want to live the life he was living at the moment. He didn't want to feel the pain he was feeling.

"Fuck..." he grunted, throwing the glass towards the opposite wall. Soundlessly, it smashed, shattering into a million pieces. His hands going through his hair; his legs crumbling. The world was falling. The world around him was crumbling and there wasn't anything to hold it together. As she bolted, his world fell; as she left, she took him with her. There wasn't anything there anymore. There wasn't anything left of him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Buzz, buzz...buzz...

"Shit," she murmured, quickly rolling out of her bed. Her feet stumbled, her legs ached – running a hand through her hair, she tried to clear her blurred vision.

Buzz...buzz...

"Turn that damn thing off Lillian..." he growled softly, throwing a pillow above his ear. He had a meeting after lunch and he needed to be well rested.

"I'm getting there," she snapped, throwing clothes in the air as she tried to find her phone. Biting her lip, she recognized the number immediately – wondering just how he had gotten the new number.

'Lilly? I know you're there...you picked up...'

"What do you want?" she questioned, her back stiffening slightly. The past was still coming back to haunt her – no matter how far she ran, she couldn't seem to escape them.

'It's Joe...he's...he's not doing so we-'

"Why are you telling me this Nick? I don't...I don't even know how you got ahold of me..." she whispered, quickly exiting the bedroom. She didn't want to wake the boy in the bed anymore than he wanted to be woken up.

'Lilly...he's...there was an accident...he's not...he's not waking up...'

"What are you saying?" she sighed, stumbling to the couch. No one had said a word to her for over 3 months and now they were calling her – begging her to do something about it all.

'It's bad Lilly...I just thought you should know...'

The call was short and abrupt – but she heard the hoarseness of his voice. She could hear the tears in his eyes; she wouldn't of called herself his friend if she never noticed it. It had been so long and just the sound of his voice bought back everything.

"Everything alright?"

"I don't...I don't know..." she said helplessly, staring up at him for some kind of answer. They were friends – nothing more and nothing less. He was always going to be there for her and she would always be there for him. She was thankful that he had accepted her back into his life so readily. The others...she hadn't spoken to any of them for so long.

"That was one of them?"

"Nick...Joes' had an accident," she intoned, her voice flat. She didn't want to feel anything – she had to put herself at a distance. There was nothing left of them. There was nothing left to face for them.

"You going?"

"I dunno...I really just...I don't know..." Her voice was soft – hoarse. She could feel the tears closing up her throat but she didn't want to cry. She didn't want to shed anymore tears over the boy that broke her heart. She didn't have the time or energy to do it anymore. It was over.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"How is he?"

"He's breathing...just," he responded, pulling the fragile brunette into his arms. She was his lifeline at the moment and he held on tightly. His brother was in intensive care and no one had a clue as to what would come of it. No one knew just what exactly was helping.

"I'm sorry..." she murmured into his chest, wrapping her arms tightly around his torso. She could feel his regard breathing – the beating of his heart. She wanted to take away his pain; she wanted to make him feel okay again but, she couldn't.

"I know..." he nodded, just pulling her closer. One hand gripped his brothers' tightly, while the other ran a hand through her hair. The air was thick – he could barely breathe.

"You called her?"

"She didn't...she doesn't care," he growled softly, tightening his grip on Joes' hand. He couldn't believe that she had turned away. No one knew the full story between the two. Joe hadn't talked alot since that day. No one knew how to talk to Joe anymore – one mention of her name and he flipped.

"You don't know the story Nick," she cajoled softly, rubbing his shoulders. Although they didn't know the full story – they couldn't judge. There was just something undeniable between Lilly and Joe and she knew that that couldn't be forgotten so easily. There was still feelings there and but she knew Lilly needed to come back. Everything wasn't the same anymore.

"I know that she ran away...again," he snapped, pulling away. He couldn't hear someone defending the girl that broke Joe – he didn't want too. She was the one that should be apologising. She was the one that broke the boy. She needed to come back and fix it.

"We don't know Nick...we can't," she sighed sadly, trying to catch his gaze. She knew he was hurting but he couldn't take it out on her. She didn't deserve his anger. She just wanted everything back to the way it was.

"I just wanna go back Miles...I just wanna go back..." he choked, the tears falling. He didn't know what to do anymore – the world around them was crumbling. Everything was getting torn away and nothing was left sacred anymore.


"You know...everythings' changed now," he spoke, his words echoing through the darkness. It was just the two of them. There wasn't anyone else to invade the moment – there wasn't anyone else to help them through it.

"What do you mean?" she questioned, playing with his fingers lightly. The others were just next door – sleeping form the previous concert. She had been out of hospital for a month and everything was going good. Nothing was falling apart – not yet.

"You...me...us...everythings' different," he shrugged, smiling slightly at the blonde. He was thankful that she stuck beside him through the long nights. The adrenaline was still pumping through his veins and the music still brimmed beneath his skin.

"How do you mean?"

"I love you Lillian..." he whispered, leaning towards her – leaning his forehead against hers. There wasn't anything holding him back anymore. Truths were released between them and he could finally trust her. He wasn't waiting on bated breath to see if the last word she said was a lie or truth.

"I love you too Joe..." she replied, grazing his cheek lightly. The world stopped when he looked at her like that. Everything slowed down so it was just them. They could breathe the air together and feel the heat between them. He was right – everything was different.

His lips met her in a searing kiss. His arms ran down her side to grip her hips tightly – pulling her across his lap.

Twining her legs around his waist, she flushed their bodies together – running her fingers through his hair. She breathed deep, clenching her eyes closed tightly; she didn't want it to end. She didn't want to wake up one day and feel like she used too. Right there, right then – she felt like she was supposed to. She was wanted. She was loved. She was everything she had every wanted.

"God, I love you..." he murmured, pulling her in for a deep hug. He didn't want to lose her again – he couldn't. His world revolved around her now and he couldn't stop it. He loved her – fully. He couldn't pull away anymore. It was all for nothing now.