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Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own the NW. Well, I own Kieran and Lilianna…and Ambra, although I'm not sure why anyone would want her…

A big thanks to my amazing Beta: TheBrightestNight

Ok, onto the story! Enjoy:D

Lilianna was trying to focus on her Chemistry test.

Really, she was.

What was the symbol for iron again?

She was only kidding herself. She couldn't focus. Kieran occupied her every thought, his coldness consuming her until she felt as if her heart was coated with sticky snow. Her spirit felt as dead as a trampled rose, petals smeared into a blood-red pulp, the stem mangled, the thorns failing their purpose. Thorns provided no protection against something as violent as winter.

That's it, Lilianna realized, I'm trapped in the middle of a bleak winter. A never ending, life-sucking winter.

A winter where nothing grows, and the coldness seeps deep into the bones. One where flesh is frosted a violet-blue, chilled by winter's hands. Limbs prickled ugly with goose bumps, teeth chattering in a pathetic and desperate measure to restore some of the heat of summer.

Her soul felt hollow, empty, like it had abandoned her. It had left her, fleeing from the frigid deadness that was eating her slowly, freezing her alive. Surely, this was the worst way to die.

Correction: she was already dead. She had died the day Kieran had looked at her with those cold and indifferent eyes, as if she were nothing more than a ghost, something that he wished would stop haunting him.

He was still in her head, the bond tugging pathetically between them, as if attempting to pull them together physically. It wasn't going to work. Lilianna never wanted to see Kieran again. All she wanted was to drown in her misery, slowly and painfully.

Alone.

That word was starting to taste sweeter and sweeter on her tongue with each passing day.

She had shoved her friends out of her life. She had quit cheerleading. She was exhausted all the time. She no longer had the energy to put up with the petty gossip and cat fights. She barely had the energy to get through the day.

She was tired of always acting like her heart was untouched by misery's hand. Like she was living a life of ignorant bliss, one where the sun always shines and people never die. But life wasn't like that, was it? You can't escape life by hiding your pain. Eventually, everything catches up to you. Life is harsh, life is pain, and anyone who denies that is lying.

Lilianna was done with being plastic.

She had shed her skin; she was now exposing everything to anyone who would look. She no longer cared about the hushed whispers that followed her as she shuffled down the halls, her head down, her hands limply swinging by her sides.

She had given up entirely. She was failing school. She was isolating herself in her suffering.

She was a woman defeated.

Lilianna felt as if her inner fire had been diminished, had been smothered and deprived of the oxygen it needed to survive, until it suffocated into ashes in her chest. Maybe that was when she truly died, when the remnants of the fire had stopped licking the inside of her rib cage. If that fire wasn't her spirit, Lilianna didn't know what was. It wasn't possible to be alive without a spirit. Therefore, Lilianna was dead.

She was as dead and cold as a decaying corpse.

. . .

The next day at school wasn't any better. If anything it was worse.

She had been in Biology when it had happened. She was doodling a rose on her the side of her notebook when suddenly the teacher called her name.

"Lilianna?" Ms. Rajan called, gazing at her expectantly.

"Yes?" Lilianna asked, quickly hiding her doodle from view.

"Would you care to explain the Calvin Cycle to the rest of the class?" Ms. Rajan raised her eyebrows, and Lilianna knew she was busted.

"Ummm, well, the Calvin Cycle begins with sunlight. . ." Lilianna babbled, not really sure where she was going with this.

Please, let the fire alarm go off or something! She begged. Everyone was staring at her, and she could feel a faint blush creeping across her cheeks.

Suddenly, the door opened. Lilianna sighed with relief as Ms. Rajan took her penetrating eyes off of her and focused on the new person in the room.

The person was a petite red head with glasses and lots of freckles. She glanced down at the piece of paper in her hand and announced, "Lilianna McKennon? You're wanted at the office."

Lilianna didn't care that she was probably getting into even deeper trouble. She was just glad to get out of explaining the Calvin Cycle. She quickly gathered up her books and practically sprinted out of the room. The red head gave her the pass to the office, and then took off to make some copies. Lilianna shrugged, and started down the hall towards the office, wondering what could possibly be going on.

"Lilianna!" a far too familiar voice called.

Lilianna froze, hating how her heart lifted automatically at the sound. She swiveled around, anger making her eyes spark. "What?" she hissed.

Kieran blinked, staring back at her with those beautiful, transparent green eyes. "I know you're upset with me, and I know you have every right to be, but please hear me out!"

Lilianna pretended to consider it. "Hmmm," she stroked her chin. "No," she said flatly. She swiveled back around and stalked off down the hall.

Kieran was next to her in a flash. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. She viciously yanked her arm out of his grasp, ignoring the tingled his touch sent firing up her arm. "Let me go, Kieran!" she demanded.

"Lilianna, you're in danger!" Kieran said furtively, "I overheard Aaron talking—"

Lilianna just shook her head, cutting him off sharply. "Aaron's been nothing but nice to me…. You, one the other hand… you're freaking engaged! Didn't you think to mention that?"

"You're right, and I'm sorry," Kieran said doggedly. "But please listen to me!"

Lilianna shook her head. "Go away Kieran."

Then the bell rang, and the hall was filled with students bustling to get to their locker. Lilianna quickly ducked into the crowd without a backwards glance.

Review? Please? They make me so happy!