Normal P.O.V:

One Year Later

The streets were covered in a sheet of snow, the month of December beginning to roll in and freezing the population of Japan. There was a man, determined to getting to his destination on time, or else his sister wouldn't hesitate to murder him. The blue-haired man got a last-minute text from her, telling him to get to the coffee shop within fifteen minutes or else his head would be rolling on the floor.

He learned a while ago to take her threats seriously.

As he burst through the doors of the coffee shop, panting heavily and looking for the platinum blonde. The man finally found her, sitting at a table, her eyes glued to a book he has never seen before.

"I want you to read this." She said once she noticed his presence.

"You called me to read a damn section of a book?" He growled.

"Sit down and read it." She commanded, he decided not to question her anymore and took the book from her hands, sitting in the empty chair beside her.

Stories always go by the plot they are planned with in the beginning, they may have some plot twists to intrigue the reader, making them come back for more. Any sharp turns in the plot can leave the reader confused, making them not want to pick up the book again. Whenever you read a book, you know that the villain will eventually have their downfall, the guy will eventually get the girl, and there is always the saying that follows after. What if it didn't end like that, no one got what they wanted and stayed exactly the same?

No happily ever after? That wouldn't be a great story now will it? But yet, the unexpected turns in a book that leave you dazed at first may have some sense later on. It is always interesting to see something new and creative, because we rarely get that nowadays.

Life is a creative novel, life is the one thing that will always leave you surprised and begging for more. He taught me that, the pain at the end of everything was worth it if I got to spend time with him.

For a brief moment, he made me believe that there could be a happily ever after, that he could spin me around on a beach while there was a beautiful sunset in the background; that he would one day be at the end of the aisle that I walked on; that maybe love could be like a book.

From our love was something even greater than that, the experience of true love and loss, to have the feeling of the unexpected become pleasurable. Sure, it didn't last, but he made cherish the moments I had with him, even if they only lasted a couple of months.

Love and happiness will never go hand-in-hand, but after the pain subsides, you begin to realize that everything in the books is utter shit, and the torture of real love is something beautiful.

He closed the book and looked at the cover of it, What A Cliche Love Story was written in red letters on the front, but his eyes widened as he spotted the name under it.

Amu Hinamori.

Amu's P.O.V:

"Book sales are amazing, readers are in love with the entire thing!" Sara cheered, checking her laptop for everything and I smiled proudly.

"Thanks." I shrugged like it was no big deal, but it was. This was the first time a book that I had written was receiving such positive feedback, but everyone seemed to fall in love with how I ended it.

"You know, with all of this spare money you're making, you earned yourself a vacation!" Sara was being awfully generous, I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't buy a vacation home in Spain with this attitude.

"I'm not sure I really want to go anywhere." I sighed.

"Nonsense, there must be some place you're dying to go." She argued and I thought about it for a moment.

"I'll get back to you on it." I stood up and headed out of her office, heading downstairs and out of the building. I drove home with blasting music from the radio, maybe a vacation would be nice, I could take Sara and Sam somewhere nice. I knew when I got back that there would be multiple book signings and interviews to go through though, and I was already dreading it.

"I'm home!" I exclaimed while walking into my condo, seeing Sam standing there with a dust pan. Something very vivid stood out though, a red ribbon in the middle of it.

"I just finished cleaning your room, your closet was a mess." He smiled gently at me and I approached him, taking the red ribbon out as memories flooded my mind. "That's dirty Amu, I need to throw it out."

"Do you remember that red flannel shirt Sam, the one I refused to throw out?" I ignored him as I watched this ribbon in my hand.

"Yes."

"Take it out for me, as well as my luggage."

"Why?" He asked.

"I need to repay some old friends a visit." I grinned at him and he seemed to catch on, following my orders.


I stood in front of the door, my fist resting on it, refusing to follow my commands and knock. I was terrified of what she would say, a year has passed with no contact. I finally took a leap of courage and knocked once, instantly regretting and trying to find some place to hide.

It was too late though, when the brunette already opened the door and her eyes widened at the sight of me.

"Amu?" She stared at me questionably and I lifted the ribbon that she gave me so long ago, I took it just for this moment.

"It's me." I chuckled nervously and she threw herself at me, causing me to fall onto the floor with her on top of me.

"I missed you so much! Your book is so amazing and you look so grown-up and well!" She rambled on while helping me up and pulling me into her house, I sat in her family room while she went to go get refreshments.

Yaya ran back into the room, setting a mug of hot coffee in front of me, I took it gladly, not believing how cold it was. It's been a while since I've seen snow, and I hated it, I always hated cold weather.

"I missed you." She reminded me.

"I've missed you too, I've been so busy with that book, with all of the publishing and running it through people-"

"It's really good though, I just finished it today." She said softly and I stared at her in shock.

"It was only released a week ago."

"I couldn't put it down, it was like a look into the past through a different point of view." She smiled.

"How has everyone been?"

"Good, we all missed you." She said, her eyes seemed to be distant slightly.

"And...Ikuto?"

"Single."

"That's not what I meant!" I blushed furiously and she burst out in laughter, I rolled my eyes at her behavior, but of course I felt relieved at this information.

"Were you planning to see him?" She raised a brow, finally calming down after her little joke.

"I was actually, I feel like I owe it to myself and him." I admitted.

"Trust me, he'll be glad to see you." She sipped her coffee nonchalantly.

"Why do you say that?"

"Out of everyone here, he was the one that freaked out the most when you left, but you didn't hear it from me." She placed an index finger over her lips with a wink and I felt my heart hammer against my chest, not believing what I was hearing.

"I thought he didn't love me." I mumbled.

"You're completely oblivious! Of course he loved you, he was suffering that week as well. Then he even went to see you at the airport." Everything was being brought to my attention to quickly, and I can't believe I acted like a complete fool.

"Yaya, I need to go." I stood up, grabbing my purse and heading to the front door.

"Call me afterwards, I need all the information." I heard her shout as I ran into the cold street, not really sure where I was going to run. I decided on the left and dashed down the street, ignoring the stares of strangers as I pushed through the crowds.

My heart was beating quickly, either from the adrenaline or the thought of him still having feelings for me. It's been a year and the thought of him still set me off, he has been sitting in my veins ever since I met him, and he hasn't left my system.

I was stopped when I saw my name written in bold letters on a newspaper, sitting on a book stand. I walked up to it, picking it up and seeing that my book was on the front cover and felt my heart light up slightly. Even after being an author for so long, it's still amazing seeing that people enjoy my work.

"I want today's paper." I heard a man beside me say and didn't bother to look over, reading the words over and over again.

"Little lady has the last copy, sorry." The man at the stand said and I finally looked up, seeing a deep ocean looking down at me and I felt my heart drop but flutter at the same time.

"I didn't want to buy it, something just caught my eye." I handed it over to him, he looked at me for a moment and then at the paper before taking it out of my hands.

"Thanks." He seemed like a dream, seeing him after so long. Every memory that took so long to suppress is coming back up like a bile in the back of my throat, because I wasn't sure if he was happy to see me or annoyed. The uncertainty killed me, I watched his eyebrows furrow in concentration as he read the newspaper. I let out a shaky breath as my mind begged me to say something just to grab his attention, for him to bring up what happened a year ago.

"I-I, um..." I stuttered and he looked at me, a blank expression and I panicked further.

"I've never seen you so nervous, Hinamori." Oh god he called me by my last name; he hates me, he completely hates me.

"Well, I just..." I have to completely honest in this situation, and then I remembered what I had in my purse. I pulled out the red flannel and shoved it into his chest. "Here."

"Is this the flannel from a year ago?" He questioned, seeming surprised that I had kept it.

"Yeah, I always forgot to return it." I mumbled out, he put the paper down back on the stand and took it, bringing it to his face and sniffing it.

"It smells like you." He muttered. "God, you're such an idiot." I was taken aback by what he said. "I'm such an idiot."

"Ikuto..." I looked at him as he kept his pressed against his nose.

"I loved the way you smelled, I love the way you smell." He corrected himself and I saw his eyes fill with moisture. "Why did you leave?"

"Because I thought you didn't love me." I admitted and he threw the flannel down, engulfing me in a hug.

"You broke my heart and I sat there and sulked, and the minute I decided to get up and get you, you were flying back to America. You published your book and became so successful and I thought you forgot about me. Now you're back, you're constantly screwing with my heart." He spoke quickly, his heart spilling out the emotions he held in all year.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." I hugged him back. "I couldn't forgive myself for what I did to you."

"If I can forgive you, then you can forgive yourself." He pulled away and cupped my face with his cold hands, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I want to hate you for what you did, but I'm so in love with you, I-I can't." My heart skipped a beat at the "L" word and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I love you too." I said and his lips pressed against mine, gently and lovingly. He pulled away and rested his forehead against mine, hands still on my face and I wrapped mine around his wrists, rubbing the back of his hand with the pad of my thumb.

With everything that happened between us, I couldn't consider this a love story. But I can tell you this, it was so much fucking better than one.

I CAN'T BELIEVE I FINISHED THIS STORY OH MY LORD, I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT AND THE LAST COUPLE OF CHAPTERS SHOULDN'T HAVE TAKEN SO LONG FOR ME TO UPDATE BUT I'M A LAZY SHIT SO WHOOPS.

Please R&R!