Disclaimer: I don't own Everwood or any of the characters. Pairings: Ephram/Amy

Rating: PG-13, just to be on the safe side

This starts at the end of their senior year. Please Review!!!

Chapter 2-The Ballet

Ephram was silent. What would a break up have meant for him and Amy? Did she think, maybe, they would get together? Ephram tried to push the thought out of his mind.

"Do you have change? I need to call and tell them I can't make it to the performance. Ephram, I have another secret."

"You don't have to tell me."

"I applied for Juilliard, and they had me go for a tryout. They wanted to come watch me tonight. The Denver thing is true though, the Denver ballet said they could find a place for me if I didn't get into Juilliard."

"Amy, you can't do that. You can't just miss the whole performance!"

"Ephram, I can't perform now. I just can't. I mean Colin and everything. It's too much."

"I'll take you."

"But surely you had plans." Ephram's look silenced her. As they got up and started walking towards her house, Ephram was a little surprised at what he had just done. He felt sort of guilty, almost honing in on Colin's territory right after he had died. Colin had become a really good friend the last few years.

"Ephram, why are you doing all this for me?"

"I don't know. Amy, the truth is, I really don't know."

"I've got to get my stuff together. If the phone rings, if, well just answer it." Ephram understood her hesitation. The last time she had received a call, it had been bad news. He stepped forward and hugged Amy lightly.

"Everything will be okay, just trust me on this one." Amy nodded and then walked up the stairs. Ephram collapsed on the couch and glanced around the living room. His eyes fell on the phone and as soon as they did, it began ringing. He watched it ring for a minute and then answered it.

"Hello."

"Hi. Is Miss Amy Abbott there? This is a representative of Juilliard."

"Amy can't come to the phone right now. She's getting ready to meet someone from Juilliard and perform for them."

"Well that's what I wanted to call about. The performance she was scheduled in has been canceled. We were still going to watch her with the pianist. But the one lined up has become ill. We'd like to call her later and reschedule." Ephram knew that was like saying, "Thanks for trying out. We don't want to take the time to find you. Call us again in several years."

"I'm a pianist, could I do it?"

"We want the pianist to be familiar with the music and you wouldn't be. If you choose something else, Miss Abbott wouldn't know it."

"But, wait. I have a song that Miss Abbott is very familiar with, I could ask her if that would be okay."

"I guess." Ephram put the woman on hold and ran up the stairs. Amy was standing there, wrapped in only a towel. Ephram glanced down.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know."

"Ephram it's okay. What song?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know and I know I've been eavesdropping a little."

"Your song. Remember when you told me what a good piece it would make in a ballet and you showed me what you thought the main dancer would be doing? Do that dance. You were beautiful." Amy's face froze for a moment. God what had he said?

"I mean, it was. The dance."

"Yeah. I'll do it. What happens if I don't?"

"They call you some other time."

"Okay. I'll do it." Ephram nodded and then went downstairs.

"I can do it."

"Well are you good?"

"Ma' m, I know this seems a bit rude, but," Ephram lowered his voice, "The New York City ballet has recruited me."

"Oh my! Then you're just our guy. Will you be with Miss Abbott?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Please arrive when she would have, had her performance not been canceled."

"Sure."

"Good bye." Ephram hung up the phone and sighed. What had he gotten himself into?

Amy stepped out onto the stage and tried to relax. What she felt, was that she only got tenser. In her mind, she willed Ephram not to start playing yet. But suddenly the beautiful music filled the air. Amy straightened and then it all came natural to her. The moves, her timing, everything. As Ephram watched, Amy did everything with grace and beauty. He couldn't help but think she looked really good in the tight leotard. All too soon, it was over. Amy walked over to speak with the people from Juilliard. Then they gathered their stuff and she ran over to him.

"Ephram, they like me! They're going to send me a packet of information and stuff! This is it! I'm going to be living my dream. Man, it's going to be hard to leave you. I'll miss talking to you. But, New York here I come!" Ephram smiled and decided not to mention the New York City ballet.

"Amy, you looked amazing out there. You really did," Ephram said, with a note of sadness.

"I can't thank you enough. I mean, if we hadn't come today, they might not have cared enough to come back to see me some other time. I probably have been accepted because of you."

"Amy, it wasn't all me. You were awesome." Amy put a finger to her lips and then kissed Ephram softly.

"Thank you." Amy walked over to her bag and grabbed it. Then she turned to Ephram, who was still standing there.

"I'll be out in the car." Ephram nodded and then watched her go. The last time they had kissed had been in the first year he moved to Everwood. Now, was there a chance for a relationship? In New York?

In the car, Amy was the first to speak.

"So are you serious? You aren't doing college or anything?"

"Well, I really don't know what I want to do."

"Ephram, if I tell you a secret, you can't tell anyone, okay?"

"You've been telling me all your secrets today, got anymore? I won't tell," Ephram laughed.

"When I said they were sending me a packet of info, that was true. I don't have enough money to go to Juilliard. My dad and I talked it over last night, and right now, we don't have enough money. I'll have to work in Denver. I suppose that's high honor enough, I had just dreamed of Juilliard."

"Amy, I'm really sorry." "Shoot, now's not the time to tell her about New York," Ephram thought.

"No, Ephram really, it's okay. I just, I'll work in Denver and then maybe when I have the money I can go. Of course by then, I'll be settled down, married with kids." Amy glanced at Ephram when she said this, but saw only a pained look in his eyes. She decided not to say anything else about it.

"Ephram, I can't do it. I can't go to Colin's funeral."

"What? Why not?"

"I feel like, if I go, I'm going to be betraying him. After all, maybe our fight got him stressed out, or maybe I was pressuring him too much, I mean that could bring on throwing up and stuff couldn't it?"

"Amy, I think it was much more than that. You probably weren't paying that close attention, but I slipped on the phone. I said he was throwing up again, Amy the last couple months, he hasn't been well. He had to go see the doctors in Denver again, when he told you he was going to Montana, he was in Denver. They suspected something, and I guess they were right." Hot tears rolled down Amy's cheeks. He was supposed to be her boyfriend and he hadn't told her this? Why? Amy couldn't think anymore, because Ephram pulled up to her house and got out. Slowly, she gathered her stuff and followed him to the door. She marched in.

"I'm not going. No one can make me."

"Go where young lady? And what makes you think you can just take off like that? I want answers," Dr. Abbott snapped.

"What do you mean go where? Go to Colin's funeral. And I can just take off like that, if you've forgotten, I'm 18."

"If you live in this house, you follow my rules!"

"Than maybe I'll just move out!" Ephram quietly slipped out. As he heard the last thing Amy said, he flinched. No Amy, don't do that he thought. He got in his car and drove through the streets of Everwood as slowly as he could. People stared at his car as he passed, but he ignored it. When he got to his driveway, his dad was standing out there looking around with the phone in hand.

"Thanks, he just came up the drive. Yeah, yeah. Bye," Dr. Brown said.

"Ephram, you are testing my patience."

"Yeah? Maybe you need to get some more." Why had he just done that? His dad hadn't really done anything to him.

"I pulled out your suit and asked Nina to iron it for me."

"What you didn't think I could? Why do I need a suit anyway?" Andy shot a look at Ephram that made him hold his tongue. Ephram ran inside and slammed the door. He started up the stairs when he saw the bouquet of roses on the table. There was a note beside them.

For Amy

I'll love you forever. Colin

Ephram bit his lip. Then he pulled a single rose from the bouquet and ran back out of the house with it. He ran until he found himself at the Abbott's house. He glanced around and then crept over to a tree. He pulled himself up, and then got where he could see Amy's bedroom. She wasn't there. He broke off a long stick and stuck the rose between the twigs on it. Reaching very slowly, he put he rose on her bed. Suddenly he heard footsteps and jerked back. As he watched, Amy stomped into the room and then she saw the rose.

Amy stopped. There was a single rose on her bed. That was only the kind of thing Ephram would do. She thought maybe it resembled hope. The tears came fast and they spilled out. She sobbed and lay down on her bed. Ephram had really been trying to cheer her up all day. Maybe she would go to the funeral after all.

TBC.

A/N: I know the Juilliard money thing was kind of stupid, but it fits in later in the story.