So, since it's been so long since I've updated this story, I thought I'd post two chapters, just to appease all my loyal and waiting readers out there. A little note, I realized that I spelled "Krista" wrong in the previous chapter, sorry, I wasn't thinking! So, as always, review and enjoy!

Chapter Nine

Reunion

The following day was somewhat overcast, just as many of the days before it had been, yet many residents of Mt. Abraham were out and about, enjoying the spring temperature, including Alex and Clear. After breaking into the morgue the previous night, they had parted on the promise to meet for coffee the following morning to discuss what the mortician had said after they had had the chance to let everything sink in and the creepiness to wear off. Alex had lain awake all night thinking about Death and the Design; Clear had lain awake all night thinking about Alex. Regardless of their lack of sleep, the two had met outside Clear's favorite coffee shop just as promised.

As Clear followed Alex to an outside table, she couldn't help but study his features, that she had become so familiar with over the previous days; she had always had a crush on him, yet now it was becoming more. Now that he was actually talking to her and spending time with her it had become something slightly more promising. She continued to stare at him as she forced herself to at least look as though she was paying attention to what he was saying, though she wasn't in the least. Clear was, instead, trying to figure out if she was in love with Alex and if that was actually a good thing.

"Love can be a many splendid thing, can't deny the joy it brings: a dozen roses, diamond rings, dreams for sale and fairy tales. It'll make you hear a symphony and you just want the world to sing. But like a drug that makes you blind, it'll fool you every time." Clear sang as Alex continued to talk. "The trouble with love is it can tear you up inside, make your heart believe a lie. It's stronger then your pride. The trouble with love is it doesn't care how fast you fall and you can't refuse the call. See you got no say at all."

"Clear, I'm talking about omens." Alex said, jarring her from her thoughts for just a moment. "What if by sitting here, by sipping this coffee or breathing the air or even crossing the intersection that we haven't started, in motion, the design that will someday lead to our death's forty years from now, ten years, tomorrow." He paused, waiting to see if she would comment. When she didn't, he continued. "We don't, unless we open ourselves up to what the Designs are willing to show us." Alex reached into his pocket, pulled out a tiny scrap of paper and pushed it across the table to Clear.

Brow knitting, Clear picked up the piece of paper to study it, seeing that it said a single word, Tod, in bold black print. "I don't understand, did you see Tod die, did it happen again?" She questioned, slipping back into her state of ignoring him when she noted just how his eyes sparkled when he talked.

"Now I was once a fool, it's true, I'll played the game by all the rules. But now my world's a deeper blue, I'm sadder but I'm wiser too. I swore I'd never love again, swore my heart would never mend. Said love wasn't worth the pain, but then I hear it call my name."

Alex shook his head. "No, I didn't but I might as well have. This is a message from something, Clear, or someone hinting at a Design."

"Every time I turn around, I think I got all figured, my heart keeps calling and I keep on falling over and over again. This sad story always ends the same, me standing in the pouring rain. It seems no matter what I do, it tears my heart in two. The trouble with love is it can tear you up inside, make your heart believe a lie. It's stronger then your pride. The trouble with love is it doesn't care how fast you fall and you can't refuse the call. You got no say at all."

Clear shook her head, managing to pull herself out of her thoughts about Alex. "Total bullshit," She told him, proof that she had been listening somewhat through her ideas about the life they could have together. "You can find Death Omens anywhere you want to." She looked around, trying to find something to prove her point; Clear picked up her half-empty coffee cup and held it up for Alex to see. "Coffee, starts with a 'c' and ends with an 'e'; so does the word choke so what, we're gonna choke to death?" She realized that Alex wasn't listening to her, but instead starring at something past her, toward the windows of the building. "I wanna hear you, we'll go nuts if you start with this shit."

Alex blinked his eyes, trying to turn his attention back to what Clear was saying and trying to convince himself that he had not seen the reflection of a bus in the windows behind her when there was no bus on the street. All this Death stuff was making him go crazy. Realizing that Clear was right about the omens thing, he decided to change gears. "The mortician said that Death has a Design. So what if you, me, Tod, Carter, Terry, Billy, Miss Lewton messed up that Design for whatever reason I...saw Death's plan and we cheated it." Clear leaned forward, interested. "But what if it was our time, what if we weren't meant to get off that plane? What if it still is our time? If it is, then It's not finished and we will die now, not later, unless...unless we find the patterns and cheat it again." Alex nodded firmly, leaning back to see what Clear would say next. He had finally figured out what was going on, yet he somehow needed her to agree.

Clear stayed silent for a long time, thinking about what he had said before finally sighing. "After hearing you I do believe...that Tod killed himself." She tried to make herself ignore the pained look in Alex's face, brought on by her words.

Alex sighed and let his gaze leave her face and travel across the intersection, where she saw Shania Macalister window shopping with mousy Kimberly Corman tagging along behind her, heading toward the coffee shop. Inside the shop he could see Miss Lewton standing in line, eyes puffy and demeanor much different, much softer. Carter Horton's trademark sleek black car was heading down the road toward the intersection, with Terry Chaney sitting the passenger seat with a grin upon her face. Billy Hitchcock was riding on the opposite side of the road, with a paper grocery sat balanced upon his handle bars. It suddenly seemed weird to Alex that all of the survivors from Flight 180 would be in the exact same place at the same time.

Carter caught sight of Alex and Clear sitting at the wire table outside of the coffee shop and, filled with an emotion he couldn't begin to explain, suddenly headed toward where they were sitting, almost running over Billy in the process. Terry frowned when she realized just why he had stopped. "Come on, baby, not now." She protested, though she knew her words would have no sway with the jock.

Alex looked over when he heard Carter's door open and slam, followed by Terry's as she stepped out of the car to further protest his actions. Carter gave him a fake grin as he stepped upon the sidewalk, despite his girlfriend's words; Billy screeched his bike along side the grub, a look upon his face that attempted to be angry but really just came off afraid. "Carter you dick." He snapped, though he didn't really want to draw attention to himself.

Unaware of the drama about to unfold, Miss Lewton stepped out of the coffee shop with a cup in one hand and a tissue in the other; seeing the drama about to unfold, Shania dragged Kimberly across the intersection and toward the curb to watch the fight that was surely brewing. Carter's grin grew even wider when he saw the audience that had gathered around. "Looks like we've got a bit of a reunion here." He pointed out.

Alex stood up and decided now would be a good time to tell everyone what he had learned about the Design. "Listen, I've got something to tell you and you're probably not going to believe it-" Clear cut him off by holding up her hand for him to stop what he was saying and think things through.

"So, I heard you were moving." Carter said to Lewton, who simply nodded. "That's too bad, we'll be losing our favorite teacher." He turned to face Alex, who was pressing on with what he had to say and ignoring Clear's warning. "See, now she's gotta move and it's all because of Browning!"

"God enough! Both of you!" Terry commanded with a frustrated cry, causing everyone to grow silent and stare at her. "They died and we lived, get over it. I will not let this plane crash be the most important thing in my life!" She punched Carter on the shoulder as she spoke, feeling angry all of the sudden. Everyone continued to watch her as she headed toward the intersection, backing up so that she could still stare at Carter and Alex. "I'm moving on, Carter and if you wanna waste your life beating the shit out of Alex every time you see him. Then you can just drop fucking dead!"

Terry stepped off the curb and turned around in time to see the city bus come hurtling toward her, hitting her dead on before she could so much as blink. Kimberly and Shania shrieked as they got covered with blood and gore as they bus went squealing down the street. Clear turned her head aside, though it was far too late to do any good; Carter stared in disbelief at the stop where Terry had stood seconds earlier, and where there was now only blood and one of her shoes. Alex's eyes grew wide as he tried to comprehend what had happened; he still hadn't fully understood what he had seen even when the ambulance arrived, much too late.