Oh, the things that run through my mind...

By the way, Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except for the things/people you don't recognize. Lilly and Libby and Blaise and Brooke and Everyone else that doesn't exist except for in this story. So there.

Eleven years ago, Willy had awakened to find himself lying on his stomach in a darkened, soot- and ash-covered hallway. He looked over to see Lilly, her eyes closed. She looked peaceful.

Willy scooted himself over a little bit and kissed her forehead, his face almost completely covered in a layer of dried tears. It couldn't be seen, but he felt it. New tears emerged as he stroked her hair gently.

He knew that the hallway was empty; what he didn't know was how long he had been sleeping there.

Willy knew what he had to do. He stood up and scooped Lilly up into his arms, noticing as he did it that he was shaking. He had hoped this day would come long after it had; it made every living cell in Willy's body ache with grief.

He limped slightly down the hallway, evading debris from the ceiling as he did so. He kept his eyes locked on the doors, making sure with a large amount of effort that he didn't look down at the lifeless face of his best friend in the entire world….

He heard a cough.

Willy stopped in his tracks and frowned. Was Libby still in the hallway?

When he heard the cough again, Willy looked down with extreme alarm.

Lilly was opening her eyes.

Willy nearly dropped her right there. "L-Lilly…."

Lilly looked up and into Willy's eyes. "You're never going to forgive yourself? That's a shame…because I do."

Willy carefully set Lilly down and kissed her repeatedly, giving her endless hugs. The relief he felt swelling his heart overcame every single trace of grief he had.

"I'm so sorry," Willy murmured into her shoulder, holding her close to him. "I'm so sorry, Lilly. I love you so much…don't scare me like that again, darling…."

Lilly nodded. "I promise. I love you too, Willy…you have no idea."

Willy and Lilly stood in each other's arms for a few more minutes, and then Willy pulled away. "I need to tell Lovely…."

"Willy, no."

There was a pause, and Willy blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"I don't think anyone should know…."

"What are you getting at?"

Lilly slowly brushed some soot off of Willy's shirt. "Someone had started the fire, Willy. I couldn't see them because I had passed out before I could identify the face." She looked up at him. "Don't you think I should remain hidden? I mean…they were clearly after me…it might've even been my brother."

Willy frowned. "Are you sure about this?"

"No. But I recognized the height."

Willy looked down for a second, and then he looked back up at Lilly. "Are you sure you want to be considered to the world?"

Lilly remained silent, letting the lack of speech answer his question….