A/N: There just isn't enough fic for this fandom, so, here I go again. Amanda and Leo were my very first OTP, so this story means a lot to me and I hope you like it! Timeline and PoV's are pretty straightforward for this one. All characters belong to the brilliant Wendy Mass :)

PoV: AMANDA

It's six in the morning, but punctuality is very important to Angelina. And there's nothing better than the day greeting you with the smell of fresh apples from the Grove itself.

I inhale the sweet, crisp scent deeply, my sneakers making no sound as I walk carefully over the plush, rich soil. From the other end of the Grove I can make out Leo's figure; slightly hunched over with his hands in his pockets. I smile at him in greeting as we get closer to each other.

"Any idea what we're doing here?" He asks quietly once I'm near enough to hear him. I shake my head.

"Nope. I was hoping maybe you did."

Leo returns my head shake. "I know nothing. Then again, Angelina does love to be mysterious."

I nod in agreement. "No argument there. Come on, we're going to be late."

At precisely 6:30, we are standing in the dead center of Apple Grove with a serious-looking Angelina D'Angelo. At first we thought this might have something to do with Rory, the newest member of our…uh, club, or group, or Inner Circle, as Leo likes to call it. But once we're there, it's apparent this is not about her.

"Everything all right, Angelina?" Leo asks, concern glazing his eyes.

Angelina sighs heavily. "I'm afraid not. We currently have a very small window of opportunity for progression and future accomplishment, therefore we must act fast. I need to ask a very big favor of the two of you."

"It's not something illegal, is it?" I hedge worriedly. Angelina shakes her head, a hint of a smile tracing her lips.

"No, not illegal. Will it break laws? Yes, but no one will get in any trouble."

I don't really like the sound of that.

"What kind of laws?" Leo wonders aloud.

Angelina fixes her hard gaze on his curious one. "The laws of time."

A silence blankets us as a cold stone of recollection settles in my stomach. We're no strangers to the laws of time. Angelina seems to have been around since before they were even in place, and Leo and I are able to freeze it, conditionally.

But we promised we never would again—not for another few decades at least.

My next words fly out of my mouth fast and panicked. "You're not going to tell us to stop talking to each other, are you? Please, Angelina, tell us that's not what this is," I beg. When she looks at me, though, I realize that's exactly what this is.

I've never had my heart broken before, but if it feels anything like this, then no wonder people hate it so much when it happens to them.

"Angelina, please, there has to be something else we can do. Why would we even stop talking, anyway?" I ask. I really don't want to cry. I glance desperately over at Leo, who's been uncharacteristically silent, but it seems he's mentally checked out.

Angelina sighs heavily again. "Believe me, I wish I could tell you, but that would cause an interference; it would pose a risk I cannot run," she explains calmly, and I appreciate her just the tiniest bit for having the decency to feel bad about this.

"Would it be the whole year, or just a few months?…" Leo finally chimes in with a question I wouldn't have even thought to ask.

Angelina shifts a little where she stands. "It would be the whole year, and you would have to start tomorrow."

I gasp. "Tomorrow?"

"You couldn't have given us any more warning?" Leo shouts.

"Oh, stop!" She says shortly, waving her hand in one swooping motion in front of her. "You are the only two people who can help me with this, so I needed to give you the least amount of time to…overthink it."

"How are we not going to talk to each other for a whole year?" I demand. Somewhere in the back of my mind, a cryptic and brutally honest voice prods me: you couldn't handle that all over again…

"I think you're being a bit closed minded about this, Amanda, don't you? People communicate every day without talking. There's body language, pen and paper—or those nuisance little cell phone devices you kids carry with you everywhere. Why not text-message each other?"

I meet Leo's wide eyes with my own. It hadn't even occurred to me….I really though Angelina was asking us to ostracize each other from our lives like when we were ten. And I don't think I could do that ever again, no matter how badly she needs our help.

"Wait, hold on a sec," Leo cuts in, waving his hands in front of him in a "time-out" motion. "You're asking us to literally stop talking? With our voices?"

Angelina nods. "Yes. That's all I'm asking. Don't think you can't remain in contact during the next year," she says. I roll my eyes a little. You could have led with that, you know!

"But, the only reason a day repeats when we don't talk for a year is so that we can solve our differences, just like our great-great-grandfathers did. Right?" Leo asks. Angelina nods. "So," Leo continues, "what happens when we're not fighting, we're just…nonverbally communicating?"

Angelina clasps her hands together. "I can tell you this: the day will still repeat, but it will look slightly different than your eleventh birthdays did. As for any more specific details; you'll just have to wait and see."

A/N: I just love the thought process and all the emotions going on here. We didn't really get them explored in the books, so that's of course where I come in ;)

I would love to hear what you think! Reviews are always appreciated.