DISCLAIMER: I don't own Hannah, Beth, or Jo (my main home-girl-skillet-waffle) or Laurie (I've made a bargain with someone on that about having him in exchange for a certain pop-classical singer...)

Chapter 34

THE DIARY

Jo frowned at the page. It was filled with scribbled-over words and marked-out sentences. It was a complete mess and she didn't even consider it worthy of survival. She crumpled it up and threw it in the waste bin. No matter how hard she tried, the characters always appeared gloomy. They weren't supposed to be gloomy! They were supposed to be happily in love! What frustrated Jo the most was that she knew it was the product of her mood. She wasn't happily in love, like her fictional persona. She was gloomy. And thus her characters were doomed to be so as well.

"You'll get it, Jo. A little time and patience is all you need." said Beth in her quiet little voice.

While Jo had fruitlessly tried to write her story, Beth had been writing in her diary.

Beth smiled warmly at her sister. Jo smiled back, but it there was pain behind that smile.

It hurt her to hide from her sister, but Beth could never know of Jo's feelings for Laurie.

Suddenly Hannah rushed into the room. "Beth, dear, you're cats are at it again!" she said exasperatedly.

Lately Beth's cats had been "exploring" and the product of this was managing to find every inconvenient nook and cranny of the house, and getting stuck there.

"Oh dear!" said Beth, and immediately got up to fetch her troublesome cats.

Jo noticed Beth had left her diary wide open on her bed.

For a fleeting instant a thought came into her head to read it.

Go on, Jo. It's right there. You can finally see for yourself if she truly is in love with Laurie! Don't you want to know?

But Jo shook it out, ashamed that she would think of such a thing. She loved Beth, and she would never do such a thing as invade her privacy.

But it tugged at her: Constant, nagging, and seductive.

Just a peek, it said Just one little peek won't hurt anything.

Mechanically, as if she didn't know what she was doing, Jo went to the bed.

I'll just glance down and what I see is all I'll read. Beth left it on her bed, I read it by accident.

She stopped just at the bed, torn between her respect for her little sister, and her gnawing curiosity. Then she couldn't take it anymore, and glanced down.

...I don't know how I shall ever tell Jo. It will break her heart if I do...

Jo looked away. Something died inside her. She realized it had been the tiniest thread of hope in her heart that she had not realized was there. The hope that Beth's secret was not that she loved Laurie. That Laurie loved her instead.

Jo fell onto her bed. When would it end? When would life let her be happy again?

Just then, Beth reappeared at the door.

"Jo, are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine." said Jo with her best smile.

Jo knew it was the biggest lie she had ever told her Beth.

It was the only lie she had ever told her Beth.

...

Laurie stroked the piano before him. It was not as lovely as his grandfather's, but it would do. Last night he had dreamed of music. The music was beautiful and flowing and empowered him. He had continued to lie awake in bed, trying to finish the composition in his head, fingers moving over invisible keys.

Now that he had finally found a piano to use, he could test his composition.

He still had to make a few changes here and there, but otherwise it was perfect.

And as he sat on the stool, fingers dancing across the keys, himself passionately enveloped in his music as never before, Laurie smiled.

For he knew just who this composition was for.