(Disclaimer- I do not own Edward Scissorhands. I do not own any aspect of this story except Amy. If I did own it all, you could bet I wouldn't be sitting here writing a fanfic about it!)

Chapter 8

Amy stood in her room, holding her graduation cap and gown over herself in front of her full-length mirror. The confidence she had felt, that had separated her from the student's torments, had vanished. She had felt so beautiful up there, surrounded by loved ones. But she couldn't forget what Edward had said. She looked around her room, seeking comfort in some form.

Amy was chilled by the look of despair she remembered seeing in Edward's eyes on the mention of this Kim. He loved her, right enough.

She tried to think of some way to detach Edward from her. Tell him she was dead, married, that she didn't care about him anymore.

No. That would just hurt him more. And gradually, Amy began to realize that to her, Edward's happiness was more important than her own.

A plan introduced itself to her, but she rejected it. She wouldn't do it. She'd been hurt enough. She would keep on doing what she'd been doing for three weeks, and eventually, Edward would come to realize that she was right for him.

But the thought wouldn't leave her alone, constantly intruding on her thoughts. Find this Kim. Bring her back to Edward. Reunite them.

I'm just a girl! Amy thought. How am I supposed to find her? Suppose she doesn't even want to be found, or reunited with him? What if she lives far away? I can't drive a car!

Amy sighed reluctantly. It would do no harm to look in her yearbooks, at least. Maybe just to see what she looked like. She went to the library, and flipped through, awash with memories. She decided to skip her high school yearbook, knowing if Kim had been in high school at the same time Amy was, she would've at least heard about her.

Amy nearly forgot what it was she was looking for, she was so involved in her memories, pointing at people she recognized, whom she had not seen for years, gleefully pointing at embarrassing photos. But finally, she had worked her way down to nine years ago, and still no sign of this Kim.

"One more," she sighed. "And then I'm giving her up as a fragment of Edward's imagination. She opened the yearbook up to the senior's page. Almost instantly, her eye caught the name, Kim Boggs. Amy's throat closed up. She closely examined the picture.

Kim was beautiful; there was no doubt about it. Big eyes, long thick hair, pretty face. Amy found it impossible to hate her. She snapped the book closed.

I won't do it. She left him there and didn't come back. She has no right to come back now.

But then she remembered the sadness on Edward's face, and she knew what she was going to do.

By a stroke of the worst kind of luck, Amy found Kim Boggs listed in the phone book. She was still Ms. Boggs, so she hadn't married. Amy cursed her for it. After a lot of wrangling over the phone, being put on hold seven times, and being redirected twice, Amy finally got her address. She lived just outside of Suburbia.

Before getting a ride there, Amy threw herself on her bed and bawled like a baby. Her heart was breaking. She pounded her pillow. She wanted to hurt herself. If she hadn't fallen in love, then she would be fine right now. But she knew. Every time she had looked in his eyes, she had seen it, but refused to believe it. She had no place in his heart. And if she was doomed to a dark, loveless life, then she would do all she could to ensure that Edward had a happy life filled with love and loved ones.

"Hell, when did I become so sentimental?" Amy asked herself.

She caught a cab, gave him Kim's address, and sat back, waiting to meet this Kim she had heard so much, and so little about.

Edward was concerned. Amy hadn't visited him in three days. He hoped she was all right, and that her graduation ceremony had gone well.

He retreated to the garden, and decided to make another topiary. As always, once he got started, he could lose himself in the work. As he sculpted, he thought about Amy.

She was his first real friend. Kevin had been too young and too shallow to really be a friend. Peg had been more like a mother to him. And Kim . . . that was something else entirely. He paused in his work, a tear slowly traveling down his face. He missed her. Even after all this time, the ache was just as strong, the pain just as intense. He gasped suddenly, cutting himself on his scissors. The heat emanating from the sun felt good on the cut.

The topiary was a girl. The details weren't clear yet, it could have been anybody, but it was a girl sitting, with her knees up, arms wrapped around her legs, and face turned up toward the sun. Edward hesitated, and then decided to dedicate it to Amy. He had plenty of sculptures dedicated to Kim, one for Amy couldn't hurt.

Sometimes, when he was involved in cutting the bushes, like he was now, he could pretend that the heavy, ungainly shears on his hands were ordinary clippers, and that when he finished, he could put them down and walk away, like an ordinary person. The question Amy had asked still haunted him. "So are you . . . not human?" Edward did not know. He didn't think he was just a machine, but he wasn't like other people. If only he had hands . . .

Amy returned home, disappointed but relieved. Kim had not been home, and she was not about to sit in front of her house waiting for her. But Amy wasn't sure if she would be able to get up the nerve to go again.

Maybe she should visit Edward. She hadn't been there since she had found out about Kim. He was probably feeling neglected. However, just the thought of seeing him caused her stomach to do flip-flops.

"Stop it Amy," she told herself. Her voice broke at her name. She stiffened her spine and set her jaw. She would not be weak. "You're going to go there, reassure him that you're not avoiding him, and spend some time with him."

She set off, her heart breaking a little more with each step.

When she was halfway there, she couldn't take it anymore. She dropped, heedless of where she landed, and screamed out, "Oh God! I can't do this! I can't even face him, let alone Her!"

She sobbed on the ground, and then finally realized she couldn't delay this any longer. She would go get Kim, finish ruining herself, and end it quickly.

She set off walking, even though it was a long way away on foot.

After three hours of steady walking, and a refusal to think, she made it to her house.

(Please review! If you review, I will send you the desktop bunny of doom! Come on, they're cute!)