Okay, I officially give you permission to murder me. What I was thinking, I don't know. I don't even know why I'm updating this story. It seems like it could be turned into something good, something emotional… and since Stephanie has left me for the night and won't write anything emotional, I suppose I will. But my number one priority is to finish "The Beginning". But I WILL write this story. I will finish ALL the incomplete stories that I have started… well maybe not changing fate. I don't like the idea of a million and two crossovers. I think I'll just rewrite that as a straight Danny Phantom fanfic. But I suppose you don't want me to continue to talk. I've decided to change the original plot :). This chapter focuses entirely on Sam :). I did actually write a chapter two, but it was only 200 words and ended with me going on about how amazing Princess Tutu was.

And I also realise that I've probably lost the few readers I have… but I hope you will come back. I promise to update. Kick me if I don't. If I don't update within five days, and you're into the story… send me a message or review with reminders to update and everything. I get forgetful :D

Vortex of Deception

Chapter Two

Sam

I had been awake for almost eleven hours according to the clock on the wall. I wasn't sure of the amount of time that I had spent sleeping, but I was well rested so it didn't matter to me. The room that I had woken up in was unfamiliar to me – but then again, so was everything. It was like I had totally blanked, and all my memories had disappeared.

I suppose it would've been a smart idea to call out, to see if anyone was near me, but I didn't feel up to it. I would rather be alone. And if there was someone else here with me, I'd rather that they found me when they actually wanted to find me. They could be temperamental.

That could be a reason why I didn't remember anything about my life before I had fallen asleep. In fact, I didn't even remember falling asleep in the first place. If people had bashed me up, I could've suffered from temporary amnesia, and they might've damaged an organ in my head, sending me into a coma.

At least, that's what I thought it was. What else could explain such a deep sleep in which I distinctly remember having no dreams?

The door handle turned, surprising me. I wasn't sure if I should pretend to be asleep once again or just remain where I was. I had gotten up and stretched my sore, rusty limbs soon after I had awoken, and was now sitting on the opposite side of the room.

The door opened wide, revealing a young, pretty girl with honey blonde curls and liquid blue eyes. Her skin was gorgeously tanned, and all of her curves were in the right places. As soon as I saw her, I was instantly jealous. After a glimpse of myself in a full length mirror beside the bed, I decided that I looked like a rodent compared to her.

"Jessica!" The girl cried in relief, dancing towards me, tears flooding her beautifully deep eyes. "Oh, Jessica, you're awake!"

I tensed up as she ran towards me but once she had thrown her arms around my body I relaxed slightly. It was obvious that she was planning on acting friendlily towards me. And at least I had some information about my previous life – my name had been Jessica. I frowned as I thought about this. Jessica. It wasn't familiar.

I laughed nervously, feeling as though I was under a lot of pressure. "I, uh," I began, searching for the words I wanted to use. It felt weird talking – I must've been asleep longer than I originally thought. "I don't remember."

My words were slurred and I spoke slowly, yet this girl seemed to understand perfectly. "Oh, poor dear," she crooned as she pulled away and clasped my hands. "The doctor told us all about it. He diagnosed you with amnesia such a long time ago."

The tears were still running down her cheeks. I reached up curiously to touch one with my index finger and she let me, remaining completely still as if she were trying not to scare me. They were warm and wet. I hesitantly put my finger to my tongue, tasting the tear.

"Salty," I whispered. Surprisingly, the taste was familiar.

The girl laughed with delight, obviously happy that I was finally awake. "Oh, it's so good to have you back in the real world," she declared.

"Can you… explain?" I asked weakly, feeling a bit overwhelmed by her presence.

"Oh you must be so confused dear!" she cried. "Do you remember anything?"

I shook my head – it was too hard for me to speak.

"Not even my name?"

"Nothing," I whispered hoarsely.

"But it's me! Izzy! Your big sister!" she cried, upset that I hadn't remembered her. "We have so much fun together, Jess."

I just stared at her. After a few seconds, she shifted uncomfortably under my gaze and began to tell the story.

"Okay, so we have a small family. It's only me, Ben and you. Our parents died when we were all young. You're the baby of the family, Ben's the oldest, and I'm the middle child. Are you with me?"

"Yes," I replied. "Me, you, and Ben."

Izzy smiled at me. "If you want me to slow down or anything, just say so, okay? So we lived in an excluded area called Mazdan. There are few people who live here, and those who do are not affected by the modern world. People from the modern world own boxes that display moving pictures and lots of other worthless junk. We are superior to them – always remember that.

"We have great friends here. You loved your life – you had found the perfect mate and were about to be wed to him. But suddenly, you were attacked by a mysterious creature, one we had never seen before. You were driven into a coma, and we placed you here, hoping that one day you would wake up. And you did."

I looked around the room – at the empty walls, at the lack of decoration. If this was my bedroom, I must've been a very boring person. I didn't even own any photos or paintings. I looked to Izzy. "Mate? Who?" I was breathless and growing tired. Soon I would need to have another sleep.

"Oh, he is the most delightful boy. He has been so very concerned about you. His name is Jonathon." Izzy replied dreamily.

I could tell that Izzy was jealous of my mate. But then, who must her mate be? And what did Ben look like? Did he have a mate? How old was my mate? There were so many questions that I wanted to ask, but I couldn't possibly speak all of them. I could feel my eyelids getting heavy as I shifted my body so that I was lying comfortably on this couch.

"How long… How long have I been gone?" I asked in a hushed tone, my eyes closed.

Just as I fell asleep, I heard her whispered answer.

"Five years."

I woke up some time later when the light seeped in through the window and shone directly in my eyes. Wait… windows? When I had inspected the room I had first woken up in, I hadn't seen any windows at all – only the door that Izzy had come through.

I turned away from the window with a shock. Someone had moved me while I was sleeping. I was now in a brown room with many bamboo decorations, and there were many photos adorning my walls. One was of me and a very good-looking guy, his arm around me while I slept. Was this my mate?

I set up and looked at the closed door. Should I risk trying to open it, or would it be best to just sit where I was and wait for Izzy to come back. That is, if Izzy was even planning to come back in the first place. Maybe Ben would come to visit me, or even my mate… whose name I could not remember.

I laughed nervously. "We had been about to be wed, and I can't even remember his name. Such a good mate I am."

A part of me thought that it was quite strange that we called each other 'mate' instead of 'girlfriend' or 'boyfriend'. The same part of me screamed that there was something missing from Izzy's story, or that there was something wrong with it. But I just put that down as stress and decided if it didn't add up in the future, I'd ask someone else about it.

There was a knock at the door, and when I didn't answer it, it opened. There was a boy standing there with a slight goatee and smooth blonde hair. He had green eyes and a wide smile. In his hands he was carrying a bowl of soup – chicken, according to my nose – and a cup. He was the same person from the photo, my mate.

"Jessie," he whispered as his face lit up. He rushed towards me, as fast as he could with liquids in his hands. He put the bowl and cup down on my bedside table before throwing his arms around me. "Oh, god, I missed you so much,"

I felt myself grow warm inside as his arms encircled me. Yet I still could not remember his name. Instead of saying anything, I just smiled and inhaled his wonderful scent of… citrus.

"Oh, Jessie, Jessie," he cried, his body shaking. "Oh I love you so much, I love you. It's me, Jon!"

"Jon," I whispered his name.

My stomach grumbled in hunger, causing him to laugh. He pulled away from me and handed me the bowl of soup. "I only got you soup because I thought that you wouldn't be able to stomach much else yet," he explained as I cautiously sipped at it. "It's not very hot. I didn't want you to burn yourself."

I wasn't sure how he expected me to eat it, since I hadn't been supplied with a spoon. But maybe these people didn't use spoons. So where did the thought of using a spoon come from, or even that very word? I was even more confused, but I knew that I had to eat soon. My thinking was affected by lack of food.

Jonathon sat beside me, his arm around my shoulders, as I sipped at my chicken soup. It was delicious. I glanced up and noticed that he was staring intently at me, not wanting to take his eyes off of me for one second. Even though it made me feel slightly uncomfortable, I didn't mention that to him and instead put up with it. He must really love me, I thought happily.

But the weird thing was that I didn't feel too much for him, or for anyone else. Was it because of my memory loss, or was I just not an emotional person?

"Jessie," he ran his hand down my arm as I continued to sip at my soup in silence. I didn't necessarily feel like talking to him. Part of me just wanted to be by myself. But I didn't want to break his heart. It was obvious that he cared very dearly for me.

I went to have another mouthful of soup but found that the bowl was empty. My stomach protested – it wanted more – but I knew that if I tried to eat too much, my stomach would protest even harder, causing me to be sick. I reluctantly put the bowl back onto the bedside table and picked up the cup.

The liquid inside was warm and sweet. I drank it appreciatively.

"Jessie," Jon said once again as I finished the drink. "Oh, I love you more than anything,"

He placed his hand beneath my chin and turned my head towards him. I widened my eyes as I saw his lips part and make their way towards mine. As our lips met in a kiss, a shiver of delight ran down my spine.

Though my body cried out for his attention, my heart screamed in pain. I could feel it breaking in my chest, though I did not know why.

Yeah. It sucked. But there will be more. The next chapter will be Danny's point of view. But first I must write at least one chapter for the beginning, and then I have to go to work, so hopefully I'll have another chapter up tonight, and if not it'll definitely be up tomorrow. I found it slightly hard to get through this, but I will force myself to write this story.

And if you think this was a terrible chapter and that the story is going down the drain and that I should just not bother, feel free to tell me :)

And… I can't really remember when this story was set. I think it was before Phantom Planet. But I'll decide when I get further in the story. But for now, Adios!

Loved from the Kirstyn and Her Vampire Elf Vines.