A/N: Hey guys! Thank you for waiting for this chapter! Enjoy!

Ch 11

Liesel ruffled through the stack of useless parchment sitting on her wooden desk. She had books and books piled upon each other, papers and ink scattered around, school assignments, math papers all dispersed and quite messy to even look through.

Where did I put it? She thought to herself.

She searched under her bed and on top of her dresser. It was just too easy to loose a sheet of paper. Did she leave it on to of the kitchen table? Did Ilsa look at it? What if she did? How was she going to explain herself?

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, she thought to herself. Where is it?!

Right at that very moment, Liesel heard a little knock at her bedroom door. She turned around to face the mayor, who was wearing a casual evening outfit with a feigned smile pasted on to his demented face.

"Good evening, Liesel," he told her. He gave his eyebrows a small raise. "May I come in?"

Considering it was his house, Liesel didn't know why he even asked.

"Of course," she answered.

As soon as he entered, he jolted from the mess on her desk. Being the mayor, organization was quite essential, but to Liesel, it was just another waste of time.

"Seems like you were looking for something," he told Liesel. He sat on the corner of Liesel's bed and attempted a smile.

"Yeah," Liesel stammered. She searched her mind for an answer. "Just an assignment Sister Maria gave us," she lied.

"Ah, I see," said the Mayor. It was quiet for a moment and Liesel wondered why he even came in here. They barely spoke, the mayor and Liesel. He was always working or in his study. He only came out to eat or speak to Ilsa. And the moments when Liesel was present, he might greet her accordingly to the time of day or ask her how she was. He was never like Frau Hubermann, but she knew she could not get lucky twice.

Besides, she was lucky enough someone was there to take her in, especially the second time she was abandoned. And especially by Ilsa, who she stole many books from. But unlike her non existent relationship with the mayor, she felt as if she and Ilsa had much more of a bond. Quite simple, but at least something. They would chat for hours about books Liesel read and their favorite ones and ones that needed a plot change. Sometimes, they spoke about school and how Liesel was liking her subjects. But otherwise, Liesel would find Ilsa staring out the window for hours looking into the heavy rain and the dark grey clouds. Probably thinking of her dead son.

So basically it was nothing like the Hubermann's.

The mayor cleared his throat all of a sudden bringing back Liesel's attention. He put back his feigned smile. "So how are your classes?" he asked her.

Liesel was surprised on his sudden interest. "Good," she told him cautiously.

He shifted a little. "And your friends? Your teachers? How are they?" he asked. "What about Frau Steiner?"

Liesel's heart ached at the mention of his name. She didn't want to remember the fight that occurred yesterday. She was still perplexed on the entire matter of him leaving to Berlin. But still, she felt guilty that she yelled at him.

"Yes," her voice cracked slightly. "I mean yes, sir," she gulped. "He's alright." She folded her hands together to keep them form shaking.

The mayor seemed to notice her altered face expression when he mentioned his name. "Is he treating you fine, Liesel?" he asked with a hint of curiousity.

All Liesel could do was nod and stare at the ground. "Yes," she whispered.

The mayor looked around uncomfortably. "Well, I don't want to ask anything you prefer to keep to yourself. I came to ask you about your plans, though?"

"My plan? Like for tonight?"

"No," the mayor explained. "For your future. To be more clear, about college."

Liesel mind was blank. She had not given much thought about her future. All she ever imagined was her and Rudy together, holding hands, living in comfort and having kids.

Liesel sighed. "I'm not sure," she admitted to him. "But I might have an idea, though."

The mayor nodded and smiled. "That's good, Liesel. But it's time to get into more detail. You're approaching the end of your school year." He got up from the bed and walked to the door. "Oh and don't worry about tuition fees," he added. "Just work towards your passion."

As soon as he left, Liesel's mind started racing fast. What did she want to do? She was terrible at mathematics and the sciences. She couldn't play an instrument and sports bored her. But the only class she adored was Language. Reading, in particular. She loved writing small passages and reading the news or magazines. She knew she was working towards one of her goals in life, one that she swore never to tell anyone. And she loved the idea of teaching too.

But still, she wouldn't run off to Berlin without her love.

It was just was one of those days where the sky resembled a canvas with beautiful colors splattered all over it. Evening. The sun hadn't disappeared completely, but it was lingering behind the trees and giving off its last rays until the next day was to come.

And for Liesel, after years of building up the habit of going outside, it was hard to be completely closed out of the outer world just for the period of a day. She admitted that she had not left the house today because she was attempting to avoid Rudy. And even though he made no contact with her either, they still would would have to face each other at school.

So she put on a coat and headed out the door.

To where she was going she did not know herself. But she observed the neighbor hood to be a soothing quiet, but the textures and detail in the ginormous houses next door shouted loud enough to not even need the thunderous sounds of children playing inside. Liesel still had no idea where she was going to. Rudy's? Did she want to see him? Did he even want to see her? What was she supposed to tell him? That she was mistaken? That he should leave her?

Liesel knew how life would be with out Rudy. If a day without wrecked her from the inside to the out, she didn't know what weeks and months would do. She would be wandering around waiting for him to show up, even if he said he wouldn't. She knew she wouldn't be in the right state of mind without him.

And that's why he couldn't leave. But what if he wanted to? Did that mean she was not a top priority to him. At least, that's what she thought during their fight the day before. But Liesel still had an aching feeling that stirred inside of her. She knew, it had to be true that Rudy loved her. She had never doubted it once, until today.

She shook the thoughts out of head before they turned into too much.

The breeze in the air was ever so gentle on Liesel's cheek. Before she even knew it, she found herself walking the path that lead to Rudy's home. Liesel loved walking around here. Flowers were planted here of many colors. Tall tress with dark green leaves and a numerous amount of stray branches brushed the sky. She was just about to enter Green Strasse when she heard the leaves rustling behind her. She turned around abruptly to find no one there. There was no wind, so what was it? When she started walking again, instantly she heard a voice call out.

"Liesel!" someone called out.

Liesel turned around immediately and started searching for the source of the sound.

"Who is it?" she called out. Her eyes darted around again the street. No one was there.

"Over here!" the voice called again. And that's when she spotted him. Not completely, of course, but his dark brown hair could be easily distinguished with the green leaves surrounding it. He was merely sitting on the slender branch, probably insensitive to the fact that he could fall as he smiled down at Liesel when she finally spotted him.

When she spotted Theo.

He jumped down from the tree and wiped his hands on his shirt as if carelessly jumping from a long distance was something he did as a daily activity and said, "Liesel, you know me, right?"

Liesel, who was still in shock that someone could jump from such a distance, said, "Yeah, you're Theo." She remembered him from the day at school. He was the boy Natasha had teased her about. "What were you doing up there so high?"

He smiled at her. "I like climbing trees. And getting a better perspective of things."

Liesel frowned at him. "You mean of the town?"

He sighed and looked away from her. A sad look grew onto his face. "Yeah sure," he said sadly. "Of the town."

Liesel did admit to herself though, she would not have known anything about Theo if Natasha had not made fun of her for it. But though she never intended to carry out a long conversation with this boy she just had met, she did.

"Where are you going?" he asked her curiously. "It's pretty late."

Liesel scratched the side of her ear. "To Rudy's, he lives down here."

"Ah," Theo said quietly. "Yeah, Rudy. I've seen him quite around here. He just left though. I saw him take his bike and head around the corner."

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Liesel thought to herself. Where did the hell did he go?! "Wait, do you live here?" she asked Theo.

"No," he admitted carefully. He sighed. "But I spend a lot of time here."

"You mean on the tree?" Liesel asked.

He nodded. His voice grew soft. "I really like the view from up there. It's- relaxing, I suppose."

"Don't they have trees in your neighborhood?"

He started to laugh. "Yeah, we have trees. But it's just not the same."

Liesel was absolutely confused, but she knew she couldn't admit it. She could tell he was implying something else, but they were practically strangers. How was she supposed to approach this?

He looked down at his shoes. "I know you probably think I'm crazy, right?"

Liesel chuckled. "Maybe."

He turned around and faced the tree. He didn't say anything for a while, but when he did, Liesel knew he was far too distressed. "During the war," he started. His face was barely audible over the loud rustle of the wind and trees. "My family, as in my parents took opposite sides." He turned back around to face Liesel, but didn't look her straight in the eye. "My dad was pro-Nazi while my mother was not. They constantly fought, everyday until my dad decided to leave to Berlin to enlist in the army." He searched the ground for a small piece of a rock and threw it against the tree. "He just left. He didn't even say good bye to me. And my mother. Oh that women, that selfish Saumensch was just so glad when she found out he left for good. Literally, the next day we left for Switzerland. We spent years there until Hitler was killed. When we came back here, I thought maybe everything could go back to normal. But, she met someone else. My stepdad." If someone's eyes could snarl, it was Theo's because when he spoke about this man, it made Liesel instantly hate him. "He hates me so much. I can't even spend an hour at home without having an issue involving him. My mother takes his side. If he's mad at me, she is too, if he wants me out of the house, so does she." His eyes turned a slight shade of red. "She doesn't even notice me anymore. That's why I come here. It's far enough from home and it let's you get a better perspective of almost everything. The views gorgeous from these trees, it can clear up your mind."

Liesel instantly felt sorry for him. She might have been put in difficult situation before, but never had she been neglected by someone she loved in such a cruel way. People, she supposed, just weren't what they seemed to be.

"What about your father?" Liesel stammered. She didn't know if this something he wanted to talk about. "Is he alive?"

Theo gritted his teeth while he spoke. "She says he's dead, but she doesn't have any proof. But I still think he's out there somewhere, but my mom forbids that type of thinking when I have such a good father figure like my step dad." He kicked the dirt on the ground. "I just can't wait until I can leave," he murmured.

Behind them, Liesel heard the sound of something scratching the road. She turned around.

"What was that?" Liesel asked.

Theo shrugged. "Probably stray dogs. I see them here all the time."

The sky was almost pitch black now, with small stripes of purple and dark blue gleaming on the sides. The air was getting colder and Liesel started to shiver.

Theo also seemed to notice the change in temperature. "It's getting late. You should go," he told her.

Liesel nodded. "Yes, I should. But, so should you."

"Alright. But do you need me to walk you home?"

Instantly Liesel's cheeks turned bright red. She was thankful for the dark so Theo couldn't see her. "No," she said harshly. "I mean," she hesitated," Thank you, but I think you should get home too."

Though Theo looked a little taken back, he bobbed his head and grinned. "Okay. I'm sorry I told you all this." He looked back at the tree as if he were remembering a painful memory. His hands ran over the smooth trunk. " I haven't told anybody any of this, and I barely know you."

A warm feeling spread through out Liesel. She was glad someone was able to trust her, even if she didn't know Theo so well. She placed herself in his shoes. Having to bottle up hurt, resentment, confusion and frustration inside your throat was too much of a burden to carry around all day. How good must of it felt for somebody to listen. Maybe he was waiting for someone too. "I'm glad you told me," Liesel said. "And we're friends now, right?" She gave him a nervous smile.

Theo's eyes grew wide all of a sudden. "Uh of this is going to hurt Rudy and you-"

Liesel erupted into laughter. "You sound as if you're scared of Rudy. Don't worry," Liesel assured him. "He's not going to think anything."

With that said, both of them dispersed into opposite directions emerging into the great darkness.

A/N: So what do you think? Sorry that Rudy was not here, but he will be in the next chapter! PLEASE REVIEWW! Thank you guys so much! Chapter 12 will be up in at least two days.

P.S.- Don't hurt me.

Emma