A/N: Hey guys! Next chapter, I hope you're going to like it! Please review after you have read it!

Rudy stood still, red faced, and palms wet. He couldn't comprehend what had just happened.

He pinched his right arm. Was he dreaming?

Sadly, the answer contradicting his hopes.

He walked around his bed and put the sheets in order. He found his shirt in the midst of the blankets and slowly put it back on.

Had he ruined everything between him and Liesel?

Hands down he loved her. And it wasn't some sort of childhood sweetheart love. Whatever he felt for her came from the depth of him, somewhere deep inside where he also found confusion, hurt, and pain from the past.

But he also had found love.

At first, he never craved this sort of love from Liesel. The feel of being around her would satisfy him enough. But in the past few weeks, he felt like he owed something more to her because he often disappointed her.

But is this what she wanted from him?

A voice interrupted Rudy's train of thoughts.

"Rudy?"

Rudy turned around. "Papa?"

Herr Steiner stood in the doorway of his room. He had returned from work a little earlier than Rudy had expected. He was sporting his usual outfit except with a tired look on his face today. Sweat rolled down his cheeks.

He glanced around the room. "No plans with Liesel today?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Rudy bit his lip and glanced at the wall behind his father. "She had to get home early."

Herr Steiner sighed and wiped the small beads of sweat forming on his face.

"I'll leave you be, Rudy," he said finally. "But I wanted to let you know something."

"What is it, Papa?" asked Rudy.

Herr Steiner took of the hat that he always wore on his head. "I've invited Kirsti and her family over for dinner tonight."

Rudy's jaw dropped. "You did what?"

A small smile grew on Alex Steiner's face. "It's been so long since we've seen them. It would be a great way to catch up. I want you at your best tonight."

And there was something final about his tone that Rudy knew he couldn't change.

So he stood there in shock as his father exited out of the room.

"There's no point worrying about it, Liesel. What's gone is gone."

Ilsa handed Liesel a good amount of money and turned around and closed the large door. Liesel swore she could feel the wind shift as the ginormous door shut.

I ran away from what could have been the best experience of my life.

I embarrassed myself in front of my beloved.

There is another book thief.

It all sunk in. Slowly, but all at once, destroying Liesel's mood in a small amount of time.

And it didn't help when she got to the market she was asked to go to to purchase some fruit from, she saw the one and only...

Kirsti Brandt.

Now Liesel did not develop a certain dislike for Kirsten. It was just that she did not either develop a certain liking for the girl either. Either way, she stood in front of Liesel, probably mimicking the same shocked expression she had masked on, and murmured something before saying,

"Oh, Liesel. I didn't think I'd run into you here!"

Its a small town, Saumench. What did you expect?

But instead she said, "Neither did I." She placed her hands behind her back. "What brings you here?"

She sighed, the most unnecessary sigh because it had such a happy tone to it."My mother wanted to bake a last minute apple pie. Apparently, we were invited for dinner at the last minute."

Liesel 'awed' and 'ooed' that, when after all, she couldn't care less. She carefully looked at Kirsti. Her dark hair was put back today so the color of her eyes were prominent.

Such a confusing blue they were.

The chatted until a couple minutes were wasted, according to Liesel. After, they bid their goodbyes and headed in opposite directions and Liesel couldn't help thinking why she came here in the first place. But after a couple steps were taken, Kirsti turned her head back around to convey some last words.

"Oh and listen, Liesel," she said confidently. Her face had scrunched up and her eyes were peeled to the ground, just like they were when they first met at Liesel's room.

And her eyes were vulnerable

Her voice was as sweet as honey. Soft, soothing.

"I'm sorry if they're was some misunderstanding between Rudy and I. I didn't mean to disturb,and I shouldn't have."

And though her conversation might have seemed too hype and maybe artificial, her apology did seem real.

And Liesel thought, maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

Herr Steiner pulled out a small comb from drawer in the kitchen.

He handed it to Rudy.

"Please," he told him. "Your hair is a mess."

Rudy, though adamant, pulled the comb from the fingers of his father. The comb was only half the length of the hand.

He stared at his father angrily as he brushed the top of his hair. His father laughed.

"Happy?" asked Rudy.

"Happy," said Herr Steiner.

Rudy pulled at the long sleeves of his neatly ironed shirt. "It's too tight," he observed.

Herr Steiner sighed. "It's the best one you've got."

"But it's tight," he whined, just like a little kid.

Herr Steiner threw his hands in the air angrily. His eyes, the same color as Rudy's, boilled underneath the surface. "You'd wear that tight shirt for days if it was for Liesel, wouldn't you?"

Rudy's eyebrows shot up. "Actually, I wouldn't."

"Oh come on, Rudy."

Herr Steiner walked towards their dining table and straightened the wrinkles from the cloth, the third time. He turned back around and leaned against the table, his face tired and old.

"Why don't you want them over?" he asked.

"I never said that," answered Rudy.

Herr Steiner groaned, as if it was most obvious. "I know you didn't say that. I want to know why you're acting like it."

Sometimes, Herr Steiner thought Rudy was the dumbest boy Germany could house.

Rudy avoided his father's eyes. "I just don't like the idea of other people at our house," he lied.

"We have had people over many times, Rudy!"

"But not this many people at once!"

"There are only four people in that family," he shot back.

Rudy nodded and just said, "four is a large number," before the door knocked.

Liesel trotted back home, back scrunched and head forward. Her right hand was sweating from clutching the loose change and her left palm was red from the grocery bag.

She was about to place the bags on the ground to knock when she realize the door was slightly opened. She gently motion it forward with her foot and entered in. She was about to go into the kitchen when she heard tow loud voices booming from the interiors.

"You don't understand," an enraged Ilsa yelled. "You never have!"

Liesel could hear the mayor's footsteps in the kitchen. "Ilsa," he said firmly. "We can purchase new ones, I told you-"

"No you can't!" she yelled back. Liesel could hear Ilsa's voice breaking into pieces. "The books were not just any books. They were passed down from generation to generation. I treasured those books so, so much-"

Liesel could hear the mayor take a deep breath in. After a long pause he said, "You know the polezei won't search for the thief unless it was something extremely crucial, Ilsa."

"I know, I know," she breathed.

"We just have to make sure it doesn't happen again."

And with that said, his footsteps made his way out the kitchen door.

It took a minute for Liesel to register that he was coming towards her. She didn't want him to know she was eavesdropping.

But he just smiled.

"Liesel," he said. "I haven't seen you all day." He glanced at the groceries in her hand. "I think those will do well in the kitchen." He patted her on the shoulder and walked past her into his study.

She quietly entered the kitchen. Ilsa was siting at the table with her face in her hands. She wasn't crying , but she looked depressed. Liesel quietly placed the groceries on the counter and headed out the door again.

She was going to find Theo.

The sun was slowly dropping down from the sky. The sky was a beautiful combination of orange and purple. It looked like a brush had calmly painted over the blue with neat strokes.

She knew that Theo slept in three or four different trees, all of which Liesel knew. But when she walked passed them, he wasn't there.

Liesel searched all the trees around her block and the next, desperate for someone to talk to. She was coming to a conclusion that maybe he was at his mom's home for the night.

Her heart dropped, but she still turned around and walked towards home.

She passed the turn that led to Rudy's house. She almost was about to turn into to the road unconsciously, when she remembered everything that had happened this afternoon.

It felt like days ago.

A cold fist wrapped clenched her heart. She didn't want to remember what had happened. She turned her head from the road and walked past it.

She walked by Theo's tree. Tall, majestic. It stood with it's head held high. It was a beautiful tree, but it was blocked by the wooden gate behind it and the smaller trees and shrubs crowded against it.

Liesel stood there, aimlessly looking into the tree when she saw a pair of shoes between the branches and the leaves.

The walked closer to the tree.

Should she call out?

"Theo?" she said, but her voice was inaudible.

No answer.

"I can see you," she said, her voice much louder.

This time, the tree shook. A few leaves fell and slowly landed into Liesel's hair. And before Liesel knew it, two green eyes peered from the tops of the tree.

Theodore Dietrich's curly hair was in a prominent color against his tan skin. But his face wasn't the way it looked when he always saw Liesel. Instead today, he looked shocked, disturbed- and maybe a little unhappy.

He slid down easily, his feet smoothly touching the ground as he did so, and faced Liesel.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her immediately.

Liesel was taken aback. She turned defensive. "I came to see you. I walked by about a half an hour ago but you weren't here."

"I was in town." He puffed out air and looked around, as if he were trying to think of something to say. He resorted to, "It's late, Liesel."

"You're not happy to see me, is it?"

He shook his head almost immediately. Liesel peered closer at him because the sun was slowly coming down. His eyes were red.

"What's wrong, Theo?" she asked.

Theo leaned against the tree. He kicked the dirt under the feet. "It's been a quite a rough day."

Liesel walked closer to him. "Is it your mother again?"

But this time he laughed. A small, quiet, contained laugh. His white teeth shined in the dark. "Why is it," he informed Liesel, "that whenever we talk, we end up talking about me."

Liesel smiled. "That is not entirely my fault."

"Actually it is," he said, some lightness in his voice. "You asked."

"What?" Liesel exclaimed, mockingly. "What else should I do?"

Theo looked sideways at her, as if it was most obvious. "Maybe, not ask?"

They both laughed.

Liesel sat down by the roots of the tree and Theo did the same.

"So if we can't talk about you," she said, "then what do you want to talk about?"

He looked sideways at her. "You," he said.

Liesel shook her head, trying to hold a smile in her cheeks.

"No."

He playfully nudged her foot with his. "So you're hiding something, huh?"

Liesel snorted. "I'm a goddamn open book."

Theo whistled. "Well, I don't know a single thing about you."

Liesel looked at him. The intensity of his lime green eyes, piercing into hers made her feel like he was penetrating all of her walls. She blushed and looked down. "Well, what do you want to know?"

"Will you tell me everything?" he asked.

Liesel quietly chuckled. "No. If I tell you everything then you'll never talk to me again."

He bit his lips and was quiet for a moment.

"Is there something that you regret?"

"Bits and pieces."

"You know, Liesel," and there was some intensity and beauty in his voice that drew her eyes back towards him, "you'll always have regrets. It's impossible to have a life without them."

Liesel sighed. "It's not just regrets," she said. "It's just my entire past. It's haunting."

"Then tell me about your future."

Liesel fiddled with the rocks on the ground. "My future?"

Theo shrugged. "Why not? You're the one who said you're past haunts you." He took the rock Liesel was fiddling with and threw it across the path. "Tell me about your hopes and dreams."

A small smile grew across Liesel's face. "My hopes and dreams?" She enclosed her hands together. "Well," she said, almost in a dreamy voice. "I want to go to literature school and become a writer."

Theo frowned. "That's it?"

Liesel scratched the side of her head. She remembered something long ago that Rudy had told her. She spoke again, this time a littler quieter. "I also want to move away from here. Far away, with Rudy hopefully and marry him."

Theo's voice lost the lightness. "You want to marry him?"

Liesel looked over at him, shocked by his tone. "Of course," she said confidently.

"But, why?" He sounded dumb-founded.

"Because I love him," she informed. "And I'm sure of it."

Theo stared at his shoes. The smile disappeared from his soft face. "But how are you sure of it?"

Liesel thought long and hard before answering. And when she did, she knew how right she was. "Because of the sacrifices I've made for him."

The gust of the wind embraced the pair until the small hairs of Liesel arm stood straight. She wrapped her arms around her self in attempt of warmth.

Theo turned his head towards her but did not meet her eyes. Liesel took his arm and put in her lap. "Now it's your turn, Dietrich. What's your future?"

The glass broke from his eyes. The shards of it almost fell onto Liesel. "My future?" he said, "Is unknown, like most "futures" should be."

Liesel rolled her eyes. "Don't you have some sort of goal?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Now, I didn't say I didn't. I just meant there is no point of having one since my life is unpredictable. I mean, I live in a tree, Liesel."

"But school ends in a few weeks. You have a whole life in front of you. You can't just sit in a tree and just wait for something to happen."

He sat still for a second, almost as if he were frozen by what she said.
"I never said I didn't have a plan," he mumbled.

"Well, what is it?"

He huffed out loudly, as if to relieve the stress. "I'm running away to Berlin," he said finally.

Liesel felt a pang on her stomach. "What?"

"You heard me."

Liesel shook her head. "No, you can't run away. Not like this!"

Theo stood up from the ground. "What do you mean?"

Liesel stood up too and faced him. She felt light headed. "You can't just leave, Theo! What's in Berlin for you?"

He pursed his lips. "A lot of things." He sounded as if he was trying to convince himself more than her.

Liesel cocked her head and squinted. "You haven't thought this through, haven't you?" she said quietly.

He raised his hands in the air. "I actually did! I swear!"

"Okay, alright," said Liesel. She moved closer to him with her arms crossed. "Where are you going to stay?"

"Well, you know -"

"Do you have any money?" she challenged.

"Actually, I-"

"How the hell are you going to get to Berlin?!"

He slammed his fist in to the trunk of the tree. Liesel jerked back. "I'm going to figure it out!" he yelled.

He rubbed his hand into the side of his leg as if that would alleviate the pain. Liesel was considering asking him if it hurt when he answered back.

"I've been selling my stuff for money," he said. "I'm going to use it for the train ticket. I have a friend there I'm going to stay with. I'm going to get a job and I'm going to be happy," he snarled.

Liesel ruffled her hair with her hands, still utterly confused. "But why Berlin?" she demanded. "Why not München or somewhere closer?"

Theo looked at her sideways, without turning his head. "My father could be in Berlin," he said finally.

Liesel drew in a breath. She knew he was always curious about his father.

"I know he fought in the war. I know he was stationed in Berlin. He could still be there," he said to her.

Theo was staring out into the distance, as the sky's color was slowly darkening, all the color being slowly sucked in by the mere color of dark.

She wanted to tell him that it was too much of a risk to go there and that he was destined to be disappointed. For all she knew, he could have died in the war or even left the city if he had even survived.

"That's a risky chance that you're going to take."

"You don't know what it's like to wait for someone for so long."

Liesel frowned. "You know how long I waited for my mother to come back?"

He didn't look at her. "Definitely not as long as I waited for my father."

He was starting to get bitter, maybe because Liesel was not in set with his plan. "It's getting dark," she said. "I'll come by tomorrow."

He was slumping on the trunk of the tree. "I'll see you, Liesel," he said.

Liesel studied him for a moment, his soft face and his green eyes look wearer out from his thoughts. And at that moment the only thing she knew that this boy deserved much better.

"Same tree?" she confirmed.

He nodded, but his head didn't move that much. "Same tree."

Liesel started to walk away among the path back into town. She could hear his feet rubbing against the dirt as she left.

As soon as she was a couple yards away, he called back to her. "Hey, Liesel?" he said a little loudly.

She looked back at him.

"Are you really going to marry him?" he asked. "You know, Rudy?"

Liesel's face softened into a smile. "I told you, already," she called back.

He put out his hand in defense and placed his head back on the tree.

Liesel didn't know what was going on in his mind, but at the same time she didn't know what was going on with hers.

"The food is absolutely delightful, Alex."

Alex Steiner placed his fork down and looked at Frau Brandt. "Thank you, Therese," he said. "I'm glad we could catch up."

"Now you were earlier saying that Rudy has applied to Humbolt?," pitched Herr Brandt from the corner of the table.

Alex Steiner nodded contently. "He's excited as I am. And a full scholarship that is."

Herr Brandt slowly chewed on his food. "See, Kirstin," he directed to Kirsti after he swallowed. Her head, which had been ducked down the entire time perked up. "Rudy, got a full scholarship."

"Might," mumbled Rudy.

Herr Brandt sighed and looked back to the others. "Kirsti has applied to Humboldt, too. But her academics weren't strong enough for a scholarship."

Rudy's father looked over. "You're applying to Humboldt, too?" he said surprised. "It would be great if both of you got admitted in. I'm sure Kirsti will be fine." He looked over to Frau Brandt who looked like she was eager for his approval. "She's patient, smart, and a hard worker. Even as a child she was." He turned to Kirsti and winked at her and she smiled. Rudy wanted to gag.

"So Rudy," Frau Brandt said to him. His dark hair was the same color as Kirsti's. His eye glasses enlarged his small brown eyes."I heard you are one of a kind athlete. What sports are you involved in?"

Rudy secretly sighed to himself. He didn't want this entire evening to be about him. "Mostly track," he replied. "But also football."

"Nice choice in sports," he said. He raised his glass of water up in the air. "I have complete faith in you."

Rudy's eyes trailed down to his food plate. "Thank you, sir."

"So have you any trophies, Rudy?" asked Therese Brandt.

Alex Steiner decided to respond. "Oh loads," he said, his voice in a loud whisper. The Brandts looked impressed, exchanging looks with each other. "Infact, I'm sure Rudy would love to show Kirsti since both of you have gobbled down dinner so fast."

Kirsti placed her napkin back on the table. Rudy's cheeks turned a velvet red.

"That would be great," Kirsti said. Rudy could tell she was eager to leave the table.

Rudy pushed his chair back from the table and stood up. He looked at her the first time since the dinner. "Sounds good."

Kirsti ran her fingers amongst the medals. Her finger nails clicked against them.

"You have a lot," she said.

"Depends on how much you consider a lot."

She froze for a second, her fingers still clutching one of the medals. She placed it back on the shelf and spun around.

"Sorry about my parents. They're quite noisy."

Rudy chuckled. His hands went through his hair. "My dad's also is a little bit of a show-off."

She sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "At least your dad has something to show-off about," she said solely.

Rudy frowned. "What?"

She stared at him. "You!" she exclaimed. "Perfect academic records, perfect athletic ability."

"Yeah," Rudy said. "But there's so much more than being that."

Kirsti nodded sarcastically. "Like what?"

Rudy shrugged. He plunged down on to his bed. He thought for a second. "I can't play an instrument," he announced.

"And it will only take five minutes before you can play Beethoven on the piano," said Kirsti.

Rudy smiled. He found it awkward being praised, considering how hard it was to please his stubborn father. He looked at Kirsti carefully. Her black dress annunciated her hips and her curves perfectly. Her dark hair was draped around her broad shoulders, but showed the round of her bright face, and the colors of blue eyes- the color of the Tenerife Sea.

Rudy pulled his eyes away from her and looked out the window. It was dark and the wind was swirling around he atmosphere. "Are you excited to go to Humboldt?" Rudy asked her, breaking the silence.

She bit her lip. "If I get in, then yes." She plopped down on the bed right next to him and looked straight at him. "When you get it, would you go?"

Rudy scoffed. "How do you know I'll get-"

She raised her hand to stop him. "Please," she said sweetly. "We all know what's going to be in that letter."

Rudy entwined both of his hands together. "I don't know if I I'd go, actually," he mentioned cautiously. "But, I'd break my father's heart if I don't." He stopped and sighed. "But I don't want to leave Liesel."

Kirsti's eyes became motionless, as if what he had said had hurt her. Her voice became quiet. "That's very sweet of you," she said in her honey soaked voice. "To think about other's before yourself. But, when you make your choice," she informed him, and she spoke with such confidence, Rudy had to listen. "Promise me you'll put yourself before others. Or else you'll go a lifetime full of regrets."

Rudy stared at her. His voice became scratched and disconnected. "How do you say that?"

"Because when you follow someone, you'll disappoint yourself, Rudy. People change in the most unexpected way." She placed her palm on to the back of his bony hand. She found his eyes and smiled. "I really do hope you go to Humboldt, but I do hope you also remember what I said."

A/N: Hey guys! Hope you liked the chapter! Please review and message me about what you thought!

Thanks- Emma