Obstacles

"Lock the doors
We'll leave the world outside
All I've got to give to you
Are these five words when I

Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes when I couldn't see for
Parting my lips when I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
Thank you for loving me"

-Thank you for loving me, Bon Jovi

Chapter Three:

"So what happened at home?" he asked me, looking at me with worry. I did not reply. Avoiding his eyes, I turned to gaze at the scenery outside.

"It's pretty, huh?" he whispered, automatically dropping the subject when he sensed I did not want to speak about it. I nodded my head. Indeed, the spectrum of colours of the autumn leaves that littered the floor was a beautiful sight. The trees were bare now and the sky was clear. The wind trickled our faces and as he embraced me from behind and rested his head on the crook of my shoulders, I could not help thinking that at this very moment, everything was perfect.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, I embraced him back and whispered.

"My father disowned me, and my mother is threatening to divorce him."

"What?"

I looked at his face, frozen in shock. Slowly, I started to feel the panic starting to bubble in me.

"He disowned me, Orpheus, and that means I cannot obtain a single penny from him now. I HAVE NO ALLOWANCE! Look at us! You're not employed, and so am I. What do we do from now on?" I wailed. "We have nothing now! Nothing!"

Tears started to escape my eyes, and I had difficulty speaking as the tears started clogging up my throat.

"We'll be fine." he reassured, his voicy shaky as he hugged me. "It'll be alright."

Wanting so much to believe in his words, I just nodded my head and embraced him, tears staining his clothes. Like a mantra, I keep chanting his words to myself.

"It'll be alright. It'll be alright. It'll be alright. It'll-"

"Yes it will." he interrupted me abruptly, "But if you don't lay down and rest soon, you won't be alright."

Hearing his firm voice, I knew that I had no room for arguement. Instead, I chose to stare at him as he slowly laid me down on the bed. He really was handsome! With brown wavy hair and striking blue eyes that could mesmerize anybody who saw it, he could easily get any woman into his pants. Reaching out to touch his face, I slowly traced the contours of his forehead all the way to his defined cheekbones. He smiled, enjoying my touch. I smiled back.

"Alright, playtime's over." he said, still smiling that oh-so-handsome smile of his, "Time to rest!"

Without arguing, I stopped playing with his face instantly and snuggled behind my covers. Drewing him in for one last goodnight kiss, I closed my eyes and let the darkness overcame me.

Obstacles

When you look me in the eyes,
And tell me that you love me.
Everything's alright,
When you're right here by my side.

When I hold you in my arms
I know that it's forever
I just gotta let you know
I never wanna let you go.

-When you look me in the eyes, Jonas Brothers

Chapter Two:

I woke up with a headache, only to feel bright light glaring down on my face. Suddenly I felt someone taking my hand lying limply on my side and pressing a soft kiss to my palm.

"Hey. I missed you. How are you feeling now?" his voice floated sweetly around me, almost effectively curing my throbbing headache.

I smiled sadly back at him, thinking whether I should tell him about what happened that afternoon. Wait. The time doesn't seem right here. Somehow, I had gone back to this damned thing called reality. Crap.

"Wait, how long I'm out? Where am I?" I questioned, my voice getting more and more frantic by the second.

My tone made him flustered and he rushed to reassure me, his eyes wide and full of fear for me. Although I could sense that he was worried that I banged my head too hard that my sanity broke, I narrowed my eyes at him, giving him the don't-kid-around-me-or-you-die look.

"Oops. Sorry about that. But you gave me a very big scare, what exactly happened at your home to cause you to act like this?" his voice carried a hint of fear.

Before I could reply, he leaned down to press his lips to mine. Right at that moment, I felt so happy. Alive. It provided me temporary freedom from my current problems.

It was worth it, I thought to myself as I closed my eyes and immersed myself in the kiss.

Everything is worth it.

Obstacles

Make my wish come true, let darkness fade to light
Show me there's still hope, show me it's not over
Battles we can win, our struggle lies within
Will we live to greet the dawn?
Love will not leave you, hate will not heal you
Promise me one day that peace shall reign

- Serah Farron's theme from Final Fantasy 13.

Chapter One:

"Get out! I don't want to see you! You hear me! Until the day you swear not to see him. You will not step into this house!"

I was shoved out of the door by my raging father, his face flushed with anger. He was in such a rage that he even ignored my mum's protests. Looking at my mother, the last thing I saw before the door slammed in front of my face was her tear-streaked face. Trying to reassure her, I gave her a shaky smile before all that was in front of me was my house door.

I sighed. I had no choice. I could not leave him. He is my love. He is my life. He is everything! Slowly, I turned around and walked away. Even when I was outside, I could hear my mother's screams, her voice full of tears, pain and fear for her only daughter.

Wait. She was threatening a divorce?

Shocked, I almost ran back. Never in my life had my mother mentioned about the "D" word! She loved my father deeply and would want to care for him for life. And yet, she mentioned the word because of me!

Silently, I cried. I had managed to single-handedly destroy my family in one day. It was a feat that not many can achieve, yet it filled my heart with immeasurable sadness. Retracing my steps, I continued walking away from the house. After all, running back would mean separation from him permanently, and I did not want to suffer being away from him for so long just to get separated again. Besides, the damage had already been done. There was no point returning now. I was not going to leave him just because his family and my family can not see eye to eye.

Every choice you make has a consequence, I told myself sternly. It's no point dwelling on it, just accept it and move on!

Despite saying that, with each step I took, a piece of my heart was left behind. The sadness was suffocating me and I could barely breathe. Struck by a sudden impulse, I ran to the nearest brick wall and rammed my head on it. Black spots immediately appeared in my vision, and I could feel something wet and sticky dripping down my face

"Why can't anyone accept it?" I screamed into the air as I banged my head on the wall once more. Why must life be so unfair to the point that it must always place obstacles in front of me even though I just overcame the obstacles behind me?

Overwhelmed by my thoughts, I did not notice the fact that I was losing blood at a very fast rate and that my vision was starting to blur. And so, the last thing I heard before I blacked out was his voice calling my name with worry.

Swinging

Time through the rain has set me free
Sands of time will keep your memory
Love everlasting fades away
Alive within your beatless heart

Dry your tears with love
Dry your tears with love

Flowing tears accumulate on the winds of time
The unending sadness changes into a blue rose

-X Japan, Tears

Chapter Two:

As he walked me home, under the dark gray sky, I could not help but wonder why I simply could not fall in love with him. He was always there for me even in my darkest hours, despite getting his heart broken all over again. He still stood by my side hearing me pouring out my grief, always ready to wipe away my tears, so why couldn't I love him?

I sighed. Who am I kidding? I'm still in love with him. He, whose brown eyes has me mesmerized till now. He, whose smiles would light up my world in one second, and he, whose face I could gaze upon for eternity. He, who left me alone in this world.

Frustrated, I kicked the pebbles near my feet.

Why couldn't I ever forget him?

I thought to myself as I watched the back of Dionysus while trailing behind him.

No, my heart whispered, it's not that you have not forgotten him; you just simply don't want to let him go. You're afraid if you let him go, you'll let Dionysus in, and he'll leave you like how Theseus did.

"No." I said, abruptly stopping in my tracks. I was not afraid of Dionysus leaving. He will never ever leave me alone.

Yes, my heart continued, you're afraid of being abandoned. You're terrified that he'll dump you alone in this world like what your parents and Theseus did. You're scared deep down inside your heart that no one would want to be with you.

"NO!" I hollered in defiance. "I'M NOT SCARED."

Instantly, Dionysus turned to look at me.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his eyes filled with concern for me as he begin walking towards me.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong." I said, storming ahead of him before tripping on one of the branches on the ground and falling flat on my face.

"AAARRGGHHH!" I screamed in frustration as my tears flowed down once more. Why was everything not going right for me? Why?

"Don't let the anger consume you." Dionysus said behind me. "Don't hide your pain behind your anger either."

"And who are you to lecture me?" I argued, filled with righteous anger. "Are you in any position to scold me? You tell me!"

Finally losing his cool, Dionysus shouted.

"CAUSE YOU'RE THE PERSON I LOVE TERRIBLY! HOW DO YOU THINK I FEEL WHEN I WATCH THE PERSON I LOVE SLOWLY DESTROYING HERSELF FROM THE INSIDE OUT? HOW DO YOU THINK I FEEL WHEN I CAN'T DO A THING TO HELP HER BECAUSE THE PERSON SHE LOVES IS NOT ME. HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF YOU SEE THESEUS GRIEVING OVER ANOTHER'S DEATH?"

Face flushed with anger, he turned and faced the trees nearby, hoping to dispel his anger. Not knowing what to say, I kept quiet. Finally, he muttered an apology and turned to face me once more.

Looking at his pain-stricken face, I immediately knew I hurt him deeply. Without thinking, I walked towards him and hugged his still quivering body, burying my face against his chest.

"He promised he'll never leave me," I spoke after a while, voice shaking. "And yet? He broke it! He said he won't be like them, Dionysus. He promised. He said he won't be like my parents. But in the end, they're the same! THEY'RE ALL LIARS!"

Dionysus rubbed his hands on my back trying to soothe me as I struggled to control my anger.

"She died in front of me. My mum." I choked as I fought to speak midst my tears. "And there was nothing I could do.."

"LEAVE!" my mum shouted, trying to be heard over the pillar that had fallen onto her. Our house was consumed by the raging fire I accidentally started and it was slowly starting to fall apart by the minute.

"NO!" I screamed back, tears in my eyes, as I frantically tried to pry the pillar from my mother. "I WON'T LEAVE YOU ALONE."

"Leave, please le-"

My mother begged me before a series of coughs wracked her body. I started to panic. The fire was getting stronger and stronger by the second and it was starting to get difficult to breathe.

"No," I breathed as I glanced at the crimson liquid that my mother had spat out. "NO!"

Blood. It was blood. My mother was coughing out blood and that did not bode a good sign.

"Ariadne, listen to me," my mother said weakly, voice barely heard over the sound of wood falling, and my heart breaking into pieces, "You need to get out of here. You need to live. I- I can't do this anymore."

More blood was spat after that and my mother's skin turned from peach to snow white.

"No." I whispered, not believing the truth. She cannot die! She is my mother! Without her, I have nothing. Please, I prayed to God mentally, please let her live! Please, I'll do anything. Please.

"Time is crucial, Ariadne. You need to get out of here fast. I'll al- I'll always be here with you forever."

She continued, struggling to keep the coughing abay.

"I'll always lo- love you. G-Goodbye."

"NO!"

I screamed as I watched my mother die before my eyes, the blood consuming her from within. Running towards her, I shook her body vigorously and pleaded for her to wake up while crying, but she did not even move an inch. Her whole body was still. Panicking, I tore open her shirt (for the pillar had landed upon her stomach) and attempted to do CPR. Pumping her heart with my blood drenched hands, I tried to stop my tears as I struggled to listen to a heartbeat from my mother's chest. Nothing.

"Please, no, no, no."

I kept repeating over and over again as I tried pumping her heart over and over again. Even when the firemen appeared and extinguished the fire, even when it had been hours since she died, even when her body had already turned cold, like a fool, I just kept pumping, and pumping, and pumping, hoping some miracle would happen.

"Is there no eternal love?" I asked softly as tears started streaming down my cheeks once more. "Why did they all leave me? Am I that hateful? Do they not love me?"

Dionysus gently wiped away my tears and kissed my forehead.

"No, you're lovely not hateful, and I love you as much as they do. No matter what happens, I'll still love you."

"Don't lie to me!" I shouted at him, instant anger filling my soul as I pulled out of his embrace. "Theseus said the exact same thing too and look what happened!" I screamed.

Yes, I once was naive. I believed that what Theseus and I had was eternal and that we were destined to be together for the rest of our lives and nothing could stop us. Nothing. I thought true love would always prevail. It always did.

How naive and foolish was I back then! I mused bitterly as I twiddled with the ring that I still wore on my hand. Eternal love, I scoffed, as though there could be something like that! Only fools would believe that. And yet, tears are streaming down my face at the loss of Theseus. I really was a fool.

My thoughts were interrupted, however, when I felt him pulling me into an embrace once more.

"I can't promise I'll never leave you," he whispered into my ears and I could feel his hot breath against my neck, "but I can promise you that as long as I'm here, I'll always be there for you."

The waterworks came abruptly and all my anger evaporated instantly.

"I'm sorry." I sobbed. "You deserve someone much better than me, someone who will treat you well. Why are you still caring about me? This way, you're opening yourself up to me just to get hurt!"

"Ariadne is that concern I sense coming from you?" he joked in an attempt to lighten up the atmosphere. Still, I could not stop crying.

"Ariadne, please? I can't stand it when you're in pain," came his broken whisper as he embraced me tight. "Please, stop crying."

My waterworks slowed down at his words and my tears dried on my face. I could sense that there was real pain in his voice at me crying. It was a pain that could not be faked, a pain that was because I was suffering. A pain caused sorely because I was in pain.

"I'm sorry." for everything that I have done. I added mentally as I was held in his strong firm hands.

He shook his head then let go of me after my tears ceased. At the sudden loss in contact with warmth, my hand instinctively reached out for his hand and clasped mine against his. Fingers met fingers and a bolt of electricity immediately ran up my arm. I stared in surprise. I had not felt this way ever since Theseus and me first met. It was the first sign of something beautiful beginning. It was a first sign of love. Just then, a gentle breeze blew past our faces and the smell of jasmine instantly filled our nostrils.

"Do you smell it?" I asked Dionysus. "It's the smell of jasmine." I said, smiling.

He nodded his head in surprise when he took a deep breath in.

"But why?" he puzzled. "There're no jasmines here."

Not saying anything, I grinned further. There was no mistaking this scent. It was him! He had come to say goodbye and approve of the budding relationship between Dionysus and I. He had gave his approval and acceptance.

Thank you. I said mentally in my heart as I embraced the last gift he had given me. Thank you for everything you've done. Then, turning back to Dionysus, I drawled.

"So, would you like to continue walking instead of standing there like a dummy?"

He stumbled back in surprise. I smirked at his face frozen in shock. He really was entertaining. Finally, after some while, he seemed to regain some resemblance of life.

"What's going on? What happened? Why are you suddenly smiling? How can-"

I ended his tirade of questions with a soft peck on his lips then pulled away. Taking in a deep breath, I spoke.

"I can't promise that I won't cry from now on. I can't promise that I'll be able to stop loving him. I can't promise to love anyone any time soon. I can't promise to forget."

I said, looking into his eyes, wanting him to see the determination that laid in them.

"But I can promise that I'll try my best. I can promise that I'll pour whatever love I can unto you, and when the time is ripe, when I fully recover from this, I promise I'll love you, and you'll be the most important person in my life. Hearing all this, are you still willing to walk this journey down with me?"

I asked, offering my hand to him. Giving me a bright smile, he linked my hands with his without hesitation and gave me a peck on the cheeks. I blushed. As revenge, I pinched his cheeks till they were red too.

"There, now we're even." I laughed, narrowly avoiding his attempt to pinch mine as I ran away from him.

"I'll catch you!" he hollered, chasing after me with a sudden burst of energy.

And so, under the sky which sun has began to set, he ran after me, peals of laughter filling the air as the scent of jasmine gradually faded away.

The End.

Authors' Note:

Amelia: I hope that you don't mind that I ended the story this way, Michelle. :( I JUST NEEDED A HAPPY ENDING. Anyway, you can always do the sad ending and we'll post it up too. :D

So yeah, FIRST COLLABORATION: SUCCESS!

Swinging

I never knew I could hurt like this
And everyday life goes on like
"I wish I could talk to you for awhile"
Miss you but I try not to cry
As time goes by

And it's true that you've reached a better place
Still I'd give the world to see your face
And I'm right here next to you
But it's like you're gone too soon
Now the hardest thing to do is say bye bye

-Mariah Carey, Bye Bye.

Chapter One:

Laughter bubbled through my throat, as I swung up and down on the swing. It had been so long since I had last played the swing after all. Happy memories with him immediately flashed before my eyes as the wind lifted my swing up into the air..

"So you love to play the swing?" he questioned me. I looked up in surprise to see a boy around my age staring at me with curiosity. He had brown hair and brown eyes, and yet, he looked explicitly handsome.

"Yeah," I said, cheeks red from his intense gaze. "What about that?"

He smiled at me, his face instantly transforming from a cold and aloof boy into a young and radiant boy.

"Cause I love it too."

I grinned. Finally, I had a companion who did not find playing the swings at my age childish!

From then on, I would always go over to the swing at the playground to meet him. It became our secret meeting place. He was always there on the spot without fail and gradually, we begin talking to each other. There was not a moment that we did not enjoy together. Life was perfect for us.

I laughed. How foolish we were back then, I thought as the swing plunged back downwards into the air. In a way, our love story was like a swing, pushed back and forth by the winds of time, causing it to neither go forward nor backwards. Tears pricked at my eyes. Death really was cruel. She took him and left me with nothing, now what reason do I have to live?

Shaking my head, I tried to fill my mind with happy and positive thoughts, but no matter how hard I try, the exhilarating thoughts that filled my mind would always turn into sadness. Pain.

My memories, thought to be washed away by the currents of time, came back in full force. Who said time would heal all wounds? It has been a year, hasn't it? Then why am I still unable to forget him? Why?

I closed my eyes, and let the tears fall freely down my cheeks. Haunting chocolate brown eyes twinkling with happiness was enveloping me in its embrace and my mind returned to the past once more.

"Why are your eyes so brown?" I asked one day, unable to contain my curiosity. "Are you not a Chinese?"

He grinned.

"No," he had said. "I'm just an alien from outerspace."

I smacked him hard on the shoulder. Here I was, trying to ask a proper and serious question that had me wondering for ages, and there he was, making a fool out of me and himself with his silly answer. Feeling angry, I stormed away from him, rubbing away the few tears that managed to escape my eyes.

"Heys, I'm sorry."

His voice trailing after me as I ignored it and strode on. I was livid with anger. How could he do this to me? Did he treat me as some joke?

Grabbing my hand and pulling me into his embrace, he gently wiped away all my tears.

"I'm sorry."

He whispered once more, his voice lost in the air.

I said nothing. His body heat was enveloping me and it made me feel warm and secure. Taking a deep breath, a scent of jasmine reached my nostrils as I raised my arms and hugged him back. And so, we stood there in the playground, safe in each other's embrace..

A wistful sigh escaped my lips as a new flood of tears was brought forth.

I cannot do this! I cannot forget him! He is my everything. He is me and I am him. Without him, there is no me, there is no us.

There is already no us, my mind whispered. There is already no you and him.

"NO!" I hollered into the air as the rain droplets started to fall from the sky. Gone was the bright sunshine and azure sky which was replaced with big gray clouds looming overhead. Gone was life.

"The promised land was just too tempting isn't it?"

The question floated silently in the air, unanswered. Tears flowed down my cheeks as I was once again forced to accept that the love of my life was gone forever.

"Why did you leave me alone?" I whispered, hugging myself as the rain started to pour down relentlessly. "Why can't you give me and yourself more time?"

Like a broken recorder, I kept repeating the questions over and over again. I wanted someone to answer me. I wanted an explanation why he was snatched so early away from me. Why was Fate so cruel?

I did not know how long I sat under the rain. Time no longer mattered to me. Far back in my mind, I knew that I should be returning home and answering the phone that had been ringing for the past hour but somehow, I just could not bring myself to do it.

Why bother living when the only reason I had for living was dead?

Frantic footsteps awoke me from my muse and I found myself staring back into onyx black eyes filled with concern.

"Your eyes are black."

I said the first thing that came to my mind.

"Why are they black? I DON'T LIKE black!" I shouted, behaving like a three year old child wanting candy. "I want BROWN eyes! CHOCOLATE BROWN! NOT BLACK!"

He cried silently as he hugged me to his chest.

"It'll be alright, you'll see. You'll be alright."

"WHAT'S ALRIGHT? NOTHING'S ALRIGHT! YOUR EYES, THEY'RE NOT BROWN! IT SHOULD BE BROWN! WHY IS IT NOT BROWN? ONLY BROWN EYES CAN STARE AT ME WITH LOVE AND CONCERN. ONLY BROWN EYES CAN EMBRACE ME. Only brown eyes can love me.."

I whispered towards the end as I cried on his chest.

"Why?" I continued asking. "Why couldn't me and him be together? Why? Why?"

He said nothing, merely tightening his hold onto me as if he was afraid I would leave if he did not. And so, we embraced under the rain like a broken love story, like a story that would not end.

Why did you leave me alone?