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Author's Note: Since we're supposed to dedicate a chapter to our favorite author from the Fanfiction or Mystery genre, I've dedicated this one tochiru37 for being a great friend and for fangirling with me about different animes. You know, we could write a NANA fanfic together and "accidentally" kill off Takumi so that Hachi gets together with Nobu! XD
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Genre: Fanfiction and Mystery

Word Count: 1085 words. 

Hazel Grace stopped walking and leaned against a tree. Even though, her lungs were being provided with oxygen, it didn't feel enough. Her lungs felt empty, she felt empty. She told her parents to go on in without her. She needed a few minutes to compose and prepare herself before she saw Gus for the last time.

Her mother gave her another reassuring hug before she went on inside and her dad blinked back tears. It killed him to see his daughter suffering.

Once alone, Hazel sighed loudly and looked up at the sky. The sun was hidden behind the clouds preventing any sunlight to come through. Occasionally though, a ray of bright light would shine for only a second before that too, was blanketed by the clouds. Just like life gives you a few moments of pure joy and then that happiness get buried deep down by the sadness.

"Who are you?"

She snapped out of her trance when she heard someone's voice. It sounded so familiar that for a moment, Hazel thought that she had only imagined it. There was movement beside her and she looked that way. What she saw, made her freeze.

It was a lanky boy with mahogany hair and he had the brightest blue eyes.

It couldn't be. There was no way...

"G-Gus?"

He blinked, a light frown caressing his beautiful features. He took a step forward, limping slightly.

No, this is unreal. This has to be some sort of a hallucination.

"Is that my name?"

Hazel frowned, looking at him more closely. He didn't seem to be a ghost. He wasn't glowing and neither did he seem transparent. He looked very real, in fact.

"Is Gus my name?"

Hazel registered the confused look on his face. As if he really wasn't sure of his name or who he really was.

"Y-Yeah," she answered him. "Are you real?"

"Yeah, I am," he said, looking down at himself. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Um, because you're actually supposed to be dead right now.

Instead, Hazel simply shook her head and took a cautious step towards him, wondering whether she had really lost her mind. "Gus, what are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. I don't know what I'm doing here or who I am really." He sighed, moving his fingers through his hair. His eyes went up to hers. "Who are you?"

"Me?"

He nodded, waiting for her to answer.

Hazel felt her stomach drop at his question. He didn't know her. Even if he was some sort of an illusion, the fact that he didn't know her felt like a bullet in her heart. Hazel knew that there was no such thing as forever but she would have remembered Gus all her life until she perished. And if he decided to come back from the dead to pay her a visit, it was wrong and heart-breaking to know that he didn't know her.

She blinked away her tears and coughed. "Hazel."

"What's your full name?"

Hazel's heart skipped a beat. Deja-vu. It was as if they were meeting again for the first time. And if they were, she wouldn't mind it one bit if she got to fall in love with him all over again.

A small smile made it's way to her lips. "Hazel Grace Lancaster."

He smiled a bit too and they stared at each other for a while. "And what's my full name, Hazel Grace?"

It was two times in a single minute that her heart seemed to have stopped functioning and she felt the tears welling up in her eyes. Whether he remembered or not, she did remember. Every single detail. It was still her lanky and charming Gus. His voice, the way he stood, his smile, his words. It was Gus.

"Augustus Waters."

He scratched his head. "Huh, I think I prefer Gus. Don't you, Hazel Grace?"

She smiled, nodding, unable to say something. The emotions building up inside of her were overwhelming. She walked towards him and stood right in front of him. The two of them never once broke eye-contact.

His eyes travelled across her face, taking it in and he frowned in concentration, as if trying to recall something. "I know you, don't I?" He whispered, his voice barely audible.

She stood on her tip-toes and met his lips with hers gently before she pulled away. Hazel searched his face for some sort of an indication that he recognized her. "Okay?" She said, hopefully.

He was silent for a minute as he continued to frown down at her. Hazel watched in as she saw recognition creep into those blue eyes. His mouth opened. "....Okay."

"Hazel? Hazel?"

She turned towards the sound calling her name. It was her mom and she was coming this way. Hazel smiled and waved her over. "Mom, it's Gus. He's rig-"

She turned back to show Gus to her mother but there was no one there. She blinked in confusion before she started to look around. There was no sign of him. Where did he go?

Her mother finally reached her, with a worried expression on her face. "Hazel, it's Gus."

"Yeah, I know. Did you see-"

"The casket's empty, goodness!"

"W-What?"

Her mother nodded frantically. "The casket's empty! Gus's body is missing!"

Hazel was frowning as her mother took her inside and walked with her up to the casket that was placed on a cart draped with a purple cloth. A crowd had gathered near as some of them discussed the possibilities, while others simply stood there, baffled.

It was true, there no was Gus in the casket. So, what did this mean?

Did this mean that Hazel hadn't dreamt meeting with Gus? He did feel real when she had kissed him. But nothing added up. Did he simply step out of the casket and walk outside without anyone noticing? He couldn't be real. Gus was dead. Then, where was the body? Why was the casket empty?

Hazel's father rubbed his forehead, staring into the casket. "It's as if the universe is playing a trick on us."