I open my eyes slowly, staring up at the orange sky. I hear the birds chirping, flying overhead. I lie in silence for a few moments as I try to remember how I ended up in town's park.

I was at the school, helping Elizabeth decorate Haley's classroom for her birthday. Which is today. Panic rushes through me as I pull my phone out and check the time. 8:32. Crap. School started an hour ago. I stand to my feet and start walking towards home, my back killing me from sleeping on the bench.

As I walk, I return to thinking about how I ended up here. After Elizabeth and I left the room, we got caught by... well, we never learned who it was exactly. But anyways, I saw him and when we looked at each other dead in the eye... As the memories come back into my thoughts, I almost faint again. I saw him dying. Sure it was in twenty or thirty years, but still. No one wants to see someone else dying. Then I remember running away. With Elizabeth calling after me.

Five minutes later, I walk through the front door of my house, trudging up the stairs to my room. Before I can reach it however, I'm interrupted.

"Mia?! Is that you?"

"Yes, Dad! It's me!" I answer, retreating to my room, closing the door behind me.

As soon as I take my shoes off, my door opens again and I sigh in frustration, turning to see who it is. My father wraps his arms around me, almost knocking me over. "I was so worried about you, sweetie. You just disappeared. I called Elizabeth and she said that you ran off suddenly and she was looking for you. Where were you and why did you leave?"

I push Dad away softly. I mean, of course I love him, but he can be a tad bit protective. He also has this tendency to act like my mom did, with all the hugs and befriending my friends as if he was my age. In my defense, you did hear his little rant just then, didn't you? In my opinion, he sounded more like a mother than a father, but again, that's just me.

"I'm sorry I made you worry, Dad, and if I knew exactly why I ran, I would tell you, but from what I remember, makes zero sense," I say, trying to convince him in letting it drop. I am not in the mood to try and describe my 'vision' of sorts to Dad. It's not like he would honestly take it seriously, he'd probably just laugh it off then let me continue on with my life.

"Just tell me all you remember. I'm not going to believe that you just ran off for no reason at all." Dad stands behind me and pushes me out of my room and past the bathroom, reminding me that I desperately need to shower after staying out all night. In the park.

We walk into the living room and Dad directs me to the couch, where I reluctantly sit down. He sits across from me in the recliner chair, staring at me, waiting for me to take the first move. I sigh dramatically, running a hand through my hair as I start to explain.

"...So I ran off and woke up this morning at the park," I finish, taking a deep breath. I'm sure most of what I just said made no sense whatsoever, but hey, don't blame me.

Dad leans back in the chair, taking everything in. He stays silent for a minute before saying, "I thought we agreed that we wouldn't lie to each other."

See? What did I tell you?

"I know we did, and I didn't lie. I promise you, Dad. I'm telling the truth. I really did have this kind of vision."

Dad rolls his eyes - a move I know came from Mom. "Mia, be realistic. That stuff doesn't happen. People don't see other people die in the future." He stands abruptly, telling me that this conversation is finished. "Get changed and I'll drive you to school."

"But I'm already late. Can't I just stay home for today?" I bite my lip looking up at him with the biggest eyes I can muster.

"No. Now go get ready."

I groan loudly, causing Dad to send me an annoyed look. I march up the stairs and change quickly, frustrated that I can't shower right now. Well, if I really wanted to, I could. But don't get me wrong, I really do want to, but I don't like upsetting my dad, and showering right now would definitely do that.

I emerge from my room in a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt from my friend, Alec Salmon - I've always thought his last name was ironic because he is deathly allergic to salmon. He's been my best friend - obviously next to Elizabeth - since eigth grade when we sat with him at lunch because he was alone. I guess people made fun of him. He had braces, glasses, and was considered a nerd. Of course, Elizabeth and I didn't know that when we sat with him, but I think that we've kind of bumped up his popularity a little. We're not popular, heavens no, but we're not loners, either. Lots of people in the senior class know who we are, we kind of make that our goal.

Anyway, I borrowed this from Alec last year when I was cold and he never mentioned returning it, so I just kept it. Even if he had mentioned it, I would probably still keep it. He loves me, so he wouldn't care. I don't mean he loves me, loves me, but like a friend loves a friend, or like a brother loves a sister. Yeah, we have a pretty great relationship.

I get into the passenger seat of Dad's car and he's already in the driver's side, the car is already on so he backs out and heads towards the school, which is only a five minute drive. All of which is completely silent.

I open the door and am half-way out of the car, before my dad finally decides to speak, "I love you, Mia."

I smile as I say, "I love you, too, Dad." I climb out the rest of the way, closing the door behind me as I head towards the main office.

I place my hand on the handle of the main office's door as my name is called out from behind me. I swivel in my spot and suddenly wish I hadn't.

He starts walking towards me. He smiles at me as if we were long time friends. Then I realize he called me by my name. How in the world does he know that?

"Mia, I need to talk to you," he says, taking a hesitant step towards me. "About yesterday."

"Um..." I trail off, my eyes wandering every except him. "Sure," I eventually reply, my eyes still downcast. It's not like I don't want to look at him, it's just - well, actually, that's exactly what it is. I don't want to have a reoccurnace of yesterday's events.

He chuckles, "It won't happen again, Mia. I promise you that." He grabs my arm and starts pulling me towards the front of the school and out the main doors.

When he stops walking, I yank my arm away from him. "Now, would you mind telling me your name?"

"Oh, sorry. My name is Joshua Meyers." Joshua sticks his hand out to me and I take it slowly.

"Mia Willis," I reply swiftly as I take my hand back, stuffing them both into my - Alec's - sweatshirt pocket.

"It's nice to officially meet you, Mia. Now, I need to have a serious discussion with you."

My eyes finally creep up to look at him. I hesitate before locking eye contact, but when I do, nothing happens, to my immense relief. "You know what happened, don't you?"

Josh - I don't care if his name is Joshua, I'm gonna call him Josh, it's easier - runs a hand briefly through his hair before responding, "Yes."

I gulp down the lump that appeared suddenly in my throat. He knows what happened to me. But how? "I need to know what went on last night exactly and why I saw what I saw."

"Look, this is going to sound crazy and I know that, but it's kind of my fault. This is far fetched, but please just wait until I'm done explaining. Okay?" Josh asks, keeping his eyes on mine.

I nod faintly. "Okay."

Josh lets out a breath of air and runs his hand through his hair again. It must be a nervous habit. "It all started when I was born, well, truthfully, it started a long, long, time before that. My whole is existance was never meant to happen. About two centuries ago, some idiotic teenagers were playing around with dark magic. They sort of accidently made someone. Actually, two someones. Some ancestors of mine. I'm not completely positive how this all worked out, but that truly did happen. So you know, the teens freaked out and ran off, leaving them alone, completely clueless as to what to do.

"So they went on, hoping to find someone or something that could help them. They searched for days, weeks, months, until they finally got a lead on something. They looked into the eyes of two girls - sisters - and the girls passed out, just like you did yesterday. They saw - from what I'm assuming - what you did, just a little altered. The girls saw the two brothers on their death day. They saw how they died. Which is what happened to you. So now I guess I have to tell why this occured. When a Weise - what I am - finds their, um, their..." Josh chuckles uncomfortably, clearing his throat a few times before looking at me again. "This is going to sound really cheesy, Mia, but it's the truth.

"When a Weise looks into the eyes of their, their true love, the Meise - which is you - faints and has a vision of their partner's death. So, in all sense, you, Mia Willis, are apparently, my true love. And I, Joshua Meyers, am your true love."

As Josh finishes talking, my jaw drops. True love? That stuff only exists in fairy tales, right? No one can know who their true love is just by looking into their eyes. You're supposed to go through all this trouble in finding a spouse, not having them walk up to you and give you the answer. "What?" I whisper, not believing him whatsoever. I mean, would you believe someone who just comes straight out and says that you're meant to be together?

"Mia, you can try to escape this, but it won't work. Believe me, my mother already tried that. You won't be able to love anyone else, let alone be happy with them, it's impossible." Josh closes his eyes, taking slow deep breaths. "There is another thing that I have to tell you. These, these visions won't stop. You're going to keep having them with every person you meet. That is, until you can learn to control it, which you eventually will. Don't worry, my mom can help with that. One day, you'll be able to choose whether or not you want to see someone dying, but you can also call it out of people you already know."

My breathing quickens and my pulse sky rockets. I can't live with this for the rest of my life, the death thing, I mean. I could live with Josh if I had to - which I do, apparently - because, hey, he's not bad looking. My balance staggers and I fall towards Josh, who catches me easily and starts rubbing my back.

"It's okay, it's okay," Josh says, holding me close. It's then I realize that I'm crying and I wrap my arms tighter around him, letting it all out.

•••

"I should probably get to class, Josh," I say, keeping my head on his shoulder.

Josh sighs. "You're lucky I like you, otherwise I would never let you call me Josh. But yeah, me too. Are you sure you're going to be okay?" He asks, his arm still around my waist, keeping me pressed to his side as we sit in front of the school. We've been out here for an hour at least in silence, except for my tears and Josh's consoling words.

I nod weakly. "Yeah. I should be fine." I sit up straight, wiping my eyes dry. The school bell rings, alerting us that third period is done. Obviously today is an odd day, so I have classes 1, 3, 5, and 7. On even days, I have classes 2, 4, 6, and 8. Our classes are an hour and a half long. Yeah, I know. It's torture. Who wants to sit in a class for an hour and thirty minutes? Not me.

Josh stands, grabbing my hand and pulling me with him. He doesn't release my hand, which I can't say I mind it, as we walk into the school again and towards my next class. As we reach the door, I wrap my arms around his torso tightly. Yes, we've bonded a lot during the last hour, even if it was just him comforting me.

Josh wraps his arms loosely around my waist. "I'll see you at lunch, okay?"

I nod against his shoulder and eventually pull back. "See you then."

Josh smiles at me, then he places a soft kiss at the crown of my head before walking away.

•••

"Mia!" I hear, giving me a half a second warning before my best friend flings her arms around me in a very tight, and rather uncomfortable hug.

"Elizabeth," I say, lacking all the enthusiasm that she had had in saying my name. I pry her off me and she sits in the chair across from me as I eat a french fry.

"Where were you?"

So once again, I launch into the story of what I did last night, which wasn't as long as what I told Dad, thankfully, since I didn't have to explain everything prior to me running off.

"Hmm, sounds like you had an interesting night," a new voice interrupts, sitting in the chair next to Elizabeth.

"Alec, you don't even know the beginning," Elizabeth says, stealing one of my fries and eating it before I can stop her. I give her a hard glare, which she only smiles at. It's probably something about red-haired people. They don't see the annoyance they cause.

"So, Mia, where were you in Calculus today?" Alec asks, starting to eat his own fries. And that honestly surprises me, him eating, I mean. Alec hardly ever eats school lunches. He always claims how nasty they are. But on the rare occasions that he does, it's usually because he has low-blood pressure and is feeling faint. Which is something I worry about. A lot.

"I was with Joshua," I reply meekly, stabbing my fork into my lasagna. Don't get me wrong I love lasagna, but only when my dad cooks it. The school's lasagna is just gross.

Elizabeth perks her ears up when I mention his name. "And who is this Joshua, Mia? Some secret admirer?"

"Something like that."

It takes me a moment to realize that that wasn't me, or even Alec. It came from behind me. "Josh..." I say, turning around to face him. He smirks down at me, patting my head awkwardly.

"Hey," Josh says as he sits down in the vacant seat next to me. "How are you?" His eyes bore into mine and I know he's asking if I've had any more 'visions'. Maybe I should stop calling them 'visions', as if that's not what they are, because they are, in all truth, visions.

"I'm uh, I'm doing good. Nothing has gone wrong." Yet.

Josh's posture relaxes and he sits back more comfortably in the plastic chair. "Good." He turns to Elizabeth and Alec, who are eying Josh and I, and smiles. "I'm Joshua Meyers."

No response.

I sigh, rolling my eyes at my friends, before filling in, "That's Alec and that's Elizabeth. My best friends."

Josh smiles, clearly amused at how my friends couldn't answer for themselves. "Well then, it's nice to meet you two." He turns his gaze to me, his smile gone. He mouths something, but I can't make it out.

'What?'

Josh rolls his eyes, but repeats himself, 'Do they know?'

Oh. I shake my head and go back to stabbing the lasagna and occasionally eating fries, which goes very well until Josh decides to speak again.

"Just so you two know, Mia is having visions now."

I choke on one of my french fries as Elizabeth gags on her water and Alec has a forkful of lasagna halfway to his mouth. If I wasn't in my position, I'd be laughing my head off at the sight of us.

"Josh..." I say, glaring up at him. "Was that really necessary?"

Josh shrugs and takes a drink of water before responding, "They should know what is going on with you. You know, in case you faint around them... again."

"What the heck are you guys talking about?" Elizabeth asks, glancing anxiously between my 'soulmate' and I. Gosh, I hate that term.

I open my mouth to answer, but Josh speaks first, "Nothing big, it's just that I may of kind of caused her to start seeing things that may or may not be pleasant."

Wow. Way to be vauge, Josh, I think, turning my attention to Alec - who is still frozen, but has since put his fork down.

"Mia, you have a lot of explaining to do!" Elizabeth shrieks, alerting the people around us of our conversation.

"Elizabeth, keep you voice down," I growl, darting my eyes at her.

"You, missy, need to start talking."

I run my hand over my face tiredly. "Look, I don't know how to explain." I'd tell Josh to say it, but then he'd probably bring up the whole trule love stuff, and I most definitely don't want to talk about my new love life around Alec. You see, Alec used to - he still might, actually - have a crush on me. He accidently revealed this to me a year or two ago when we were eating lunch - since Elizabeth was gone somewhere, it was just the two of us. I honestly don't remember how the subject got brought up. All I know is that one second we were laughing, and the next, we were sitting in an uncomfortable silence.

"I'll do it," Josh says, smiling at me, teasingly.

That little... He knows I don't want them to know.

"Josh, maybe we should so this later, you know, when we're not surrounded by teenagers?" I plead, grabing his hand lightly under the table.

Josh looks down at me and he must see the look in my eye, because he softens his gaze and nods slightly. "But we will tell them later, Mia."

I nod, knowing that I can't escape this subject forever. No matter how much I want to.

•••

I slam the door to my locker closed. No, I'm not angry, I just have to slam it to get it to actually close, and keep my stuff locked inside. I turn and start my walk home. I mean, sure I could get a ride home with Elizabeth, or even Alec, but I don't feel like it right now. I know that they're just going to ask tons of questions concerning my visions, thanks to Josh.

I walk out of the school and begin my sort of short walk to my house. My dad's probably home, he usually is. He works at home mostly, but sometimes he gets called into the office. I think he's some kind of tax person, I don't know. I've never just upright asked him where he works. Not that that bothers me, I don't really care where he works. As long as he brings in enough money to keep us afloat in today's economy.

I'm about half-way home when a car slowly pulls up next to me. And because my stupid brain isn't working right now, I stop, and so does the car. When I finally come to my senses, the driver is already getting out of the car, so it's a little too late for me to run. My heart starts pounding and I take a cautious step back.

My pusle starts calming down when he turns around and I see who it is. I also manage to bring a smile to my face. He walks towards me, a smile also on his face. Josh stops a foot or two in front of me and crosses his arms, still smiling.

"What are you doing, Mia?"

I shrug. "Just walking home, I guess."

Josh chuckles at my words, "You guess? Well, if you guess, then, maybe you wouldn't mind taking a detour. I've already got your friends at the park, would you care to come?"

Wow he sure works fast. School got out like fifteen minutes ago and he has already tracked down both my friends and me. Maybe he is capable of more than I give him credit for.

"Sure, I guess I can."

Josh laughs again, shaking his head as he opens the passenger door for me.

"Why, thank you," I say, mocking a british accent.

"Why, you're very welcome," he responds, mimicing my actions. I slide into the seat and he shuts the door behind me before walking over to the driver's side and climbing in. He must have left the car running, because he just starts driving towards the park.