Okay guys. Think of this as a beta chapter, I have no idea whether I'm going to keep it up or not. Your feedback is severely needed if you want this chapter to stay!

 THANK YOU!!!!

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I sat there for a moment, completely stunned, Is this woman serious? I thought as I searched her expression for any indication that she was joking. Nothing, not a single hint of amusement. "I'm sorry," I said, a fake smile plastered over my shell-shocked expression, "could you repeat that?"

The mystery woman(who I quickly dubbed as "Miss Barbie") smiled at me gently and replied, "I said, do you think you could do that in a recording studio?" She cocked her head at me and I stared at her, wide eyed.

Do I look like singer material?! I mentally yelled. I stayed frozen for a minute before turning towards the window and muttering, "I don't sing in public." I huddled in my seat and stared out the window at the runway below. Watching as people hurried in and around the terminal. I knew I was being rude, but I didn't even know this person and she was asking me if I wanted to perform! On top of that, I was embarrassed that someone other than my closest friends had heard me singing.

I heard her chuckle beside me so I glanced back at her, hiding my gaze behind my long bangs. She shook her head and said, in an amused voice, "You don't have to be seen. You'd just be a background singer. It pays well and you should only have to be in the studio a few hours a week."

Tempting... I thought as I mentally debated her, extremely sudden, question. "Let me think about it." I finally replied, beginning to seriously think about her proposition.

"I'll wait." She replied with a smile before pulling a(hot pink, big surprise, right?) iPod out of nowhere(probably the gigantic, hot pink Prada at her feet) and slipping(guess what?) hot pink headphones into her ears.

This woman smiles a lot. I noted in my head, then a little voice in the back of my mind replied, No more than you do. I chuckled, that is true, I smile a lot, She seems to like hot pink a lot too. Not only were her headphones, purse, and shoes hot pink, but her jacket, earrings, bracelets, and headband were also hot pink. I shuddered at how much pink she was wearing. So I don't like the idea of wearing pink from head to toe. Sue me!

I sighed quietly and pulled myself into a little ball in my seat while I put my own headphones in. I hit shuffle and immediately the most AWESOME Kpop group EVER in the history of EVER began to play. SHINee's  "Stranger" began pounding in my ears and I settled myself in for a long flight.

I tried to fall asleep, but my mind kept reminding me of her sudden interest in my voice. It wouldn't hurt to have a little extra cash on hand, or won, specifically. I giggled at my own little joke, but stopped when I noticed that it wasn't really that funny. Oh well, I thought, I'll get funny eventually. But back to the real issue! I chewed on my lip as I thought, She did say I wouldn't have to do it in front of a lot of people and it should only be a few hours a week. My brows furrowed in concentration and I didn't even notice when U-KISS' "0330" began playing, I enjoy singing, she says it pays well, and as long as it doesn't interfere with my teaching schedule, it's perfect. I smiled as I laid out the facts and made my decision, I'll ask her how much it pays and when I'd have to work, then, if it sounds reasonable, I'll say yes!

 I turned to my seat-mate and realized that while I had been thinking, and probably muttering to myself, she had left. Strange, I thought as I looked at the clock on my iPod, we're going to be taking off soon. Where did she go? I shrugged and turned back to the window. I expected to see the runway again, so imagine my surprise when I saw that we were in the air. I guess I really was able to ignore the take-off announcement... I unbuckled my seatbelt and once again settled myself into a comfortable sleeping position. I changed my playlist from "Kpop" to "Bedtime" and was slowly lulled to sleep by the sweet sound of SHINee's song "In My Room".

Maybe I can finally make something out of myself. I thought as I finally slipped into dreamland.

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"Don't you dare!" I yelled, unable to help the grin spreading across my face as I felt a pair of strong arms lifting me off my feet.

"Or what?" A deep, male voice challenged, I could practically hear the smirk in his voice. His very familiar voice...

"I'll pull you in with me!"

"How do you think you'll be able to do that?"

"I just will."

"Really?"

"Yes, really!"

The smooth voice chuckled and I felt myself being set back on the ground, but two hands slid down my waist and rested on my hips, holding them gently. I looked up slowly and was immediately captivated by a pair of piercing green eyes. I gasped as I felt memories rush back at me, I'd lost count of how many times I'd lost myself in those eyes.

"You're okay..." I breathed. His eyes sparkled as he pulled me into a tight embrace. I returned the hug with every bit of strength I had and relished in the oh-so-familiar feeling of his arms holding me close.

"Of course I'm okay!" He said as he tightened his embrace. We finally pulled apart and he kept his hands on my waist, but held me away from him. He gave me a wide grin and I swear my heart stopped for a moment.

"You really are beautiful, Aeryn." He whispered as he pulled me closer and my hair. I blushed and looked away, knowing I would melt if I looked into his eyes. "Don't look away." He said quietly, "I want to see your eyes." I blushed harder, but complied. He gently slipped a hand behind my neck and pulled me in for a kiss. A kiss I gladly returned. Soft lips glided over mine sweetly, sending butterfly's to my stomach and fireworks to my brain.

As he pulled away, he whispered, "I have to go.." His green eyes were determined and his jaw was set as he stared at me.

"What? Why?" I questioned, bewildered and scared by his swift change of demeanor.

"I have to do this. Don't you think I should do what I know is right?" He challenged, his gaze now fiery and defiant. And so familiar...

"Well, yes, but why now? Why you? What about us? I thought we were in love..." My heart clenched as I said this and I felt tears stinging behind my eyes. My stomach twisted painfully as Deja Vu made my head swirl and my heartbeat pound in my ears. All previous feelings of bliss gone with a glance into his hard, almost cold gaze.

His hands dropped to his sides as he took a step closer to me. I instinctively took a step back and momentarily panicked when I felt nothing but air. Quickly looking over my shoulder, I realized we were on the edge of a high cliff. Angry waters swirled far below us and I shuddered when I thought of what would have happened if I'd fallen.

I stumbled forward and clutched Michael's shirt, but gasped and pulled away when I directed my frightened gaze to him. His T-shirt and jeans had been replaced with an army uniform and he clutched an MK 48 MOD machine gun in his hands. What really shocked me wasn't that he was wearing a uniform(I had kind of expected that.), but the state of the uniform. And him.

He looked like he'd been through hell and back. His beautiful eyes were bright with pain. Bullet holes riddled his clothing and blood stained the surrounding fabric. His handsome face was bruised and cut, the lips that I had just kissed now chapped and bleeding. His shoulder-length black tresses were gone and what was left was most likely hidden under the helmet with a large dent in its side. And his hands, there was so much blood on his hands. I wasn't even sure if it was his blood.

My eyes scanned over him repeatedly as I tried to convince myself that I was not seeing him, my Michael, broken and bloody. I looked into his hardened eyes and asked, "What happened to you? Who did this?" I shakily raised my hand to his injured cheek and it, his blood staining my fingers as I did so.

He gave me a bitter, grief-filled smile and a flicker of pride shone in his eyes as he said, "I told you I was going to do what was right." Then, with those words, he collapsed, I rushed to his side and gently pulled his helmet off, gingerly resting his head on my lap as his blood stained my white dress.

"Michael?" I called franticly, feeling panic rise in my chest, "Michael?" I repeated, shaking his shoulders and praying his eyes would open. Praying that he would sit up so I could tell him all the words that I'd saved in my heart and left unspoken.

"Michael!" I screamed, tears cascading down my cheeks as his skin became cold to my touch. I shook my head and silently repeated his name in my mind, my sobs preventing me from saying it out loud.

"Wake up." My head shot up when another voice jolted me out of my thoughts. I looked around, but couldn't find the source of the voice.

"Wake up." It repeated, more urgently this time. I looked down at Michael and screamed yet again. The man I loved was now no more than a decaying corpse. I shoved his head off my lap and jumped to my feet. More tears escaped from my eyes as I closed them tightly, willing to image to be erased from my mind.

"Wake up!" I quickly backed away from the rapidly decaying body of my now-dead lover and glanced around franticly, trying to find the source of this mysterious voice.

Suddenly, my foot stepped into nothing but air. I reached up and tried to grab onto something, but it was too late. I began to fall. I screamed in terror as I felt myself being under. The water around me became blood and burned my skin as I fought for breath, but only tasted the bitter, metalic taste of the crimson liquid that was killing me.

"Wake up!" The voice said again, more urgent than ever. My eyes shot open and I found myself being shaken by a stranger. I blinked away the tears clouding my vision and tried to swallow the lump in my throat as I pulled myself up into a more comfortable position.

"I must have been crying in my sleep again." I thought, resisting the urge to burst into tears as memories danced in front of my eyes. I shook my head slowly and took in my surroundings. I was still on the plane, but the seat belt sign was blinking. "That must be why she woke me up." I scrambled to buckle my seat belt as I felt the plane began to descend.

I turned to the pretty Asian woman next to me so I could thank her, but noticed how worried she looked as she stared at me. I wonder if I said anything in my sleep. I thought as I quietly thanked her and shoved my headphones back into my ears.

I nearly lost my composure when Carrie Underwood's "Just a Dream" began to play.

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Aish, I feel like I'm totally forgetting something. Like a misspelled word or a grammar error. Ugh! It's bugging me to no end! But I really wanted to get this chapter up here before I decided to just toss the whole fanfic. Oh well, it's the world of writing, what can you do? :)

THANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH GUYS!!!!!! I cannot even BEGIN to tell you how much I appreciate your support! But as I said in my blog, you guys are scary. If you haven't already, you guys really need to read my latest blog post! It would make me really happy. :)))))))))))))))))) <--See that? I got that from a very special friend. ;)