Quick Fanfiction Contest Archive

[ish_the_angel]

Quick FanFic Contest #1

We have three entries to vote for. Please read them and vote for your favourite, and give a reason for voting for it.

Voting closes 7pm Tuesday 10th November.

Thanks!

ENTRY #1

Romeo sat on the beach; He was sick and tired of being played, and by who, Annie Campbell! The girl you’d expect to be sweet and innocent, well no she wasn’t! Far from it in fact.

It was just two days that Annie had told Romeo that she wanted to be with him, That she didn’t want Jai anymore that she was well and truly over him, But this was the third time he’s heard it, every time she told him, she would just make up another excuse about meeting him, he knew that it was because she wasn’t over Jai, and she knew he wasn’t over her, she liked the attention!

Well Romeo he had enough, he stood up and stormed off in the direction of Annie’s house, he got to the door and there she was sitting on the sofa acting all perfect, Romeo knew what she was really like. “Annie” he knocked the door, she looked up from where she was sitting and made her way to the door

“Hi” She smiled sweetly

“Look Annie, We need to talk!” he said seriously

“What is it?” She smiled again

“What’s going on?” He got to the point rather quickly

“What do you mean? Going on were?”

“With you, With us?”

“I don’t know Romeo, It’s just I don’t want to jump into another relationship, I don’t want to get hurt or..”

“Hurt Jai” he cut her of

“Well yes, that too”

“You still like him, don’t you?”

“No, I.. I don’t, I just don’t want to hurt him, that’s all”

“You keep saying you don’t still have feelings for him, but you do. You tell me you want to be with me, that you like me, You told me you wished I made a move or something and I did, I’ve been plainly obvious that I like you, Every time you tell me were on, You change your mind, And I know why now, You still like him, Why can’t you just tell me the truth Annie?”

“I don’t!” She pressed her lips against his, she pulled away a few second’s later “I do like you, I just need time, that’s all”

“He smiled “Good, because Annie I like you too, I really like you, It’s weird because I’ve never liked anyone like this before, But Annie I really really like you” he almost blushed

“Then can you wait?”

“If I can be with you at the end, I’ll wait, But how long?” he sighed

“Not long, I promise. When I get my head together we’ll be together” She smiled and pecked his lips once more.

Romeo walked away, pleased that Annie had the same feeling he had for her, A few days passed, Romeo continued giving Annie surf lessons, and they continued flirting, but nothing happened yet, she must not be ready yet, he thought.

“Romeo!” Annie called, He turned around a smile lit up his face

“Hey” he grinned

“What are you doing?”

“umm, I’m just going for a surf”

“Cool, do you mind if I join you?” She said a flirtatious tone in her voice

“No not at all” He returned with the same tone of voice

They went into the deep blue water, Annie continued her flirting and Romeo played along, they came out of the water, Romeo went to kiss Annie but she move out of the way.

“Romeo! I’m not ready yet”

“Annie, I don’t get it! You say you like me, but nothing is happening!”

“I asked you to wait on for me, I’m still not ready Romeo!”

“I can’t do this!” He yelled “If you want to be with me, why is it so hard?”

“I don’t know Romeo!” She stormed of up the beach, Romeo sighed, he lifted his surf board and made for the path.

It was that night that Romeo felt betrayed, he sat alone on the beach, thinking about what had happened between him and Annie this morning when he seen them, Annie and Jai walking down the beach holding hands, he looked Annie in the eyes, but she couldn’t return the look, she turned her head. Romeo felt angry, hurt and betrayed, he stood up and walked along the beach at a rapid speed, not even looking were he was going, until he bumped into something, some one.

“Sorry” he mumbled

“Romeo, Are you ok?”

“Fine” he sighed

“No your not, come one tell me!”

“I don’t want to” he sighed heavily "You don't need to hear my problems"

“If it makes you feel better, my life sucks! My rockstar ex boyfriend was a tool, my normal sweet, kind, amazing ex boyfriend is off somewhere with my best friend, and I feel awful, I have nothing!”

Romeo didn’t reply, instead he too hold of Nicole’s face and kissed her passionately, “The girl I liked, is back with her ex after telling me for weeks she liked me, and I just had to wait for her”

“Um, Wow! Ok umm.” Nicole said rather dazed “You just kissed me!”

“I know” he sighed “Sorry, I shouldn’t have used you like that”

“Is this girl by any chance Annie?”

“Yep” he sighed again

“Well, she’s right over there, She seems to be looking if you want to get back at her kiss me again” She grinned

“What?”

“kiss me!” Nicole said, Instead she took hold of his face this time and kissed him passionately, she looked behind Romeo and Annie was staring at them. “Revenge is sweet eh?”

“Yeah! Yeah it is!” He smiled and kissed her once again

Entry #2

No matter what happens, the world keeps turning, spinning round and round constantly, so why do I feel as if my world has stopped?

As a rule, I never get close to people. They always leave you in the end, or hurt you so terribly that you can’t recognise yourself when you look in the mirror.

I got close to Jai, and that didn’t work out... he left me twice, once when Miles came for him at the foster home, and then again, to go to Japan. I grew close to Annie as well, but she went with Jai to Japan... I know it’s just a six month trip, but what if she realizes that Jai is the person she is supposed to be with?

When Annie and Jai left, I promised myself that I wouldn’t let anyone else in... I wouldn’t be able to come with anymore pain.

But then, against all odds, I grew close to Xavier, and he seemed to need a friend as well, someone to talk to, someone to lean on. That suited me fine. If Xavier needed me, there was less chance of him leaving me, like discarded trash dumped on the side of the row

But as always I, Romeo Smith, summed everything up incorrectly.

I was a stand in until Xavier could get someone better, someone to fill the spot that Ruby had left in him. I should be used to it, because I’m never more than a stand in.

I guess it’s because I’m never in one place for that long... people already have closely formed friendships and there isn’t room for me, until one friendship ends, and then I’m like the amber traffic light... the waiting phase.

Xavier found a new girlfriend, and with the new girlfriend, a whole new bunch of mates. Now I know I should be happy for him, as any other friend would. After all, he’s happy again, and that’s something I didn’t think would happy for a long time... Ruby hurt him more than I thought he could be hurt

With the new girlfriend, and the new mates, boring old Romeo Smith was forgotten. Once again, my suspicions were confirmed. I was no more than the amber traffic light, but this was the last time I could take the pain.

So I sat on the beach, and I thought of a way to get back my friend, the once person that had really cared I was in Summer Bay.

Maybe if his new friends didn’t like him, or his girlfriend dumped him... he would come running back to me, if only for help and support.

I could take a leave out of Trey’s book, and try and get revenge in that manner, but my vendetta was only with Xavier. It wasn’t fair to terrorize other people in Summer Bay, people that had never done anything to hurt me.

No, this had to be something that would hurt Xavier, and only Xavier.

I could feel my mind whir, trying to think of a plan. I had never been good at thinking of ways to communicate how I felt. Behind the confident facade that I tried to show people, I was actually a bundle of nerves, constantly stressed, worried and afraid.

Now that I knew that I wanted to get back at Xavier, my nerves actually calmed down, and I could think clearly. I was glad that someone was finally going to know how I felt.

I thought back over my life, thinking of the few skills I had gained in my life. I had never had much of a chance to excel at anything. I wasn’t that smart, and I struggled with school... the only thing I had ever been good at was pretending to be confident and cocky, and poetry...

The poetry had already come in handy once, when I had tried to help Jai with his relationship troubles, but won over Annie’s heart at the same time.

But how would poetry come in handy right now? I couldn’t exactly write Xavier a poem, telling him about my feelings. It would just alienate him even more. I could imagine him laughing with his new friends... teasing the stupid idiot who wrote him a poem.

But what if I used the same tactics as I had with Annie and Jai? Xavier would be immune to poetry, but his girlfriend wasn’t. That was the ultimate punishment; snatching his brand new girlfriend from right under his nose.

It may seem cruel, but for once in my life, I wasn’t just going to relax and take the beating... I was going to get revenge on Xavier for making me feel worthless, and for everyone else that has ever left me before.

So I pull out a piece of paper and a pen, and start to write... my emotions flowing smoothly on to the page, my brow wrinkling with concentration, as the pen makes a dent in the paper, as I press harder and harder

Eyes that sparkle, like the ocean water

Hair that shines, like the bright, bright sun

A smile that brightens up the darkest days

A speckling of freckles, a beautiful brown

The voice that sounds like a hypnotic melody

Mesmerising speech... mesmerising sound....

You’ve captured my heart from the very beginning

I can make you happy... so happy....

I slip the poem into my pocket, ready to slip it into her locker tomorrow morning. The effects might not be noticeable straight away, but I’m going to be persistent... she will realize that Xavier is no good for her...

Revenge can be so sweet.

ENTRY #3

He stood at the edge of the ocean, the waves lapping around his ankles. He looked out onto the horizon and watched as the sun disappeared, as if it was falling into the ocean. It was the end of another day, another day that Romeo wanted to forget. He didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt. He just wanted to get back at Xavier. He just wanted to scare him. He didn’t think about how what he was doing could not only hurt him but he was putting other people in danger as well. He closed his eyes tightly and thought about how someone was lying in a hospital bed fighting for their life because of him. He took a deep breath and walked away from the beach and to the police station.

“Can I speak to constable Buckton please” Romeo said. Charlie appeared minutes later and led Romeo through to the interview room. They took a seat and he took a deep breath before he started to speak.

“The accident, it was my fault” Romeo started and Charlie nodded her head.

“And how was it your fault?” Charlie asked. Romeo sat back in the seat and closed his eyes and thought about that day.

* Two days earlier *

Romeo was on his way to meet Claire, his girlfriend of 3 years. They were the perfect match. Everybody said so. They had even talked about marriage and children in their future. He couldn’t have been happier. He walked to her house and rang the door bell before walking in. He shouted out for Claire but he didn’t get a response. He walked along the hall and opened her bedroom door to find her and Xavier desperately trying to get dressed as quickly as possible.

“Romeo mate it’s not how it looks” Xavier said as he fiddled with the button on his shorts

“What else can it be Xavier” Romeo shouted

“Romeo I am so sorry” Claire cried “That was the first time it happened. I swear”

“I don’t care if you slept with him once or a hundred times” Romeo shouted “You’ve still cheated on me. And you, how could you do that to me Xavier?” Romeo shouted

“It just kind of happened. I’m sorry mate”

“Don’t you mate me” Romeo shouted then he walked out of the house and ran back home.

For the next few hours Romeo got call after call from Claire and Xavier but he just ignored them. He hated both of them for betraying him and didn’t care if he never saw them again. He had to get them back. He got up from sitting on his bed and ran down the stairs and out of the house. He ran all the way to Xavier’s house. He looked around to make sure that nobody saw him then he walked up to Xavier’s car and cut the brakes. He had another quick look around then ran back home. After getting some comfort from Nicole about what had happened with Xavier and Claire he was finally persuaded to go down to the diner for some dinner. As they were walking to the diner he saw Xavier’s car driving off in distance. He gave himself a smug little grin then continued to walk to the diner. Once he got inside he was surprised and confused to see Xavier sitting in the diner talking with Jai.

“What are you doing in here?” Romeo asked

“Talking with my mate, you can’t stop me from going place’s you know” Xavier replied

“I know that but I just saw your car. You are supposed to be driving it”

“Rachel has borrowed it for the day. Her car is getting a service”

“Oh my god” Romeo shouted “You need to phone her and tell her to get out right now”

“Why?” Xavier asked

“We don’t have time for explanations just phone her” Romeo yelled. Xavier sighed and took his phone out of his pocket and started to call her. It rang and rang and rang before going through to voice mail.

“She’s not answering” Xavier said

“Try again” Romeo shouted as he paced around the diner with a worried look on his face unable to stand still. Xavier dialled her number again, but again it rang through to voice mail.

“Keep trying” Romeo yelled. “Oh my god I’m so stupid” he said as he put his hands on his head and pulled at his hair slightly. Xavier tried her for a third time and this time she answered.

“Hey Xavier, I can’t talk right now I’m driving…….”

“Rachel, Rachel.” Xavier shouted as he heard a crashing sound and then Rachel screaming before the phone line went dead.

* Back at the police station *

Romeo opened his eyes and looked up at Charlie.

“He slept with Claire” Romeo said. “I wanted to get back at him so I did something really stupid. I wanted to hurt him like he hurt me. So I cut the breaks on his car. He was supposed to be the one driving it, not Rachel.” Romeo said then a tear rolled down his cheek. “What if she dies? She has a baby. I will have taken a mother away from a baby. And Tony, what will this do to Tony”

“Well let’s hope it doesn’t come to that” Charlie said. After asking a few more questions Charlie let Romeo got and told him she would be in touch. Charlie and Romeo left the room and Romeo went to the hospital to see how Rachel was doing. He was informed that she was going to be ok. Romeo breathed a sigh of relief. He had told the police what he had done and Rachel was going to make a full recovery. What happened next, he would just have to wait and see.

[matticus01]

It was hard to choose between number 1 and 2.... but I'm going for number 2...

I loved the fact that it ended where it did, and the poem was just brilliant

but all 3 entries were brilliant.

[I love music]

ENTRY ONE

Well, that was fast-paced and easy enough to follow but I didn't care about any of the characters! They came across as very shallow. As a portrayal of what it's like to be not yet mature enough to fall in love however it was quite realistic.

ENTRY TWO

No matter what happens, the world keeps turning, spinning round and round constantly, so why do I feel as if my world has stopped?

Great start. I liked the opening line immediately.

The story was very well written tho at times Romeo was a little too wrapped up n himelf and beginning to lose my sympathy until...

I thought back over my life, thinking of the few skills I had gained in my life. I had never had much of a chance to excel at anything. I wasn’t that smart, and I struggled with school... the only thing I had ever been good at was pretending to be confident and cocky, and poetry...

...This was the moment I warmed to him again Very skilful lead-in to what was going to happen next. And I loved the poem!

ENTRY THREE

This began well enough but then we switched to what sounded like a TV script. That's fine if you have actors who are on TV portraying the required emotions but you can't afford to write mostly dialogue in a story where a reader has to imagine the events. A little more description of characters' feelings and emotions would have helped. Quite a dramatic story.

**********

I'm not quite sure if you're choosing winners in this contest, but if you are my choice is ENTRY TWO.

[~Zoe~]

I thought all of them were good, but im choosing entry 2.

[Red Ranger 1]

Entry #1

This one had a very good grasp of the characters, I could imagine all of them acting the way they did.You captured Annie and Romeo well and his growing frustration and her reluctance really rang true.Nicole also managed to be captured brilliantly in just a few paragraphs.I loved the ending, it tied in nicely with the title.

Entry #2

This had a nice use of the internal monologue, it got inside Romeo’s head well and the fact that the story was basically all the character’s thoughts, with no dialogue and very little action, didn’t really matter because that was the story.Not sure if those really sound like Romeo’s thoughts though.Romeo’s eventual revenge plan was very well thought out and a nice touch.

Entry #3

This made a good use of a non-linear narrative, starting off with the revelation that Romeo’s revenge wasn’t going to go the way he wanted and leaving us to wonder how events would pan out.His discovery of Xavier and Claire cheating on him was a bit abrupt but the build-up from there to the eventual disaster was good and the open ending worked well.

I really enjoyed all three entries but in the end I think my vote has to go to Entry #1.

[charmed60]

They were all really, really good entries!

My vote goes to Entry Three

I thought the description of Romeo's surroundings was brilliant, you really gave us an idea of where he was, setting the scene and how he was feeling. I liked how you kept it a mystery as to who he'd hurt and the flashback was really effective. You described his emotions really well and I liked that the ending was resolved yet hinting at something more..

[HAA Girl 08]

My voted goes to ENTRY 2.

I love how the author has incorporated the poem into the fic. It's very creative and has good effect. I also like the "Revenge can be so sweet" ending. It has a great impact when reading.

The other entries were very nice too.

[ish_the_angel]

Voting closed, will announce the winner in a moment

[ish_the_angel]

Quick FanFic Contest #1

1st Place: Georgia

Equal 2nd Place: Danni02 & Elainea (tessalove)

Thanks very much for entering. The winner now gets to host the next round!

[Georgia]

Wow ! Six enteries !!! That's a lot ! So, without any further ado, I'll post the enteries.

You have until November the 13th, 10pm AEST... exactly four days from now

Please give a reason for your vote, it will help the writers improve

ENTRY ONE:

I sat on the beach, letting the cool, salty air breeze through my hair. I watched the waves crash up on the rocks further down the beach and wished, only for a moment that I was the rocks. I wanted to be swept out, free as a bird so I could say one last goodbye to my best friend.

I heard someone behind me and as I turned, I saw him sit down beside me. His blonde hair and black suit and his dull, expressionless face full of grief.

“I’m sorry Aden,’ I mumble as he also gazes out at the ocean before him.

It had been just over a year since I first left Summer Bay, saying goodbye to the small seaside town and starting my new life over.

So it had been a real shock when I had received a phone call from Miles saying that Belle had died of bowel cancer.

The phone rings as I run over to it and pick it up with an excited ‘hey’ when I see who is calling me.

“Mattie, hi,’ Miles voice is distant and sad, and I can hear a female voice in the background crying.

“Miles, what’s going on?’ I ask, concern etching through the receiver and I hear Miles take a deep breath and speak the devastating words to me.

“Mattie I’m sorry. Belle is dead, cancer’

It was like my whole world came crashing down at once as the phone slipped out of my hand and hits the floor with an almighty ‘thud’ which instantly wakes Ric up.

Tears well up in my eyes and I can’t breathe properly, my knees beginning to weaken as I finally fall to my knees, crying and screaming at the same time as I hear a quick shuffling from behind me as Ric comes racing over.

“I wish I could have been here for her when she needed me,’ I whisper, the tears threatening to spill out, but I choke back a sob and try to keep the tears from streaming down my cheeks.

“I’m sorry too,’ I hear his muffled reply, pain escaping his voice as I look down and see him twirling the golden band around in his thumb and index finger.

“I’m just glad you could make it for today,’ he replied softly, slowly craning his head to look at me.

“So am I,’ I reply, finally letting the tears slowly slip down my face. I reach one hand over and take Aden’s hand in mine, holding it as we both sat there. “She was lucky she found you, after everything with Drew, and Luc and especially Dom. You made her happy Aden,’

Aden looks at me, tears stinging his eyes as he lets them fall freely down his cheeks.

“No, I’m the lucky one. Before Belle I didn’t know what love was, what friendship meant, what trust was but... Belle taught me all that,’ He replies, pure love etching over the pain that he was feeling. No words could explain what Aden would be feeling.

Yeah sure I had lost my best friend, but Aden had lost so much more. He had not only lost his best friend, but also his wife and soul mate, and no emotion that I was feeling would make me understand what he was going through.

“What am I going to do without her Mattie?’ he asks, finally breaking down as his body begins to shake and the tears are falling more frequently. “How am I supposed to go on without her?’

Once again, the tears fall down my cheeks and I let my head drop, thinking about mum.

“When I lost mum I was lost. Ric, Luc and even Tony tried to get me to open up but I wouldn’t. I went off the rails, rebelled against everyone and ran away. But then I realized that mum wouldn’t want that. She would want me to pursue my dreams, do what I want to do, and I know Belle would want you to do the same,’ I finish as Aden looks up at me, nodding curtly.

“Come on,’ he says as he gets to his feet, keeping hold of my hand as he pulls me up. “Martha’s waiting to take you to the air port, otherwise you’ll miss your flight.

I nod sadly, and we begin to walk back up the beach towards the road where the others have been waiting for me. I turn and take one last look at view before me.

***

Once again I spend about half an hour hugging everyone, saying good bye to new faces, hugging Alf, Miles and Jai. I then love onto Annie, Geoff and Irene, telling them not to be a stranger and to call if they need to before moving onto Tony, Rachel and my new family member; baby Harry.

I cradle baby Harry in my arms, cooing my good bye to him before passing him back to Rachel and throwing my arms around Tony.

I don’t want to let go of him but I know I have to so I hesitantly pull away and give Rachel a quick hug before waving good bye to them all. I walk to the car where Aden is standing with the door open.

For someone who has just lost their wife, he is still a gentle man... so different to the Aden I once knew.

“You take care of yourself,’ I say as I feel the tears welling up in my eyes once more before Aden moves around the door and we embrace one another in a hug.

We rock back and forth before I let my head rest in the crook of his neck as he nods and pulls back.

“Good bye Aden,’ I half smile as his lips part slightly and he chokes back a ‘Bye Mattie,’

I look up, seeing the beautiful blue clouds and smile as I close my eyes. “You look after her mum, look after Belle for me,’

Climbing into the car, I buckle up as Martha starts the car up and Aden shuts my door. I wave to everyone one last time as they all wave back at me before Aden and I look at one another, no words needed as our eyes tell a story.

A story of a girl named Belle Taylor, a free spirited soul who is now looking down on all of us and I smile one last time as Martha starts to drive off, whispering two final words as I leave Summer Bay for the second time.

“Bye Belle.’

ENTRY TWO:

It’s time to say Goodbye.

I’ve lived in Summer Bay all my life and I love it here. When I was growing up I got myself into a fair bit of mischief but when I met Belle it all changed. She was the love of my life, my reason for being, and staying here after losing her to cancer would be too hard.

I pack all of my things up into boxes. I wrap all of my valuable stuff in newspaper and place them in a box labeled “Aden’s Treasures”. Photos of my beautiful bride, a snow globe I’ve had since I was small and a few knick knacks that I wanted to keep safe. Most of the bigger stuff in the house belongs to Nicole, and I wouldn’t need furniture or anything where I was going anyway.

I don’t want to tell anyone about my plans. I know they’ll try to talk me out of it, so instead I decide to tell them I’ll be gone for just a few months. A road bit of a road trip, enjoying the fresh air as I travel along the coast going from town to town working whenever I needed to. As I close the box and seal it with tape a wave of sadness sweeps over me as I think about leaving here for good, but I know I have to go.

My first stop is at the Diner. Nicole will be there and I want her to be my first goodbye. I just hope she doesn’t start crying. I don’t want anyone to cry, it will make it harder for me to go, and I worry that I might change my mind.

Nicole is sitting at one of the tables flipping though a magazine, her pile of textbooks remain unopened. I pull up a chair opposite her.

“Hey Nic,” I greet her. “I’m going away for a bit. Gonna head up the coast and see where the road takes me.”

She looks up from the mag. “Oh, how long are you going for? A couple of weeks?”, she asked.

“Not sure yet, I’ll make it up as I go along,” I tell her.

Nicole smiles an understanding smile and stands up and leans over to hug me. “Well, have a great trip,” she instructs me.

“Thanks. Oh and anything I’ve left in my room just help yourself to,” I tell her. I’ve left my Stereo and collection of CDs there for her.

I head into the kitchen to goodbye to Irene and Leah. Irene squeezes me tightly.

“Look after yourself, Love,” she tells me. “Make sure you keep in touch.”

Leah gives me a hug too, and wishes me well on my voyage.

Next stop is the surf club. Geoff and Ruby are playing some pool, and just to annoy them I pick up the black ball and play with it in my hands. An annoyed look sweeps over Geoff’s face, but Ruby looks somewhat amused. By looks of it she was being beaten pretty badly anyway.

“Hey guys,” I greet them. “Just came ‘round to say bye.”

“Where are you going?” Geoff asks, and I tell them about my planned trip. It’s starting to sound really good and I almost wish for a moment that I was really going there.

We exchange some hugs and I even get a kiss on the cheek from Rubes.

“I’m glad we’ve been able to put all our problems behind us, Aden,” Geoff tells me. “We’ve become pretty good friends lately and I really appreciate it.”

“You know what,” I say. “You’re alright for a Bible Boy.” I smile and move on to where I’ve spotted Tony heading towards the Gym.

“Hey I’m heading out of town for a while,” I tell him.

“Ah ok,” he replies. “You deserve a break, so enjoy it,” he tells me after I relay my plans to him. I have a couple more people to farewell, before I realize it’s time to go.

I jump into the driver’s seat of my car and wave to the family I know I’ll never see again. I drive for a few minutes before pulling into a lookout point overlooking the bay. It’s a beautiful place, which Belle and I had visited a bunch of times to get some alone time. I pull out photo of Belle I keep in my wallet.

My beautiful wife, I miss her so much.

“See you soon,” I kiss the photograph and wipe away my tears before slamming my foot hard on the accelerator.

ENTRY THREE:

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Her voice is soft in my ear, but it cuts me deep. I just nod my head, I can't look at her. If I look in those beautiful hazel eyes, I know I won't be able to leave.

But she isn't wrong, the sight in front of me is amazing. The sun's setting over Summer Bay, reflecting off the wide spread ocean out ahead of me. The picture perfect blue waves are crashing onto the, almost as flawless if not more so, golden sand.

"Remind me again why you're abandoning it then Drew?" She asks her voice not as controlled this time. The emotion that is shooting through her making it crack, I can visualise her shaking delicately, fighting back tears.

Taking in a deep breath of fresh sea air, I turn to look at her. She is as broken as I envisioned she would be, albeit still with the air of elegance that she has always possessed. I cannot bare to look into the sparkling dark pools that she calls eyes any longer, so I look away. Capturing one final glance at the beach I get to my feet.

"Because I have to. We have been through this." Trying to keep my voice as steady as I can. I don't want her to see how feeble I actually am.

"But what if I gave you a reason to stay?" She grabs onto my arm and pulls me towards her, hope and desire in her eyes.

"It never works out Taylor, we are a car crash waiting to happen." I force myself to remark the words that I don't believe, just so she doesn't realise how close I am to falling apart. I am trying to make it easier on her.

"Don't say that! You don't believe it." Her voice is full of pain. I just want to reach out and hold her as the tears begin to cascade down her cheeks.

"What do you want me to say Taylor? That everything is going to be okay? That our love is epic? Well our love is epic, one of those teary, bloody, one for the ages, epic love stories! But we cannot go on..." Now I am the one fighting back the tears, my heart is beating so loud in my chest I feel like it's going to burst out any minute now.

"But..."

"No 'buts' Taylor... we can't... us... together, it's like we're in the middle of a war! All we do is cause pain to one another. I feel like I'm on a battlefield... it shouldn't have to be this hard." I interrupt her, I just want to get it all out, so that I don't suddenly become gutless.

"Nobody ever wrote songs about the ones that came easy." I spy a ghost of a smile play across her lips, I return the smile almost immediately, before it fades just as quickly.

"Haven't you got enough scars already?" I ask her, she doesn't answer, but she does look away from me for the first time since we began this discussion.

"Why are you breaking my heart?" Her voice is barely audible.

"Because it's no fun breaking my own... yours is just perfect, ready for the shattering." I lie with acid in my words to make it more credible, a sort of bad taste joke. It occurs like it is coming out naturally, I don't even have to think about it.

"If you're trying to make me hate you... you're succeeding." The tears rolling down her cheeks at great speed now, making wet patches on her shirt from the dripping.

Swallowing hard I battle all my urges to pull her close to me. "Good." With that, Belle breaks down in front of me, she is no longer crying silently. She is more vocal than I've ever heard her before, without even saying a word. I stumble backwards as she beats her fists against my chest before dropping to the sand.

"Goodbye Taylor..." I whisper.

"Don't call me that!" She yells at me through her tears, almost spitting with rage. "If you walk away... I'll hate you forever." Looking up at me, pleading me with her eyes, I almost cave.

"And I shall love you forever Belle." I shake my head at her as I turn and walk away, hearing her pain in her cries, I swear I hear her curse the day she met me under her breath.

I climb into my car and drive away from the place I called home, letting my tears cascade. Away from the love of my life, all because I cannot bear to see her in pain and that is all I bring her. Breaking her heart is better than destroying her life. In the long run... I think, I hope that I am saving her.

ENTRY FOUR:

“What do you mean you’re leaving?”

“I can’t stay here any longer”

“But what about me? We’ve just started going out and now your leaving, I thought you liked me, I really liked you Ruby and I thought we had some sort of future, but now your leaving? I don’t understand”

“Well I have nothing here for me, I can’t trust Charlie anymore, were no were near as close as we used to be, It’s awful living her, Xavier hates me, My best friends went to Japan and well there’s you but Geoff I’m sorry, I’m going to the city, I’ll be close to dad, all my old friends are back there and no matter what the city is my home, Come with me?”

“What? No, I can’t come with you! This is my home, Irene and Annie are in Japan they won’t be back for another few moths I just can get up and leave”

“But you said you loved me, I thought you’d want to be with me”

“I do Ruby, But you can’t expect me to just leave everything behind, I can’t do that”

“So that’s it your giving up on us?”

“Your the one giving up, your the one who’s taking of to the city, I’m not giving up on us you are”

“I asked you to come with me, I thought this would be a fresh start for us, No exes, no family telling us what to do, Nothing”

“Exactly Rubes nothing, My whole life is here, My friends my job, If we just get up and move how will we survive?”

“I have money that dad gave me, I’ve been looking a housing, And I think I’ve found somewhere, until we get a place we can stay with my friends, I’ve already asked them and their fine with it”

“So what your saying is you already made the decision?”

“No, I just asked them”

“I can’t leave Ruby”

“You have nothing to leave Geoff, please!”

“I have plenty to leave, Annie and Irene will be home soon enough, what will they think when I’m gone?”

“We can deal with that at the time”

“What about Nic, I look out for her; I can’t have her getting hurt again, And Aden? I can’t just leave him with the trawler, everything is here for me”

“Nicole? Is that what your worried about?”

“Well yes”

“Why? Your not with her anymore, she can look after herself, whatever you say or do, she doesn’t listen! She gets herself into more trouble than enough what can you do?”

“Be here for here, I may not be with her anymore, But I still feel strongly towards her, she was a big part of my life, I can’t just forget her”

“So you still love her? You’ve been lying to me? Am I just something to distract you from her?”

“Ruby of course not, Yes I still love Nic, but not they way you think, I just want to be there to look out for her, she’s helped me in the past with a lot of things, And I’ve helped her, it’s just the way we are, I fell for you Ruby and I love you”

“You aren’t showing that now! Why can’t you just come with me, It’ll be great just you and me, no one else!”

“I said no Ruby! I can’t!”

“Geoff just get out! I don’t need you! I’m going you can do what you like, I tried and your just being difficult” She yelled

“Difficult?” He said using the same tone of voice as Ruby, “Difficult? Because I don’t want to leave everything behind? Everyone I love, How am I being difficult?”

“If you love me, then that should be all you need!”

“I can’t deal with this right now, I’m sorry I can’t go with you, Do what you like!” Geoff scoffed, he stormed out of Ruby’s room slamming the door in the process, he stormed out of the house doing likewise with the back door, he kept up the rapid pace and made for the beach, plunging himself down heavily onto the sand. Every thought was running through his mind, he couldn’t believe it he was actually contemplating going with Ruby, He did love her and he thought they made a good couple, but then the thought left his head as he thought about the fact she had made up both their minds about leaving, she hadn’t even consulted him.

He sat on the beach for what seemed like days, he played with the sand lifting up and letting it drop through his fingers over and over again, He was still deep in thought when another person sat down lightly in the sand beside him.

“What’s up?”

“Just thinking”

“Ouh that must be hurting” She teased

“Huh?”

“You really are deep in thought!” she laughed “I’ll leave you to it”

“No Nic, wait” she lightly sat back down again “Ruby’s leaving”

“What you mean like breaking up with you?”

“No I mean she’s going back to the city”

“Oh”

“She asked me to go with her”

“And?” Nicole perked up at this, Geoff leaving??

“And what?”

“Are you going to go?”

“I don’t know, I’m still thinking about it”

Tears formed in Nicole’s eyes, Even the thought of Geoff thinking about leaving almost stopped her heart, he was her rock, Even if she didn’t all want it, he was always there for her, giving her advice or even just listening to her, and trying his best to solve her problems, she blinked back the tears and looked him in the eyes, “Do what you feel is right”

“I don’t know what is right, My home is here, Annie and Irene are here, and I can’t just go and leave them, And then there’s you”

“It’s you who you need to be thinking about”

“I am thinking about me, I don’t think I would be able to live not knowing what Annie is doing, Her being in Japan is killing me! And I couldn’t leave you, If anything happened to you or anyone I’d never forgive myself, And I can’t leave Aden with the trawler”

“But if this is what you want, I don’t want to be something that is stopping you from having this”

“This isn’t what I want! I want to be here, with my family and with you”

“Geoff?” Ruby yelled from just up the path he looked up and tried to smile at her but he couldn’t, she continues her walk down the path until she was standing above them looking straight down and glaring at them “I thought you didn’t love her”

“I never said that, I do love Nic I told you that”

“I need you decision, I’m leaving in an hour with or without you”

“Without”

“What?”

“I’m not going”

“Geoff, This is a new start for us away from this dump”

“For you maybe, But I like this place, It’s my home and the people I love are here”

“So you don’t love me?”

“Well you don’t seem to love me very much, Being in a relationship and loving someone is meant to be a two way thing, I can’t love you knowing that you honestly don’t care about me”

“I’m getting on the bus in an hour, If your not there this is it! You’ll never see me again, Were over”

“I won’t be there Ruby”

ENTRY FIVE:

‘That’s the last of my stuff. I only came to the bay to try and make up for what I did, apologise to people and do some good here. Now I have to leave and it's all been pointless.’

These thoughts echoed round the man’s head as he shut the car boot and looked back at his house with the view of the beautiful bay in the distance, the water shimmering in the sun, the beach creamy and inviting. It looked so innocent, a peaceful place to go for a holiday, happy and carefree with your family or friends. But it was so different if you got involved with anyone who lived there.

He sighed and trudged towards the driver’s door. It was breaking his heart to leave the woman he loved but he had no choice: she didn’t love him or want him in her life anymore.

‘Hey! Wait!’

He looked round to see Ruby racing towards him. What could she possibly say to help his situation? He was defeated, he didn’t have any more ammunition. He had sworn until he was blue in the face that he hadn’t been unfaithful, promised not to lie about anything again, made it clear he could refuse the new job, but nothing made any difference. He had once been dedicated to his career, taking more and more promotions and difficult assignments, but he had had enough.

‘Why are you leaving?’ Ruby was fired up, her eyes blazing. Like an avenging angel ready to decapitate him with the flaming sword of teenage justice.

‘Don’t you know?’ he said sarcastically. ‘She told me to take the job and leave. Or did she forget to tell you?’

‘Oh! I’m sorry. I just assumed-‘

‘Yes. You’re good at assuming.’ He opened the driver’s door. ‘She doesn’t want me involved with the baby. She said she didn’t need a man.’

‘Oh my God Angelo! She just- she just let me think you were deserting her.’

‘I wouldn’t do that!’ he blinked hard to keep the tears back. ‘I suppose at least she’s keeping the baby. Isn’t she?’

‘Of course! Charlie would never have an abortion. I’m proof of that, aren’t I?’

‘So why doesn’t she want me to be part of the baby’s life?’

‘You know what she’s like. She- I love her but she’s a control freak. You know how she acted that time with Grant. She’s had too much to cope with lately-‘

‘But that’s not my fault!’ Angelo got into the car, slamming the door but leaving the window open to talk. ‘All I’ve done is support her!’

‘She just freaks out sometimes and pushes everyone away, you know what she’s like!’

‘I’m just doing what she wants. Like I always do.’

‘Wait! Don’t go! Please.’

But he started the engine and drove away. Slowly. There was no point being dramatic: he was drained and weary of the thoughts going round and round in his head. Charlie had just pushed him away, said he should take the new job and she would be better raising their baby alone with the help of her family. There was no way to change anything, however much he thought about it.

He drove to the viewpoint to take a last look at the bay and to calm down before the long drive to the city. It was not fair. He had so wanted ‘happily ever after’ with Charlie, but it was not to be. He sat there lost in thought for a long time.

A car drew up by the grass on the other side. Angelo glanced over indifferently, then his eyes widened. Geoff was at the wheel and Ruby was helping Charlie out of the back seat. She looked fragile and he was sure Ruby had talked her into this. He sighed. Ruby’s interference was futile: it would just prolong the agony.

Charlie took a step, then stumbled. Angelo leapt out of the car and ran to her, forgetting his despair.

‘Ruby said the baby deserves to know its father. She said being told a lie would mess up its life, and she should know.’ Charlie looked up at him uncertainly. ‘I’ve been selfish and not thought of how the baby will feel if you aren’t in my life.’

Angelo was shocked at her change of attitude, but not really surprised. Her abrupt contradictions were part of what drew him to her.

‘I’ve decided to leave the Bay; there are too many bad memories here. If you and I both move away, it’ll be a fresh start.’

Ruby edged tactfully back to Geoff in the car, trying not to stare at them, but finding it hard to resist. She didn’t want to say goodbye to Charlie- or Angelo- but she understood if it was best for them to leave.

‘So you don’t think I’d be a terrible father then?’ demanded Angelo.

‘No! I don’t think that at all. The shock of finding out I was pregnant just reminded me of when I had Ruby. All those horrible feelings came back again, I was scared and I didn’t want a man around who would hurt me again.’

‘But- but it won’t be like that this time. I’m not Grant.’

‘I shall ask Dad and Morag if I can live near them, then they can support me. You can visit when you have time off, if you think that’s alright? Do you?’

She looked at him nervously, pale and delicate, exhaustion in her eyes.

Angelo took a deep breath to prevent himself babbling like an idiot.

‘Yes. I do.’

ENTRY SIX:

This much I know, its true Summer Bay a place I once called home, is no longer considered a safe place. It’s filled with painful memories of my childhood. I must leave Summer Bay; I can not stand staying in a place where I know justice will not be served. I leave behind my memories of my father, two brothers and my dirty old grandfather, a praised citizen of the bay – all because he won some stupid metals. It’s nauseating. I sit on the beach, my hands fiddling with the sand, my mobile in my pocket, ready to phone the most beautiful girl in the bay – Belle. Even though we hadn’t had many “good” encounters working side by side in the diner, I still cared for her. I still secretly loved Belle, but I was too chicken to tell her obviously...

I slouch, my posture is definitely transmits the message of that I am a nothing but a pathetic, vulnerable, messed up teen of the bay. I want nothing more to leave this place, but I also want nothing more other than to hold her, kiss her sweet lips, smell her soft skin coated in rose oil. Every times that angel flew pass me in the diner, I would be zapped into another world, a fantasy world, a world where Aden Jefferies looks like a weak, love sick puppy. I know Summer Bay’s image of me, Mr Jefferies, bad boy of the bay – everyone hated me, even my friends, and my father and without a doubt the girl I have ever loved Belle Taylor. Why did I always have to be such a jerk?

“Aden” I look up and see her, her glistening brown eyes, her shiny brown hair. I try my hardest not to stare, but my eyes are locked, frozen on her gorgeous face. “Hi..” I say memorized by her beauty. “Do you mind?” She manages to smile at me, this I like. She has the most amazing smile, I’ve ever seen, a gorgeous smile kills me!

“Sure” I smile at her but then look after, giving her the “cold shoulder”, errr could I say anything stupider? I want to know her, I want to be able to talk to her, but now all I can do is shut her out – that’s just great, smart move Aden. “What’s with the bags” She almost laughs, not taking the sign of a large camping bag seriously which is nearly exploding as it’s obviously way packed way too much from clothes. “I....actually leaving the bay” I look at her, my face is expressionless, but Belle senses a negative vibe from me, this I can tell from her reaction. Belle looks at me with a concerned expression on her face; I now wonder why she is looking at me like this. The reaction seems genuine, now all I am thinking is why on earth does she care? Why does she care if I leave the bay?

“Why...is everything alright” She asks me, I can’t understand why she is still interested in knowing. “Ah...some stuff happened at home and I...I can’t stay here...” I mumble under my breath, but the words are still comprehensible. “Did something bad happen....are you going to stay with your other family?” Belle smiles as if she believes there is hope for me. “Actually, I don’t have any other family, this is it....my two brothers, my father and my....” I can’t say it, even if it’s not his official name. “Grandfather?” Belle assists me. “Yeah” I whisper looking down at the sand. Belle can sense something is up.

“I’ll miss you” Belle says almost as it’s truthful. “Yeah” I laugh; Belle telling me she will miss me is the highlight of my day, the most amusing thing I’ve heard all day! “I mean it” Belle says quietly looking down as if she’s ashamed of her words. This can’t be true, why the hell would she miss me? I always drive her crazy; I know that because she is constantly complaining to Irene about me.

“You do, do you?” I smile looking at her believingly. “I’m being serious Aden....” My eyes widen with shock, if I was standing up I would surely fall over from the shock of her confession. “Who else in this town will drive me insane? Who else is gonna do a nudie run around the Surf Club?” Belle giggles, her face turns pink. “Oh my...you knew about that?” For some strange reason I am about to blush for embarrassment. “Yeah, Matilda told me...anyway the point is, Summer Bay isn’t complete without Aden Jefferies...it would just be completely dull and we wouldn’t want that”

“Oh no.. definitely not! We can’t have Summer Bay being dull, now can we” I join in on the joke.

There is a long moment of silence, Belle looks back at me she whispers “Will you miss me?”

I look at her, surprised by her question; I sigh and stare into her eyes for several seconds “Absolutely”

“Will you forget me?” Belle asks, looking truly sad. “No....never”

“I’m hard to forget” Belle smiles and then the smile fades away at once. “I agree...” I had to leave, I didn’t know how long I’d be gone for, but I couldn’t stay here any longer. I can’t live with the abuse anymore. I am sick and tired of being taken advantage of, I am sick of the flashbacks, the nightmares, feeling worthless, I need to get out of here. But I hated the thought of being apart from the girl I loved. Even though deep down I knew I had no chance of being with her, I still feel like I am losing any chance I have, no matter how small that chance might be.

“Well....if you are going to go you have to at least tell me why, why the hell do you think it’s okay to just run away from your problems instead of dealing with them, I mean what are you going to achieve by running away from your problems? What’s so bad that you have to pack up and leave the bay? Tell me Aden, you can’t just walk away!” Belle yells at me, I am stunned she wants to know about my problems and what gives her the right to know anyway. I don’t need to tell her anything! Who does she think she is? I am tellin’ her nothing!

“Aden....I’m kidding, what problems you have. It’s your business, if you think leaving the bay is the best thing for you then....go for it....but there’s just one thing I need to go before you go”

I shake my head, I didn’t see this coming. I thought she would interrogate me instead she shows me understanding and she doesn’t want to invade my privacy, unlike that old bat Morag.

Belle is looking at my lips now, her eyes alternate from looking deep into my eyes and glancing at my lips. “What the hell is she thinking.....or what the hell is she on. She can’t want to seriously kiss me”

“My way of saying goodbye obviously...” Belle says before she leans in very quickly to kiss me on the lips. My lips are shut for several moments before I open them and return the kiss; I pull back after giving her a few pecks on the lips. “That was nice”, she giggles. “Yeah it was” I smile foolishly.

“Good bye Aden....I’ll miss you” Belle touches my cheek, I am touched by an angel, but strangely enough I am touched by love. “Same”

“Aden...just promise me...that you’ll come back to the bay....”

“Why, give me one good reason” I say not expecting her response. “Because I think I’m falling for you”

I look at her my mouth weighing down, dying to open with shock. I don’t know what to say.... “I feel the same way, but I do promise one day I’ll come back”

I stand up about to walk away but Belle says one last thing, “I love you” She whispers wiping away a tear, a tear that seemed to come out of no where. I struggle I can’t remember the last time I said the words “I love you” and actually meant it. I touch the top of my gums with my tongue, struggling to say these words back to her... “You mean the world to me Belle....” I wink at her before picking up my bags and walking away from a place I once called home.