The figure that was standing so large before us now disappeared amidst the houses. It was tall. I'm guessing it was nearly six feet or possibly even more. It strode with confidence before disappearing from our view.

"Well, don't just stand there, Elizabeth, " Joan said before tearing after it. It was no use. Aside from some small footprints in the sand, we saw nothing but the dark fabric night had put around us.

The stars surrounded the earth with pinpricks of their silver light. There were millions of them. It was the light of these stars and a strange gold sparkle that illuminated the street.

"Whoever this person was, he's gone, " I said resting my chin on her shoulders. "Let's not have him spoil our night".

Joan, however, did not hear me. Her dark eyes were fixed on something deep in the alley. Something that shone bright gold.

" Wait, what is that?"

"Maybe something someone dropped, " I said with a dismissive shrug of my shoulders. "Perhaps some coins or....."

Joan was curious and as she picked the object up she said, "It's a book". So it was. The gold of my journal sparkled in the dark like a flame, making my heart beat a thousand beats of happiness. It was not lost. I could write the story I was craving to write.

" It's not lost, " I said giving Joan a kiss on her cheek. Happiness flooded through me as I laughed for joy.

"You say I'm the one who needs glasses?" she said, raising her thick eyebrows. " If you would use your eyes for a while you would know that your journal was never lost. It was stolen".

My journal, which was curiously untouched by the dirt in this street, lay in her hands. It was opened up to a page that used to be blank. This page was now scared with someone's neat block letters.

'SOME BONDS ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN.'

Joan and I read it together. As I shivered at it, Joan grew angrier. Her hand crushed mine as a grimace struck her face. She did not look happy.

"You shouldn't have come here Elizabeth, " she said, her voice sounded thunderous.

"Hey, I came looking for this and I don't care. It's me who has to deal with some kind of stalker. Not you."

" But it's you I care about, isn't it?" she said. "Listen, whoever wrote this knows about us. And they want us to be apart. I'm not going to let that happen."

" Well, neither will I."

That's when she kissed me. The warmness of her lips spread mine apart banishing all my fear of the stalker and the self-consciousness I had. I knew I wasn't as tall as her. I knew I had thin, chapped lips and body that was slightly thicker than an old broomstick. Yet I didn't care. Feeling loved is a powerful thing. It is the one thing that drives away hate. So maybe that's why the haters and the laws and the stalker didn't matter. All that mattered were us.

"Come on, " she said, finally breaking away. "Let's get you home."

She held my hand as we walked along the cobblestoned pavements. The dim lighting of the streetlights did not scare me one bit. I felt safe in her arms. Safer than I had felt anywhere else.

At last a neat house with a well-mowed lawn came to view. It was my house. Outside were two tall figures arguing in hushed voices. One of them was Caroline. The other was a boy whose dark hair and sunburnt skin stood out to me. It was Ian.

" Ian, what are you doing here?", I asked. He didn't answer me. Instead, his eyes wandered to my hand, which was held in Joan's.

"Elizabeth?", he chocked. " How long has this been going on for?"

"We met today, " I said, my eyes looking into his own blue ones. Tears escaped from the corners of them and it was then, out of all those moments, that I really felt sorry for Ian Coetzee.

"Ian, I'm so sorry. I was going to tell you about school tomorrow. I really was..."

"It's okay Elizabeth, " he said wiping his tears away with his black sweater. " I love you. I always have and always will. I guess some bonds are meant to be broken."

My heart broke for him. I would have cried and flung my arms around him. I would have told him that there would someday be a girl who loved him as he deserved. I would have done all that if Joan had not pulled me away.

" Get away from him, " she said. As if her words weren't convincing enough, she dragged me until I was a few feet away from him.

"Uh... Why would I do that?"

"He followed us, " she said, her voice speeding like a racecar. "He stole your diary. He wrote that message."

" He would not, " I said rolling my eyes. Ian was anything but a jerk. I believed that he really did love me. He would never have stolen my journal.

"Oh yeah, " she said. "Some bonds were meant to be broken. Besides, look at the sand on his shoes. He couldn't have got it from standing in your grass-covered lawn, could he? And why is he here anyway?" These were questions only Ian could answer. However, he didn't seem to keen on answering. He just looked at me with eyes that spoke of sorrow and misery and loss. And love.

"He wouldn't do that. I trust him." To make a point I looked at him and said, " You didn't do it, right?"

"You should be careful who you trust babe, " he said, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek and turning away.

Joan also left after handing me straight to Caroline, who helped me inside.

"I can't believe it, " I said to her as she wrapped me into a warm hug. I know that I'm fourteen and not four, but there isn't anything nicer than getting hugged by your big sister. They never judged you. Plus they always covered up for you, even when you know you deserved to get grounded.

As I followed Caroline's dusty footprints upstairs, my heart felt a million jolts of pain. I was betrayed. Betrayed by a person I cared about. The sting hurt. So I decided to spend the night in the only place I knew I would find comfort. I slept in Caroline's room.

"I trusted him, Caroline, " I sobbed. "I never loved him but I cared."

" Oh, sweetie, " she said, handing me a cup of hot chocolate. "He never did care. If he loved you so much, why would he stalk you? Why would he sabotage your chances of happiness?"

Tears fell from my eyes faster than before.

" Why?"

"I don't know Elizabeth? I wish I did know. But I do know something, "

"What is it? Why was he even here today?"

"Someone tipped him off. One of your little friends told him you were going out instead of attending the meeting and he followed you."

" What?"I said. "Did he mention who it was?"

"No. He simply said that all of them felt it best to tell him that you were sneaking off. They said it was to meet another boy."

" But that's not true, " I yelled. "I went out there because I was bored. I wanted a story that mattered."

" I know, and I believe you, " Caroline said stroking my hair. My tears trickled down my eyes and onto her neck as she pulled me in a firm hug. "I know how it feels to have disloyal friends. I'm just happy that you don't seem to be taking it too well after all the stuff they say about you".

" What? They've been saying stuff about me?" I said. "What sort of stuff?"

An expression of horror crossed Caroline's face. She thought I had known about the treachery of my friends. I didn't.

As the smell of raspberry and floral perfume wafted through the air, a girl just died. It was the softer, kinder Elizabeth Ferreira. She was a girl who lived fourteen years with a naive idea of what happiness was. The newer Elizabeth was darker. She would find out what her friends were saying about her. She would make them pay.

"I'll get Ian back, " she said through gritted teeth. It took me a while to figure out that this angry, tougher girl was me.

"Of course you will Elizabeth, " Caroline said, smiling at me through long, curled eyelashes. "Just promise me one thing."

" What is it?"

"That whatever happens, you will always trust me. Because I will be right there to support you."

I looked up at my sister through sticky, tear-soaked eyelashes. Yet, my cheeks were as dry as the desert. No teardrop would ever stain them again.

" Caroline, when have I ever doubted you?"

"So do you promise?" she asked.

I gritted my teeth as two words escaped my lips. " I promise."