Devon James opened her door and stepped out into the hall in time to see Cayden exiting her apartment. She glared at him, then rolled her eyes as she locked her door then continued down the hall in silence.

Shaking his head, Cayden locked his door and started for the elevator. Devon pressed the button and stood back as Cayden reached her side. Impatiently, she crossed her arms and sighed. When the doors opened, she stepped into the back of the elevator and Cayden followed, standing closer to the front.

Cayden reached over and pressed the button, and as the doors closed, he glanced over at Devon. She did her best to ignore him and remained wholly unresponsive. Turning back to stare at the doors in silence, Cayden shook his head again just at the elevator jerked. He let out of a slight yelp as he was thrown off balance and braced himself against the wall.

Devon grabbed onto the handle on the wall and glanced around fearfully as the elevator jerked once again. The light in the elevator flickered for a few moments before going out completely.

“Oh great! Just fucking great!” Devon complained. “This is exactly how I wanted to spend my New Year’s Eve, stuck in an elevator with a traitor.

Ignoring her comments, Cayden began to pressing the buttons on the elevator in an attempt to get it going again.

“Just give up. The power is out . . . again,” Devon explained. “It’s just my luck.”

“At least I’m doing something instead of just standing there complaining about my misfortune,” Cayden snapped. “That’s all you ever do, bitch and moan about things!”

Angered by his comments, Devon took a step forward in the darkness. “Your problem is that your just a bratty little kid that thinks he’s better than everyone else. All you ever do is sit back and pass judgement on people because you’re too scared to actually go out and have a life of your own.”

“You have no idea,” Cayden said as he shook his head. “You’re completely wrong. If anything, I try not to pass judgement on anyone. You just make it so easy with the way that you act and the things that you do. It’s not my fault that you helped Julia lie to everyone.”

“You bastard!” She said as she grabbed him in the darkness and threw him against the wall, holding onto his coat. “You have no idea how difficult a decision it was for Julia to make. You don’t get to trash her like that!”

Cayden reached up slowly and removed Devon’s hands from his coat. With a sigh, she turned away. “Okay, I admit that I didn’t know her, and I can’t imagine what she was going through. I’m sorry that she found herself in the situation she was in, but the fact remains, whether she made the right decision or the wrong one, she still lied and kept things from people.”

“She didn’t have a choice,” Devon explained.

“She had a choice,” Cayden responded. “She could have told the truth. Instead, Julia made the choice not to tell Jesse about Gage, and then she made the choice not to tell either of them about her pregnancy.”

“You don’t know anything,” Devon said. “You think that just because you read a few entries in her diary that you know the whole story, Cayden, but let me tell you, you don’t.”

“Get out of my way!” He yelled as he ran down the stairs to the subway, garnering looks of surprise and disgust as he pushed past people. Their well-being wasn’t his concern. He was focused on one thing, and one thing only. He didn’t have time to stop. Time was running out.

He turned the corner and knocked a woman over and stopped just long enough to help her to her feet and apologize, then he was off again, running to catch the train, the train that would bring him to the one place he knew he had to be tonight.

Glancing at his watch, he cursed himself for taking so long to come to this realization. If he didn’t hurry, he would miss the train and then he would miss his chance. He didn’t want another lost opportunity on his conscience. He didn’t want to go another day without doing what he knew he had to do.

Szymon Skubisz rounded another corner and caught sight of the train. He ran for it and just as he reached it, the doors closed. “Dammit!” He yelled as he pounded on the door as the train pulled out. “Shit!”

He shook his head. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be. He shook his head and walked over to a bench. It seemed that every time he came to a realization about what he really wanted, something happened that caused things to go wrong.

He put his head in his hands and sighed as a shadow was cast over him, blocking the light. “What’s your problem?” A woman asked.

Szymon glanced up into the face of Mrs. Mulberry. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I’m just frustrated.”

Mrs. Mulberry nodded. “Well, that much is obvious. That poor train just took a beating,” she noted. “Don’t worry, I missed it too. We’ll just have to wait for the next one. It won’t be long now,” she explained as she sat down beside him.

“It’s not the train,” Szymon relayed. “It’s the fact that I keep missing it,” he explained.

Mrs. Mulberry nodded. “You’re not really talking about the train,” she noted. “So what is it? What are you really talking about?”

“I’m talking about life,” Szymon explained.

“Life? You’re just a baby, what do you know about life?” She questioned.

“I know who I want to spend it with,” Szymon answered.

“Ah, I see,” Mrs. Mulberry nodded. “And you think that just because you missed that train that it must be a sign or something?”

“Well isn’t it?” Szymon questioned with a sigh. “That’s all that keeps happening to me lately.”

“So give up,” Mrs. Mulberry said. “Throw your hands in the air and admit defeat, but I’ll tell you what,” she said as she waved her finger at him. “You’re not going to catch the train by doing that.”

“Then what should I do?” Szymon questioned.

“Life’s not easy kid,” she admitted. “It can be real shitty sometimes, but you have to make a decision. Are you going to sit here and act like a pussy and let all the trains pass you by, or are you going to stand up and get on that next train and see where it takes you?” She questioned.

Szymon considered her words for a moment as he stared at her in silence.

“I don’t know about you,” Mrs. Mulberry said, “but I have some place that I want to be, and I know I’m not going to get there if I don’t do something about it. Fuck the train. I missed it too, but I’ll catch the next one and be where I’m supposed to be in no time at all.”

“I know that there was more too it, I’m not saying that I know everything, all I’m saying is that I can’t be held responsible for ruining Julia’s memory because her memory was a lie, a lie that you helped protect,” Cayden said.

Devon James found herself stunned into shock. She shook her head as she took a step back from Cayden. “She was my best friend,” Devon said softly as she began to cry. “She was in a bad situation, I had to help her. I didn’t know that it was going to spiral out of control.”

“It’s okay,” Cayden said softly as he took a step forward. “It just means that Julia was human and that she made mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. I make mistakes,” he admitted.

In the darkness, Devon glanced in Cayden’s direction. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “None of this has anything to do with you, you were just caught up in all of our problems and it isn’t fair to you,” she admitted. “I’m sorry that I hit you,” she added.

“It’s fine,” Cayden assured her, “it’s already forgotten. Just . . . don’t do it again.”

Despite her tears, Devon found herself laughing. “You looked like a little bitch when you fell on the floor,” she teased.

“I felt like a little bitch,” he admitted. “I’m so sorry that I ruined everything.”

“It’s okay,” Devon said. “I guess it’s better that everyone knows. We’ve been through a lot together, we can get through this too.”

“As friends?” Cayden questioned.

Devon paused for a moment. “Of course as friends,” she said as she reached forward and gave him a hug just as the lights flickered and the power was restored. Devon laughed as she came away from the embrace and lifted her hands to her eyes. “I must look like shit,” she said as she glanced down at the mascara on her fingertips.

“No comment,” Cayden smiled.

Devon rolled her eyes and reached into her purse to find her compact. “What are you doing tonight?” She questioned.

“I was going to go out,” Cayden admitted. “I didn’t want to spend the night alone. The new year is about starting over and leaving all of the bad things behind. I think I got off to a good start though, so I’m gonna stay in rather than go out.”

“I was going out too,” Devon said as she glanced at herself in the mirror then smiled and glanced at Cayden. The elevator doors opened onto the sixth floor and Cayden glanced out.

“I think I’ll take the stairs,” he said as he stepped out of the elevator.

“Cayden?” Devon said as she followed him.

“Yeah?” Cayden asked as he glanced back at her.

“Can I join you?” She questioned.

Cayden King smiled. “Of course you can,” he said with a nod.

“This stupid-ass building,” Gage Matthews said as he walked down the stairs, grumbling to himself. “How much rent do I pay to live in this shit-bucket?” He shook his head and sighed as he got to the next landing, then turning to go down the next staircase.

When he saw Cayden and Devon walking up the staircase, he paused, then glanced down at the floor and continued to walk down. As he passed Devon, she reached out and grabbed him arm, causing him to stop.

Staring straight into her eyes, Devon tried to smile. Cayden turned back and glanced at the two of them. “No one is mad at you for what you did,” Devon said to him. “If you would like to join us for New Year’s you can,” she said.

Gage glanced at her. “You knew,” he said softly. “You knew about what happened between me and Julia.”

“Of course I knew,” she explained.

“Were you laughing at me the whole time?” Gage questioned. “At how pathetic I was?”

“Julia told me how nice you were to her and how well you treated her. She said you were a perfect gentleman," she explained.

“But still,” Gage sighed. “It was stupid.”

“It was a mistake,” Devon agreed with a nod, “but I think we all learned that everybody makes mistakes,” she added as she glanced at Cayden and smiled. “The bigger mistake would be to lose your friends because of it.”

Gage averted his glance from the floor and looked Devon in the eye. “I’m sorry,” he said softly.

“We all are,” Cayden said as he descended a step and glanced at his friend. “We’re not mad at you.”

“I’m pretty sure that Jesse is still mad at me,” Gage admitted, “and he has a right to be.”

“He does,” Devon agreed, “but you can’t change what happened.”

Gage nodded his head. “What are you guys doing tonight?” He questioned.

“We’re going back to my apartment,” Cayden answered. “I’d rather spend the evening with friends than be all by myself.”

“Me too,” Gage said as he glanced at both of them.

“Then you’re spending the evening with us,” Devon said with a smile as she leaned forward to give him a hug.

“There are so many stars out tonight,” Kathryn Hayes marveled as she stared up at the sky. “How many stars do you think are out there?” She questioned. “There must be billions.” Glancing back at Jesse Martinez, she frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Seated beside her on the fire escape, Jesse shrugged his shoulders as he fiddled with his glass of wine. “I don’t know . . . things just seem different now,” he explained.

“Because you found out about Julia and Gage?” She questioned.

“I knew she cheated on me,” Jesse admitted. “But I guess it was easier when I didn’t know who she did it with.”

“It hurts,” Kathryn noted.

“It hurts like hell,” Jesse admitted as the window to Cayden’s apartment was opened. He glanced over as Cayden King stuck his head out and looked at the two of them. Standing up, Jesse sighed and reached for Kathryn’s hand, guiding her toward her own window. “Maybe we should go inside where people won’t spy on us,” he commented.

“Jesse, wait,” Cayden sighed. “Look, I’m sorry about what happened. I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that. I didn’t know how to tell you the truth because you were so sad. You had all of these . . . problems going on, and I didn’t want to do anything to make you feel even worse.”

“You had plenty of chances to tell me,” Jesse explained, “but you chose not to,” he added as he began to crawl into Kathryn’s window.

“Did you really love her?” Cayden questioned, causing Jesse to pause. “Did you really love Julia?”

Stepping back, Jesse stared at Cayden with disbelief. “How could you ask me that question? Of course I love Julia,” he responded. “She was my world.”

Kathryn glanced away and fell silent.

“She chose you,” Cayden informed him. I read the whole diary after Christmas and she chose you. You found out that she had cheated on you when you got that anonymous letter. You confronted her about it and broke up with her. She was crushed. She said that she would rather die if she couldn’t be with you.”

“She wrote that?” Jesse questioned.

“She wrote that and so much more. She was in love with you.”

“She slept with Gage,” Jesse reminded him.

“She made a mistake, but I also read how you forgave her for that and the two of you got back together. She was happy when you took her back. You forgave her once. Does it really make a difference now that you know who she cheated on you with? Does it change how you really felt about her?”

Jesse stared at him silently and shook his head. “No,” he finally admitted.

“Why don’t you guys come inside? It’s New Year’s Eve, the perfect time to start fresh.”

Jesse glanced at Kathryn and she smiled at him. “He’s right,” she said softly as she leaned forward and Cayden helped her inside the window.

Jesse crawled into Cayden’s apartment and paused when he saw Gage standing there. The look on Gage’s face was apologetic, but Jesse wasn’t ready for an apology. He glanced away, opting not to acknowledge Gage’s presence.

With understanding, Gage glanced away and walked into the kitchen. Devon smiled at him reassuringly as she followed. “It’s going to take some time,” she said to him.

“I know,” Gage nodded as he poured a glass of wine and took a sip.

Cayden glanced around the room with a smile on his face. His friends were back. He couldn’t believe that just an hour ago he was all by himself. He glanced at Gage in the corner and Jesse seated on the couch. There would be rocky roads ahead, he was sure, but the fact remained, they were together again.

Sighing, he thought about his parents and wished it could be as easy for him to reconnect with them as it was to reconnect with his friends. He turned and stepped into his room in silence and crossed over to sit on the bed.

On the table beside the bed was Julia’s diary and he glanced at it for a moment before reaching for it and holding it in his hands. It was amazing how a single book was the impetus that set his life into motion. He marveled at the fact that a dead woman’s diary gave him a new life, new friends, and new experiences. A smile came across his face. Even in death, Julia Taylor had a way of pulling people together.

“Knock, knock,” Devon James said as she stood in the doorway to the bedroom. Cayden smiled at her as she stepped in. “Is that her diary?” Devon questioned as she sat on the bed next to him.

“Yes,” Cayden answered as he handed it to her.

Devon glanced down at it and reached for it, holding it in her hands. “She really was incredible, you know,” she said softly.

“I know,” Cayden admitted. “I could tell by reading the diary.”

“She was more than that, though. She had a way of making you smile, even when you were having the worst day. Did you know that she dressed up as a clown on my birthday after I told her that I never had a real birthday party when I was a kid?”

“She did?” Cayden smiled.

“She always did things like that. She would go out of her way to make people feel better, you know. Whenever somebody needed help, she was always there. That’s why I did what I did when she needed help,” Devon admitted.

“You don’t have to explain it to me,” Cayden said, “I understand.”

“No, I need to say it. I’ve kept these secrets for too long, I feel like I have to tell someone. I think she’ll understand. I hope she understands,” Devon sighed.

“I’m sure she does,” Cayden said softly.

“She called me, you know . . . the day she was murdered. She was making cupcakes. She made the best cupcakes,” Devon smiled. “She was going to tell Jesse everything, about Gage . . . and the abortion . . . I told her not to do it,” Devon explained.

“Why?”

“Jesse wasn’t the only person that got an anonymous letter,” Devon explained as she glanced at Cayden. “Julia got one too. Whoever wrote those letters didn’t want Jesse and Julia to be together. They warned her that she should break up with him. I told her to ignore the letter. I knew how much she loved Jesse and if she told him the truth, she would have lost him. I gave her bad advice, and whoever wrote those letters killed her.”

“Does it bother you when I talk about Julia?” Jesse questioned as he stepped over to Kathryn and handed her a glass of wine. Kathryn smiled and reached for the glass.

“It doesn’t bother me,” she said before taking a sip. “You were in love with her.”

“But I’m dating you now,” he explained.

“I know that, but it doesn’t mean that you still can’t have feelings for her. She had a big place in your heart,” Kathryn said, “and it wouldn’t be fair of me to ask you to forget about that.”

Jesse smiled at her. “Thank you for understanding,” he said softly as he leaned in to kiss her. Kathryn took a step back and placed her hand on Jesse’s chest. He glanced at her awkwardly.

“Maybe we shouldn’t,” she said softly as she glanced at Devon and Cayden stepping out of the bedroom. “You remember what happened the last time. Let’s take it slow and ease them into this,” she said.

Jesse nodded. “You’re right.”

“Of course I am,” Kathryn beamed as she caught sight of Gage standing by the stereo. “What about him?” She questioned softly.

Jesse glanced over his shoulder at Gage. “What about him?” He asked casually.

“He looks genuinely sorry,” Kathryn noted.

“He should be,” Jesse noted, “he lied to me. He told me he was my friend and he slept with my girlfriend.”

“He didn’t do it all by himself,” Kathryn reminded him.

Jesse fell silent and shook his head. “Cayden is right, I forgave Julia for cheating on me, but I didn’t know that she did it with Gage. I need time to work through it.”

“Of course you do,” Kathryn said. “I’m just saying, maybe Cayden is right. Maybe we need to let go of the past and start fresh.”

“Maybe,” Jesse said softly.

“Hey you guys,” Devon said as she snapped off the music and grabbed the remote control for the television. “Get your glasses, it’s almost time,” she added as she turned on the television.

Kathryn smiled and grabbed Jesse’s hand, leading him toward the group. Devon ran and got the wine bottle from the kitchen and poured everyone a fresh glass. “I love when the ball drops,” Kathryn said. “It’s so exciting.”

“It’s gonna be a new year,” Devon smiled. “With new experiences.”

“And fresh starts,” Cayden spoke up.

Gage nodded in agreement and glanced at Jesse for a moment before glancing away. Jesse did the same and glanced at Kathryn and smiled. “Here it is,” he said as he pointed to the television.

“Ten . . . Nine . . . Eight . . . Seven . . . Six . . . Five . . . Four . . . Three . . . Two . . . One.”

"Happy New Year!" Everyone screamed. They took a sip of their wine and Kathryn turned to Jesse and kissed him. Pulling away from the kiss, Jesse glanced at Devon and she smiled at him. He smiled back and leaned in to kiss Kathryn again.

Gage silently took a sip of his wine and glanced around at everyone. To his surprise, Devon grabbed him by the shirt and planted a kiss on him. Startled, he found himself kissing her back. "Don't get any ideas," she said after pulling away. "It's just a New Year's kiss."

Stunned by her advance, Gage nodded his head. "Yeah," he mumbled as he took knocked back the rest of his wine and reached for the bottle.

Cayden smiled as he saw his friends kiss. He was happy that they had someone to kiss, someone to celebrate the new year with. "Get a room," he joked.

"Aw, you feel left out?" Kathryn questioned.

"I think he needs some lovin'," Devon agreed as she took a step toward him.

Cayden took a step back with humorous alarm. "Don't even think about it," he said.

"Come on," Kathryn teased as she stepped closer to him. "Give us a kiss."

Cayden laughed as they rushed him and planted kisses on his cheeks. "Stop! Help! I'm being attacked! I'm being kissed by women . . . it's so wrong!" He laughed.

"On every level," Gage laughed as he glanced at Jesse. Jesse nodded at him and stepped over. He extended his hand and stared Gage in the eye.

"Happy New Year," he said softly.

Staring down at Jesse's proffered hand, Gage hesitated.

"Would you prefer a kiss?" Jesse asked, bringing a smile to Gage's face.

"No," he said as he shook his head and welcomed Jesse's hand, giving it a shake. He stared into Jesse's eyes apologetically and Jesse shook his head and reached over and gave him a hug.

"I can't forget," Jesse admitted as they pulled away. "I don't think I ever will, but if Julia taught me anything, it's that I can forgive . . . or . . . I can try," he explained.

Gage nodded. "I'm understand." He glanced back at Cayden and laughed when he saw that Kathryn and Devon had tackled him onto the couch.

"Gross!" Cayden laughed as he pulled away from them and sat forward.

"You know you liked it," Devon said as she hit him on the back of the head with a pillow.

"I think we may have succeeded in driving him straight," Kathryn teased.

"Yeah, before you know it, you'll be banging chicks left and right," Gage laughed.

"You drove me straight alright," Cayden laughed, "Straight to dick!"

Everyone started laughing as Cayden heard a knock at the door. He paused and stood up, crossing over to see who it was. "I swear," he said over his shoulder as he opened the door. "I'm done with kissing for the night."

As he turned to glance at the person standing in front of his door, he was taken by surprise as the man stepped forward and grabbed him around the waist, pulling him close and into a passionate kiss. Cayden felt his knees go weak, and his eyes close as he fell into the man's arms.

Pulling away, breathless, Cayden stumbled against the open door. "Szymon," he gasped as he stared at the police detective with surprise.

"I didn't want to start the new year with any regrets," Szymon said. "I've been wanting to do that for a long time now."

Cayden glanced back at his friends and saw smiles on their faces. Smiling himself, he turned to Szymon Skubisz.

"What took you so long?"