How is it that some people radiate sunshine while others radiate darkness? It's not something you necessarily see, but you feel it. How does that even work? How do we just know that someone is a beacon of light while someone else just oozes shadows? Tate was sunshine. Bright and warm. He made you smile against your will and always had a way to make you laugh even in the darkest of times.

But what happens when that sunshine is broken? Shattered like a mirror. Can it still reflect light?

I sat next to Tate, listening to his breathing, adding each breath to a mental tick of all the reasons why I should be thankful. He was alive. He was breathing. But he was a mess. His entire body was in a cast that made him look like he was suspended in a falling pose. His face was swollen and purple almost beyond recognition.

He had slipped into a coma days ago, something that had been a possibility but wasn't a good sign. If he didn't wake up soon, his chances of coming out of it were small.

I began to doodle a penguin with a clown wig on his cast, determined to give him something funny to look at when he woke up. When. When. When, I chanted in my mind.

"Hey, bud. New day, new doodle... I think you'll like this one. It's a penguin clown. Which is basically you because you wear suits but are a total dork." I had already drawn a unicorn with a mullet and a whale with a tutu. Three days of visits, three sets of doodles.

I swallowed, trying to decide what to talk to him about. "Your Aunt has been leaving you a mountain of food here in your room. You'll have quite the feast when you wake up. When. When. When.

"You'll be happy to know you are officially relieved as my relational therapist. Aiden doesn't regret kissing me." I paused and smiled softly. "I still can't believe that. I keep expecting to wake up and be back in my apartment before I met either of you." My smile faltered.

I put down the sharpie and gripped his fingers, the only part of him that seemed unbroken. "You're gonna be okay. You're strong... and my best friend. So you better get better because who else is going to eat PopTarts and buckets of unhealthy food with me? Who else is going to get EVERY WORD to EVERY SONG wrong when we listen to the radio together? Who will tell me when I am being an idiot and help me figure out how to be better? Who am I going to make fun of Aiden with?"

I wiped my eyes wildly, refusing to cry again. I had cried when I first found out that Tate was in surgery. I had cried when he came out of surgery and I saw how badly he had been hurt. And I cried every day I visited him. "They are letting me out of the hospital today," I said past the lump in my throat. "And I'm sure you won't be far behind me."

Tate deserved as much joy as he gave but I couldn't think of anything funny to say. So I picked up the sharpie again and wrote "Kiss me, I'm injured," on his wrist, hoping it would make him laugh when he woke up. When. When. When.

"And you better wake up soon because we gotta talk about you tricking me out of that car..."

I sat back down on the chair next to his bed and carefully pulled up my legs to my chest. Staring up at him, now out of words and in the silence, my guilt overwhelmed me. "I'm so sorry Tate... please—" I cleared my throat, pushing back a sob. "Please wake up..."

"Did you say my aunt brought food?" he breathed, his eyelids flickering open.

"TATE!" I shouted jumping to my feet so fast that the chair skidded back and hit the wall behind me with a crash. I had to fight the urge to hug him fiercely. "You idiot! You wonderful, stupid idiot!"

He breathed out, a weak smile covering his face. "Why... am I... an idiot?" he asked carefully, his voice a mere whisper.

"Because the only thing you heard was the food part!"

"Don't hate... Food is my first love... Of course... I'd wake up... for her." He winced as he moved his face into the smile that I knew so well. "I don't... blame you... for what happened. I'm just glad... you... had the... common sense... to ignore Aiden... and pull... me out of the fire..."

I wiped my eyes with one hand and held up a cup with a straw towards Tate with another. He took a few tentative sips of water. "Am I really your best friend...?" he asked, looking up at me with an amused expression.

I nodded, so glad that he was alive that I didn't allow myself to try and say anything. I was afraid that I'd either start screaming with joy or burst into sobs. And he didn't need either of those things at the moment.

"Well, that makes two of us... Buddyguard... for life..." He wiggled his fingers, waiting for a high five.

I smiled and gently tapped my fingers to his. "Buddyguard for life."

I sat in the back of the limo, eating a burrito while trying to avoid dropping hot sauce onto my deep green dress.

"You're scaring me," a deep baritone voice said, followed by an eyebrow raise of disapproval.

I lifted my chin and matched the stare from across the limo with my own. "Does my ability to eat in a fancy dress without spilling all over myself impress you?" I batted my eyelashes in mock flirtation.

Aiden sat with his arms crossed, trying not to laugh. But his dimples appeared, betraying his desire to look unamused. His black suit sported a dark green tie, matching my dress flawlessly. All Katherine's doing.

"My mom will kill you if you get hot sauce on that dress," he warned.

I rolled my eyes. "No, she will kill you. Isn't it your job to keep me safe?"

He shook his head. "Not from her. Not when Iz and my mom designed and made that dress just for you."

I cautiously finished my burrito and put the wrapper in a bag, wiping my fingers carefully. Katherine was like a mother to me, but just as she loved to dote on and feed me, she also had a mother's wrath. One I had seen her use and had no intention of sparking myself. I wanted to stay on her good side. "Good point."

I gazed down at my deep green simmering sweetheart neckline dress that bloomed out in a classic fifties style at my waist and smiled. Even though it was utterly glamorous, it was perfect. Why? Because it had pockets! And paired perfectly with the flats I was wearing! YES! No tripping for me! I needed all the help I could get today.

I stared out the window and caught a glimpse of my reflection. My hair was pulled up in a set of braids that wrapped into a bun at the back of my head. Several loose curls were left down to frame my face. I felt beautiful.

The limo stopped and I took a deep breath. Flashes sparked around the tinted windows, letting me know we had arrived at our destination. "You ready?" Aiden asked, holding out his hand for me.

I smiled widely, entwining our fingers. "Bring it on."

Then we were outside, in the cool night air, surrounded by hundreds of bright lights. Aiden helped me from the car and I fell into step next to him. I had grown accustomed to the shouts and camera flashes. They didn't scare me as much as they used to. And the smile that I wore when I turned their way wasn't the best fake smile I could muster. It was real. At least it was today.

We walked onto the red carpet and I looked up, my breath catching at the sight before me. Above the theater sat a large bright sign...

I stared up at the title of my book now turned movie, dumbstruck. "That's mine," I said in a squeak. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes that I refused to let fall, or else I'd be a scary mascara mess of chaos. I didn't need that. Not when cameras were flashing wildly, watching every move I made. I had been on the front of enough tabloids now to know that breaking down into a mess of mascara tears would be the ONLY picture these vultures would put in the next issue. Pass on that permanent edition of author fails.

I heard Aiden laugh from where he stood next to me. He was grinning from ear to ear, his hand giving mine a proud squeeze. "You did it."

I swallowed and nodded, overwhelmed by the sight. I stared up at the sign, my fingers squeezing Adien's back as I attempted to process the magic of the moment. "I wrote that." I blinked, half expecting the sign to disappear in between my blinks.

I turned and smiled up at Aiden. "This isn't a dream, right? Because I've had this dream before... a lot of times. And I keep thinking that it will all just vanish and I'll wake up back at my old apartment with my psychopathic roommates."

Aiden tilted my head up so he could look deeper into my eyes. "It's very real. All of it." The cameras flashed in a frenzy at Aiden's endearing touch.

I blinked trying to see past the chaotic flashes and started laughing at how utterly ridiculous it all was. "You sure you want to be with me? I think they are part of the package now," I said motioning towards the paparazzi. "Last chance to leave," I said with a teasing smile.

"It's not all bad." Aiden leaned down and kissed the hollow of my throat. His touch sent my pulse racing and was rewarded with dozens of camera flashes. He paused, chuckling. "We'll never have to pay for a picture again," he murmured against my throat, no longer pretending for the cameras.

He was all mine, and nothing about it was fake. We had gone from an author and her bodyguard to an author and a reluctant buddyguard, to fake dating, to what we were now. A girl and the boy she was head over heels for.

"Can you two stop kissing for five seconds?!?" someone shouted behind us.

I turned to see Tate wobbling towards us. He wore a boot cast on one leg and had a fancy cane that he used to take some of the pressure off of his foot. He had come a long way in eight months. He wasn't my bodyguard anymore, but that didn't mean he wasn't part of my life. Tate was my best friend and took every opportunity to mess with me. Even if it meant shouting something completely embarrassing at a movie premiere.

"TATE!" I shouted, surprised. I turned to look at Aiden with an accusing expression. Tate had made it clear he wouldn't be able to come. He hadn't been out of his wheelchair as of a week ago and didn't want to be driven around in front of a bunch of flashing lights.

Aiden shrugged, giving me a playful guilty smile. "You said you wanted him here. I made him work out to get him to a good walking point."

I smiled wide, overwhelmed again by the never-ending gestures of kindness Aiden always seemed to give me. I turned and gasped at Tate. "HE WALKS!" I shouted dramatically.

Tate held up his hands in victory. "I KNOW!"

"DUDE!" I shouted, no longer being dramatic.

"I KNOW!" He laughed, his eyes bright. Joy radiated from him. He was utterly overjoyed to be out and moving. Something he had been working so hard for.

I hugged Tate fiercely as he came to stand next to me and Aiden. "I'm so proud of you! You are walking! And you're here! Thank you so much for coming!"

He patted my head, making sure not to mess it up too much. "Duh. Who am I to turn down a free movie. There's popcorn right?"

Aiden's jaw dropped in irritation at the audacity of Tate's assumption.

"Of course!" I replied. "Just head to the grocery store and buy some."

Tate rolled his eyes. "When you two eventually get married, I expect a reception FULL of popcorn of every flavor."

I blushed deeply. Aiden hadn't asked me to marry him yet. But we had talked about it and I had a feeling that it would happen soon. Just the idea of it made my stomach grow an army full of butterflies. But instead of trying to squash them down like I used to, I let them flutter, enjoying the idea of what the future could hold.

Aiden shook his head, his nose wrinkling at the image that Tate painted. "Come on Tate. That's disgusting. It'll be a PopTarts reception all the way."

I was oddly touched. Aiden hated PopTarts.

Tate clutched his chest. "How romantic." Then he glanced over his shoulder at the cameras. "So... are they gonna follow us inside?"

I shook my head. "Nope. So if you want to make a crazy face at them, now's the time to do it."

A slow, mischievous smile crossed Tate's features. I realized a moment too late that I shouldn't have given him such powerful ammo. I could see the possibilities written all over his face. He was planning on doing something jaw-droppingly stupid and by the time I opened my mouth, he had raised his hands and shouted. "WHAT?!? YOU'RE PREGNANT!?!?"

The world around us went silent for one painful beat, as his words echoed across the crowd. Eyes went wide. Then the silence was killed as everything erupted into chaos and questions. "Is that true? Is it Aiden's? Is it that other guys? What's that other guy's name? When is the baby due? Who is your baby daddy?!?" I yanked the boys inside, ignoring Tate's laughter.

"I hate you," I hissed as the doors closed on the paparazzi behind us, blocking out their incessant demand to be heard. "That wasn't funny!"

"It was hilarious!" he snorted. "Your face was priceless!"

"Well, Katherine won't think it's funny so be prepared for her wrath."

Tate stopped laughing. "Okay, you're scaring me. That's not funny."

I took up Aiden's hand and walked into the theater, shooting Tate a mischievous grin over my shoulder as we went.

I spotted the cast and gave them a large wave. They all waved back, grinning from ear to ear in their seats. The director, Jamie, smiled brightly and shot me a thumbs up. I shot some awkward finger guns back, making her laugh. Still as smooth as ever.

Sanders offered me a tentative wave and I gave her a nod back from where she sat to one side of the theater. She wasn't my agent anymore, but she still had a part in getting me to where I was and she deserved to see it come to life on the screen. Sanders sat next to my new agent who winked at me behind her thick spectacles. She was as quirky as I was, and was blunt and honest to a terrifying degree. Something that was refreshing after everything that had happened.

It wasn't just my day, it was all of ours and I had never been so excited to share my story with others in a brand new and exciting way. My body hummed with excitement and jitters. I can't believe I'm here.

Writing had always been a solo journey. One where you sat alone, staring at a computer, hoping that when you shared your words, others would like it. And although we were about to do the very same thing, I sat with hundreds of people who had made this story with me. And that was something beautiful. A brand new and exciting adventure.

I looked around the room, touched and in awe by the people eagerly taking their seats. Everyone here had worked on this. Everyone here had believed in this. It brought tears to my eyes.

I took in a deep breath as Jamie stood up in front of the theater, smiling over at me from where I sat in between Aiden and Tate in the front row. A hush filled the theater as Jamie cleared her throat, raising the microphone.

I wiped my hands on my dress and mentally prepared myself for what was about to happen next.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the author of your newest favorite book to movie franchise, Laliana Summers!"