A/N: The first three drabbles of this chapter are specifically devoted to Bloody Pumpkinhead, who drew an AWESOME picture of Freddie (from ITDBY) for me. I'll post the link up on my profile. ^_^ THANKS SISSI. -lessthanthrees-

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Gone With the Sin - HIM

Once, the two of them had been beautiful.

Although the sight of her made his heart quicken, she had seen better days. Just as ridged scars hadn't always laced his skin, in a distant life hers had been smooth, free from calluses and the smell of death.

And surely her hair hadn't always been a matted nest, intent on ensnaring his fingers – just as Barker's hair had been tame, lacking wildness and a streak of white memory he could never escape.

But those days were far behind them now.

They had traded beauty for an uneasy alliance and inescapable damnation.

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Pain – Three Days Grace

At first, the news of Lucy's death ate through him like a weevil, sewing rot and creeping blackness wherever it touched. It left him raw and bleeding, spiralling out of control, awash in feelings he long-since banished.

And then it stopped. The pain, the agony, the ache – whatever had wreaked such havoc with his senses – misted away faster than a midmorning dew. It left him standing alone in a desert wasteland, where the sand met a never-ending horizon and only the renewal of pain could offer any hope for escape.

The renewal of pain, and the bittersweet promise of revenge.

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Hate Me – Blue October

He wishes she would hate him.

For a while, he does everything in his power to convince her. He drags her down the list he had never visited with Lucy: ignoring her, screaming at her, driving her back to the wall with a razor at her throat. Hating her with every ounce of energy he can muster and hoping it will catch.

It doesn't. She still traipses up the stairs with her tea-tray, not even bothering to hide the bruises darkening her arms. If she was smart, she would hate him.

If he was smart, he would love her.

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Misguided Ghosts - Paramore

Nellie Lovett is a wanderer.

One could argue she's lived on Fleet Street for over half her natural life, or point out she was born less than five blocks from her shop, or mention that in over three and a half decades she's only been out of the city a handful of times, and never for longer than a week.

But even if her body was bedridden, her mind would be traipsing across the country; splashing in the sea; riding the tides to distant shores; losing itself in the smell of tea and spices and wonder.

At least until morning.

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2 AM - Poema

Lost in thought when she should rightly be sleeping, Nellie wonders where she went wrong.

Per'aps if I 'adn't laughed right then... or if I 'adn't been so bloody flabbergasted when he turned around ... (looking more beautiful than she could bear in the light of the setting sun)... this or that, here or there, in little ways and little mistakes, she risks losing him forever.

So she sets her mind to probing his desires, attempting to become the woman he can't resist.

It's a pity the only woman he really wants is Lucy –and that's the one thing she can never be.

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Another Song About the Weekend - Day To Remember

Her past screams of fallen potential. Not that there was ever much – but she can see disappointment in the eyes of the men and women who've known her the longest. All they can see the toll this barber has taken on her, the circles under her eyes, and the gaunt frame of a woman wasting away from the inside.

When Toby looks at her, he sees none of what she's squandered. He sees an angel, or perhaps a victim – and either way, his optimism is a catching fever. His smile reminds her how good it feels to be believed in.

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You Could Be Happy – Snow Patrol

"Adopted 'er like 'is own. You could say it was good luck for 'er... almost."

What if Lovett was right?

Surely, even the vile judge could not resist a cherub smile, could not remain unswayed by golden hair and eyes blue as the midsummer sky.

Johanna could be living like royalty, surrounded by jewels and silks. She had been Todd's world – but he was less than a faded memory. How could an infant life above a pie shop ever hope to compare?

For a few glorious moments, he imagined Johanna could be happy.

And then Anthony stumbled, horrified, through the door.

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Volcano – Damien Rice

She knows he'll never need her like she needs him – never love her with even half the burning passion she devotes solely to him. She should be content. She's never more than a hands-breadth away from his side, and when the fancy takes him they are so endlessly closer than that.

It isn't as if he promises her more. He seems to do everything he can to tear down her fantasies. Even before she builds them he kicks them over, a child stomping on her castles and kicking sand into her face.

And through it all, she hears the sea.

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Deaf – Jon Bryant

He'd never admit it to a soul, but Sweeney Todd is terrified.

He's terrified of routine, of complacency settling over his life – terrified because complacency will become contentment and he'll lose the burning hollow pit of revenge that drives him ever forward. He's terrified of a happiness deep enough to scrub of Lucy away like a bloodstain from his memory. He's terrified of discovering a beauty he won't be willing to trade for Turpin's life. He's terrified because love always brings loss.

Which is why, if Eleanor Lovett truly loves him, she'll let him walk the road to destruction alone.

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Beside You Now – Marianas Trench

Her bones ache from a long day of work. Her spine feels twisted out of shape, and her feet hurt like she'd walked for miles instead of spending the day behind a counter. Her eyes prickle and burn with sleep, no doubt red as a drunkard's, and a hundred disoriented, nonsensical words swirl around in her brain. She feels about as attractive as an earwig.

She changes into a nightgown and lets her hair down, while Todd watches – smiling – from the armchair in the corner.

He promises to stay.

For the first time in weeks, she sleeps through the night.

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A/N: Hey everyone. ^^ Long time no see. How's it going? xD

I figure since I've effectively fallen off the face of the earth these last few months, I owe you a bit of an explanation and update of my life. And if you don't care, don't read this. xD

The main reason I haven't been around is because I was doing a 2 year writing course, and I had until Dec 1st to finish it. I DID finish it, last Tuesday, but when I checked my progress in October, I realized I was 11 lessons behind. Which = approximately 60-80 hours of work, and meant that if I didn't devote all my spare time to working on it, I would fail. So any spare time after school and work was poured into my writing course. Pretty much the only things I had time to work on were drabbles and the occasional oneshot, which I'm hopefully going to start polishing up and posting. Starting with these.

I also have another project lined up, but I'm not completely sure how much I can/should say about it at the moment, until I get working on it a bit more... but I basically plan for it to be my one last huzzah to the ST fandom before I take off to write my own original fiction more seriously. So keep an eye out within the last few months and hopefully I'll have some more news regarding that.

ANYWAY. I'm off to work on the paper I've been avoiding all afternoon. Peace out.