AN: So, I really wanted to update my other fanfictions, but this was actually my English homework: Write an alternate ending to 'Just Listen' because of the fact that I finished the book while the rest of my class was still on Chapter 1. Enjoy :D

See, there's this thing about white noise. It is silence, in a way, but that silence is just so freaking loud. I guess that's what Owen meant the day he gave me the CD. You might totally hate it, or not. It might be just what you need, that's the beauty of it. You know?

So, when I put in the last CD in the stack that Owen had burned for me, I was expecting... Well I didn't know, Gregorian Chants, Mayan spiritual chants, that 'Annabel' playlist on his iPod, maybe? But I was clearly not expecting just a blank CD.

I considered the irony of it all: Owen telling me to listen to at least 100 songs, which most of them I didn't even like considering they were techno, and then just leaving a CD blank. I almost laughed out loud.

But then again, I realised that this... silence, was the loudest music of all. If you could call it music, that is. It was just so different, yet they were the same. It was like when you saw twins; at first they looked the same, but when you got to know them better, the other's personality would be the complete opposite of their twin's. That was what it was like listening to this static.

As I listened to the whole CD throughout the whole night, I realised that, all this time that line, that little string of words that started this whole mess with Will Cash. That wasn't Will at all.

No, no it wasn't. Things became clearer as I kept listening to the white noise. The damn loud silence that would drive me insane if I didn't fill it. So of course, I thought, my thoughts the only thing keeping me sane.

Shhh, Annabel. It's just me.

I kept thinking about that line and realised it was just the tip of the iceberg. That the more I thought, the more I understood what had and was happening.

Shhh, Annabel. It's just me.

That night came flooding back to me as if on a film strip. First, just a couple of scenes, like a pool table, an alcove, a sort of confession, a bottle of water, a flash of blond hair. Then faster with the night becoming less hazy. This time though, instead of suppressing the memories like I have done countless times before, I let them wash over me, almost reliving the moment.

Shhh, Annabel. It's just me.

Then I was well... enlightened. Not the way Owen would refer to the word, but still it was all the same. I knew what I had to do. I knew what that voice was now. Most importantly, I knew what it meant.

Shhh, Annabel. It's just me.

That that voice wasn't Will all along. I knew that that voice was me.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Normally, when you turn on the radio at seven in the morning, you expect old school Pink Floyd or Nirvana on, don't you? Because the people of today are too mainstream and only very few are chosen to walk the path of true music. Owen's words, not mine.

Well, initially when I first turned on the radio to hear Owen's station, that's actually what I expected.

Mistake number one.

It was actually a complete smorgasbord of different tracks all mishmashed into one radio station. You honestly could never know what was on from sea shanties to techno music; it was unlike any other radio show I have ever listened to. And to say the least, it was interesting.

But even though I didn't like the playlists, I kept listening every single Sunday morning. It was as if my body had an internal alarm clock set for 7 AM every week.

"This is WRUS, your community radio station. This is Anger Management and it's seven fifty eight. Here's the last song." Owen announced like every other Sunday on his show. It was of course, a perfectly normal day for him, with the sudden burst of feedback aside.

Sunday for me, on the other hand, was the complete opposite.

I guess Owen was right. The silence was exactly what I needed.

When I woke up this morning, the headphones were still blasting the static into my ears and when I took them off, for once, everything seemed complete. Full, even.

I turned the radio on to Owen's station like I'd been doing it for years, not months and listened as some heavy metal screamo band came on with screaming guitars, thudding drum beats and a completely distorted voice. It was soft as far as screamo went and by no means the first thing I wanted to hear in the morning.

"This is Anger Management and that was just Avenged Sevenfold with Nightmare. Got any requests? Just call us on 1300-88-WRUS." He announced, putting on another song with trippy beats and a flowing, choppy bass. Owen told me a while ago that this was called dubstep. I didn't care at the time and said that all techno sounded the same to me.

Remembering the conversation brought on a prickle at the back of my eyes.

Mistake number two.

Looking back on it, I realised that that moment in time, I was literally fuelled by emotions and wasn't clearly thinking at the time. It was a mistake I'd later learn to regret for a while. But then again, everything has a way of sorting itself out, doesn't it?

I couldn't take it anymore. Clarke wanting to become friends again, Emily court case against Will, Owen's silence, it was too much. On impulse, I jumped out of bed, threw on a coat and headed to the car where I proceeded to gun the engine and drive to the community station, still listening to Owen's show.

It was a while until I pulled up at the community station, and by that time, Owen's show was at its closing point.

"This is Anger Management and that was SMF with Hahaha. It's seven fifty eight. Here's the last song, Delilah by The Plain White T's." He said, then putting on a listener's request.

I pulled into the parking lot, next to Rolly's minivan and went into the radio station like I did this every other day.

I saw the recording room and the first thing I said was "Clarke."

Mistake number three.

She turned around and we locked eyes for a moment before Rolly broke us off. "Hey! Annabel! Long time no see!" He said, cheerful as ever.

I gave a weak smile in return. "Yeah, hi Rolly. It's been a while." Was all I said before I turned back to Clarke. I cleared my throat as I looked at her. "Um, hey."

"Hey." She said with equal wariness. "Owen's uh, in there."

"Okay, thanks." I said before I smiled at her.

"Rolly, we should go to bacon." She nudged him as she and Rolly went away to leave me and Owen alone.

I took a deep breath as I opened the glass door separating me from hopefully the moment that would fix everything.

Owen was sitting there, fiddling with the sliders and preparing to close up the show to make way for the next program.

"You played my request." I smiled as Owen looked up, startled at my entrance.

"I did." He looked at me with an expressionless face. "What happened to you? I waited for three hours, Annabel. You bailed on me and you never told me why. And now suddenly you have the sudden urge to come and talk to me? After two months of silence?"

I winced. His words stung, but I knew I deserved them. "Look, I'm sorry. I... had a lot of stuff going on and I-" I stopped talking as he put his hand in the air, palm forward, telling me to stop.

"Placeholder. R and R." He stated.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath."It's just that, I was overwhelmed with all the things happening, from being friends with Clarke again, to Will's court case and the fact that you were really mad when you were at my car door after I ditched you... It was just too much, Owen. I just sort of freaked out." I explained in a rush, trying to get everything out before I changed my mind and shut myself off again. "You said that I was truthful and dead honest, that wasn't me, okay? I lie to keep people from knowing the truth hurts. I don't do well with confrontations and honestly, it's just unbearable whenever I see someone upset." I took a deep breath and breathed it all out in a rush. I felt light, true, but my heart was still hammering away like a hummingbird in my chest.

"Don't you get it Annabel?" He said, almost exasperated. "If you hadn't said all those things to me, you would have been a liar, you would have said that you were fine and nothing happened and we probably wouldn't be even having this conversation. I was mad at you that day only because it's natural to be mad, I'm only human, Annabel. I would have forgiven you the day after or something, not after two whole months. And if you turned to me, I could have helped you with Will's case. I'm your friend, Annabel; I'll always be here for you no matter what. Don't think that just because of one mistake that we stop being friends. I'm not sure about you but I care about you a lot."

I stared at him. Coming from another person, this might have just been labelled bullshit in my brain, but this was Owen. He always told the truth and nothing but the truth.

"Owen..." I blinked a couple of times, to keep the beginnings of tears at bay. "I... care about you too. I even listened to your CDs that you burned for me. Do you remember them?"

"I do. I remember them. But you listened to all of them? What did you think?" He said, back to some semblance of our normal relationship.

"I hated the majority of them. I mean, seriously, yodelling? And that track that sounded like a violin was being smashed against a bin? I also really didn't like the Basia song. I didn't even know what that was on about; I just wanted to turn it off. And don't even get me started on the techno music. You know I hate that. At least the reggae and the Cheap Trick sounded decent." I told him in a voice that I used only when I was talking about music with him. "That 'Just Listen' mix was something else though. I never knew silence could be so freaking loud."

He half smiled at that last part. "I knew you would hate the majority of it." He sighed. "Can't blame a guy for trying, though; but I can't help but say I told you so. 'Just Listen' was what you needed." He said, now grabbing his coat and heading out of the building, with me at his side. "Do you want to go for bacon? I'll go with you to the court house after that. I mean, if you want me to, that is."

"I'd love to. And I'd probably need all the support I can get; standing up in front of a lot of people is just... no." I said as we hopped into my car, seeing as Owen got a lift from Rolly to the radio station, his knees going to the dashboard and his head a little bowed from the low roof.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

If you think being in court is like going into an episode of Judge Judy, you're wrong on so many levels.

First off, this was a minor's court, so of course the judge would be a degree nicer than Judge Judy.

Second, there weren't any cameras around, so of course, no added pressure or anything.

And third, apparently on every episode, they only put in the interesting bits of the hearing. You would not believe how boring being in a courthouse is. You sit for hours on end on the benches and only when you're called to the front does anything get interesting. And by interesting, I mean scary as all Hell.

"You are Annabel Greene, correct?" Questioned the Judge in an official manner.

"Yes, I am." I answered with as much confidence I could muster.

"Do you have any relationship whatsoever with the accused?"

"Yes, I do."

"Will, you please point him out?"

I raised my outstretched hand and pointed straight at Will. "There he is."

"Good. Now we shall proceed."

After the court proceeding had been done and Will was charged with second degree rape, I sat with Owen at the beautiful court fountain just outside the doors.

"Thanks for being there for me, you know. It meant a lot." I told him as we searched the crowd for my family; they had gotten lost in the tide of people that seemed to be rushing out of the room.

A businessman walked past, looking as if he was talking to himself instead of into his Bluetooth.

"I really wanted to punch Will for what he did to you. That jerk shouldn't have touched you. I'm happy he got his time in jail." Owen seethed.

"It's fine, really. I'm fine." I reassured him, and this time I was really telling the truth.

"I'm happy you are." He said and leaned in to his lips against mine in a kiss.

The first thing I did after we kissed was blush and look to the courthouse where I could see Kirsten, Whitney, Mum and Dad all gathered in a little group with Kirsten staring at me, catching flies with her open mouth. I grabbed his hand and pulled him over to them.

I introduced the least of the horrors first. "This is Kirsten." I said, still holding his hand, where Dad's eyes were watching like a hawk's.

"Hey, Kirsten. Nice mix you gave Annabel with 'Thank You' by Led Zeppelin. You've got great taste in 70's rock." Owen said with a nod.

Kirsten smiled and said a quick "Thanks." while she winked at me.

"This is my mum." I introduced them to each other. "Mum, this is Owen."

Owen just smiled and said that it was nice to meet her. Mum smiled warmly at him before casting a quick glance at my dad.

"You remember Whitney, right?" I said, wanting to get this over and done with as soon as possible.

"I do." He said with an almost teeth showing smile. "What's new?"

Whitney smiled back, clearly approving of Owen. "Nothing really, just meeting Annabel's boyfriend."

I blushed and shot Whitney a look before I moved on to Dad who had obviously tensed up at what Whitney had just said. "Dad," I started, still not letting go of Owen's hand. "This is Owen. Owen Armstrong."

They shook hands, Owen using his free hand to shake my dad's. "Nice to meet you, sir. Your daughter is the most truthful and amazing person I have ever met." I smiled at the last part and Owen had probably started to work his way into Dad's good graces.

"Now, Annabel, thank you for introducing us to Owen. But don't you want to invite him to dinner? Just for tonight?" My mother asked with a hint of a sly smile.

"What do you think?" I asked him.

"Sounds good to me." He smiled. "I'd love to come for dinner."

The End :D

That didn't quite go as I expected but oh well. Now I'm off to actually read the fanfictions! Yay! I'll leave a review for every one I see since I'm in a good mood :D