There once was a girl named Lara. She was an ordinary teenager with an ordinary family. She lived in an ordinary house in an ordinary city. She was smart, funny, and nice.

Everyday on her walk to school she would stop to admire a balcony. It was the balcony of an old, abandoned house. It was made of a beautiful marble with roses and ivy vines weaving through it. Lara had admired it since she was a little girl.

She loved the balcony. She imagined all sorts of romantic tales about the balcony. She even planned to get married on that balcony. Maybe even buy the large house just for the balcony. Lara practically grew up with it.

When she wasn't fantasizing about the balcony she was dreaming of her long time crush, Nick Olsen. She liked everything about him and saw him as a perfect guy. Yet she kept her feelings to herself.

One day Lara had confessed her feelings to best friend, Nancy, and Nancy only teased her. Nancy only teased her because she liked Nick too. So knowing that Lara would be too shy to do anything, Nancy asked Nick out on a date. Surprisingly Nancy and Nick hit if off, and were soon the school's cutest couple. Lara was only hurt but walked around feeling sorry for herself.

Nancy was mad at Lara for not being happy for her. So Nancy made a scheme with Nick. Since Nancy knew Lara's ridiculous obsession with the stupid, old balcony, she planned for Nick to flirt with Lara. Then he would ask her to meet him there, only for Nick to stand her up.

So Nick flirted and asked Lara to meet him at the balcony. Lara was hesitant and confused as to why Nick would ask her out. But Lara quickly dismissed it and thought Nick decided that he preferred her more than Nancy.

That night Lara was busy preparing herself. She tried to make her self absolutely perfect for Nick. But that night there was a terrible storm, the worst that year. Lara wouldn't let that stop her though. She had dreamed of this so long that she wasn't going to let a silly storm stop her.

She grabbed her coat and began walking to the abandoned house. The rain fell hard and the wind blew strong. Lara continued anyway. Soon she would be with Nick and that was all that mattered.

Soon she arrived. It was dark but the lightning helped. Even through the storm the balcony still looked magnificent. Lara smiled and became anxious. She began her ascent up a trellis. It was scary. The vines tangled in her hair. The branches from a nearby tree scraped her face and caught at her new shirt. The balcony was still a good ten feet higher. But Lara was determined to meet Nick. Her hands and face were ice cold, her clothes were practically soaking, and her boots were dirty with slippery mud. The thunder roared in her ears and the lightning guided her to the top.

Soon she was at level with the balcony. She reached her arm to grab the side railing and then stretched her leg. When she was steady enough she brought over her other arm and leg. Now she just had to swing both legs over and she would be on.

Lighting flashed. Nick wasn't there yet. She just shrugged and began to quickly swing her leg over. Suddenly the mud slipped with the smooth, wet marble and her stiff, cold hands lost their grip. Lara screamed. Her arms and legs were thrashing. She felt something around her neck, then it gave a quick tug, and then it was over.

Lara's body was hanging by a vine, swaying back and forward in the wind. Her perfect hair was now a mangled mess. Her face was covered with scratches. And her bloodshot eyes were wide with horror. The rain fell down her forehead, accumulated in her long lashes, and then softly rolled down her make-up stained cheeks. She looked as if she was crying in her death.

She was a fool. It was her fault. She spent her entire life dreaming of a ridiculous, fairy tale love, till the point of obsession. Her obsession consumed her. She was no longer Lara but a useless toy doll. Nick Olsen and Nancy probably didn't mean for her to die, but fate did. Maybe it was done to teach her a lesson or maybe to punish her for her foolishness.

It wouldn't be till the early light of dawn that would shine through the clearing clouds, would a passer by spot Lara's cold dead body swaying in the air. Who knows, maybe this is the devil's new game.