"Ma'am, we've landed," A grip on my shoulder shook me awake. I opened my eyes and smiled apologetically at the flight attendant.

After finding my bags and calling a taxi, I made it to my apartment complex. I got my keys from the front desk and went into the elevator, watching the doors close slowly.

I sighed and leaned against the doors. I hope my apartment is nice. I hope my neighbors are too. What if they're old and rude and only speak Dutch? What if it's a crazy cat lady? Or a family with psychotic children?

I guess I zoned out, because before I knew it, the doors opened and I was on the floor.

"Whoa, are you alright?" A male voice said from above me.

"Yeah, just observing the floor," I joked. The man laughed, making me even more embarrassed.

"Need a hand?"

"Please," I mumbled, taking his huge hand, being pulled to my feet. I was met with a broad chest covered with a red and blue plaid shirt. My head slowly turned up to look at his face. My breathing stopped when I looked this man in the eyes. The shade of blue in them reminded me of the ocean, hypnotizing me with their beauty. His tan complexion made the blue pop out even more, along with his dark brown hair.

"Are you alright?" He asked

"Yeah, just got distracted."

"You must be Anna Lewis, I'm Riley Sammuels, your neighbor." I smiled, thanking the heavens for sending this boy down to me.

Wait, what if he's my charm?! I grabbed the chain around my neck and pulled it out, crossing my fingers behind my back in hopes it will be glowing blue. But, unfortunately, it's the same color as it was 10 hours ago. My heart shattered slightly knowing Riley isn't my charm.

"You wear yours?" He asks, staring at my odd shaped charm, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Doesn't everyone?" I sighed, trying to hide my disappointment.

"I don't," I look at him curiously. "True love shouldn't be based off matching charms, but by what you're heart wants. Ever heard of falling in love?" He asks sarcastically.

"So you don't believe in Venus?" I ask.

"Sure I believe in her, who else is there to be mad at?" He shrugged. "She ruined society!"

"Without her most people wouldn't get to experience true love!" I argue.

"Rarely anyone knows what true love is anymore! They find their charm and claim they're in 'love', but they're not. They're just happy they aren't alone anymore and the search is over. I want to experience real love, not a relationship with someone that depends on a piece of glass filled with mercury." He explained, breathless after his speech.

"That's really sweet Riley, honestly. I never knew someone could think that way," I smiled shyly. "So, what is there to do around here?"
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"Why did you pick Amsterdam?" Riley asks me as we sit in the French coffee shop across the street from our complex. "Why not London? Don't girls like British accents?"

"My dad and I picked The Netherlands when I was ten because I thought it was some-what related to Neverland," I told him while looking out the small coffee shop window.

"Shouldn't he be with you than?"

"He passed away a while ago in a construction accident." I said sadly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked," His concerned tone made my stomach heat up.

"Don't be sorry, it wasn't your fault," I smiled softly. "So, tell me about yourself. Why are you here?"

"I fell in love with someone, but our charms didn't match, so I moved, to get over her."

"Riley, one day you'll find a girl, and fall in love with her, matching charm or not, and she will love you back. I promise." He stared at me for what felt like forever before his cheeks turned pink.

"I hope so."

"Anna, I need to tell you something," Riley and I sat on a park bench, two months after we first met. Since then, I've developed feelings for Riley... Actually, I've fallen in love with him. The problem is, I'm not sure if our charms match. I hope they do, why would Venus make it so that we fall in love with people who don't match our own charms?

"What is it?" I ask wearily.

"I've fallen in love with someone." The sound of my heart breaking and falling apart was the only noise I could hear. It shattered and chipped even more as his words sunk in. My stomach stirred and I suddenly felt sick. Air started disappearing, making it hard to breath. My vision blurred with tears that stung, but I didn't let them fall, I couldn't let them.

"Riley that's great!" Lies. "I'm so happy for you." More lies. His face was blank, not one sign of happiness.

"Our charms don't match," He whispered. "She won't love me back once she finds out."

"That's not true," I sighed.

"It is! She believes in Venus, and the charms, and society. I'm not the one for her."

"Why don't you just tell her?" Why am I helping him? I thought to myself.

"I don't want to lose her," He combed his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"She'd be lucky to have you," I told him quietly. "Anyone would be lucky to have you." The pain in my chest tried to come back but I pushed it away. "Do I know her?"

"No," He gave a small smile. "Well, maybe. She has long dark hair, her laugh is contagious, and she makes me happy." A blush traveled up his neck to the tips of his ears as he described her.

"What's her name?

"Anna," He looks at me.

"What?" I turn to him, awaiting his answer.

"Her name's Anna." He chuckled. Wait, what? I turned to look at him with wide eyes as he took his snake shaped charm out from under his shirt.
"We don't match," I whisper. "I don't get it, I thought we matched!"

"Does it matter?!"

"What if we get in trouble? what if Venus comes down and recreates us again! What if-"

"Wait!" I shut up and look at Riley. "You're scared of getting in trouble?" He almost laughs. "So you don't care that our charms don't match?" I give him a small smile and shake my head.

"Riley, I've fallen in love with you," Before I could say anything else, his lips came crashing down onto mine. The pain in my stomach was replaces with butterflies, my heart pounding so hard I wouldn't be surprised if it fell out. Something around my neck shook, making me pull away from Riley. Both our charms were glowing red and bouncing on our chests. The ground started shaking and the sky turned a dark grey, wind blowing the trees from right to left.

Everything in the next minute happened so fast. The Earth beneath our feet split open, separating us. I screamed for Riley, but the wind was too loud. A dark cloud rushed over the city behind him, and soon, he had disappeared in the cloud too. Tears streamed down my face as I yelled for him, but he didn't yell back.

All of a sudden the cloud turned pink and everything stopped moving. A black silhouette walked out from the pink cloud, only a couple feet away from me.

"Where's Riley?" I cried.

"I'm Venus, God of Love, mother of Cupid," Her voice echoed through the city, but I could care less about who she was.

"Where's Riley!" I yelled as loud as I could.

"You have proved my theory about love wrong, young lady," She continued, ignoring my question. "For the first time in two thousand years, you have proved the Sillifant Charms wrong. And I congratulate you and Riley."

"Where is he?" I ask helplessly.

"Anna!" Riley's distant voice shouted from the cloud behind Venus. The cloud disappeared to Riley looking around frantically.

"Riley Sammuels and Anna Lewis," Riley froze, looking at the black shadow in front of him. "You have accomplished something I have been waiting to see since I created the Sillifant Charms. And you both accomplished it without even trying. You two are the definition of true love and I congratulate you once again. Your love is pure and true and will last a life time. Thank you for believing in your heart instead of your charm. Thank you for proving me wrong. Thank you for bringing true love back to Earth. And thank you for falling in love. I wish you happiness." As Venus started to fade, she turned to Riley and said very quietly, "Riley Sammuels, your hidden charm earned you love. I hope you forgive me for my mistake." And then she was gone.

I guess you could say Riley and I lived happily ever after. We planned to show our different charms to the world, proving that true love existed. But when we reached for the chains around our necks, they were gone.