I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

"Don't touch me!"

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap.

You just took me by surprise.

I didn't want to be hugged.

Or touched.

Or talked to.

But that's mean.

Really mean.

But I didn't want a hug,

Or a sister moment where we get along.

I love those!

It's just...

I don't want to be hugged.

Or touched.

Or talked to.

I'm sorry.

Deep breath, in and out.

Stop being so mean!

It was just a hug and you overreacted.

Again.

Please don't hug me.

Or touch me.

Or talk to me.

I can't handle it right now.

I'm sorry.

Mrs. Willow was more than willing to let Micheal spend the night. All he had to do was smile at her, and she handed him the phone. It was covered in rainbows, of course. Micheal dialed his mom’s phone number while I sat down at the table, tracing the dents.

“Hey, Mom.”

I couldn’t hear anything his mom said, but I could hear Micheal’s reply.

“Can I stay over at the orphanage with Hades. The storm’s pretty bad.”

He didn’t say anything for a minute. Then: “Yeah. I’ll head straight over tomorrow if we can. Don’t worry.”

He nodded. “Yes, Mom. I know. I’ll be fine for tonight.”

They talked for a few more minutes and I zoned out, staring at the table.

Finally, he hung up the phone and handed it back to Mrs. Willow.

“I can stay,” he said and Mrs. Willow smiled widely.

“You can stay in the room across from Tessa.” She turned her annoying, bright smile on me. “That okay with you sweetie?”

I shrugged and Micheal smiled politely. He could do anything politely. It could get annoying occasionally. Like now. Mrs. Willow likes everyone but she treated Micheal so nicely.

Mrs. Willow walked out of the kitchen to go tuck in the other children, her smile still on her face. I got up and led Micheal to the rooms without a word. But he was smiling and I felt pretty okay, too.

I automatically entered my room and Micheal followed after me. I plopped down on my bed while Micheal sat down beside me. He looked at the floor with a slight smile on his face and he shoved me lightly. I used my shoulder to shove him back. Then I fell back into my bed while Micheal looked around.

The bare walls and the half-full closet. The hardwood floor. Looking at it from his perspective, it looked terrible. Empty. Almost like no one lived there. Only the clothes and the messed up bed showed anything.

I stared up at the ceiling, white and plain like everything else. Micheal laid down next to me, our feet dangling over the side.

“Truth or dare?” he asked.

“Dare.”

“I dare you to dance in a circle.”

“Um.. okay,” I said, sitting up. I got up, spun in a circle with my arms out, and fell back onto the bed.

Micheal looked over at me, smiling like he was holding back laughter. “That’s how you dance?”

“Yeah,” I said looking at him. “And I do it well.”

“Totally,” he agreed sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes and asked, “Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Do you have a crush?” I asked, remembering his question those few months ago.

Micheal nodded. “Yes, I do.”

“Who?”

He shook his head. “You already asked your question.”

I turned and looked at him. “It’s not Lillian, is it?”

“Lydia,” Micheal corrected.

“Lydia,” I repeated.

Micheal shook his head. “No, not her.”

“Then who?” I asked again.

Micheal shook his head. “I’m not telling. You’d never let me live it down.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Don’t tell me, Miracle Boy.”

He looked over at me. “Are you trying to bait me into telling you.”

I smirked over at him. That had been exactly what I was trying to do.

He sat up with a slight groan. “I’m going to bed,” he told me.

I nodded but didn’t bother to get up or move at all. Micheal just rolled his eyes, smiling, and walked over to the other room.

When he was gone, I turned until my head was on my pillow and pulled the covers over me. I closed my eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.

I woke up in a cold sweat. It took me a minute to remember what I had been dreaming about. There had been a little boy, walking down the street. I was mad at someone and then a car came out of nowhere. It hit the boy… And then I woke up.

I took a deep breath. Then another. I pulled the blankets tightly around me and started digging my imaginary hole. I put the anger, the fear, anything I had felt in the dream, and I buried it as deep as I could. I dug until morning when someone knocked on my door.

I couldn’t answer them. I was almost done digging. Just a little more.

“Hades?” It was Micheal’s voice on the other side of that door. “Hades?“ he called again.

Fill the hole. Don’t let anything out. Fill the hole. Now pat it down, nice and tight.

Micheal opened the door and then shoved it open and tried to put his arms around me when he saw my face. I shoved him away. “Go away!” I tried to yell, but nothing came out.

Micheal stepped back and watched me worriedly. I tried taking a deep breath but I couldn’t do it. The fear was starting to dig back out. 

“Hades,” Micheal said. “Deep breath.”

I shook my head. I couldn’t do it.

Micheal nodded at me. He was trying to tell me that I could do it. But I couldn’t. I tried to take another deep breath. It still didn’t work. Micheal sat down on the bed.

“What’s wrong?” he asked softly. I could barely hear him.

I shook my head. My vision was going dark around the edges. Like a fuzzy picture. I felt Micheal get up and leave. I tried to take another deep breath. Then Micheal rushed back in and I could see his slightly blurry form holding something.

I gasped in shock as something wet and cold ran down my face, and my shirt. Air rushed back into my lungs and everything suddenly cleared up. Like a picture that had been fixed and was clear. It was like looking through a perfect window.

Micheal sat back, relief evident on his face. I stared at him, my heart still pounding a funeral dirge

in my chest.

“I’m scared,” I admitted. “I’m scared.”

I’m Kidding, Guys

"Mom said it'd be fine if I went over," I told Annabelle at school the next day. It was Friday and I had stuffed a bunch of clothes in my backpack so we could head straight there after school.

    "Good," she replied. We stopped by her locker so she could grab her gym bag and we went to the cafeteria. Every Friday, they served donuts. They were so good.

    "It's weird that Danielle's going to be there. Like, at my house." Annabelle shivered and then smiled as she piled three donuts onto her plate.

    "You know, they charge you for more than one, right?"

    She nodded. "I brought cash."

    I rolled my eyes as she paid and we went over to our table. I had gotten a lemon meringue while Annabelle had picked up a lemon, a glazed, and an apple fritter. After our "new beginning" Annabelle had invited Dani--it was so weird to call her that-- to stay with us.

    We had just sat down when Dani came over, her floral backpack slung over one shoulder. "Hey, can I sit with you guys today?"

    We nodded. Well, I did. Annabelle continued to feast. Dani--still weird-- took a seat and put her hands palm down on the table.

    I looked at her hands and then up at her face. "Aren't you going to get a donut?" I asked.

    She shook her head. "I don't eat that much sugar."

    Oh, boy!

    "So are we going to the mall this weekend?"

    Annabelle and I looked at each other. Annabelle answered. "Um... we only go to the mall when we want to get books."

    Dani stared at us like we were from a different planet. I had heard the expression described and I'm pretty sure that was the look she was giving me. "You don't go to the mall?"

    I shrugged. "We do. Just not often. And usually just for books."

    Annabelle jumped in. "Although, Mom sometimes forces me to go shopping for clothes." She shivered. "That's a horrible time."

    Dani openly gaped at us and I almost laughed. Harlow slid into the seat next to Annabelle and took a bite of one of her donuts.

    "Hey," she exclaimed, grabbing it back.

    "So what's going on here?" Harlow asked, his mouth full of donut. "Catfight?"

    Dani turned to gaze at him. "Catfight?" she repeated.

    Hints of confusion showed on his face, but he replied, "You know, like two or more cats a.k.a girls fighting."

    "No, I don't."

    Harlow turned to me with a sigh. "Please explain why the world is spinning slightly off course, Maya?"

    I smiled hesitantly. "Dani is kind of our friend now."

    Now Harlow gaped at us. "Dani? Friend?" he asked, looking from us to her.

    I spoke slowly. "Yes. Dani. Friend."

    Harlow turned to Annabelle, his eyes wide. "You still love me right?"

    Annabelle nodded vigorously as she continued to eat.

    "Oh, good. That hasn't changed." He sighed, a dramatic hand over his heart.

    Dani looked at the two of them. "First, I think she likes her food more than you. Second, you two are a thing?"

    Annabelle sat up straight, swallowed, and glared faster than I could say books. "I love Harlow more than any kind of food. And we are a thing, whatever that is, and your gossip spies misinformed you."

    Dani jumped back, startled. "S-sorry."

    I sighed. "Calm down, both of you. Dani, her and Harlow are an unofficial thing. Annabelle, give Dani the benefit of the doubt."

    Annabelle but down the plastic knife by her plate. Dani was still watching her warily. I knew Annabelle had no intention of using the knife but it was a defensive scare tactic. I think. Maybe she would have used it.

    Dani stood up. "I'm going to go. I'll see you guys tonight." With a final, apprehensive glance at Annabelle, she walked away to another table.

    "Tonight?" Harlow asked.

    Annabelle sighed. "I'll explain later. When I understand it."

Annabelle and I were sitting at her dining room table. It was in it's own separate room from the kitchen and we were playing scrabble while we waited for Dani.

    "I bed you scared her away for good," I said.

    She shrugged. "If she can't handle us at school, she has no chance at home.

    I shrugged in agreement and we continued our game. I glanced at the clock. It was about half-past seven. We both twisted in our chairs as the doorbell rang once, and then twice, and then a third time.

    Annabelle scrambled out of her seat and turned back to smile at me. It was more of an evil smile. One she had perfected over the years. "She actually came."

    She went to open the door and I could hear them talking as they walked into the kitchen. Dani was smiling as she sat down with us. Annabelle shoved the game back into it's box and I got up to make all of us cups of hot tea. I handed them theirs and then walked back into the kitchen to get mine

    "So," Dani asked. "What do you guys gossip about? Guys."

    Annabelle nodded solomly. "We do."

    "Really, who?" Dani asked, as she sipped her tea.

    "Imaginary ones," I replied with a smile.

    Dani looked confused. "How can you gossip about them?"

    "They can be pretty cute! Like Percy has the awesomest hair and Peeta for... well, he is literally the nicest guy ever!"

    "Huh?" she asked. Then she shook her head. "Nevermind. I'll probably get more confused."

    "You would," we agreed.

    There was an awkward moment of silence where we all looked at each other. Then we all burst out laughing. Dani had a nice laugh, not as pitchy as she sounded in school.

    When we had stopped, after several minutes of glancing at each other and starting up again, Dani smiled. "So, do we plan out our outfits for tomorrow?"

    Annabelle and I looked at each other skeptically. "Um..."

    "We can get the most sparkly clothes we can find!"

    "Um..."

    "And heels!"

    "Excu-"

    "And mini-skirts!"

    I stared at her. I was pretty sure Annabelle was doing the same.

    She laughed as she set her tea down. "I'm kidding, guys. It's a joke!"

    Annabelle gave a shakey laugh and I sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness."

Micheal’s hand was running through my hair while I was lying with my head on his chest. We were watching a Disney movie. It was the third one of the day. Micheal argued that we would watch them all because I had never seen any. At least, not that I could remember.

The conversation went a little like this:

“So, do you want to watch Sleeping Beauty?”

“What’s that?”

“You’ve never seen Sleeping Beauty?”

“No. I’ve never seen any of the movies on this shelf.”

And that is how we ended up sitting on his bed while snow continued to fall outside. The laptop was the only light in the room and it was resting on Micheal’s legs. I twisted a little to get in a more comfortable position. Micheal’s hand stilled but continued after I had settled back down.

“You okay?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. Fine. Why?”

There was a moment of silence. And then a laugh. I looked up at him, one eyebrow raised.

“That was three one-word sentences, Hades.”

“It was?” I thought back to my response. “Huh. It was.”

I turned back to the screen just in time to see the credits start rolling. Micheal yawned and reached over to turn off the computer. There was a knock on the door. I jumped and sat up, slightly away from Micheal. Mirada opened the door, holding an envelope in her hand.

“This came for you, Mikey.”

She threw it onto the bed while I smirked at Micheal. As she closed the door, Micheal leaned forward to grab the mail.

“You know, I don’t know how you still find that nickname funny,” he said as he opened the envelope.

“It’s hilarious,” I told him, lying back. “You, being called Mikey!”

He sighed and shook his head. He looked over and smiled at me and I smiled back. Then he looked back at the card in his hand and he read it.

“It’s for Lydia’s birthday.”

“Who?” I asked, sitting up. 

Who was Lydia?

“You know. That girl that bugs all the time about eating lunch with them.”

“Lillian?”

Micheal looked confused. “Who’s Lillian?”

“That girl!”

Micheal started to laugh. “That’s Lydia!”

I groaned and fell back. “You mean to tell me that I’ve been wrong about her name the entire time?”

He nodded, still smiling widely.

I groaned again and threw my head over my eyes. “Dang it. My mind will never be able to re-label her as Lydia.”

He bit his lip to keep the laughter in and I hit his arm with the back of my hand. Why didn’t I know her name was Lydia and not Lillian.

I groaned again but I was mostly over the embarrassment of getting her name wrong. “Are you going?” I asked Micheal.

He shrugged. “Nah. You aren’t invited so what would the point in going be?”

I raised my eyebrows. “It would be polite. And I don’t have to be your only friend.”

Micheal lied down next to me, his head by mine and his feet going much further than mine did. “Since when do you care about being polite?”

“I believe I’ve told you before, but you’re a bad influence.”

“Completely bad, Hades.”

I turned and smiled at him. “You should go. I really don’t have to be your only friend.”

He did a one-shoulder kind of shrug. “Yeah, but I don’t need any other friends. You’re perfect.”

I rolled my eyes. “You are literally the only person who would call the person who could kill you perfect.”

He shrugged again. “She’ll be fine if I don’t go. It’s not like the party will fall apart if I’m not there.”

“It could. Lillian could have told everyone you’re coming over and that’s why they’re going.”

Micheal started smiling again and I quickly thought through my last sentence. “What?” I asked, not finding anything strange.

Then it hit me. “Oh.” I groaned and slid further down on the bed.

Micheal shook his head a little and said, “It’s fine. It’s not like you talk to her a whole lot.”

“But how many times did I not have to be paying attention to never realize that?”

He shrugged. “Probably a lot.”

I groaned. “You are so, so helpful, Miracle Boy.”

“Was that sarcasm? I have never heard you use that tone, Hades.”

I groaned and threw a pillow at him and his sarcasm about my sarcasm.

He laughed and swatted it away.

Micheal walked me home later that night. The snow had risen to two feet and we had another snow day the next day. Micheal was bundled up in his huge jacket while I had on my smaller one. I shivered in the cool air, wishing I had one like his. The sky was already dark blue and stars twinkled out from behind the clouds. I shivered again and Micheal looked at me.

He stopped but it took me a few steps to notice. I turned back to look at him. “What?” I asked.

“You are literally shaking.” Micheal walked over to me and opened his jacket. He moved to take it off but I stopped him.

“You’ll be cold then.” Jeez! It was cold out here!

He shrugged and grabbed my arm. “Well then, come here,” he said as he pulled me into the jacket with him.

He held it closed and we stumbled the rest of the way to the orphanage. It was warmer in his jacket and I didn’t want to let it go to go to my room. It was snowing hard again and the flakes were diving to the ground while the wind howled.

I bit my lip. No one should be out walking in that. I turned in the jacket to look up at Micheal. Sometimes, I forgot how much taller he was than me. But then, standing right next to him and looking up, I remembered. I shivered again and Micheal’s arms tightened around the jacket.

“Why don’t you stay here for the night?” I asked. “It’s too chaotic to head back tonight.”

Micheal looked out at the storm and nodded. “That might be a good idea, but I need to call my mom and dad to let them know.”

I nodded. “There’s a phone in the kitchen and you can use it on the way to my room.”

Micheal nodded and I used one arm to open the door. We both stumbled inside the warm building, covered in snow and frost.

Micheal took his jacket off and hung it up on the nearby rack. Then he looked over and smirked at me. “You look like an ice cube,” he told me.

I pulled my arms around myself. “I feel like one, too.”

He came up behind me and I felt his arms go around my neck. “That better?” he asked.

I leaned back into him and nodded. “Yeah.”

He smiled when I looked up at him. I rolled my eyes, but I wasn’t really annoyed at all.

what if is not how this story begins

and it is not how it ends

it's not hope for the future

or a wish to change the past

it is me and it begins with...

ONCE UPON A TIME... There was a little girl, born into wonder and love and everything she could ever want. But you ripped it away. You ripped it like it was what you were bron to do. All she wanted was to dance amoung the flowers and trees but you stole her away to a world of stone walls and armor. What you called protection, she called a prison. And now, years after you destroyed her, she is coming for you. She will return the world to it's former glory and you will not be able to stop her. She's your monster.

I used to be able to sleep in late and not have to worry about people waking me up. They were too scared of me. Mrs. Willow once let me sleep so long that I woke up at noon. But Micheal doesn’t let me sleep in. Not even for a few extra minutes.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I groaned and turned over, pulling the pillow over my head.

“Come on, Hades. Get up. We have school.” I could hear Micheal right on the other side of the door.

“I would like to sleep, Miracle Boy!” I called back, but it was muffled by my pillow.

There was silence, and then: “What?”

I sighed and threw my pillow off. “Give me five minutes.”

“Okay.” Footsteps slowly receded down the hall and I sighed again. Micheal was going to pay for waking me up.

I laced up my boots when the knocking started again.

“Knock it off,” I yelled.

The knocking stopped. “Are you ready to go?”

I glared at the door as if I could send my glare to him, through it. “I’m getting my shoes on.”

“Okay, I’ll be outside.”

I rolled my eyes and finished tying the boots.

I ran down the stairs and opened the door, shivering as the icy air penetrated my jacket. Micheal was smiling, wrapped in his huge coat but what really caught my eye was the white and silence that had fallen over the world.

“Whoa.”

Micheal nodded. “Yeah, it started snowing late last night.”

I started to smile, seeing the perfect way to get back at Micheal. Just because he had got me up to see this, he wasn’t off the hook for waking me up.

I ran into the snow. It had to be at least eight inches deep and I sunk slightly with each step. I reached down and gathered a handful of snow into a ball. I twisted and threw it at Micheal, who was still a few feet away. It hit him in the chest and he stumbled back as it exploded into just a bunch of snow again.

He lost his balance and fell into the snow, laughing. I ran over and helped him to his feet and he dusted the snow off of him as best he could.

“What was that for?” he asked, still laughing.

I shoved him to the side. “I told you I wanted to sleep.”

He laughed again. “Well, too bad. It was time for you to get up.”

I stuck out my tongue and turned away. Suddenly, something flew into my back and I stumbled forward.

“Micheal!” I scolded, as I scooped another ball of snow. I threw it at him and he dived to the side to evade it. He sat up, his face covered in snow. I laughed, my hand pressed to my mouth.

Micheal smirked and jumped to his feet. “I’m coming for you, Hades.” And he started to run after me. I shrieked and tried to run away but the snow made it hard to do. His arms wrapped around me and pulled me to the ground. I fought against his grip as I laughed uncontrollably.

When I managed to break away, I stood up, panting. “We should get to school.”

Micheal stood up and dusted some snow off. Once he was done, he smirked at me. “Snow day!” he yelled, as he shoved me into the snow yet again.

When I stood up again, I glared at him, daring for him to push me down again. But it was more of a friendly glare than an I’m-coming-for-you-because-you-wouldn’t-let-me-sleep glare. I was sweating under my jacket but my hands felt frozen. And my nose felt like it was buried in the snow. Which it had been, a minute ago.

Micheal was panting, too, but he was smiling. “Do you… do you want to come over for some cocoa? Mom made a bunch,” he asked in between his panting.

I rolled my eyes. “I could have slept in, Micheal, but you had to come and get me up for cocoa.”

He nodded. “And snow.”

“And snow,” I agreed. “But you could have waited.”

He shook his head, still smiling. “Nah. I had to come get you right away.”

I rolled my eyes and started my way to his house. I looked back to see him still breathing hard. “Well,” I said, “Aren’t you coming?”

He smirked and nodded, jogging to catch up with me. “What’s with the fast pace?” he asked.

I wrapped my arms around myself. “I’m cold. And I want cocoa.”

We walked in silence for a minute or two and then Micheal’s arm snaked around me. “Truth or dare?”

I bit my lip. “Dare.”

“Okay, I dare you to eat the snow.”

I made a face. “No. We have no idea what’s been through it.”

“You made your choice.”

“I ate snow when you tackled me, Miracle Boy. Dare completed.”

He rolled his eyes. “That’s not how it works.”

I stuck my tongue out at him. “I say it does work that way.”

“Fine. New dare. I dare you to carry a ball of snow the entire way to my house.”

“Fine.” I picked up a clump of snow and worked it until it was a ball. I showed it to him and then held it in my hand.

It was cold!

“Okay, Your turn, Miracle Boy. Truth or dare.”

“Dare.”

“Eat snow.”

“No!”

I smiled and shoved him into the snow and then took off running. We were in sight of the house and I ran toward it. Micheal was hot on my tail. I still had the ball of icy cold in my hand but I dropped it as I stood on the step. Micheal slowed to a stop next to me.

“That...was...mean.”

I smiled and took a deep breath of cold that stung like ice in my lungs. “I know.”

We were both out of breath and smiling.

I opened the door. “And now, I need cocoa.”

A New Beginning

“No."

"What?" Jacob asked, honestly surprised at my answer.

"No," I repeated.

"But why not?"

The room had faded to just him and me. Annabelle and Harlow were still there but I couldn't focus on anything other than Jacob.

"Why not?" I asked, astonished. "I'll tell you why not. You broke up with me not that long ago because we were 'too different'." I did air quotes around the words. "And you're dating Danielle. I hate her and yeah, maybe that's something she would do, but I will not sink to that level."

"Maya, please?"

I laughed at his persistence. "No. Jacob, no."

He threw his feet over the side of the bed and walked over to me.

"I can break up with Danielle. And I was just so upset because you are so amazing and I don't deserve you."

I crossed my arms. "I know you don't deserve me. I believe I realized it shortly after you broke up with me."

"Maya."

I shook my head. "I need to get to school."

I spun on my heel and left. One more minute in that room and he was going to see me cry. I heard someone running after me and I started running. I used the back of my hand to brush the tears away so I could see but my eyes filled up again quickly. I pushed through the doors, someone still running after me. I fell to the warm sidewalk, crying. I couldn't hold back the sobs anymore. Jacob was a stupid idiot!

Arms wrapped around me and I heard Annabelle's voice. "Calm down. It's going to be okay."

I shook my head. "I couldn't say yes."

She tucked my head under her chin. "I know. But that's okay. I don't have to put the shovel away right away."

I laughed, sniffling. "Please don't kill anyone. I don't want to go to jail."

She looked at me. "You wouldn't. I would."

"And I would have to commit a crime to join you because I can't leave you alone."

She nodded. "I understand.

"Good."

"Do you still want to go to school?"

I wiped my eyes. "Yeah."

" 'Kay. Harlow will get a ride home. Mom will take us to school."

I nodded again and we stood up. "Thanks."

Annabelle shrugged. "Hey, if I had stayed in there, Jacob might not have lived and I wouldn't have needed a shovel."

I laughed. "Well, I guess it's a good thing you had to run after me."

"Yeah." We were silent as we walked to the car. "But do you really mean it when you say that you don't hate him?"

"Yeah, I mean it. Maybe he broke up with me, but like I said, it was never really real. Maybe if it was, maybe I would have said yes. But it wasn't. And since it was never real, I don't hate him for it."

We stopped to open the door to the van and Annabelle hugged me. "Good. Not about it never being real, but good about not hating people."

I shrugged. "It'll be real one day."

Annabelle tried to talk as she dug into the salad they had served at lunch. "Woen ou ink aco coin ba ta hool?"

"What?" I asked, laughing.

She swallowed and waved her fork in the air. "When do you think Jacob will come back to school?"

I shrugged. "Probably a few days."

She nodded and ate more salad. I took a bite of my own lunch and made a face. Onions. I put my fork down and began to pick each tiny piece out. Annabelle took them from my plate when the teacher wasn't looking. We weren't supposed to share food at school because people might have allergies or some nonsense like that, but Annabelle and I still shared. It's not like either of us was allergic to anything.

"Do you want to stay over at my house this weekend?"

I looked up. "I'd have to ask my mom but probably."

Annabelle nodded. "We can go see that movie that's coming out then. Um... what was it called?"

I closed my eyes trying to remember the name of it. It wasn't coming to mind. "Dang it! I don't remember. But I know what you're talking about. Yeah. Let's go see it."

I went back to picking out the onions and we ate in silence for a moment. Then someone slid into the seat next to me.

"Hi, Maya."

I looked up in surprise at the niceness of the voice. It was Danielle!

"Hi," I replied cautiously.

She smiled hesitantly. "So, I was standing outside the door at the hospital."

I nodded slowly. Where was this conversation going? "Okay..."

"I broke up with Jacob before he could break up with me."

"Oh." That was all I could think I could say.

"Yeah. I always thought he was so cute but the fact that he was willing to break up with me that easily?" She shook her head. "I didn't really like that."

Annabelle was staring at her outright and I was really surprised. "Have you recently encountered a sorcerer or swallowed a strange substance?" I asked.

Danielle looked at me strangely. Like she didn't know what I was talking about.

I sighed. "You are acting very differently."

She looked down. "Oh. Yeah, I have been a little mean."

I looked at her like I was thinking about the honestly of her statement. "Yeah," I said after a while. "Just a little."

"Sorry."

I stared at Annabelle. "Did-did she just... apologize?"

Annabelle nodded.

We turned to Danielle. She smiled, but it looked a little scared.

I sighed, weighing the options of what I was about to do. Then I rolled my eyes, hoping I wasn't about to regret this. I stuck my hand out. "Hi, I'm Maya. That's Annabelle. What's your name?"

She looked confused and happy. "Hi. I'm Dani. Nice to meet you."

"You, too," Annabelle said.

"Now, there was our new beginning. No more bad feelings?"

Danielle- Dani- nodded. "Yeah. Bad feelings are gone."

Light filled the room and I sat up, yawning. Downstairs, there was the clatter of pots, and pans, and voices. It took only seconds to find Micheal’s voice. It was the most familiar voice I knew. Walking downstairs was easier in the light of morning.

Micheal and his parents were all working on fixing breakfast. Micheal was flipping pancakes while his dad was scrambling eggs. His mom was setting the table. There was a jug of orange juice in the center and she was arranging the plates. As I stepped off of the stairs, Micheal turned.

“Morning,” he said, before turning back to his pancakes.

I mentally rolled my eyes. Of course the idiot would respond with “morning” after not waking me up to go home the night before.

“Breakfast is just about ready, dear,” his mom said. “Go ahead and sit down.”

I pulled out a chair and sat down while everyone brought all of the food to the table. Should I help? I bit my lip until everyone sat down. Micheal sat down next to me and served me some eggs and pancakes.

“Thanks.”

Micheal nodded and put some food on his own plate. We ate in almost total silence. Almost. Micheal’s mom was the only one who kept up any kind of conversation. She asked me questions about school and home and everything she could think of. She asked Micheal and his father some questions about what they were doing that day. Most of the time, we answered in grunts and short answers. But she didn’t seem to notice. She just kept talking.

Once Micheal was done, he ran upstairs to change. Seeing as I didn’t have any clean clothes, I just sat at the table until he was ready to go. His mom offered to let me borrow her brush but I refused. I yawned as I pulled my hair back into a messy ponytail that probably looked horrible. Micheal came back downstairs, holding both of our backpacks and I got up to get mine from him.

“Bye!” he called.

His parents yelled their “bye”s from the living room while I held the door open for him. He smirked as we began our walk to school. It was different walking this way, almost like walking backward.

“So, why didn’t you wake me up last night?”

Micheal’s smile grew. “Do you remember that day, when I asked you how you slept?”

I nodded slowly. I kind of remembered that.

“Well,  now I know you sleep like the dead.”

I gasped and pushed him lightly. “I do not.”

He was laughing. “You do. You’re completely still with your hands folded in your lap.”

I stuck my tongue out at him because he was right. I did sleep like that.

“And now,” he continued, “I know what a normal night sleep is like for you.”

I rolled my eyes, now remembering that conversation that we had at the beginning of the year.

We fell into a content silence. The air was cold and I shivered. Micheal glanced over at me and then put his arm around my shoulders.  I looked over at him and saw him smiling at me.

I scowled.

He smiled wider.

I turned away. “I can’t wait for the warmer months.”

“You’ll regret saying that when Summer comes.”

“Maybe I will, but for now, I can’t wait.” I bundled further into my jacket.

Micheal hugged me with the one arm and I laid my head on his shoulder. I was still a little tired. I yawned, closing my eyes for a moment.

“Don’t fall asleep in class,” Michael whispered into my ear.

I nodded and forced my eyes open. “Send me home next time,” I told him, holding back a yawn. “I sleep better in my bed.”

Micheal saluted me and I glared at him half heartedly. “Yes, ma’am,” he replied.

I shoved him away but he held on to me, so we both stumbled.

“Are you ready for school?” he asked once we were walking smoothly again.

“No,” I groaned.

I was right. I was not ready for school. But then again, who is? The day passed in a blur and I barely spoke until we walked out of the school. Micheal was holding both of our bags while we walked back to his house.

It was silence until a thought sprang to mind. “What’s your mom’s name?”

Micheal looked over to me, confusion on his face. “Mirada. Why?”

I shrugged. “I just realized I didn’t know her name.”

Micheal cocked his head, thoughtful. “Really?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

He laughed and I smiled.

“So, are you ready to tackle all of the homework we have, Hades?”

I groaned. “No. I don’t even know what we have.”

Micheal rolled his eyes. “Jeez. You were really out of it today.”

I looked at him curiously.

“We don’t have any homework.”

It took a moment for the words to process but when they did, I shoved into Micheal and he stumbled away. “That was the meanest thing you’ve done, Miracle Boy!”

He laughed. “How is that mean?”

“I don’t like homework. Any mention of it is awful and you made me think we had a lot.”

Micheal put his arm around me and twirled my hair. “Well, I won’t mention the H-word anymore. Deal?”

I rolled my eyes. “Deal.”

Micheal opened the door and we both walked inside, going into the kitchen where we knew hot cocoa would be waiting. “We should star-gaze,” Micheal said.

I sipped my cocoa carefully, stopping before climbing up the stairs. “It’s freezing. No.”

Micheal moved past me and climbed the stairs. I followed after him, holding the cup steady so it wouldn’t spill. “I mean, when it gets warmer.”

I sighed. “We’ll see.”

He turned. “Hey, I can star-gaze without you.”

I pushed past him carefully. “Yeah, but you said we.”

He stuck his tongue out at me and we continued to his room to sit on the bed. “So what if I did.”

I smiled and sipped my cocoa to hide it.

Micheal opened up the laptop. “Do you want to watch a movie?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I responded. And we settled back to watch something, sipping cocoa and trading comments.

“Hey, are you alright.”

I looked over at Aiden, standing in the doorway. I shrugged. “I’m fine.”

He sat down on the ground next to me and put his arm around my shoulder. “You’ve been out here for hours.”

I nodded. “I just needed to be alone for a bit.”

Aiden laid a soft kiss on my head. “Well, come inside, go to sleep, and tomorrow we can take a short hike.”

I nodded and then leaned into Aiden. “In a few minutes?” I pleaded.

After a second, he consented. “Alright. Just a few minutes.”

We stared up at the sky, one of the only parts of my world alight. The stars were stunning in the almost cloudless sky. And then something huge and black streaked across the sky like a bird. But it was bigger than any bird I had seen.

“What was that?” Aiden asked, pulling us both to our feet.

I shook my head. “I have no idea.”

And then suddenly it was spiraling back into the sky, a dark arrow against the night. And then it stopped and wings opened wide. They looked huge and majestic. “It’s a bird!” I breathed in awe.

Aiden nodded beside me. “That must have been the birds Theo was talking about.”

I nodded again but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the bird. It looked almost like a human would from this distance. It was still in the air and now it was flying slowly across the sky. Something dropped from the bird, falling down before it opened its own wings and drifted along below the larger bird. It was still larger than a normal bird but not nearly as large as the first bird.

“That’s amazing,” Aiden whispered. He shifted to stand behind me and pulled my back to his chest. His arms were wrapped around me as we watched the birds fly through the air. After a while, the smaller bird flew up to the large bird and both flew out of our sight.

We stayed watching for any sign of them for several minutes but they made no other appearance. Aiden lowered his chin onto my head. “Come on. Let’s get to bed.”

I twisted in his embrace to face him. “Okay,” I whispered. I went up on tip-toe and kissed his cheek. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” he said, not letting me go.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly and he hugged me tight, as well. “We’ll figure it out,” I told him. “It’ll be okay.”

He pulled back and kissed my forehead. “I should be telling you that.”

I shrugged. “Goodnight.”

“Night.”

I pulled away and walked back into the house, him following me. I slipped into my room and he continued down the hall while I flopped down on my bed with a sigh. Maybe Theo and his father wouldn’t stop hunting, but if seeing those birds tonight told me anything, it was that I couldn’t let that stop me.

Sunlight filtered in through the off-white curtains and I turned over to look at the clock on my bedside table. 6:01. I climbed out of bed, throwing the blanket off of me and dangling my feet an inch above the floor.

I poured a cup of coffee a few minutes later. I was dressed and I had brushed my hair to make it look halfway decent. I took my coffee out to the porch where Roger was sitting, nursing his own cup.

“Hey, Little Bird,” he said, making room for me on the seat. “How you doing?”

I smiled and sat down next to him. He had given me the nickname when he noticed my fascination with birds. “Morning. I’m alright. A little tired but fine.”

He squeezed my shoulder and sipped the warm, bitter drink. “Well, if you slept in for once in your life, you might not be tired.”

I nudged him back. “Well, you always complain about being tired but I don’t see you sleeping in.”

“I’m old and so I’m always tired no matter what.”

“You’re not that old.”

“I had to deal with Aiden and Atasha as babies and they took probably thirty years of my life, making me much older than I seem.”

I laughed and we fell into a contented silence, enjoying the still morning before everyone else got up. It was a nice morning ritual we had started shortly after they found me. Roger and I were the only ones who willingly got up at dawn.

After a while, when my coffee was almost finished, Roger broke the silence. “I could go talk to them, Crystal.”

I shrugged. “What’s the point? I’m pretty sure you’ll get the same response we did. Aiden and I will still go hiking. We’ll just have to be careful and face the gunfire.”

“I don’t know if you remember what gunfire does to you, but Aiden and I and the girls hate seeing you like that.”

I shook my head. “And I hate feeling like that, Roger, but I don’t want it to stop me from doing what I love.”

Roger sighed. “Are you sure?” he asked after a minute.

I nodded. “I want to go hiking.”

“Fine. If Aiden says he’s okay with that risk, I won’t stop you.”

I twisted to look at Roger. “He isn’t risking anything.”

“He has to see you like that. And it hurts. It hurts us when we see you like that because we don’t know what we can do to help other than hold you and make you feel safe.”

I bit my lip. “I know. Okay. I’ll talk to him and make sure he’s okay with it.”

“Good,” Roger said. We fell into silence.

A crash came from inside the house, and then a yelp. Roger stood up and stretched. “Sounds like Mama’s making breakfast,” he said as I climbed to my feet.

We heard something else fall and then Mama Jo’s voice followed. “Well, clean up the egg mess, Atasha.”

I nodded. “Yeah, it sounds that way.”