ã€ŠMy Regularly Scheduled Lifeã€‹


 Loner Life is the Best Life

    Close your eyes and envision a blank canvas. Absorb yourself in the vast nothingness of perpetual darkness.

    Now, envision it.

    Envision a life where not a single person calls or texts. Nobody holds within them the desire to talk to you. Not a soul walking this planet even cares that you exist. Every day, you are met with deafening silence from a world that has rejected you.

    You are nothing more than an empty drone-like husk masquerading as a vessel that moves from routine moment to routine moment. Everything is laid out for you neatly and all you have to do is mindlessly follow the path.

    Breakfast. School. Homework. Video Games. Dinner. Anime. Sleep. It¡¯s a continuous cycle where everything is plotted out and min/maxed to get the most out of every second that ticks by on the clock. Time marches forward to an inevitable endpoint and you¡¯re just the husk being carried along the stream until you disappear, never to be missed by a single soul.

    Sounds like paradise, right?

    Well, it is.

    In my opinion, it¡¯s the best life anyone could have ever asked for. It allows me the freedom to do what I want when I want. I don¡¯t have to pander to the simple-minded who put on their fake smiles and pretend to care nor do I have to go out of my way to go places with them that I have no interest in going to. People are nothing more than an annoyance¡­ an inconvenience. Why would anyone subject themselves to such mindless torture?

    Besides, there isn¡¯t much that this world has to offer that interests me. Movies? Nah¡­ someone is bound to talk through it and ruin the experience. Restaurants? No, thanks. Why would I go somewhere and trust some part-time high school dropout with my food? An amusement park? The smell of those places makes me gag and the rides are nothing more than cheap thrills. Plus, they¡¯re all overpriced and the wonder is lost by the time you pay for your ticket. The things that other people deem as fun, I find boring, dull, and a complete waste of time.

    The world is inconvenient and annoying but it¡¯s not all bad. It has video games, anime, and manga. Those are the cornerstones of my life that bring me joy and happiness. They all provide me with an escape to countless other worlds where I can erase the foul stench of existing in the real one.

    My life doesn¡¯t exist to be ruined by others. That already happened a long time ago. I¡¯m perfectly happy living my regularly scheduled life.

    It was Monday, October 2nd. A young boy sixteen in age with short blonde hair and mint-green eyes sat at a school desk clad in a white t-shirt with a black dress shirt over top, unbuttoned, and khaki pants. His head rested upon the palm of his hand as he stared out the window at gathering clouds of gray.

    Even with the windows closed, the air was crisp and filled the classroom with an autumn chill. A few moments later, tiny droplets of water dotted the windows as a cold rain moved in. As the boy stared at the deteriorating weather, he relied on his smile to keep himself warm. After all, who didn¡¯t love a dreary, rainy day?

    The morning bell rang which captured the boy¡¯s attention. He leaned back in his chair and stretched, a popping noise emanated from his neck. He didn¡¯t mean for it to be that loud but it was loud enough that everyone took notice. Suddenly, his ears tuned in to some whisperings on the other side of the room. They were a bit too low for him to make out what was being said; however, he heard a couple of his classmates utter his name.

    Same old, same old. Every time I do anything, someone has to say something. I do my best to mind my own business. It¡¯s not that hard. Then again, simple-minded people struggle with simple things. To them, I guess I¡¯m just a form of entertainment. Must be a crying shame knowing that none of you are even worth my time. It¡¯s just how it is.

    Their homeroom teacher went up and down the rows and took attendance. The boy sat on the far-left row, third seat from the front so it took a while before he was called upon. He hated this part of class because it required him to draw even more attention to himself; however, the inevitable happened so he decided to just get it over with.

    ¡°Sebastian Saje,¡± said the teacher.

    ¡°Here,¡± he replied, his voice light with a hint of rasp to it.

    With attendance out of the way, it was time to start the day¡¯s lessons. Sebastian paid attention to each subject and took as many notes as possible. With each subject taught came a round of homework as was the custom for the beginning of the week. He internally groaned because he knew that it would cut into his gaming time after school, still, it wasn¡¯t something he could just toss aside and ignore.

    Before he knew it, the morning had passed and the lunch bell rang. Everyone began to file out of the classroom and head to the cafeteria; however, Sebastian had other plans. He grabbed his backpack and headed to the other side of the building. Teachers mainly used a hallway of unused classrooms for extra storage. Sebastian picked the furthest one on the left which was packed with boxes stacked on top of more boxes. He figured that with it being so full, the chances of anybody coming in there to add more stuff to it were slim to none. So far, he was right. However, he wasn¡¯t exclusive to this room during his lunch break. He had a few spots picked around the school to not be too predictable in the chance a passing teacher noticed him. The last thing he wanted to do was to dwindle his options for a peaceful lunch.

    Just to be safe, he cleared out a small corner so he could obscure himself from vision should anyone come in. He sat on the floor and leaned up against the wall. He pulled a small container out of his backpack that consisted of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a small bag of grab-and-go dill-flavored potato chips, and a bottle of spring water. It was hardly a nutritious lunch but it got the job done.

    As he nibbled away, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a notebook and a thin silver case. Upon flipping the notebook open, there was page after page of really detailed sketches of anime characters. He flipped to a blank page and closed his eyes for a moment as if he were trying to visualize something. With an image in mind, he popped open the tin and revealed several graphite pencils, each with a different level of thickness. He pulled out a 2B pencil and began to sketch out a character.

    It was a young-looking female with short hair along with a few piercings on the eyebrow, the lip, and her ears. She could have passed as a punk rocker or even a goth girl. When he was finished, he tapped the end of the pencil on his chin as he muttered something unintelligible to himself. After mulling it over in his head, he wrote the name ¡°Roxy¡± off to the side. Every drawing in the notebook had a name next to it.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    ¡°Not my ideal type but she came out cute¡­¡± he muttered to himself.

    Before he could get lost in his work, he checked his phone and noticed that it was almost time to head back to class. With a sigh, he scarfed down the remnants of his sandwich and chugged his water. He tossed his trash into his backpack and began to head back. After all, he didn¡¯t want to leave any evidence in the bin just in case.

    After lunch, his homeroom teacher returned and grabbed everyone¡¯s attention. Sebastian thought it was odd since history was supposed to be next. At this school, they were experimenting with keeping all of the students together throughout the day and only having the teachers move between classes. It was a practice in other parts of the world but not something that was adopted here stateside. Sebastian¡¯s school was the only one in the district that elected to be the guinea pig for this experiment. He didn¡¯t mind it one bit as it was more convenient for him this way.

    He looked up expecting it to be an announcement about something important that would impact him; however, it was far from that.

    ¡°I was informed during lunch that starting tomorrow, we will have a new student joining us. Her family just moved from the other side of the country so when she arrives, please make sure that you make her feel at home.¡±

    The fact that it was revealed that the transfer student was female got some of the boys in the room talking amongst themselves. Sebastian glanced over and noticed that the only empty seat in the classroom was the one to his right. This meant that there was a near-one-hundred-percent chance that she would end up sitting next to him. The mere thought of that caused him to groan internally.

    Great. I know exactly how this is going to play out. A new girl comes into a new class and has no friends. She¡¯s going to want to try and talk to as many people as possible and since she¡¯ll be sitting next to me, I¡¯m a likely target for conversation. Just thinking about the possibility fills me with disgust. I can only hope she¡¯s the type who is interested in talking with other girls and leaves me alone.

    For the rest of the day, Sebastian remained quiet and took notes. When the final bell rang, he gathered up his stuff and headed out. He didn¡¯t live far from the school. It was about a fifteen-minute journey on foot with very few twists and turns. To get home, all he had to do was turn right from the school gate and walk in a straight line for about two miles then make a right onto his street. His house wasn¡¯t that far down the road; however, he had discovered a shortcut.

    Turning right on the street before his brought him to a dead end with a small wooded area that adorned a slight hill. Going through there would bring him into his backyard, saving him a minute or two of extra walking. He figured that every minute he saved was an extra minute he could spend playing video games. Since he did the same things every day, he knew how to maximize his time and had everything he did down to a science.

    However, before he could indulge in some digital entertainment, he wanted to knock his homework out first. As he looked through his notes, he began to grumble to himself.

    ¡°Ugh¡­ world history, algebra, civics, vocabulary, and biology. All of this is useless to me. I don¡¯t exactly need to know about Paul Revere to sit here and play the latest RPG nor do I need to know how to solve equations to listen to music in the dark, either. Save this kind of stuff for people who have real goals and ambitions in life.¡±

    Despite his protest, Sebastian went ahead and worked through each assignment. By the time he was done, he heard the front door to the house close. It could only mean that his mother had gotten home from work. It also meant that dinner would be ready in about twenty minutes which didn¡¯t allow him enough free time to get engrossed in a game. He became a bit annoyed and pouted as he sat on his bed.

    Right on time, his mother called him to the table. Judging by the smell in the air, it was some kind of chicken dish. He took a seat at the kitchen table and noticed it was lemon pepper chicken, microwaved green beans from a can, and some oven-roasted carrots.

    I don¡¯t mind the chicken but these green beans and carrots¡­ ugh. Canned vegetables lack flavor and I only like my carrots boiled. These look super greasy and I don¡¯t prefer the char on them. Oh well, I might as well choke this down because if I don¡¯t, mom will complain about it and I don¡¯t exactly want to hear another one of her lectures about how some people in the world would be appreciative to eat what she cooks.

    As Sebastian loaded up a plate, his mother struck up some casual conversation.

    ¡°How was school today?¡±

    ¡°Just school.¡±

    ¡°Just school, huh? Nothing exciting happened?¡±

    ¡°Well, a friend of mine invited me over after dinner so I was going to head over and hang out if that¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°Of course! High school is when you should be going out and doing things instead of staying cooped up in your room all the time. You need to get out more so any chance you have to do so, you should take it.¡±

    Sebastian internally groaned and continued to stuff his face with food so he wouldn¡¯t have to answer that remark. If he did, he knew that the conversation wouldn¡¯t end well.

    ¡°So, what do you plan to do at your friend¡¯s house?¡±

    ¡°Probably play video games or something. I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°So, you¡¯re going to someone else¡¯s house to do the same thing that you do here.¡±

    ¡°Pretty much.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ever have your friends come over here? If all you¡¯re going to do is play video games, they might as well come hang out in your room. Plus, I¡¯d finally get to meet them and maybe cook them dinner.¡±

    If it¡¯s anything like tonight¡¯s dinner, my ¡°friends¡± would much rather stay home. Luckily, I don¡¯t have any friends to put them through this kind of torture.¡±

    ¡°If I did that, then I wouldn¡¯t be getting out of the house. Isn¡¯t that what you want me to do more of?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get smart with me, Sebastian, you knew what I meant.¡±

    ¡°Well, maybe I¡¯ll ask them next time and see what they say.¡±

    ¡°So, which friend are you visiting tonight?¡±

    Sebastian scoured his brain for an answer. Suddenly, he remembered his sketchbook and the latest illustration that he had drawn. The name instantly popped into his head and it just happened to fall out of his mouth.

    ¡°Roxy.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to a girl¡¯s house?¡±

    ¡°Roxy¡¯s a guy, mom.¡±

    ¡°Oh. I can never tell these days. Parents just like to name their kids whatever they want. Where does Roxy live?¡±

    What is with all of these questions? Just shut up and let me finish my dinner so I can get the hell out of here.

    ¡°Down in Aldenville.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a bit of a distance. Don¡¯t stay out too late or call me and I¡¯ll come pick you up, okay?¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Ah. She just wanted to make sure I got home safe. Doesn¡¯t matter, though. Where I¡¯m going isn¡¯t anywhere near Aldenville. Just a few more bites and I can get out of here.

    Sebastian hurried and choked down the remainder of his roasted carrots. Once he was done, he washed his plate in the sink and told his mother that he was heading out to ¡°Roxy¡¯s¡± house. He grabbed a jacket and headed out just as the sun had begun to set.

    He stuck his hands in his pockets and turned right at the end of his walkway which would normally take him to Aldenville; however, one street down, he took another right and headed for Preston Park. The entire trip only took him five minutes on foot. When he arrived, he walked across the park to a small area up on a hill that was secluded by a bunch of trees.

    He went there often whenever he felt suffocated at home and needed to clear his head. The barrage of questions from his mother over dinner did just that and he had quickly lost interest in playing video games. He took a seat at the base of a tall pine tree and looked up at the stars, their light poking through the canopy above him. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

    Beautiful, crisp, cool air¡­ the stars starting to poke through the dusk sky¡­ the setting sun¡­ all of it is perfect. This is everything that I need in life. Once I¡¯m out of school, I¡¯ll find some sort of job where I can work in peace, collect my paycheck, and come home to an empty house where I can do whatever I want. In other words, the perfect life.

    It never used to be this way, though. I was such a fool back then¡­ had I known then what I know now I would have never bothered with any of them. People leech off one another to get what they want until they don¡¯t need you anymore. Then they move on to leech off of somebody else. There¡¯s no such thing as true friendship in today¡¯s world. All people crave is instant gratification. Someone will talk to you one minute and then bury their face into their phone the next. What kind of friendship is that?

    As Sebastian said that, a vision popped into his head. Just as soon as it appeared, it disappeared and he was back to seeing nothing. He snapped his eyes open and looked around as if he were confirming that it was just his imagination. On instinct, he reached into his pocket and gripped something solid inside of it. Once he confirmed that everything was fine, he released whatever it was from his grip and pulled his hand back out.

    Sebastian continued to sit there and stare up at the stars. As he thought about the freedom of a loner life, a faint smile came over his face. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the light had extinguished itself for another day. Sebastian closed his eyes and let the sound of the crisp wind and rustling leaves provide a calming ambiance.

    For some people, this would seem implausible. They often craved attention and the company of others and could never truly understand how the direct opposite could make anyone happy, and yet, Sebastian was in his paradise.

    Life; however, changes whether one likes it or not. The sun will rise again and another day will begin. If only Sebastian knew what was in store for him.

 The Transfer Student

    That night, Sebastian had one of the best sleeps of his life. The combination of being chilled from the cold night air and the warmth of being wrapped up in a comforter created the perfect recipe for a sleep that one would wish could last forever; however, the harsh reality is that all good things must eventually come to an end, and to the dreamer, they end much quicker than they would like them to.

    The sun had returned and signaled the beginning of a new day; however, Sebastian wasn¡¯t about to rise with it. The ear-piercing screech of an alarm clock jolted him awake and forced him back to the world of the living much to his chagrin. Realizing that he could not delay the inevitable, he swung his legs over the side of his bed and stood. He grabbed whatever clean clothes he planned to wear out of his hamper and headed to the bathroom to freshen up.

    Sebastian didn¡¯t believe in putting his clothes away. He had a system where he would leave his clean clothes in his hamper and pile his dirty clothes on the floor. By the time laundry day came around, the hamper would be empty so he would grab the dirty pile and swap it in. It was a little on the unorthodox side but for him, it got the job done and that¡¯s all that mattered. Plus, since he never had to fold his clothes, it saved time which he could spend playing more video games.

    Since his mother¡¯s job was quite the jaunt away from home, she would usually leave in the mornings right around the time he got up to try and beat the morning rush traffic. This left Sebastian to fend for himself when it came to breakfast. Of course, he didn¡¯t mind it one bit because it afforded him some additional peace and quiet.

    Once he was washed and dressed, he grabbed his backpack and brought it to the kitchen table. In the past, his mother would scold him for leaving it on the table while he ate but she wasn¡¯t there to say anything to him so he did what he wanted. He fixed himself two pieces of toast with a smear of peanut butter, a bowl of whole oats cereal, and a glass of orange juice. If there ever was a snapshot from a commercial about a balanced breakfast, this was it.

    Before he dug in, he made sure to pack himself a lunch so he would have something to eat at school. In the past, he had learned his lesson when he forgot to do that. The hunger pains he felt were something he would much rather forget and never let happen again.

    Once he ate, he grabbed his backpack, let out a bit of a sigh, and went out through the back door. Fifteen minutes later, he was back in his classroom as he carried out his tradition of staring out the window. Today, it appeared to be a bright and sunny day; something that Sebastian didn¡¯t truly care for but it wasn¡¯t as if he could control the weather. As he sat there, his homeroom teacher entered the room along with a girl. With Sebastian¡¯s attention diverted to the outside world, he didn¡¯t notice her at first.

    ¡°Class, may I have your attention? As I announced yesterday, we have a new student joining us here. If you would, could you please make your introduction to the class?¡±

    ¡°Hello! My name is Delilah Yearwood! It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you all!¡±

    Despite the introduction, Sebastian continued to stare out the window as he had zero interest in taking in the sights of the new student.

    Ah, that¡¯s right. There was supposed to be a transfer student coming in today. I would pray that she gets sat somewhere else but the empty desk next to me is the only place that they can stuff her. Maybe I¡¯ll get lucky and she¡¯ll make some friends and request to move her seat. Ugh, but then some other mouth-breather will end up next to me. Either way, I lose. Great¡­

    ¡°Welcome to the class, Delilah. There¡¯s an empty seat over there in Row 4. Go ahead and get yourself set up as first period will be starting in just a few minutes.¡±

    Sebastian continued to stare out the window as he heard the footsteps of the new transfer student draw ever closer. Soon, he heard the plop of a backpack followed by her taking her seat. No sooner than she sat down, other students around her began to whisper their welcomes. She replied to each one in kind as Sebastian internally groaned.

    Ugh¡­ her voice is a bit weird. She has a slight northern accent which means she must have come from the northeast. Not that I care or anything. As long as everyone else has her attention, that¡¯s fine. Leave me out of¡­

    Before he could finish that thought, he felt a slight tug on his sleeve. Sebastian looked over and noticed that Delilah was staring at him with a bright and friendly smile. He finally got a good look at her and noticed that she had shoulder-length black hair and eyes of amber; a unique color combination. Her skin was a bit on the pale side but looked flawless. As soon as he noticed her, he caught a whiff of lilac which must have been a perfume she was wearing.

    He wasn¡¯t the only one taking in an appearance, though as Delilah was doing the same thing. As soon as their eyes met, she noticed just how cute Sebastian looked to the point she had to try hard not to gasp. Despite his inner thoughts, his outward projection painted a picture of a sweet and innocent boy. Being new to the school and the town, she assumed the same at first glance.

    ¡°Hey! Nice to meet you! I¡¯m Delilah!¡±

    You couldn¡¯t resist, could you? You just had to tug on my sleeve and bother me, huh? Ugh¡­ this is such a pain. Why do I have to do this? Then again¡­ she doesn¡¯t know any better. Ignorance can be as blissful as a regularly scheduled life, too, I suppose. Oh well, I¡¯ll just be polite. No good will come from causing a scene on her first day. Besides, people talk about me enough as it is, I don¡¯t need the extra attention.

    ¡°Hey. I¡¯m Sebastian. It¡¯s nice to meet you, too,¡± he said with a faint forced smile.

    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty cool name,¡± she said as she took note of his light and raspy voice. ¡°What¡¯s your last name?¡±

    ¡°Saje¡­ but it¡¯s spelled with a ¡®J¡¯ instead of a ¡®G¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Sebastian Saje? It kind of rolls off the tongue! I like it!¡±

    Before the conversation could go any further, the first period¡¯s bell rang. No sooner than it did, their algebra teacher had entered the classroom. Delilah was about to get up when she noticed that nobody else was budging. She looked back at Sebastian with a puzzled expression.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± she whispered to him.

    ¡°In this school, only the teachers change classes. You get all of your general classes out of the way and the last period is for electives. If you¡¯ve taken one, you¡¯ll switch and go to a specialty class. If you don¡¯t have any, you just stay here and it¡¯s treated like a study hall,¡± he whispered back.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°Oh, wow. I¡¯ve never been in a school that operates like this before.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re guinea pigs. This district is testing it out. They said that it works in Japan or something like that. I didn¡¯t pay attention to the details.¡±

    ¡°Ah, gotcha. Well, I guess that beats moving around!¡±

    The teacher asked the class to settle down and went right into the day¡¯s math lessons. He then collected their homework and began to grade them as he assigned some worksheets to keep themselves busy in the meantime.

    After a few classes, the lunch bell rang. Not knowing the schedule, Delilah wasn¡¯t sure if it was time to eat or time for another class. When she realized that it was for lunch, she turned to ask if Sebastian wanted to have lunch with her but by the time she did, he had already grabbed his backpack, gotten up, and was halfway out of the classroom.

    ¡°Oh, shoot. Just missed him. Haha, I was too slow,¡± she muttered to herself.

    Rather than head to the storage rooms, he took a staircase up to a locked door. Beyond it was the roof; however, only the janitorial staff had the keys to access it. Despite that, there was a small alcove to the left of the door where some electrical boxes hung on the wall. Sebastian had never seen a single person come up these stairs so he deemed this as one of his hiding spots.

    Today¡¯s lunch consisted of a couple of pieces of leftover lemon pepper chicken. Without a microwave to reheat them, they were room temperature and not all that pleasant to eat; however, Sebastian was the one who packed them so he didn¡¯t have any room to complain about their quality. As per his usual, he also packed a bottle of water.

    Just like yesterday, he pulled out his sketchbook and flipped over to ¡°Roxy.¡± Before turning the page, he smirked.

    ¡°Thanks for letting me visit yesterday,¡± he muttered with a quick chuckle to himself.

    He turned over to a new blank page and began to sketch another character. This time, it was that of a teenage boy. He drew him wearing a simple dress shirt and tie. As with most of his other drawings, it was a simple bust shot. He figured with how short the lunch breaks were, a bust shot was all the time he could be afforded to create something.

    He decided to give this character short, spiky hair along with a pair of thin-framed glasses. When he was done, he tapped the end of the pencil on his chin as he contemplated a name for him. After a few moments, he wrote the name Matthew on the paper.

    He checked the time and noticed that he finished early. With the extra time, he began to contemplate his interaction with Delilah earlier.

    I¡¯m a bit worried about this new girl. I mean, she doesn¡¯t know anything about me so I can understand why she would say hello but to carry on a conversation like that? Surely, she can find other people in the class to befriend. Then again, maybe it had something to do with the fact that we¡¯re neighbors. What about Lucas? He sits on the other side of her, why couldn¡¯t she just talk to him? Jessika sits behind her, too so that¡¯s another option. Oh well, I doubt it¡¯ll be a problem. By now, she probably got invited to eat lunch with someone and she¡¯ll just talk to them from now on.

    Sebastian let out a sigh as he checked his phone and noticed it was time to head back. He gathered up his things and headed to class. The access stairway to the roof is a shorter distance to his classroom than the storage rooms were so he made it back with a few minutes to spare. That¡¯s when he noticed that Delilah was already back from lunch. Her face practically lit up when she saw him enter the classroom.

    What¡¯s she doing in here¡­ and why is she looking at me like that? You just met me this morning and you¡¯re looking at me as if you¡¯ve known me for years. This girl is seriously starting to creep me out.

    Sebastian plopped his backpack down and took his seat. No sooner than he did, Delilah turned her attention to him and struck up a conversation.

    ¡°You left pretty quickly. Did you have somewhere to go for lunch?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ not particularly. I was just hungry so I wanted to grab something to eat.¡±

    ¡°I get that. I just stayed in here and ate a sandwich at my desk.¡±

    Wait! She didn¡¯t go to the cafeteria? Maybe some of the other students asked her to stay and they all had lunch here. Then again, if she did, why was she sitting alone when I came back? Did they wrap up early or something?

    ¡°Didn¡¯t hang out with anyone?¡±

    ¡°Nah. I don¡¯t know anyone yet. Plus, I didn¡¯t want to seem like the needy new girl right off the bat.¡±

    I mean¡­ I can get that but does that mean that I¡¯m the only person you¡¯ve talked to here? Maybe this is becoming a bigger problem than I thought. If she¡¯s only talking to me, that means she¡¯s already decided to try and become friends with me. I may be cold and jaded on the inside but I at least try to be nice on the outside. I figured that if I could just keep to myself, nothing would ever be a problem. Maybe I can just ease her away with kindness.

    ¡°You should try talking to some people. I don¡¯t think anyone would see you as needy. I¡¯m sure there are plenty of people who would find it interesting to learn about you and where you came from.¡±

    ¡°I mean, I¡¯m talking to you, though. Want to know a little bit about me?¡±

    That¡¯s the LAST thing I want to know. Ugh¡­ that didn¡¯t work. This girl is persistent. Do I humor her? If I do¡­ will that give her the wrong idea that I like talking to her? This is going in the wrong direction fast but it¡¯s not like I can pull a 180 now. She hasn¡¯t done anything to warrant getting verbally smacked upside the head¡­ although that would bring me tremendous joy right about now. Guess I¡¯ll just let her ramble while I think about something else while nodding occasionally.

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    ¡°I come from Maine. I used to live up in the mountains. It was really beautiful up there although the winters were pretty brutal. I know it¡¯s still cold here in the Pacific Northwest but it¡¯s nothing compared to the mountains in Maine¡­¡±

    As she rambled on, Sebastian did as he thought and started only to nod occasionally while he thought about something else. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied the same group of people from yesterday talking and whispering amongst themselves. He made sure not to make direct eye contact as he didn¡¯t want to alert them that he was listening in. A scowl formed on his face as they continued to talk amongst themselves.

    ¡°...so my father got stationed here and I was forced to move and¡­ is¡­ something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Not particularly, why?¡±

    ¡°You seemed upset there for a second. I thought maybe I was annoying you with my story.¡±

    Well, that¡¯s not far from the truth. I would love nothing more than for you to shut up right about now.

    ¡°Oh, I probably made a funny face because I felt a sneeze coming on. Sorry, it¡¯s gone now, though.¡±

    ¡°No problem! That happens to me sometimes but I can never control them. That¡¯s pretty cool that you can suppress yours like that. I wish I had that kind of talent.¡±

    What kind of backwater mountain did you come from if you think suppressing a sneeze is a special talent!?

    ¡°I don¡¯t always succeed, though. I guess I just got lucky this time.¡±

    ¡°I guess so! What about you, though? What was a young Sebastian like growing up?¡±

    I¡¯m not answering that question. If there¡¯s one thing I hate more than talking to others it¡¯s talking to others about myself. What¡¯s the most generic answer I can give that won¡¯t make her pry any deeper?

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    Before he could even say anything, the bell rang and lunch was officially over. Their history teacher walked in through the door and requested that everyone be seated.

    ¡°... maybe later, I guess.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take you up on that!¡±

    The afternoon¡¯s lessons continued as normal. Sebastian went back to his normal self and sat there quietly taking notes. However, every time he went to jot something down, he noticed Delilah glancing at him through his peripheral vision. It didn¡¯t happen every time but it happened more times than he would have liked. At one point, he got so annoyed that the tip of his mechanical pencil broke from the pressure he applied. A few clicks of the eraser later and he was right back to normal.

    I can¡¯t even take notes in peace anymore. Why does she keep looking at me like that? Seriously, I¡¯m not that interesting. Just pay attention to the teacher and forget I even exist!

    Finally, mercy reared its beautiful head as the final bell rang for the day. Sebastian quickly gathered up his things and briskly walked out of the classroom. This time, Delilah decided to give chase to see if she could catch up to him; however, by the time she made it out, he was already halfway down the hall. She let out a bit of a sigh and headed in the opposite direction as there was a staircase closer to that side.

    When she reached the bottom, she spied Sebastian heading out the front door. She thought that she might have another chance to catch up to him but she soon learned that he was a pretty fast walker. While she wasn¡¯t out of shape, Sebastian still walked at a clip that was beyond her level.

    ¡°He seems like he¡¯s in a hurry. I wonder if he has to be somewhere?¡±

    Delilah shrugged it off and started to head home. As she turned right out of the school gate, she made her way up the small hill that was there. Through some lucky timing, when she made it to the intersection at the top of the hill, the signal to cross was still active. On the other side, she made her way down the sidewalk, keeping straight the entire time. She didn¡¯t notice it at first as she liked to look at the ground as she walked but for some reason, something compelled her to look up. When she did, she noticed that Sebastian was in front of her, albeit a good distance away.

    The more she walked, the more she began to wonder if he lived anywhere near her. She continued to watch him until he made the right turn down the street that led to the wooded shortcut behind his house. When she looked ahead, she could see her street off in the distance.

    Suddenly, her face lit up.

 An Invitation

    The next day, Delilah left her house a little earlier than usual as she had hoped to run into Sebastian on the way to school. When she neared the street that she saw Sebastian turn down, she stopped and waited at the corner. There was a small concrete wall at about waist height that ran parallel to the sidewalk which made a convenient seat for her. As she sat there and waited, she decided to pass the time by watching the traffic go by.

    Soon, she realized that time was running late and there was no sign of Sebastian anywhere to be found. She figured that he had probably left for school early and that she had just missed him. Giving up, she headed off with a slight pout. When she arrived, there were only a couple of students in the classroom but Sebastian was not among them. She was a bit confused and began to worry. She wondered if he had gotten sick and wasn¡¯t able to make it to school today. Feeling bummed out, she took her seat and waited for class to begin.

    About thirty minutes earlier, Sebastian lay in bed sound asleep. His mother had already left for work which meant that he was home alone. Normally, Sebastian would instinctively wake up before his alarm would but, for some reason, this time he didn¡¯t. What made matters worse was that he had forgotten to set it.

    This was unusual for him since his life was an unbreakable routine. He did the same thing every day with little variance and setting his alarm before bed was like second nature to him. However, for some reason, he had failed to do that.

    Luckily for him, his eyes began to open and that¡¯s when he noticed the sunlight pouring into his room. Normally, when he got up, the sun hadn¡¯t risen yet so as soon as he saw how bright it was, he knew that something was off. He immediately looked at his alarm clock and noticed that the time was 7:35 a.m., giving him just twenty-five minutes to get to class before the homeroom bell sounded. Knowing that it took anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes to walk there at a normal pace, he came to realize just how little time he had.

    He bolted to the bathroom and threw on the shower. He had no time to wait for the water to heat up so he went in immediately. He groaned as the icy cold water splashed against his skin. It got to the point where he began to shiver; however, he knew he had to endure it. He quickly rubbed shampoo in his hair and lathered his body with soap. Just as he was rinsing off, the water decided to warm up.

    A few choice curse words later, he quickly dried himself off and then grabbed whatever clothes he could find, not even caring if they matched or not. This was evident by the fact that he wore one white and one black sock but, thankfully, his pants covered them so it wasn¡¯t going to be too much of an issue.

    He grabbed his backpack and ran into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and didn¡¯t find much in the way for lunch. He looked up at the clock and realized he had no time to mull it over.

    ¡°To hell with it! I gotta go!¡±

    Sebastian quickly patted himself down to make sure he had his wallet and keys. He then bolted out the back door and weaved his way through the wooded area behind his house. After he hit the street, he took off running at top speed, the chilly morning wind blowing through his still-wet hair.

    Sebastian didn¡¯t do much in the way of exercise so he wasn¡¯t exactly conditioned for running long distances. The only activity he got was walking to and from school every day. He only managed to stay so thin due to barely eating anything throughout the day. Even after school, he wouldn¡¯t bother with food until his mother came home and made dinner.

    His lack of true exercise and conditioning caught up with him about halfway down the main road. He began to gasp for air as he cursed himself for being so out of shape. What made matters worse was that he still felt cold thanks to his wet hair. Not being able to push himself any further, he had no choice but to walk normally the rest of the way but at least, in his mind, he shaved off about seven minutes.

    By the time he arrived, it was 7:56 a.m., leaving him four minutes to get to his class. This also meant that he had to climb a flight of stairs and after running part of the way there, his legs were burning and about to give out. Still, he endured and finally made it to his classroom. Naturally, he was the last one there but nobody said anything when he showed up. The only one who paid attention to him was Delilah who had a bright smile on her face.

    She was just happy that he wasn¡¯t sick and that her new deskmate had made it. When Sebastian plopped himself down, he let out an audible sigh of relief which prompted Delilah to poke her nose into the situation.

    ¡°Everything okay?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Forgot to set my alarm so I had to run all the way here.¡±

    Well, some of the way here but there¡¯s no way in hell I¡¯m going to admit my inadequacies to another human being. The last thing I need is to be looked down upon by false sympathy to cover up the fact that you don¡¯t care about me at all.

    ¡°Well, you made it! At least you can rest a bit now!¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Their conversation was cut a bit short since homeroom had officially begun. After attendance was taken, they realized that they had a little bit of time before the first period officially began. Delilah decided to pick up their conversation and asked him a question that took him by surprise.

    ¡°So, where do you live?¡±

    Why would you want to know something like that? Expecting me to hand you an invitation or something? Well, forget it. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m ever going to let you anywhere near my house. The last thing I need is to have my daily peaceful life invaded by another human being¡­ and a girl at that.

    ¡°On Ambrose St.¡±

    When Sebastian said that, her eyes lit up. Her suspicions were correct in the fact that he lived close to her. The only thing that didn¡¯t add up was that he said that he lived on Ambrose but the street she tried waiting for him at this morning was Sycamore Ave. She began to wonder if he gave her a false answer on purpose or if there was something that she was missing. She wanted to poke the hornet¡¯s nest a little more; however, she knew that maybe she would be overstepping her bounds by doing so. After all, she had only met him a couple of days ago and it wasn¡¯t like they were officially friends yet or anything.

    She quickly thought of something else to say but before the words made it out of her mouth, the first period¡¯s bell rang. Their attention was quickly captured by their algebra teacher who began giving out instructions. It didn¡¯t stop Sebastian¡¯s mind from wandering, though.

    First, you ask me where I live and then you don¡¯t even tell me where you live? I mean, not that I actually care, mind you, because the less I know about you, the better but that still makes you seem suspicious. Why do I even keep talking to her? I really should just bite the bullet and tell her to mind her own business. It¡¯s getting to the point where I don¡¯t care how I end up looking in front of others. This just needs to stop so I can go back to having peace and quiet in all aspects of my life.

    The morning¡¯s lessons passed by and as the lunch bell drew closer, Delilah knew that Sebastian was the type to get up and go rather quickly. She made sure to watch the seconds on the clock tick by and right when the bell sounded, she reached over and tapped him on the shoulder to grab his attention. He looked a bit startled which made her realize that she had acted a little too quickly.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°Ah, sorry for scaring you! I was just wondering if you wanted to have lunch together?¡±

    With YOU!? Are you kidding? There¡¯s no way that¡¯s happening!!

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry but I promised a friend that I was going to help him out with something. He¡¯s in a different class so we already set up a place to meet. I have to get going so I¡¯m not late.¡±

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s okay! That¡¯s sweet of you to help out a friend like that! I hope that everything goes well!¡±

    ¡°Haha, thanks!¡±

    Sebastian grabbed his backpack and headed out. Instead of going to the storage room or the roof stairwell, he turned left and headed in the opposite direction from them both. He went downstairs at the far end of the building and went out a set of double doors to his left. Making another immediate left would bring you to the music room; however, going right would bring you outside to the back of the building.

    The school was right on the edge of a rather small public park that the students were free to use during recess. Going out that back door brought you to a small gap in the fence that separated the school from the park itself. Going through that gap would bring you to a small wooded area on the edge of a dead-end road. There was a small stump from a large oak tree that had been cut down the year prior. Sebastian decided to make that his third hiding spot.

    Since his hiding spot was on the far edge of the school, it was opposite of where the cafeteria was. The other end of the park had your typical array of benches, a water fountain, and other places where students could just sit and hang out with their friends. This end of the park offered nothing of interest which made it perfect for seclusion. It wasn¡¯t anywhere as big as Preston Park, though so the fact that some students could meander over was still there albeit the chances were pretty low.

    Sebastian instinctively opened his backpack and went to pull out his lunch. That¡¯s when he remembered that he was in such a hurry this morning that he didn¡¯t pack one. He muttered an obscenity to himself as he kicked the tree stump with the heel of his shoe in frustration. After letting out a sigh, he pulled his sketchbook out and flipped to the nearest blank page. He tried to draw something but his mind began to wander.

    First, I forgot to set my alarm, then I barely made it to school, and because of it all, I didn¡¯t pack a lunch. I¡¯m going to be starving by the time I get home. I don¡¯t want to eat anything when I get home either because then I won¡¯t be able to eat dinner and I¡¯ll have to listen to my mom complain. It irks the hell out of me when she does that!

    Speaking of things irking me¡­ that stupid girl who won¡¯t stop talking to me! I practically ran home yesterday just so she wouldn¡¯t bother me on the way out. Now, she knows where I live! Why in the hell did I even tell her? Now that she knows, she¡¯s probably going to want to walk home with me. That¡¯s the last thing that I want to happen right now and¡­ UGH!

    Sebastian had made another mistake and began to erase it. As he did, he became even more frustrated and threw his sketchbook on the ground. He looked down and pinched the bridge of his nose as if he were experiencing a headache. Suddenly, another vision flashed in front of him¡­ this time it lasted a bit longer. It was the image of a boy looking back at him with a smile on his face. Suddenly, the smile turned into a frown and the vision disappeared. As if it were instinctual, as soon as he saw that vision, he reached into his pocket but withdrew his hand when it faded away.

    Why me? Why does this keep happening to me? The world wanted nothing to do with me so I decided that I didn¡¯t want anything to do with it. I just want to live my life on my terms without anybody in it. I don¡¯t want to be judged for making my own decisions and I certainly don¡¯t want any stupid friends, either, and yet¡­

    Before his mind could continue into a downward spiral, he took in a deep breath and exhaled, his breath becoming a puff of fog in the cold air.

    That girl¡­ I¡¯m only being nice to her because I don¡¯t want to make a spectacle of myself. If I showed her my true colors, people would know who I truly am. It¡¯s bad enough that they whisper about me behind my back¡­ I can just imagine what it would be like if I let my true self out there. I¡¯d never hear the end of it.

    My wish is so simple. Just¡­ everyone just leave me alone. I¡¯m not the kind of person who deserves any attention. I don¡¯t deserve to be embraced by others.

    He let out another exhaustive sigh and checked his phone. While it was a little earlier than usual, he knew that he had a greater distance to traverse to get back to his classroom. He picked his sketchbook up and placed it under his arm. With a low groan, he headed back inside.

    After he returned to his classroom, he noticed that Delilah was still sitting at her desk. Like before, she looked happy when she saw him return. Before he could even sit, she fired off a question.

    ¡°So, how did it go with your friend?¡±

    My friend? Huh? Oh, that¡¯s right¡­ I fed her an excuse so I wouldn¡¯t have to spend my lunch break with her.

    ¡°Everything went fine.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great! I¡¯m glad to hear that!¡±

    Sebastian sat down and plopped his sketchbook on his desk. The jolt from throwing it on the ground earlier coupled with the one just now caused one of his drawings to fall out of it. He kept a couple of his favorites in the front pocket of the notebook and didn¡¯t realize that one of them had escaped until it was too late.

    ¡°Oh! You dropped something! Here, let me get it for you!¡±

    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to¡­.¡±

    Before he could finish, Delilah had already leaned over and picked it up. Curious, she unfolded the paper, her eyes full of wonder at the sight before her. Every stroke of the pencil seemed flawless, neat and proportioned well. She couldn¡¯t believe how good the artwork looked.

    ¡°Sebastian, what is this?¡±

    Ah, nuts. It¡¯s bad enough that I love anime but now she knows it and¡­ wait. Maybe this is my ticket out of this! She seems like a pretty domesticated girl so maybe if she found out that I like something as degenerate as anime, she¡¯ll think less of me and she¡¯ll leave me alone! Let¡¯s hope that¡¯s the case!

    ¡°Just an anime drawing I did.¡±

    ¡°Wow¡­ it looks so good! I¡¯ve seen a ton of anime but I don¡¯t recognize the character. Which series is she from?¡±

    WHAT!? She watches anime!? This just blew up in my face! I swear it¡¯s like DnD where I needed to roll a 2 or higher to succeed in a novice event and I rolled a goddamn 1! How unlucky can I get!?

    ¡°She¡¯s an original character.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s original!? This looks so official! Even if you lied and told me she was from a series, I would have believed you! You¡¯re amazing!¡±

    ¡°T-Thanks¡­¡± he muttered as he held out his hand as if to ask for his drawing back.

    She folded it back up and handed it over where he quickly stuck it back into his sketchbook. Judging by the slight hue of rose in his cheeks, she could tell that he was a little embarrassed over it all. Little did she know that the color in his cheeks was anger.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s your favorite anime?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a favorite. I just watch a show if it¡¯s good then move on to something else.¡±

    ¡°I do the same but there has to be one that touched your heart in some sort of way. For me, it was A Voice of Silence. It¡¯s about this boy who bullied this deaf girl but he came to regret it and tried to make up for everything and become her friend. It was sad and warming at the same time! Have you seen it?¡±

    Yeah, I have. The main character was an idiot. Sure, he became the object of everyone¡¯s hatred when his so-called friends turned their backs on him but he went out of his way to become friends with that deaf girl. The guy had the perfect life dropped right into his lap and he went ahead and messed it all up. What a loser.

    ¡°Yeah. It was good.¡±

    ¡°RIGHT!? It¡¯s my favorite movie of all time! I could watch it a million times and still never get tired of it!¡±

    Well, maybe you should lock yourself in your room and do just that. Then, I¡¯ll never have to see your face or hear your stupid voice ever again.

    Before he could even respond to that the bell rang, ending his torture; however, that would only last as long as the afternoon¡¯s classes. When the final bell rang for the day, Delilah was right back at it, grabbing his attention before he could even grab his backpack.

    ¡°Hey! Since you live in my direction, do you maybe want to walk home together today?¡±

    She just doesn¡¯t give up. She¡¯s trying WAY too hard to be my friend. It¡¯s disgusting. Well, if it worked for lunch it should work again.

    ¡°Sorry, but I have a few errands to run for my mom. I¡¯m not going straight home today.¡±

    ¡°No worries! It¡¯s cool that you¡¯re helping out your mom, too. It¡¯s really sweet of you.¡±

    ¡°T-Thanks¡­¡±

    Sebastian grabbed his things and went to head out but Delilah followed him. With her right on his heels, he realized that couldn¡¯t just bolt out of there and take the normal way home, he needed to make his lie as convincing as possible. When they arrived at the front gates of the school, they both turned right. Instead of going straight at the intersection, Sebastian turned right without saying much of anything to Delilah.

    Since he already gave the excuse she figured that whatever his mom needed him to do was in that direction. Plus, after just moving here, she wasn¡¯t all too familiar with the layout of the city just yet so she had no idea that there was absolutely nothing down in that direction except for houses and a lone ice cream parlor. Nevertheless, she called out to him.

    ¡°See you tomorrow, Sebastian!¡±

    Sebastian simply stuck up his hand and waved without looking back. Once he was far enough away, he began to think to himself.

    Dammit! Now I have to take a long way home. Instead of just going straight, I have to walk around the entire neighborhood. It¡¯s not like it¡¯s just a few streets down or anything¡­ It¡¯s almost four times the walking distance!! It¡¯s going to be at least an hour before I get home and on top of it all, I¡¯m still starving as I haven¡¯t had anything to eat since yesterday!

    Sebastian kicked a rock into some nearby shrubs out of frustration. Even though he was angry, he only had himself to blame. Had he just accepted her offer and endured it, he wouldn¡¯t have had to go so far out of his way to get home.

    What made matters worse was that he was well aware of that fact, too. Angry with himself, he gritted his teeth as a fire burned in his eyes.

 Confliction

    Even though it was a cool autumn day, Sebastian was covered in sweat from head to toe by the time he had arrived at his doorstep. The school day ended at 2:30 p.m. but by the time he walked in through his front door, a rarity in and of itself, it was nearly 3:45. His legs were burning, his breathing was a tad heavier than normal, and his stomach grumbled and growled as the hunger pains intensified.

    Why did I do this to myself? Oh yeah¡­ because that annoying girl wouldn¡¯t leave me alone. I know that she¡¯s probably going to ask me to walk home with her again tomorrow but I¡¯m not going to take the long way around again. I¡¯m going to have to bite the bullet if it comes to that even though I don¡¯t want to. There¡¯s no way in hell I¡¯m going to kill myself again for some random transfer girl. Ugh¡­ I smell like a wet sewer rat.

    Normally, Sebastian would head straight to his room to do his homework; however, perhaps the only silver lining to this entire ordeal was that he wasn¡¯t assigned any to do today. However, he opted to go take a shower which would eat into his gaming time before dinner, something else that annoyed him even more. So much so that a loud thump could be heard amongst the running water as Sebastian made a fist and pounded the tiled wall.

    After he had showered, he grabbed some of his weekend clothes and threw them on. He headed to his room with about an hour left before his mother came home. He decided to get in as much gaming time as he could so he fired up his console. He felt that the best way to get his frustrations out was to play one of his favorite game series: Omega Man. It was a simple side-scrolling action platformer where a blue robot would jump and shoot his way through eight stages, defeating other robots and stealing their powers all so he could face off against a mad scientist hellbent on trying to take over the world.

    It was simple fun but it was also pretty challenging. Normally, Sebastian could beat any game in the series blindfolded but this time around, all of the day¡¯s events gnawed and ate away at his mind which caused him to make several mistakes he normally wouldn¡¯t make. Those mistakes led to numerous deaths and he got so angry he gripped his controller tightly and applied tremendous pressure when suddenly...

    SNAP

    Sebastian looked down and noticed that his controller had broken right in half. If he wasn¡¯t pissed before, seeing his one and only controller in two pieces almost sent him over the edge. He controlled his rage as he gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. After he calmed down, he let the broken pieces of the controller fall to the ground and a couple of tears escaped from his eyes.

    ¡°It never used to be this way¡­¡± he muttered to himself as he sat there on the edge of his bed.

    He remained there in silence until he heard the front door unlock. He looked over at his clock and realized that an hour had already passed and it was about that time when his mother came home. The last thing Sebastian wanted was to have a dinner table conversation about how his day went. All he wanted was some alone time so he decided to kill two birds with one stone. He immediately grabbed his keys and wallet and headed to the living room. Before his mother could even hang her coat on the rack, he announced that he was heading out.

    ¡°Sorry, Mom but I got invited to a friend¡¯s house for dinner so I won¡¯t be eating today.¡±

    ¡°Okay, no problem! I can just make something for myself or do you want me to make something so you can have lunch for school tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine. You can make whatever you want for yourself.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Have fun at your friend¡¯s house and don¡¯t stay out too late.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡±

    Sebastian grabbed his coat and headed out. While he used the excuse of going to a friend¡¯s house, he was headed to the mall. He figured that he could get some alone time as well as buy a new controller to replace the one he had just broken. As his stomach grumbled, it became a stern reminder that he hadn¡¯t eaten anything in nearly twenty-four hours. He figured that he could just pick something up at the mall¡¯s food court when he got there. As soon as he took a few steps down the sidewalk, he realized that this was an ill-advised plan as his legs were still sore from his lengthy detour.

    Once again, he made his bed and now he had to lay in it. He trudged in the direction of the mall which wasn¡¯t that far away from his house. All he had to do was turn left head to the end of his street and cross it to another side street. At the end of that street was the city¡¯s main highway. Once there, the mall was on the left-hand side of the road. It was pretty convenient for whenever Sebastian wanted to get out of the house and being around other people at the mall wasn¡¯t a bother since nobody talked to him outside of a store¡¯s employees.

    When he arrived, he immediately headed to a small mom-and-pop gaming shop where he typically bought all of his games. He knew where they stocked the controllers so he wasted no time and headed straight there. As he was checking out, a pair of eyes just happened to catch a glimpse of him standing there at the counter.

    It was Delilah.

    ¡°Wait. Is that Sebastian? Is he here running that errand for his mom? Who would have thought that I would have run into him here!? I¡¯m so lucky!¡±

    She stood there and waited for Sebastian to leave the store. Once he did, she strolled right up to him. At first, he wasn¡¯t paying attention and didn¡¯t notice her approach. It wasn¡¯t until she called out to him that he looked up and noticed her.

    ¡°Sebastian! Fancy meeting you here!¡±

    Oh, you have got to be kidding me¡­ this is the worst luck ever!

    ¡°Oh! Um¡­ Hey, Delilah. What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°I got bored so I decided to go for a walk so I could become more familiar with the town. I found the highway and saw that they had a mall here so I wandered in and¡­ well¡­ here I am! What are you doing here? Running that errand for your mom?¡±

    ¡°No, I already finished that. I¡¯m just here to pick up a few things.¡±

    As he said that, his stomach let out a loud, audible grumble. It wasn¡¯t something he could play off or ignore and it was definitely something that Delilah heard loud and clear.

    ¡°Wow, you must be hungry! I was just about to head to the food court and get something to eat. Do you want to join me?¡±

    At this point, Sebastian couldn¡¯t refuse the offer. His stomach was in so much pain that he couldn¡¯t bear it any longer. Plus, he was starting to shake and feel a bit weak so declining the offer to try and escape would only make things worse. Therefore, he caved.

    ¡°S-sure, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°Not at all! Let¡¯s go eat!¡±

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    They made their way over to the food court, Sebastian¡¯s eyes darted around to see what looked the best. He saw a place that sold pizza ¡°pie¡± slices. Essentially, it was a standard pizza with a layer of crust on top. The slices were huge and that is exactly what he was looking for to sate his hunger. He figured that Delilah would just go and get whatever she felt like having so he meandered over towards the pizza stand without saying much of anything.

    ¡°What can I get for ya?¡± said the man behind the counter.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take 2 meat lovers pie slices.¡±

    ¡°Oh! You don¡¯t have to buy me anything. I¡¯ll pay for my own,¡± said Delilah from behind him.

    Sebastian turned around to see that she was standing right behind him. He realized that she was mistaken and thought that he was buying her lunch. It created an awkward situation that he needed to find a way out of.

    ¡°Ah, sorry for the misunderstanding but both slices are for me. I kind of haven¡¯t eaten anything since yesterday so I¡¯m really hungry, haha¡­¡±

    ¡°OH! I guess that makes sense since your stomach has been growling something fierce. Say¡­ do you want me to pay for yours? It¡¯s only six bucks so it¡¯s no big deal. Plus, consider it a thank you for letting me see your drawing.¡±

    I mean¡­ a free meal doesn¡¯t sound bad right about now but who am I kidding? If I let her pay for it, it¡¯ll give her the idea that I actually care about her. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that I could probably die of starvation at any moment, I wouldn¡¯t even be standing here right now with her. Ugh¡­ annoying stuff like this is why it¡¯s best to never have any friends.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s kind of you but I¡¯d feel really bad if someone had to pay for my food. Don¡¯t take this the wrong way but I generally don¡¯t like people doing favors for me like that. For some odd reason, I get uncomfortable and feel like a charity case. I know it¡¯s dumb.¡±

    ¡°No! Not at all. I get it.¡±

    ¡°Here ya go, kid. That¡¯ll be $6.30 with tax,¡± said the guy behind the counter as he handed over two hot slices. Sebastian paid him properly and stepped aside so Delilah could order.

    ¡°And what about you, miss?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take one of The Works.¡±

    ¡°Coming right up.¡±

    Sebastian didn¡¯t want to stick around and wait another second. His stomach needed to be filled so he turned and walked away to find the nearest table. He sat down and didn¡¯t care how hot the slices were. He began to tear into them as if it were his first real meal fresh out of prison.

    Delilah paid for her slice and turned around, expecting to see Sebastian standing there. When he wasn¡¯t, she scoured the area and saw him sitting alone at one of the tables. She walked over and put her plate down and then looked around as if she were confused about something.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you order two slices? Where are they?¡±

    ¡°I ate them.¡±

    ¡°ALREADY!? That¡¯s insane¡­¡±

    ¡°I told you I was hungry¡­¡±

    Now that I¡¯m done, do I just get up and leave? I really don¡¯t want to spend any more time with her than I have to. Actually, I just realized that there¡¯s a restaurant right next door. I could have made another excuse, left, and gone to eat there. I already bought what I came here for so it¡¯s not like I have anything tying me down. If I did, though, it might make a bad impression, and having to deal with it every single day at school could be a bigger hassle than the short-term relief that bailing out would offer. Ugh¡­ why is this so complicated? I guess I¡¯ll just stay and humor her for a bit.

    ¡°I guess so. Do you want mine, too?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m good now.¡±

    ¡°So, what kind of errand did you have to run for your mom?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I just had to run to the store and pick up some ingredients for dinner. She tries to plan meals but doesn¡¯t exactly do a good job because she¡¯ll forget to buy stuff all the time. She never makes a grocery list and claims that she can do shopping just by memory. My little trip today says otherwise, though.¡±

    There¡­ a nice little fib of a backstory to cover for the lie. Not like she¡¯s ever going to come over to my house anyway so it doesn¡¯t matter what I tell her.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s good that she has you to help her out. What did you buy at the store?¡±

    ¡°Ah, a new game controller. Mine stopped working.¡±

    And it was all your fault, too. You aggravated the hell out of me. In fact, I should make you pay for it.

    ¡°That happened to me with a controller once. I was pretty deep inside of an RPG when it stopped working. I couldn¡¯t even pause the game and I died. I forgot to save so I lost so much progress. I almost wanted to cry.¡±

    Yeah, well, you deserved it.

    ¡°That sucks.¡±

    ¡°Say, what are your plans tonight?¡±

    Here it is. She¡¯s probably going to want to hang out or something. Get it through your skull, will you? We. Are. Just. Classmates!

    ¡°Probably just sleeping. Today has been tiring.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah. You had to run that errand and you said you ran all the way to school this morning so you wouldn¡¯t be late. I¡¯d be pretty tired, too.¡±

    Thankfully, she¡¯s almost done eating. She would be done by now if she would just shut up and stop talking. Once she¡¯s done, I¡¯ll try and ditch her so I can go back¡­ wait¡­ I can¡¯t go back home. I told my mom I was going to a friend¡¯s house for dinner! This means I have to stall for time. If I stay here and shop, I just know she¡¯s going to want to tag along. I could just leave and go to the park but since she lives close, she might want to walk back together. Maybe I can do both? If we walk back, I¡¯ll just take my shortcut and once I¡¯m out of sight I can¡­

    ¡°Say, do you want to do some shopping once we¡¯re done here?¡±

    No. But¡­ it will solve the time-killing problem. Wait, why am I even entertaining this!? The goal is to get out of here, not stick by her but¡­ I kind of need new pencils and I¡¯m already here. NO! I can buy those anytime! What the hell is wrong with me?

    ¡°Sebastian?¡±

    ¡°Oh, sorry. I was kind of thinking if I needed anything else while I was here and I kind of spaced out. Yeah, we can look around if you want to.¡±

    Ugh¡­

    ¡°Awesome!¡±

    Delilah finished her slice and they headed off. Sebastian poked his head into a couple of stores and pretended to look around for something. While he could use pencils, he never said out loud what he was looking for. The fact that he had bounced between a couple of stores made Delilah wonder just what it was that he needed. Suddenly, she began to tense up a bit as tiny beads of sweat formed on her brow. Her lip quivered ever so slightly as her heart rate bumped up by a couple of extra beats per minute.

    Suddenly, her voice changed from normal-sounding to a bit more meek and timid and she blurted out a question that even Sebastian didn¡¯t expect to hear.

    ¡°S-so¡­ are you looking for a gift for your girlfriend?¡±

    WHAT!? What kind of girl just blurts out a stupid question like¡­ wait a minute. No¡­ don¡¯t tell me this girl has been talking to me all this time because she has a crush on me¡­ Girl, if that¡¯s the case, you¡¯re barking up the wrong tree. There is a less than zero percent chance I will ever date you or anyone else, for that matter. Should I just tell her yes and be done with it? But¡­ then she¡¯ll start asking questions and I can¡¯t fabricate a girlfriend out of thin air.

    Besides, everyone at school knows I¡¯m single. If she goes around asking, she¡¯ll know I¡¯m lying right away so I can¡¯t really deflect this. I have to answer with the truth which means I¡¯m going to be opening up my personal Pandora¡¯s Box.

    ¡°S-Sorry¡­¡± muttered Delilah after the awkward silence passed. She realized that she may have crossed a line by asking that question; however, for some reason, the pain in her voice when she said that jolted Sebastian. While he would love nothing more than to not have to bother with her ever again, just hearing that slight catch in her voice tugged at his heartstrings¡­ but he couldn¡¯t understand why. Despite that, he turned to see her looking away with a dejected expression.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t have a girlfriend. I¡¯m just browsing stuff to see if anything catches my interest. Truth be told, I could use some more graphite pencils for drawing.¡±

    Why did I cave? No¡­ more importantly, why did the sound of her voice just now hurt my heart like that? I don¡¯t have any romantic attachment to her whatsoever but¡­ is this a sign that the old me is still alive inside somewhere? The fact that I¡¯m constantly nice to her rather than telling her what I really think should have been my first clue but¡­ still¡­ I swore that I would never get close to another human being for the rest of my life after what happened to me so why? Why now?

    ¡°Because I still want to¡­¡± he muttered under his breath before he caught himself.

    ¡°Did you say something?¡±

    ¡°Never mind, I was just muttering something to myself. I was just going through my head as to what pencils I need or if it would be better just to buy another full set and have some spares.¡±

    ¡°Oh! I think you should just buy another full set. It might be more money but having something and not needing it is way better than needing something and not having it.¡±

    Better than needing something and not having it, huh?

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. I think there¡¯s an arts and crafts store a few doors down. Mind if we stop there? Sorry for dragging you around, you don¡¯t have to keep coming if I¡¯m boring you.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind at all! I¡¯m just happy to be able to spend some time with someone here in this town. Moving away from all of your friends isn¡¯t easy¡­ especially when not a single one of them even¡­ no, never mind that. Let¡¯s just say that I¡¯m happy you let me tag along and I¡¯ll leave it at that.¡±

    What was she about to say? No¡­ why do I even care? Because I¡­. NO! Don¡¯t even think that! Not after all this time¡­ don¡¯t you DARE even think that, Sebastian!

    Sebastian quickly snapped himself out of it and they visited the arts and crafts store. He ended up buying a full set as she suggested; however, when they got to the counter, Delilah bumped in front of him and handed the teller the cash to pay for the pencils. Sebastian was shocked that she did that but opted not to say anything in front of the clerk. However, when they left the store, he had to know.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I just wanted to thank you for hanging out with me¡­ that¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°You could have just said ¡®thank you.¡¯ Besides, you kind of already did when you said you were happy to hang out with me.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but I didn¡¯t think it was enough. Besides, I wanted to do that as a way to maybe butter up to you for a question I¡¯d like to ask. Would you¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ maybe be open to being my friend?¡±

    Sebastian tensed up. He realized that being polite led him straight into this situation. He had nobody to blame but himself and now, the one thing he never wanted again in his life was being offered up. Suddenly, his stomach began to cramp and he felt sick. With that feeling of uneasiness, he had no idea how to even answer that question.

 An Offer of Friendship

    A lone simple question was enough to send Sebastian into shock. As he stood there frozen stiff with a knot in his stomach, beads of sweat began to protrude from his forehead, the color draining from his skin. Delilah immediately noticed the change and, at first, became a bit confused; however, that emotion faded into disappointment as she felt that a reaction like that simply meant that she had made a mistake. She hung her head low as she felt tears begin to well up in her eyes.

    How am I supposed to answer this? I feel so nauseated right now. I feel something coming up in my throat. Is it bile? Man, it¡¯s getting bad¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± she muttered softly.

    When she muttered those words, the heartache returned. It pierced through Sebastian¡¯s body and sent a shiver up the ladder of his spine. It was a momentary distraction from the knot in his stomach but it was enough for him to, again, be coaxed into giving her an answer that he had no intention of giving.

    ¡°No¡­¡± replied Sebastian. ¡°I was just taken off guard by your question. Of course, I accept.¡±

    She lifted her head to see him forcing a smile, his skin even paler than before and his head covered in sweat. She figured that he was a bit nervous but suddenly, it became apparent that wasn¡¯t the case. Just accepting her as a friend caused the knot to intensify to a nearly unbearable level. He knew that he wasn¡¯t going to be able to hold it back for much longer.

    ¡°Forgive me but, I need to go. I think I ate that hot pizza a little too fast¡­¡±

    Before Delilah could acknowledge that, Sebastian darted off. Thankfully, there was a restroom right across the hall from where they stood. Once inside, he ducked into the nearest stall, locked the door, and threw himself over the toilet. A mere second later, all of the contents of his stomach spilled into the bowl. It wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience but at least the knot in his stomach had relieved itself.

    A flush of the toilet later, Sebastian got up off his knees and used some toilet paper to wipe any remaining residue from his mouth. He used the sink to clean himself up and to wash the taste out of his mouth. When he looked at himself in the mirror, he noticed how pale he still was but the color was slowly returning.

    ¡°What the hell am I doing?¡± he asked himself quietly.

    Soon, without realizing it, Sebastian began to cry. Tear after tear fell from his eyes, splashing down into the sink below. All he could do was stand there and stare into his reflection.

    ¡°I can¡¯t go through this again¡­ I just can¡¯t¡­¡± he said. ¡°But¡­ she¡¯s waiting outside. Do I go back and tell her I made a mistake? No, I can¡¯t do that. That would hurt her feelings and¡­ why do I care? All I want is to be left alone so, naturally, I¡¯m going to need to hurt her feelings if I want to get back to the life I desire. But I still have to see her at school every day and¡­ ARGH!¡±

    Suddenly, his vision became blurry. That boy from his last vision appeared in the mirror in Sebastian¡¯s place, sporting a sinister grin. The boy reached out with his hand as if it were inviting him someplace; however, as soon as he blinked, he was gone and everything returned to normal.

    Sebastian gritted his teeth and pounded his fist on the sink¡¯s counter. Right after, he heard the door open to the restroom so he quickly turned the water on and began to wash his hands. A man walked right past him and into the stall behind him. He quickly dried his hands and wiped the tears from his eyes before heading back out to where Delilah had been waiting for him.

    ¡°Are you okay!?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m sure that was the worst timing ever. You asked me a very important question and the lunch that I ate too fast decided to come back up at that moment. I didn¡¯t mean to give you the wrong idea. It was my fault for eating so quickly.¡±

    ¡°I mean, you did scarf that pizza down in record time. I had simply thought you took a bite, didn¡¯t like it, and threw it away. I guess lesson learned, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±

    ¡°Do you need to sit and rest?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine now but I think I¡¯m going to call it a day and go home.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s probably a good idea. I have nothing else that I need to do here so, would it be okay if we could walk home together?¡±

    I don¡¯t have a choice here. Might as well just get it over with.

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    They left the mall and took the short trip back home. Usually, Sebastian would go down Sycamore to take his shortcut but he only did that when he left for and returned from school. Not even his mother knew that he went out the back door every day. When they got to the corner of Ambrose St., Delilah paused for a moment then spoke with a bit of a quiver in her voice.

    ¡°Thank you for accepting my friendship. I know that sounds corny but¡­ I don¡¯t think you know how much that meant to me. I just wanted to say that.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡±

    When she looked up there was a faint smile on his face. She already thought he was insanely cute but that smile took things over the top for her. She began to blush a little bit before she looked off in the direction of her house.

    ¡°I better get going. The sun is beginning to set and my parents worry if I¡¯m out too late. I¡¯ll see you at school tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. See you around.¡±

    With that, they parted ways. When Sebastian walked into the house, he could still smell the lingering scent of his mother¡¯s cooking. She was sitting on the couch watching television, her face sporting a smile.

    ¡°Welcome back!¡±

    ¡°Thanks¡­ um¡­ are there any leftovers from dinner?¡±

    ¡°Yeah but didn¡¯t you just come from your friend¡¯s house where you ate dinner?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m still kind of hungry.¡±

    ¡°Well, they are in the fridge. Help yourself.¡±

    Sebastian did just that. With a plate full of food, he sat at the kitchen table and began to pick at it. He wanted to devour it all right then and there but he didn¡¯t want to suffer another situation like he did at the mall. As he nibbled away, his mother decided to join him in the kitchen. She sat down and placed her elbows on the table, resting her head in the palms of her hands.

    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    ¡°So, was it your friend Roxy that you went and saw?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yeah¡­¡±

    ¡°What did he serve you if you¡¯re still so hungry?¡±

    ¡°His mom cooked tilapia. It didn¡¯t exactly taste that great but I ate it so I wouldn¡¯t be rude. I didn¡¯t have much of it, though.¡±

    ¡°Ah, that makes sense. You were never the type to like fish. I tried feeding it to you for years but you never took to it. I can¡¯t magically program your taste buds to like something you don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±

    ¡°So, when is Roxy ever going to come over and visit us? That¡¯s twice that you went over to his house and he hasn¡¯t yet stepped foot into ours.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Well, maybe the next time he invites you over, just ask if he wants to come over here instead. I¡¯d love to meet him. Also, find out what his least favorite meal is and I¡¯ll cook it as an act of revenge.¡±

    ¡°Then he¡¯ll never want to come over here again. Isn¡¯t that counterintuitive?¡±

    ¡°It was a joke, sweetie.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­¡±

    Sebastian finished eating and put his plate in the sink. After washing it off, he excused himself and he retreated to his room. Rather than going back to playing games, he climbed into his bed and scooted himself into the corner where he pressed his back up against the wall. He hung his head low and suddenly, the tears returned.

    The last thing I ever wanted was a friend. Friends are only good until they get tired of you. Why couldn¡¯t I turn her down? What is it about her that keeps compelling me to be nice to her? Am I really that obsessed with the fear of how others would perceive me if I let my true thoughts out?

    Maybe it would be worth enduring things for a while? After all¡­ it would be awkward for everyone at first but it would eventually blow over and things would return to how they are now. I¡¯ll just get a few more looks of disgust from time to time but at least people would leave me alone. Besides, it¡¯ll be best for Delilah. She¡¯ll find someone else to latch on to¡­ someone who can return her feelings with modesty rather than deception¡­ but still¡­

    Even if I¡¯m aware of all of this, I still can¡¯t pull the trigger. Why? Why do the words that come out of my mouth never match what I¡¯m thinking? Why can¡¯t I let go of the person that I used to be? Being my old self got me here so why would I ever go back? I have no reason to and still¡­ ugh¡­ this is making my head hurt. All I know is that tomorrow is not a day I¡¯m not looking forward to.

    Despite not wanting tomorrow to come, time marched forward. This time, he remembered to set his alarm but the lack of sleep from tossing and turning all night made beating it a trivial task. When he got up, he heard the front door close and breathed a sigh of relief that he was alone in peace and quiet. It only re-affirmed that this was the perfect life for him but it also made him realize that his own decisions were aiming to destroy the life that he desired.

    Nevertheless, he made himself breakfast and made sure to pack a lunch. He wasn¡¯t going to miss out on food again after what he had put himself through yesterday. With everything set, he headed out the back door and began his trek to school. After the typical shortcut, he arrived at the end of Sycamore. He turned left and headed down the road when he heard a voice behind him.

    ¡°Good morning, friend!¡±

    Oh no¡­

    He turned around and, sure enough, Delilah was heading in his direction with a warm smile on her face. He wished that he could pick up the pace and just disappear but, instead, he stood there and waited for her to catch up.

    ¡°M-Morning¡­¡± he said rather groggily.

    ¡°Aw, someone¡¯s still tired! Didn¡¯t sleep well, I take it?¡±

    ¡°Mmm, you could say that.¡±

    Delilah started going off on several topics that included what was in store for them in their classes today, what she packed for lunch, what her plans were after school, how she decided on her outfit, and more. Sebastian didn¡¯t respond much to any of that outside of a few ¡°Mmm¡¯s¡± and nods. While he was tired, he truly wasn¡¯t interested in anything she had to say and didn¡¯t feel the need to jump into the conversation. This continued until they got to the school gate.

    ¡°Welp¡­ here we are! Sorry for chewing your ear off but I guess you¡¯re still a bit out of it, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ just struggling to wake up.¡±

    ¡°In the mornings, I usually drink a French Vanilla Cappuccino and do some stretching. It helps with the walk to school and the caffeine perks me right up. You should try something like that, especially if you didn¡¯t get enough sleep. It¡¯ll probably work wonders!¡±

    ¡°Hmm.. maybe. I don¡¯t like the taste of coffee all that much, though.¡±

    ¡°With cappuccino, you barely taste the coffee. The flavor of the French Vanilla on top of whatever flavor of creamer you use typically masks the taste. I don¡¯t like regular coffee either and it¡¯s only because it¡¯s flavored so much that I can stand drinking a cappuccino.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡±

    During class, Sebastian had a hard time staying awake. He nodded off a few times which caught Delilah¡¯s attention. She gave him a quick nudge to wake him up. When he looked over, she gave him a faint smile to convey that she did him a favor. Soon enough, the lunch bell rang and, as he expected, Delilah pounced on the opportunity and asked him if he wanted to have lunch together.

    No. I don¡¯t. I want to go to one of my hiding places and take a nap but¡­ I agreed to be her friend and I already ditched her multiple times. On top of that, I¡¯m too tired to even come up with a valid excuse. I don¡¯t think I can refuse in this situation and that¡¯s been my problem this whole time. My mind keeps saying no but my mouth keeps saying yes and it¡¯s driving me mad trying to understand why. Ugh¡­ I guess I¡¯ll just get this over with.

    ¡°Sure, we can eat lunch together.¡±

    ¡°SWEET!¡± she said with a bit too much enthusiasm. ¡°I know just the place where we can go! C¡¯mon!¡±

    Delilah brought Sebastian outside to a place behind the school. There was a set of picnic tables along the east-side parking lot. Sebastian had seen them plenty of times because they were right next to the wooded area that he used as one of his hiding spots. He never opted to use them because the woods could conceal his location whereas the picnic tables wouldn¡¯t. The mere fact that she knew about this place less than a week of attending the school worried him. He noted in his mind that he needed to eliminate one of his hiding spots out of fear that she could catch him one day.

    When they sat down, they took out their lunches but before Sebastian could even take a bite, Delilah prodded him with a question in a rather sheepish tone.

    ¡°Say, um, I don¡¯t want to put you on the spot or anything but I was wondering if maybe you could draw something for me?¡±

    First, she asked me to lunch and now she wants me to put on a show for her!? I¡¯m not just some art machine to use for your entertainment! Then again, I usually spend my lunch breaks drawing anyway so this would allow me to keep doing what I normally do¡­ I just hate the fact that I have an audience. Argh¡­

    ¡°S-Sure¡­¡±

    Sebastian took out his notebook and pencil set. As per usual, he flipped to an empty page and thought about what he wanted to draw. When Delilah noticed that he was struggling, she offered up a suggestion.

    ¡°Say, how about drawing a cute little cat girl?¡±

    Great, now the peanut gallery is making requests. Although come to think of it, I never really did any anthropomorphized characters before. All of mine have all been a variation of a normal human. I mean, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be any different, though. I just need to draw a cute girl and add some cat ears to her head. It¡¯s easy but¡­ WAIT! Why am I even entertaining this? I want to draw what I want to draw! God, this would be so much easier if I were alone¡­

    ¡°O-Okay¡­¡±

    Sebastian put pencil to paper and began by making some basic shapes. He decided to do this character as a bust shot in a three-quarter turn pose. He began with the face by using some quick guides for where the eyes, nose, and mouth would be. Once he sketched those in, he added the basic shapes for the cat ears and erased his guides. From there, it was the hair. He went for a typical shoujo bowl cut that stopped just below where her ears would be if she were human.

    Next, he decided to give her some accents. He drew a couple of lines across her cheeks to indicate whiskers and then added two triangular markings on her upper cheeks to either signify facepaint or tattoos. He sketched in the ears and made them as furry as possible. To hide the fact that they were poking out of her head, he erased some of the hair in front of them and put in a band that wrapped around the top of her head.

    Next, he gave her some indication of where her shoulders would be and started to do a frilly design for her shirt, especially around the neck. Once everything came into place, he thought about what would send it over the top. That¡¯s when he added a thin collar around her neck with a small bell in the center of it.

    Throughout the entire process, Delilah looked on with eyes full of wonder. She was mesmerized by the movements of his hands, the cleanliness of each of his lines, the control he had over all of them, and just how good the finished product looked¡­ or at least, she thought it was finished. Once all of the shapes were in place, he switched between different pencils and began to do some basic shading. The image started to pop off the page and it amazed her even more!

    When it was done, Sebastian touched the tip of his pencil to his chin as he thought about what to name her. When Delilah saw him thinking, she became curious.

    ¡°Stuck on something?¡±

    ¡°A name. I name all of my characters.¡±

    ¡°She looks like a Cora.¡±

    Even I will admit, that¡¯s not a bad name for a cat girl. My only regret is that I didn¡¯t come up with it but¡­ there¡¯s not much time left on lunch so I¡¯ll roll with it.

    ¡°Cora works for me.¡±

    Sebastian scribbled her name on the paper and went to close the sketchbook when he felt Delilah¡¯s hand grab his wrist. When he looked over, she looked rather nervous.

    ¡°Say, this might sound selfish of me¡­ especially since you worked so hard on her but¡­ could I possibly have it?

    I wouldn¡¯t say I worked hard on it. Drawing is easy for me but I can understand how some simpletons who have no experience in it whatsoever would think that way. Plus, if I give it to her, I won¡¯t have a reminder to nag me about how this drawing came to be. By getting rid of it, it¡¯s doing me a favor so¡­

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    Sebastian tore the drawing out of his sketchbook and handed it to her. What came next annoyed him even more.

    ¡°C-Could you sign it for me?¡±

    Uh¡­ what? Why in the world would she want an autograph from me? I¡¯m nobody famous and, to be honest, this is creepy. I know I said that I would be her friend and all but¡­ this is a bit too much. Even if we were best friends, I wouldn¡¯t ever dream of asking for an autograph. Hell, she¡¯s not even stopping to think of how embarrassing this is for me! That¡¯s inconsiderate!

    ¡°O-Okay¡­¡±

    Sebastian took the drawing back and scribbled his name on it. His signature wasn¡¯t anything remarkable as he rarely had to sign his name for anything. As crude as it was, Delilah¡¯s face lit up when he passed the paper back to her.

    ¡°Thanks! This is so cool!¡±

    As she held the paper in her hands, proverbial stars adorned her eyes. Whether it was the wonder of the moment or something else entirely, Delilah decided at that moment that she was going to learn how to draw so that one day she would return the favor and draw something for Sebastian. However, she wasn¡¯t about to tell him that.

 Putting Pencil to Paper

    That afternoon, their classes passed without anything of interest to note outside of a random homework assignment or two. As the final bell approached, Sebastian internally groaned as he could feel the impending question from Delilah about wanting to walk home together. After all, she had asked to accompany him almost every day this week so far so it was quite easy to predict the situation, however, when the final bell rang, the silence that followed shocked him.

    As he packed his things, he honed his hearing in her direction but when he didn¡¯t hear her voice, he glanced through his peripheral vision to see her packing her things up as well. Suddenly, she stood up and slung her backpack over her shoulder.

    ¡°See ya, tomorrow, Sebastian!¡±

    Wait. She¡¯s not going to bother me? She¡¯s just leaving? I GET TO WALK HOME BY MYSELF!? I should stop off at the store on the way home and buy a lottery ticket or something. I honestly don¡¯t care what her reason is. All that matters is that I get to go straight home in peace for the first time this week! No power walking to get ahead of her, no stupidly long detours, nothing!

    ¡°Take care¡­¡±

    Sure enough, Delilah headed out of the classroom without so much as waiting for him. Suddenly, a smile came over his face that was visible to everyone. A few of his classmates who normally gossiped about him took notice of it and, as one would expect, the whisperings began. Sebastian noticed it almost immediately and his smile quickly reverted to his normal, neutral expression.

    Tch¡­ This is another downside of having to interact with her. Everyone is going to start thinking up stupid stuff about the two of us. I can guarantee that¡¯s exactly what Bryce, Kayla, and Shiloh are doing over there right now. Knowing my luck, I¡¯ll walk into school tomorrow to a rumor about the two of us dating or some crap like that. Great¡­ just what I need¡­

    Sebastian hoisted his backpack over his shoulder and walked out; however, as he passed by the trio, he glanced over with a bit of a menacing look. Shiloh and Kayla didn¡¯t notice it but Bryce did and swallowed hard. Sebastian continued on his way to enjoy his peaceful, lonely walk home.

    Delilah, on the other hand, took a left at the intersection at the top of the hill. That direction led straight to the highway. Her destination was the mall as she had some business to attend to there. The mall was only a bit further away from the school than it was from Sebastian¡¯s house so it took an extra minute or two to get there on foot. Despite that, she made it one piece and wasted no time in making a beeline for the bookstore. Once inside, her eyes scoured the signs on each of the aisles. It was evident that she knew exactly what she was looking for.

    Soon, she found the Self-Help section and began to look through the books that were there. Thankfully, they were all grouped so she would skip whole sections until she found what she was looking for. A few groups down, her mouth widened into a smile as she found a ¡°How to Draw Anime¡± book. There were a couple of different titles there and while each one taught the same thing, the author¡¯s styles varied a bit. Since the information was the same, she opted to pick one that used a style as close to Sebastian¡¯s as possible.

    The one she liked was also the thickest. It also meant that it was the most expensive, clocking in at a hefty $45. The price was a bit intimidating as it would eat up the majority of her money and she still had supplies to buy. She checked her wallet and noticed that if she were to buy the book, she would only have $20 left over for pencils, stencils, erasers, and other things. She could make it work but it would also mean going for some lower-grade items. Then again, she figured that since she was just starting, there was no real need to get the good stuff right away.

    After working out the rationale in her head, she decided to go with that book and paid for it properly. With that out of the way, it was off to the arts and crafts store that she visited with Sebastian yesterday. She checked the price of the pencils that Sebastian had bought and found them to be a little bit up there. To save money, she opted for an off-brand graphite set that was half the price. She picked up a couple of erasers, a few stencils, a cheap wooden ruler, and a package of basic makers. All total, her supplies ran her about $17 after tax.

    With everything in hand, she was excited to go home to start learning how to draw!

    When Sebastian got home, he closed the door and just took in the silence. The walk home felt great and the fact that there wasn¡¯t anyone home to disturb him only added to the calming aura that washed over his body. The homework assignments were light so he ended up banging those out within half an hour. This left him about an hour and forty-five minutes of alone time before his mother would come home so he fired up his game console and stuck in Omega Man III, his favorite in the series. After everything that he had gone through this entire week, he felt that playing his favorite game was a well-deserved reward.

    Unlike last time, he blew through the game without dying a single time. As the credits rolled, he dropped the controller on the floor and laid back on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

    Ah.. that was great. It¡¯s like everything just disappeared and went back to normal with the flip of a switch. Of course, I¡¯m not naive to think that every day is going to be like this but these past couple of hours made me realize just how much I love being alone. Even if I have to suffer through another interaction with Delilah tomorrow, I can at least take some solace in knowing that I got to enjoy my afternoon today.

    Meanwhile, just a couple of streets down, Delilah sat on her bed with all of her art supplies set aside to her right. She cracked open the book and began reading the first chapter to herself.

    ¡°Basics of drawing anime. In this chapter, we will learn how to start with simple shapes for proportion and positioning. We will cover forming those shapes into an anime character in the next chapter. It is important to understand that all things drawn, much like things in the real world, can be broken down into basic shapes. Once you understand this concept, creating anything from plants to cities, to even anime characters will be much simpler.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I guess that makes sense. When Sebastian was drawing Cora, he started with a couple of circles. I¡¯m going to need to use the stencils since I can¡¯t draw a circle to save my life and yet¡­ he was able to do so effortlessly. I wonder if he would get upset if I started calling him the human stencil?¡±

    She didn¡¯t have enough money to buy a sketchbook so she opted to use a spare notebook that she had lying around. She followed the lesson by making a couple of circles; however, the lesson began to go into rectangles for arms and legs. All she wanted to do was draw a bust like Sebastian did so she didn¡¯t think any of that was necessary. When the lesson kept going on and on about parts of the body she had no interest in drawing yet, she skipped the rest of it and went right to chapter two.

    ¡°Clothing and body parts will come later. One of the most iconic pieces of an anime character is their head. Everything from their hairstyle and their eyes can be found here so it¡¯s important to focus on these pieces bit by bit. Here, we will focus on dividing the head into regions and then we will tackle the eyes.¡±

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    ¡°Oh yeah! Sebastian did the same thing! I remember he made guides for the eyes, nose, and mouth! This should be easy since I already saw him do it!¡±

    With her guides in place, she flipped the page and her eyes nearly popped out of her head. There were at least 100 different styles of anime eyes all laid out as examples, each with a different style. The book didn¡¯t even pick one to teach her, it simply told her to look over the eyes carefully and select the ones that she wanted to draw. It assured her that no matter which eye she picked, the same technique for drawing them was transferable.

    The number of choices presented to her made her feel overwhelmed. She had no idea what kind of character she wanted to make and was scared that if she picked a certain set of eyes, it might lock her into a type of hairstyle that would fit with them versus a hairstyle that she loved. She didn¡¯t want to erase and redo anything so overthinking began to settle in and she became a bit demotivated to continue.

    Right before she was going to pause, she looked over and noticed the drawing that Sebastian had signed for her poking out of her backpack. She pulled it out and stared at it, taking in how good it looked. A faint smile came over her face and her determination renewed. She gently laid it back down and picked her pencil back up. She decided not to be picky and just chose the first eye example on the page since it was one of the more basic-looking ones.

    When she moved on to the hair, she, again, saw nearly 100 different choices but rather than fall back into the overthinking trap, she just picked one and began to practice. Page-by-page, she followed the instructions until she finished all of the lessons that focused on the upper body. When she was done, she looked at her drawing and frowned.

    ¡°Wow¡­ this is terrible. Even with a book teaching me, I kind of failed pretty hard. Then again, this was only my first time drawing. All I need to do is keep practicing! One day, I¡¯ll get good enough to show my work to Sebastian!¡±

    That night, Delilah practiced and practiced again. Each time she did, her skills showed next to no signs of improvement. Even though she wasn¡¯t getting anywhere, she remained committed to her vow to get better. With Sebastian as her goal, she was determined to learn how to draw no matter how many times she failed at it.

    The next day, Delilah headed out to school with a little extra pep in her step. Even though her journey to drawing had only just begun, the thought of being able to share something with Sebastian one day made her happy. She stopped at the corner of where Sebastian usually walked out from but he was nowhere to be seen. This marked the second time she waited there and didn¡¯t end up running into him.

    ¡°Hmm.. I hope he didn¡¯t oversleep again¡­¡± she said to herself.

    Like last time, she opted to get going rather than risk being late; however, when she arrived at school, she noticed that Sebastian was already there at his desk. Surprised that he beat her there, she took a seat and wished him good morning.

    ¡°Fancy seeing you here so early.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I went home yesterday and did my homework then I settled into some gaming. I thought I had finished all of the assignments but when I went to gather everything for school today, I realized that I had forgotten to do the history assignment so I rushed over here so I could get it done before homeroom started.¡±

    Well, that¡¯s a lie. I finished all of my homework before playing Omega Man III. I left extra early so I could enjoy walking to school without running into you. I had such a marvelous time walking home yesterday, that I thought that it would be just as nice to do it again this morning. You have no idea how much I didn¡¯t miss you. I¡¯m really glad that the 30 minutes of sleep I sacrificed just to walk here alone ended up being worth it. Hell, I might make this a new habit of mine.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you were able to get it done. That would suck if you thought you did everything and realized you hadn¡¯t right when you had to turn it in. That would have been the absolute worst!¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ it would have.¡±

    Still not as bad as sharing a morning walk to school with you, though. If I had to choose between the two, I¡¯d choose forgetting my homework ten times out of ten. Then again, since I didn¡¯t forget, that means I won twice as much this morning!

    ¡°So, the weekend is coming up pretty soon. Got any plans?¡±

    Yeah, staying away from you. That¡¯s definitely at the very top of my list. There¡¯s also not having to see you, not listening to you talk to me, and forgetting that you even exist. All of which are excellent ways to spend a weekend.

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m planning on going to see my, um, Dad.¡±

    Wow¡­ of all the excuses I could have come up with, why in the holy hell did I pick that one? Come to think of it, the one thing and ONLY thing I would choose you over would be if I had to choose between hanging out with you or hanging out with my father¡­ if he were still alive, that is. In that scenario, you would be the lesser of two evils but as long as she doesn¡¯t know anything, it doesn¡¯t matter what I say. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to visit that dead piece of shit any time soon.

    ¡°That¡¯s cool! I guess that means you don¡¯t live with your Dad, huh?¡±

    ¡°Nope. My parents are divorced.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re still going to see him, though. That¡¯s sweet of you to try and stay a part of his life. I¡¯m sure he loves it, too.¡±

    HA! If only you knew. That asshole never cared whether I lived or died. If he still walked this Earth, the only reason I would EVER go and visit him is if I could put a bullet between his eyes and not go to jail for it.

    He simply nodded in response and, thankfully, their homeroom teacher came in and put a halt to their conversation. After the morning¡¯s classes passed, the lunch bell rang; however, Sebastian hoped against fate a little too much. He hoped that things would have been like yesterday and Delilah would just get up and go do her own thing but¡­

    ¡°Hey! Do you want to have lunch together again?¡±

    Nope. I gave you enough attention yesterday. If you¡¯re lonely, go fawn over that drawing I did for you. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll keep you company.

    ¡°Ah, sorry but my friend needs help again. He¡¯s doing a project and he keeps getting stuck so I told him that I would spend my lunch to help him figure it out.¡±

    ¡°No problem! You¡¯re always helping people out. That¡¯s cool of you!¡±

    ¡°I just like to help my friends, that¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not a bad quality to have, though!¡±

    ¡°I guess, haha.¡±

    Sebastian grabbed his backpack and started to head out. Suddenly, Bryce, Kayla, and Shiloh stood up and followed him. He had no idea that they were tailing him until he was about to head to the staircase that led to the roof. Right before he was about to turn, he pretended to check his phone and that¡¯s when he noticed the three of them following not that far behind. He always made sure that the coast was clear before he went up there for situations just like this.

    He pretended to keep going through his phone, hoping that it was just a coincidence; however, they kept approaching without pause, their eyes locked squarely on him and nothing else. Before he knew it, they had him surrounded. He looked up as both Kayla and Shiloh had neutral looks on their faces while Bryce didn¡¯t look too happy.

    ¡°So, Sebastian. You sure do like to move fast when there¡¯s a brand-new girl who knows nothing about you, huh?¡± he said.

    When Sebastian didn¡¯t answer, Bryce¡¯s expression turned deathly serious. He even went so far as to grit his teeth. The words he spoke next were laced with venom.

    ¡°What you¡¯re doing with her, Sebastian? Are you trying to become friends with the new girl? That¡¯s the lowest thing you could ever do after what you did to us.¡±

    Sebastian looked away because he knew that Bryce was right. Perhaps, if he hadn¡¯t stared at him on the way out yesterday, he wouldn¡¯t be in this situation right now. Even though he was cornered, he didn¡¯t have an answer for him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t have anything to say for yourself?¡±

    Sebastian continued to stand there and ignore them.

    ¡°HEY! ASSHOLE! I¡¯M TALKING TO YOU!¡± screamed Bryce as he shoved Sebastian so hard that he nearly lost his balance. ¡°If you¡¯re not going to say anything then fine. We¡¯ll just go back to class and tell the new girl everything. Maybe after she hears the truth, it¡¯ll save her the trouble of having to go through the same stuff we did!¡±

    NO! Don¡¯t go and tell her anything! She doesn¡¯t deserve to¡­ wait. What am I even saying? Why am I filled with so much fear right now!? Wouldn¡¯t this be the answer to my problems? If she hears about me from a third party, I could just have a casual conversation and explain things. I can let her down easily! She¡¯ll hate me and I can go back to my regularly scheduled life! This a blessing in disguise but¡­ why does my heart ache so much when I think about it? GOD DAMN IT ALL!

    ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t try to become friends with her. She chose to become friends with me.¡±

    ¡°Just like you did with us back in elementary school but we all know how that turned out. Tell me this¡­ are you planning to do to her what you did to us?¡±

    As he said that, his vision became fuzzy again. It became clear that the boy in his visions was Bryce. This time, he was flanked by Kayla and Shiloh, much like he was now; however, they were much younger. It was as if a portal to the past had opened before him and their younger selves were standing there. He saw pained expressions on their faces and that¡¯s when Sebastian twitched his face and everything went back to normal. He collected himself and looked up at Bryce, staring him in the eyes.

    ¡°That depends¡­¡±

    ¡°Depends on what?¡±

    ¡°... depends on whether or not she turns out to be a piece of shit like you. If she does, I won¡¯t hesitate to bury her where she stands¡­ just like I did to all of you.¡±

    Sebastian didn¡¯t want to stand there and listen to any more of this. He turned and walked away. Thankfully, they opted not to follow him; however, unbeknownst to Sebastian, Delilah was down the hall and overheard everything. She figured that maybe she could lend Sebastian a hand with his friend but what she discovered was something she never expected to hear.

 The Walk Home

    That afternoon, Delilah couldn¡¯t concentrate on any of her classes. She was too distracted by what she had witnessed during lunch. From time to time, she would quickly glance over at Sebastian to see him taking notes. She took in his cute looks, remembered his light and raspy voice, and how everything about him was so docile, kind, and warm. She would have never fathomed that he would say the things that he did to what were seemingly his former friends. As she sat there, one thing that he had said echoed in her mind.

    ¡°... depends on whether or not she turns out to be a piece of shit like you. If she does, I won¡¯t hesitate to bury her where she stands¡­ just like I did to all of you.¡±

    She thought about those words carefully as there was so much to unpack from them. On the one hand, she learned that Bryce, Kayla, and Shiloh did something to Sebastian that broke their friendship. What that ¡®something¡¯ was; however, was unknown. Whatever it was, it was terrible enough to cause Sebastian to lace his words with harsh venom.

    The other part of Sebastian¡¯s words is what bothered her the most¡­ the fact that he would not hesitate to do the same to her if, and only if, she pulled something with him on the same level as they did. When she took away the face value and tried to rationally think about it, it made more and more sense to her. If she did something so terrible to break his trust and hurt his feelings, then he would have every right to ¡®bury her where she stood. She would no longer earn the honor of being his friend.

    So far, Sebastian had always seemed happy when they were hanging out together. She figured that if she were a bother to him, there would be no way that he would have ever accepted her. That mere fact alone told her that she was safe around him and had nothing to fear. Plus, Sebastian was cornered by three people who openly ridiculed and pressured him. Anyone in that situation could blurt out something they wouldn¡¯t necessarily mean out of anger.

    She wondered if she should talk to Sebastian about it after school or let it be. She knew that it wasn¡¯t any of her business but as his friend, she wanted to be there for him and support him through whatever was bothering him¡­ even if it meant sticking her nose where it didn¡¯t belong.

    As the day wound down, she glanced over and noticed that he was staring out the window. She wanted to say something but he seemed lost in thought. She figured that he, too, was replaying the incident over again in his head. She could only imagine how everything made him feel. After all, she felt terrible about it and she was just a bystander. With the way he looked now, she questioned whether or not asking him to walk home together would be such a good idea as there was a high chance that he would want to be left alone.

    On the other hand, there was also the chance he would be open and talk about it. The desire to be there for him as a friend nudged her in the direction of taking that chance. She figured that if she was going to talk to him, she might have to get a bit crafty. She decided that she was going to do it but she wasn¡¯t going to ask him to walk home with her. Instead, she decided she would follow him at a distance at first, then quicken her pace to catch up. This would take away his option to say no. The plan was a bit on the devious side but, at least, this way she could slowly ease herself into the topic. She only hoped that Sebastian could see that her heart was in the right place.

    The day¡¯s final bell rang and she saw Sebastian quickly gather his things together. He stood and slung his backpack over his shoulder and quickly made his way out of the classroom. Delilah looked over at the trio that ridiculed him earlier and noticed that they all stared at him as he briskly passed by. When she saw that, it became clear that he didn¡¯t stick around because he wanted to get as far away from them as possible.

    What she didn¡¯t expect, though, was for them to turn and look in her direction. When they saw her looking back, they quickly turned their heads and began to whisper amongst each other. She thought about going over there and confronting them but without knowing the full story yet, what was she going to say? Besides, if she said anything, it would alert them to the fact that she had overheard everything. She decided to let it go for now and headed out. After all, she couldn¡¯t waste much time if she wanted to catch up to Sebastian.

    By the time she made it to the front gate of the school, Sebastian was already halfway up the hill. The hill wasn¡¯t all that steep but there was a decent enough incline to make power-walking up it a bit of a chore.

    As luck would have it, the lights turned red by the time she got to the intersection so she had to wait. As she did, Sebastian got further and further away. She cursed to herself as she tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the light to turn green. When it did, she ran across the road and continued the pace until she regained her original distance from him. There, she slowed down to catch her breath but continued forward briskly.

    Meanwhile, Sebastian had his head down and one hand in his pocket, his mind was on anything but what happened.

    This is the second day in a row where I get to walk home alone in peace! I was fully expecting her to ask me to join her but she didn¡¯t. I know that lightning rarely strikes twice but here we are. This is fantastic! The nice cool autumn breeze, the warmth of the sun, and all of the peace and quiet¡­ this is truly magical! Even if I made a spectacle of myself, running out of class surely has its benefits! It¡¯s moments like this that I wish could last fore¨C

    Before he could even finish that thought, Delilah had caught up to him and he heard her voice call out from behind.

    ¡°Hey, Sebastian!¡±

    Oh, you¡¯ve got to be kidding me¡­

    ¡°H-Hey!¡±

    ¡°Mind if we walk home together?¡±

    Yes, I do mind; however, it¡¯s not like I can do anything about it now. Plus, that¡¯s a pretty stupid question to ask knowing full well that we live close to one another. We have no choice but to walk in the same direction. Even if I said no, there was no way to just change course and make her disappear.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°A-Are you sure?¡± she said, lowering her tone to where it almost sounded painful for her to ask that.

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    She¡¯s usually gung-ho with me. This is the first time she double-checked to ensure it was okay. Something¡¯s off here, but what?

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure. I don¡¯t mind the company at all.¡±

    ¡°Okay. So, um¡­ how are things going with you?¡±

    Now she¡¯s concerned about me? Is this because I rushed out of the classroom so quickly? Maybe by doing so, I made her worry that something was wrong. Granted, something was wrong as I didn¡¯t want to run into Bryce and his two pieces of arm trash again.

    ¡°Things are fine. How about you?¡±

    ¡°Fine as well¡­ but¡­ are you sure there¡¯s nothing wrong?¡±

    Man, she¡¯s laying it on thick¡­ why the hell do you care so much?

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure¡­ why?¡±

    When he returned the question, she tensed up. She wanted to explain everything and began to get a bit nervous. She wondered if it was okay to expose the fact that she had heard everything and how he would react to that. Rather than just come out with it, she decided to test the waters before diving in fully.

    ¡°I¡­ was just wondering if you wanted me to stop bothering you¡­¡±

    Wait¡­ did she think I ran out because of her? Is she finally getting the message that I don¡¯t want to hang out with her? Wait¡­ Bryce and the others¡­ they threatened to talk to her about me. Did they go through with that threat after what I had said to them? This could be opening a massive can of worms here but I have to know. If they talked to her, this could be my golden ticket back to a life of solitude. As long as I handle this carefully, I can break things up in the least damaging way possible.

    ¡°Why do you ask that? Do you think that you¡¯re a bother to me?¡±

    Answering a question with a question is a great passive deflection that puts me in the driver¡¯s seat. Let¡¯s see where this goes.

    Delilah tensed up even more. While the whole point of catching up to him was to find out what the real reason behind that confrontation was, being faced with a question that would force her hand into it made her think twice if it was such a good idea. She quickly weighed her options but remembered her determination when it came to learning how to draw. Sebastian was her inspiration and she made both a vow to get better and to support him as his friend. With that conviction suddenly renewed, she decided to just go for it.

    ¡°I¡­ followed you at lunch thinking that maybe I could help you with your friend and¡­ I overheard everything that happened¡­ I just wondered if maybe I was being a bother to you this entire time.¡±

    Wait¡­ she was there!? So, Bryce and the others didn¡¯t talk to her at all? Granted that I didn¡¯t say anything that would hint towards her being a bother to me but I did say that I would drop her where she stood if she got on my bad side. No wonder she thinks that she¡¯s pestering me. I mean, she is but do I just bite the bullet and tell her the truth? This is that proverbial golden platter I¡¯ve been waiting for. All I have to do is speak my mind and I can end things right here and now!

    It¡¯s just that¡­ It¡¯s just that¡­. ARGH! WHY CAN¡¯T I BRING MYSELF TO DO IT!? IT¡¯S RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF ME! SO, WHY!? WHY CAN¡¯T I SAY IT!?

    ¡°Ah¡­ I can understand why you would think that. I guess I said some things that would give you that impression but¡­ I assure you that you¡¯re not a bother to me. I do enjoy being your friend.¡±

    ¡°Do you mean that?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    ¡°So, I can keep hanging out with you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you can.¡±

    When she heard those words, her face lit up as if all of the tension had washed away. When she looked into Sebastian¡¯s eyes, she saw that same kind of gentleness that she had always seen with him. Even though she already got her answer, there was still something else she wanted to know about.

    ¡°Sebastian¡­ It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t believe you or anything as you¡¯ve always been kind to me but¡­ if I ever did get on your bad side for some reason, what did you mean when you said that you would drop me where I stood?¡±

    Yeah. There¡¯s no way in hell that I¡¯m opening up to you like this¡­

    ¡°To be honest, that¡¯s a more loaded question than you think it is. I¡¯m sorry but it¡¯s not something I¡¯m ready to talk about; however, what I said was out of anger for something that happened between Bryce and myself some time ago. It was said in the heat of the moment and now that I¡¯m more calm and rational, I regret saying something like that. I¡¯m sorry if I made you worry.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­ I kind of figured that but I wasn¡¯t sure. I¡¯m glad to know that you¡¯re not going to drop-kick me off the side of a bridge or anything, haha. I can respect the fact that something happened and it¡¯s not easy to talk about it but¡­ I also want you to know that I truly want to be your friend so if you ever want to confide anything in me or get something off your chest, I¡¯d be more than happy to listen; however¡­ I want it to be on your terms. I won¡¯t pester you about it.¡±

    ¡°T-Thanks¡­ I appreciate that.¡±

    After their talk, they walked home together until Sebastian made it to his street. He bid her farewell and headed off to his house. When he arrived, he closed the door behind him but suddenly, he fell up against it and slid down into a seated position, his backpack falling to the side in the process. He pulled his knees close up to his chest and placed his head between them.

    ¡°Confide in you? Why¡­ Why do you care so much about me? You have no reason to be there for me. You¡¯ve known me for less than a week so why?¡±

    Sebastian leaned against the door, the back of his head thumped against its cold, metal exterior. He let out an exhaustive sigh and stared across his living room, taking in the sight of everything as if he were analyzing things.

    ¡°Ever since the first day you talked to me, I¡¯ve wished for nothing more than for you to disappear. You became a disruption of the life that I had crafted for myself¡­ a life where I could be happy. No matter how hard I try to bring out my true feelings, I can¡¯t¡­ not with you. What the hell is so special about you to where I can¡¯t make you disappear? I can¡¯t find the strength to say the words that I want to say. Every time I try, the opposite comes out of my mouth¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not who I used to be. I killed that version of myself so long ago. I am not the Sebastian Saje I once was, and yet, every single time I try to finish off my past self, he resurfaces, and because of such, I¡¯m locked into a friendship with you. A friendship I don¡¯t want¡­ At least, that¡¯s what I keep telling myself. I¡¯m beginning to think I¡¯m just lying to myself as a form of protection¡­¡±

    ¡°What am I trying to protect myself from? The life I have now is perfect. It¡¯s the one true thing that I can trust because everything is black and white. There¡¯s not a single gray area here, not one single outlier that can ruin it¡­ except you and you¡¯ve been doing a marvelous job of it so far. Just like the life I have crafted, severing you from it should be just as black and white but it¡¯s not.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s time I realize the lie I¡¯ve been telling myself. The me from the past isn¡¯t dead and he still yearns for acceptance; however, just because I recognize that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m willing to accept it. I don¡¯t need to put my trust in someone else ever again. I don¡¯t need that so-called comfort of friendship. I only need myself. I just need to find a way to deliver that message without crushing her feel¡­¡±

    Sebastian hesitated for but a moment as he realized that his sympathy toward Delilah was that old self of his leaking out once more.

    ¡°...ings. NO! THIS IS THE PROBLEM! THIS IS WHAT¡¯S WRONG WITH THIS ENTIRE SITUATION! I KILLED YOU! STOP CARING SO MUCH FOR SOME RANDOM GIRL WHO IS TAKING EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME!¡±

    Sebastian gripped the sides of his head, digging his fingers into his blond hair, his eyes wincing from pain both physical and mental. Suddenly, his vision became a bit fuzzy. What followed was nothing but darkness. A small light began to illuminate; however, the brighter it got, it turned to a color of crimson. Beyond the crimson veil stood the silhouette of a man who looked as if he were raising his arm. As it came crashing down, everything returned to normal.

    A tear or two escaped from the corner of his eye as his breathing became a bit shallow and labored. Nervously, he reached into his pocket and gripped a solid object. He pulled it out to reveal a bottle of pills. He opened the bottle and placed one into his mouth where he used his saliva to force it down his throat.

    He sat there with his eyes closed for a good twenty minutes as he waited for the pill¡¯s effects to kick in. Slowly, his emotional tenseness subsided. He opened his eyes slightly and that¡¯s when the pressure was relieved and the tears began to flow out like a downpour. It didn¡¯t take long for his eyes to puff up and become stained with a light hue of pink. His breathing altered to taking in quick puffs between each teardrop as his heart began to ache.

    ¡°I¡­ couldn¡¯t control it this time¡­ I needed to use them¡­¡± he said as he wiped the tears away. ¡°This is all her fault¡­ All she had to do was pick someone else to talk to. She could have had anyone in the class but she picked me. I¡­ I can¡¯t do this anymore. One way or another¡­ this has to come to an end¡­¡±

    Sebastian stood up and grabbed his backpack. He slowly meandered into his room where he shut the door behind him. Normally, he would do his homework and then jump straight into a gaming session; however, this time, it was different. He dropped his backpack at the foot of his bed and fell face-first into it. He grabbed a pillow, pulled it under his head, and buried his face within it as if he were attempting to muffle the world around him.

    ¡°I just wish the world would leave me alone¡­¡±

 A Simple Invitation

    The final day of the week had arrived. Sebastian tossed and turned all night long and didn¡¯t get much sleep. In a rare occurrence, he was jolted awake by the screeching tones of his alarm clock. He slammed the button as hard as he could to silence its incessant wailing.

    He dragged himself out of bed and after a quick shower, shambled to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. He opted for a serving of whole oats cereal and a piece of multi-grain toast with a smear of peanut butter. He didn¡¯t exactly deviate from his choice of foods all that often. He figured that if it was serviceable one day, it would be serviceable the next. So as long as he didn¡¯t have to choke it down, he was fine with a routine.

    He scoured the fridge for anything that he could use for lunch. Last night, despite not being a vegan, his mother made a vegan lasagna where the soffrito was paired with a passata along with cauliflower and celeriac to form a vegan ragu bolognese. She layered that with sheets of sliced celeriac in place of pasta and topped it with a bechamel sauce and hard Italian vegan cheese. Any veggie lover would probably die for this dish but Sebastian nearly gagged and wanted nothing to do with it ever again.

    With that option out the window, he gave up and made the tried-and-true peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He grabbed a sandwich bag and filled it with dill-flavored cashews along with a bottle of water. With that, his lunch was prepared. All that was left to do was to head to school and finish out the week but that was easier said than done.

    Even though everything had been routine thus far, Sebastian was hesitant to step out the back door and begin his trek. The way he broke down yesterday still weighed heavily on his mind. The realization of Delilah being a friend to him instilled within him a fear that rattled him to his core. He was afraid that everything that had happened to him in the past would happen again. It was an experience that he didn¡¯t want to go through for the third time in his life.

    It was the only thing holding him back. Nothing else about school¡­ not even Bryce, Kayla, and Shiloh¡­ bothered him. It was that inevitable interaction with Delilah, the feigning of pleasantries that he constantly exchanged with her, and the fact that he couldn¡¯t bring himself to stop that gave him pause. Eventually, he realized that he couldn¡¯t just skip school without due cause and figured that since it was Friday, all he had to do was survive this one day and the weekend would be all his to unwind and set things back in order. With a heavy sigh, he passed through the back door and began his journey.

    When he arrived at the classroom, Delilah was already there; however, she didn¡¯t look as fresh and bright as she normally did. As Sebastian took his seat, he waited for her to wish him a good morning as she had always done but, instead, he was met with silence.

    Hmm¡­ this is odd. Is she not saying good morning because she¡¯s afraid the others might hear her? Only Kayla is here so far so I don¡¯t think it would be too much of an issue but still¡­ I¡¯ll take the peace and quiet so whatever her reason is, it¡¯s good enough for me.

    Despite thinking that, he was curious as to why she had remained so quiet. When he glanced at her through his peripheral vision, he soon discovered the reason.

    She¡¯s asleep!? I thought she drank cappuccinos and did stretching to give herself energy in the morning. Why would someone like her be asleep if she did all that? More importantly, what reason did she have to skip it today because nobody who drank caffeine would be passed out like this? Hold on a second¡­ why do I even care? This is perfect because I don¡¯t have to hear her ask me a bunch of stupid questions. I can just sit here and stare out the window like I used to.

    Sebastian felt a strain come over his eyes from focusing too hard on his peripheral vision. He blinked a couple of times and turned his head away to look out the window. That¡¯s when he noticed that the skies were filling up with light gray clouds¡­ his favorite atmosphere.

    Not only do I get to have peace and quiet but it looks like it¡¯s going to be a cold and dreary day. A perfect bookend for my week, if you ask me.

    As he took in the ¡°beauty¡± of an overcast sky, he felt a slight tug on his shirt sleeve. When he looked over, Delilah had woken, her eyes still half shut. He did his best to hide any external signs that he was quite disappointed with this situation; however, he was cursing up a storm on the inside.

    ¡°Whatcha looking at?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Nothing in particular. Just staring out the window. Why did you skip your cappuccino this morning?¡±

    ¡°Ah, you caught me sleeping. I guess I made it pretty obvious, haha. I was just up late last night practicing something and I almost overslept. I didn¡¯t have time to make one.¡±

    ¡°What were you practicing?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ something. Not ready to talk about it yet.¡±

    Those words jolted Sebastian as they were the very same words he had said to her yesterday when it came to what happened between himself and Bryce. While it probably wasn¡¯t anything significant, he still couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of that discussion¡­ the very same one that triggered his breakdown. It stunned him so much that he just continued to stare at Delilah without saying a word. She noticed the deadpan stare and took out a small, portable mirror.

    ¡°Do I have something on my face?¡± she remarked as she gave herself the once over. Her words were enough to snap Sebastian out of it and he quickly apologized.

    ¡°Ah, sorry. I suddenly just thought of something and I kind of got lost in my head there for a moment. I didn¡¯t mean to stare at you like that.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind if it¡¯s you¡­¡± she said under her breath. It was meant to be barely audible but Sebastian heard it loud and clear. He pretended not to notice it though as he didn¡¯t want to make the situation any more awkward than it already was but it didn¡¯t stop him from analyzing what she just said.

    So, this confirms my suspicions. No mere friend would mutter something like that. She has a crush on me. That¡¯s fine, though. Crush on me all you want, your feelings are never going to get returned. You¡¯re lucky that we¡¯ve even gone this far. But, now that I know that, I can set myself up to prevent this relationship from going to the next level. The only thing I have to figure out is the execution of it. Thanks for letting me know, idiot.

    Before he could ponder about a way to let her know that he wasn¡¯t interested, the morning bell rang. With it being the end of the week, the school decided to make the students earn their weekend. Sebastian had an exam in almost every subject but the nice tradeoff was that he didn¡¯t receive a single homework assignment. That meant a weekend filled with gaming was in store for him and that brought about a smile to his face.

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    When the lunch bell rang, Sebastian hesitated for a second as he fully expected Delilah to ask if she could join him. When she didn¡¯t, he looked over at her as if to ask ¡°Well? Do you want to go?¡± She took notice and slowly shook her head ¡®no¡¯ before twitching it in the direction of the trio that caused him so many problems yesterday. She also mouthed the word ¡®sorry¡¯ but smiled to let him know that it was okay. He simply smiled back at her and gathered his things. As he left, he made sure to keep a side eye on them to see if they had plans to corner him again. When they stayed put, he breathed a sigh of relief and headed to the storeroom to enjoy his lunch in peace.

    The little spot he cleared out was still untouched. He tucked himself away behind the boxes and took out his lunch along with his sketchbook. He put pencil to paper and began sketching a new character but suddenly, he found himself unable to concentrate. Delilah¡¯s actions to leave him be was for his benefit. Coupled with the fact that he clearly heard her say something that strongly hinted at her having feelings for him, it rattled him to the point where drawing something was becoming nearly impossible.

    He tried to clear his mind and start over but he just couldn¡¯t bring himself to do anything. Her words today, the events from yesterday, his anger and frustrations, all of it replayed in his head like a highlight reel. His emotions began to flare and he tensed up. Suddenly, his fatigue from the lack of sleep last night began to catch up to him, and a sharp pain developed in his head. He had given himself a stress headache and he didn¡¯t have any aspirin to relieve it.

    Even sitting there in the dark was a chore. On top of the headache, a knot formed in his stomach as the thought of her possibly wanting to be his girlfriend made him feel uneasy and slightly nauseous. That same hesitation from this morning that prevented him from leaving for school returned only this time, it was his lack of desire to return to class and sit next to her. Sebastian decided to pack up his things and end his lunch early. He got up and made sure the coast was clear before emerging from the storeroom.

    The next place he headed to was the nurse¡¯s office. He explained how he felt and asked if he could lay down and rest. The nurse offered up a bed for him and drew a curtain to give him some privacy. The bed was rather uncomfortable but it beat having to go back to class and sit next to Delilah. Despite the rock-hard nature of the mattress, Sebastian closed his eyes and ended up falling asleep.

    When the final bell for lunch rang, Delilah noticed that Sebastian hadn¡¯t come back. Kayla, Bryce, and Shiloh; however, did return and they looked as if they were a little happier than usual. When she noticed this, her mind raced to an inaccurate conclusion. Both worry for Sebastian and anger for them mixed inside of her body but as class had begun, there was nothing that she could do about it. Then again, she wasn¡¯t even entirely sure if her suspicions even happened.

    About an hour later, Sebastian woke up from his nap. His headache had vanished thanks to some pills the nurse gave him and his stomach was no longer tied in a knot. While he wished that he could lay there all day, he knew that the nurse wouldn¡¯t allow it. Since he was feeling better, he had to return to class. He let the nurse know his condition improved and thanked her for letting him rest.

    He grabbed his things and headed back to class with a note in hand. When he arrived, everyone was in the middle of a test. He handed the note to his teacher who acknowledged it and handed Sebastian a test booklet. He informed him that there was still plenty of time to finish. While Sebastian internally groaned, he simply thanked the teacher and took his seat.

    Delilah became distracted by his return. She wanted to know what happened so badly but since they were in the middle of class, and an exam no less, she figured that she could just ask him after school.

    Sebastian didn¡¯t finish in time but due to his circumstances, the teacher allowed him an extra couple of minutes. He only had a few questions left anyway which didn¡¯t take him long to answer. Meanwhile, Delilah remained quiet until the final bell and decided to employ the same strategy as yesterday. Rather than asking to walk home with him, she was just going to do it.

    When Sebastian left, she did, too. Unlike yesterday, she wasn¡¯t going to try and run to catch up with him. Instead, she walked with him side-by-side through the halls. When they got to the front gate, she opened up the conversation.

    ¡°Everything okay with you? You were late coming back from lunch.¡±

    ¡°I felt sick. Must have had something to do with this vegan lasagna my mother made last night. I went to the nurse¡¯s office to lay down and after a quick nap, I felt better.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know your mother was vegan.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not. She just likes the recipe. Needless to say, that makes one of us.¡±

    ¡°No disrespect to vegans but I¡¯m a meat-eater. I don¡¯t think I could imagine my life without some fried chicken in it, haha. But, I¡¯m glad that you¡¯re feeling better. You should give me the recipe so I know how to recognize and avoid it!¡±

    Despite her little quip, Sebastian didn¡¯t laugh. He wasn¡¯t in a laughing mood with the number of things on his mind. The fact that he didn¡¯t so much as smirk made her wonder if she had said something wrong.

    ¡°So, how about all of those exams? I think we only had two classes that didn¡¯t give us one but, at least there¡¯s no homework, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯ll be nice not to worry about having to do homework over the weekend.¡±

    ¡°How do you think you did on your exams?¡±

    ¡°Fine, I guess. Exams never really bothered me. Things come naturally so I don¡¯t have to do much in the way of studying. I guess you could call it an eidetic memory. It¡¯s like I can see the words on the page whenever I try to recall something.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah? Well, don¡¯t look at me and tell me what I¡¯m wearing right now!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s easy. You¡¯re wearing a black t-shirt with two white outlines of some pistols with roses coming out of their barrels with a banner underneath that has the name of a popular band written in stenciled letters and ripped dark blue jeans. You also decided to wear a navy blue headband in your hair.¡±

    ¡°WOW! That¡¯s amazing considering that you haven¡¯t looked at me much today and¡­ OH! I didn¡¯t mean to make it sound like that! But still¡­ here¡¯s a tough one! What color are my socks?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t typically look at people¡¯s ankles.¡±

    ¡°Well, here¡­ I¡¯ll let you cheat this one time.¡±

    She pulled up her pant leg and revealed a pair of plain black socks. He played along and glanced down, taking note of them. She giggled a bit and then tried to guess what color socks he was wearing.

    ¡°Well, you make it hard for me to see yours but I¡¯m going to guess white. For some reason, I think of you as a white sock guy! Besides, white socks would go well with your gray sneakers and khaki pants!¡±

    Sebastian pulled up his pant leg and revealed a pair of navy blue socks. Delilah snapped her fingers and pouted over the fact that she guessed wrong.

    ¡°Well look at you being all fancy with your unconventional sock color, although, I guess gray and navy blue go well together as do navy blue and khaki. I think you¡¯re more color-coordinated than I¡¯m giving you credit for!¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ thanks?¡±

    ¡°Haha.¡±

    By now, Delilah had broken the ice. There was something else on her mind but she didn¡¯t know how to approach the subject. Now that her nerves were calmed from her little banter session, she decided to take the plunge

    ¡°So, um¡­ since we don¡¯t have any homework and you¡¯re going on your trip tomorrow, would you maybe like to come over and hang out at my house today?¡±

    My trip? What in the hell is she talking¡­ Oh, wait. I made up a story about visiting that unholy piece of shit that I loosely refer to as my father just so I could avoid having to spend time with her this weekend. Well, if I¡¯m supposedly going on this so-called trip, then I guess that I supposedly have to pack for it, too, right? It seems like the perfect excuse to drive a dagger of rejection straight through her stupid black-sock-wearing heart.

    ¡°I¡¯d love to but I can¡¯t. Sadly, I¡¯m the type of person who, except for homework, puts things off until the last minute so I have a few chores I need to do and pack to get ready. I¡¯d still like to come by one day, though. I¡¯m just sorry that I can¡¯t make it today.¡±

    ¡°Oh! That¡¯s fine! It¡¯s an important trip so you do need to prepare properly for it! I¡¯ll take the raincheck and maybe we can hang out next week or something?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to keep my schedule open.¡±

    ¡°Sweet!¡±

    When they got to Sebastian¡¯s street, they said their goodbyes; however, Delilah stopped and called back out to him.

    ¡°Hey! Just so you know, I live over on Circle Drive. 4265, to be exact! I just realized that I never told you that so if you ever want to come over, now you know where I live!¡±

    ¡°Cool, thanks.¡±

    ¡°Have a safe trip! See ya when you get back!¡±

    She turned around with a smile and a bit of pep in her step and headed on her way. Sebastian stood there and watched her leave until she disappeared. He shook his head as if he were dispelling certain thoughts and let out a sigh.

    I¡¯ll take a raincheck¡­ great. I just set myself up for a nightmare next week. Why did I tell her that I would love to hang out? That couldn¡¯t be further from the truth! Am I really that desperate? No, I shouldn¡¯t be. I shouldn¡¯t be looking to try my luck with so-called friendship again, and yet, here I am doing just that because I just can¡¯t stop myself. I am a pathetic mess, aren¡¯t I?

    Sebastian entered his home, the door closing behind him. All he had to do was stay inside and remain hidden all weekend and his lie would have been perfectly executed. However, what was about to happen was something he wasn¡¯t prepared for.

 Nightmares and Memories

    After school, Sebastian engaged in playing video games deep into the night. He just had to get it out of his system as this was one of the things he had been looking forward to all week. By the time he wrapped things up, it was close to 1 a.m. That¡¯s when the lack of sleep from the previous night caught up to him and he couldn¡¯t stay awake any further. He was in the middle of an Omega Man VII run when he felt his eyes getting heavier and heavier as each second passed.

    As he lay on his stomach, he closed his eyes for one final time. The controller dropped to the floor and he went face-first into the mattress. Just like that, he was out like a light.

    When Sebastian opened his eyes, things seemed a bit different. Surrounded by an eerie darkness, he heard muffled voices around him as if he were underwater. Suddenly, his vision slowly returned and he found himself inside a classroom. The other students around him couldn¡¯t have been older than five or six. None of the other kids seemed to pay him any sort of mind; however, there were three who looked to have a keen interest in him.

    The three approached him wearing nothing but smiles. Their faces had no other features as their eyes were hidden by the darkness of a shadow The boy leaned forward and extended his hand toward him.

    ¡°Hey, Sebastian! We¡¯re going to play some kickball! Do you want to join us?¡±

    Suddenly, Sebastian¡¯s vision began to blur; however, the last thing he could see was his hand reaching out and grabbing the boy¡¯s. Soon after that, his world had returned to darkness and the muffled voices returned. Sebastian strained as hard as he could to make out what they were saying but the more he tried to tune in, the more his hearing became fragmented. It wasn¡¯t until he relaxed and stopped trying that things came more into focus.

    His vision returned once again; however, the scenery had changed. It was a bright and sunny day as Sebastian found himself walking down the sidewalk, the backs of those same three children, now older, in front of him. The boy turned around and wore a smile as bright as the sun itself.

    ¡°Sebastian! We¡¯re going to my house after school to read the new comic books we bought! You should come and bring yours with you!¡±

    ¡°Aw, I want to but my mom says that we have something to do today.¡±

    ¡°Again?¡± said a girl with fiery red hair and green eyes. ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped.¡±

    Just as before, Sebastian¡¯s world blurred; however, it returned nearly instantaneously. It was the same sidewalk, and the same three kids; however, the skies were overcast as a few cool droplets of rain graced Sebastian¡¯s cheek.

    ¡°Sebastian? What about him? We don¡¯t need him,¡± said the boy. ¡°He was convenient for a while but not anymore. Once you¡¯re done using something, you just throw it in the trash, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s mean, Bryce but I¡¯d be lying if I said that it wasn¡¯t true,¡± said the girl with the red hair. ¡°He was pretty convenient to have around.¡±

    ¡°Well, we had each other before we met him and we still have each other now,¡± said the girl with long black hair and blue eyes. ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, he was just a speedbump we all went over.¡±

    ¡°Sebastian the Speedbump. It¡¯s got a nice ring to it,¡± said the boy as he snickered to himself. ¡°What do you think, Sebastian? Does that nickname suit you? I think it does because all you ever did was slow us down!¡±

    The boy looked back at him, the bright smile was replaced with a sinister sneer; however, the next words he spoke carried with them a heavier weight.

    ¡°Man, you sure were annoying, weren¡¯t you?¡±

    As soon as Bryce said the word annoying, a searing pain jolted through Sebastian¡¯s skull. His world became like static on a television screen. Through the pixelated snow, a silhouette of a man appeared before him, his voice scrambled at first but became clearer and deeper with every word muttered until four familiar words rang true.

    ¡°You sure are annoying!¡±

    The voice was gruff and filled with venom. When Sebastian focused his vision, the world filled itself in almost as if a simulation were piecing it together. Suddenly, he was back home but his body felt light and weak. Standing over him was a man who looked as if he hadn¡¯t shaved in a month with scruffy blonde hair and breath that reeked of alcohol.

    ¡°You hear me, boy? I said you¡¯re annoying the shit out of me! How many times are you going to bug me to play with you? I don¡¯t want to play with you! Hell, I didn¡¯t even want you, to begin with so STOP ASKING ME!¡±

    Sebastian could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. Before his father turned away, he stopped and noticed one escape and roll down his cheek. It felt as cold as the rain and sent a shiver down the ladder of his spine.

    ¡°What? You cryin¡¯ now? You better keep that mouth of yours shut. I don¡¯t want to hear you wailing. Gives me a damn headache every time.¡±

    Of course, Sebastian couldn¡¯t hold his emotions back anymore and began to cry loudly. His father pinched the bridge of his nose as he paced back and forth as if he were searching for an answer.

    ¡°That¡¯s it. You¡¯ve annoyed me for the last time you little shit. YOU WANT TO PLAY WITH DADDY? LET¡¯S PLAY!¡±

    His father reached down and gripped his shirt tightly. Sebastian felt himself get yanked up to his feet. The next thing he knew, he felt his feet leave the ground, the sensation of flying through the air could be felt from head to toe. As the tears cleared from his eyes, all Sebastian could see was the floor getting closer and closer by the second. Soon, his face scraped against it, the air driven out of his tiny body from the impact.

    When he turned over, his father had already positioned himself over him. He tried to cry again but only squeaks and wheezes escaped from his mouth.

    ¡°DON¡¯T YOU DARE START AGAIN, YOU HEAR ME?¡±

    Suddenly, he felt a blinding jolt across the left side of his face. The sting from his father¡¯s open palm reverberated throughout his entire head. At that point, a ringing in his left ear took command until he felt the same sensation on the right side of his head. Again, that floating sensation returned; however, two heavy jolts in succession caused him to be unaware of what was happening. Soon, he felt himself flying through the air once again; however, this time, he felt the side of his head smack against something solid.

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    A warm sensation engulfed the right side of his head as if the cold rain had been heated by flame. The only thing he could hear were muffled voices, all of them shouting at one another. He tried to open his eyes but could only muster the strength to open the left one. Sebastian¡¯s vision was completely obscured by fog and haze; however, he could make out flashing lights of blue, white, and red. The voices, while muffled, got louder and louder until a loud bang was heard and suddenly, there was nothing but silence.

    Sebastian closed his eye and his world faded to black. When it opened again, he sat next to his mother who was dressed in her Sunday best. She wore a business suit that seemed to magically shift between gray and black. No matter what color she wore, she turned her head and smiled at him, muttering the same words that sounded a bit broken and echoed.

    ¡°Everything is going to be okay, now!¡±

    The world scrambled and pieced itself back together. This time, it looked to be inside of a hospital. His mother was at his bedside where he could feel the warmth of her hand. With tears in her eyes, she muttered those same words with pain in her voice.

    ¡°Everything is going to be okay, now¡­¡±

    Again, the world scrambled and he found himself back home, standing at the front door. He looked at his mother who was down on her hands and knees scrubbing a blood stain out of the carpet. She looked up at him with a bright smile.

    ¡°See? Everything¡¯s going to be okay, now!¡±

    Sebastian felt a sudden pain in his head. When he reached up and touched the right side, he felt a warm, wet substance. When he pulled his hand away, it was covered in blood. Everything except for the blood on his hand became monochromatic. His mother had disappeared but he heard her voice behind him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but he¡¯s not okay right now. Some other time, maybe.¡±

    When Sebastian turned around, he saw Bryce, Kayla, and Shiloh standing there looking to be around eleven in age. Bryce peeked around his mother and showed him that sinister grin that he had before.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. We didn¡¯t need him anyway. We¡¯ve never needed him. It¡¯s probably better this way, right Sebastian?¡±

    Bryce snickered before he ordered Kayla and Shiloh to leave. As they did, he turned his attention to the front window and watched them walk away, the cold droplets of rain fell against the glass, eventually distorting them from view. He felt a hand on his shoulder that filled him with warmth and comfort.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sebastian. Everything is going to be okay.¡±

    When he heard those words, the rain stopped and the sun peeked through. A cool breeze washed over him; however, the wind picked up in intensity. So much so that it blew Sebastian¡¯s world away. Once the winds calmed, he found himself outside of school standing there alongside Bryce, Kayla, and Shiloh. Bryce turned his head to Sebastian with a bright smile. This time, it was Sebastian who spoke up.

    ¡°Hey! They have a new game at the arcade! Want to check it out after school?¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± answered Bryce with enthusiasm. ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to go check it out. We should all go together!¡±

    Suddenly, the school¡¯s bell rang. It jolted Sebastian¡¯s mind to where he had to cover his ears to stop the ringing from getting any worse. Once it faded Sebastian found himself outside once again. This time, he was staring down at the screen of his phone. There was a text message on the screen from Bryce that read Sorry. We¡¯ll have to go some other time. My mother said I needed to come home right away.

    When Sebastian looked up from his phone, he suddenly found himself in front of the arcade. Inside, Bryce, Kayla, and Shiloh were huddled around an arcade cabinet  It appeared as if Bryce was good at the game as many kids were placing their quarters on the screen to indicate that they wanted to be the next challenger. However, Bryce¡¯s skill wasn¡¯t the thing that Sebastian was focused on. He suddenly realized that he had lied to him in that text message. Sebastian headed to the mall that day anyway because he figured that he could check the game out himself and then tell Bryce and the others about it but when he arrived, this was the situation that he had discovered.

    Soon, it began to rain outside. Each drop plummeted against the roof of the mall producing a thunderous noise as if the drums of war had been called for. Soon, a bright flash filled the entirety of the mall followed by an immediate ear-piercing crash of thunder. A deep voice then bellowed through his ears.

    You sure are annoying.

    YOU WANT TO PLAY? LET¡¯S PLAY

    It¡¯s fine. We don¡¯t need him anyway.

    Once you¡¯re done using something, you throw it in the trash, right?

    Sebastian began to chuckle to himself, his eyes widened, exposing his shrinking pupils. He licked his lips as his mouth formed a sinister grin.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Everything is going to be okay¡­¡± he muttered to himself.

    Another bright flash of lightning filled the mall; however, it also erased the world around Sebastian. When it pieced itself back together, he had Bryce cornered up against the brick wall in the school¡¯s back parking lot. The sun was bright, the air was clear, and a cool breeze flowed through his hair.

    ¡°Say, Bryce? You want to go check out that game at the arcade today?¡±

    ¡°Maybe some other time. Shiloh invited us over to her house today. To be honest, I¡¯d invite you but every time you do, you don¡¯t seem to want to hang out with us anymore. If I¡¯m being honest, I¡¯m starting to think that you don¡¯t care about us¡­.¡±

    Suddenly, the cool breeze gave way to a cold wind. The very leaves on the trees instantly rotted and fell to the ground. The sun became blotted out by dark gray clouds as drops of rain began to fall once again.

    ¡°...so, we decided that we¡¯re going to stop caring about you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I noticed. That¡¯s why you went and played that game yesterday after you sent me that text message.¡±

    ¡°So, you were there after all, huh? Then I guess there¡¯s no reason to hide it anymore. That¡¯s such a huge relief, you know? Pretending to care about you this entire time was such a chore. We let you into our group but you were just so annoying, Sebastian!¡±

    Sebastian couldn¡¯t hold back anymore. He lunged in and slammed his fist straight into Bryce¡¯s face. He did it again and again and again. With each thunderous smack, Bryce¡¯s face became covered in more and more blood. Sebastian could hear Shiloh and Kayla screaming at him from behind but their words were muffled and indiscernable. Suddenly, he felt a hand grab his shoulder, the fingers digging into his skin. Without thinking, Sebastian spun around and the backside of his fist plunged straight into Kayla¡¯s face.

    The force of the impact knocked her to the ground. She instantly covered her face as blood gushed from her nose.

    ¡°WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?¡± screamed Shiloh.

    Suddenly, the storm dissipated and the world returned to full color. Sebastian took a step back with a look of horror as he couldn¡¯t believe what he had done. His back bumped up against the school wall and that¡¯s when he felt something heavy press against his left leg. When he looked down, he saw Bryce slumped over in a bloody mess. Suddenly, his heart began to race. He looked around at the carnage that he caused.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ just¡­ I didn¡¯t¡­ I¡­¡±

    Sebastian took off running as fast as he could. As he ran away, his mind began to process everything.

    What did I do? What the hell did I just do? My friends¡­ I just¡­. No¡­ they weren¡¯t my friends but¡­ they were my friends! I did this because they turned their backs on me! Yes, I did this because they didn¡¯t want anything to do with me! They¡¯re just as rotten as my father was! They got what they deserved¡­. Right? Did they? Am I mistaken? No, I¡¯m not! They should have taken me with them! They didn¡¯t want me to go! They are the ones who abandoned me! I¡¯ve noticed it ever since that day! Yes¡­ that day when everything started but why? Why did you do it? It doesn¡¯t matter¡­ it never mattered. Everything I¡¯ve ever had in life hasn¡¯t mattered. To hell with this. To hell with all of it. From here on out, I¡¯m done with having friends! No one is ever going to hurt me again! That way I¡¯ll never have to hurt another friend¡­ NO! THEY WEREN¡¯T MY FRIENDS! THEY NEVER WERE!

    A blinding pain surged through Sebastian¡¯s mind. He fell to his knees and gripped the sides of his head.

    Make it stop. Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!

    As he thought that, he felt the presence of someone else. Someone who gave off the gentle scent of lilac. When he looked up, there was a girl with black hair and eyes of amber. She smiled as she reached out with her hand.

    ¡°No¡­ stay away. I¡¯ll only hurt you¡­¡±

    The hand got closer and closer but as it did, Sebastian kicked his feet into the pavement to push himself further and further away.

    ¡°NO! STOP! I don¡¯t need you! I don¡¯t want this! WHY WON¡¯T YOU LISTEN TO ME! JUST GO AWAY!¡±

    Sebastian couldn¡¯t back up anymore. He found himself pressed up against a utility pole. The hand and the girl continued to close the distance between them. Sebastian shut his eyes tightly until he felt a warm embrace warp around him. When he opened his eyes, the girl had finished hugging him. When she pulled away, she looked right into his eyes and smiled.

    ¡°Everything is okay now because you¡¯re my friend.¡±

    All Sebastian could do was stare into her eyes. A soothing feeling filled his entire body. When he looked up, all of the gray clouds shattered like glass giving way to a bright and sunny sky. The cool breeze had returned and the ground instantly became dry from any rain that had fallen.

    ¡°See? Isn¡¯t this a beautiful day?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yeah¡­¡± he said as he felt the tears well up in his eyes.

    Back in reality, Sebastian continued to lay there on his bed face down on the mattress. His dreams reflected reality as tears poured out of the sides of his closed eyes, glistening in the light of a burning screen on the other side of the room.

    What did all of this mean?

 A Change of Heart

    While the tears flowed, they didn¡¯t last forever. When Sebastian opened his eyes, he saw his room illuminated by the sun. He went to swing his legs over the side of his bed but even in his groggy state, he knew that something felt off. That¡¯s when he remembered that he had fallen asleep face down while playing video games. His console was still on the Game Over screen from when he died in the middle of the night.

    He slowly repositioned himself and sat on the edge of his bed. The first thing that he did was he meandered over to the television and powered down his console. He plopped back down on the bed and began to massage his temple as he had a bit of a headache.

    At first, he didn¡¯t exactly remember much of anything that happened; however, as the adrenaline kicked in and his body began to fully wake up, he started to remember the nightmare that plagued him. It almost seemed as if it were a fever dream with the way the events skipped from one to another; however, all of the events were real. They were his genuine memories that manifested themselves in the form of a dream. As he sat there, he reflected on the meaning of having that dream.

    ¡°For as long as Dad has been gone and for as long as that incident with Bryce, I never once had a nightmare or a dream about my past so why would my mind choose now of all times to resurface everything?¡¯

    As he sat there, he searched and searched his mind for an answer. The only conclusion that he could come to was the one change in his life since that fateful day back in middle school.

    ¡°She¡¯s been so kind to me. Granted, I¡¯ve been kind to her, too, but if only she heard my true thoughts, none of this would have been a problem. Despite my desire to push her away, I couldn¡¯t. Just like I could never admit to myself that the old Sebastian Saje is still alive and inside me right now.¡±

    As he muttered that, he began to get a bit choked up. His eyes began to water a bit until a single tear rolled down his cheek. The words he had been trying to hold back for so long finally came out of his mouth.

    ¡°And the old me wants to feel the embrace of a friend again¡­ I can¡¯t push her away because I truly want this more than anything¡­¡±

    When the words finally escaped his mouth, he completely broke down. He finally realized the personality that resided within him wasn¡¯t who he truly was. It was a shield he had put up so that he would never find himself in a situation where he would be hurt again. Now that he tasted true friendship, that shield began to crack.

    He wiped the tears away from his eyes and took a deep breath to clear his mind. The tears didn¡¯t stop immediately but they had begun to slow. For a moment, his mind went blank as he sat there and felt every emotion coursing through his body. It was like a tempest raging out of control as if every feeling he had ever felt swirled inside of him vying for control. Right now, he was at a crossroads and didn¡¯t know which direction to go. Even though he fully admitted that he wanted to know what it was like to have a friend again, he wasn¡¯t a hundred percent sold on taking the plunge.

    After everything that happened, no one could blame him for wanting to stay cautious. His own father wanted nothing to do with him. The people he thought were his friends had betrayed him for seemingly no reason at all. That¡¯s all he had known in life growing up so it was easy to understand why he thought the world was against him. Finally, his mind began to settle and it was as if a wave of clarity washed over him. He took another deep inhale and let it out.

    ¡°Is this something I truly want? Do I want to roll the dice again on so-called friendship?¡± he asked himself as he began to rub his chin in contemplation.

    ¡°On the one hand, if it works out, it could end up becoming the best thing that ever happened to me. After all, she went out of her way to talk to me. She¡¯s always asking me to hang out at lunch or on the way home from school. She seems interested in the things I do and what I have to say. I can¡¯t really detect any malice coming from her which is why I think it¡¯s been so hard to be mean to her. She¡¯s done nothing to deserve it at all.¡±

    ¡°On the other hand, if I fully accept her as a friend, I open myself up to becoming vulnerable. What if everything is fine at first but something happens and I take it the wrong way? What if I make plans with her and her parents force her to break it off because of a family outing or something? How would I react? Would I feel heartbroken because I think she¡¯s ditching me like Bryce did or would I understand that it¡¯s a totally normal thing that happens and there will always be a next time to hang out?¡±

    ¡°Another pro is that I¡¯ll finally have someone to bring home to Mom so she can stop pestering me about bringing home fake friends that don¡¯t even exist. Plus, she likes the same things I do so we could always hang out and watch anime or play video games together. I can finally share the things I love with another person without having to lie about it all the time.¡±

    ¡°Another con is that what if all of this ends up becoming temporary? I mean¡­ we are in high school and the percentage of people who actually stay in touch with each other once they graduate is shockingly low. It¡¯s something like maybe ten percent or less. If I accept her friendship, I¡¯ll have a couple of years, at best, of having someone to hang around with before she potentially disappears. Then, I¡¯ll be right back to square one as if all of my efforts were wasted. Is it worth the gamble to see if our friendship would be in the small percentage of those who remain together?¡±

    ¡°There are just way too many factors here. There are both benefits and detriments and I don¡¯t know which way I should go. But¡­ do I need to pick a path right away? Can¡¯t I just stay in one spot, observe things, and make a more informed decision? That might be the best course of action here. I think that¡¯s what I¡¯m going to do. I¡¯ll just ease myself into it as a way to test the waters and go from there. Although, I still like this nice and quiet life of mine. Another thing I wonder is if I will truly miss it if it disappears?¡±

    Sebastian headed out to get washed up and he noticed that the house was rather quiet. That¡¯s when he remembered that this was around the time his mother went grocery shopping. Given the time, she could be back at any moment. He did his best to get washed up quickly just in case. Sure enough, only a few minutes after getting out of the shower, she returned with a large trunk filled with food. He helped her bring in the groceries and even helped put them away. Afterward, he retreated to his room as per his custom.

    Sebastian spent the majority of his weekend playing more games. Rather than sticking to Omega Man, he opted to pass the time by diving into a few turn-based RPGs in the End of Fantasy series. His favorite was the ninth installment of the series because it came with a built-in speed run mode, per se. If you made it to a secret boss near the end of the game in twelve hours or less, you were rewarded with an insanely powerful sword for one of the strongest characters in the game. Sebastian loved to try and get the sword with each playthrough as he found it fun and challenging. Other times, he simply opted to go for a 100% completion run, minus the extra sword, of course.

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    When Monday came, he had enough time to think things over. He decided that he was going to follow through and ease into things to see where they took them. On the outside, it would seem as if nothing had changed since he had always projected himself to be kind and gentle. On the inside; however, that would be where the biggest changes would lie. That ¡®true voice,¡¯ as he called it would hopefully be suppressed to the point where he wouldn¡¯t have to hear it. All he knew was that he wanted to keep an open mind going into things.

    When he got to school, he noticed that Delilah hadn¡¯t arrived yet. Figuring that he was a bit early, he plopped down in his chair and began to set up. He glanced up at the clock and noticed that homeroom started in five minutes and she still hadn¡¯t arrived. One by one, his classmates filed in and took their seats, and yet, Delilah was not among them. Soon, the bell rang and her seat remained empty.

    Hmm¡­ where is she? It¡¯s only her second week here at school and she¡¯s already absent? I hope nothing happened to her over the weekend. If she doesn¡¯t show up late, maybe I can text her on my lunch break and¡­ oh wait. I don¡¯t have her contact information. I guess there goes that idea. I guess I¡¯ll just wait and see if she turns up for now.

    Homeroom passed and there was still no sign of her. The same was repeated for the first, second, and third periods. By the time the lunch bell rang, it was quite obvious that she wasn¡¯t coming in. Sebastian retreated to the storage room for lunch. As usual, he took out his sketchbook and tried to draw a new character. Just like on Friday, he was having difficulty concentrating. Last time, the stress and anger he had felt overcame his mind and sent him to the nurse¡¯s office. This time, he couldn¡¯t stop thinking about Delilah to the point where it was the only thing on his mind.

    What is happening to me? I mean¡­ I know what¡¯s happening to me but why am I so worried about her? Our friendship isn¡¯t at a stage where I should be this concerned about her. She¡¯s absent. She probably has a good reason for it or something. More than likely, she¡¯ll be back in tomorrow and I can just ask her. There¡¯s no reason for me to worry or obsess like this¡­ is there? Or is this a natural feeling that comes along with friendship? I mean, it¡¯s not like I ever experienced something like this before so¡­ ugh¡­ never mind. I¡¯m just going to eat my lunch and forget about drawing today.

    Sebastian did just that. He scarfed down his typical paltry lunch and headed back to class to finish out the rest of his day.

    The next day, he returned and Delilah was, once again, absent. One day was probably nothing but two in a row made him become really concerned. As the day progressed, he wondered if there was anything that he could do. After the final bell, he began to walk home and that¡¯s when it hit him.

    Wait¡­ last week she told me her address. She lives on Circle Drive which is the last street on the left after you go past Ambrose. It¡¯s only like an extra five-minute walk. I wonder if she would be okay with me stopping by? I guess there¡¯s only one way to find out, huh?

    Hold on. What am I doing!? I mean, I know that I decided to accept her friendship but I also said that I was going to ease into this whole thing. Taking the initiative and going over to her house isn¡¯t exactly easing into things. Maybe this isn¡¯t such a good idea, after all.

    Then again, I am kind of worried about her and it¡¯s the only way to find out what happened. I could just wait another day and see if she comes in tomorrow but what if she doesn¡¯t? Then I¡¯ll be even more worried than I am now. I guess I¡¯ll just head over there and see what¡¯s going on. It is the best option right now.

    Since he knew it was on the left-hand side of the road, he checked for traffic and then crossed over. He paid attention to the street signs and found the one that said Circle Drive. It was called that because the street had two entrances. The roads formed a large semi-circle, hence the reason for the name. Sebastian had no idea which side of the neighborhood Delilah¡¯s house was on but he was going to figure that out one way or another.

    He took the closer of the two streets and noticed the house numbers. They were in the 3000s and hers was 4265. That could only mean that her house was on the other street. Before he headed there, he glanced across the street to the other side and noticed that those house numbers were in the 4000s.

    I get it. So the houses on the inner part of the circle are numbered in the 3000s and the outer part is the 4000s. That makes it easy to figure out.

    Sebastian walked to the other side of the street and began to pay attention to the house numbers. It started with 4005 and went up in increments of ten from there. He figured that he had a bit to go before he would make it to her number. Despite the neighborhood being a giant half-circle, you couldn¡¯t even see the bend from the street¡¯s entrance. Sebastian had to walk quite the distance before he could see the bend and by the time that he did, he was only in the 4100s.

    I guess I should have gone down the other entrance after all. Looks like the 4200s are on that side. At least the exercise is doing me well.

    Sure enough, he made his way around the entirety of the half-circle to the other side. Finally, the houses hit the 4200s. As he walked past each one, he silently took note of their numbers

    4235¡­ 4245¡­ 4255¡­ and 4265¡­ we¡¯re here.

    Sebastian took note of the house. It was a tall two-story home that was pale yellow with white trim. There was no garage, just an empty driveway. He began to wonder if she was even home or if it just meant that her parents were at work. Regardless, he had come all this way so he figured that he would see it through.

    He walked up the stone walkway that led up to a set of three stone steps in front of a wooden porch. The walkway had seen better days and had several cracks and missing pieces in it. He had to be careful where he stepped so he wouldn¡¯t accidentally trip. With nerves surging through his body, he slowly reached out and pressed his finger against the doorbell but he didn¡¯t push it in yet. If he was going to change his mind and turn back, now would be the time to do it. Instead, he reaffirmed himself and pressed the button.

    He heard the sound echo throughout the house. Soon, he heard the thumping of footsteps get closer and closer until the door opened. On the other side of it was Delilah who looked a bit out of sorts. Her hair was slightly messy and she was only wearing an oversized black t-shirt and grey and white plaid boxer shorts; however, despite her appearance her face lit up when she saw Sebastian standing there.

    ¡°S-Sebastian!?¡±

    ¡°H-Hey¡­ I hope I¡¯m not bothering you or anything.¡±

    ¡°No! Not at all! Please, come in!¡± she said as she cleared her throat.

    He took her up on the offer and entered her home. He took a quick look around and noticed just how spacious it was. What he also noticed was that there were still a ton of moving boxes strewn everywhere.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind the mess. We moved in and still haven¡¯t decided where everything should go yet. My parents are pretty particular about those sorts of things. So¡­ what brings you here? I have to admit that this is quite the surprise.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­ you weren¡¯t at school so I was, you know¡­ just wondering and whatnot.¡±

    ¡°Wait. You came to check up on me?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yeah¡­¡±

    ¡°Aw, thanks!! You don¡¯t have anything to worry about, though. I just caught a minor cold over the weekend. I¡¯m already feeling better and I should be back at school tomorrow. Say, speaking of weekends, how was your trip to go see your father?¡±

    Yeah¡­ about that. I kind of want to tell her the truth but I¡¯m not sure how she¡¯s going to take it. Besides, if I tell her that I¡¯m just some messed up kid, she probably wouldn¡¯t want anything to do with me anymore. That¡¯s kind of funny how that was the goal this entire time and yet¡­ here I am wishing for the opposite.

    ¡°It was fine. I just hung around the house. He put me to work in the yard¡­ typical father/son stuff. Nothing special.¡±

    ¡°But at least you got some time to see him. I bet he was really happy to see you.¡±

    Suddenly, memories of his father shouting at him about how annoying he was echoed through his mind. Sebastian had to do his best to keep his composure and not shed a tear. Somehow, he managed to crack a smile.

    ¡°Yeah, he was.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±

    ¡°Say, I know I just got here but I do have some things I need to take care of before my Mom gets home. I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing. I hope you don¡¯t think it¡¯s rude of me to leave after just getting here.¡±

    ¡°No! I get it! It was still really sweet of you to think of me, though. I¡¯m really happy that you stopped by!¡± she said followed by a light cough.

    ¡°Me, too. I¡¯ll see you at school tomorrow.¡±

    Sebastian headed out and felt relieved that she was okay. As he headed home, for the first time since he thought Bryce was his friend, he was looking forward to going back to school the next day.

 Whats Yours is Mine

    The next day, Sebastian headed into the classroom and noticed that Delilah hadn¡¯t arrived yet. He clearly remembered that she said she would be back today; however, her absence made him wonder if she had experienced a sudden relapse. When he looked up at the clock, his eyes widened when he noticed the time.

    Wait, we still have twenty minutes left before the start of homeroom? Did I really get here this early?

    As he wondered that, he looked around the classroom and finally realized that he was all alone. Not a single student had arrived yet which made him feel a bit awkward.

    I know I¡¯ve been early a time or two before but it was to avoid Delilah but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever been THIS early. I¡¯m kind of at a loss here but, more importantly, I could have sworn that I left my house at the normal time but, come to think of it, did I?

    To be honest, I don¡¯t remember if I ever checked the time before I left. Maybe I just assumed that it was time to come to school and left a bit prematurely. Granted, I was genuinely excited to come to school today¡­ but did I let my emotions dictate my pace this much? I must have because I¡¯m here all alone. It¡¯s just that¡­ I haven¡¯t felt this way since Bryce¡­

    As he thought that, a sudden feeling of sorrow washed over him followed by a slight pain in his head. As a precaution, he reached into his pocket for his pills; however, he was able to shake it off. Right as he fended off another possible vision, he heard the sounds of footsteps approaching. When he turned his attention to the door, he saw Delilah step into the classroom with a smile on her face.

    ¡°My, someone got here early. What¡¯s with you being the early bird?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I mistook what time it was when I left. I thought I had left right on time but it turns out I was early.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve done that a few times before. When you plan something and want to make sure everything is perfect, you sometimes mix things up. I remember that I was supposed to go to a party at a friend¡¯s house back in my old town and I was so excited that I accidentally left an hour early. When I got there, she was shocked to see me. I compensated by helping her set everything up but I was so embarrassed that I was the first to arrive way ahead of schedule.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s my problem here. I don¡¯t think anyone is ever truly excited to come to school,¡± he said as he tried to hide the fact that it was the reason he was so early.

    ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t say that. I think different people find different reasons to be excited for just about anything, school included.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ maybe¡­¡±

    As they carried on their conversation, more and more students began to file in. Before they knew it, the class had filled up and everyone was in the middle of their conversations. Sebastian and Delilah halted theirs as that certain magical feeling of having a private one-on-one had been lost. They silently acknowledged that they could talk later and began to set up the things they needed for their classes.

    As the lunch bell approached, Sebastian began to scratch the side of his head. He had decided that he wanted to try something but he had become a bit nervous. However, before he could think clearly and make a final decision, the bell rang so he knew that it was now or never. He stood up and grabbed his backpack but hesitated as he watched Delilah do the same. Before she could take a single step, he cleared his throat and called out to her.

    ¡°Say, would you like to have lunch together?¡±

    The thing was, Sebastian wasn¡¯t exactly quiet or subtle about it. While most of the class paid no mind, those who truly knew him overheard the question and were stunned into silence, especially Bryce, Kayla, and Shiloh. They immediately began to whisper amongst themselves to which he took notice but he didn¡¯t care. He was trying to turn over a new leaf and what he was looking at was the past that should remain dead and buried. Ignoring their whisperings, he glanced back over at Delilah whose cheeks had become slightly tinted with rose.

    ¡°S-Sure! I¡¯d love to!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, then.¡±

    The two of them left together. Sebastian was only about a half-step behind her but it was enough distance for him to glance over at Bryce and give him a cold stare as if to say that he saw them whispering about him. Bryce returned his glare with a look of disgust before turning his attention back to Kayla and Shiloh.

    Sebastian asked her where she wanted to eat lunch. She mentioned the picnic tables again so that¡¯s where they ended up heading to. As they were eating, Delilah¡¯s mind had done enough wondering.

    ¡°So, I couldn¡¯t help but notice that this was the first time that you asked me to do anything. Usually, I¡¯m the one asking you. Not that I mind, though but I was wondering why the sudden change?¡±

    I don¡¯t know, to be honest. For some reason, asking you to have lunch just felt like something I needed to do to see if I could trust you. Had you declined, I¡¯m sure that would have had me second-guess my decision. Maybe I¡¯m just sort of looking for a way to justify if this was a mistake or not. I guess I owe her an answer so, for now, I¡¯ll just make up something that sounds convenient.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s just as you said. You¡¯re the one that¡¯s always asking me to do things so, I felt kind of guilty and wanted to be the one to ask you this time.¡±

    ¡°But, you did it in front of Bryce. Aren¡¯t you worried that he might target you again for hanging around me?¡±

    Of course, I¡¯m worried. Both Bryce and my father are the two reasons why I have a difficult time putting my faith in anyone. Luckily, my father is someone I never have to deal with ever again but I still see Bryce every single day. He serves as a constant reminder that I¡¯m better off alone in this world but¡­ I¡¯m trying to change that and, yes, it has me scared and I am scared of him seeing that.

    ¡°He can think what he wants to think. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re friends or anything. It shouldn¡¯t be his business who I choose to be friends with. Sorry if that sounded a little harsh.¡±

    ¡°But you two used to be, though. Judging by what I saw, it seems there are still things that haven¡¯t been resolved.¡±

    ¡°And they may never be. That¡¯s just something I have to live with. Despite that, I don¡¯t think that should stop me from making new friends. Everybody is different. You¡¯re not Bryce and neither am I. It¡¯s just something that didn¡¯t work out. I guess that¡¯s a part of life.¡±

    The more they talked, the more Delilah began to realize that she had distracted him from drawing another anime portrait. She apologized but Sebastian waived it off as if it wasn¡¯t a big deal. Suddenly, he swallowed hard as he decided to initiate a new test¡­ one that he fully admitted to himself that he wasn¡¯t ready for but was going to try anyway.

    ¡°S-Say¡­ um¡­ Delilah? Are you busy after school today?¡±

    ¡°No, why?¡±

    ¡°W-Would you like to hang out with me?¡±

    Delilah¡¯s face lit up with pure joy. Even though he had previously offered a raincheck, she didn¡¯t expect him to ask her this soon. Naturally, this made her genuinely happy and excited on the inside.

    ¡°Of course! My house or yours?¡±

    ¡°Well, I saw your house yesterday so want to come over to mine?¡±

    ¡°Technically, you saw my foyer but I guess that still counts for something. Sure! I¡¯d be happy to visit your house after school!¡±

    Well¡­ I asked and she said yes. Needless to say, I was kind of hoping that she would have said no. Maybe she was still feeling a bit sick and wanted to rest or maybe she had to do some kind of errand but, here we are. It¡¯s not like I can take it back now. Of course, I could have just not asked but after asking her to lunch and getting a positive response, I was just curious if it would happen again. Maybe I need to learn a thing or two about patience or maybe this is something I truly need. Either way, the deal is done. Looks like I¡¯ll be having her over at my house today.

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    For the rest of the afternoon, Sebastian was on pins and needles. He could barely concentrate on taking notes as his mind continued to weigh the pros and cons of having her over. He still wondered if he made the right choice by asking her to visit. Despite his uneasiness, he hid it quite well by pretending to be laser-focused on each of his classes. However, while he felt nervous, Delilah was delighted that she got to hang out with him after school. She couldn¡¯t wait for the final bell to ring and that made time crawl by for her.

    Eventually, the bell did ring and school was over for the day. Sebastian internally sighed as he knew that the time had come and there wasn¡¯t anything left to do but to get it over and done with. They packed up their belongings and headed out. The walk home wasn¡¯t one that was filled with conversation, though. It was as if they were just enjoying the silence of each other¡¯s company; however, after a while, it was a little too quiet so Delilah decided to break the ice.

    ¡°By the way, I¡¯m sorry for talking your ear off during lunch. I asked you if you could draw me another portrait and I distracted you too much.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. If you want, I could draw it for you once we get to my house.¡±

    ¡°Sure! So, what else do you want to do when we get there?¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s not too nerdy, maybe we can work on our homework together and get it out of the way? After that, maybe do some gaming?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s nerdy. It makes sense to get the homework out of the way first. That way, we¡¯ll have more time to relax and hang out together. OH! Speaking of that¡­ I should probably tell my parents that I¡¯ll be over at a friend¡¯s house. I¡¯ve been so excited that it completely slipped my mind!¡±

    She pulled out her phone and began to tap out a text message to her mother. Sebastian didn¡¯t pay much mind to her words at first; however, as they echoed in his mind, he began to realize what she had said.

    Wait¡­ did she say that she was excited to come over? Well, I guess since I figured out that she has a crush on me, it¡¯s only natural that she would be but to hear her say that out loud, it makes me feel¡­ no. I shouldn¡¯t let my guard down like that! There¡¯s still a good chance that all of this is for nothing. I should just take this one step at a time and observe along the way. I shouldn¡¯t expect or want anything to happen. No¡­ I should just watch and see what does happen.

    ¡°There! All done! My Mom is happy that I made a new friend so quickly!¡±

    ¡°And she¡¯s okay with you hanging out with a boy?¡±

    ¡°I, um, didn¡¯t tell her that part. She¡¯s the type that would be fine with it but my father always likes to know everything that¡¯s going on with the family and with him being military, if he found out, it would probably cause more trouble for you so, I kept your gender a secret until I can ease them into the idea of me having a boy as a friend.¡±

    She was very careful with the way she phrased that but even still, the words boy and friend were relatively close together and even Sebastian noticed the look on her face after she said that. If that wasn¡¯t a dead giveaway of the crush she had on him, then nothing was. Out of courtesy, he pretended that he didn¡¯t notice and kept walking.

    Soon, they arrived at Ambrose. Sebastian turned down and Delilah followed. She looked around as she hadn¡¯t been down that street before so she was taking in the sights. All the while, she wondered which house belonged to Sebastian. About four houses down, they came to a small white house with brown trim. She took notice that the numbers on the door read 1650 and instantly committed them to memory.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re here. This is where I call home.¡±

    Sebastian led the way and unlocked the front door. Much like he did at her house, Delilah scoured the layout and took notice of everything. Sebastian stepped forward and told her to make herself at home. There was a white fabric couch that looked a bit plain at first but when you got up close, you could notice that there were slightly brighter white flowers all over it. If the light hit them just right, it highlighted the flowers and made them pop but in any other standard lighting, it just looked like a plain, white couch.

    ¡°Pretty¡­¡± she muttered to herself.

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°Oh, the couch. I like how the flowers on it are kind of an illusion.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yeah. My mother picked it out for that very same reason.¡±

    Delilah sat down and immediately took notice of how soft and comfortable it was. Sebastian instantly took a seat next to her and unzipped his backpack. They had algebra, English, and history for homework assignments so he figured they could start in alphabetical order. Despite that, all Delilah could think about was that the boy she liked was sitting next to her so close. At one point, Sebastian¡¯s leg gently graced hers to where he didn¡¯t even notice but she did. She blushed a bit but snapped out of it when he asked if she knew how to solve a certain problem.

    With the two of them teaming up, homework went by pretty quickly. By the time they were done, it was around 3:45. This gave them about an hour and fifteen minutes of some alone time. This is where Sebastian figured that he could test the waters to see just how genuine Delilah truly was.

    ¡°I probably should have done this when we first came in but, I can show you around if you¡¯d like.¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡±

    ¡°Well, this is the living room, and to our left is the kitchen. If you¡¯re hungry or thirsty, you don¡¯t even need to ask, just take whatever you want. To our right are the bedrooms and the bathroom and, well, that¡¯s about it. I mean, we have a basement, too which you can access through the door in the kitchen but we just have a washer and dryer down there. There¡¯s not much to the house.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s pretty cozy. If it¡¯s just you and your mom, I think the size is perfect! Say, I want to check out your room¡­ if that¡¯s okay.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I can show you.¡±

    Sebastian led the way. The hallway wasn¡¯t all that long. Upon exiting the living room, taking a hard left would bring them into his mother¡¯s bedroom. The only other doorway on the left was Sebasitan¡¯s room. The bathroom was straight at the end of the hall. There was another door on the right wall that Sebastian hadn¡¯t mentioned, though.

    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s this door here?¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ that¡¯s a closet¡­¡±

    When Sebastian said that, his memories of a time when he hid in the closet from his father instantly resurfaced. He quickly squashed them as he continued to lead the way into his room. Upon entering, his bed was pressed up against the corner of the room on the right. To the left of the bed was a solid wall with a nightstand that contained his alarm clock. In the opposite corner was a television with his favorite game consoles hooked up to it. On the wall opposite of them was a single window with a row of black 3-shelf bookcases underneath it. Immediately to their left was a walk-in closet with rolling doors.

    ¡°Nice room!¡±

    ¡°Thanks¡±

    Sebastian showed her his game collection along with his anime collection. He figured that since they had similar interests, she would like to see what he had. They ended up having a few common games between them but Sebastian had quite a few that she hadn¡¯t played yet. The same went for his anime collection. After she looked through them he asked if there was anything she wanted to watch or play. She remarked that there was¡­ she wanted to watch him do another drawing.

    Sebastian obliged and sat on his bed. He pulled out his sketchbook and began to lay down the basic shapes. Delilah sat next to him and paid close attention to what he was doing. He simply thought that she just wanted to watch him draw and while that was true, she was also studying his wrist movements and sketching techniques. She figured that a book could tell her how to do something but it wasn¡¯t the same as seeing it in practice by someone who knew what they were doing.

    By the time the character took shape, it began to resemble a typical teenage boy that one might see in any run-of-the-mill high school anime. Even the hair was a typical bowl cut but the more Delilah stared at it, the more she began to wonder something. Sebastian placed all of the shading and highlights on the character which made it pop. When he was done, he ripped the page out of the sketchbook and handed it to her.

    ¡°Here you go.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s his name going to be?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ How about Noroi?¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just remember hearing it once and thought it sounded cool. He kind of looks like a Noroi, though.¡±

    ¡°Really? Because I think that he looks like a Sebastian.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡±

    ¡°He kind of looks like you if you were an anime character.¡±

    Sebastian looked at his drawing a bit more closely and pretended that he could see her point when, in reality, he realized that she had caught him doing an anime self-portrait.

    ¡°Can we name him Sebastian?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s for you so if you want to name him that, it¡¯s fine with me.¡±

    I guess that I made it a bit too obvious. Still, why did I feel compelled to draw myself as an anime character? For some reason, it was the only thing I could think of when she asked to watch me draw. Even though I knew what I was doing, I tried to make it seem different but, in the end, I guess I subconsciously just drew myself. Oh well¡­ as long as she¡¯s happy with it, I guess.

    It wasn¡¯t long after that Sebastian¡¯s mother came home. She instantly noticed that there was a guest in the house and was delighted to see that Sebastian had finally brought a friend home with him. She also became a bit suspicious that it was a girl but she left that subject alone for now. As all mothers typically did, she asked if Delilah wanted to stay for dinner. She sent a text to her mother for permission and was told it was fine so she accepted the offer.

    It only took about twenty minutes to cook dinner but Delilah was polite about it and asked if there was anything she could use help with. While Sebastian¡¯s mom didn¡¯t need any help, she took the opportunity to ask her a few basic questions as a way to get to know her like where she lived, how they met, etc. Even though the questions seemed innocent, Sebastian knew that she was digging for information and silently cursed her under his breath.

    As they ate, Delilah remarked that she was a good cook even though the dinner was a rather basic one of pork chops and applesauce. Even still, it was nice to hear a compliment since Sebastian never really said much of anything about her food. After they ate, she helped clean the dishes and put them away but remarked that it was getting dark and she had to be home before the sunset as it was a rule of her father¡¯s. She thanked Sebastian¡¯s mom for dinner and told Sebastian she would see him at school tomorrow.

    She was about to step foot through the door before she remembered something.

    ¡°Oh! Before I forget, give me your phone, Sebastian.¡±

    He was a bit puzzled but he handed it over to her. Since Sebastian didn¡¯t have much in the way of friends, he didn¡¯t have the phone passcode locked. She navigated to both of their contact apps and then tapped her phone on top of his.

    ¡°There! Now we have each other¡¯s contact info! See you at school tomorrow!¡±

    She closed the door behind her and headed home with a little extra pep in her step. Sebastian couldn¡¯t see it but she was smiling the entire way back. As he watched her leave through the front window, his mother folded her arms and sported a sassy grin.

    ¡°So¡­ she was quite lovely, wasn¡¯t she? You¡¯re not doing anything foolish, are you?¡±

    ¡°No, mom. She¡¯s just a friend and nothing more.¡±

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯m just doing my job as a mother and making sure you¡¯re being responsible. But I can tell you two get along well so feel free to tell her that she¡¯s welcome over here any time.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Thanks.¡±

    A friend and nothing more, huh? Well, I suppose that¡¯s true but at least I got to show my mom that I do have a friend. It kind of covers all of the lies I told about the imaginary friends I never went to visit. Plus, I told Delilah about those imaginary friends too so if my Mom ever mentioned them, it would also justify those lies as well. Still, with Delilah, I don¡¯t have to keep lying¡­ or do I? What would they say if all of those friends suddenly disappeared?

    I guess I¡¯ll cross that bridge when I get to it. For now, the first day was quite a success. I¡¯m still not completely convinced I¡¯m making the right choice here, though but I¡¯d be lying if I said that I wasn¡¯t a little more confident after today.

    That night, Sebastian went to sleep but something was a bit off. He didn¡¯t pay much attention to it until the morning came. As soon as he woke up, he knew that something was wrong.

    Jesus Christ¡­ my throat is on fire¡­ as is my head and¡­ Oh, Great¡­

    Sure enough, he took his temperature and the thermometer registered a 102-degree fever. Sebastian had caught the remnants of Delilah¡¯s cold.

 Absence

    Sebastian stared at the thermometer in disgust. He had only been in contact with Delilah for two days; however, he had already developed symptoms. Plus, she didn¡¯t seem sick anymore so he didn¡¯t think that whatever she had could have still been transmissible. He was wrong because soon after he took his temperature, he began to experience chills.

    This is terrible. What in the world did she have? I thought that she said that she had a mild cold. This doesn¡¯t feel like a mild cold to me¡­

    Sebastian went to stand when suddenly every muscle in his body felt as if it were on fire. His fever caused the room to spin and he almost lost his balance. Despite that, he needed to use the bathroom so he powered his way there. While inside, he figured that a hot shower might help things, especially if he didn¡¯t dry off all the way so that the remaining water could evaporate from his body and cause a cooling effect.

    While the hot water did help relieve his chills, the cooling effect didn¡¯t work out as he thought. His chills returned even worse than before to where his teeth chattered. Even though he desired to get under a blanket, he knew that doing so would be a bad idea. While the body felt cold, it wasn¡¯t. While chills were nothing more than rapid muscle contractions to create friction and heat in times when the body was cold, with a virus, the muscles will rapidly contract even when the body isn¡¯t cold. Given the fact that his body temperature was 102, there was no way he was cold. Going under a blanket would only cause his fever to reach dangerous levels.

    Thankfully, Sebastian paid attention in health class and knew that the best way to beat chills would be to stay hydrated, take some acetaminophen, and apply a lukewarm washcloth to his forehead. He prepared everything he needed and took the medicine. He sat on the living room couch and applied the washcloth. Now, all he had to do was wait for everything to subside. Plus, the acetaminophen would also have a chance to help reduce or even break his fever.

    Guess there¡¯s no school for me today or tomorrow, or until God knows when. Great¡­ that means lots of make-up work and less time for video games once I get better. Maybe I should go to the walk-in clinic to see if this is just a cold. It¡¯s not that far from here¡­ just a bit past Delilah¡¯s house in the town¡¯s center. I could easily walk there and get myself checked out.

    Sebastian, while still shivering, went to stand and suddenly felt as if the world had kept spinning but left him behind. He lost his balance but he thankfully fell backward onto the couch. Had he fallen forward, there was a high chance he would have smacked his head on a black marble coffee table. Even from just attempting to stand, Sebastian was out of breath. His head began to throb as a headache induced by the fever began to settle in.

    Okay¡­ I admit that wasn¡¯t the best of ideas. I guess I¡¯ll just rest here until the medicine kicks in. If I can stand without falling again, then I¡¯ll make the trip over there. I guess on the bright side, I¡¯ll get a day filled with peace and quiet. Given how things have been for the past week, I could use the mental break from everything. I just wish I didn¡¯t have to spend it while feeling like hell incarnate.

    Meanwhile, Delilah arrived at school and noticed that Sebastian was absent. The fact that she still had some mild residual symptoms made her wonder if she had accidentally gotten him sick. She remembered that she exchanged contact information with him yesterday so she decided that she would send him a text message during lunch. The whole time, she felt really bad because she didn¡¯t mean to get him sick, especially after he went out of his way to invite her over to his house.

    Her mind began to race and thought that if she got him sick, she could have also gotten his mother sick as well. After she invited her to stay and cooked her dinner, thinking that this would be the first impression that she left with them made her feel small and insignificant. Then again, she could only assume that she had gotten Sebastian sick. There were still several other reasons as to why he missed school. All she could do was wait for lunch to roll around to find out what happened.

    Back at home, a few hours had passed and Sebastian¡¯s symptoms began to relieve themselves a bit. His fever broke thanks to the acetaminophen which left him drenched in sweat, his headache was still present but it subsided to a tolerable level, and his chills disappeared. The muscle aches were still prevalent but they weren¡¯t as bad as before; however, new symptoms started to appear such as a runny nose and a wet cough caused by the post-nasal drip. When he stood, he no longer felt dizzy so he decided that he was going to go get checked out.

    He grabbed a face mask and threw on his coat as the days weren¡¯t getting any warmer the deeper they got into autumn. Once he had everything, he headed out and turned left at the end of his walkway. Once he was at the end of his street, he turned right and began the journey into the town¡¯s center. Even though the center was so close, it was rather elongated and the walk-in clinic was on the other side of it. It took Sebastian nearly twenty minutes on foot to reach it but, at least, he made it there.

    The receptionist at the counter asked what he was there for and then asked him to fill out some paperwork. Thankfully, he was on his mother¡¯s insurance and only had a $15 co-pay. Next came the wait to see the doctor. The only saving grace was that there weren¡¯t many people in the waiting room so it didn¡¯t take all that long for a nurse to come out and call him to the back. She took his body weight, blood pressure, pulse, and temperature then asked him a few basic questions. Once she was done, she informed him that the doctor would be in shortly.

    Shortly was an understatement as it took the doctor almost thirty minutes to see him. During that time, Sebastian had felt a slight buzz in his pocket but figured that he would check what the notification was later. Finally, the doctor arrived and when Sebastian had to explain his symptoms a third time, they recommended a nasal swab. He pulled his mask down and a few seconds later, they collected a sample. The doctor said that no matter what kind of virus it was, the only thing they could do was let it run its course. They said that the test results take anywhere from thirty to sixty minutes but they will be sent to his email or they will be available online if he¡¯s signed up for MediChart.

    The doctor simply gave him a bunch of basic recommendations to help alleviate the symptoms but said that if things got worse to where he found it difficult to breathe, then he should go to the emergency room. Sebastian thanked him and was sent on his way.

    By now, his muscle aches had returned, and knowing that he had a twenty-minute walk ahead of him wasn¡¯t exactly the most thrilling of realizations. Still, he managed to get home but by the time he did, he was exhausted. He plopped down on the couch and fell asleep almost instantly, completely forgetting to check his phone.

    Back at school, lunch had arrived so Delilah pulled out her phone and sent Sebastian a text message.

    Hey! I noticed that you¡¯re absent today! Just wanted to check on you and make sure you¡¯re okay. Let me know!

    She pressed Send and stared at her screen to see if the read receipt popped up. A few minutes went by and nothing happened. Even more time passed and there was still no indication that he had seen the message. By the time her lunch break finished, there still wasn¡¯t a ¡°read¡¯ notification on her message. She began to worry and fabricated scenarios in her mind about things that, most likely, never happened to him. All she could hope was that he was okay.

    Sebastian¡¯s little power nap brought him to about 2 p.m. When he woke up, his fever had returned. He decided that he should probably take his temperature and take some more pills. When he went to move, he felt a lump in his pocket. That¡¯s when he remembered that he had his phone in there and that made him realize that he had received a notification earlier that he had ignored. He pulled his phone out and noticed that it was a text message from Delilah. When he read it, a feeling of comfort washed over him.

    She sent me a text message!? Is she concerned about me or is this just a formality because I went over to her house to check on her? Either way, I should text her back and tell her that I have¡­ wait. I don¡¯t even know what I have yet. What time is it?

    Sebastian checked the clock on his phone and noticed some time had passed. He figured that his test results should be posted by now so he logged into MediChart and, sure enough, he had a new notification from his nasal swab.

    Positive for Influenza A. Lovely. Well, at least I know what it is.

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    With that knowledge in mind, he went back to his text messages and tapped out a reply to Delilah.

    Hey. Thanks for checking on me. Sorry, it took me a while to reply but I was sleeping. I have the flu so I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be coming to school for a while. I guess I¡¯ll see you when I get better.

    Seeing as how he never really texted anyone, he didn¡¯t know if he should say anything else other than that. Figuring that it would be fine as-is he pressed send. Back at school, Delilah was in the middle of listening to a boring lesson on how the Civil War gave shape to modern America when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. While the teacher¡¯s back was turned, she slowly snuck it out and saw that it was a text message from Sebastian.

    When she read it, she frowned as her suspicions were correct. She did, indeed, get him sick. Since he was kind enough to come to check up on her, she decided that she would do the same for him after school. As she thought about that, she heard her name called out by the teacher.

    ¡°Ms. Yearwood, we are in the middle of class. Please put your phone away and I don¡¯t want to see it out again.¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

    She slipped the phone back into her pocket. While others in the class didn¡¯t seem to care, Bryce looked over in her direction. Delilah internally sighed and wished that the end of the day would hurry up and get there. Granted, there were only 20 minutes left but they felt like the longest 20 minutes of her life, especially after being called out like that.

    Mercifully, the bell rang and she gathered up her things. She had already decided what she was going to do and wanted to rush home to get started. While she didn¡¯t run, she did put a little extra zip in her step, although, it didn¡¯t make that much of a difference as it only shaved about two minutes off of her journey. When she walked in through the front door, she dropped her stuff off in the foyer and headed straight for the kitchen.

    She opened the fridge and her face lit up when she saw that there was still some chicken leftover from last night¡¯s dinner. Even though she had eaten at Sebastian¡¯s house, her mother informed her of what she made, which was seasoned pulled chicken, in case she wanted to bring some for lunch to school with her. There was plenty of it left so she figured that she would use it to make some homemade chicken noodle soup.

    Once it was prepared, she grabbed a large bowl and poured it all in. She secured it tightly with a cover and headed out to Sebastian¡¯s house but not before stopping to grab something else out of her backpack¡­ something she had worked pretty hard on last night before going to bed. A few minutes later, she arrived and realized that it was a bit hard to knock on the door with both hands holding a bowl of hot soup. She looked for the doorbell and leaned in with her right elbow to hit it. Thankfully, it worked.

    Inside the house, Sebastian heard the doorbell go off and wondered who it was. After he had texted Delilah, he retreated to his room and decided to lie down for a bit. After his nap, he found it difficult to get back to sleep so he just ended up lying there with his eyes closed. He went to stand and that¡¯s when the dizziness and muscle aches kicked in again. It took him a little while to get to the front door but he eventually made it.

    On the other side, Delilah wondered if it was a bad idea to drop by unannounced. When there wasn¡¯t an answer, she figured that he might have been sleeping. She was about to give up and turn around when she heard the door unlock. Soon, it opened and Sebastian was looking a bit worse for wear.

    ¡°D-Delilah?¡±

    ¡°Hey, Sebastian.. I hope I didn¡¯t wake you or anything.¡±

    ¡°No, I was lying down but I wasn¡¯t sleeping. Sorry that it took me a bit to get to the door, this flu is doing a number on me.¡±

    ¡°Would it be okay if I came in? I brought you something that might help you out.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good idea. You said you had a mild cold and this is the flu. They¡¯re not the same virus so I could get you sick again.¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ about that. I believe it was the flu that I had. I just think I didn¡¯t get it all that bad because I had my flu shot almost a month ago before moving here. I had fresh antibodies inside of me so chances are it caused my symptoms to be mild.¡±

    ¡°I guess that makes sense. If I¡¯m being honest, I never had a flu shot in my life. I guess that¡¯s why it¡¯s having a grand old time with me.¡±

    ¡°Probably so, It should be fine if I come in. Technically, I still have some symptoms so it¡¯s not like the same virus can reinfect me that easily¡­ especially with antibodies from both the vaccine and the actual flu itself.¡±

    Sebastian still wasn¡¯t sure if it was a good idea but he stepped aside and let Delilah in. She walked into the kitchen where she placed the bowl on the table. Sebastian followed her as she began to look through his cupboards.

    ¡°Where do you keep your bowls?¡±

    ¡°Two over to the right. Why?¡±

    ¡°I brought you some homemade chicken soup. When you texted me that you had the flu, I rushed home and used some leftover chicken my Mom made and whipped up a batch. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll help.¡±

    Wait. She did all of that for me? Why would she go so far for someone like me? I don¡¯t deserve this kind of treatment. Is it okay to ask her that? Would it be insulting if I questioned her kindness? I mean, I¡¯m touched and all but¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s nice of you but¡­ why did you go through the trouble? I hope that doesn¡¯t sound ungrateful because I do appreciate that you did this for me it¡¯s just that¡­ I just wonder if I¡¯m worth the effort.¡±

    Sebastian didn¡¯t mean to blurt that last part out. For some reason, it just slipped out of his mouth and he instantly realized that he had made a mistake. He could only hope that she didn¡¯t decide to question him on the meaning behind what he said. Thankfully, it didn¡¯t sound as if she was going to do that based on her answer.

    ¡°I did it because I cherish our friendship. I know that sounds stupid given the fact that we¡¯ve only known each other for about a week and a half but¡­ your friendship means a lot to me because¡­ well¡­ here. Have a bowl of soup and, um, I¡¯d like to tell you a story if you¡¯d allow me to.¡±

    Delilah served up a bowl of soup which was still hot enough to see the steam rising from it. Sebastian grabbed a spoon from a nearby drawer and sat down. Delilah took a seat to his left and folded her hands on the table as she stared down at the surface.

    ¡°My whole life, I was different. While other girls played with dolls and talked about makeup, and what boys they thought were cute, I was playing video games, watching anime, and reading manga. I liked to watch action movies and listen to symphonic metal music. I wasn¡¯t like the other girls and I was often made fun of for it. It happened a lot and I didn¡¯t have many friends growing up because of it.¡±

    ¡°However, it didn¡¯t matter all that much because with my father being in the military, we moved and moved a lot. Everywhere I went, it was the same result. Because I was different, none of the typical girls wanted to bother with me and when I did find a friend or two that would accept me, I had to move again and I lost them. It happened so many times that I just stopped trying¡­ but¡­ this time it¡¯s different.¡±

    ¡°My father served most of his required time in the military and they gave him the chance to move one last time. He got stationed here at the local base and they told him that he wouldn¡¯t be moved again. In other words, they allowed him to pick the place for him to spend his final year and retirement in. So, one year from now, my father¡¯s active duty will be done and we will be here permanently.¡±

    ¡°When I realized that, I thought that I could finally make some friends. On that first day, I walked into class and introduced myself. When I looked around the room, I saw the same look in everyone¡¯s eyes that I had seen in every other classroom I entered. They all looked at me as if they were judging me. Then, I saw you looking out the window and not even paying attention. At first, I thought you were the type that wasn¡¯t interested but, for some reason, you didn¡¯t look mean. I know that they say not to judge a book by its cover but it was just something about the way you looked that told me you were different.¡±

    ¡°When I was told that my seat was going to be next to yours, I thought that introducing myself would go either really well or really wrong. Still, I worked up the courage to say hi and you¡¯ve been so sweet and kind to me ever since. This sounds embarrassing to say this but¡­ you¡¯re the first friend I¡¯ve ever had that never judged me from the start and felt as if you were being genuinely kind to me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I said that our friendship means a lot to me but maybe I¡¯m trying too hard because I¡¯m desperate to just feel accepted for once in my life.¡±

    Genuinely kind to you, huh?

    Sebastian tensed up. After hearing her story, he felt devastated by all of the things he thought about her over the past week. If only he had known all of this sooner, he probably would have thought differently about everything. While it wasn¡¯t a 1:1 comparison, the mere essence of not feeling accepted or wanted by anyone was a commonality between them. In a way, Sebastian completely understood how she felt. Still, a tear escaped from his eye but before she could look up and see it, he quickly wiped it away.

    ¡°It sounds like you¡¯ve been through a lot. I¡¯m glad that you feel comfortable around me, though. It¡¯s been nice having you as a friend so far!¡±

    Last week, Sebastian would have said that just to appear friendly while skewering her heart in his mind. For the first time since he had met her, he genuinely meant every word that he said.

    ¡°By the way, this soup is delicious.¡±

    Delilah¡¯s face lit up when he said that. Even though his hair was a mess and his complexion was a bit on the pale side, he managed a smile that warmed her heart. It gave her the courage to show him the other thing that she brought with her.

    ¡°Thanks! Say, um¡­ could you give me your opinion on something?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve inspired me to do something and¡­ I haven¡¯t been practicing for very long but I wanted to know what you thought of my progress.¡±

    She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and unfolded it. It was her attempt at drawing an anime character. While it was night and day compared to someone of Sebastian¡¯s skill, he looked at it and blurted out the first words that came to mind.

    ¡°You should keep practicing.¡±

    Even though he said it with a friendly tone, those weren¡¯t the words she had hoped to hear. Those words felt like a dagger through the heart. Sebastian didn¡¯t realize that he had phrased that the wrong way until he heard the pain in her voice.

    ¡°Maybe I should give up since I¡¯m not getting anywhere, huh?¡±

    When she said that, he suddenly realized that she had taken his words incorrectly and tried to course-correct.

    ¡°No! That¡¯s not what I meant. It¡¯s just that¡­¡±

    ¡°Forget it. I¡¯m just going to go. I¡¯m glad you liked the soup.¡±

    She quickly got up and headed for the front door. Sebastian stood to try and stop her but he silently cursed to himself as his body aches prevented him from moving the way he wanted to. By the time he mustered up the strength to take a step forward, she was already out the door.

    I¡­ am a piece of shit.

    Sebastian grabbed the back of the chair to brace himself and sat back down. All he could do was stare at the soup in front of him which became a symbol of Delilah¡¯s kind heart¡­ a heart that he may have just crushed beneath his heel.

 Recovery

    After Delilah left his house abruptly, Sebastian knew that he had made a terrible mistake. With the way his body felt, he couldn¡¯t run after her but he remembered that he had her contact information. He reached into his pocket for his phone but it wasn¡¯t there. He remembered that he had left it on the nightstand next to his bed and groaned knowing he had to get up and endure the muscle aches.

    Nevertheless, since he had to get up, he decided to put the soup away first. Once that had been taken care of, he gingerly made his way to his bedroom where he sat on his bed and retrieved his phone; however, he hesitated when he opened up his text app.

    Is it okay to text her? She seemed bothered by what I said so she may not even reply. If she doesn¡¯t, how would that make me feel? Would it be like Bryce, Shiloh, and Kayla all over again? If I don¡¯t send her a message, then it¡¯ll look like I don¡¯t care about her and it¡¯ll make the situation worse. Should I just wait and give her a little bit of time to cool down first? How long is too long to wait, though?

    Ugh¡­ Why am I even in this situation, to begin with? If I had just given her the cold shoulder without knowing anything about her, I wouldn¡¯t be sick right now and I would still have my peaceful, quiet life. Maybe I did make a mistake by putting my trust in her and thinking we could be friends. Maybe I should just let things be and ride it out. In the end, things will be awkward between us but maybe I can end all of this before I get in too deep.

    But¡­ does that make me a fool for giving up so easily? She never meant me any harm, though. Ugh¡­ Why is this so hard to figure out? For anyone else, it would be as simple as apologizing and making amends but with me¡­ I¡¯m not sure and that¡¯s the part that hurts the most. She doesn¡¯t know the truth about me so she can never understand why this is so difficult.

    Sebastian decided that he would send her a text message later that night. In the meantime, he did his mother a courtesy and did a little bit of housework, mainly to wipe down all of the areas he touched with disinfectant just in case. When she returned home, he explained to stay away from him and that he had the flu. She didn¡¯t seem all too worried since she had also had her flu shot for the year.

    When she opened the fridge to get out some stuff for dinner, she noticed the large bowl of soup inside of it.

    ¡°Did you make some soup, Sebastian?¡±

    ¡°No. Delilah brought it over for me.¡±

    ¡°That was nice of her. Did you thank her properly for it?¡±

    ¡°I did.¡±

    ¡°Good. She must care about you to go out of her way to do something like this. You should have her back over for dinner when you get better so we can repay her kindness.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask her and see once I get better.¡±

    ¡°Good. Now, since you¡¯re sick, go get some rest. If you need anything, just let me know.¡±

    Sebastian retreated to his room where he sat back down on his bed. His Mom¡¯s words just now about Delilah caring about him made him remember that she did make that soup from scratch just for him. He began to think it through once more.

    Mom¡¯s right. She did go out of her way to check up on me. Because I didn¡¯t phrase something the right way, I stomped on her feelings. I truly am to blame here for all of this. I¡¯ll text her and see if I can do something to apologize.

    Sebastian grabbed his phone which still had his text messaging app opened. He tapped on the only other contact that wasn¡¯t his mother¡¯s work number and tapped out a message.

    Hey. I was wondering if we could talk. I want to talk to you about what happened. I feel bad that I made you angry and I would like to explain things. Is that possible? Please let me know.

    Sebastian pressed the send button and let out a heavy sigh. All he could do now was wait for her to reply. As he waited, he weighed the possibility in his head that she wouldn¡¯t reply at all and end up ghosting him. As the minutes dragged by, it looked more and more likely that would be the case. He began to tense up as he could only think that it was happening all over again and how much of a fool he was for thinking that he could give friendship another try. Just when a tear was about to escape from his eye, he felt his phone buzz in his hand.

    She had texted back.

    He quickly opened the message and read it aloud.

    ¡°No need. I¡¯m not angry.¡±

    Huh? She¡¯s not angry? Does this mean that everything is okay between us? Still, her message is short and to the point. I know it¡¯s text and text cannot convey tone or inflection but this just seems rather cold. Do I take her word for it and believe her or do I go with my gut feeling that something is still wrong here? I¡¯ll poke the hornet¡¯s nest a little more and see.

    Are you sure? I want to make things right if possible, he texted back.

    Another moment passed and his phone buzzed again. ¡°Everything¡¯s fine,¡± he said as he read the message to himself.

    Something still feels off about all of this. I don¡¯t believe her but I think it would be an even bigger problem if I continued to bug her about this. I¡¯ll let it be for now. I¡¯ll eventually be well enough to go back to school so I¡¯ll see her then. Maybe if I can hear her voice, I can tell if she is fine with this or not.

    Sebastian ended up being absent for the rest of the week. His flu went through some peaks and valleys in terms of severity but it all began to clear up by the weekend. By Sunday, he was feeling much better and even entertained the thought of popping over to Delilah¡¯s house to return her bowl but he also remembered that with it being the weekend, there was a good chance her father could be there. He remembered how she talked about him being overprotective so he figured that he could just bring the bowl to her house tomorrow after school.

    That Monday, Sebastian readied himself to return to class. He was both excited and nervous to see Delilah again. He wasn¡¯t sure how she would react to him but he felt that maybe enough time had passed to where things would be back to normal between them. He grabbed his bookbag and headed out a little bit earlier than normal, hoping that she would be there and they could talk before anyone else arrived.

    When he arrived, he noticed that Delilah hadn¡¯t shown up yet. There were a couple of other students already there but none of them seemed to care that he had returned. He took his seat and waited patiently for her; however, as the students filed in, she was not among them. It wasn¡¯t until two minutes before the morning¡¯s bell that she showed up, effectively making her the last one.

    Hmm¡­ Maybe she was running late? It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t been late before so I can¡¯t fault her for that.

    ¡°Morning!¡±

    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Morning¡­¡±

    Sebastian made sure to add a bit of pep to his voice, hoping that the extra-friendly tone would convey that he was happy to see her; however, her reply was rather lifeless. She didn¡¯t even look in his direction when she returned his greeting. Just that simple lack of inflection was enough to suck the energy right out of him. Suddenly, he felt a bit of a chill run through his body as if his emotions had suddenly changed.

    I would like to think that she sounded like that because she was running late and didn¡¯t have time to perk herself up with her morning cappuccino but¡­ Her voice matched her replies to my texts to her. I knew that something felt off and it¡¯s pretty obvious that she hasn¡¯t forgiven me for what I said. I¡¯ll see if I can talk to her during lunch so I can straighten this whole thing out.

    Sebastian tried to focus on his studies; however, he was too preoccupied with how Delilah was feeling. He kept glancing at her through his peripheral vision to see if he could catch her looking in his direction as she would sometimes do but not once did she pay him any attention. She continued to look forward at the blackboard. The only time she looked away was when she tilted her head down to focus on her notebook to take notes. Throughout the entire morning, Sebastian began to feel even more defeated.

    I¡¯m starting to have second thoughts about this. On the one hand, I kind of want to make amends for what I said but¡­ On the other hand¡­ I¡¯m getting a first-hand look at what it would be like should our brief friendship come to an end. If we can sit here and co-exist all while minding our business, then I can return to the life I had before, and all this will just be another painful memory of a friendship that never worked out.

    But¡­ If I¡¯m truly okay with that then why does my heart hurt so much? Is it the realization that it¡¯s happening all over again? Is it the sting that I at least know what caused it this time? Or¡­ is it something else entirely? As much as it would be easy to let go¡­ I don¡¯t want to. This isn¡¯t like my father or Bryce. I had no say in those situations. Here, I know that I¡¯m the one who screwed up and I have a chance to fix this. I know what to do and yet¡­

    Eventually, the lunch bell rang. Sebastian had made his decision and glanced over at Delilah who was doing her best not to look at him. A lump formed in his throat but he decided to go for it anyway.

    ¡°Say, would you care to have lunch together?¡±

    ¡°Not today, okay?¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­ okay¡­¡± he said with a slight catch in his voice.

    He grabbed his bookbag and left the classroom. He made his way over to the staircase that led up to the roof. He made sure the coast was clear and walked up, taking his typical seat around the corner and out of sight. Normally, he would pull out his notebook and sketch something but all of the energy had been drained from his body. He didn¡¯t feel like doing much of anything.

    She just flat-out rejected my offer. I guess that settles it, huh? Why would she tell me that everything was fine when it wasn¡¯t? If everything was fine, she would have joined me for lunch and I could have talked to her properly.

    Now, instead of talking things out, I¡¯m sitting here alone, and¡­ heh¡­ just a week ago, I was begging to be alone just to get away from her, and now¡­ Is this happening to me? Am I feeling a connection to another human being again? I don¡¯t know why I keep asking myself the same questions over and over when I already know the answers.

    Sebastian nibbled at his food as his appetite had all but disappeared. Without getting any of his usual drawings done, he slowly made his way back to class. When he entered, Delilah was there at her desk going through the notes she took. He walked over and sat back down, hoping that she would say something to him; however, he was met with silence once again. He let out an internal sigh as he began to unpack the textbooks he would need for his afternoon classes.

    The afternoon was more of the same. Delilah kept her attention focused on whatever was being taught until the final period. With about five minutes left, Sebastian noticed that her head was turned as she was focused on the clock. With only a couple of minutes to go, she began to pack everything up ahead of time. He raised an eyebrow as he suspected something.

    Is she planning on taking off as soon as the bell rings? This must mean she¡¯s anticipating me asking to walk home with her. In other words, she¡¯s trying to avoid me.

    When he thought that, he had to turn his head away as he felt tears welling up in his eyes. He did his best to compose himself; however, by the time he did, the final bell rang and Delilah shot up out of her seat and was one of the first ones out the door.

    She left. I guess we weren¡¯t meant to be friends after all.

    Sebastian packed up and when he stood, he noticed that Bryce and Shiloh were staring at him while Kayla seemed to be minding her own business. With Delilah¡¯s display just now, it was apparent to them that they had some sort of issue. Sebastian gritted his teeth and simply walked out without saying anything. He felt that there wasn¡¯t much of a point in confronting them, especially when the teacher was still present. Sebastian walked down the hall hoping to see Delilah in front of him but she must have picked up the pace because she was completely gone from sight.

    What do I do? Do I just let her go? Do I return to my peaceful and miserable life? Wait¡­ Peaceful and miserable? Why did I think that? My life wasn¡¯t miserable. It was nice and quiet. I was all alone with nobody to bother me¡­ nobody to talk down to me¡­ nobody to betray me! It was perfect! A perfect paradise where I was all alone and needed nobody! It wasn¡¯t miserable at all! It was¡­ It was¡­

    Sebastian couldn¡¯t finish that thought. He had tried so hard to convince himself that the life he chose was the best option but when he remembered how Delilah had taken the initiative to be his friend and even went so far as to make him soup when he was sick, his thoughts changed.

    My life was miserable. I was miserable¡­ and¡­ I DON¡¯T WANT TO GO BACK TO THAT LIFE!

    Sebastian took off running down the hall. He sped down the stairs and dashed out the front door. By the time he made it outside, he noticed Delilah was already at the school gate and had made the turn to head home. Sebastian wasted no time in giving chance, not caring who saw him or what they thought. He ran as fast as he could to catch up to her. When he turned right she was almost at the top of the hill. Already out of breath and with a sting in his chest from the remnants of the flu, he pushed forward. He didn¡¯t care if he fell over dead, all he wanted was to catch up to her.

    When he made it to the top of the hill, his heart sank. Delilah had made it across to the other side and the light had turned red. He had no choice but to wait¡­ or did he?

    Sebastian looked both ways as car after car came speeding down the road; however, he noticed a lull in the traffic on the right side. He looked to his left and also noticed a lull. He thought it was the best luck ever and when there was a bit of a clearing, he took off running at top speed across the intersection.

    I can¡¯t believe I just did that! I could have been killed if I had timed that wrong but at least I¡¯ve got a shot at catching up to her now!

    Covered in sweat and still nearly out of breath, Sebastian ran and ran until Delilah¡¯s back got close enough to touch. He reached with his hand and placed it on her shoulder, startling her.

    ¡°I¡­. I¡¯m¡­ Sorry!!!¡± he said between deep breaths.

    She turned around and looked at how exhausted he was. He thought that maybe she would see the effort he had put into reaching her and forgive him; however¡­

    ¡°What for?¡± she asked in a monotone voice.

    The pause wasn¡¯t enough for him to get his breath back. He held up a finger as he doubled over and grabbed his knees. After a few inhales, he finally got his wind back.

    ¡°Sorry¡­ the remnants of the flu made running here a lot harder but¡­ I¡¯m sorry for what I said! It¡¯s not how I meant to say it!¡±

    ¡°I told you, it¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°NO IT¡¯S NOT!¡± he yelled, startling her. ¡°How can you say it¡¯s fine? I hurt you when I said that you should keep practicing but I didn¡¯t mean it in a way to say you were bad at drawing! All I¡¯ve wanted was a chance to explain it but I felt like you didn¡¯t want to hear what I had to say so please! Let me tell you what I meant!¡±

    ¡°You¡­ didn¡¯t think it was bad?¡±

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t! You told me that I inspired you to start drawing! I was shocked when you told me that so when you showed me the picture, I was still trying to process that I inspired someone like that. I told you to keep practicing because, at that moment, I pictured the two of us sitting next to each other and drawing characters together! I wanted you to keep going to reach the point where we could do that! I couldn¡¯t find the right words to say so I thought if I told you to keep practicing, it would motivate you to keep going and instead, I accidentally hurt your feelings! I¡¯m sorry, Delilah! I¡¯m so, so sorry!¡±

    ¡°You¡­ thought that?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I did.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ Everything wasn¡¯t okay. I did take it the wrong way and all I could imagine in my head was being made fun of again for something I had just started to enjoy. You¡¯ve been so kind to me this whole time so when you said that, I thought that you were turning into one of them¡­ someone who would look down on me just because I wasn¡¯t as good at something as you were. I guess I should have listened to you when you said you wanted to talk but¡­ I¡­¡±

    ¡°...you couldn¡¯t because of the things that happened to you in the past.¡±

    Delilah nodded.

    ¡°I¡­ understand that more than you think.¡±

    ¡°Because of Bryce?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±

    ¡°I guess we have more in common than we thought, huh?¡±

    ¡°I guess you could say that. Say, Delilah. Can you forgive me for being such an idiot?¡±

    ¡°As long as you can forgive me for being one as well.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I can.¡±

    Delilah then did something he didn¡¯t expect. She stepped it and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a gentle, yet, firm hug. Sebastian immediately blushed but also couldn¡¯t believe how good a simple hug could feel. The warmth of someone else making contact, the feeling of embrace, all of it sent a sensation throughout his body that until now was foreign to him. That¡¯s when he realized that this was the first time in his life, someone other than his mother had hugged him. Even though Delilah let go, he didn¡¯t want it to end.

    ¡°Then I forgive you, too.¡±

    ¡°Say¡­ since you¡¯re trying hard to learn how to draw, what if I offered to teach you?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d do that for me?¡±

    ¡°Sure. I can show you how to control your wrist for better line strokes and give you some pointers that you would only learn through repetition. I mean¡­ that is if you want me to¡­¡±

    ¡°YES! I would love it if you taught me!¡±

    ¡°H-How about we start today?¡±

    ¡°Today? Really?¡±

    ¡°Why not? I can come over and I can show you a few tricks. Besides, I still have your soup bowl that I want to return.¡±

    ¡°Okay! How about we aim for 3:30, then?¡±

    ¡°3:30 sounds great!¡±

    After that, they walked home together. At Ambrose, they went their separate ways; however, once Delilah was out of sight, the biggest smile came over his face. Deep down, he was glad that he didn¡¯t run away.

 More Than Just Lines

    Sebastian wasted no time and headed straight for his room. He quickly turned his backpack over and emptied everything onto his bed. Thankfully, homework was pretty light today so he knocked out his assignments rather quickly. He checked the time and saw that he had about fifteen minutes to go, plenty of time to grab what he needed, and head over to Delilah¡¯s.

    He placed his sketchbook and pencil set into his backpack and then finished stuffing it with some of the other art supplies that he had lying around. Once he was set, he went into the kitchen where he retrieved Delilah¡¯s soup bowl off the counter. As he held it in his hands, a warm feeling came over him that caused him to smile.

    She forgave me! To think that I was going to run away from it all. History didn¡¯t repeat itself and we¡¯re still friends! I should be more careful what I say around her¡­ I don¡¯t want anything like this to happen again.

    This whole time, I questioned whether or not I was making the right decision. I wondered if I should have bothered making another friend out of fear that I would just get forgotten or be made to feel unwanted. But I¡¯m tired of being alone. I¡¯m tired of being miserable. I took a chance and I feel like it¡¯s paying off for the first time in my life! That¡¯s why I have to make the most of this!

    Sebastian headed out and took the trip over to Delilah¡¯s house. After a few minutes of walking, Sebastian ended up at her front door. He rang the doorbell fully expecting to see her on the other side; however, when it opened, there stood a well-built man around six feet, five inches in height with buzzed black hair in nothing more than a white tanktop t-shirt and blue jeans. The scruff on his face suggested that he hadn¡¯t shaved in a couple of days and his appearance gave off the aura that he could snap Sebastian like a twig in a matter of seconds. It was obvious that it was Delilah¡¯s father.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± he said in a gruff voice.

    ¡°A-A friend of D-Delilah¡¯s, sir. She i-invited me over,¡± he said with his voice filled with nerves.

    ¡°Did she? Hold on.¡±

    He turned and called out her name, his voice so powerful that it rattled Sebastian¡¯s brain. He turned back around and leaned up against the door frame, his arms folded, and looked at him as if he were giving him the once over.

    ¡°Stay there. She¡¯s coming.¡±

    A few moments later, Delilah came down the staircase directly behind her father. Even though she had seen him not all that long ago, she looked rather happy. When she approached, the man glanced over his shoulder and looked at his daughter.

    ¡°You know this kid?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Dad. This is Sebastian. He¡¯s the friend I told you about. He sits next to me in class and he¡¯s the reason why I started learning how to draw. I asked him to come over and give me some lessons.¡±

    ¡°Lessons? What kind of lessons?¡±

    ¡°Drawing lessons, Dad. God, you don¡¯t have to worry. He¡¯s really sweet and he¡¯s not going to do anything!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s he doing holding one of our bowls?¡±

    ¡°I gave him the flu so I made him some chicken soup.¡±

    ¡°So, that¡¯s why there¡¯s no chicken left over in the fridge, huh? I see¡­¡± he said before he turned and looked at Sebastian again. ¡°Come in.¡±

    The man stepped aside and allowed Sebastian into the house. With one step inside the door, he could already feel her father¡¯s gaze piercing a hole right through him. It was as if he were stepping onto a live minefield. Delilah accepted the bowl back from him and briefly went to the kitchen to return it. When she came back, she nodded at Sebastian to follow her upstairs.

    ¡°Hold it. I¡¯m sure that he can teach you to draw down here. Take it to the kitchen.¡±

    ¡°Come on, Dad¡­¡±

    ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve met this boy and I want to keep my eyes on him. Kitchen. Now.¡±

    ¡°Dad! It¡¯s going to be fine!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it! Get your butts to the kitchen table and¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough, dear,¡± said a female voice from the living room. When Sebastian turned his head, a woman was standing there who could have passed for Delilah¡¯s older twin sister. ¡°You¡¯re scaring Delilah¡¯s friend and it¡¯s obvious this boy isn¡¯t going to do anything. Just let them go up to her room. I¡¯m sure the last thing our daughter wants is to be embarrassed like this in front of her friend.¡±

    ¡°Fine. I want your door open and I will be up periodically to check on you two.¡±

    ¡°No, dear. You won¡¯t. Leave them alone and have some faith in your daughter. This is the first friend she¡¯s made since we moved here. Don¡¯t ruin this for her.¡±

    ¡°Tch..¡± he said under his breath as he left for the living room defeated.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that. My husband loves our daughter very much and can be a bit strict when it comes to her friends¡­ especially if that friend is a boy. His name is Scott, by the way. I¡¯m Catherine, Delilah¡¯s mother. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡±

    ¡°Hi, Mrs. Yearwood. I¡¯m Sebastian Saje.¡±

    ¡°Haha¡­ you can just call me Catherine or Cat if you prefer. I may be polite here but I¡¯m not the type for formalities. Now, run along. I¡¯ll keep the bear in his cave.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Mom!¡±

    Delilah took Sebastian by the hand and led him up the stairs. He never expected her to grab onto him like that and it caused him to blush a little. When they got up to her bedroom, he took a look around and noticed that it was very similar to a boy¡¯s room. Even though she had told him what she was like before, he still kind of expected to see things like pink bed sheets, curtains, dolls, and other things you would find in a typical girl¡¯s room but there was none of that here.

    She had the same gaming consoles as he did, her own anime and manga collection neatly tucked away on a couple of bookshelves, and her room had a navy blue and silver theme going for it. She had a few action figures of some of her favorite anime characters adorned on the tops of the bookcases. After taking it all in, he almost felt as if he were in a home away from home.

    ¡°Feel free to have a look around if you want.¡±

    Sebastian approached her bookcases and started going through what games she had. She noticed that she had a copy of The Zero Eclipse, one of the RPGs that was on his list to buy. He pulled the game off the shelf and began to look over the back cover. Noticing that he had taken a keen interest in it, she walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder.

    ¡°Want to borrow it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s still a new game. Aren¡¯t you still playing it?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t started it yet. I¡¯ve been busy with certain things,¡± she said with a little giggle.

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    ¡°Are you sure? I mean, I¡¯d love to play it but if you haven¡¯t started it yet, I don¡¯t want to rob you of it.¡±

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t fine, I wouldn¡¯t have offered. Don¡¯t forget to take it with you when you leave¡­ on one condition. No spoilers.¡±

    ¡°I think I can manage that!¡±

    So he wouldn¡¯t forget it, Sebastian slipped it into the front pouch of his backpack. That prompted him to pull out all of the art materials that he brought over. Delilah sat down on her bed so Sebastian looked around for a chair to sit on; however, she didn¡¯t have one in her room. Suddenly, he heard a gentle tapping as she patted the bed as if to say ¡®Sit next to me.¡¯  He blushed a little as he took a seat while keeping about a leg¡¯s width between them. Delilah grabbed her sketchbook and scooted over to where she was pressed up against his left side. Sebastian cleared his throat and focused on why he was there.

    ¡°So, before I can teach you anything, I need to see what you¡¯re capable of. Don¡¯t worry about how it will look, just go ahead and draw something so I can see what I can do to help.¡±

    Delilah was a bit nervous because even though he had already seen a so-called finished drawing, he had never seen her method of creation. She took a deep breath and nodded before using a stencil to form her basic shapes for the head. Once that was done, she placed down her guidelines and Sebastian immediately noticed that they were a bit off but he let her continue anyway.

    He watched her fill out the details of the eyes, nose, and mouth but she hesitated a bit when it came to the hair. It wasn¡¯t that she couldn¡¯t decide on a hairstyle but rather the fact that she already noticed some of her errors. One eye was bigger than the other, the mouth didn¡¯t look right, and the nose seemed a bit off-center. She already knew that Sebastian was going to comment on that so she decided to just go for as simple of a hairstyle as possible.

    Nearly thirty minutes had passed until she finished her sketch. She certainly wasn¡¯t as fast as Sebastian was and her nerves also played a huge part in it; however, when it was all said and done, Sebastian smiled because he thought that it would be easy to help her with her mistakes.

    ¡°So? How bad did I do?¡±

    ¡°First, before I say anything, how long have you been practicing?¡±

    ¡°Less than a week¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to be brutally honest with you here. For less than a week, you¡¯re already better than I was when I had that much experience under my belt.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Come to think of it, I should have brought them with me but when I wanted to learn how to draw, I could barely make a half-decent stick figure. I was terrible at drawing. When I fell in love with anime, I knew I wanted to try that style but my results were nowhere near this level the first week. This tells me that you probably had the gift of drawing this whole time. I¡¯m not saying you¡¯re going to become a master tonight or even a month from now but I can already tell you have all of the fundamentals in place to improve a lot quicker than I did.¡±

    ¡°Do you mean that?¡±

    ¡°I do.¡±

    Delilah smiled and right when Sebastian was about to give her her first pointer, there was a light knock on the door. When they turned their heads, Delilah¡¯s mother was standing in the doorway.

    ¡°Hey, Sebastian. I¡¯m about to get dinner ready and I wanted to know if you would like to stay and eat with us?¡±

    For a moment, Sebastian didn¡¯t know how to react. He never expected an invitation like that to be presented to him; however, he figured that since he had Delilah over his house, the least he could do would be to return the favor.

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯d love to. I¡¯ll just tell my mom that I¡¯ll be eating here tonight.¡±

    ¡°Sounds great! Do you have any food allergies or anything that you can¡¯t eat?¡±

    ¡°No, ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°Again, call me Catherine or Cat, haha. But that¡¯s great! We¡¯re having Scott¡¯s favorite tonight, beef stew. I¡¯ll make a little extra so that there is plenty to go around! I¡¯ll let you guys get back to what you were doing. I¡¯ll call you down when it¡¯s ready¡­ shouldn¡¯t take too long.¡±

    Delilah¡¯s mother excused herself while Sebastian pulled out his phone and sent his mother a text to let her know he wasn¡¯t going to be home. With that out of the way, Delilah put down her sketchbook and folded her hands on her lap.

    ¡°We should probably pick this up after dinner. If mom says it won¡¯t take long, then there isn¡¯t a point in getting too deep into things before we have to go eat.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true but¡­ It¡¯s only a quarter after four. Your family eats a bit early, huh?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my Dad for you. Whenever he¡¯s home from being on base, he likes his dinners early. If he doesn¡¯t eat by five, he gets a bit cranky.¡±

    ¡°Ah. Sorry if this seems insensitive but your Dad is pretty rough around the edges. Aren¡¯t you afraid to mess up or something around him?¡±

    ¡°I can understand that given your first impression of him but he¡¯s not actually like that all the time. He¡¯s only acting like that because you¡¯re a boy and I¡¯m his baby girl. He¡¯s just being overprotective. When it¡¯s just us, he¡¯s very attentive, always willing to help, and will never turn down an opportunity to listen to our problems or anything like that. He¡¯s a great father and I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll open up to you a bit more once he trusts you.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    I guess he¡¯s right not to trust me right off the bat. I wouldn¡¯t trust me either after some of the things I¡¯ve said to myself. I need to make sure Delilah never finds out about any of that.

    ¡°So¡­ since we have a little bit of time to kill,  do you mind if we have a bit of a serious conversation?¡±

    ¡°Um, sure? What about?¡±

    ¡°I kind of opened up to you so I was wondering if you wouldn¡¯t mind doing the same? What happened between you and Bryce?¡±

    I mean¡­ It¡¯s true that she did tell me a bunch of personal stuff and what happened between myself and Bryce was all Bryce¡¯s fault but¡­ it still doesn¡¯t change the fact that I lost control and beat him half to death nor does it change the fact that I hit a woman¡­ even if it was an accident, I¡¯m still guilty of that. It¡¯s more than just Bryce, though. It¡¯s my father, too. It¡¯s not what they did that I have a hard time talking about¡­ It¡¯s how they made me feel¡­ It¡¯s the kind of person they turned me into. That¡¯s the part I¡¯m embarrassed to talk about.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ a pretty long story but¡­ I¡¯ll summarize it by just saying that he, Kayla, and Shiloh all pretended to be my friends until one day when they felt as if they didn¡¯t need me anymore. They tried to quietly phase me out but¡­ when I discovered their true feelings¡­ I¡­ I lost control and¡­¡±

    ¡°You fought, didn¡¯t you?¡± she asked to which Sebastian replied with a nod. ¡°But if Bryce did that to you, why was he so angry with you when he saw you becoming friends with me.¡±

    Even though I relived my memories in that dream, they weren¡¯t complete. I still remember what happened when Bryce came back to school after our fight. I still remember his words as clear as day. I guess I can tell her. I mean, it was just an accident after all. Plus, I can still avoid the parts that I don¡¯t want to talk about.

    ¡°During the fight, Kayla grabbed me by the shoulder to get me to stop hitting Bryce. On instinct, I spun around and accidentally hit her in the face. I¡­ ended up breaking her nose¡­ When they both returned to school, Bryce was furious and told me that if he ever caught me becoming friends with a girl ever again, he would make sure that they knew the truth about me¡­ but¡­ It¡¯s not true! It was just an accident! I never meant to hit her¡­ so¡­ please don¡¯t think I would ever hurt you¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I believe you. You said it yourself. You felt someone grab you and you spun around. They were probably closer than you thought they would have been and you accidentally hit them. It¡¯s not like you consciously threw her against the wall or anything, right? So¡­ there¡¯s no reason for me to think that way about you.¡±

    ¡°Thanks¡­¡±

    ¡°There is one other question I¡¯d like to ask. I told you that I picked you out because you had a different aura about you but¡­ something felt off when I talked to you. You seemed nice enough but the look in your eyes always said otherwise. Plus, you were looking out the window during my introduction. I once apologized to you because I thought that I was a bother. I didn¡¯t just say that because it was a knee-jerk reaction. It was something that I felt since we started talking. I just want to know if I was ever a bother to you?¡±

    If you had asked me this when we first met, I probably would have taken that opportunity to tell you to go to hell. It would have been a lot easier without knowing anything about you. But now¡­ how can I even tell you the truth about what I thought about you? I can¡¯t do that to you¡­ Not now¡­ not after everything. Plus, this is the part I don¡¯t want to discuss. Maybe I can find a better time to say what needs to be said. I just feel if I do it now, it¡¯s going to come out wrong and ruin everything.

    ¡°Delilah¡­ I promise that there will come a day when I can give you a proper answer but¡­ It¡¯s not today. There are some things about my life that I would like to share with you but¡­ I¡¯m just not ready to because I just don¡¯t know how you¡¯re going to react when you hear it. The last thing I want to do is lose you as a friend all because I couldn¡¯t explain myself properly. I know that sounds like I did think of you as a bother but I¡¯ll ease your mind and tell you this much¡­ No. You weren¡¯t a bother to me and that¡¯s the truth. I can¡¯t tell you why just yet but you were more like a guiding light than anything.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Whenever you¡¯re ready, I¡¯ll be here for you.¡±

    Delilah went to place her hand on top of Sebastian¡¯s when there was a knock on the door. Catherine had returned to let them know that dinner was ready. They headed down to the kitchen where Scott had already fixed himself a bowl. He waited for everyone to be seated and asked to hold hands.

    ¡°In this house, we say Grace before every meal.¡±

    Sebastian nodded and nervously joined hands with Scott and Delilah. Scott said Grace and began to dig in. As they ate, he took it upon himself to drill Sebastian was a barrage of questions. He asked him everything from his favorite foods, and where he lived, all the way down to his GPA. It was as if he were building a mental portfolio of him but despite the interrogation, Sebastian answered his every question truthfully. The more Scott learned about Sebastian the softer his tone got.

    After dinner, Sebastian made sure to thank Catherine for the food. Delilah led Sebastian back upstairs to her room where they planned to resume working on her artwork. He began to explain some of his methods for drawing lines. He noticed that she had been holding her pencil a bit too stiffly and said that to create smoother curves she should release some of the tension in her wrist and let the pencil flow naturally. He said that wrist control was very important for the hair as quick, loose strokes gave the hair its thin look.

    He also gave her tips on how to make the eyes the same size in a frontal view as well as how to compress an eye so that it looked natural in a three-quarter turn view. He had her practice a few times and even though the words reached her ears, she had a hard time putting it to practice. He leaned over without thinking and wrapped his arm around her, clutching her left wrist. He then moved both of their hands so that she could get the feel of a quick line stroke. He was so close that she could feel his warmth perfectly. She began to blush and almost lost concentration until he told her to give it a try without his help.

    She snapped out of it and tried to mimic the same motions. When she did and saw the difference in the results, her face lit up. By the time they were done, the sun had begun to set.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting a bit late. I should probably get going. After all, we still have school tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for everything. I feel as if I learned a lot! I¡¯m going to keep practicing!¡±

    Delilah walked Sebastian downstairs where he announced that he was heading home. He, again, thanked them for having him over for dinner and made sure to compliment Catherine¡¯s cooking. Scott offered him a ride home but he said he only lived a couple of streets over so he would be fine but thanked him for the offer. Delilah walked him outside where she gave her goodbyes.

    ¡°Say, want to walk to school together tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Sure. I usually leave around 7:30.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll meet you at the corner at that time then. Have a good night, Sebby.¡±

    ¡°Sebby?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a nickname I picked out for you. Is it too much?¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s fine!¡±

    ¡°Cool. See you tomorrow, Sebby!¡±

    Delilah went back inside. When the door closed, Sebastian headed back home. On the way, he reflected on everything that happened.

    If there ever was another clue that suggests that she likes me as more than a friend, it¡¯s the fact that I now have a nickname. Although, I will admit¡­ It¡¯s kind of cute-sounding. I swear¡­ one day when I can find the words to tell you everything, I¡¯ll repay that kindness but¡­ the truth is¡­ I¡¯m still testing you. Granted, you¡¯re passing with flying colors but a little part of me still has trouble letting go. I guess that¡¯s only natural, though. For some reason, I feel as if everything is going to be just fine this time.

 No Longer Hiding

    That night, Sebastian unloaded his art supplies and replaced them with all of his textbooks. As he was doing that, he remembered that Delilah had lent him her copy of The Zero Eclipse. He figured that since there was a bit of time left before he had to go to bed, he would fire it up and see what the game was about. The problem was that the game was so good that he ended up losing track of time. By the time he looked at the clock, it was nearly midnight. Jolted by that realization, he quickly saved and shut everything down.

    He would pay for that the next morning as he was forced back to the world of the living by a screeching alarm clock. He smashed the button and pulled himself out of bed. After his typical morning routine, he almost succumbed to his regularly scheduled habits and was about to leave through the back door.

    Wait¡­ Delilah said that she wanted to walk to school together. That means that I¡¯ll have to go out the front so I can meet her. Maybe I should have told her about my shortcut. Oh well, it¡¯s only an extra minute out of the way. Not like it¡¯s a big deal or anything.

    Sebastian switched directions and headed out the front door. Their timing couldn¡¯t have been more impeccable, though, because as he walked down the road toward the corner, Delilah could be seen walking there, too. At their current speeds, they would meet up at the corner at almost the same time. Sebastian chuckled to himself because he thought of it as a well-timed final scene from a cheap movie. However, what Delilah didn¡¯t know was that when Sebastian woke up this morning, he decided to give her a bit of a surprise.

    ¡°Good Morning, Sebby!¡±

    ¡°Good Morning, Lilah!¡±

    It took a second or two for it to register but when it did, she smiled and let out a gentle giggle.

    ¡°You gave me a nickname!¡±

    ¡°Just thought that I would return the favor. Is it okay?¡±

    ¡°Yeah! I love it! I¡¯ll be your Lilah and you can be my Sebby!¡±

    Sebastian didn¡¯t have an answer for that in the vocal sense. Instead, he gave her a warm and friendly smile. As they walked to school together, Delilah tapped him on the shoulder and pulled a piece of paper out of her backpack.

    ¡°Hey. I practiced some more last night after you left. Do you think there was an improvement?¡±

    She handed him the paper. When he unfolded it, he saw a sketch that was ten times better than the one she had presented to him before. Sure, there were some proportion issues still but they weren¡¯t as glaring as the ones before. The shading still needed some adjustments and her line work was a mixture of harsh and smooth strokes. It was apparent that there were areas where she practiced the wrist control that he showed her and areas where she didn¡¯t. Overall, it was a huge improvement and he was surprised that it looked that good only after that short amount of time.

    One thing he did take notice of, though, was that there was a lot of smudges and lead residue all over the paper. That meant that she had drawn and erased her lines over and over again. They probably didn¡¯t come out the way she had hoped and this finished product was the result of many failed attempts. It also meant that she had worked very hard on it to present this to him. He knew that he had to offer some words of encouragement and not let something just slip out of his mouth as he did last time.

    ¡°You did this last night?¡±

    ¡°Yep!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll start with the fair critique. The line work is a little inconsistent but it shows that you practiced the technique I showed you. It looks like you practiced the parts you were most comfortable with doing and that, to me, is the best path to perfecting it. Once you master the areas you¡¯re comfortable with, move on to the ones that you¡¯re not and get better. Also, the proportions are slightly off but it¡¯s not too noticeable. With that being said, it¡¯s truly amazing you came this far just after the little time we spent together. You¡¯re way further ahead than me when you compare your length of experience. In short, this is really, really good! I¡¯m proud of you!¡±

    He went to hand it back to her and that¡¯s when he noticed an odd combination. Delilah had a huge smile on her face but she also had tears in her eyes. She wasn¡¯t crying because her feelings were hurt but rather the opposite¡­ she was so happy, the tears just came naturally; however, Sebastian didn¡¯t know what to think, and after what happened last time, seeing those tears caused him to immediately tense up.

    ¡°Did¡­ I say something wrong again?¡±

    Delilah stopped walking and shook her head ¡®no.¡¯ Sebastian stopped as well and that¡¯s when she stepped in and wrapped her arms around him.

    ¡°Thank you, Sebby! I worked hard on it and I¡¯m so happy that you thought that I got better. It¡¯s all because of you so, again, thank you for helping me out! You don¡¯t know how much it means to me!¡±

    Oh, she¡¯s crying because she¡¯s happy. I¡¯ve never seen that before, to be honest. I was scared I did something wrong again but, that¡¯s a bit of a relief. This is also the second hug I¡¯ve received from her, and I have to say, I¡¯m still not used to this sort of thing. It feels great, though. It¡¯s warm and she smells nice but, somehow, I just have this unnatural feeling as if I don¡¯t deserve to be hugged. I¡¯m sure over time that feeling will fade but it doesn¡¯t help me now.

    Before he could even finish his thoughts, she let go and started walking again. The rest of the way there, Sebastian changed up the subject and told her that he had started playing The Zero Eclipse last night. Delilah wondered how he liked it and he confessed that he didn¡¯t go to bed until almost midnight. He apologized if he seemed a bit tired but the game was the reason why. She giggled but was happy that he liked it but she sternly reminded him not to give away any spoilers.

    When they arrived at class, Sebastian was a bit parched from all of the talking they did. After all, he normally walked to school alone in silence so it wasn¡¯t something he was used to. He excused himself and said he was going to go buy a water since they still had some time before class began. A few students were already there in the classroom, Bryce, Shiloh, and Kayla included; however, Jessika, the girl who sat behind her was there and tapped her on the shoulder when she sat down.

    ¡°Hey, Delilah?¡±

    ¡°Hey! Jessika, right?¡±

    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s me! Say, are you doing anything for lunch today?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any plans yet, why?¡±

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that it¡¯s been a bit since you transferred in and I noticed that you eat lunch alone here in the classroom sometimes. I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out today.¡±

    ¡°Oh! Sure! I¡¯d love to! Sometimes Sebastian likes to hang out with me at lunch. Would it be okay if he tagged along, too?¡±

    ¡°Normally, I wouldn¡¯t mind but I was just wondering if it could be just the two of us today.¡±

    Delilah internally raised an eyebrow. She had a suspicion but figured that maybe she just wanted to get to know her and didn¡¯t want the conversation to derail.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°Cool!¡±

    Sebastian returned shortly after empty-handed. When he took his seat, Delilah glanced over looking a bit perplexed.

    ¡°I thought you went to go get water?¡±

    ¡°I did. I was thirsty so I already drank it. I only got one of those half-sized bottles, though, so don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s not going to be a repeat of what happened at the mall. By the way, do you want to do some more lessons during lunch?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I can¡¯t today. Jessika here invited me to lunch. She wanted to hang out. I hope that¡¯s cool.¡±

    Sebastian looked back as Jessika waved and smiled at him. Sebastian returned her smile with one of his own.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s cool. We can always catch up after school or something. It¡¯s not a big deal.¡±

    Sebastian caught Bryce over in the corner of the room whispering something to Shiloh and Kayla.

    Something seems a bit suspicious here. Why would Jessika want to hang out with Delilah all of a sudden? She minded her business this entire time but now that I¡¯m getting closer to Delilah, she suddenly wants to have lunch with her. I mean, that in and of itself doesn¡¯t seem all that suspicious but the fact that those three are over there whispering to each other tells me that they have something to do with this. For now, I¡¯ll just let it go and pretend like I don¡¯t suspect anything. If Delilah is my friend, she¡¯ll tell me about it later¡­  or at least I hope she will.

    When lunchtime came, Jessika got up and asked Delilah to come with her. Sebastian made a friendly remark to ¡°have fun¡± to which Jessika smiled and thanked him. Sebastian took notice that they exited the class and went to the left. Bryce, Kayla, and Shiloh remained seated; however, Shiloh was side-eyeing him as if she were keeping tabs. Sebastian decided to play along and gathered his things. When he left, he took a right and decided to head to his storeroom hiding spot. Sure enough, once he was far enough away, the trio got up from their seats and headed out to the left.

    After Jessika led Delilah down a couple of hallways, they came to a secluded dead end. Delilah was a bit confused by what was going on until she saw Bryce, Kayla, and Shiloh turn the corner.

    ¡°Looks like they¡¯re all here. I did my part. Hope you four have a great lunch together,¡± said Jessika.

    When she turned to leave, Bryce handed her what looked to be some money. It was more than obvious that she had been set up by them. Delilah wasn¡¯t sure what to do when Bryce approached her; however, he immediately calmed the situation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my method was a bit underhanded but all I wanted to do was talk to you. Given the past that Sebastian and I have, I either suspect that he already told you about us and you would have rejected my offer to hang out or if we asked in front of Sebastian, he would have stood up and rejected us for you. Either way, I thought this would be the only way to get to talk to you without any interference. Just one thing, though. Don¡¯t be mad at Jessika¡­ we asked her to be a neutral party without telling her anything. We just promised to buy her lunch if she helped us out.¡±

    ¡°So, what¡¯s so important that you needed to go this far?¡± Delilah asked.

    ¡°I simply want to know what the deal is between you and Sebastian.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re just friends. That¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°I see. Did he talk to you about us by any chance?¡±

    ¡°In fact, he did. He told me how you used him. He thought you guys were friends. His heart was crushed when he found out that you didn¡¯t care about him.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s only half true. You see, we didn¡¯t ditch Sebastian because we were using him. We ditched Sebastian because we found out the cold ugly truth about him. Let me ask you this¡­ When you started talking to Sebastian, did he seem friendly yet distant to you?¡±

    ¡°I mean, he was nice when he spoke to me.¡±

    ¡°And what about when you asked him to hang out at lunch or to walk home with him after school?¡±

    ¡°He said that he was busy and he couldn¡¯t¡±

    ¡°Right. He must have said that he had to help his friends with something or run errands for his mother, right?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yeah¡­¡± she said as those excuses sounded familiar.

    ¡°Well, he lied to you. You see, Sebastian doesn¡¯t have any friends. He hasn¡¯t had any since middle school. We should know because we used to be his only friends. He¡¯s always been a loner even way back in elementary school. Nobody wanted to play with him because he would always just sit by himself and look gloomy. We decided to change that so we approached him about playing kickball with us. We thought he would turn us down but he accepted. He seemed pretty happy at first but slowly, he started to hang out with us less and less. I invited him over to read comics, to go check out new video games at the arcade, little things like that, and he started turning us down.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ it got to the point where we felt like we didn¡¯t matter to him anymore,¡± added Shiloh.

    ¡°Then, one day, Bryce confronted him and asked why he didn¡¯t want to hang out anymore. Sebastian turned around and said that we already knew why but none of us knew what he was talking about. He mentioned something about a camping trip and that Bryce was gloating about going on one with us and we never invited him.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Kayla. ¡°We did go on a camping trip but when we called his house, his mother answered and said that he couldn¡¯t go because he wasn¡¯t feeling well. Soon after that, we began to notice the change in him. He tried to tell us that we were the ones that stopped bothering with him and then he got pretty mad and started a fight with Bryce and then¡­ when I tried to stop them¡­ he turned and struck me in the face, breaking my nose.¡±

    ¡°Since that day, Sebastian swore he would never make another friend again,¡± said Bryce. ¡°When we saw him getting friendly with you, we didn¡¯t think that anything would come of it. Now it seems you two are getting closer so I thought we should pull you aside and tell you this for your safety. Sebastian isn¡¯t the kind and gentle person that you think he is. One day, he may snap again and end up hurting you. We don¡¯t want to see that happen.¡±

    This was a lot to take in for Delilah. She had no idea how to process any of this but she also weighed the fact that they could be lying. Then again, she starkly remembered their confrontation with Sebastian during lunch where they threatened to tell her everything. Sebastian didn¡¯t seem too pleased about that and even threatened Bryce. If this was all true, it would also explain why Sebastian didn¡¯t want to reveal everything to her but, at the same time, it also would mean that he was lying about what they did to him, too.

    ¡°Whether or not you want to believe us is up to you. I just figured that the best thing we could do is tell you everything. I know Sebastian probably painted us in a negative light but we¡¯re not bad people. We¡¯re just trying to make sure nothing happens to you as it did to us. Now that we¡¯ve said what we wanted to say, we¡¯ll leave you and let you decide what to do for yourself.¡±

    ¡°If something does happen and you need help, just let us know, okay?¡± said Shiloh with a hint of concern in her voice.

    The trio walked away. Delilah stood there in disbelief that the kind-hearted Sebastian who took the time to help her learn how to draw would be such a terrible person. With lunch nearly over, she had to go back to class. She knew that she wouldn¡¯t be able to look at Sebastian the same way until she had an opportunity to speak with him.

    The whole afternoon, Delilah tried to think of anything that would indicate that Sebastian was the same person that they described him as. Nothing could come to mind but, then again, the excuses that he gave for avoiding her last week did make more sense.

    When the final bell rang, she got up and waited for Sebastian to pack his things. As he left, she left with him, acting like they were going to walk home together. He didn¡¯t mind it since the two of them were friends now. The entire way out of the school, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He still had a warm smile on his face as if he was genuinely happy to be with her. She even remembered that he thought about giving her more art lessons so she used that as a way to break the silence between them.

    ¡°Say, are you still up for giving me some more drawing lessons today?¡±

    ¡°Sure! I¡¯d be happy to. There is something that I need to take care of first if that¡¯s okay.¡±

    ¡°Yeah! That¡¯s fine! What time would work for you?¡±

    ¡°Right after we get home.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Didn¡¯t you say that you needed to take care of something first?¡±

    ¡°I did. That something is you.¡±

    Suddenly, a shiver ran through her spine. They had already crossed the intersection and were on the main road home. A little bit past the intersection, there was a vacant lot filled with gravel with an old, abandoned warehouse there. Sebastian glanced over at it and motioned for her to follow.

    ¡°Come¡­ let¡¯s take a bit of a detour.¡±

    At that moment, every red flag was raised. She began to think that Bryce and the others were right about him. If so, what was he going to do to her if she went with him? A look of fear became apparent and when he saw that, he immediately waved his hands in front of him.

    ¡°OH! I guess I¡¯m phrasing this in a bad way! I just want to talk but I want to do it in private in case anyone from school passed by and heard us! I swear, that¡¯s all I intend to do! Sorry!! I didn¡¯t mean to scare you!¡±

    When she heard that, she could hear a genuine tone in his voice. For some reason, she believed him. She agreed to follow him so Sebastian led the way. Once they were inside the abandoned warehouse, Sebastian put his backpack down and took a seat on a random container.

    ¡°Now that we¡¯re alone, I just want to ask¡­ what did Bryce tell you at lunch?¡±

    Even though Sebastian didn¡¯t look upset or angry, she still tensed up. She wasn¡¯t sure who had told her the truth and was afraid to even say anything. Her heart began to race as tiny beads of sweat formed on her brow. Sebastian sat there patiently and awaited an answer. With the silence dragging on, she knew that she had to say something!

 Letting it All Out

    Delilah continued to stand there as the words she wanted to say stayed locked inside of her mind. They couldn¡¯t find the path to her mouth so all she could do was remain frozen in place. That silence confirmed Sebastian¡¯s suspicions and he realized that asking that made her feel uncomfortable. He stood up and slowly approached her but she tensed up even more when he did. In her mind, he was coming to force an answer out of her and when he stood before her, she closed her eyes and winced.  Suddenly, she felt the warm and gentle placement of his hand on her shoulder, his thumb gently rubbing it in hopes that it might calm her down.

    ¡°Hey, there¡¯s no need to be afraid. I¡¯m not going to hurt you if that¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking. I just wanted to talk. It¡¯s just the two of us here so you can tell me anything, okay? I genuinely meant it when I said that I wanted to be friends with you so as your friend, I want you to trust me¡­ besides, I trust you which is why I want to tell you some things about me but first, I need to know what they said so I can know how to explain things to you.¡±

    She opened her eyes and looked at Sebastian. His face was close to hers so she could see him clearly. There was still that warm and friendly look¡­ the type that wouldn¡¯t hurt a fly staring back at her. He was still smiling and doing his best to ease her tensions. For some reason, that calming aura about him made her relax, albeit slightly. Even though she began speaking meekly, she eventually got more comfortable and told Sebastian everything they had said. When she was done explaining, Sebastian sighed and sat back down.

    ¡°So¡­ You know the truth, then,¡± he said in a bit of a dejected tone.

    ¡°Wait¡­ what they said was true!? You were the one that stopped bothering with them and not the other way around?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ It¡¯s true¡­¡±

    ¡°So, that means you¡­ Lied to me?¡± she asked with a hint of pain in her voice.

    Sebastian never wanted this moment to come. He had done his best to hide as much as possible from her to avoid this very scenario. However, he knew that he couldn¡¯t hide it any longer. He owed her an explanation and if things ended here because of it, he was prepared to accept that fate. With a heavy sigh, he answered her.

    ¡°Yes. I lied to you but¡­ It¡¯s because I wasn¡¯t ready to tell you all of that. Truth be told, I was really scared of how you would react if I had told you. You were nice enough to tell me about yourself, how you grew up, and the life that you had but¡­ And I¡¯m going to apologize here in advance because this might sound insensitive¡­ Moving from city to city and never being able to keep a friend is a walk in the park compared to nearly being beaten to death by your father where the CTE you sustained from the beatings caused you to have delusions that weren¡¯t real.¡±

    Delilah was taken aback by that statement. While Sebastian¡¯s dreams did depict his father as someone who had a lot of personal demons, they never painted the full picture. Delilah didn¡¯t know what to make of that explanation; however, after everything Bryce had told her, she knew that there was more to be said.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s the truth then?¡±

    ¡°This is going to be a bit of an explanation so you might want to take a seat. In fact, here, take mine because this container seems like the only thing that¡¯s suitable to sit on.¡±

    Delilah swapped places with him as he leaned up against a badly damaged concrete pillar that once served as a support for the warehouse¡¯s roof. He let out a sigh as he crossed his arms and arched his leg up, pressing the flat of his foot against the pillar.

    ¡°It¡¯s all true. I had no friends and, yes, I made up excuses when we first met because I didn¡¯t want to be bothered by you. I¡¯m sorry about that but after everything that happened, I truly did swear that I wouldn¡¯t make another friend for as long as I lived¡­ not because I was scared to trust them but because I was scared that I would end up hurting them as I did Bryce¡­ and especially Kayla. The part about the fight where she grabbed my shoulder and I spun around and accidentally broke her nose is the complete truth. It also woke me up because I had felt so bad about hitting her, even if it was an accident, that I felt as if I didn¡¯t deserve to have friends in my life anymore.¡±

    ¡°The thing is, Bryce told you that I started to hang out with them less and less after they had their camping trip without me. They must have told you that I was sick and couldn¡¯t make it. From time to time, I would have flashbacks about my father. I was so young at the time¡­ just five years old¡­ so I don¡¯t remember a lot of the details. I just remember seeing the flashing lights outside my window. My mother had had enough of the two of us getting abused and called the police while he was beating me. I remember hearing him argue with the officers when they arrived. Soon, there were some noises, as if there was a scuffle going on followed by a loud bang. I never heard my father¡¯s voice again after that moment.¡±

    ¡°Being five years old with a severe concussion does things to your memories. I remember my mom telling me over and over again that everything was going to be okay now. In my visions, I pictured a courtroom where my father was sentenced for his crimes and where the lawyer told my Mom that they would get divorced. However, the reality was that it wasn¡¯t a courtroom but a funeral parlor. We were saying our goodbyes to that rotten piece of shit and through it all, my mother kept telling me everything was going to be okay. I don¡¯t know why I would remember a courtroom but I would suspect it was my mind not being satisfied with him getting the justice he deserved¡±

    ¡°As I got older, the visions became more and more real to me albeit less and less frequent. In fact, to this day, I still have some leftover mental trauma from everything that happened. Part of those visions was where Bryce, Kayla, and Shiloh were the ones who turned their backs on me and not the other way around. My mind was truly trying to justify my actions because I felt so guilty for everything that I did to them. When you tell yourself a lie enough times, you sometimes start to believe it. Add in CTE which tricks your mind into believing false memories and soon you can¡¯t tell the difference between what¡¯s real and what¡¯s not anymore.¡±

    ¡°Plus, it made a convenient cover story to delay having this conversation. I thought that if I had lied to you, I could ease into the conversation and apologize for everything. I hoped that if I revealed the ugly truth, you would understand why I lied, other than just coming right out with everything and saying ¡®Hey, I¡¯m your friend now but trust me, I used to be a piece of shit that didn¡¯t care about you or anyone else.¡¯¡±

    ¡°So, since I admitted that I lied to you about being busy and not wanting to bother with you, you¡¯re probably wondering why am I friends with you now. Why the change of heart? Even though I was cursing up a storm in my mind and wishing you would just leave me alone, I was trying to be polite. I was wrestling with myself because being nice to you reminded me of how I used to be when I had become friends with Bryce. Even though I desired a life of peace and quiet, you, who knew nothing, came up to me and were honestly trying to make a friend. I¡­ just couldn¡¯t bring myself to break your heart or be mean to you.¡±

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie anymore. I wanted to break your heart. I wanted to send you away so that you would leave me alone but¡­ every time I tried to do that, I just couldn¡¯t bring myself to do it and I asked myself over and over again the simple question of why. Then, one night, I had a dream that was just a series of memories strung together in the form of a nightmare. The fragmented memories about my father, the fabricated stories that I convinced myself were real about Bryce, Kayla, and Shiloh. I relived them all and when I woke up, something in my mind snapped and I realized that those fabricated stories were just that.¡±

    ¡°When I thought about everything you were doing, how hard you were trying to be my friend, it made me realize that maybe I deserved another chance¡­ that I could find happiness once again. Part of me still feels like I don¡¯t deserve any of this but for the first time since elementary school, I¡¯m trying. I¡¯m trying hard to move past everything and to find true happiness with a genuine friend. Your kindness made me realize that I was living a lonely and miserable life and I didn¡¯t want that anymore.¡±

    ¡°And¡­ if you¡¯re scared that the trauma I suffered is going make me lash out at you, you don¡¯t need to worry. That part mostly healed a long time ago. It will never fully heal but¡­ I have these to help with it¡­¡±

    Sebastian reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of pills, showing it to her before putting them away.

    ¡°The trauma I¡¯m referring to now is my mental trauma of living my life the way that I had. How stupid I was to believe false memories that my mind tricked me into believing and how that ended up costing me the only friends I had in life. Every day I lived with that pain¡­ I lived with that heartache¡­ that I wasn¡¯t meant to have friends or a happy life. Then you came along and showed me that I could. You made me realize that I could start over so that¡¯s what I¡¯m trying to do.¡±

    ¡°Delilah¡­ you have no idea how sorry I am for lying to you but I didn¡¯t want to hurt you. I didn¡¯t want you to think I was a monster and reject me. I¡­ I just thought that the more I could keep this from you, the better off we would be but¡­ here we are. Everything is out in the open now so if you want to tell me to go to hell and run away, I¡¯m prepared for that.¡±

    Delilah sat there and hung onto his every word. He had just poured his heart out to her and while it stung to know that he had lied to her this entire time, hearing his explanation made her heart ache for him. What happened was beyond his control. A five-year-old child couldn¡¯t possibly defend himself against a full-grown adult. A damaged mind conjuring false memories was also something beyond Sebastian¡¯s control, too. At least he was trying to lay everything out on the table but given her past of being ridiculed, she had a habit of making sure of things and this instance was no different.

    ¡°I already told you my story. You already know that I¡¯m starting over, too, so, I completely understand. I can¡¯t imagine going through the things you¡¯ve been through, though. I¡¯m sorry that happened to you but despite all of that, I need to know something. Do you truly want to be my friend or would you rather go back to being alone?¡±

    In the beginning, I looked for a golden opportunity just like this. A silver platter where all I had to do was reach out and take what lay upon it. I never imagined for even a second that the truth about my life would end up being the catalyst that would bring that silver platter before me. Now¡­ I want nothing to do with that damn platter at all!

    ¡°Going back to my comfort zone of being alone is tempting, to be honest. There is still a piece of me that wants to do that but¡­ that piece has gotten smaller and smaller every day. If I had been given this choice when we first met, I would have taken that offer in a heartbeat. I would go back home and sit in my room, play my video games, and listen to music in the dark. I would lie to my mom about going to a friend¡¯s house for dinner and, instead, go sit in the park and look up at the stars all while enjoying the relaxing sounds of nature. That¡¯s what the me from two weeks ago would do¡­ but that¡¯s not today¡¯s me.¡±

    ¡°Today¡¯s me wants nothing to do with the old me anymore. Today¡¯s me doesn¡¯t want a lonely and miserable life. Today¡¯s me wants to keep being friends with you and wouldn¡¯t think twice about it! While I could easily go back to the old me and go back to my regularly scheduled life, it would mean losing you! After everything you¡¯ve done to show me that I can be happy and I can put my trust in someone, it would be like a dagger through my heart if we couldn¡¯t be friends anymore so given the choice, I want to keep being friends with you!¡±

    When he proclaimed that, it warmed her heart. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she looked up at him.

    ¡°I want to be friends with you, too. I want to keep hanging out with you! I want you to keep teaching me how to draw! I want you to keep being the first friend I made since my family stopped moving so I¡¯m really happy that you chose that.¡±

    Delilah lunged in and hugged him tightly. Normally, her hugs so far would only last a few moments but this one lasted for what seemed like an eternity. Sebastian could feel every inch of her pressing against his body and that sensation caused him to blush; however, he embraced it and hugged her back. Finally, she pulled back and looked him in the eyes. She wore a warm smile on her face and it made Sebastian think that she was getting ready to kiss him. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was ready for something like that but then, those thoughts were instantly dispelled when she spoke up.

    ¡°So¡­ Do you have any other secrets you want to tell me while we¡¯re at it?¡±

    I have no idea if I should even tell her. After everything that was said, the last thing that I would want to do is have a celebration. In what twisted world would someone admit that they lied to you and then ask you to have a good time? That¡¯s weird but, then again, it¡¯s only because it¡¯s so close, and if I¡¯m going to embark on this journey of having a friend and putting trust in them, despite the odd timing, I should tell her.

    ¡°Yes and no. It¡¯s not a secret more than just something I haven¡¯t told you about yet. After everything that was said, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s something I should tell you.¡±

    ¡°Go ahead and tell me anyway. I mean, we¡¯re friends, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ we are. In that case, Sunday is my birthday. Maybe you¡¯d¡­ like to hang out or something?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Well¡­ since today is Friday, we don¡¯t have anything to do. Any homework we have can be done over the weekend so, how about we forget about the drawing lessons for today and head to the mall?¡±

    ¡°The mall? Why there?¡±

    ¡°Because somebody just said that their birthday is on Sunday and he deserves to get a gift¡­ You expect a girl to show up empty-handed when she comes over to hang out with you?¡±

    Sebastian chuckled to himself at the roundabout way in which she answered his question; however, he felt that she was going a bit too far for him.

    ¡°I appreciate that but you don¡¯t need to bother. I don¡¯t celebrate my birthday and, to be honest, just hanging out with you would be enough.¡±

    ¡°I never said anything about celebrating. I just said that I was going to get you a gift and that¡¯s what we will do. If you don¡¯t want to think of it as a birthday gift, then just think of it as a gift from me to you for being honest with me. We can call it a friendship gift if you prefer.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way out of it, is there?¡±

    ¡°Nope. We¡¯re going to the mall one way or another.¡±

    ¡°I guess we¡¯re going to the mall then.¡±

    Delilah began to walk away; however, Sebastian remained still. When she sensed that he wasn¡¯t following her, she turned around and glanced back at him. When their eyes met, he had a smile on his face.

    ¡°What?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    The tone and inflection in his voice were clear. He meant those two words more than any other that he had spoken. Hearing those words warmed her heart as well but she wasn¡¯t about to get all mushy on him now, especially when they had some shopping to do. Instead, she took a couple of steps back and grabbed him by the wrist, leading him away.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    With that, they were off to the mall. While it was a spontaneous decision, Sebastian didn¡¯t regret it one bit.

    I finally came clean and told her everything and she didn¡¯t reject me! I was worried for nothing but still¡­ the fact that she¡¯s still willing to trust me gives me hope that I¡¯ve made the right decision and¡­ no¡­ I can¡¯t think like that anymore. I can¡¯t doubt myself anymore. The proof that things can change is right here in front of me, leading me away. Who would¡¯ve thought that a girl with black hair and who likes to wear dark colors would shine brighter than the sun?

    However, this makes me wonder what would have happened had I come clean with Bryce and the others. They knew about the relationship I had with my father but they never knew exactly what my father did to me. Maybe if I explain that to them, I can repair the bridge I burned between us. Although, after everything that happened, they may never accept my friendship again. Oddly enough, I¡¯m okay with that because I have someone who has accepted me.

    Still, it might be worth trying. If Delilah has taught me anything today, it¡¯s that nothing is out of the realm of possibility. If I do make that decision, I just hope that they are willing to listen.

    Sebastian felt as if his world had been corrected and that he could truly find happiness in it once again. Those thoughts would carry him to the mall; however, little did he know that it wasn¡¯t just shopping that awaited him.

 The Gift of Friendship

    Not long after their heart-to-heart talk, Sebastian and Delilah arrived at the mall. She was excited at the opportunity to buy him a gift; however, as soon as she stepped foot into the mall, a sudden realization hit her: she had no idea what to buy him. Sure, the idea of buying him a gift meant that her heart was in the right place but it was a spontaneous reaction. She embarrassingly turned to Sebastian and scratched the side of her head.

    ¡°So, where to?¡±

    ¡°Wherever you¡¯d like to, I suppose.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just that I had the idea of getting you a gift but I don¡¯t know what it is you like. Maybe you could help me out here?¡±

    It¡¯s nice that she¡¯s trying but¡­ for someone who doesn¡¯t deserve a gift or celebrate his birthday, there isn¡¯t a whole lot that I¡¯d want. I mean, I could ask for a copy of The Zero Eclipse but that¡¯s a $70 game. We¡¯re both high school students with no jobs living off of whatever money our parents give us for an allowance. There¡¯s no way I would ask her to buy me something as expensive as that.

    I¡¯m betting that she was thinking something more along the lines of a cheap trinket of some sort but I don¡¯t have a use for anything like that. I¡¯d still accept one anyway just to honor the effort she¡¯s putting into this but¡­ the reality is, I don¡¯t want anything and would be happy with whatever she decided on giving me. She¡¯s probably not going to like this answer since it won¡¯t help the situation but there¡¯s nothing else I can think of to say.

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯d be happy with anything you get me so I¡¯ll leave it up to you.¡±

    Just as he suspected, Delilah frowned a bit because she had hoped for some sort of clue. She realized that she had hit a dead end and internally sighed. She was left with only one option which she presented to him.

    ¡°I guess we can just go from store to store until I find something I think might make a nice gift¡­ that is if you don¡¯t mind being dragged around by an indecisive girl.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I didn¡¯t have anything planned today anyway outside of hanging out with you and since we¡¯re not doing any drawing lessons, browsing the mall is okay with me.¡±

    Just hearing that made her smile. She took him by the hand and began to lead him away. She figured the best place to start would be the nearest store and they could work their way down.

    The first store they entered was filled with nothing but odd novelty items. Everything there ranged from LED-lit lava lamps to old-style landline phones shaped like animals. Some of the things in there were a bit eccentric and while a few things would humorously make a good gift, neither one of them felt that anything they offered would have been worth the trip. With one store down, they went to the next. This one was a clothing store that had some of the latest trends in fashion. As she looked around, an idea popped into her head.

    ¡°Say! I see you wearing the same pair of khakis all the time. Maybe I can get you a new pair of pants! It¡¯ll be practical! What¡¯s your size?¡±

    Wow, she¡¯s starting to sound like my mom¡­ and my size? I, honestly, never thought to measure myself. My mom knows what it is and just buys all of my clothes for me. I guess that rules out a new pair of pants as a gift.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what my size is.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s okay! They have measuring tape here! I¡¯ll just measure your waist!¡±

    Ah, okay. Wait. What!?

    Delilah went off in search of some tape. They had a small stand set up in the back of the store where customers could help themselves to a few items, measuring tape being one of them. When she found it, she beckoned him over. Sebastian gulped hard and nervously approached. She wasted no time and wrapped her arms around him, pulling the tape tightly against his stomach. He could feel her hands pressing into him which made him blush.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ 29.5 inches. You¡¯re skinnier than I thought you were! Now I just need to measure your length.¡±

    She let the tape dangle down to the floor then pressed it up against the side of his leg up to his waist. His eyes looked around to see if anyone was watching this. So far, nobody seemed to be paying attention. Once she was done, she stood up and gave him the results.

    ¡°31 inches so a 30, 32 pair would fit well and give you that little extra room where you need it. Let¡¯s see if we can find something in that size! What do you want? More khakis? Blue jeans? Stonewashed?¡±

    I just want to leave¡­

    ¡°Um¡­ given the price of some of these pants, maybe we could go with a t-shirt instead?¡±

    ¡°Why? They can¡¯t be THAT expensive?¡±

    When Delilah looked over, she noticed that the pants were, indeed, very pricy. A lot of the brands the store carried were from designer labels which would explain the high price range. She internally facepalmed because she never thought to check the name of the store before entering. She just saw clothes and thought a new pair of pants would make for a nice gift.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d probably have to save up a month¡¯s worth of allowance just to get you something from here. I guess I got a little too excited and didn¡¯t bother to check first¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I guess we can try somewhere else.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s the thought that counts.¡±

    Sebastian let out a heavy sigh of relief and with that, they were on to the next store, one that sold a bunch of trinkets such as pendants, rings, and small items that would look good on a small table or as a centerpiece for conversation. It seemed way more practical than Delilah¡¯s first two choices so they opted to poke their heads around in there.

    Sebastian wasn¡¯t big on wearing jewelry so, right away that eliminated about half of the store. The remaining options were things such as crystalized figurines of plants and animals, small fake potted plants, and other random household accessory items. After hitting another dead end, they headed out to try their luck at the next store. By this point, Sebastian wondered if this was a lost cause.

    This isn¡¯t going very well. I¡¯m starting to feel like I¡¯m wasting her time. I mean, I get that she¡¯s trying to do something nice for me and she¡¯s putting a lot of effort into it but, I just don¡¯t know what I want. I can¡¯t help her with this and to see her try and fail kind of hurts. I guess all the years I spent not caring about my birthday is showing here but¡­ I just never felt as if my life was worth celebrating. Maybe I should just pick the most random thing out and tell her to buy it just for the sake of ending all of this.

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    The next store was a rather large department store that sold just about anything you could imagine. Delilah figured that if they were going to find anything for him, it would be in this store. The only problem was where to begin looking.

    As they entered, they noticed that there were a lot of home landscape products displayed right up front. While she thought that Sebastian would look good riding a mower, it was a little out of her price range. They continued and saw that there was an automotive section, followed by home appliances, furnishings, hardware, and more. The store stretched on for what felt like an eternity but then she spied a section that caught her interest.

    ¡°Say, let¡¯s go check out the Electronics section!¡±

    Electronics? Everything there would be well out of your price range. I don¡¯t see a point in it but if she wants to go and just window shop, I guess that would be fine.

    Delilah led the way. Something about visiting the Electronics section perked her up and soon Sebastian found himself needing to catch up. When they arrived, it became even more clear when she went right up to the video game section and started browsing through the titles. As she scoured them, something, or rather, someone caught Sebastian¡¯s eye. When he looked over, he saw Bryce at the other end of the aisle, also checking out the games for a different console. Bryce didn¡¯t notice Sebastian at first but that changed when Kayla and Shiloh rounded the corner with shopping bags in hand. They looked straight at him before tapping Bryce on the shoulder to grab his attention.

    Suddenly, a lump developed in Sebastian¡¯s throat as they made their way over. As they approached, Delilah looked over and saw them. Remembering their earlier conversation, she tensed up as she already knew that this wasn¡¯t going to be a pleasant experience.

    ¡°Hey, Bryce,¡± she said meekly.

    ¡°Hey. I take it that you didn¡¯t think much about what we said earlier, huh?¡±

    ¡°She did,¡± Sebastian said, interjecting himself. ¡°She told me everything that you said to her.¡±

    ¡°And yet, you two are still together?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ we¡¯re still friends. I told her everything and while I was doing so, I realized that you don¡¯t know everything about me, either. It¡¯s¡­ rather complicated but I know I was in the wrong so many years ago. I destroyed our friendship but, if you can believe me, back then¡­ I wasn¡¯t aware of what was going on. I know that seems silly but¡­ it¡¯s true. Today, I now know what I did and¡­ I can fully understand if you don¡¯t want to do this but¡­ I would love the opportunity to talk and explain everything to you guys¡­ even if it means not being able to salvage our friendship.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Sebastian. We never did a thing to you. You somehow thought we turned our backs on you when it was you who did that to us¡­ all over a stupid camping trip. Then, you put your hands on Kayla when all she wanted to do was stop us from fighting.¡±

    ¡°I know. You have no idea how much I have regretted that day. That¡¯s why I swore to never have another friend again but¡­ Delilah showed me that people can change and they can be given a second chance. Once I explained everything to her, she still put her trust in me. She taught me that it¡¯s okay to stop hiding and that I can just be myself. That¡¯s why I want to talk to you¡­ so that I hope you can put that same faith in me as she did. As I said, I don¡¯t expect an explanation to repair our friendship but, at the very least, I owe you the truth.¡±

    ¡°Bryce, why don¡¯t we hear him out?¡± asked Kayla.

    ¡°You honestly think that whatever he has to say can change the fact that your nose has never been the same since he broke it?¡±

    ¡°Bryce¡­ even I could tell that it was an accident. Even if you don¡¯t want to, I¡¯d be willing to hear him out and see what he has to say.¡±

    ¡°Me, too,¡± said Shiloh. ¡°We¡¯ve held onto this grudge for far too long. I¡¯d be willing to give him another chance. After all, we never knew why he suddenly stopped wanting to hang around us. It would be nice to get some sort of closure.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know. I thought we had made a new friend and then, for something as silly as missing a camping trip all because you were sick, you threw all of that away¡­ it seems petty to me. If you two want to hear him out, have at it. I, on the other hand, need to think about it.¡±

    Bryce turned around and walked away. Kayla let out a heavy sigh and walked over to Sebastian, placing his hand into her own.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that. We¡¯re still willing to hear you out but, I see that you and Delilah are trying to spend some time together, we can always talk some other time when things are¡­ well¡­ better.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. That means a lot. I¡­ never meant for any of this to happen. I truly mean that.¡±

    ¡°I know you do. Well, we¡¯re going to get going. I¡¯ll see what I can do to talk Bryce into hearing you out. See you at school on Monday and¡­ oh, yeah¡­ happy early birthday. We never forgot.¡±

    Kayla and Shiloh both smiled as they turned and walked away. Sebastian couldn¡¯t believe that neither of them forgot when his birthday was. He stood there stunned silent as tears welled up in his eyes. Delilah placed her hand on his shoulder and gazed at his face. She immediately knew how he felt as if his feelings were connected to hers.

    ¡°They told me everything because they were concerned for me and now, they¡¯re more than willing to listen to your story. They may not have seemed like it at first but they are good people, aren¡¯t they?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ they are. We had a lot of fun when we were younger. I¡­ only have myself to blame for ruining all of that but I¡¯m going to try my hardest to make it up to them and¡­¡± he said as he turned around and faced her. ¡°...I have you to thank for all of that. If you hadn¡¯t shown me that it was okay to put my trust in someone again, I don¡¯t know if I would have ever gotten an opportunity like this. I¡¯d still be holed up in my room playing video games and cursing the world around me. Thank you¡­ for everything.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me just yet. I still owe you a birthday gift. Let¡¯s go, Sebby. I think I know just the thing to get you.¡±

    Delilah had something in mind but she didn¡¯t know where this store would keep it or if they even sold it at all. They went up and down nearly every aisle until she spotted something tucked away in the back corner. There were several peg hooks filled with thin strands of colored rope that were meant to be worn around one¡¯s wrist. She looked through them until she found one that was the perfect color.

    ¡°This!¡± she exclaimed.

    ¡°A rope bracelet?¡±

    ¡°Yep! People wear these as a symbol of friendship. If I buy two of them, then we could each wear one. That way, you¡¯ll always be reminded of our friendship and if your mind tries to decide that all of this is just some sort of illusion, you can look at it and remind yourself that our friendship is real!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d love to get a gift like that from you but¡­ just one question. Why the mint green color?¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t looked in a mirror in a while, huh? Because it matches the color of your eyes!¡±

    ¡°Haha, I guess you¡¯re right. I do have green eyes, don¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°It was one of the first things I noticed about you. They¡¯re cool looking!¡± said she before she took a brief pause to stare at the bracelets. She then looked up at him to see that they did, indeed, match his eyes. When she looked into them, she smiled. ¡°Happy birthday, Sebby.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Lilah!¡±

    Delilah looked around as if she were thinking about sticking them in her pocket. Sebastian got a bit suspicious as he didn¡¯t want to go to jail over two dollars worth of colored rope. When she saw that nobody was around, she looked back at Sebastian.

    ¡°Don¡¯t read too much into this but here¡¯s another early birthday present.¡±

    Delilah leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Sebastian couldn¡¯t believe that she had done that. The look of confusion and shock on his face was priceless. Delilah had a good laugh at him before she nudged him in the arm and invited him to come with her to check out. As he walked with her to the register, he couldn¡¯t help but notice how happy she seemed.

    I can¡¯t believe she just kissed me. I mean, it was just a friendly peck on the cheek but still¡­ It¡¯s pretty much a given that she likes me but if she¡¯s starting to become this bold and daring¡­ is she planning to confess to me? Is she going to do that on Sunday when she comes over? If she does, what am I going to do? Delilah is a great friend and all but I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m truly ready for love yet. Let¡¯s be real here¡­ I¡¯ve only known her for two-ish weeks. People just don¡¯t fall in love that quickly, do they? Maybe she¡¯s just being friendly? I mean, I¡¯ve seen ordinary friends hug and give each other a ¡°good to see you¡± kiss. Maybe that¡¯s all this was?

    After they checked out, there was no need to be at the mall any longer. They headed out; however, on the way home, Delilah opened the bag and pulled the bracelets out. She handed the green one to Sebastian who stared at it for a moment.

    ¡°Want to wear them on the way home?¡±

    ¡°S-Sure¡­¡±

    He accepted the bracelet and slipped it onto his wrist. He held up his arm and looked at it. He focused on it so much that Delilah became blurred in the background¡­ that is until she grabbed his attention.

    ¡°I think it looks good on you.¡±

    ¡°I never thought that I would be the kind of person to wear any type of jewelry and while this isn¡¯t exactly like a watch or anything like that, I think I could get used to this.¡±

    As he said that, Delilah put hers on and pressed her arm up against his.

    ¡°Look! We match now!¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I guess we do¡­¡±

    After he said that, Delilah surprised him by taking his hand into her own. Their bracelets were just the right height so that they touched each other while they held hands. Neither one of them noticed that little detail, though¡­ especially Delilah who was too busy looking at Sebastian and smiling.

    ¡°So¡­ Do you want to do anything special for your birthday?¡¯

    ¡°To be honest¡­ I don¡¯t celebrate my birthday. Never have.¡±

    ¡°Well, this year I¡¯m going to change all of that!¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t. If you want to hang out, that¡¯s fine but I would much rather not do any celebrating.¡±

    ¡°I kind of get why. Let me put it this way, then. You took a chance on me and became my friend and because of that, you began to see life in a new light¡­ a light that you thought that had burned out and gone dark forever. You were able to get Kayla and Shiloh to agree to hear you out which means you have a great shot at repairing your friendship with them¡­ something else that you thought was never possible. Now, here we are faced with the same problem with your birthday. You think that celebrating your birthday is wrong and shouldn¡¯t be possible but it is and it¡¯s okay to do so. I¡¯m not telling you that we¡¯re going to celebrate but rather, just think about it and let me know if you change your mind. Until then, I look forward to just hanging out with you on Sunday!¡±

    Sebastian knew that Delilah was right. He had made so many big strides in such a short amount of time. Perhaps it was something worth thinking about. For now, he was just happy with his friendship with her, and judging from the warm smile on her face, it was quite evident that she was happy, too.

    Two days remained before he turned seventeen which meant he had plenty of time to decide whether or not to take another big step.

 A Non-Celebration

    That weekend, Sebastian gave a lot of thought to what Delilah had said about having an opportunity to take another big step forward. He went back and forth between having a celebration and not having one. He even went so far as to contemplate texting Delilah and having her decide for him so he wouldn¡¯t have to; however, he realized that if he did that, she would most likely want to celebrate and it could make him uncomfortable.

    When Sunday came, he realized that he had not yet made a concrete decision. Instead, he figured he would just let Delilah come over and he would take it from there. This was something that he couldn¡¯t do by just thinking about it. Much like with becoming friends with her, it was something that he had to feel to know if it was right. This way, it left the option open which made him feel a bit more comfortable about everything.

    Still, it didn¡¯t mean that he wasn¡¯t nervous about today. His Mom had made him a huge breakfast of a cheese omelet, bacon, pancakes, and homemade hash browns. For someone like Sebastian who was a small eater, this was a feast that he could have lived off of for a week. When he sat down at the table, his mother smiled and wished him a quick happy birthday. She wasn¡¯t expecting much in return because for years whenever she did that, Sebastian would get mad and tell her not to say anything about it. As a mother, she couldn¡¯t oblige to that and that¡¯s something he hated. This year, though, was a little bit different.

    Sebastian smiled and thanked her for the birthday wishes. When he did, his Mom nearly fell over.

    ¡°Who are you and what have you done with my son?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Every year I wish you a happy birthday and every year you practically scream at me and tell me that you hate hearing that and to never do it again. I¡¯d have to throw away your breakfast and you¡¯d stomp to your room in protest. Why the sudden change?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I guess I learned that life isn¡¯t so bad after all.¡±

    ¡°I see. And does life not being so bad anymore have to do with your little guest that¡¯s coming over today?¡±

    Of course, it does but I¡¯m not about to tell her that. Even though we¡¯re just friends, if I tell her how she made me feel, it might give her the wrong idea and then it¡¯ll turn her visit into one of the most uncomfortable scenarios I¡¯ve ever been in¡­ the Bryce incident included.

    ¡°No. It¡¯s something that I realized on my own. Let¡¯s just say that I had a bit of an eye-opening experience and I¡¯ll leave it at that.¡±

    ¡°I see. So, is it just Delilah that¡¯s coming over? What about your other friends?¡±

    Oh yeah. Because I¡¯ve been spending so much time with Delilah, I kind of forgot that I had lied to her about having other friends. Oh well, one more lie can¡¯t hurt, I guess¡­

    ¡°I invited them but they were all busy today. Delilah was the only one who could make it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a shame. After all the times you went over to their houses for dinner, they couldn¡¯t make the time to come see you on your birthday. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s fair but oh well, it can¡¯t be helped, I guess. Thanks for not biting my head off this year. Now eat your breakfast before it gets cold.¡±

    While the breakfast was delicious, it was filling. He regretted the decision to clean his plate because it felt as if his stomach could have burst at any moment. With that out of the way, there wasn¡¯t much for him to do except wait for Delilah to show up. They had agreed for her to come over at 1 p.m. and given the time, that was still quite a bit off. He wondered what he could do to pass the time and he suddenly remembered that he still had Delilah¡¯s copy of The Zero Eclipse. He decided he would pass the time by playing that.

    As he played, he started to get engrossed in the game. He had forgotten just how good it was and soon, he had lost track of time. By the time he remembered that Delilah was supposed to come over, it was 12:58 p.m. He gasped as he realized that she would be there at any moment. He quickly saved his progress and turned the console off. He thought about just sitting there in his room to wait for her but a part of him wanted to be there to greet her at the front door so he opted to head to the living room to wait.

    His mother was sitting on the couch doing a crossword puzzle when he took a seat in the recliner on the other side of the room. He gazed out the window so that he could see her come up the walkway. When his mother saw that, she could only laugh at the sight of her son eagerly waiting for a girl to stop by.

    The clock on the wall dinged and 1 p.m. had arrived. Any minute¡­ Sebastian thought to himself as he sat there and waited. 1:01 came and went as did 1:02, 1:05, 1:10, 1:20, and 1:30. When the clock dinged on the half-hour, it made Sebastian aware of how much time had passed and Delilah still hadn¡¯t shown up.

    Maybe she¡¯s running late? I¡¯ll give her another half an hour. Maybe she thought it was two and not one. Yeah¡­ that must be it. I might have accidentally told her the wrong time, that¡¯s all.

    Another half-hour passed and there was still no sign of Delilah. By now, all of the excitement had drained from his face as if all hope had been lost.

    I knew it was too good to be true. Just when I had let my guard down and had finally put my trust in someone, she decided to run away in the end. What was that whole thing about bringing me to the mall on Friday, then? Why would she buy me some cheap bracelet and say we were friends only to no-show on the biggest day of the year for me? I guess the whole reason why I felt as if I shouldn¡¯t celebrate was because something like this could have happened. Now that it did, I¡¯m glad that I didn¡¯t come to a decision. It just makes everything a lot easier.

    His mother looked over and saw the disappointment on Sebastian¡¯s face. Her heart sank as she knew that he was looking forward to having her come over and visit. She put down her crossword puzzle and called out to him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sweetie. She probably got busy with something at the last minute. I¡¯m sure that there¡¯s a good reason for it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± he said just so that his mother wouldn¡¯t keep droning on about it.

    Sebastian excused himself as he got up and headed over to his room. He sat on the edge of his bed and noticed the friendship bracelet resting on his nightstand. He looked at it and then looked at his phone. He picked it up and tilted it because normally if there were a text message that he missed, his phone would vibrate when it moved. There was no vibration which meant that she never texted him. When he realized that, tears began to stream down his face.

    Maybe after hearing everything I had to say, she wanted to distance herself from me. Maybe this bracelet and that kiss were a parting gift rather than a symbol of friendship?

    Suddenly, Sebastian felt a pain in his head. It wasn¡¯t severe but it was enough for him to reach into his pocket and pull out his medicine.

    Ugh¡­ It¡¯s happening again¡­

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    Before Sebastian knew it, the pain disappeared and his head felt completely fine. He didn¡¯t know what to make of what just happened but what he did know was that he wanted to get out of there. He stood up with the bracelet still in hand. He moved his hand over as if to drop it back on top of his nightstand; however, at the last moment, he moved it over a little more and, instead, dropped it in the trash can beside his bed.

    I don¡¯t need this anymore¡­

    After he tossed the wristband into the trash, he headed out to the living room and grabbed his coat. He told his mother that he was going to go for a walk and head to the park, stating that he needed some fresh air. She apologized to him again but if he wanted to be left alone, there wasn¡¯t much she could do to convince him otherwise. With that, he stepped through the front door and was on his way.

    Meanwhile, Delilah was at home frantically trying to help her father with a home improvement project. He just so happened to want to place some new shelving up in the basement and asked her to give him a hand, stating that it wouldn¡¯t take long. That was only half true because it wouldn¡¯t have taken long had he used a level and made sure all of the shelving was balanced before he installed them. When he took a step back and saw how crooked they were, he needed to take them down, readjust, and re-affix them to the wall.

    Delilah knew that she was running late as evidenced by the panic on her face. She just wasn¡¯t aware of how late she was until they took a break and she checked her phone.

    ¡°OH MY GOD!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, honey?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize it was this late. I tried to call Sebastian before to let him know but I¡¯m now over an hour late going to his house for his birthday! He must have thought that I ditched him or something!¡±

    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s why you were going over there. Why didn¡¯t you say that instead of ¡®I¡¯m going over to Sebastian¡¯s today?¡¯¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you were going to drag me into a project like this.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ the way I look at it, I messed it up, I should clean it up. Go over to your friend¡¯s house. I¡¯ll take it from here. Besides, I was a bit rough on him anyway but he seemed like a good kid. He passed my test if you want to call it that. Go celebrate the boy¡¯s birthday.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Dad.¡±

    Delilah took off running up the stairs. All she could think about was how Sebastian might be feeling as a result of her being late. She tried calling him again but just like last time, it went straight to voicemail. That worried her even more because, after everything he told her, she feared how he may perceive this whole situation. As she thought about that, she began to wonder why she felt that way. As those thoughts crept into her head, she shook them off because getting to him was more important right now than trying to figure out her feelings.

    Delilah arrived at Sebastian¡¯s house just mere minutes after he had left for the park. She frantically knocked on the front door until his mother opened it only to see Delilah struggling to catch her breath.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for being late but my father needed help with something,¡± she said in between breaths. Finally, she got her wind back and continued. ¡°I tried calling Sebastian a couple of times but it just went straight to voicemail.¡±

    ¡°Oh! Well, that would explain a lot, then. I¡¯m afraid Sebastian looked pretty depressed when you didn¡¯t show up. He told me that he was going to the park for a bit. He left a couple of minutes ago so if I were you, I¡¯d hurry and catch up to him.¡±

    ¡°I will. I¡¯m so sorry about all of this.¡±

    ¡°No need to apologize to me, sweetie. I understand. You better run along if you want to get to him though. Something tells me seeing you might cheer him up.¡±

    ¡°Thanks!¡±

    Delilah didn¡¯t care if she was already tired. With her destination known, she took off running once again. What she had feared had come true in the fact that Sebastian must have felt that she had abandoned him. After everything she said to try and get him to cheer up about his birthday, she could only imagine what kind of emotions he must be feeling right now.

    Despite being out of energy and on the verge of collapse, Delilah reached the park. Her eyes scanned the area but she couldn¡¯t see any sign of him. She wondered if she was too late and he decided to go somewhere else. If that were the case, she wouldn¡¯t even know where to start looking for him. She could only hope that he was in some place that wasn¡¯t immediately visible from the entrance.

    She scoured the area once more and took note of the various features. There were concrete paths for people to walk on with benches that lined them. In the middle of the park was a tall water fountain that looked as if it were made out of white marble. There were a few people on the benches along with a couple of kids playing. After taking in everything, she noticed that the whole park was lined with trees. When she saw the trees, she recalled something he had said.

    I would lie to my mom about going to a friend¡¯s house for dinner and, instead, go sit in the park and look up at the stars all while enjoying the relaxing sounds of nature.

    ¡°If he wants to listen to the sounds of nature, he¡¯d probably be somewhere over there. At least, it¡¯s probably the best place I could start looking for him.¡±

    Delilah headed in that direction. It didn¡¯t take long to cross the park and get to the wooded area. That¡¯s when she noticed that the ground was no longer flat. There were many small hills to traverse, each adorned with trees and rocks. She figured the one in front of her was as good as any to climb so up she went. When she reached the top, there was nobody there; however, when she looked to the left, she noticed a rather large tree on top of a bigger hill. A familiar-looking boy sat beneath it and her face lit up.

    Even though she had found Sebastian, she was still rather nervous when it came to approaching him. She didn¡¯t know what he was feeling right now or if he even wanted to see her. She did her best to suppress those nerves because she had come this far so it would be a total waste to chicken out now.

    She walked over and as she did, Sebastian turned his head as he heard footsteps approaching. When he saw Delilah, a mixture of shock and sadness washed over his face.

    ¡°H-Hey¡­¡± she said rather meekly.

    ¡°Hi¡­¡±

    Just from his tone, she could tell just how badly he was hurt. If the tone in his voice wasn¡¯t enough, the streaks of dried tears on his cheeks were a dead giveaway. When she saw that, she almost began to cry but she fought back her emotions so that she could set things right between them.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I hope you can believe me but¡­ I needed to help my father and he kept me longer than I planned. The thing is, I tried to call you and let you know but¡­ did you turn your phone off so no one would bother you or something?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Both of my calls went straight to voicemail. I couldn¡¯t get a hold of you to let you know that I was going to be late.¡±

    At that moment, Sebastian remembered picking up his phone and not feeling a vibration earlier. He never thought to turn it on as the vibration would still go off even if the phone was in standby mode. When he realized that, he pulled the phone out of his pocket and pushed the power button. There was no response.

    ¡°My phone¡­ it¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m the world¡¯s biggest idiot. That¡¯s what¡¯s wrong,¡± he said as he lifted the phone¡¯s screen to her while repeatedly pushing the power button. ¡°It¡¯s dead. I forgot to charge it.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ Well, that explains a lot.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. It explains why I¡¯m such an absolute fool. Had I just checked¡­¡±

    ¡°Sebastian¡­ it¡¯s okay.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not okay. I let my emotions get the best of me. Despite everything we did together on Friday, I jumped to conclusions without even thinking anything through. I¡­ wouldn¡¯t blame you if you turned around and went home. There¡¯s no reason to hang out with an idiot like me¡­ In fact, I¡¯ll spare you the trouble.¡±

    Sebastian stood up and went to walk away. Suddenly, those feelings she felt when she left her house had returned and they were burning a hole through her heart. She couldn¡¯t stand them anymore and lunged forward, gripping his wrist. When he turned around, she pulled him into a tight hug.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Everything is going to be okay. Just don¡¯t go!¡±

    When she said that, Sebastian¡¯s mind jolted. Every memory he ever had of his mother saying the same thing about everything being okay to him flashed before his eyes. Almost as if a puzzle were putting itself back together, the false memories that stuck with him from his trauma shattered like glass with only his true memories remaining. Those words ¡°everything is going to be okay¡± continued to echo through his mind as Delilah continued to embrace him in a hug that she refused to let go of.

    Sebastian began to shake. He slowly lifted his arms, his eyes filling with tears. Suddenly, he couldn¡¯t hold back anymore and wrapped his arms tightly around her. He buried his face into her shoulder and began to cry. She responded by hugging him even more tightly, moving her right hand up to the back of his head. She didn¡¯t care how long it took, she resolved to stand there until he got all of it out of his system.

    When he finished crying, he loosened his grip but didn¡¯t let it go completely. He looked straight into her eyes and apologized.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m really sorry.¡±

    Delilah couldn¡¯t respond. She could still see the pain in his eyes; however, as she stared into them, that burning feeling in her chest spread throughout the entirety of her body. All of her feelings had come to the surface and in a blind, knee-jerk decision, they all came pouring out. Delilah leaned in and pressed her lips right against his. She leaned into it more and more as a look of shock washed over his face. After a few seconds, she realized what she had done and quickly backed off.

    ¡°OH MY GOD! WHAT DID I DO!? I¡¯M SORRY! I DIDN¡¯T MEAN TO, IT¡¯S JUST THAT¡­¡±

    Sebastian reached up with his hands and touched his lips, his face still in shock.

    That wasn¡¯t my cheek. She just kissed me and it wasn¡¯t your typical quick friendly kiss either. It was a kiss on my lips that looked to convey a message. She wasn¡¯t ready to do that so I wonder why she did? Although, I¡¯m not going to lie¡­ I kind of liked it¡­ I should probably say something as she¡¯s still freaking out over this.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­¡± he muttered. ¡°T-Thank you¡­¡± he said as he tried his best to smile.

    ¡°You¡¯re not mad that I kissed you?¡±

    Sebastian simply shook his head ¡®no.¡¯ Soon, his forced smile turned into one that was purely genuine. It didn¡¯t mean that she didn¡¯t feel guilty about stealing, what could have been, his first kiss away from him like that but deep down, she was really happy that she was the one to do it.

    Even though his birthday almost ended in disaster, he was happy that it ended the way it did. Delilah ended up staying for dinner but headed home when the sun went down due to her house rules. When she left, Sebastian headed back to his room where he fished the wristband out of the trash. He placed it back on his wrist and stared at it. As he did, he reached up and touched his lips with his hand again. He closed his eyes and replayed that moment over again in his head. When he opened his eyes, he had a bright smile on his face.

    I have a decision to make¡­

 Repair

    The next morning, Sebastian woke up one year older and to a brand-new week. Even though he was seventeen now, things didn¡¯t feel all that different. He still beat his alarm clock to the punch, and he still got ready to go to school in complete silence. The only difference was that he now sported a thin mint green band of rope around his wrist and had a genuine smile on his face. Even though he blew things out of proportion during his birthday, what came of it at the end was something truly magical¡­ even if it was an impulsive mistake on Delilah¡¯s part.

    Mistake or not, it gave Sebastian something to think about. He thought back to how Delilah had acted toward him ever since they had met. She acted a bit giddy at first but the more that Sebastian caved, the more comfortable she became around him. Then, at the mall on Friday, she took a really big leap and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek which she claimed was an early birthday present. As innocent as that was, after what happened yesterday, he came to understand that it had a much deeper meaning than that.

    However, it wasn¡¯t just a bit of shopping and a kiss on the cheek that happened at the mall. He had run into Bryce, Kayla, and Shiloh as well. Even if Bryce didn¡¯t come to a decision, both Kayla and Shiloh were willing to give him another chance and that was something that he was eternally grateful for.

    As he weighed all of that in his head, he decided that before he could move forward completely, he needed to repair the bridges that had been burned and there was no better time to do that than the present. As Sebastian was about to leave the house, he received a text on his freshly recharged phone. He read it and smiled as he changed directions and left the house through the front door. Shortly after, he arrived at the corner where Delilah was there to greet him with a friendly smile.

    ¡°Morning, Sebby!¡±

    ¡°Morning, Lilah!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a nice morning today, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Nice and sunny. The air is a bit cold when the wind blows though but it¡¯s almost winter so it¡¯s to be expected.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. A perfect day where nothing embarrassing is sure to happen, haha.¡±

    I guess that incident is still on her mind. Everything seemed fine when we ate dinner together yesterday but she must have been holding herself back in front of my mother. Either that or she was trying to suppress what she did but it¡¯s apparent that it¡¯s still on her mind. Maybe I can smoothly change the subject to help get her mind off of it.

    ¡°Not yet, at least. I do hope things go smoothly because I decided to invite the trio to lunch today¡­ and you as well, if you¡¯d like to come. I want to clear the air with them and with Kayla and Shiloh willing to hear me out, I¡¯m hoping Bryce will change his mind and join in.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea! I¡¯ll come to lunch with you guys. I can be your emotional support if you need me to be.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, I appreciate it.¡±

    Soon after, they arrived at school. The morning classes went off without a hitch; however, as lunch approached, Sebastian grew a bit nervous. He was mainly scared of what Bryce was going to say. He had only hoped that enough time had passed to think things through. However, the time for worrying came to an end as the lunch bell rang. Delilah leaned over and whispered ¡®Good luck¡¯ to him as he stood. He muttered ¡®thanks¡¯ under his breath and made his way over to where the trio sat. Bryce immediately took notice and didn¡¯t look like he was happy to see him.

    ¡°Hey, guys. Um¡­ I know we haven¡¯t been on good terms for a while and after our run-in at the mall, I want an opportunity to sit down and just talk with you all. Would you mind joining me and Delilah for lunch so we can talk things out?¡±

    ¡°I already told you at the mall that me and Shiloh would be okay with hearing what you have to say so count us in!¡± said Kayla.

    When they said that, they all turned their attention to Bryce for his response. He looked around and felt the peer pressure starting to weigh on his shoulders. Truth be told, he still hadn¡¯t made up his mind and part of him refused to let himself be rushed into a decision like this. Unfortunately for Sebastian, that part of him was the part that he decided to listen to.

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not at the point where I¡¯ve made up my mind. You two can go on without me. I¡¯m going to sit this one out.¡±

    ¡°Oh, come on, Bryce,¡± said Shiloh. ¡°We all used to be friends. Sebastian wants to explain everything. Nobody is asking us to become friends again¡­ he just wants to clear the air and let us decide on our own. You should at least owe him that much.¡±

    ¡°Look. I said what I said and that¡¯s my decision. If you want to hear him out, that¡¯s on you. I¡¯m not ready for it, okay? If I want to hear what he has to say, it¡¯ll be my decision and mine alone!¡±

    Bryce got up and stormed out of the classroom. Kayla let out a heavy sigh and apologized.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be sorry, Kayla. The fact that you two are giving me your time is more than enough. I¡¯m sure Bryce will come around someday but he¡¯s right. If he wants to hear me out, it should be on his terms. I don¡¯t want to force him.¡±

    Sebastian looked back and signaled for Delilah to come over. She joined up with them and they all headed out back to the picnic table. They each took a seat and pulled their lunches out of their respective backpacks. Once everyone was settled in, Sebastian broke the ice.

    ¡°So, I guess I should begin with an apology. I truly am sorry for everything that happened between us and it¡¯s all my fault. I¡¯m sure that you remember my mother saying that I was sick when you invited me on that camping trip and after that, I started pushing you guys away from me. What you don¡¯t know is the reason why I did that. Are you familiar with CTE?¡±

    ¡°Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, right?¡¯ asked Kayla.

    ¡°Yep. That¡¯s it. When I was five, my father had anger management issues and always took it out on me and my Mom. I don¡¯t remember much from being so young like the things he would get angry about but one thing I do remember very clearly was that he would constantly tell me that I was an annoyance and that he didn¡¯t love me. Whenever I asked him to play, he would respond by yelling at me. Then, things escalated one day. Even though I had a nightmare about it before, there was more to what I had dreamt about.¡±

    ¡°I remember him yelling ¡°If you want to play, then let¡¯s play!¡± He grabbed me by the shirt and threw me with one arm onto the floor of the living room and yelled at me to start playing. Since I took a hard fall, I began to cry. He, again, told me I was annoying and that he was sick and tired of hearing my voice. I was on all fours trying to get back up when he kicked me as hard as he could in the stomach. I remember the force knocked all of the air out of my body and even caused me to vomit.¡±

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    ¡°He then got mad that I made a mess on the living room floor. He said he was going to teach me a lesson. My mother tried to stop him but he grabbed her and threw her into a small stand that contained a vase. I remember hearing it break and hearing my father blaming her for breaking it. He said that he was going to punish me for the both of us. That¡¯s when he flipped me over onto my back and knelt, saying that he was tired of hearing me cry. He slapped me across the face so hard, it caused a ringing in my ears. Then, he did it again and my entire world became a blur. The last thing I knew was that he threw me again and my head collided with something. Still to this day, I don¡¯t know what it was.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember much after that. I remember seeing flashes of light and hearing my Dad arguing with some people. I then heard a loud bang and my Dad stopped yelling. It wasn''t until I woke up in the hospital later that my Mom told me everything that happened. While my Dad was distracted with hitting me, she called the police. She tried to stop him after that but he slapped her and shoved her to the ground. When the police arrived, they had no choice but to shoot him. He died almost instantly when the bullet went straight through his heart.¡±

    ¡°As for me, that entire scenario left me with a severe concussion. They said if I were older, the chances of a concussion would have been lower but with me being so small, I suffered more damage than an adult would have. It left me with CTE and it became something I struggled with for a long time. While the concussion healed, I still live with CTE to this day. It can alter my way of thinking or make me blow things out of proportion. Like¡­ having an episode due to CTE and missing out on a camping trip. My brain tricked me into thinking that you guys were ditching me on purpose. Or¡­ when Delilah was late coming over to my house for my birthday yesterday and I believed that she had abandoned me.¡±

    ¡°Today, I take medicine to help manage it but it¡¯s something that¡¯s never going to go away. I have to live with it for the rest of my life but¡­ I wanted to tell you this because, for the longest time, I truly believed the false memories that my CTE gave me. At the same time, I still have all of my true memories, too. It¡¯s like living two completely different lives and believing that the fake life was real. I never really told anyone about this outside of Delilah after she showed me that it was okay to stop blaming myself for everything that happened and that it¡¯s okay to have friends and to put my trust in them.¡±

    ¡°Still, CTE or not, I still ruined our friendship because of the things my mind created. I¡¯m not asking you for forgiveness and, to be honest, I don¡¯t think I deserve it. All I wanted was this one chance to explain everything so that you could understand what happened. All I can do is thank you for sitting there and listening to what I had to say.¡±

    Sebastian had stared at the picnic table the entire time. He never once looked up but the first thing he felt was a hand on his upper back. Delilah had put her hand there to comfort him but what he didn¡¯t realize was that her hand had been there throughout his entire story. When he finally realized it, it made him look up and the next thing he saw was Kayla in tears with her hand over her mouth. Shiloh looked as if she were on the verge of crying as well. Kayla shook her head ¡®no¡¯ as if she couldn¡¯t believe that Sebastian had gone through all of that.

    ¡°This whole time¡­ that was the reason for the sudden change in you?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Yeah. By the time I started Kindergarten, I was only a few months removed from the hospital. I was scared to talk to others which is why I always sat by myself. When you guys asked me to play kickball with you, it made me happy. But then¡­ well¡­ you know the rest.¡±

    ¡°If only we had known¡­¡± said Shiloh. ¡°We could have been there to support you. We didn¡¯t know anything.¡±

    ¡°Yeah but¡­ the camping trip happened when we were all eight. How is someone who is eight years old supposed to explain to another eight-year-old about CTE when I didn¡¯t even know what was wrong with me? At that time, all I knew was that something was wrong with my head. I didn¡¯t fully understand what it was until I was older and by that time, I had already¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Kids aren¡¯t medical experts. It¡¯s hard for us to grasp things at that age,¡± said Shiloh. ¡°Still, I¡¯m sorry that happened to you, Sebastian. Now that we know the truth, I don¡¯t know if I can speak for Kayla but I, for one, can¡¯t stay mad at you. Even though it was you who pushed us away, it wasn¡¯t the real you that did it. The real you is in front of us right now. I forgive you, Sebastian.¡±

    ¡°As do I,¡± said Kayla through her tears. ¡°As you told your story, I tried to imagine myself in your shoes. To feel what you felt. It¡¯s so horrible. Like Shiloh said¡­ if only we had known. Of course, I¡¯ll give you another chance. Now that we know about your condition, it¡¯s a lot easier to make sense of everything that happened and I agree¡­ it¡¯s not your fault. Your mind made you believe something that wasn¡¯t real and how can you not believe what your mind tells you? So, I¡¯m willing if you¡¯re willing. Can we be friends again?¡±

    ¡®You guys¡­¡± Sebastian said as he broke down into tears. Kayla and Shiloh came from around the picnic table as Sebastian stood. They embraced him in a hug and didn¡¯t let go until he got all of his emotions out. ¡°Thank you¡­¡± he said.¡±

    ¡°No. Thank you for telling us. We¡¯ve missed out on so much. We have a lot of catching up to do!¡± said Kayla.

    ¡°Yeah. We should hang out someday¡­ like old times and, OH! Of course, Delilah can come, too! I know you two are rather close so we¡¯d love it if we could be friends as well!¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± said Delilah with a bright smile.

    Meanwhile, Bryce couldn¡¯t help himself. He had followed them out to the picnic area and kept himself hidden; however, he heard everything that Sebastian had said. After hearing what he had to say on top of Kayla and Shiloh repairing their friendship, he balled up his fist and pounded it into the side of the school. Gritting his teeth, he stormed away back to the classroom.

    That afternoon, the final bell rang. Kayla and Shiloh got up to leave but noticed that Bryce wasn¡¯t going anywhere. They looked at each other with concern.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you coming?¡±

    ¡°No. Go on ahead. I have something I need to take care of.¡±

    They noticed that he was staring right at Sebastian and Delilah when he said that. Putting two and two together, Kayla knelt down and almost came nose to nose with him.

    ¡°Listen to me. You better not do anything stupid, you hear me?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± he said as he looked away.

    ¡°I¡¯m holding you to your word, got it?¡±

    She stood up and motioned to Shiloh to come with her. As they left, Bryce waited for Sebastian and Delilah to leave. Once they went through the door, he got up and made sure to keep his distance from them. He followed them down the stairs, out the front door, and through the school gates. Once they got far enough away from the school, Bryce looked around to make sure that the coast was clear. He quickened his pace until he was right on top of Sebastian.

    ¡°HEY!¡± he shouted.

    The two of them stopped and turned around to see Bryce standing there with a not-so-pleasant look on his face.

    ¡°H-Hey, Bryce¡­¡± Sebastian said in a low tone.

    ¡°Look. Um¡­ I want to talk to you¡­ in private, if it¡¯s okay.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± he said to Bryce. ¡°We¡¯ll be right back,¡± he said to Delilah.

    Bryce pulled him over to the side, out of hearing distance. Delilah could only stand there and wonder what was about to happen. Bryce picked a rock up off the ground and held it in his hand. He looked at it while Sebastian wondered what he was going to do with it. The reality was that he was just fiddling with it as a way to help gather his thoughts.

    ¡°Look, Sebastian¡­ I need to confess something. When you were talking with Kayla and Shiloh at lunch today, I overheard everything. I heard you talk about what happened with your father and what happened to your head. I¡­ never once thought that you had brain trauma. When I heard that I got angry¡­ not with you but with myself. I feel like such an idiot for not hearing you out sooner¡­ for not trying to understand.  I¡¯m sorry and¡­ that¡¯s what I wanted to say.¡±

    Bryce turned and went to walk away when Sebastian reached out and grabbed him by the wrist.

    ¡°Wait!¡± he exclaimed as Bryce stopped and looked back at him.

    ¡°C-Can we be friends again?¡±

    ¡°After all the things I said and done? After I instigated that fight between us?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m trying hard to move beyond my past¡­ to leave most of it behind me. The parts that I want to take with me are the friends I left behind and that¡¯s Kayla, and that¡¯s Shiloh, and that¡¯s you. They gave me another chance to make up for everything. I¡¯m asking you if you are willing to do the same?¡±

    Bryce stood there for a minute and mulled it over in his head. After a moment he looked up at him and nodded ¡®yes.¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯d like that,¡± he said before he smiled at him.

    ¡°Thank you, Bryce. I truly mean that.¡±

    ¡°I know. Don¡¯t go getting all sappy on me now. I heard you cry enough at lunch, you big baby!¡± he said with a chuckle.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah but seriously. Thank you. I promise I¡¯ll do my best to make up for everything.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Me, too. I¡¯ll catch you around.¡±

    Bryce turned around and headed home. Sebastian walked back and rejoined Delilah. The two of them watched Bryce walk into the distance.

    ¡°Is everything okay with him?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, everything¡¯s just fine. Thank you, Lilah.¡±

    ¡°For what?¡¯

    ¡°None of this would have happened if it wasn¡¯t for the strength you had given me. I have all of my friends back in my life, I¡¯ve been forgiven, and I have a new friend¡­ one that made all of this possible. So, again, thank you for everything. I couldn¡¯t have asked for a better friend.¡±

    Delilah couldn¡¯t respond to that. She quickly looked away as she blushed, trying to hide it from him. She then muttered something to herself

    ¡°So much for nothing embarrassing happening today.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± he asked as he didn¡¯t quite hear her.

    ¡°Nothing. Let¡¯s go home! Besides, you still owe me some drawing lessons! I¡¯ve got something I want to work on so as a thank you for helping you out, you¡¯re coming over tonight to help me!¡±

    ¡°Haha, sure! It¡¯s the least I can do to repay you for all that you¡¯ve done for me!¡±

    With that, the two of them headed home. The bridges that were nothing more than smoldering remains were rebuilt with supports that were stronger than ever. As they walked, Sebastian knew that there was only one thing left on his mind and it would be one of the most important decisions of his life.

 A New Life

    A week had passed since Sebastian reconciled with his friends. That same day, he honored Delilah¡¯s request and spent a considerable amount of time at her house. She made sure to ask him a lot of questions and asked for his guidance on how to do certain things. She kept things vague because the thing she wanted to work on was meant to be something that showed her progress as an artist. Despite things getting rocky at times, she still made sure to practice as much as possible. She hadn¡¯t shown him anything since he initially came over and started to help her so she was excited, yet nervous, to show him how much she had learned and improved.

    For the rest of the week, she took Sebastian¡¯s lessons to heart. She drew, erased, and even tore pages out of her sketchbook in frustration. At school, she didn¡¯t allude to what she was doing but Sebastian did find it a bit odd that she didn¡¯t invite him to go anywhere or do anything throughout the week. This ended up impacting him a bit when it came to an important decision that he wanted to make. Even though his mind wanted to fabricate a situation that wasn¡¯t happening, he did his best to tell himself that nothing was wrong, especially since he knew that Delilah was, most likely, practicing her artwork. A part of him was happy that she was pouring so much effort into it, especially since he was the one who inspired her to do so.

    In addition to the medicine that he had been taking, convincing himself that everything was okay and then thinking about why everything was okay was a new mental exercise that he began to do to help keep his mind in balance. He felt that he owed it to himself to try and find a way to help prevent himself from repeating the mistakes he made in the past¡­ especially since those he had hurt had recently forgiven him. He didn¡¯t want to lose them as friends for a second time.

    Even though they had reconciled, spending time together was a bit sparse. It seemed as if they wanted to take it a bit more slowly, especially in Bryce¡¯s case. Kayla was the most outgoing of the three of them.

    While she didn¡¯t hang out with Sebastian during lunch or after school, she would always say hello and ask how he was doing. Small chat was her way of testing the waters a bit. After all, it was a pretty rough experience for them all so even if they had agreed to bury the past between them, that initial awkwardness was still there. It was something that would fade over time but until it did, lingering questions remained. Questions such as ¡®Is it okay to start hanging out or do we ease into it?¡¯ or ¡®Is it too soon to get everyone together? Maybe we should just chat first and take it from there?¡¯

    Shiloh was a bit more reserved. While she did talk to Sebastian, it usually wasn¡¯t until Kayla spoke up and said something. Bryce, on the other hand, didn¡¯t say much at all. While he would acknowledge Sebastian¡¯s presence, he was still the one who had felt the most awkward. Out of the three of them, it would take him the most time to learn to trust again but deep down, he felt that if Sebastian could push himself through all of his mental struggles and find a way to trust others then he could eventually do so as well.

    Friday came and, as per usual, he walked home with Delilah. Deep down, he wondered if she would ask him if he had any plans for the weekend but the entire walk home was much of the same¡­ just random small talk. However, this time their departure was a little bit different. When it was time for them to go down their respective streets, Delilah turned to him and shot him a warm smile.

    ¡°Just a little longer,¡± she said.

    ¡°For what?¡±

    ¡°Until I unveil my masterpiece to you. Expect to see it soon! I¡¯m going to finish it tonight!¡±

    She gave him a wink and walked away. As she headed home, Sebastian couldn¡¯t help but stare at her.

    I have to admit, that wink was really cute. It¡¯s a good thing I came to my decision. The only problem is finding the time to talk to her about it. I¡¯ve wanted to pull her aside all week but I also didn¡¯t want her to lose focus on what she¡¯s been working on. I have to admit, I¡¯m really curious to see what it is. It¡¯s not every day someone tells you that you¡¯re their inspiration and then works hard using the lessons you taught them to make something. The fact that she¡¯s treating this as some huge reveal is cute, too. I just need to make sure I watch what I say when I see it. The last thing I want to do is say the wrong thing and break her heart. I did that once already. I don¡¯t want to make that same mistake ever again.

    The next day, Sebastian stayed in his room and played some more of The Zero Eclipse. After all, he wanted to finish the game so that he could return it to Delilah. He played it off and on throughout the week and as a result, he had gotten super close to the end. The final dungeon was no joke and he was just a tad under-leveled and under-geared for it. He had to go back and do some farming for experience and a new weapon just to stand a chance. All the while, he questioned the developers¡¯ decision to invoke a steep power curve like that. It lured players into a false sense of security since they were able to tackle the previous content rather easily. It was a bit too jarring but this wasn¡¯t the only game to pull something like this.

    Despite his mental protests, he had gotten enough levels and a new sword that would allow him to tackle the final dungeon. Right when he was about to enter and mop the floor with everything, his phone rang. When he looked at the Caller ID, he saw that it was Delilah calling. The old him would have been rather angry that his gaming session had been interrupted; however, this time, his face lit up with joy when he saw her name. He wasted no time swiping the Accept Call button.

    ¡°Hey, Lilah!¡±

    ¡°Hey, Sebby! Whatcha doing?¡±

    ¡°About to destroy this final dungeon in The Zero Eclipse.¡±

    ¡°Holy crap! I had completely forgotten that I lent you that game! How are you liking it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really fun; however, I think I should warn you about the final dungeon. Don¡¯t worry¡­ it¡¯s not a spoiler but make sure you¡¯re at least level 80 and have level 80-equivalent gear. It¡¯s one of those games that love to throw a big power curve at you for the final dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Oh, one of those. Thanks for the warning. Outside of playing the game, are you doing anything special today?¡±

    ¡°Not really. What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to know if you would like to go to the park?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I can meet you there. What time?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m kind of already there and was hoping that I didn¡¯t waste the trip, haha.¡±

    ¡°OH! I¡¯ll head right over there. Where are you in the park?¡±

    ¡°I would tell you but¡­ it¡¯s a bit embarrassing if you get my drift.¡±

    ¡°Heh. I¡¯d imagine so. I¡¯ll see you soon.¡±

    Sebastian hung up the phone and saved his game. He put his shoes on and then let his Mom know that he was going to head to the park for a bit but he didn¡¯t tell her why. He figured that if he was going there to meet Delilah then this might be the perfect opportunity to tell her about the decision that he made. He grabbed his coat and headed out. On the way there, his mind began to wander.

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Could it be that she finished what she¡¯s been working on and wants to show me? If so, why the park? She could have just brought it over to my house or even invited me over to hers. Is there something more to it than that? Either way, whatever it is, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s going to be good. I could even use it to segue into what I want to talk about. We¡¯ll see how things go first, though. I want to make sure that the moment is perfect and not jump the gun. I guess I¡¯ll figure all of that out once I get there.

    About ten minutes later, Sebastian arrived at the park. Since she mentioned something about embarrassment, he knew that she would be by the large tree that he normally sat under¡­ the same place where the infamous incident happened not all that long ago.

    Sure enough, when he arrived, Delilah was there sitting underneath the tree. She had her sketchbook with her which confirmed that she, indeed, was finished with what she was working on. While that much was clear, there was still the lingering question of ¡®why here?¡¯ Sebastian figured that he would find out soon enough. She heard footsteps approaching and glanced over. When she saw him, she sprung up to her feet and hid the sketchbook behind her back as if it were supposed to be some closely guarded secret.

    ¡°Hey, Sebby!¡±

    ¡°Hey, Lilah. It¡¯s a bit too late. I saw the sketchbook already. I take it you finished?¡±

    ¡°Yep, and I wasn¡¯t trying to hide the sketchbook itself, though. More or less what¡¯s inside of it. The last thing I needed was a gust of wind to blow it open and spoil the surprise. But, there¡¯s a bit more to it than that. Come, have a seat.¡±

    She sat back down and patted the ground next to her. Sebastian walked over and sat to her left. She leaned against him and held the sketchbook between them. She opened it up and the first thing Sebastian saw was a hideous drawing with no form or sense of artistic style to it. He remembered not to say anything and just kept quiet.

    ¡°This is the first thing I had ever drawn. As you can see, it¡¯s quite terrible. Despite how bad it looks, this is still a very precious drawing to me. Not because it¡¯s the first thing I drew but it¡¯s the first thing I drew because you inspired me to start this journey. That¡¯s why I¡¯ll never get rid of it. It will always be a reminder of where I came from.¡±

    She flipped to the next page and revealed another drawing that was a little better but still looked pretty hideous. Given how she explained the first, Sebastian quickly understood that it wasn¡¯t just what she had been working on, she was showing her entire journey to him.

    ¡°This one was drawn on the same day. It¡¯s still really bad but it¡¯s also special to me because it showed that no matter how terrible I was, I didn¡¯t want to give up. The slight, and I do mean slight, improvements were proof to me that I could get better, even if it was little by little. It encouraged me to keep going.¡±

    She flipped to the next page and pointed out the small improvements. She did that for the next few pages until she got to the first one she did after Sebastian had given her some pointers. She smiled when she saw that one because it brought back some good memories.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you remember this one. This was the one we worked on together the first day you came over and taught me some things. I¡¯ll always remember what you told me about being ahead of where you were when we were both at the same experience level. Hearing you say that ignited my passion for drawing and it made me want to keep going more than ever. With those words, I felt that I could push myself and improve¡­ so, I kept practicing but¡­ you won¡¯t find any of those in the pages to follow. I took them out for a reason.¡±

    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Because the next page is where I am today. I wanted to show you the leap in quality from your first lesson to the results of the lessons you gave me last week. I put a lot of thought, heart, and soul into this one, so¡­ I hope that you¡¯re ready to see it.¡±

    ¡°I am,¡± he said with a smile.

    Delilah was incredibly nervous. Thoughts of what he might think poured into her head. To her, this was more than just a culmination of practicing. This piece had a deeper meaning than all of them that came before it. Her hand shook and her bottom lip quivered as she turned the page. As soon as Sebastian saw the drawing, his face lit up in wonder. The artwork wasn¡¯t exactly at the same level as his but it was incredibly close. He couldn¡¯t believe how good it looked and how much she had improved in just that small amount of time.

    When she saw the look on his face, she began to smile but she could tell that he didn¡¯t quite understand the drawing as of yet. She continued to watch him and she saw the sense of wonder slowly slip away and get replaced with an inquisitive look. The drawing that he was looking at was that of a boy and a girl kissing one another but it was more than just two characters kissing. There was something peculiar about it.

    ¡°Delilah¡­ these characters look a bit familiar¡­¡±

    She took a deep breath as the tone in her voice changed from light and happy to one filled with meekness and nervousness.

    ¡°That¡¯s because¡­ it¡¯s us¡­ that is if you want it to be¡­¡±

    Normally, this was where Sebastian¡¯s mind would activate and he would go on a mental tirade but the truth is that his mind went completely blank. He had been searching for the perfect time to tell Delilah his decision¡­ that he wanted her to be more than just a friend and a bigger part of his life but now, he couldn¡¯t say it because she had just beaten him to it. He knew that she had a crush on him from the very beginning but to come up with a creative way like this to confess her feelings left him speechless.

    However, even though he couldn¡¯t say a word, he didn¡¯t have to. Slowly, the look of shock was replaced by a smile that he couldn¡¯t hide. When she saw that, she stood up and reached down for Sebastian¡¯s hand. He took it and stood as she looked him in the eyes.

    ¡°Sebby¡­ will you be my boyfriend?¡±

    A moment passed that was filled with silence. Suddenly, he gave a reply, one that she wasn¡¯t expecting.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t fair¡­¡±

    Suddenly, that look of hope faded from her face. She looked as if she were preparing herself to get stabbed in the heart. She looked at him with an expression as if to say ¡°Please don¡¯t do this to me¡± but before things could go any further, Sebastian continued.

    ¡°You stole my line. But it doesn¡¯t matter. Your confession was way better than what mine was going to be. Of course, I¡¯ll be your boyfriend!¡±

    Delilah took a massive breath as her face lit up with pure joy. This time, she knew it was neither an impulse nor a mistake. She stepped in, wrapped her arms around him, and gave him a deep and passionate kiss. This time, Sebastian embraced her and kissed her back. It was a moment that they wished could last forever.

    ***

    One month later.

    Sebastian was busy running around the house grabbing whatever clothes he could find and throwing them into a duffle bag. He looked a bit frantic as if he were running short on time. That was made evident by the voice that called out to him from the living room.

    ¡°Sebby, they¡¯re here!¡±

    Sebastian quickly double-checked all of the bag¡¯s pockets to make sure he had everything that he needed. He also made sure that his phone was completely charged. When he was satisfied with everything, he stuck his phone into his pocket and slung the bag over his shoulder. He made his way out to the living room where Delilah was standing there waiting for him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get going!¡±

    ¡°Have fun you guys,¡± said Sebastian¡¯s mom. ¡°Remember, if something happens, just give me a call, okay?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine, Mom.¡±

    With that quick reassurance, Sebastian and Delilah headed out to an SUV that was waiting for them. In the passenger¡¯s seat was Bryce, the backseat had Kayla and Shiloh. Sebastian and Delilah threw their things into the back and piled into the second row of backseats behind them. It was a bit of a tight squeeze to get in but they made it work. Bryce¡¯s father was behind the wheel and he asked if they were all set. After they confirmed, they were off.

    About an hour later, the car pulled up to a national park. They all got out and grabbed their belongings from the back. Before they headed into the woods, Bryce¡¯s father asked if they had everything that they needed. When they said yes, he said that he would be back to pick them up at noon tomorrow. With that, he drove off.

    ¡°The first thing I¡¯m doing is making some roasted marshmallows,¡± said Bryce.

    ¡°That¡¯s what you did last time,¡± said Kayla.

    ¡°What can I say? They¡¯re my favorite camping snack. What about you, Sebastian? What do you like the most?¡±

    ¡°Roasted hot dogs over a campfire. Nothing beats the taste of the char!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m with you there,¡± added Shiloh. ¡°What about you, Delilah?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a favorite but I¡¯ll eat just about anything.¡±

    ¡°Confirmed! Delilah will eat a pinecone,¡± said Bryce.

    ¡°I WILL NOT!¡±

    They all had a good laugh as they headed into the woods to set up camp. They brought along three different tents. One for Delilah and Sebastian to share, one for Kayla and Shiloh, and one for Bryce to spend the nights all by himself. Once everything was set up, they ignited a fire and got right to work making some food.

    Meanwhile, Delilah sat down against a tree that was a little bit away from the site. She brought out her sketchbook and began to work on something. Everyone was so preoccupied with making food that they didn¡¯t notice that she wasn¡¯t near them at first. When they finally realized it, they looked around and spied her against the tree. Sebastian called her over and said that the food was ready. With the rough sketch done, she figured that she could just fill in the details later.

    She tossed the sketchbook on top of her belongings and joined them by the campfire. The picture she had been sketching was a portrait of the five of them at the campsite. It was a moment she wanted to capture in her way.

    While they ate and laughed, Sebastian looked up at the sky which was turning a lovely shade of dusk. The stars were just visible enough to adorn the sky. A smile came over his face which Delilah took notice of. She nudged him on the shoulder and quietly asked him what he was smiling about. He looked over at Kayla and Shiloh fighting over the last hotdog while Bryce laughed at them and got smacked for it. He then looked back at Delilah and gave her a quick kiss while no one was looking.

    ¡°Because this is the happiest I have been in my life.¡±

    Delilah wrapped his arm around him and placed her head on his shoulder. Sebastian couldn¡¯t believe that one girl walked into his life and changed everything. Before, everything was on a set routine and now, every day was a whole new adventure. He never thought the day would come when he could say goodbye to his regularly scheduled life. Now that it had, he wouldn¡¯t want it any other way.