Just a short one before I go hiatus :)-A/N  ❤︎ 

Irene had enjoyed being alone as long as she could remember. There was something refreshing about the peace and serenity that came with solitude and the silence that enveloped her senses when she was on her own. The silence that came wuth being alone was always a cushion, a shield and a barrier between herself and the rest of the world, and it protected her into a timid child. 

Unfortunately, the problem with constantly being a timid person was it was difficult to make friends. The other children at her school and called her out for preferring to keep to herself. At first, Irene did not really mind the name-calling and harrasment, because to her, if everyone was going to be mean to her, she was better off enjoying her own company anyway. Besides, she had a girlfriend who loved her as who she  was, regardless of her tendency to spend time alone. Her girlfriend, Wendy, kind and compassionate love did not soften the blow of harsh words her classmates threw at her, though. 

"Loner! Freak! Weirdo!" Each word was like a dagger, stabbing Irene when she pushed past gaggles of giggling students on her way to class and shattering her fragile heart. With each day passing by, the corruptive words warmed their way inside her, slowly breaking her down and pulling her apart. Tears stung at her eyes as her classmtes hurled insults at her, taunting her with heart-wrenching words and reducing her to a distressed bundle of nerves. She tried to ignore them, but each time she attempted to turn a deaf ear to the shouts, they seemed to grow and magnify until they filled her entire head. 

Irene's girfriend, Wendy, however, was blissfully oblivious to her plight. "How's school, honey?" Wendy would ask, and Irene's response was always a mumble, half-hearted, "Fine." Since Wendy was working and Irene was still in college, Irene would always wished for that olaf to never worries of her because she knew Wendy was always busy with her assingments, piles of paperworks and stuffs. Furthermore, Irene felt too ashammed to inform Wendy of the bullying she suffered and shut herself in her room, alone. Somehow being alone now was nowhere near as wonderful as she remembered. 

She tried to allow silence to consume her as it had done before, but this time, the silence did not bring the serenity and peace of mind she was so desperately craved. Instead, it brought a tidal wave of negative thoughts that crashed over her and drowned out the remainder of her happiness from the shoreline of her mind. 

Then one day, Wendy came home from her work with an exciting news. She had offered a job in another state, and Irene was to be sent to a prestigious college th