Yu Yan sighed as she packed her very little amount of belongings into her school bag. It was getting late and she had been unwilling to get ready to leave. After coming home from Xiao Yu's audition, she hadn't come out of his room. Instead she had just been sitting on the floor thinking about things.

As she folded her clothes, she thought about her first day in Zhong Ji Yi Ban. She had been so confident although it was her first time meeting other humans. Her heart was also covered in ice that kept her a cold person. She cracked a smile when she remembered her first conversation with Da Dong and how the tension levels in the class shot up.

"What an idiot Zhong Ji Yi Ban's leader is… What, Wang Da Dong, you need your lackeys to defend you? Some legendary KO3 you are!"
"Because you're a girl, I'll let your stinky attitude off for now… But just know that the leader of Zhong Ji Yi Ban is me, not you, and I hold the power over this class."
"Threatening me now? Oh, I see, you can't fight me can you? …The rumours must be true then."
"What rumours?"
"Oh you know... the one about the famous Wang Da Dong, Ya Se Wang and Ding Xiao Yu losing their battle points..."

They really hadn't started off on the right boat. She then remembered when she first talked to Xiao Yu and called him 'Little Fish'. She smiled and a small laugh escaped her lips.

"To master echolocation, your hearing must be above the average human - am I right?" 

"That's right, Little Fish (小鱼)” 

"That's impressive," 

"So please keep the talking to a minimum, these ears are delicate." 

"It's Xiao Yu. (小雨)"
"If I say Little Fish, then you're Little Fish,"

"Stupid fish," she muttered under her breath as she stuffed her things into her bag, "When did I even fall for a fish like you?"

"What are you doing here alone?"

"What do you want Little Fish? Why'd you follow me?"
"Xiao Yu,"
"Why are you sitting next to me? ...I didn't allow you to sit there, what do you want?"
"It was too noisy in there."
"So of all places to go, you come and sit next to me? … Ah forget it; you're quieter than those other monkeys: you probably won't be much of a bother."

"I wonder what you were thinking when you kept staring at me," she asked herself, "You probably didn't like me back then. To be fair, I didn't like you either," she then snorted at herself. Yu Yan then put her hand into her bag as somehow, her clothes weren't fitting into it. She felt around to find out what was taking up so much space and her hand landed on a paper bag. "A bagel?" she muttered, "Did Little Fish put it in at school or something? We didn't buy bagels today..." she whispered as she brought it out. She then unwrapped it and began sniffing it to identify its toppings. "Strawberries and cream..." she then looked back at the first time Xiao Yu had given her a bagel, it was topped with strawberries and cream.

"Do you like it?"

"It's not bad… I'm not used to eating such foods...Thanks."
"You're welcome-"
"But that doesn't mean were on good terms or anything, you're still an annoying fish ...but not as annoying as your classmates"
"I'll take that as a compliment"
"Take it how you want. But I'm not trying to make friends with you,"


She then began eating the bagel, Back then I didn't like any of them, but for some reason he stood out to me. I guess I acknowledged that he wasn't the same as Da Dong or Ya Se back then; he was much quieter and sensible. Maybe that's why I tolerated him more than the others. But have we ever argued before? Would that time count as an argument...? she asked herself.

"So you're here?"

"What do you want? Do you always feel the need to follow me? Are you a lost sheep? ...Can't you ever leave me alone?"
"I just wanted to thank you."
"If you're grateful then show it by leaving me alone! I don't like you and we're not friends so don't act like we are. Don't think we are just because I helped you. You have a mouth so use it the next time someone questions you! Don't leave it to me to fix your problems again!"

She laughed to herself as she remembered it, "I liked you more than the others at that time and I knew that I couldn't develop any sincere attachments to anyone so I had to make you leave me alone. But I was pretty annoyed back then, you really did just annoy me a lot to the point that I didn't care anymore.” She then stood up and put the scrunched up paper bag on the bedside table, knocking over their framed photograph. "Oh?" she muttered as she picked it up and held it at eye level, as though she could see it. "This was on the mountains right... right after we sang a song together."

"Ban Dao... did you just take a picture????"
"Of course I did! What other chance will I get to see you guys and Yu Yan singing together?"

"I didn't sing! …The writer possessed me! I would never sing such a cheesy and disgusting song like that!"
"Don't be stupid, Classmate Jiang! Just admit that you're a fan of Fahrenheit and S.H.E already!"
"Oi, if I said I didn't sing then I didn't sing…That stupid writer just wanted to sing with Jiro Wang, Aaron Yan and Calvin Chen so possessed me!"
"It doesn't matter whether you're lying or not… What matters is that I should've been the one singing with them and not you!"

"Little Fish caught a cold that day, didn't he?" she asked herself as she put the photo down, "He saved me from drowning and gave me his jacket so I didn't catch a cold, but he caught one instead." She then smiled faintly, "He is always looking out for me even when I don't want him to. I guess I started falling for him around then... maybe," she mumbled as she closed her eyes tightly and remembered the feeling of his embrace. She could hear his gentle voice that reassured her in her head and she felt a pang of pain in her heart.

“It’s okay… It’s okay… I’m here… I’ve got you…”

“Don’t let go”

“I won’t.”

"Why did you have to be so good to me?" she snapped angrily, "Look what you've done to me!"

"Don't do something so reckless like that again, okay?"

Her face fell as she listened to his soft voice in her head and she began to feel her heart hurt.

"I'm sorry I got you into such a state...".
"It's not your fault… I chose to intervene. If I hadn't, the one lying in this bed would have been your dead body."
"I'm sorry. You always end up saving me but I'm so useless and can't do anything for you."

"Don't apologise, it's annoying.”


Every moment they shared came flooding back to her and all she could hear were the words they exchanged. She remembered when he had given her a piggy back, when she saved him at Su Jia Li's funeral, when he had taken such good care of her after she was punished by her father, when they met the fortune teller, when he gave her the mp3 player, when she agreed to become his friend. She remembered everything so clearly and all the moments spent with Da Dong and Ya Se didn't stay forgotten by her heart. So much had happened that past week and she had had so much fun with them. She didn't want to leave them, after such a short span of time those three idiots found a place in her heart and they were important to her. But her heart hurt because of who she was. She had betrayed her father but she had also betrayed her friends. She had wronged everyone for getting close to them with an ulterior motive. Guilt grasped her heart tightly and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"I'm so sorry Xiao Yu," she whispered, leaning her back against the door, "I'm so, so sorry." She felt another tear follow and pressed her lips into a tight line as she felt her heart being crushed, "I've wronged you so much Xiao Yu... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." She slid down onto the floor and leaned her head back against the door, "Da Dong... Ya Se... I'm so sorry; I don't deserve such good friends like you... You're all important to me and I never thought you'd mean so much to me. I'm so sorry... When you find out the truth about me, feel free to hate me because I deserve it. I wish I was born as someone else then maybe we could have been the best of friends..." she muttered.

She then heard a knock at the door.

"Yu Yan?" Xiao Yu called, "Are you awake? You haven't eaten dinner yet," he said.
Yu Yan remained silent and didn't reply.
Xiao Yu then pushed down on the handle gently.
"Don't come in," she muttered quietly, before taking a long sniff and clearing .
Xiao Yu let go of the handle, "Are you okay?" he asked, "You haven't eaten dinner and I'm about to go to bed-"
"Don't worry about me," she muttered, "I'm not eating tonight."
"Why not?" he asked her, "It's not healthy to skip meals-"
"Just leave!" she barked at him as she tried to blink back more tears.
"Yu Yan...?" he asked gently.
"Go away okay?!" she yelled at him, "Stop bothering me, I want to sleep!"

Xiao Yu let go of the handle. He was worried about Yu Yan - she had been acting weirdly the whole day and now was refusing to eat. He would have asked her further but knew it would only aggravate her. He sighed and then walked into the living room to sleep.

Yu Yan's heart pounded as tears ran down her face, uncontrollably. "Don't miss me when I'm gone, okay?" she whispered before put on her headphones and her MP3 to calm her heart down.
 

~*~*~

Xiao Yu woke up late the next morning, it was just about noon. He was feeling something tug at his heart and felt uncomfortable as something felt off. He sighed and got up, "It's probably nothing," he muttered before looking over at the window. "Is the typhoon over...?" he asked himself, "It still looks pretty windy..." He then walked over to the bathroom, stopping to look at his bedroom door. "Yu Yan, are you awake?" he asked. But there was no reply. Weird, she's normally up by now.

He then heard meowing and he looked down to see Da Yu walked over to him. "Good morning, little buddy," he smiled, squatting down to him. Da Yu pulled away and ran over to the door. Xiao Yu watched him. Da Yu then came running back to him and then went back to the door. Xiao Yu chuckled, "Playing a game?" he asked, despite knowing that he wouldn't get a reply.
Da Yu meowed violently, waving his tail at the shoe rack that stood beside the door.
Confused, Xiao Yu followed him to see what was wrong. Da Yu continued to meow, and then Xiao Yu's eyes widened. Yu Yan's shoes were missing.

"Yu Yan?" he called out nervously, "Why would she go out in such weather conditions?" he muttered to himself before barging into his room. His blood ran cold when he saw that his bed was perfectly made and all of Yu Yan's things were gone. The only thing that lingered was her smell. "Yu... Yan?" he muttered, beginning to panic. Did you leave me Yu Yan..? he thought, Why do I feel like this is serious...?

"I won't even be at that stupid festival."

"I don't know if I'll be able to make it..."

"Really? I'm not a bother? I'm just depending on you for everything”
"It doesn't bother me"
"Say it does"
"Why?"
"Because then you won't feel alone when I leave.”
"I won't let you leave me so easily,"

"Be at your best today; deliver your utmost best performance ever.”
"I have to save my best performance for the finals if I even get there."
"Please? Play at your best today so I can listen to you… Make it a memorable performance."
"Okay, I'll dedicate my performance today to you."

"Yu Yan, did you plan to leave without telling me?" Xiao Yu asked loudly, feeling his heart race.

"I never intended to stay at Zhong Ji Yi Ban until graduation, it was only temporary… And it's really not fit for a blind person like me especially in terms of education… My father will probably withdraw me from Guava High School soon."

"Yu Yan, are you leaving me? Us? Zhong Ji Yi Ban?!" he exclaimed as he quickly threw on a jacket and shoved on his shoes. Please let me be over thinking things...

As he rushed down the stairs out of the flat, he quickly dialled her number, holding his breath in hope. When the call didn't go through, he called and called again but Yu Yan's phone was switched off so she didn't pick up. Xiao Yu ran down the streets, pushing through the big gusts of wind. His heart pounded furiously and he was washed over with anxiety, he felt that Yu Yan missing so suddenly was nothing small. In his heart he knew something was wrong. He knew Yu Yan wouldn't leave without indicating her return.

He panted breathlessly as he ran and ran - who knows where he ran but he just ran, looking anywhere and everywhere for Yu Yan. "Da Dong?" Xiao Yu spoke into his phone, breathing heavily, "Yu Yan's missing," he explained, "I can't find her."
"Yu Yan's missing? Where would she have gone in such weather?" Da Dong answered.
"I don't know but all her things are gone," he replied as he looked left and right before crossing the road.
"Don't panic Xiao Yu, I'll tell Narcissist and we'll help you look," Da Dong reassured and Xiao Yu cut the call.

"Where are you Yu Yan?!" Xiao Yu yelled out loud, feeling useless as he stared around. He felt the buildings around him intimidate him as they towered over him and he bit his lip as he tried to calm himself down. He then his heel and pulled himself to the park despite his aching legs and empty stomach. Suddenly he felt his head spin and body go numb. The memories of his father’s death came washing over him and he collapsed onto his knees. Xiao Yu hated typhoons because they brought back painful memories of his father’s death – his father had drowned when he had gone out during a typhoon. He gasped for air when his vision became blurred due to fresh tears. His breathing became uneven as he began choking on the air, but he pushed himself off the ground. He had lost his father but he wasn’t going to lose Yu Yan because of his weakness. He dragged his body off the ground and stood up in a low hunch, trying to control his breathing. Despite all the broken and spinning images in his head, he forced himself to move forwards.

Yu Yan sighed as she trudged towards the portal to her father's inter-dimensional air ship with him following behind her. She had her hands grasped around the straps of her backpack tightly as she tried to keep herself calm. Why can't I stop worrying about you, Xiao Yu? she asked herself.
"Yu Yan, give me your backpack," her father ordered.
Yu Yan turned around to face him, "W-what?" she asked.
"I'm replacing you with another clone so Jiang Yu Jing will take your place in Zhong Ji Yi Ban, pretending to be you," he explained, pulling her backpack off her shoulders.
Yu Yan's eyes widened as she felt her backpack being snatched away from her, "...She's going to impersonate me...?" she asked in a low voice.
"That's right," her father nodded, "I'm going to continue with my mission."
"But father... all my friends- that's not fair!" Yu Yan exclaimed, "They will be wronged!"
He then slapped her hard across her face, "Your friends?" he repeated, laughing, "They're not your friends and I certainly didn't send you there to make friends!" he barked at her before his eyes landed on Jiang Yu Jing who headed over towards them. He then walked up to her, leaving Yu Yan in the dust to catch up.

Xiao Yu ran through the park before he bent over to catch his breath. Where did you go? He thought to himself as he stood straight and looked at his surroundings. A small head of short black hair caught his eyes and his eyes widened. "Yu Yan!" he yelled as he felt his feet pick him up and dash towards her.

Yu Yan's eyes widened when she heard Xiao Yu's voice. She could sense him nearing her and instantly her hand flew to . Please stop, don't come any further, she thought, before running forwards.
"Yu Yan!" Xiao Yu exclaimed.
Yu Yan's eye sockets then became damp and pools of tears surrounded her glass eyes, "I'm sorry, Xiao Yu. Goodbye," she told him through telepathy before her father snapped his fingers and two were suddenly standing on a tree branch, hovering above Yu Jing who stood there.

Xiao Yu's eyes widened in fear when he heard Yu Yan's voice in his head. "Yu Yan?!" he exclaimed, "Why is this a goodbye?!" he yelled, not knowing where she was. He looked around the empty park, trying to spot her again but there was no success. "Yu Yan! I won't let you leave me!" he yelled, helplessly. His eyes then shone with a layer of tears but he refused to let them fall - he was going to find Yu Yan no matter what.

Yu Jing stood in the middle of the pathway and hooked Yu Yan's backpack over her shoulders. She faintly smiled when she saw Xiao Yu run towards her. When Xiao Yu saw Yu Jing, thinking she was Yu Yan, he quickly pulled her into his embraced and hugged her tightly. He held onto her as though she was going to disappear and buried his head into her neck. "Yu Yan... why did you leave? You scared me so much..." he whispered.
Yu Jing smirked, "I'm sorry... it's just that my father wanted me to return home... but my sisters didn't let me back in..." she mumbled a lie, pretending to be in a sad mood.
"Stay with me," Xiao Yu whispered, "Don't leave my side, okay?"
Yu Jing wanted to laugh, I can't believe this stupid loser fell for a blind person, she smiled, amused. She then wrapped her hands around him, "Okay," she muttered. Xiao Yu smiled, relieved.

Yu Yan listened and sensed their movements from the tree. That should've been me... she thought as she pressed her lips into a tight line, trying to blink back the tears that threatened to fall. Her father looked down at her, emotionlessly, "You brought this upon yourself," he muttered.
Yu Yan sighed sadly, "I'm sorry," she muttered, facing down at Xiao Yu who embraced a fake.