“And…then…she…died…” You say slowly.

Kris’ eyes flash to you in annoyance. “Shut up, will you? She didn’t choose to die, and I- I…I…” He trails off, staring at the streets below. He suddenly seemed to be staring at something far away.

“Wait, but Kris, what about-?”

“Hey, isn’t that the highway?” He interrupts you.

“Err…” You try to crane your neck as much as possible to see what he was looking at without falling off the roof. “Yeah, so?”

He looks at you in a strange way. “It’s empty.”

You look back in confusion. “No look, a car just went by, and another one, and a- whoa, that looks like a funeral procession.” You laugh nervously, watching the black cars go by, all in a single lane.

“But aren’t there usually other cars on the highway at this time?” Kris asks.

“Well, what time is-… whoa! Kris, it’s three in the morning! No wonder the streets are empty!” You roll your eyes at Kris in the dark. “Um - by the way, do you know how to get down from here?” You look over the edge of the roof nervously.

You look over at Kris who shrugs and says, “Yeah, just jump.”

You widen your eyes in horror, and look back over the edge. You feel a tingling sensation in your fingers and toes. Blinking hard, you look back at Kris to see him swing his legs over the edge of the roof and jump.

You scream, then cut yourself short and listen for any noise.

“Hey, are you coming down?” Kris calls.

You look down. Kris is standing there (in one perfect piece). 

“Fine, just jump! I’ll catch you!” He calls up irritably.

That made the jump a little more appealing.

You stand up slowly, wobbling on your toes just as Kris yells, “Wait, don’t stand up!” A moment too late.

You fall hard on your back and slide down the roof, then flip over the edge and land on top of-

“Ouch,” Kris mutters.

“Sorry!” You squeak.

Helping you up, Kris laughs lightly. “Sitting and talking on the roof was a Krystal thing. Whenever she wanted to tell me something, she would drag me out. Or we would talk on my balcony,” Kris sighed.

“Wait a minute, if you had a condominium, why are you staying with me?” You suddenly look up, anxious to know the answer. 

Was it because he had gotten over Krystal? He wanted to stay with you?

“Because I sold it,” Kris said simply, a hint of sadness in his low undertones. “Too many good memories. Also, it was still in her name -that’s the one thing I wouldn’t let her change- so it was taken as part of her family property when…she died. I didn’t care, I didn’t want to stay there anymore anyways, so I was glad. I took the compensation money I was offered and left.”

You nod. Life had been hard on Kris.

“After that, I kind of bounced from place to place. I never really stayed in one place for long. I don’t know why, I think it’s because I would mope around and think about Krystal if I was left to my own devices. I had to keep busy.”

“Wait, is that why you won’t love me back?” You ask distractedly. Sure, it was one thing to love a girl who had broken up with you, and another thing entirely if she had died.

“Well…yeah. Basically. I tried to get my mind off Krystal by getting with other girls, but people from my past started to show up. I kinda got dragged into my old business. Though not as deep as I used to be.”

“But if Krystal is gone, can’t you love me?”

“I will probably never get over Krystal. That’s the thing. If she just broke up with me, I would be able to get over her. I’ve suffered that kind of heartbreak before. But I need to see her once more to really get a sense of finality. I need closure,” Kris sighed deeply.

“Can’t you try to love again?” You plead.

“That would be wrong for you. You know what? When I first met you, you were one of the girls I was playing with -sorry- to get over myself. But I think we’re kind of friends now,” Kris nodded to himself.

“You…can love friends, right?” You ask carefully.

“Love is a game played by a fool and a player.” Kris says wisely, “and I think we know who’s who in this case.”

You blink away furious tears. “Where’d you hear that?”

“Oh, a poet. She was aaahhh customer of mine.”

You nod, still not entirely sure of how you felt knowing Kris’ past. But you were glad he trusted you enough to tell you.

“It was people like her that gave me hope, that believed some people in life were good enough to live for.” Kris went on about the poet, “She bought me, not to bed me, but to write about my feelings. It was an interesting experience, but unfortunately I didn’t stick around long enough to hear the product.”

You nod slowly, just as Kris says, “Goodnight, you.”

With a start, you realize that the pair of you had come around the house, through the front door, and up the stairs already.

“Good- goodnight, Kris,” you say shakily.

Without undressing, you wobble into your room and collapse on the bed. The events of the night suddenly rush at you all at once. Turning your head, you scream into your pillow. “Why did he tell me all of that? Yeah, no, I asked him but still-! I didn’t want to know that much.”

You let out an ugly sob. “Why did I have to fall in love with such- such a…” You cry, your words stumbling over one another. “Such a fool. I’m *such* an idiot. I just had to fall in love with the one guy within miles of here with such a horrible past.”

The one guy who can’t love me back, because one can never forget their first love. And I’ll never forget mine.

“I can’t believe my stupid luck,” you say aloud to the ceiling.

kso again, sorry about the annoying text,  but I had to get you guys these chapters! 

also, the beginning of the chapter what with the highway and stuff - it'll make a bit more sense when I get around to writing the second part to this story...

argh. This chapter was one I had a little trouble with so I'm sorry, please bear with me. I was having fun writing bout krystal and Kris and then we have to come back to you, who is only hearing the story second hand and is...not very exciting...@_@

anyways, remember to leave a comment! I really feel so motivated when I read your awesome comments! >.<