Another week came and went. I'd been here for 4 weeks and I had adapted to my new lifestyle pretty well. It surprised me; I thought I would be a mess.

Maybe it's because one person prevented me from becoming a mess. Maybe not.

Other than Sara, I didn't talk to anyone. People talked to me, yes, but did I reply most of the time? No. She was the only one who talked to me on a regular basis, and who I said words to on a half-regular basis.

Life really . The other day, I heard about a man who stabbed another guy out of anger. Why? Because he owed him money. Isn’t that a valid reason for taking someone’s life and getting yourself landed in jail?

Ohand a school was bombed in some country whose name I forget, killing almost everyone. And what’s being done about it? Nothing, all those innocent lives, destroyed by a single bomb.

What kind of a world is this? All that stuff about creating a nice, caring world is bull.

Some girl deserves cancer treatment but she can’t get it because she can’t afford it. So what, you’re going to let her die now? She’s going to die because she can’t afford to keep her life? What the hell are all those cancer foundations for? And who knows how many people like her were out there?

This is why I don’t contribute to society, society doesn’t do anything for anyone. Everyone I’ve been exposed to has been cruel and mean, what different is anyone else in this society?

♥♥♥♥♥♥

 

Sara had gotten into a daily routine of bothering me. Nice, huh? Always chewing on my ear with her constant blabbering. I think my ears are used to it now though, because I don't seem to mind it as much.

I still tried to de-associate myself from her. I would be much happier.
Or would I?

She amused me sometimes, especially when she embarrassed herself or said/did something stupid. Classic.

I walked down the street to the grocery store; I had to pick a few things up. I quickly got what I needed and left the store. As I was walking out, a stupid kid bumped into me and got his sticky, disgusting ice cream all over my shirt.
I was going to blow up, why didn't the kid watch where he was going?!

"Yah! What's-"

"Oh no!" Sara appeared holding her own bag of groceries, talk about good timing. I calmed down a bit, I don't know how or why, but I did.

The kid looked like he was going to cry. Kid, I’ll give you something to cry about-

"It's okay." Sara said gently. I glared at her, "No it's not-"

She sent me a look, "He's just a kid, he didn't mean it."

The kid nodded, "I'm really sorry." He bowed millions of times before running away.

"Aish-" I looked at my shirt. "Look what he did! He should buy me a new shirt!"

She used her finger and took some off my shirt, and then she put it in ,

"Yum! Chocolate!"

I rolled my eyes and she laughed. Then she helped me clean my shirt a bit with some tissues in her pocket. "There, it's not perfect but go home and change. Then put it in the wash right away. The stain won't stay then." she told me. I shrugged and gave her a small 'thanks'.

When was the last time I said thanks to someone?
I have no idea.

♥♥♥♥♥♥
 

“Are you going to work?” Sara asked me before I got off my stop.

I nodded, “Yeah. But don’t follow me.”

“Follow you? I wouldn’t follow you.” She tapped her chin. “I might just happen to drop by the bookstore later this evening though….”

I rolled by eyes and my lips quirked upwards a tiny tiny bit.

“Bye!” she waved as I started to get off the bus.
Funny girl she is.

Narrator POV

She watched him walk away from the bus.

He was the one, she was going to make a difference in his life.

She wanted to, she had to. He needed a difference in his life, and she was going to be that difference.

Kris POV

I got ready for work at around 4:45.

I hope Sara doesn’t decide to show up.
Or do I?

Don’t be ridiculous, conscience, of course I don’t.

I locked the door to my apartment and walked to the bookstore. It was a nice day. I awkwardly bowed at the owner when I arrived and began my shift.

I walked around and sorted through books for two and a half hours. Put new books in, took the old ones and put them somewhere else.

Then I noticed someone shoving their face in a book and hiding a laugh.

I raised my eyebrow as I snatched the book out of Sara’s hands.

“Hey!” she yelped.

“You at hiding, ya know that?” I stated, putting the book back. “What are you doing here anyways? Are you following me? You’re such a stalker!”

She laughed and shook her head, “My dad actually owns this shop.”

My eyes widened, “Really?”

She nodded; I glanced over at the owner, “That’s your dad?”

She shook her head, “No, that’s his friend. He’s in charge of this branch of the store.”

I nodded, “How many others are there?”

She shrugged, “A couple.”

I put the book she had been ‘reading’ back and continued with my work while she followed me around.

“When do you get off?” she asked.

“None of your business.” I retorted. “You can go and do what you came to do, and I’ll continue to work. Goodbye.”

I turned around and took the cart I was in charge of, to another row of books.

She walked after me, “I came to-”

But she stopped mid-sentence as I walked on. I waited for her to finish but when she didn’t, I turned around, “What-”

I saw her with a weird look on her face. She was leaning a bit forward and her hand was on her chest. What is she doing? I think she was trying to get a sound to come out of , but all I heard was a faint and weak “ahhh”. Then I realized what was happening; she was in pain.

I rushed to her side, “W-What’s wrong? Are you okay? What happened?”

After a couple of seconds she blinked, and straightened up. Then she looked at me and smiled, but I could tell she was trembling.

“I’m fine, I just zoned out for a bit.” She said, moving her hand.

“Are you sure? That didn’t look like nothing. Should I get my boss?” I asked.

“I’m good.” She reassured. “I think I’ll go home now. See you tomorrow at school, Kris.” She waved as she walked away.

“Yeah…” I answered and I kind of waved back.

What just happened? Did she have like a mini-heart attack or something?
The rest of my shift passed by in worry and curiosity.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Narrator POV
 

She started breathing heavily as she walked away from him.

The chest pains had subsided, her heart rate became normal, and she could breathe now.

She let out a shaky breath as she walked out of the store, waving to her dad's close friend.

*That was close.* she thought as she walked to the bus stop.

10 minutes later when she arrived home, she heard a bang!

She sighed as she fought back tears *Here we go again.*

Another glass bottle of wine could be heard crashing to the floor. She cringed and stepped back a bit. She could hear her mother's screams, she squeezed her eyes shut before walking into the broken glass-filled living room.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Kris POV

I put the last of the books on my cart in the 'Trending Now' corner of the bookstore and after that my shift was over. I bowed to the owner stiffly before grabbing my jacket and zipping it up.

The night breeze tickled my skin as I walked home. It was another nice evening, but only the moon illuminated the night today, no stars.

Huh, I guess they didn't want to show themselves today.

I walked through the park again and breathed in the cool night air. This was my favourite part of the day- the end.

I continued walking and Sara came into my mind, I really wonder what happened to her earlier.
Wait, no I don't. She's not dead, so who cares.

Speaking of the devil, I saw her sitting on a bench in the park. She was staring up at the sky, holding her neck. As I got closer, I realized she was clutching a necklace around her neck. The star one, I think.

I was going to ignore her and walk away when I saw something glisten on her face.

No way, miss too-happy-to-be-real is crying?!

My heart seemed to feel the pain that was evident on her face. So naturally, I found myself sitting beside her.

When she noticed me, she wiped her tears away in what was supposed to be, an unnoticeable manner.
But I noticed, and it worried me even more.

We stayed silent for a while and then she spoke, “Who’s the star in your darkness?" she asked.

"What?" I stared at her. "Star in my darkness- What?"

"The star in your darkness! The one that brings you out of your darkness. The one who makes you happy." she explained. "When there's no hope and its all dark, the one who lights up your dark world."

I let out a dry laugh, "I'm always in darkness. There's no one who can take me out of it."

She smiled, "Of course there is! Once you realize it, you'll feel much better knowing there's someone who lights your sky up.”

"Yeah." I laughed again. "Sure."
I wonder who the star in her darkness is.

We stayed silent for another couple of minutes. She was staring up at the sky and I wondered what thoughts were running through her mind.

"Look!" She pointed up at the sky. "There's a star!"

And sure enough, when I looked up, there was a star lighting up the dark.
I saw another tear go down her cheek, I guess she didn't notice because she didn't wipe it away. But my heart sure did when it squeezed in pain.

"My mom tells me I'm the star in her darkness." She said quietly. She smiled tearfully.
I wonder why she's crying. Actually, I wonder who made her cry. What kind of a coward makes a girl like her cry?

For the first time in a long while, I began to think I actually cared about someone.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

After that there seemed to be a silent agreement between us. I was still annoyed of her and told her to get lost, but I wasn't as mean and rude to her. And she, well, she was the same.

It's funny, that dream from a few days ago affected me a lot. It brought back bad memories. When I saw her, I tried pushing her away, but it didn't work. I didn't -I couldn’t- push hard enough. And in one day, I accepted her again. Well, kind of.
Way to be persistent Kris, you need lessons from Sara on persistency. She's a pro.

It was the end of the day and it was Friday. Finally, the weekend.

“Kris!” Sara appeared and started to open her locker. I didn’t reply because I knew she’d continue anyway.

“Do you want to walk home today?” she asked, putting her math textbook in her bag.

“No.” I said, does this mean I get to ride the bus alone today?

“Aw, come on. Please!” she pleaded.

“No.”

“Pleeeeaaaasseeeeeee.” She put her hands together.

“Noooooo.”

“Please?” she asked one last time in a small voice.

“……………..Fine.”

“Yay!” she cheered. “I’ll buy us ice cream!” she shook my arm in giddiness.

I glared at her and pulled my arm away, “For the millionth time, don’t touch me.”

She smiled and put her backpack over her shoulder. We walked out of school with her keeping , and my ears, busy.

“Yesterday I was watching U-Kiss and it was such an amazing performance!” she squealed. “Neverland is such a good song and the dance is amazing! They’re so talented, it how they haven’t won yet.” She frowned. “But I will always support them!” she nodded in a determined way. “Kiseop gets like no parts in songs. He barely gets any lines! And Kevin and Soohyun seem to be the only ones singing. Whatever, they’re still so amazing! I love that performance!”

“Uhuhhhh.” I said, not really paying attention to her spazzing over her favourite boy band. Pfftt, stupid idols stealing her attention.

“Waaaahh, that performance was so awesome!” she jumped up and down. “And Eli looked so great! Eeeeep! I’m gunna watch it again when I get home! Wanna watch it with me?”

“No.” I snapped. “And if you’re only going to talk about your stupid kissing group, then I’m going to walk by myself.”

She giggled, “Okay.” she agreed, closing . I sighed in relief. Wow, that was easy.

“Let’s talk about CN Blue then!”

I slapped my palm over my face, “No! No CN Blue, or CN Green, or CN Kiss. In fact, it would be better if you didn’t talk at all.”

She laughed, “We have to talk about something.”

“Let’s talk about silence, in silence.” I suggested. “Okay, good.”

She laughed again, “Kris, you’re really funny you know that?”

“Glad I amuse you.” I muttered.

“Oh look!” she pointed. “The ice cream shop. Since you’re walking with me, I’ll buy us ice cream.” She took my arm and dragged me into the shop.

“Don’t. Touch. Me.” I snatched my arm away. I don’t think she’ll ever learn.

“What flavour do you want?” she asked, looking at the different types. “Chocolate? Mint swirl? Vanilla? Strawberry?”

“None.” I answered.

“Oh come on! You have to!” she urged. “Okay, I think you’d like strawberry cheesecake.” She concluded. I rolled my eyes, but on the inside I was wondering how she knew. Strawberry cheesecake wasn’t a common flavour that people liked, or knew about. How did she know I liked it?

She went to the counter and ordered the ice creams.

“One strawberry cheesecake cone and one vanilla?” the lady at the counter asked, confirming the order. I looked at her nametag, Eunji. Sara nodded.

“$3.26.” she said. Sara nodded and began digging through her bag, “One second.”

To be honest, it didn’t feel right that she was paying, so I quickly took my wallet out and paid for the ice cream without Sara noticing. Eunji thanked me and went to get the ice cream.

“Okay, here you go-” Sara had the money in her hands when she looked up from her bag. “Eh?” she looked around. “Where’d she go?”

“She went to get the ice cream.”

“But don’t we pay first?” she scratched her head.

I shrugged, if she didn’t know then I didn’t care.

“Here you go.” Eunij gave handed me the ice creams.

“Thank you, here’s the money.” Sara said, handing it to her. Eunji gave her a funny look, “You already paid.”

Sara tilted her head, “Eh? I did? No I didn’t.”

“He did.” Eunji nodded at me. My ears turned red. Damn you woman, couldn’t you just have given us the ice cream and shooed us off?

Sara gave me a surprised look.

“Let’s just hurry up and go.” I said gruffly, walking out of the shop.

Sara came after me and held my elbow, “Why’d you pay? I said I was going to!”

“You were taking too long.” I lied, giving her the vanilla cone.

“Oh okay, here you go then.” She started to hand me the money but I pushed her hand away, “No need, it doesn’t matter.”

“But I said I would pay!”

“Like I said, doesn’t matter. Now shut up and eat your ice cream.” I said, shoving the cone in . Her eyes widened and she blinked. Then she took the ice cream out.

I tried really hard not to burst out in laughter; she looked really funny with ice cream all around . She sent me a look, “Hey!”

I shook my head and she wiped her face using the napkin around the cone. Then she took a , “Yum!”

She looked at me, “What are you waiting for? Eat!” and she lightly pushed the cone to my face.

I took a small . It had been a long time since I’d eaten ice cream; it had been too sweet for my life.

We continued walking and passed by the park, finishing the last of our ice creams. She began talking, but I didn’t catch any of it. I was too busy staring at her.

The way she looked at me with warmth in her eyes, the way she found a reason to smile every day, the way she would be that one person who wouldn’t let something negative affect her.  The way she acted with me, how she didn't flinch when she looked at me as if I was some sort of monster.

As she was walking, she wasn’t watching where she was going, and being the klutz that she was, she tripped over a rock, “Ah!”

This time, my hands held her torso to prevent her from falling. She was hanging in my arms. I roughly straightened her and narrowed my eyes at her, “You’re the clumsiest person on this planet. Take care of yourself first, why don’t you? Next time, I’m not going to catch you!” I threatened, walking faster.

Despite what I said, I knew I’d catch her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi everyone~!

Hope you liked the chapter, I'm not good very good at this kind of stuff.

By 'this kind' I mean anything that isn't comedy, haha

Please comment~!

Byeeeeee! :D