The sky was gray and lifeless when Hebe woke up. She squinted and looked for her pink clock. It was nowhere to be seen, and she sat up abruptly. This room was unfamiliar, although she'd only lived in her new house for a day. This house was completely wrong.

"What! Where am I?!" She got the dry cloth off her head and stood, the blanket falling from her lap as she did. Since Hebe had no idea where she was, she searched around. The first room she peered in was the kitchen. It was mint-green and cramped, but at the same time, it maintained this strange cute air. There was a girl there, too, humming as she shuffled around the kitchen in a pink apron with baby chicks on it. Her hair was flawless, although it was probably 7 in the morning.

"Excuse me!?" Hebe raked her long hand through her hair irritably. "Who are you and where am I?" She trailed her tongue across the tops of her bottom teeth. The girl turned around, and Hebe recognized the face. It was pretty, but it looked like it cost hundreds to maintain the flawless porcelain skin and the glossed lips, as well as her large brown eyes.

"Oh, you're awake. Aaron should be down in a bit, he'll take you to school." The girl gave her a grin, showing off her shiny white teeth. Hebe sighed at the sight of them, and then realization struck her. AARON? She blinked until she became dizzy, and then grinded her teeth. What exactly was she doing in Aaron's house?!

And then Aaron came down, his hair a strangled mess, sticking up everywhere, and shadows under his eyes. He was still in his boxers and tee-shirt, and he rubbed his eye as he descended the steps. Hebe couldn't help but stare. The pretty guy from yesterday was an utter mess today. Despite her confused situation, Hebe laughed, and Aaron shot her a look of distaste.

"What are you laughing at?" He raised his eyebrows. Hebe's face straightened immediately, and she raised an eyebrow back, fighting off chuckles.

"I'm not laughing." She smiled innocently, and turned to go back to the living room. He smirked as he crossed the room and came to a stop behind her.

"You know," he whispered quietly in her ear, "If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead by now." She shivered at the closeness and his words. Aaron obviously wasn't uncomfortable with it. In fact, he was so comfortable with it that he looped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her back to the kitchen.

"Hey Lina, make us some congee," he called, sitting a red-faced Hebe down onto a chair.

"Don't harass her, you moron!" 'Lina' rushed over to the table, congee already in her hands, and set the two bowls down. "And be more polite, Aaron. You didn't even say please, or thank you, for that matter." She put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

"Thank you," Aaron grinned lazily, his voice childish. Selina pouted and took the apron off, throwing at it Aaron.

"I'm gonna get changed. Don't you dare leave without me!" She sped up the stairs daintily, whereas Hebe would have probably leapt up them, skipping two at a time. Aaron made a face, waiting on her.

"Why am I here, again?" Hebe furrowed her brows, stirring her congee pointlessly, watching as gulps of steam rose up to the ceiling.

"Because Selina brought you here." His answer wasn't very detailed, and Hebe couldn't get much from it. She figured asking the girl—Selina—would be better worthy of her time than playing games with Aaron.

"I'm going to the washroom." It wasn't necessarily a lie, because she really did need to go to the washroom.

"Right," Aaron said, looking her in the eye and throwing her off, "We got your stuff ready for you. The toothbrush is by the sink, and there's toothpaste and a towel and stuff. Hurry up though; school starts in half an hour."

Hebe nodded and clambered up the stairs, finding the washroom with ease and taking her time.

After a while, Aaron knocked impatiently on the door. "Hey! What's taking you so long? We have to leave in ten minutes. Hurry up!" Hebe ignored him and looked down at her clothing. Shorts, the same brown hoodie, and a tee-shirt. As soon as she heard the footsteps fading, she opened the door.

"Wait! I can't go to school like this." She gave a sheepish strange almost-smile. He rolled his eyes back at her, and she noticed that he was now dressed, and looked decent, save for the shadows that still lurked underneath his eyes, prominent on his cheekbones. He disappeared into two of the other rooms. From the first, he came out with something white in his hands—probably the shirt. He went into the second room without even looking at her, and she could hear him chattering with Selina, who came out before he did and exited down the stairs, not noticing Hebe. A few seconds later, Aaron came out with a skirt, probably picked at random, and a uniform shirt that, from afar, looked as if it were two sizes too big for Hebe. She took them and closed the door to change, realizing something halfway as she did.

"AARON! Is this shirt YOURS?!"

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[[initially written & added april 16 09.