~~~~~~~~~Third Person POV~~~~~~~~~

Mondays are always everyone's least favorite day. You have to wake up early again after a relaxing weekend, going to school or work in the morning, taking classes or working for eight to more hours, only to go back home and do some work there.

Varian agreed that Monday's were awful, letting out a yawn as he walked to his locker. Of course, with his dad as a teacher, it wasn't really his choice to skip school for once.

A small smile grew on his face as he saw Alyse walking over.

Alyse always had this cheer around her, where most people she was around would smile at her cheerfulness.

But no, this was different, and he knew it. He has for a while.

Maybe it was a silly high school crush, or maybe she was far too important in his life. But he knew he had feelings for this girl. She was a good friend, always willing to help anyone, always so kind.

Today, however, something was off..

The closer she walked over, the colder the air got; it was a strange feeling, nothing like before.

When she was close enough for him to see her clearly, that's when he grew worried. She stared at the ground with an emotionless expression, gripping the straps of her bag, and the flower crown on her head had toned down to more of a gray.

Again, he smiled, this time to try to cheer her up. "Morning, Al."

No answer.

No greeting, no wave, not even a smile back.

She simply opened her locker, took a book out, closed it and began to walk away.

Panic began to rise inside him, this was really unlike her..!

Varian walked fast to stand beside her, concern obvious in his eyes. "Are you okay..?"

This time, she shook her head, which only made him grow more worried, but at least he knew something was wrong.

"You wanna talk about it..?"

She stopped in her steps, forcing Varian to stop as well out of surprise. He stood in front of her as he waited for a reply, but she continued to stare down.

"... you know the bench at Forest Hill...?"

"Yeah, what about it..?"

"Meet me there after school..." With that, she walked to her class, leaving him in a mess of worry.

Hopefully she'd explain there..

~~~~~~~~~Varian's POV~~~~~~~~~

The school day had finally come to an end.

As I walked over to its gates, I let out a sigh of relief. Alyse had been acting a lot different than usual, spending it by herself and barely talking to us when we went over.

I hadn't forgotten about the Forest Hill meeting, and to be honest, I was a little nervous about it..

With my hands in my pockets, I made my way over. The Forest Hill was a pretty common place in our school, but barely anyone would go there because there was nothing to do.

It's basically this tall hill at one of the borders to the forest, and they placed a little bench so people could enjoy the sunsets in comfort.

As I finally reached the top, I could see Alyse sitting at the bench, staring down at her hands. I took a deep breath, trying to let out as much of the panic in me before walking over.

"Hey Al.."

She jumped a bit, looking back at me. "... hey.."

I sat beside her, giving her a small smile to try and comfort her. "You doing okay..?"

"... Not really.."

Not the answer I hoped for..

"Well, I wouldn't have met you here if I wasn't willing to listen, so I'm all-"

"I'm a curse.."

She cut me off with that, making my eyes grow wide a bit. I looked at her, confused to what she meant. That's when I noticed tears had been streaming down her cheeks, making my heart sink to my stomach.

I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey.. Just take a deep breath, and take your time explaining.."

Her eyes a bit red, she turned to me with a few tears in her cheeks. "... w-with all that's been happening, I wanted to know more about my powers, where they came from, why I have them when no one else in my family did.."

She sniffled, biting her lip. "My best friend Sage, the one who's part demon that I've told you about..? I-I asked her to find out why I'm like this, and- ... a-and apparently my powers are the aftermath of a curse some shadow demon casted on my parents.."

"... Alyse.."

She turned to me again, this time her expression more serious. "I-I want you and the others to stay away from me.."

My eyes widened. "What..?! No..! Why would we-?!"

"I'm afraid, Varian! I'm afraid that I'll make something dangerous happen again, and- a-and that I'll hurt you o-or- or-!"

"Hey, hey..!!" I gently grabbed both of her shoulders, seeing more tears falling down her face. "Just.. breath.."

After a few seconds, she took a deep breath, doing her best to calm down.

I don't know why I did this, something told me I should..

I gently cupped her cheek, wiping her tears away with my thumb, noticing the faint tint of pink that grew on them.

Giving her the best smile I could, I spoke. "Alyse, you have nothing to worry about.. You're not dangerous, and we're not scared of you.. We all love you, it's because of you that we all became such good friends, and we owe you our lives..!"

She stared up at me, and I noticed the flowers on her head were starting to return to their natural pink state.

I gently moved some of her hair behind her ear. "Don't you see..? Whatever you're worried about, we've got your back no matter what.. You don't have to go through this on your own.."

Staring at me for a few seconds in silence, she suddenly let out a small sob, wrapping me in a hug as she buried her face on my chest. I was surprised, my cheeks turning pink at the action, but it didn't take me long to return the hug.

She sobbed into my chest, keeping a tight grip on me, and although it didn't seem to be much help, her flower crown had gone back to its normal self, and so had she which made me happy.

I gently stroke her hair, trying my best to comfort her, and her sobs slowly quieted down.

Even so, she didn't pull away, and neither did I. She meant so much to me, and I wanted to keep her safe and happy.

"... I-I'm sorry for making such a big d-deal about this..." I heard her say in a bit of a whisper.

I only gave a small smile. "It's okay, this is all new for you, it's normal.."

We stayed a few moments in silence, when she then snuggled against my chest, my cheeks burning up. Nervously, I rested my head on hers, and I noticed a smile grow on her face, the first smile of the day.

I did miss it..

It felt like we'd been in each other's arms for a long while, but neither of us minded one bit.

"... Varian..?"

"Yeah..?"

"... Why am I so important to you..?"

I grew nervous at the question, panicking internally as my thoughts stumbled on one another, not knowing what to say.

She pulled back a bit, looking up at me as she waited for an answer.

I slightly bit my lip in thought, I couldn't tell her, could I..?

"W-well, you're my best friend, and- and best friends care about each other and.. s-stuff.."

Yes, Varian, that was an amazing answer, way to go.

I mentally slapped myself at how stupid that answer was, feeling as if I had ruined the moment.

There were a few seconds where the two of us simply stared back at the other, when she suddenly leaned up closer to me, and kissed my lips!

She kissed me!!

I felt my face heat up so much, frozen at what had happened. She pulled away, the kiss only lasting about three seconds, her cheeks pink as well.

"I- Wha- Why'd y-you-"

She brought a hand to her lips, a small giggle escaping them. "It's always been pretty obvious you've had a crush on me.."

".... it has?"

I mentally slapped myself again, have I really been so obvious?!

She only giggled again, that same laugh that always made my heart flutter. "I didn't want to make things awkward, so I didn't say anything.."

Her smile had returned, gently placing a hand over mine. "But.. I like you too.."

I felt my face heat up at this words. "Y-you do..?"

"Mhm.."

I stayed quiet for a few seconds before a small smile grew on my face, gently holding her hand. "Th-then.. maybe we could try, y-you know, being a couple..?"

She gently rested her head on my shoulder. "I'd like that.."

I rested my head on hers, the smile not leaving my face.

This day definitely didn't turn out the way I expected it to, but I have no regrets..

Thanks for reading!!! 'Till next time!!!

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