Today was school.

Crystal groaned, sitting up. She checked the clock next to her, barely resisting the urge to slap it when she saw the time. How had her body even woken up at this time?

She knew, though. Nightmares, same as any day. They never let her sleep. Yesterday had been a weird exception.

She threw the blankets off, flinching at the unexpected cold. She knew there wasn't any reason to waste time trying to go back to sleep, so she went to her dresser and grabbed a soft pain of worn in jeans. She usually preferred being shirtless at this time, but it was so cold she doubted that was a good idea today, so she grabbed a worn shirt from her dresser, too.

When she finally lay back in bed, she was beyond annoyed. She hated walking up in the middle of the night, shaking and gasping. Today, she hadn't had a nightmare, which was good. She just woke up from habit.

Today, she had school. She didn't have anything there except Luke, and even then she didn't really "have" him. Sure, he followed her around like a lost puppy, but it wasn't like he actually cared.

"Oh, goddamnit," she muttered under her breath. Now, she was in that state of temperature where if she went under the covers, she'd be too warm, but if she stayed out, she's be too cold. She hated it when that happened!

But there was no use complaining at this hour.

She grabbed a book of her nightstand and turned on the light, groaning as her eyes adjusted. When they did, she could clearly make out the closed envelope that was underneath her book.

Margaret knew her too well.

Envelopes only meant one thing. Margaret knew about her... situation, so she gave her a choice every time people came in looking for children. Margaret would ask if she wanted to stay in her room (otherwise known as hide) or if she wanted to possibly be picked.

She always picked hide. She was a proud coward. Though, as Margaret often reminded her, she had plenty reason to be.

Still, through, she opened the file. It was this gay couple: two men. Crystal wasn't homophobic in the slightest, but she knew gay couples were bad. Two men meant there weren't any girls, and no matter who you loved, men usually wanted a girl in some way. An appealing girl of the appropriate age who wasn't by blood was perfect. So, she stayed away from them.

But something about these people seemed even worse than usual. So, in other words, no way if fucking hell.

Crystal laughed quietly. Margaret knew her opinions on gay couples. So why had she shown her these two?

Probably just doing her "duty." Crystal laughed again at the thought. Margaret could be a little over-protective.

She looked around again, hoping for some source of entertainment besides the holes in the walls. Some of the kids before her got really angry. Margaret would sometimes tell stories about them. Sometimes, though, they made her sad, so Crystal tried to avoid the topic.

"I'm gone, drowning in my own emotions, begging for help. For a cure to this madness. But they're all gone. And I'm here. Oohhh."

Crystal wrote songs. Some people said she was good, some teased her mercilessly, and some just shoved her in the dirt. But whenever she was alone, and she felt terrible, she would write one.

"I'm different. I've always known. I used to be proud. But now I can't be. Cause no one's here to celebrate it with me. I feel the tears. I feel the pain. But no one's here to lay a comforting hand. I tried to stop myself from falling . But it's hard when there's no one to catch you."

Everything always hurt. It never got better, but it didn't get worse. Crystal wouldn't even entertain the possibility of jumping. She couldn't. She'd never get away from it.

"I keep looking down, thinking and praying someone's there. But they never are. Yeah, they never are. If they were, they'd notice. They'd help. Yet I'm still here. Without anyone."

Crystal felt the tears slid down her face before she realized they had started. They weren't uncommon, but they were annoying.

"Falling down, down, down. And I know I won't survive."

Crystal hoped that last part wasn't true. Of course, she wouldn't live forever, and she wouldn't if she could, but she didn't want to go out. Not like that.

"Crystal? Was that you?"

"Jeremy?" Crystal asked in surprise. What was he doing up at this hour, let alone at her door?

"I couldn't sleep. I had a nightmare. About... them."

Crystal nodded in understanding before remembering Jeremy couldn't see her. She smiled kindly and got up. She opened the door and walked out, thankful she had put on a shirt.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as he hugged her tight.

Crystal pulled him back and held his shoulders. His red-rimmed eyes pierced hers, tears shining in the light of the lamp. He had bolted in and hugged her, knocking them both back a few steps, so they were well past the doorway.

"Don't you ever say you're sorry for that," Crystal growled. "Don't you ever."

Jeremy looked confused. "Why? Didn't I wake you up? Shouldn't I be sorry that my stupid dreams got in the way of you having a good night's sleep?"

Crystal felt anger swirl around in her gut. Who the hell had taught a child that nightmares were bad? That you couldn't get help from the ones you needed?

She pulled him close and whispered in his ear. "That is not your fault, alright? Who said it was?"

"Michael," Jeremy whispered against her. "He-he told me to never walk him, 'cau-cause I deserved those nightmares. They-they were a part of me, the par-part that needed to be pun-punished." On the last word, his voice collapsed. He sobbed brokenly against her, and all she could do was pull him close.

She tried to pull him toward her bed, but he was dead weight. So, she picked him up and carried him, something he had no problem with, which scared her. He hated being off the ground.

She didn't say a word, just lay him on the bed and cuddled next to him. Unlike her, Jeremy had always loved physical touch. She realized that had changed, however, when he flinched away.

"What did Michael do to you?" she whispered. Jeremy ignored her, instead pressing into himself in a tight ball. Soon, Crystal worked up the guts to try to hug him. This time, he didn't flinch away. Crystal wondered why until she heard his almost silent snores.

She smiled. This was the Jeremy she knew and loved.

She sat for a little while, watching him sleep. The way his chest moved up and down reminded her of a cat's as they slept. His quiet snores quickly became harsher, but Crystal had learned that as long as they weren't screaming, it was best to let them be. His loose yoga pants hung off him, and for the first time, Crystal realized how thin Michael had made him. After lifting up his shirt quietly to check her suspicions, she realized she was right. She could count his rips.

She fought the pained noise that wanted to escape her and instead walked back over to her side, tears streaming down her cheeks. Jeremy was innocent, perfect. He didn't deserve this.

She lay on her back on the unoccupied side of the bed, staring at the stars on the ceiling. Some kid before her had been scared of the dark, so like the wonderful woman she was, Margaret put stars on the ceiling to light it up. Now, Crystal couldn't sleep at all without them.

She rubbed a hand over her eyes. Everything was so much right now... and it was only in the bathroom. Jeremy was out; he would never know. It was still late...

She had time. And right now, she needed it.

She jumped up from bed. She wouldn't do it. She was strong. Not with Jeremy this close by.

Suddenly, she heard a knock. Saved from her self-harming thoughts by... Crystal hopped out of bed. Jane was outside, holding her teddy bear close.

"Wha-what's wrong with Jeremy?" she asked quietly. Before Crystal could deny he was even there, she pointed past her, to where Jeremy lay curled up on her bed.

Crystal rubbed her neck awkwardly.

"He's fine, Jane. He just needs a few hours."

Even little Jane knew not to believe that, but she excepted the answer, knowing she wouldn't get a better one without waking the sleeping boy up.

"Don't worry, Jane."

Jane listened silently, nodding and turning around. Jane was practically Jeremy's younger sister. Maybe not by blood, but if you were here, you were part of the family, no matter how you felt about them. That's what family is, isn't it?

Crystal sighed. All these children looked up to her, but they didn't know what they were looking at. They were looking at a monster when they thought it was a unicorn.

"Please, let me be there for them," Crystal whispered as she turned back toward her bed. She glanced at her alarm clock, a shocked expression taking over her features. It was almost time for school!

"Jeremy, wake up!" Crystal cried, shaking him awake. Jeremy recoiled, his eyes widening in terror. When he realized it was Crystal, he relaxed, but he was still unnaturally tense.

"It's time for school!"

Jeremy stared at her for a moment, wide-eyed, before he processed it. He jumped up and bolted to his room. Crystal wondered how he avoided tripping on his long pajama pant legs. Sure enough, she heard a loud bang that only came from a human body. She laughed quietly to herself.

She was a bad person who wasn't ashamed of the darkness.

She glanced around her room, grabbing her backpack and stuffing a few stray papers into it before running to Jeremy's room. He was all ready, sitting patiently on his bed. Crystal made an impatient noise and used the come here sign before she bolted downstairs, Jeremy on her heels. He may be five years younger, but he was just as fast. Crystal thought it was a little creepy.

They ran into the fresh air of the front yard. They could see the bus just coming to the stop in front of the sidewalk. They panted as they ran toward it, gasping breathlessly.

When they finally got on the bus and sat down, Jeremy in the front and Crystal in the back, Luke decided to sit next to her.

"Luke!" she complained. "You can't do this everyday!"

"Sure I can," he replied cheekily. "I have a right to sit wherever-"

"Hold the speech," Crystal said, rolling her eyes and holding a hand in front of him. Anytime she would complain about something he did, he would give a long speech about his rights. It got annoying.

And it may have been a little cute, but you didn't hear it from her.

Luke just smirked.

"What classes do you have today?" he asked casually, but Crystal knew better. He only asked so he could stalk her.

"Well, I have my favorite class today!" she said in fake glee. Luke couldn't tell the difference yet, so his reactions were always priceless.

"Really? What's that?" Luke asked with a smile. Crystal might finally be opening up to him!

"Nunja," Crystal replied, forcing the smirk to stay clear. Luke nodded slowly. He would likely go to the office to look it up, and the lady would tell him what it meant. It took every ounce of self-control for Crystal not to burst into tears of glee.

"Anyway," Crystal smirked. "Whatcha doin' today?"

Luke blushed and looked at his feet, which always seemed to get more interesting the more he looked at them. One time, she had tried looking at his feet to see what was so special. After a moment, she had realized it was probably the disgusting smell of his black sneakers.

"Going on a date," Luke answered quietly. Crystal gaped at him.

What the hell!?