Assumption: a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof.

~~~

They scattered as soon as I toppled onto the ground beside Davis.

To my embarrassment, Mimi hadn't distressed the feeble balls of fur, but I had.

"Told you I'm not good with animals." I reminded the boy whilst glancing towards the small closet where they had banished themselves.

"Give them a chance," He made a calling sound with his teeth, "Even most cats hate being around strangers."

"I don't blame them," I murmured, slanting my head sidewards and pessimistically watching the dark space, "Fear of the unknown."

"What? Those little alphabet Pokémon?" Mimi curiously looked up at me.

Davis snorted and I shrugged, unaware of what they were mentioning.

"Unknown is a word for something you have no idea about, it's like Davis and brain cells." I pointed towards his head and then looked back at Mimi, smirking.

She giggled and copied the expression on my lips, "Davis has no brain cells!"

"Oy, Avacado, don't start influencing my little sister."

I raised my eyebrows, wondering if Davis appreciated how he had a sibling, I would kill for any company in my house.

"Speaking of company," I wondered aloud, "They really don't like me, huh?"

I leaned against the wall and sighed, exhausted from anticipating the sudden emergence of the five kittens, who should all inevitably allow me to play with them.

It didn't seem as great as Davis animatedly described. For starters, they weren't even present.

"Think again." I could hear the smugness of Davis's voice, so I was hesitant to sit up and see what he was mentioning.

It was fair enough to understand that my little imagination of all the animals cuddling me was a myth. However, to my bewilderment, a small ball of grey stumbled to paw at my toe. My eyes leaned over my knees and I realised that tiny was a complete understatement of the creature.

"Oh, it's the midget." Mimi giggled at my softened expression, "Look how much of a baby she is."

I gave her a disapproving frown which was emphasised by Davis's words, "Small or not, she's got the largest amount of guts."

My face had dissolved into what was probably mushy jelly, it was laughable, but I had never seen anything so tiny and brave.

The kitten waggled its triangular fuzzy tail, gripping onto my tights and climbing onto my skin. I released a subtle hiss at the piercing feeling, then leaned towards the animal and offered it my hand, "Need a ride?"

Meeting it's faded blue eyes, the fluffy climber transferred itself into my hand, loudly releasing a muffled squeak. I stifled a laugh before gently raising my hand to my face, peering at the little creature and stroking it gingerly with my index finger.

She shrank back at first, and I was tempted to put her back, fearing that forcing my affection would scare her. However, the grey halfling suddenly vibrated, and I nearly dropped her in shock before looking around and Davis and Mimi in confusion.

I'd forgotten that there were spectators on either side of me, and my cheeks faded red in embarrassment. In my defence, I'd never heard an animal purr before, and it was a complete foreign sound. 

"It's okay," Davis teased, "We're not going to kill you for completely falling in love with the most weird one."

"She sits in milk more than she drinks it." Mimi toothily beamed.

My gaze raised back to the kitten, who had climbed down my arm, and fallen to my lap. She confidentally squished herself into a complete ball on my skirt, and then proceeded to watch me with an eye open.

"I name thee Momo." I announced, gliding my finger against her cheek, as her sounds increased.

"Don't steal my name!" Mimi raised her voice and stubbornly crossed her arms.

"I'm not! It's after Angs' playful flying lemur from the Avatar," I defensively pointed to the kitten, "They're both cheeky!"

"Unlike someone I know." Davis flashed me a rude smile and I almost wondered if God had a reason for creating such similar siblings.

~

I only really caught sight of him after the last school bell was drilling into my ears.

"You idiot!" Jesse exclaimed, pulling my cheeks and then pouting, "You left me all alone."

What? No "do you feel better?"

"Well sorry." I raised my eyebrows sarcastically, "I'll try not to get a fever next time."

Even though that meant not wasting time with him.

Rather than catching my insulted tone, Jesse nodded happily and grabbed my hand, "Good."

"Ava?" A soft voice called, with curiousity and wariness interlaced into the tone.

I snapped my fingers away from Jesse guiltily, and took a plunge towards my right-hand side, as if I'd broken out into a sudden dance stance.

"Sasha?" Our voices both faltered as the blondes' heeled boots dented sounds across the pavement.

"You guys..." Her eyes were heavy enough to make me take a nervous step back, the girl refused to look at her brother and insisted on grabbing my wrist.

I was not about to reckon with her force, the rumours about her punching a tooth out of a boy were as bright as the pair of earrings that jingled daintily on her lobes. Her grip wasn't intense, but her aura might as well be drowning in a raging fire.

"Sasha?" I echoed my previous question as she led me into the girls' changing room, which was completely isolated.

I gulped, and widened my eyes, "Listen-"

"No", She breathed out what could have been the exhaustion of a raging battle, "You listen to me."

"O-okay." I complied, drawing my fingers to my sleeves as a means of assurance.

"First of all, don't tell Davis or Sadia, for as long as this thing lasts. Ever, in fact."

I found it agitating that she was implying how temporary my relationship would be, it might have not been intended, but it also made me feel shitty about my temporary life in general.

Sasha knew I was going to ask why, out of utter confusion, so she cut to the chase, "It's not in my place to say."

"Secondly?" I asked, flinching and ready for a scolding.

"Secondly, don't do this Ava, he's not worth it."

The blonde dropped her head to my bewilderment, and my eyes widened in discomfort, "What do you mean? Hasn't Jesse got more to risk than me, considering I'll inevitably die in a shorter span of time?"

"In the least blunt way possible, don't waste time on something as unrewarding as my brother."

I frowned, "I don't understand, who are you protecting here?"

"I'm trying to protect you," She sighed in exasperation, "You're vulnerable right now, which is why he likes you. I swear, you'll be even more vulnerable when he leaves you."

"Stop!" I raised my voice, dreading the impact of my actions, "Why are you being so pessimistic?"

"Ava, seriously. Don't jump into the cliché where you assume you can be the one to change him." Sasha tapped her foot in anticipation, but the sound was drowned by my sudden movement.

"Regardless of what has gone on between you and your brother, and whatever secrets you hold, I'm not a pawn."

My cheeks were crimson with embarrassment as I stalked out of the room, shocked at how I had suddenly acted towards her. In reality, Sasha had only ever been supportive of me, and I knew this was another aspect of that motive. My facade of emotional strength was obscure towards the mentality that my first relationship shouldn't be negative.

Besides, it would probably be my last.

I scratched at my throat, arriving down the hallway towards Jesse, who was scowling deeply.

When I was within hearing range, he projected the question I was expecting but not looking forward to.

"What did she say?"

Looking up at his piercing eyes, and the eyes of the girls that still roamed the hallways for him, it was with all my strength that I bothered to shake my head. "I don't want to talk about it."

To my short-term mind, I was grateful that he didn't bother to press for any more information.

"Want to go somewhere?" Jesse asked me, grabbing onto my fingers.

I paused and then accepted the stirring motion in my guts, "I should just go home, my body doesn't feel that great."

He sighed in disappointment, and I guiltily met his gaze, "Give me a kiss then."

Driven by determination, Jesse's chiselled face pushed itself to mine, but I flinched and drew away.

"I'm sorry," I ran a hand through my hair, trying to untangle her words from my mind, "Jesse I'm really not into it right now."

"How can you not want to kiss me?" As if I'd suggested the most scandalous statement, his face distorted from the insult.

"Why do you suddenly only care about kissing?" I defensively replied, constructing a protective wall as my insecurities spilled out through the cracked gaps.

"What's that meant to mean?" He took an intimidating step towards me.

I quivered.

"Just stop." My eyes sealed shut as I tossed my head, trying to pull my brain apart from the doubts latched on, "Give me some time to myself."

"What the hell did Sasha say to you?"

I refused to meet his eyes, suddenly wanting to delve into social medias' burried secrets.

Turning away from Jesse, I murmured, "Nothing I can't handle."

Jesse only clicked his tongue, travelling in the opposite direction towards his car.

As I trudged out of the gates, I came to an epiphany that made me shudder: The only thing weaker than my lungs was my heart.

~

I drew the mouthpiece away from my airway, maintaining steady breaths in order to familiarise myself with the gestures of the air.

I gazed at the machine and sighed, detaching the necessary parts and moving them to the sink. The mouthpiece from my nebuliser drowned in water as I idly held my hand beneath the tap. My eyes drooped, eventually pushing the handle down and placing it onto a clean towel to dry.

Packing up my other materials, I elaborately noticed how my taunting brain insisted on pestering me.

The snapshot of the gummy bears we shared, along with my artfully placed hand, were gestured in a single photo. One image, amongst dozens that showcased various scenarios and faces, one image to almost confirm the shreds of angst I held to. Jesse had a social media page that was summoned as a direct representation of his various dates. Be it for boasting, references, or simple pride, it was negative dwelling.

My safe haven was created when the familiar call of my phone rang. I stashed my ampoules back into the refrigerator, sliding the reciever option as I trudged up the stairs of my room.

"Hello?"

"Ken?" I raised my eyebrows, surprised that he was on the other side of the line.

"I was looking through my photographs that were snapped that day at the fountain, there are some pretty good close-ups."

Sliding through my door and grabbing the black contraption sitting boldly on my desk, I murmured, "Are you thinking of doing something continuous throughout the portfolio?"

"Sort of..." He trailed off, indicating for me to state whether I was interested.

"Shoot." I said, spinning through a blur of random photos I had snapped, none catching my attention.

"Alright. So, for starters, let's use close up shots of faces, it will be fresh and natural."

"I like that," I encouraged whilst being partially distracted by an entrancing photo of Jesse's eyes during the 'date', they were so full of "expression."

"Exactly!"

"Huh?" I placed the camera down, squinting in confusion at his sudden excitement.

"You said so, expression."

"I did?" Rolling my eyes at the memory, I coaxed him to continue, "What about it?"

"Well, what about doing a spot of photo editing? We could use the zoomed photos to create overlays of what the people are actually staring at."

My mind ticked at the string of words he had suggested, "That's great! It's almost like appearance against reality."

"Oh thank God you understand." Ken released a relieved sigh.

I chuckled before offering, "I actually quite like messing around with photo editors, could you email me a file of the photos so I could experiment?"

"Is that even a question?" I heard a series of key-tapping sounds, "You're into photo editing?"

"Sort of," I murmured, retrieving the laptop Mum and I shared from the third shelf in my cupboard, "I used to make some graphics and mess around with things during Computer Tech."

I could almost hear Ken begin to reply, but a sudden distant sound made him snap shut, "I've actually got to go, sorry. The files are uploading, knock yourself out with them."

"See you," my voice was scratchy as I wondered when those words would be the last thing someone heard from me.

As the phone line went dead, I couldn't help the sound of a womans' raspy voice demolish into my hearing.

A/N: Haha, yes I did write around 700 words about a kitten. I refused to sleep until I published this chapter.. At 3:03am

I'm really proud and excited to say that this book won 1st place in Teen Fiction in the 2018 Psychedelic Awards...my first ever win yay :)

From the last comments I found that #Davacado is a popular ship name😂Poor Jesse!

Anyway, this is a little personal reward for getting through these chapters, it's not much but this DOES mean a lot to me.

This is basically my final piece from my 10 hour Art exam, it focuses on our theme: Fragments.

On the strings are scandalous events from newspapers, definitions of associated words (see a similarity?) and also my jigsaw pieces 💖

It distinguishes the fragments of reality behind the media, and the portrayal of our own creative minds that are restricted by oppressed views. I'm really proud of this, even though its message is messy, and wanted to share it with my readers!

I'm a weirdo, baii xx