Secrets: something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.

~~~

A suffocating feeling drove me to suddenly sit up in pitch darkness, clutching my burning throat and blinking in confusion. My head was spinning as I slowly came to my senses, regaining my composure and beginning to breathe normally.

Just as I'd succumbed to feeling levelled, the blackness that dwelled in the sides of my room began to enclose themselves closer and closer to my body like malicious predators. A stiff motion in my chest made me almost choke in disgust as I felt a heavy substance build it's presence around my body, becoming a barrier.

Instinctively, the stimulus caused my body to quiver weakly as I burst into a series of compelling coughs. Gasping for a shred of air to redeem my previous state, I tried to control the disruption of nature.

Amidst the overwhelming turn of events that had crashed through my peaceful sleep, my room door slammed open as light mercilessly illuminated into my vision.

"Honey, I'll grab your inhaler. Where is it?" Mum's earnest voice was slightly recognisable against my suffocating sounds.

I pointed to my desk draw as my coughs subsided, leaving my lungs exhaling and inhaling as intensely as the shadows that had cornered me.

The object that I'd become so accustomed to using entered my mouth as I dependently inhaled the pump of air that drove itself through my clustered lungs.

Mum's warm thumbs rubbed gentle patterns against my hands comfortingly as I renewed my breathing patterns. For a few seconds I focused on the motions that the warmth traced into. Bend, around, down.

"Better?" Her soft voice whispered through the shadows.

I shook my head in refusal, "I can't keep doing this in the middle of the morning."

"I know honey, it's not fair. But what else can you do but take it hands on?" Her supporting words drove me on.

I shrugged, knowing that my complaints didn't really have a depth. They were just said in spur of the movement.

I took a cautious cough and avoided being at the brink of a chesty pain.

"We've got that appointment in the weekend, it will be a good indication of how I'm doing, right?" I hopefully met Mum's gaze for confirmation.

"Of course!" She encouragingly squeezed my arm, "Now I don't like forcing you to do things, but you really need to stay in bed and try to get some more rest."

I nodded in agreement, if I got up right now then my mind would still be exhausted. "I will."

"That's my girl." She smiled, her hand briefly brushing my forehead like a gentle feather.

I grinned to myself as mum slipped out of the room, truthfully those words were the best. They were like a sheltered assurance, housing me protectively from my insecurities.

Sliding back to my previous position, I closed my eyelids again and breathed calmly.

Like ticking items off of a list, I allowed each of my background thoughts to fade away to a brief extinction as I attempted to sleep.

I was still sometimes afraid of closing my eyes, my future was unpredictable. The path that might have laid ahead of me could perish at any moment.

At least now, I wasn't alone.

~

"Hey Ava!" Sasha yelled at me as I skidded past an opponent who was marking me.

As Goal Attack, I caught the ball swiftly before immediately pivoting to toss the ball at the Goal Shooter. The brunette gladly accepted the ball as I ran into the semi-circle in anticipation, ignoring the presence of rivalry team members.

She aimed the ball carefully at the towering goal, but a second later it had bounced against the metal frame and hit the ground.

Our team sighed in disappointment as the whistle blew like a sign of confirmation.

"Draw!" The dictating tyrant of a teacher yelled at the two of our teams.

I avoided meeting her beady eyes as she pointed to the other side of the field, "Yellow off!"

As the team who had been waiting in the sidelines replaced us, I joined Sasha's side as we trudged to grab a seat on the concrete ground.

The two of us exchanged eye contact as we heavily breathed, pouring water into our mouths. My face felt like it was exerting it's own heat and I knew that my skin had probably turned into a tomato.

After regaining our breath, Sasha burst out, "Why the hell are all Sport teachers either insensitive or stiff assholes?"

I raised my bottle jokingly, "Cheers."

She fanned her face and the two of us gained our breath as Sadia, who was carrying her art book, sat down beside us.

"And you don't have a lesson to be at?" Sasha eyed her in amusement.

"Photocopying," she shook her head sarcastically, "Very time consuming."

Placing her coursework book on her lap, Sadia gazed at me, "So Ava, tell me about yourself."

I raised my eyebrows before looking at the other class on the track, watching the sweaty guys race. "I'm an introvert who loves daydreaming with a passion. I like exploring and most of the time I get lost, which is part of the entertainment."

"Now that is something we can conspire together in." Sadia smirked cheekily and I sent her a nervous smile.

A loud noise from a group of guys burst through our conversation as the three of us halted and turned our heads to see a figure speedily passing around the track.

Wow.

It took me a slight second to adjust my vision to decipher the fast figure, Davis. A swarm of guys were yelling proudly and cheering him on as he swiftly brushed past what would have been a blur to him.

"See something you like?" Sasha teasingly murmured into my ear as my head turned from watching Davis.

I rolled my eyes, "Just something I admire. It's the first time I've seen Davis serious about something."

"As stereotypical as it sounds, he is literally the most athletic guy in our year," Sadia observed wisely, "But after knowing him for some time, he's actually good with the guitar and singing."

"Classy," I snorted, trying to imagine the goofy troublemaker singing, "The last time I heard him sing, it was a beans song."

Sashw laughed, "Don't forget, he's also got amazing doodles."

"Yes," I nodded my head sarcastically, "Those are pure talent."

We shared a laugh at the distinct image of his stick men that he'd give a cloud of hair to, proclaiming that "Afros are the best on a stickman."

I placed my hands on my warm cheeks and blanked out, thinking about the group's plans after school ended.

It was my first time going out with anyone apart from Dina, but over the last few days the two of us had somehow attached into the group like missing jigsaw pieces.

"Alright you lot! Get out of my face now."

Sasha and I both rolled our eyes in unison, standing up and heading along with the crowd towards the changing rooms whilst Sadia joined us.

"How about she gets out of our faces?" Sasha muttered.

"Amen." I murmured in agreement.

The crisp cutting air of the cubicles drove around ourselves like a relieving wind as we parted ways.

"So we'll meet you there at five?" Sadia double checked with me.

"Yeah," I replied, "Jesse and Sasha are going to pick me up."

"Good luck in between those two," She chuckled to herself and I smirked in reply.

"Siblings, hm?"

"You and I will never know. See you!" The voice replied as she departed, running back to Art.

I resorted to a cubicle and peeled off my kit, ignoring the scarred marks that pierced my skin. I hurried to replace my bare skin with the white coloured school shirt. The clothes covered my embarrassed vision and I slipped on my grey pleated skirt, thinking about doing my medicine routine before leaving.

When would be a good time to tell them?

~

"Ugh!" I groaned as my grey sneakers squeaked against the polished floor of the bowling alley, "I suck at this!"

The five solitary pins that remained were soon replaced by a complete set as I lumped myself onto the cushioned seats beside Davis.

"Join the club." he pouted jealously as we both watched Jesse effortlessly strike every single pin.

The blonde caught my eye and sent the guy beside me a triumphant smirk, flexing his wrist proudly. "More autographs?" He teased.

"The trash can is full." Davis shot back.

I rolled my eyes, "I'll give you bowling Jesse, but that's it."

Sasha giggled as Sadia aimed, "The only reason we're good is because our dad is obsessed."

"That's true," Jesse chuckled, "He would disown us if we were as bad as Ava."

I stuck my tongue out at him as Dina joined the conversation, "My dad is literally the opposite, whenever I beat him at bowling he complains that I'm talented at the wrong things."

I bit my lip enviously at the topic, I'd only bowled with my dad once before, and it wasn't exactly the best memory of him. Honestly, I had no good memories of him. The moment he'd gone, a filter of negativity had interlaced around his figure to an extent where most of my memories were bitter.

"Come on Ava, let's carry on." The young woman murmured into her daughter's ear, holding a facade.

The little girl, barely half her mother's height, could just about carry the boisterous ball. Hesitantly, she cast another glance towards the domineering man who had walked away to chat to a group of loud girls.

She blinked away the images as the confused knot in her gut twisted itself further. Turning back to the alley that displayed a complete set of pins, she began imagining the pins to resemble the sparkling curvy girls that had stolen the attention of the man she loved.

Hurling the sphere in her hand at the imaginary girls, her grip was released. The ball glided to the right as it slammed towards the end. Only a meagre three were knocked out and she sighed aloud in disappointment.

"Another try, come on." the enthusiastic words of her mother were drowned by peals of laughter.

The girl scowled at the group near her, then at the man who continued to stream more words. She had failed to cast them away, and now they had stolen away her attention.

"Avacado?" I flinched as a voice whispered into my ear.

I gulped at the sour memory before meeting Davis's cunning eyes. He leaned towards me and murmured, "Let's use Jesse's talent to our advantage."

I followed his hands as they reached for the bountiful amount of arcade tickets that had gathered due to the points accumulated.

"You in?" He silently pounced upwards and intently searched my expression.

I smirked before shifting my weight upwards and sending him an agreeing nod.

In the skip of a beat, Davis had grabbed my hand as the two of us retreated to the nearby flashy arcade. His palm clutched mine dominantly as my legs followed his fast pace. We passed through luminous signs and different games before his long legs finally came to a stop.

I took a deep breath as my heartbeat pattered against my chest, "God, not all of us are amazing at running."

Davis cleared his throat before turning his face away from me, "You think...I'm amazing?"

Not expecting that precise reaction, I raised my eyebrows and fiddled with my fingers, "At sprinting. Yes. Not so much at humour."

The lean boy laughed before meeting my eyes and flashing another signature smile, "Air hockey?"

I grinned at the suggestion before replying, "You're on!"

We both took our designated sides opposite each other as the lighted surface of the table brightened my vision. As Davis placed the pucker in the centre of the marked area, I curled my fingers around my pusher and gave him the first move.

We met eyes for a split second as he pushed the object towards my side in an attempt to score. My reflexes were decent, so in a jolt I had deflected it towards my targeted goal.

The battle between sides continued as we both stubbornly refused to give way. The silent clashed of collisions were the only sounds that were being emitted, and as predictable as ever, Davis was keen to break it.

"So, what's the situation with your dad?"

I gritted my teeth and smashed the pucker forcefully outwards as it clashed with a side rail, "He pulled a vanishing act."

"Bastard." he expressed and I bit my lip in discomfort.

"I was too naïve to see it coming, he was my knight in shining armour."

"You clearly need a new one," Davis remarked before bursting out in a cheer, "Yes!"

I groaned as my hands reacted too late, allowing him to score into the open goal, "No fair! You distracted me."

As he rummaged to place the pucker back into position, we met eyes and he winked. "I'll tell you my side too then."

As we continued the heated game, Davis's voice narrated, "My mum done the same, just after my younger sister was born."

I sighed and remembered a past vision of his baby sister, "That's even worse, it was recent right?"

"Yeah, it was shitty," He agreed, "Dad and I struggled to keep order in the house without a woman."

I nodded my head, slickly scoring and sending him a beam, then placing the pucker back into the centre.

"At the same time, don't you just admire single parents though?" I reflectively murmured, thinking of my mother in a new light.

"Definitely." He nodded.

"Managing everything single handedly instead of having someone else to rely on, it's impressive." I smiled to myself.

We carried on playing for a few minutes until Davis broke in again, "So...do you plan on telling everyone else?"

It took me a while to realise what he was talking about, but before I could interrupt, Justin's harsh voice impaled our paired bubble, "Telling us what?".

A/N: I couldn't carry on because it would be too much for one chapter, but I shall update very soon!

Hope you enjoy, X.