The next three weeks passed by in a foggy haze. My nightmares were incessant and painfully realistic, so much so that I had even woken Auntie up several times in the middle of the night and woken to feel her cradling me against her chest. I couldn't tell her the truth though, which made me feel even more of a useless failure.

My feelings of guilt and shame for being a mistake and lying to everyone about it had been so close to the surface that I essentially closed myself off to everyone. I started sitting in the back of the class to avoid my friends and brought lunch from home so I could seclude myself in a random classroom or in the greenhouse to avoid talking to anyone.

I spent every waking moment focusing on nothing but schoolwork and trying to distract myself from the knowledge that I had ruined my parents' lives and they had made sure I paid for it. Because of that though, it was Wednesday evening and I found myself staring at my fully completed College Statistics, AP Psychology, and Government packet. I had even painstakingly color coordinated all of my AP Biology notecards twice.

Staring blankly at my completed homework I could feel the anxiety and guilt that always seemed to be hovering in the back of my mind beginning to force their way into my mind. I pressed my lips together firmly and slowly lowered my head down, cupping my hands on either side of my head as I made a futile attempt to block out my father's barrage of curses towards me that echoed from within my heart.

"Opal!"

My head jerked up in shock and I blinked away tears that I hadn't realized I was crying as I looked up into Auntie's eyes. Her usually beautiful face was a mask of worry and frustration and I blinked, swiftly wiping away the traitorous tears still clinging to the corners of my eyes.

"I'm sorry, Auntie. Were you saying something?" I asked, desperately trying to act normal and hoping that she would not comment on my crying.

Auntie's brow furrowed and her hands reached out towards me. Seeming to change her mind though, they closed into fists and she purposely put them back to her side.

"I think you should go dance, Opal," Auntie suggested firmly.

I blinked in shock at this unexpected comment and frowned. Dancing? Wasn't I doing that before I got injured? I wondered dully to myself, even as happy memories of rehearsal began to filter through the blackness that engulfed my mind.

"That's right... my ankle is better now..." I mumbled slowly, almost arduously as I tried to force myself past the fog I had been sinking further and further into every passing day.

Glancing up I was surprised to see relief and hope sparkling in Auntie's expression. This time she didn't hesitate to reach out and clasp my hands into hers.

"Exactly. The doctor said it's completely healed now. So you should go try and dance your sadness away a bit," Auntie urged although her voice sounded oddly strained.

I cocked my head, puzzled by Auntie's reaction but also desperate to hold onto this lifeline that Auntie had tossed me. Even as I tried to hold onto it though, doubt and guilt bombarded me and I slowly lowered my head.

"Shin Woo probably won't want to see me now," I whispered sadly, not knowing how I could ever live up to Shin Woo's expectations when I could never make my father happy.

A small yelp of surprise escaped me when Auntie's hands squeezed tightly around my wrists and yanked me up from my spot on the table. I stumbled slightly as she pulled me out of the dining room and marched me into my room where she only had to rummage for a moment before she tossed me my workout clothes. I caught them instinctively and looked down at the clothes in my arms in mute silence.

"I don't know what is triggering your nightmares or what has been going on in your head since you were injured, Opal, but this can't go on. Please, please at least try to do the things you used to enjoy. Don't close yourself off like this."

My eyes widened as I realized that Auntie's lips were trembling as she looked at me with so much worry it nearly bowled me over. Seeing Auntie so upset finally helped me reach past the blackness that had enveloped me and I slowly nodded.

"Okay," I whispered past a lump in my throat. "Okay, Auntie. I'm sorry."

Auntie let out a cry and rushed over to me, gathering me into her arms and holding me tightly to her.

"Don't apologize, Opal. I just miss you," Auntie choked as she held me tightly and I squeezed her back as fiercely as I could.

Auntie insisted on driving me to Feel da Beat, and I wondered if she worried that I wouldn't make it if I took the bus like normal. But I was grateful for her love and caring and I promised her I would try to have fun.

Shin Woo nearly tackled me in a hug when he saw me, sweeping me completely off my feet and spinning me around several times before he set me back on the ground. I was in a slight daze, never having been greeted in such an enthusiastic manner in my life before. I numbly followed his instruction to sit on the ground and allowed him to check on my ankle so he could make sure I really was ready to dance.

Once he proclaimed me in good enough condition to exercise he immediately set me to work on opening stretches. My brain was still a little fuzzy as I tried to process the obvious affection that both Auntie and Shin Woo were showing me, which was completely opposite of the nightly memories that my brain had been forcing me to relive for the past few weeks.

When we finally started dancing though, I could almost feel the music and movement helping me shed the weeks of tears and nightmares. Realizing that my brain was clearer than it had been in weeks, I threw myself into the dance that Shin Woo was teaching me as if I were beating back the ugly memories that held me captive. After nearly an hour we stopped for a break and I actually felt present enough to suggest an addition to Shin Woo's choreography we had been working on.

"I don't mind, but if you ever decide to perform make sure you do it the way I choreograph you," Shin Woo said in response to my suggestion.

I blinked but then smiled and shook my head in wonder. Shin Woo and Auntie both wanted me to perform in Feel da Beat's recitals that were held every couple of months, but I always refused. After all, no one needed to know that I was good at dancing. It was a secret that I cherished and was afraid to let anyone else but Auntie and Shin Woo know. But now his casual comment that had been so part of normal life before I had gotten hurt made me smile.

"By the way, have you picked which song you liked best, yet?" Shin Woo asked and I nodded slowly.

"Yes. My favorite is the one by Speed. I know it's not quite as intense, but the lyrics are really beautiful and I just love their sound. They are a great band; I wish they had come out with more songs," I said as I started my cool-down stretches.

"What would you think of recording the song too?" Shin Woo asked and I looked up at him with surprise.

"I can't speak Korean." I reminded him and he laughed.

"No, not in Korean. We could translate it into English and then I could teach you how to sing and dance at the same time. The dance isn't very difficult; I think you could do it."

I thought about it as I slowly sank into the splits and reached for my toes. Shin Woo had mentioned that I was making progress in my singing and I had grown to admire the Kpop bands for their vocal skills as well as their incredible dancing abilities.

What would it be like to actually do something like that? Would I be able to pull it off? I inwardly wondered.

"Why do you want me to?" I asked curiously, bringing my torso up and then leaning towards my left leg.

"Because I want to see if you can handle it," he stated and I grinned up at him.

Shin Woo was the most honest and sincere person I'd ever met; he never minced his words or said anything he didn't mean. My mind drifted to the melody of the song that I had listened to on repeat for almost an hour last night as I had been trying to block out bad memories. It hadn't been enough to bring me out of the darkness, but now that Auntie and Shin Woo had pulled me out of the abyss, I knew I would love to sing that song.

"Okay, let's do it," I agreed, feeling slightly euphoric at the suggestion.

Shin Woo grinned broadly. "We'll start tomorrow then! Can you get here by six?"

"Sure, I can do that," I answered and Shin Woo nodded with a cheerful wink.

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

I finished my cool-down stretches and gathered my things before boarding the bus and heading for home. After the short trip, I jogged to the apartment and opened the door with a smile on my face.

"I'm home, Auntie!" I called as I walked into the apartment feeling energized and happy.

Auntie burst from her room with a hopeful look. "How are you feeling, sweetheart?"

"Better. I'm sorry I've been so sad lately," I apologized and she rushed over and gave me a big hug.

"I don't blame you one bit, Opal. I would get sad too if I had nightmares every night. But dancing made you feel better?"

I nodded into her shoulder, breathing in her scent of honey and wildflowers. She pulled away and beamed excitedly at me.

"Wonderful! If that hadn't worked I don't know what I would have done," Auntie said with a brief look of pure agony. I bit my lip as guilt flooded me for making her so worried, but her expression melted into a radiant smile. "Let's celebrate and get frozen yogurt!"

I gasped in surprise at the offer of such a rare treat and covered my mouth with my hands to hide my excited smile.

"Orange Leaf?" I asked eagerly and Auntie laughed, pulling her car keys from her purse.

"Of course!"

The next day I walked into school with a bounce in my step. I'd gotten a full night's sleep free from nightmares or painful memories and the sun seemed to be shining extra brightly just for me. As I walked into the hallway I saw that the student council room door was open so I poked my head in. Nathaniel was sorting through files so I knocked on the wall. He looked up and then stood quickly.

"Opal! How are you doing today?" he asked in a rush. I smiled and walked into the room.

"I'm doing very well today, Nathaniel." Nathaniel sighed in relief and I blinked, wondering why he had reacted like that.

"After you hurt your ankle you haven't really been yourself. You haven't visited me at all and you never walk with Melody and me upstairs anymore. Plus whenever I tried to talk to you, you would only answer with a yes or no. I thought you were upset with me."

I frowned and looked away, rubbing my arm absently.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Nathaniel. I just... didn't really want to talk to anyone."

"Is everything okay, Opal? Can I help you with anything?" Nathaniel asked and I looked up into his sincere gold eyes and smiled warmly.

"I'm good now, Nathaniel. I just haven't been sleeping well is all." Nathaniel didn't look convinced so I smiled again. "I promise. I'll see you in class, okay?"

He nodded reluctantly and I went through the rest of the day happily. Everyone commented on how I was back to my normal self and I promised myself that I would never let myself slip into that sad world again while I was around my friends. Honestly, I felt slightly afraid that if I did they might realize what I really was.

The last bell of the day rang out and I waved goodbye to Kim and Violette as I made my way to the greenhouse. I didn't have a lot of time, but I wanted to at least water the plants. Once all the flowers were watered I made my way back to the high school, feeling my excitement for my lessons tonight growing.

I pushed open the school's entrance doors and stopped dead in my tracks, still holding the door wide open. There, in the middle of the hall, was Amber kissing a boy with silky brown hair. I awkwardly glanced around me, wondering if I should just wait outside. Just when I was going to step back outside they broke apart and the boy looked over at me. His green eyes widened with surprise and I gasped and let go of the door, letting it bang shut behind me. Amber whirled at the sound and zeroed in on me before fixing me with a triumphant gaze and flipping her hair casually behind her shoulder.

"What? Have you never seen anyone kiss before? Don't worry; you'll never experience it anyways, so you can watch all you want."

I ignored her and focused on the boy behind her. He looked to be just under six feet tall with attractively unkempt brown hair and dark green eyes. He was wearing an open white shirt with a black muscle shirt underneath and cargo pants. Everything was different about him but...

"Would you knock it off? He's hot, but he's mine, so back off," Amber growled. The boy broke eye contact with me to sneer down at Amber.

"What are you talking about? When did I say I was yours?" he asked harshly and Amber turned around in surprise.

"But, baby, you said I was gorgeous and kissed me and..."

"Pshh, you? Gorgeous? Please. The more I look at you the uglier you get and you are an awful kisser. I don't ever want to see your face again."

"Kentin!" I gasped as he turned to leave. He stopped suddenly and Amber turned to me with tears in her eyes.

"How do you know his name? I don't even know his name and I..."

"Quit whining, Amber. You're so full of yourself," Kentin snapped, still not turning around, and I felt like someone had just stabbed me through the heart.

What has come over him? Why is he acting so mean?

"Kentin, what are you...?" I tried to ask and Amber stamped her foot as she tried to hold back her tears.

"Would you stop ruining things, Opal? You can't know this guy!" she yelled half-angry but the other half of her voice seemed almost desperate. Kentin whipped around, glaring at Amber who instantly quieted.

"She does know me and you do too," he spat out at her and her face clouded with confusion.

"I've never seen you in my life. I would remember someone like you," she whimpered and Kentin sneered with more malice than I could believe was possible.

"You have. But back then you liked to call me 'the wimp'. Does that ring a bell?"

Amber's eyes widened in shock but it quickly turned to disbelief. "Ken?" she asked and he gave her a hate-filled look.

"I bet you wish you hadn't been mean to me now, huh?" he asked and then whisked away, walking confidently down the hallway.

Amber and I stood there stunned. I watched him walk away and felt my shoulders slump in shock. I knew that Amber and her friends had tormented Kentin for a long time... but I couldn't grasp how the sweet boy I had known could have become so malicious to come up with this kind of scheme.

"You." I turned slowly to face Amber, who had tears rolling down her face as she pointed a finger at me. "Don't you dare tell anyone about what happened," she said in a threatening tone but I could tell that she was hurting and again my heart ached.

"I won't. I promise," I whispered.

Turning her back on me, Amber ran out of the school. I stayed in the hallway for several minutes, trying to understand what had just taken place.

I turned down the hallway towards my locker and suddenly felt strong arms circle me. I pushed roughly against a well-muscled chest, breaking away from the arms, and looked up into Kentin's green eyes. Without his glasses supersizing them, they seemed strong and I saw a flicker of his old vulnerability go through them as he looked down at me. We stood there for a minute without saying anything. He took a step toward me and I instinctively took one back, wrapping my arms protectively around myself. Hurt flashed through his eyes as he stood where he was.

"Opal. I really missed you," he said quietly.

I looked up at him feeling lost and confused. I'd never seen anyone change so drastically before and my mind was still trying to process how my sweet friend could have done something so cruel to Amber.

"Opal, what's wrong? Did Amber bother you? I can take care of her now! I can make her pay for..."

"Why did you do that?" The words slipped out of my mouth with all the pain and confusion I was feeling. His face shone with confusion of his own as he frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you hurt her like that? I've never seen anything so spiteful," I said, an aching sadness going through me as I relived how he had insulted her to her face after pretending to like her. Self-righteous anger flared in his eyes in response to my question.

"I was just getting my revenge. She terrorized me! She tried to hurt you too! She's an awful person; so why shouldn't I get back at her?"

My heart clenched at that and I sucked in a breath, realizing that this was the same mentality that my parents had. My pulse raced as the darkness I had finally fought back threatened to spill over me again, but I forced myself to remain calm and close my eyes to think through things rationally.

"But what did it accomplish? Do you feel better after deceiving her and tearing down her self-esteem? Are you proud of yourself for insulting her?" I asked pointedly.

He looked away, but I could see him turning red. Whether from embarrassment or anger I wasn't sure though.

"She deserves to understand how it feels to be bullied," Kentin said after a long pause. My shoulders slumped and my heart ached for Kentin and all he must have suffered in order for him to become so obsessed with something like revenge. "But I guess you wouldn't understand that, Opal. You were always stronger than me."

My eyes widened in shock at this comment and I looked up to see that Kentin was looking off to the side with his jaw clenched. Sadness gripped me and I bit my lip as I tried to focus on the present and not on the past. But no matter what I did, Father's angry face came into my mind and I desperately didn't want Kentin to fall into the spiral of misery that Father was trapped in because of me.

"Kentin, nothing but anger and misery will greet you if you continue down this path," I said slowly, reaching out and touching his arm lightly. Kentin flinched and then looked over at me with his eyes wide. "You say that I'm strong... but if you knew why I am this way you wouldn't think it was so great."

Kentin's eyes scrunched up in confusion and he opened his mouth but I stepped away and shook my head.

"I hope you will focus on creating new, happy memories now that you are back, Kentin."

Kentin once again opened his mouth to say something but a small alarm rang from my phone. I quickly took it out, silencing the ringer that served as a reminder that I needed to leave for my lesson soon.

"You have to go?" Kentin asked sadly and I nodded.

"I have a lesson I need to prepare for tonight," I explained while taking a step back toward my locker.

"I... didn't mean for you to see all that, Opal. I knew you wouldn't understand," Kentin said in a pained voice. I paused and tilted my head, feeling myself sigh.

"Honestly, I can see why you would come up with a solution like that..." I said reluctantly, but then quickly shook my head. "But I don't agree with it. As I said, I hope you focus on being happy and not on the bad things that happened before."

Kentin frowned for a second but then slowly nodded and gave me a forced smile. "Don't worry, I feel a lot better after giving her a taste of her own medicine! I won't bother with her anymore," he said firmly.

I smiled hesitantly, not sure if this was really the best response, but I decided I had no right to say anything else. I let my hand drop from his arm and returned his smile before turning to leave for my locker. I paused though and turned back, realizing I had forgotten something important.

"I am happy to see you though, Kentin. I missed you," I said with a hesitant smile.

Kentin's eyes widened and then he smiled broadly.

"It was cool that you recognized me so quickly," Kentin replied with a shy expression, looking down at his body which had shot up since the last time I had seen him and filled out with what I assumed were hard-earned muscles from the military school he was attending.

I looked up into his eyes though and let out a small smile as I touched the corner of my own eye. Kentin cocked his head to the side and I chuckled lightly.

"We have the same color of eyes, so of course, I would recognize you," I said with a small shrug. "Besides, you were one of my first friends. I wouldn't forget you that easily."

Kentin beamed brilliantly at this and took a step toward me but I frowned apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Kentin, I really do have to go," I said. He frowned sadly but then nodded.

"That's okay. I'll see you later, Opal!" Kentin said with a happy smile that finally made him look like his old self for a second.

Relief and disappointment battled inside of me as I tried to reconcile this new Kentin with the old one in my heart. I waved to him as cheerfully as I could before going to my locker and heading for home.

Later when I walked off the bus to go to Feel da Beat, I felt a little dazed. My mind replayed Amber's tears and Kentin's cruel words over and over. I knew that Amber had hurt Kentin many times, there was no denying that, but it made my heart ache that he had chosen to lash out like that. As my thoughts followed an unresolved loop, I found my way to Shin Woo's private recording room and sat in the extra chair he had brought down as he explained why English translations from Korean songs were difficult. Suddenly a hand was in front of my face and my ears registered the sound of a snap. I jerked back to see Shin Woo looking at me.

"Earth to Opal-chan, are you there?" I blinked uncertainly and then sighed. "Hey, what's gotten into you?" he asked with a frown, scooting his chair a little closer to me.

"I'm sorry, Shin Woo. Something happened today and I just... can't decide what to make of it."

"Why don't you tell me about it? Maybe a fresh set of eyes will help."

I first explained how I met Kentin back in April and how we became friends before launching into my explanation of what I had stumbled upon. I described Kentin's cruelty and Amber's pain and the advice I had given him. It was difficult to put into words why this bothered me so much without going into details about my parents, but I tried to explain how worried I was that Kentin would self-destruct if he kept going down this path. Shin Woo nodded and asked occasional questions until the story had been exhausted and he leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head.

"So it sounds like this Amber girl was pretty awful to him," he commented and I nodded. "So now that he isn't weak he took the opportunity to hurt her back."

"That's it in a nutshell," I said with a sigh. "I know it's not really my business... I just can't help but worry about him."

Shin Woo nodded gravely. "You're right. Revenge never solves anything and he should have been the bigger man and not given in to that desire. But Opal, this Kentin kid was your friend right?"

I nodded sadly.

"If he was such a good friend to you, then I think you should stick by him. Everyone makes mistakes, and there is no point in stressing out over a personal choice he made that you couldn't have stopped."

I mulled over Shin Woo's words. He had a point. Kentin had to live his life for himself and make his own choices. I couldn't do anything about how maliciously he treated Amber, but at least I could try to remain his friend and help him not make a similar decision in the future. I smiled up at Shin Woo and nodded.

"Thanks, Shin Woo," I said and he patted my head gently.

"No problem, kiddo. Now, will you please focus?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

I laughed and nodded, leaning forward as he again explained that most Korean words had more syllables than their English counterparts so translating and fitting the English words into the Korean rhythm would be slightly challenging. We worked on it for a couple of hours before going upstairs where he began to teach me the dance. As I danced I let all of my worries slide away and concentrated on nothing but the music.

A/N The picture is what Kentin looks like now that he's back.