They said you were either lit or dark. You knew the moment a babe was born which they were from the glowing on their chest. Like a white light stuck under the skin, shining brightly. From that moment on you were brought up by lit parents, sent to lit classes and generally taught to become a successful lit person. I was just like them once.

Until I went to high school and saw him. He was a darky, as we called them. His hair was just a bit too long, his clothes all black, and a permanent scowl affixed on his face. Even so, I thought he was beautiful. He had these ridiculously long lashes that would flutter down to hide the pain in his eyes. I wanted to run over and hug him.

"Jaden, you are staring again." My friend whispered to me. I blinked and looked back at my lunch. It was healthy, and boring. I sighed.

"I can't help it. I think he is so pretty. Do you think he would let me talk to him? I want to talk to him." I mumbled to her. She shook her head in dismay.

"I think you are crazy. He is a darky, you are lit, it would never work." She whispered back to me. I shrugged and picked at my food. I glanced over again to his table and watched him talking to another dark girl. It sparked a bit of jealousy inside me that surprised me.

"Maybe you are right. I still want to try though." I pronounced. She gasped as I left my food and got up from the table. When I got to the middle of the room, the invisible line that separated them from us, I felt all eyes on me. I was nervous. Really nervous. I had to see though. I needed to see if he would talk to me. All of the people from that table were watching me as I approached. The room was dead quiet.

"Are you lost?" The girl he had been talking to spat at me. I didn't even glance at her. My eyes were for him, and only him. I stuck out my hand to shake and smiled. He looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I was. Crazy for him.

"Hello, my name is Jaden. I wanted to talk to you. Will you be my friend?" I looked hopefully at his shocked face. He looked down at my hand disdainfully.

"I think Jaden here is crazy, not lost. Go back to your friends. I don't want to be your friend." He growled at me. I tilted my head. His voice was amazing. I wanted him to keep talking to me. Shout at me, whisper to me, I didn't care. I was captivated. I hadn't moved despite his words, still smiling with my hand out. Why didn't he want to be my friend? Didn't everyone want more friends?

"I don't think it understood you, Damien. No, he said no." The girl sneered at me. I blinked. I looked over at her for a split second, my smile disappearing. My hand hesitated and then lowered. I stood there, not saying anything for a minute and I could tell I was making everyone uncomfortable. I didn't really care. I was lit. I always got what I wanted.

"Hmm. Too bad. I don't care though. I still want to talk to you. I will see you tomorrow at lunch, okay?" I smiled again and spun on my heel. I could hear him spluttering behind me as I made my way back to the lit side of the room. My friend shook her head at me and followed me out as the bell dinged the end of the period. We went our separate ways to our next classes.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" My friend Kane stood over my desk with a scowl on his face. I looked up innocently. I shrugged and bent down to work on the next question on my sheet. He slapped his hand down and I just cocked a brow.

"Relax Kane. It doesn't concern you." I said calmly. He huffed and swore before sitting in the seat ahead of me.

"Doesn't concern me? Of course it concerns me. My lit friend suddenly goes off the deep end and talks to a darky... the hell it doesn't concern me." He griped. I rolled my eyes at him. What a drama queen. I finished the question and sat back to look at him. He was glaring at me with those bright blue eyes and blonde hair fell over his eyebrow seductively, but I felt nothing.

I grasped the chocolate skinned hand in mine and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Then the professor walked in to start class so he turned around in his seat. The whole class I couldn't concentrate. I was thinking about him all the time now. I heard his voice over and over saying my name. I saw those deep green eyes staring into mine. I needed more.

*

"Hello again." I chirped as I sat down with my tray. He barely spared me a glance and then scowled into his food. His black hair fell across his face and screened it partially from my view.

"Go away." He growled at me. I shivered at the scary tone and smiled as I ate my food.

"So, Damien I think it was? Where do you live? I live in the south end of Summersby Townhouses." I chattered on as I munched my food. He looked at me incredulously, like I was some kind of bug. At least he was looking at me though.

"Are you going to sit there all period and talk to me?" He grumbled finally. I smiled and nodded. He sighed heavily and got up from his seat. I scrambled up from mine too and grabbed my tray. I watched him expectantly and he growled a bit. After grabbing a couple things from his tray, he dumped the rest. I followed suit and ran after him as he left the room.

"Stop following me." He ordered. I skipped a little to keep up with his faster gait.

"Nuh uh. I like you. I want to talk to you. Be my friend. Please?" I pestered him. He stopped suddenly and slammed his hand into the lockers by my head. I jumped a little, my heart racing. He tried to stare me down, but I just stared right back at him. I tilted my head a little, confused. Was he trying to scare me?

"God, you are like a demented puppy. If I say I will be your friend, will you stop following me?" He bargained. I shook my head no.

"No. I want to talk to you. I can't talk to you if I don't follow you." I replied logically. He snorted in amusement.

"Okay. Well you aren't stupid I will give you that." He said. I grinned at that. He shook his head at me again.

"Besides, you only said that you would say you were my friend. I want you to actually be my friend." I mentioned pertly. He rolled his eyes.

"You caught that huh?" He mumbled. I nodded and then daringly wrapped an arm around his, pulling him close. He smelled really good. Like cloves and honey.

"Yep." I said, popping my 'p' with a snap. He tried to pull away from me but I had a nice tight grip.

"You are weird. You know that? You should really just leave me alone." He tried again and then started to walk, but I just grabbed his sleeve and followed him down the hallway.

"I know. My friends already told me that. I don't care. I like you." I insisted as I followed him. He stopped dead in his tracks again and this time he turned towards me.

"Why though?" He looked deeply into my eyes. I shrugged a little.

"I don't know. I just saw you and I knew." I stared into space as I remembered the first time I had seen him. He was watching me carefully with a confused look on his face.

"Knew what?" He asked me, captivated for an instant. I smiled and looked him dead in the eye.

"I knew I loved you." I replied. He looked stunned and backed away from me. I let him go. He shook his head at me and I didn't blink or move. He gulped and pointed a finger at me.

"You... you are crazy. Stay away from me." He growled lowly and stormed off down the hall. I watched him go for today, since the bell was about to ring anyways. I wasn't going to stay away.

*

"It's back again." The girl mumbled around her lunch. He ignored me, the same way he had for the last two days. I didn't care. I sat across from him and stared at him. I spoke to him occasionally in a one-sided conversation and listened to him speak to others from time to time. It wasn't ideal, but I didn't care.

"Ignore it, maybe it will get the hint and go away." He grumbled. I perked up and smiled. He had acknowledged my existence finally. He scratched his head, irritated by me and did his best not to even look in my direction.

"Nope. Not a chance. I love you Damien." I whispered across to him. I saw his cheeks flame up and grinned to myself. The girl was watching us suspiciously.

"No. You don't. Stop it." He got up from the table, and as I always did, I followed him. I guess I was his stalker now. Oh well. I skipped along behind him until he got to the outside doors. Then he slipped through and slammed the door behind him. I had to rush through to try and catch him, but when I looked around I couldn't see which direction he went.

I pouted and my shoulders slumped a little. Then I turned around and as I was heading back in I caught the scent in the air, cloves and honey. I turned towards the dark corner and squinted. There he was. He had tried to fool me by doubling back as soon as he went outside and hiding in the shadows. I stepped towards him and he hissed in surprise that I saw him.

"If... if I was a darky like you, then would you talk to me?" I asked him sadly. He looked at me in shock. I could see it in his eyes though. I just wasn't like him. That was the only reason he had for not wanting to talk to me, for refusing to get to know me. How unfair. I felt a tear slip down my cheek and I started from the strange feeling. I wiped it away and stared at my hand.

"You aren't, and you never will be." He murmured, looking away from me guiltily.

"Yes I will. If you will only talk to me if I am a darky, then I will just have to become one." I decided. I spun around and dashed inside. He was yet again left to splutter and protest. I ran down the halls to my next class and sat there in my seat, contemplating everything. Kane came in and gave me a glare.

"You know you are wasting your time with him. You should just pick someone else. Someone who is your own kind." He spat at me. I blinked at the venom from someone I thought was my friend.

"I can't Kane. I love him. It's never a waste of time if you love someone." I explained. He scoffed and took a seat a few rows away, muttering about refusing to sit next to a darky lover. I saw a few people in my class looking at me strangely and I sank into my seat a little. I refused to let them pressure me. I refused to let their feelings sway me.

I loved him. I loved Damien. All I had to do was get him to talk to me. All I had to do was become a darky so we could be friends, or more someday. I wasn't sure how I was going to manage it, but I knew I had to try. Maybe if I could figure out what made them darky in the first place, then I could figure out how to become one like him.

*

My friends were not my friends. People I thought I knew abandoned me. As soon as word got out that I was a 'darky-lover' they refused to speak to me or called me awful names. The darkies wouldn't speak to me either. Only my friend Leah spoke to me, and mostly she tried to comfort me or suggest I change my mind. Didn't anyone understand? I couldn't just change my mind.

The constant barrage of whispers and the increasing difficulty to get through my day made me tired, but I still found time to do research. Darky people, or the unlit as they were called in text, were usually from birth. There were very few cases of lit people going dark, but a few did exist. It began with them not smiling as much, and seemed to be linked to depression or anxiety of some sort.

I laughed grimly to myself at the discovery. No wonder lit people rarely went dark and dark people were never said to become lit. Everything up to this point in my life had been fun, easy even. I had loving parents who did everything to make me happy. Lit people were always being friendly with each other. They had the best jobs, the best houses, the best cars. Why wouldn't they stay lit unless under strange circumstances.

Darkies were made to struggle. They were told from birth they were second best. They were given second best to work with and treated like second class citizens. Why then did all of my classes insist that darkies were just darkies and lit were just lit? I felt like my eyes were opening to the truth. Our society made us truly lit or darky.

It was possible that some people might be predisposed to being a darky, but a lit person could become a darky. That was all I needed to know. Hell, I even had a head start on my way there. All the fake friends and rude comments, maybe if I just focused on them then I could put myself out. After weeks of enduring it so far, it didn't seem like it would work though.

Maybe I just didn't care enough about what they thought? I wonder... maybe if I just think about what he thought. He thought I was crazy. Well, come to think about it, maybe I was crazy. I mean I was chasing a man who wanted nothing to do with me on the off-chance he might speak to me and be my friend. I was in love with someone I had never talked to more than to argue with, and he didn't want to be my friend.

That's right. He didn't want me. Not yet, is what I kept thinking, but what if... never. What if I went dark and he never loved me? What if I ruined my life, my entire future, only to find out he would never be mine? I felt tears running down my cheeks and wiped them away in awe. That was twice now that I had cried, over him no less. Maybe I could do this. Maybe I could go dark for him.

I put my books away for now and tried to get some sleep. It was elusive these days, with all the problems rolling around in my head. I knew how flawed my life was, and I didn't know if there was anything I could actually do about it. The little sleep I could manage that night did not seem to help me look rested the next day.

"You are looking a little... dimmer today, Jaden. Are you okay?" My father asked with concern. I tried my best and brightest smile for him and both my parents smiled back reassured.

"Yes. I am fine. I just had a little trouble at school, but I am sure I will figure it out." I said brightly. We ate our breakfast in silence and I swallowed the food thoughtfully. I was mulling over everything I had seen and read. Such that I didn't even hear the bullying on the bus on the way to school. I barely noticed when my only friend called out my name. I was in a daze.

Until lunch time. I looked across the cafeteria and stared at his beautiful face. My footsteps unerringly went to his table and I sat without a word. I didn't bother to get a tray because I didn't feel hungry enough to eat it. I just wanted to be near him. After all the thoughts that had crowded my head, I needed to reassure myself that I could still be close to him.

"What the hell. What's with you?" The girl piped up as she sat down with her tray. The table looked over in surprise at her outburst, so used to my presence now that they ignored me. I saw a few raised brows as they looked me over.

"What? I'm just not that hungry today." I said listlessly. I saw Damien looking at me with a strange look on his face. He was eating his food slowly, darting glances in my direction every now and then.

"You really should eat something." He muttered to me. I smiled weakly in his direction, just happy that he noticed me.

"It is fine." I whispered. He shook his head and pushed his tray over to me.

"Eat something. Here, have the rest of my casserole." He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me. He was giving me his food? I couldn't refuse that. Not when I knew it was his fork that had touched his mouth. I hesitantly picked up the utensil, staring at it for a second before trying the dish on his tray. It wasn't bad. I kind of liked the spices in it.

"Thank you." I said quietly when I was finished. I took his tray without a word and put it away for him, leaving the cafeteria without looking back. I could hear the whispers following me. Why does Jaden look so... dim? I touched my chest where the faint glow shone through and winced. This was harder than I thought it was going to be.

*

I didn't go to the cafeteria today. He didn't want me there and I was too tired to go that far. Also, the door to go outside was right by my classroom. I sat on the picnic table out on the lawn and stared up at the clouds in the sky. My friends had all officially abandoned me. Even Leah had given up. She and Kane stood with the others, watching me grow dim with a holier than thou look on their faces.

My parents were worried. They tried buying me some new things, but that just made me think about Damien and his friends not having the same opportunities. They offered to send me to a lit counsellor to help me cheer up again, but I refused. I told them there was a boy I liked, but he didn't like me back. They gave up after that, especially once they heard he was a darky.

"You didn't come to our table today, so I was worried. Are you okay?" I heard his voice. I smiled wanly at him and shook my head.

"No. It occurred to me that you may actually not want me around. I was giving you ...some space." I sniffed as I felt the tears welling in my eyes. He looked alarmed and unsure what to do. I wiped my face and tried to take a deep breath. It came out shaky. My chest was hurting again today and I pressed a hand to it, trying to stifle the feeling.

"You really are crazy; you know that?" He sat next to me on the picnic table and I nodded sadly.

"It is okay though. I am crazy for you, and you are worth it. Even if... even if you never love me back." I sobbed the last bit and covered my face. My chest, it hurt so badly right now. I grit my teeth from the pain of it. I felt a warmth across my back and looked up pitifully to see it was his arm. He had his arm around me.

"Hush. Come on now. Where is that confidence and optimism you are always shoving down my throat?" He patted me awkwardly as he spoke the reassuring words in a gruff voice. He looked distressed as he stared at my chest. I looked down to see it flickering and stuttering like mad. I was a little shocked to realise that I really was going to do it. I was going to go dark.

"I don't want it if I can't have you." I looked him right in the eye. He was taken aback at the fierceness of my tone. He didn't back away though. That glimmer of hope, it made my chest flicker. I tried to stifle it with my thoughts and he saw my battle. He shook his head at me, like so many times before. Then he leaned forward and kissed me.

His mouth wasn't gentle and soft, it was fierce and demanding like my first words to him. It explored my mouth in every crevice, dug inside with his tongue and flared my hope so big and full that I couldn't do anything to quench it. I looked at him in dismay as I pulled away, my chest as bright as it ever had been and my love burning harder for him than ever before.

"Why did you do that? Now I am not going out anymore. That isn't fair, Damien. I want to be with you." I pulled his body in close to mine and held on tightly. He rubbed my back and I sniffed as I cuddled his warm body.

"So be with me. I give up. I tried to ignore you, push you away, and be mean to you... but I can't hide it anymore. You gave me hope." He admitted. I felt him pull back and I looked on in confusion as he lifted his shirt a little to show me... another shirt layered underneath. There, in the center where his heart was, a faint glowing light was shining through.

I tore up his second shirt and stared, hardly believing what I was seeing with my own eyes. I pressed my hand to it and felt the warmth of his body. He was real. This was real. I jumped onto his lap, laughing and hugging him with all I had in me. He held me with a small secretive grin on his face, and I kissed him this time. Gently, hopefully, and lovingly.