I could say I had a pleasant evening with Selene. But considering the fact that she karate-kicked me to the ground... I could say I had an interesting evening with Selene.

I am proud of the fact that I finally taught her how to ride the bike. Yeah, and I know you're wondering why I was being so persistent on teaching her.

Well, the reason is just that I feel a little guilty. Why you ask?. Because she's doing so much to help me and I'm out here doing absolutely nothing for her. And the only thing I'm good at is riding the bike so I figured, why not teach her.

And yes, that idiot said no at first but now she agrees with me that it was indeed FUN.

Although at one point we did get yelled at by a grandpa living in the countryside cause the bike was quote-unquote 'too loud' for him. Eh, I didn't care that much.

Oddly enough there's a part of me that always enjoys Selene's company. Me, who bullied her with stupid names. Gosh, I regret that now. And damn, she's really forgiving. I'm literally trying all that I can to make it up to her, but she seems like she's already forgiven me. She's so loving too. Honestly, if I had that kind of love towards people I would be a much better person.

I think about all this, lying in bed at night, wondering what makes Selene so different. So kind and loving. She is the definition of happiness. She radiates joy and makes me feel wanted. Again, me who hasn't had much love all my life.

Last week, I got into a particularly horrible fight with Larry, who obviously, beat the living crap out of me. And this time, there was no Jane to stop him. I swear, the second I turn 18, I'm so out of here.

Either way, that particular day, after being given a black eye, a good many bruises, I practically dragged myself out of that horrible place and managed to sprint away. I didn't know where to go, usually, I go to the countryside to reflect on my anger but this time, I found myself going in the opposite direction. Guess where I ended up...

I was quite surprised to find myself outside Selene's house, frankly because it's only been a month and a half and here I am, going into her house like I've known her my whole life.

I knocked on the door, hoping to God that she was alone at home. She came to the door, obviously smelt a difference, weirdo, before letting me in. I would be lying if I said she didn't panic because she was basically ready to call an ambulance.

"Oh Selene", I had said, exasperated. "Can you calm down; I just need you to get me a bandage. It's really not that bad". Stupid lie. It's bad. It's really, really bad.

After she eventually calmed down, she quickly got to work, getting me bandages, antiseptics, iodine, a large bottle of water, an ice pack. She's really handy.

"Here, press it gently on your eye", she said, placing the icepack cautiously on my eye. I obliged.

"Okay, now I want you to pin-point the small bruises and the bloody areas".

"How did you know there was blood?".

"Smell Joshua. Smell", she said, tilting her head up.

"Weird Selene. Weird", I continued.

She laughed and sat down on the floor, with me on the couch before she started cleaning the blood. She didn't say anything for a while, even though I tried to initiate conversation. Yeah, this was going nowhere. Eventually, she spoke.

"Why do you let him beat you up?", she half-whispered.

"I don't know. I just don't feel like running away. I just get angry and defiant", I said, confused in spite of myself.

"You shouldn't have to go through this. It must be hell for you", she continued.

"Yeah it is hell", I agreed. Silence took over for a minute or two as she continued cleaning the bruises. Then I heard a sniff. Then a louder one. It didn't take long before she was crying over my lap. I was a little dumbstruck because no one has ever cried for me before.

"Uh Selene?", I tried to get her to listen. Nope, didn't work.

"Seleneeeee. Stop crying... it's okay. It's really not that bad". Nope, nothing.

"Okay, Selene. Look at me", I said finally. She looked up. My mind just went "FINALLY!".

"Okay now Selene. Why are you crying?".

"Because I feel bad". Again, dumbstruck cause no one's ever felt bad for me before.

"Well, stop feeling bad. I don't, see? I'm used to it. Besides, I'm leaving as soon as I turn 18 so that's the last I'll see of Larry and his stupid dog", I said.

She looked up at me again. Then she felt her hand for the icepack which had fallen from my hand to the floor when she started crying. Taking the icepack, she places it gently on my eye and her hand was brushing my face. I literally tensed up for a split-second and my heart basically just stopped. I'm a dead man now.

"I wish I could see you", she whispered. Oh. My. God. My poor heart. I was so confused. So. Confused. A second later, she was back to normal and went back to cleaning my bruise. She even started making jokes about it, laughing at herself.

But something changed. It lasted for only a moment but something snapped inside me. I couldn't stop looking at her. I swear if she could see me, she would probably have beaten me up for staring so hard.

Oh no. What is this weird feeling?

Ah, I guess this is going to become a problem...

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A/N HEYYY So that was Chapter 9... hope you liked it! See the spark? Do you see the SPARK? 

Let me know in the comments what you think of this chapter... or if there's anything to improve in my writing...

Until the next chapter... :)

<3 -H