Chapter Two: Meet Me On the Rooftops 

Six Years Earlier, Mid-September.

"What? No! You never told me about this." I tugged a hand through my tangled hair, angling the phone away from my face as I tried to escape the constant heat. My heart was pounding.

"Honey, your father and I are just going through...a rough patch." My mother's voice was muffled. "It would be good to have some time off. For both of us."

"But for how long? What about Nick? Have you told him you're splitting up?"

A while later, I threw my phone on the bed, watching it bounce and fall off. I collapsed face-down on the wrinkled sheets. I need a break.

I don't know how long I was knocked out, but when I raised my head my room was dark. I sniffed and wiped my eyes, rubbing at the dried tear stains on my cheeks.

Oh great.

Maybe I should just stay in the darkness and let it engulf me from the inside out.

I sat in the dark, listening to the soft tick-tock of the clock. I shoved my pillow aside and stood up, rubbing my eyes.

It was too late to take a walk. I sighed and turned on the ceiling fan, trying to get rid of the muggy air. I turned to the window.

Well, it wouldn't hurt.

I snapped open the locks and tugged up the glass, the cool air hitting my bare stomach. Immediately outside the window was a ledge, extending roughly five feet out. I tugged on a shirt before going back to the window. Sticking one leg out, I tested the roofing under my feet.

It seemed sturdy enough. I hope.

I slowly stuck out my other leg and, gripping the edge of the window pane, leaned back and ducked outside. I scooted up against the wall a few feet away from the window and sat down, resting my arm on one bent knee.

It's amazing how much you can see when the walls are out of the way. Leaning my head back, I closed my eyes, enjoying the breeze playing against my skin.

I eventually got into a habit of sitting on the roof late at night, brooding over my life and my parents' separation. It was calming, being alone and awake after everyone had gone to sleep. And it was quiet, minus the occasional car that drove past.

And I sat there alone.

Until she came along.

A small giggle and grunt came from my left as I sat with my back against the wall, tracing the edges of the tiles under me. I turned to watch a girl jump and land on my roof in one smooth move. She didn't stumble like I did, walking on the roof tiles with ease. Her eyes met mine and she smiled.

"Heya."

I stared, stunned to see someone else up here.

"Hi." I glanced around. "How'd you get here?" On my roof.

She shrugged. "I walked. And jumped, a bit." She motioned to the space next to me. "Mind if I take a seat?"
I nodded and she folded herself against the wall a few feet away from me, legs criss-crossed.

"Wait. How'd...who are you? How'd you find me?"
She blew a wispy strand of her blonde hair out of her face. "I'm..." She paused, seemingly thinking. "A moth."

She smiled.

Wow. A moth. Great.

"How'd you get here? I wasn't looking for you. I don't even know you."

She laughed and leaned back. "No one comes looking for me. I'm not your first thought when you wake up in the morning, nor am I the one people make plans with, for vacations and outings." She turned. "But at two a.m. when you're drunk on your rooftop, choking on your thoughts on a summer night, you'll find me."

I snorted. "If you know that no one looks for you, why do you even come?"

She closed her eyes, still smiling. "Because I'm a moth, attracted to everyone's loneliness. The world is too dark to cry alone." 

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A/N: view similar to Noel's, except his roof is horizontal extending from the window: