Arlo was sent to class where she silently sat playing a game on her phone. The teacher assigned to her class hadn't come to school so they were given a substitute who was more or less babysitting the class until the final bell. Arlo had to kill her boredom somehow so she texted Taro.

'Taro?'

'Yes... what's up?'

'I'm bored, I have a sub.'

'Well, my teacher is as dead as a corpse. Where's Cillian?'

'I don't know... class probably.'

'I'm gonna sleep... is there anything you wanna tell me?'

'... No.'

'Liar, but if you don't want to tell me then that's fine.'

Arlo rolled her eyes at Taro's method of making her want to tell her what she didn't want to. 'It's about Cillian.'

'What happened did he hurt you?'

'You can call it that... but it wasn't physically.'

'Huh? Then what was it?'

'My heart...'

'Arlo, you aren't saying... that you're feeling something for him, right?'

'I don't know?' her thoughts were a swirl of uncertainty and speaking of him now wasn't helping the issue.

Taro didn't reply back because she was still star struck by her friend's words. Her cell vibrated and she looked at it, but to her dismay she paled at the next words her friend texted her.

'He kissed me.'

Taro didn't know what to think or even what to reply. She clicked off her cell then sat blankly watching the black board as the teacher continued on with the subject.

Arlo sank back into her seat, Taro hadn't replied yet and it made her feel bad, did she do something that bad that it remedied her best friend not replying back to her text? Arlo didn't text her back to ask, instead she turned off her phone and put it away inside her bag.

~ ~ ~

School breezed by without much of any trouble, the rumors were murmured and the eyes still watched, but no one addressed her or cared enough to get close. She didn't see Taro and she didn't care to look for her, something made her hesitant, then that something made her rethink. The day ended on a lazy note, the skies still painted in a lazy gray, the earth looked sad and the students the opposite. Arlo was an observer, standing at the top of the stairs of her school, eyes searching over the ocean of her future colleagues to find a part of herself.

The buzzing was a whisper— with the ringing and pinging and texting and snapping... the buzzing grew. A brown gaze set as technology consumed them... forever and permanently attached to their devices.

Her eyes couldn't have cared more for the social bubbles people enveloped themselves within. The world that they've dove down deep in and chained themselves to the pit of were becoming their personal prisons. She couldn't help but not care for the buzzing life of social media and the new crazes or new stars or the new music or the new anything. It wouldn't matter after some time, so why should she care now.

She sighed and shook her head. Taro, the one person who she could talk to in the midst of her troubles, she didn't know what else to say to her, not about Cillian, not about their kiss and definitely not about the feelings she felt but didn't know how to explain them. Why would she need to explain? Why should she care about who she kisses? It was her life, her lips, his... his actions and her reactions.

She spotted her speaking to a girl she remembers from her math class. She just so happens to be Miranda Anderson's cousin, Dalia Anderson, a cousin by father and a seemingly kind face, but she was a pathological liar and a deceitful person with a face meant to gain trust. She wasn't to be trusted. Arlo pressed Taro's number and held the phone in her hand, with it at her side as it rung. She saw Taro look at the phone and ignored the call.

She pressed call again.

This time she saw her answer it and her eyes turned to look about the sea of departing students and found her eyes.

'Arlo?' Arlo raised the phone to her ear.

'Red 2.' Taro's eyes widened and she looked back at Dalia to whom looked back at her with innocent empty hazel eyes and smiled.

'Okay.' she clicked off the call and said something to the girl which made her little smile turn into a frown. Taro chuckled softly and ran off towards the gate. Arlo followed after her weaving through the crowd of teens to avoid being spotted by Dalia.

Taro was pacing out the gates as she swore to herself.

"Stop it."

Taro's eyes met hers and she shook her head. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, she's blood. Why would she be on our side?"

Taro nodded then moved to hug her friend, Arlo sighed at the warmth she emitted. Taro pulled back with a look of uncertainty. "So Cillian?"

"Are you sure you wanna go?" Arlo wasn't sure if it were possible to see him, but she didn't want to think about it too much.

She nodded. "Of course, you trust him, right?" Arlo smiled. "Well then, we're going." she took her hand and together they left.

~ ~ ~

665 East Oswald Street...

The eyes of Arlo and Taro took in the three story mini-Manson that Cillian resided in and held hands. "It's now or never." Taro stated.

"I choose now." they shared a small smile then began up the pathway.

The black double doors were intimidating, but Arlo hadn't dragged Taro and herself all this way to turn and run back. She pressed the door bell and waited to see if Cillian was really home.

They heard footsteps approaching and locks unlocking then the right door was pulled open and a tall blonde woman who looked like she walked the runway for a living appeared. "Hello, may I help you?"

Arlo saw her deep blue eyes and how they were just like Cillian's, her cheekbones too, mimicking his. "Is Cillian home?"

Her sharp gaze scrutinized them and she folded her arms over her chest. "Who's asking?"

"A—Arlo..." she didn't know if Cillian had spoken about her, but for her sake, she hoped so.

Her eyes were unreadable as she spoke. "Wait here." she shut the door and Arlo looked at Taro looking at her and they exchanged wary glances.

The door handle turned and was pulled back and to their joy Cillian was standing there in a plain vest and black sweatpants, his tattooed arms exposed for the first time since they met. His normally groomed hair was a tussled mess on his head and his pale skin was red; under his eyes were puffy and his eyes bloodshot. Arlo didn't say anything, her body moved itself and before she knew, she was embracing him in her arms.

The shock that vibrated through his body when she hugged him made his eyes widen.

"Ar—."

"Shh, don't ruin it." he sniffled, his right arm wrapping around her waist as his hand gripped her hoodie, he bowed his head as tears burnt his eyes and dampen her hoodie.