Three figures absentmindedly dangled their legs off the edge of a building, looking towards the fleeting sun that was quick to hide itself away behind the horizon.


    Having found an old ladder leading towards what seemed to be the roof of a particularly high building, Lea wasn’t able to resist the temptation to see what was up there, resulting in all three of them ascending to the top.


    Chloe looked towards the sun, and then directly upwards towards the sky, she laid down upon the concrete roof and began to notice how a few stars were slowly becoming visible.


    Trying to ignore the scene that was occurring a metre or so away from the girl, Chloe recalled how things had progressed to this point.


    <hr>


    She’d always knew about how Aaron felt towards the black-haired girl. Feeling that she should be happy for the two, she bottled the bitter ache that blossomed within her heart.


    Chloe had started to subconsciously focus on other things to distract herself from their growing relationship.


    Graffiti had become an excellent form of escapism from the fact that she was, once again, slowly becoming more alone, even though she had two great friends beside her.


    The tipping point had occurred about six months after the two had met Lea. At that time Chloe had just finished her first large scale graffiti piece on the back of her apartment, depicting a reoccurring scene from her nightmares.


    A large red tower surrounded by a torrent of green rain, two large orbs staring down from the skies above. A little girl in freefall, having already descended halfway down the large skyscraper, her tears merging with the rain that comforted her.


    Having enlisted the help of her two friends to fill in some of the small details, Aaron and Lea had been quietly whispering side by side for the whole duration of the operation, the boy letting out a loud sigh before shuffling over to Chloe’s side.


    “Me and Lea have been discussing something... we were wondering if you’d mind us splitting off sometimes... y’know... just the two of us.” He mumbled, looking towards the ground to avoid seeing the reaction the small orange girl would have.


    He knew how much they meant to her. After losing her father, Chloe had spent an abnormally large amount of time hanging out around him and then lea, leading him to believe that she had to have been feeling considerably lonely all the time when they weren’t with her.


    Leaving her out meant reducing the time that they’d get to hang out, he knew Chloe would most likely be averse to the idea.


    The small girl’s long orange bangs flowed out of her black hoodie, covering up most of her expression as she subtilty bit her lip, a small trail of blood emerging from the wound.


    “Yeah, that’s cool, since you guys have been getting closer and all...” she cheerfully responded, choosing to focus on the graffiti before her to distract her.


    Aaron let out a small smile whilst giving out a small word of thanks, turning around and beginning to walk back to his workstation.


    “I’m rooting for you, y’know?” she quickly added, swerving around and standing on her tip toes to push his shoulder from behind with all her might, resulting in him stumbling forward slightly.


    The green-eyed boy’s smile grew wider as his expression grew more embarrassed, bashfully looking towards Lea, who was inquisitively looking at his countenance.


    “They just want to get rid of you.” the shadowy figure behind her growled, digging its foot into the ground before shrivelling back into the shadows from whence it came after receiving a sharp glare from the small girl.


    Chloe looked up towards the image which she had created, harshly staring at the two soul piercing eyes which bore into her from above.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    <hr>


    Eyes now drifting towards the traffic below, the small orange haired girl reminisced upon how the two of them used to be. Playing games every day, holed up in Aaron’s room.


    Listening to his piano practice, whilst listlessly staring upon his sorrowful expressions for hours upon end.


    Nowadays, she’d been deprived of such moments, The black-haired girl had taken her place long ago.


    The two of them were currently cuddling next to each other whilst looking towards the sunset, Chloe looking at the scene with a slight tinge of disgust unconsciously embedded within her expression.


    A raspy voice entered her ears causing her to frown in displeasure, a suggestion which had come out of the figure’s mouth plunging her mood into a new low.


    It had now been two or so years since Lea had become friends with the duo, taking a liking to Aaron and officially started to date him six or so months after their meeting.


    Chloe looked down towards her hands, gripping them tightly as she wondered how her life would progress from now on. The time they spent together only dwindling as life progressed.


    “Perhaps, one day, I’ll be completely left out for good.” she sombrely pondered, instantly disliking the thought of such a cruel fate.


    Once again peering down towards the traffic, she flinched upon remembering a particular event, rubbing her left leg where a long scar was present.


    <hr>


    An enthusiastic voice woke the sleeping orange haired girl as she slowly arose from her short nap. A head of spiky blonde hair appearing before Chloe, the figure having had sat down next to her and opened a book whilst waiting for her to fully come to her senses.


    “You’ve been coming here more often lately. Not spending time with those two anymore?” he spoke out, his blue eyes peering down towards the messy figure that sat beside him.


    Chloe looked towards the boy, staring at his expression for a few seconds before letting out a dull sigh, “They’ve been hanging out without me a lot recently. It’s as if they’ve completely forgotten about me sometimes.“.


    Nathanial let out a small laugh before jokingly consoling her, “Well, at least you’ve got me, no?“.


    Chloe slowly smoothed out some of the creases in her uniform before letting out a light-hearted scoff, “Who said I wanted you?“.


    The blonde looked somewhat wounded by the statement, letting out an exaggerated groan of pain before mumbling something about her being too uncaring.


    Nathanial had started to approach the small girl coincidently around the time which Lea had started to date Aaron, hanging around her whenever he found the chance.


    His attitude towards her had pulled a complete 180, apologising multiple times to the girl every time he’d meet her until Chloe was forced to ask for him to stop.


    Nowadays the orange haired girl had, for the most part, forgiven him for his past transgressions and had taken some sort of refuge in his company, filling in the growing void of time in which she had to spend all on her lonesome.


    It got more aggressive when she was alone. Anyone would do.


    The blonde seemed to be her only option, the rest of the students avoiding her at any chance they got, it was as if she was the plague and getting even an extra millimetre closer to her would drain their lifespan.


    Looking down towards the book she had been reading, she frowned at the genre of it. Romance usually wasn’t her forte, but ever since Aaron and Lea had gotten together, she hadn’t been able to get it off her mind.


    What made her different from Lea? Why wasn’t she the one he chose? What does “love” feel like?


    All of these questions hung heavy on her mind, causing her to hastily put the book back from where she had fetched it from.


    The boy, who had been observing her reactions, seemed to have misunderstood something, a crooked smile blanketing his expression as he thought to himself how to proceed.


    Picking up her stuff, Nathanial walked over to Chloe and stared at her, blocking her path in the process.


    “Are you free tomorrow?” he sternly enquired, tightly holding her possessions with a guarded posture.


    The small orange haired girl looked up towards him, wondering what he could be up to before cagily answering, “What if I am?“.


    “I made a reservation for two at a favourite establishment of mine, a friend bailed on me, so I want you to come. I know you have nothing else to do, join me.” He pridefully spoke, eyes peering down at the impish girl before him.


    Chloe looked at his features, finding that although he was somewhat handsome, nothing changed within her. It felt as though she was just looking at some random acquaintance she saw along the street.


    On the verge of rejecting one of Nathanial’s many advances, the figure behind her croaked out, “Aren’t you curious? Don’t you want to learn?”.


    The small girl froze, pondering for a few more seconds before frowning slightly.


    “Alright then. Where do I have to be and at what time?” she enquired, relenting to her own curiosity and the figure’s biding.


    Nathanial’s expression lit up, a wide grin exploding onto his features as he waved his hand nonchalantly.


    “Here, come to the address written on this note.” He explained, handing over her possessions and the little piece of paper before leaving the library, waving his hand at her as he left, signalling at her to hurry up.


    Unsure how to process the events that had just unfolded, Chloe equipped her rucksack and followed behind the boy whilst stuffing the piece of paper into her pocket, knowing that they had the same subjects and would mostly likely be miraculously paired up together like normal.