“Have fun with your boyfriend!” Valentinas little cousin yelled out to us.

Right before he skipped out the door.

I could see Valentina’s cheeks slowly flush a bright shade of pink.

“S-shut up you twerp!” She roared back.

It was like looking into another dimension. The usually composed and calm student council president. The girl whose rumored to have a perfect GPA, and has colleges from all over scouting her. Spent half of the entire time I was here arguing with an eleven year old.

We were supposed to be doing math. But she stopped every other question to yell some almost non-PG threats back at her little cousin. Who clearly knew how to crawl under her skin just right. I kind of just watched for a bit. I admit, she looked really cute when she was frustrated. It was like looking at a grumpy kitten.

“Maybe a break will do us some good?” I suggested.

She was growling slightly now as she glared at the door. She was wearing some batman pajama pants, and a white T-shirt. Clearly in her nicest Saturday morning wear.

“I suppose, are you hungry by chance?” She grumbled.

“I could eat.” I chimed.

She got up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen. I stood up and stretched. I’d rather be fighting Rex right now then doing math…

“Ever had chicken pancit before?” She asked.

“Never heard of it. My diet usually consists of ramen, peanut butter and jelly, and hotdogs.”

“What!? That’s so unhealthy!”

“On special occasions when one of Lux’s good friends stays over to study. I am graced with cold pizza.”

“Can you not afford vegetables? They don’t cost that much.”

“Well that’s true. However none of us know how to cook. My mom used to be the cook. And Lux practically made Frankenstein last time she cooked”.

“Oh I see. Does your mother just not like to cook anymore?” She asked.

She was busy making us a plate from a pan on the stove. Her cousin was eating away at that before he left.

“Well, she passed when I was young. So I didn’t really get a chance to learn a lot from her.”

It was odd. I usually danced around the question. Or I’d feel my heart begin to race a mile a minute. But it just came out so smoothly…

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to bring that up!”

She looked up from the plates and gave me a sympathetic look. Her amber eyes seem so genuine. I just smiled and shook my head.

“Don’t worry about it really. It’s fine, you couldn’t have known.”

I walked over to the island table that separates the kitchen from the living room. It was odd. Her house seemed only a tad bit bigger than ours. I heard her cousin complain about how he and his uncle had to share a room because of Valentina. I guess the bright colors and actually furnished place made it seem like it had more to offer. Her walls were a bright orange color. They had this retro type of style with their furniture. I kinda liked it.

“Well, if it makes you feel not alone. My mom’s not around anymore either.” She replied softly.

My eyes widened in surprise, and her gaze left mine.

“Well, I really appreciate the vulnerability. I’m sorry if I brought up some old scars.”

“N-no it’s fine really! I never really got a chance to meet her. So it’s not like you brought up anything.”

Her statement puzzled me, never seen her? Her eyes soon falling back onto mine.

“What do you mean? If you don’t mind me asking that is...”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind.” She took a breath. “My mother passed away giving birth to me.”

There was silence for a moment. I-I wasn’t sure what to say. I just tried to think about how she must feel. Never even having a chance to meet her.

“I-I’m so sorry. That’s terrible.”

“Yeah, but don’t I try to not dwell on it. My dad says she knew the odds of having me.”

“It must eat away at you huh?”

She got a somber smile on her face and slowly shook her head.

“Not really, the exact opposite actually. It reminds me that she wanted me to push forward and live. She gave her life so I can smile and enjoy mine. I guess that probably explains why I try so hard in school.” She chuckled slightly.

‘She made that sacrifice didn’t she!?’ Zacks words rang in my head. That talk with Donum. Everything started to feel like it made sense. But why? Why did I suddenly feel lighter? Why did the world suddenly make sense? This wasn’t anything new? And yet here I was, feeling like Valentina had just given me the final piece to the puzzle.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to lay all that down on ya like that! I don’t know what got into me!” She laughed nervously.”Didn’t mean to get all deep and stuff.”

“No, it’s fine. You actually helped me out a lot just now.”

“Really?” She asked.

“My mother died protecting me from a gunshot a few years back. I ran in to protect this girl, and I got way in over my head. She died because of my actions that day. But seeing you. I think, I think seeing someone else who shares the same scars as me. Being able to live without the chains of guilt like that. It makes the things Zack say, seem real. Like it’s something tangible. I think that’s what it means anyways..”

“Zack gave advice!?”

I chuckled. “Believe it or not!”

“Well, I’m glad my story could help.”

I jumped slightly as I felt her warm hand rest on top of mine. I looked back into her eyes again. She was giving me a small smile now.

“It feels good to be able to talk to someone who actually can understand what it feels like.” She said softly.

I blushed a little and smiled back at her.

“And here I was dreading going to tutoring.” I chuckled out.

She slowly moved her hand from mine. She kept her smile on me for a moment. It was like her eyes were searching mine for something.

“I’m glad I get this chance to actually talk to you. You’re nothing like I imagined.” She chimed.

She turned around and went to the microwave. Putting both our plates inside.

“What did you think of me before?”

“Well, I knew you as the puppy dog for a while. That was Alexis's nickname for you anyways.” She chuckled.

“I see…”

“Yeah, oh, right.. You had a crush on her didn’t you?”

“Well I…”

I felt my cheeks flush.

“ I noticed how you looked at her~.” Valentina sang.

“Well that ship has sailed.” I sighed.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that by the way. She’s just really into Zack. I tried telling her you were a better choice.”

“Well I appreciate the sentiment.”

Annual’s face flashed into my mind.

“ I think I’m over it though.” I sighed. “It’s probably for the best anyways. I can’t dance to save my life."

"You’re such a boy.” She scoffed.

“And what’s that’s supposed to mean?”

“From the way Alexis talked about you. It seemed like you were more of the refined shy guy. The type of guy who hides in the back, and writes poetry or something.”

“And what do you think of me now?” I asked.

The microwave went off and she walked away to it.

“Well for starters. Your far braver than I thought you were.”

I blinked.

“Me? Brave?”

“Well duh. At dodgeball, you didn’t waste any time to protect your team. Literally running in to save them like you were superman. Or the better example. When that stone guy attacked the city. You ran in and saved that guy from being crushed by a car! You even took precedence to make sure me and Alexis were safe.”

She took the steaming plates out of the microwave and walked over to me.

“I guess I never thought about it like that…”

“Your reaction to Zack taking Alexis to the dance also shows your heart. Plus point A we just talked about a second ago. You put others above yourself.” She set my plate down in front of me.

The plate reminded me of shrimp scampi. But had the faint smell of lime to it. Then the smell of chicken hit me. I was practically drooling…

“Then today, I can see you're a genuine guy. From how you spoke about your mom. I can see how deeply you cared about her. How bad you felt about what you did. Then not being scared to tell me about your hurts.”

I looked down at my plate. I knew my face must of been red.

“I-im not that great. But thank you. You're really being too kind.”

I felt her flick my head. Which made me look up at her.

“Forgive me if this is to… forward. But I’m sure your mom wouldn’t want you to talk about yourself like this. And for what it’s worth. I think you're a really great guy. Some chicks really dig the hero type.” She winked.

I felt the heat rise into my cheeks and I looked away. I pulled my hood over my head.

“Aww, such a cutie.” She chuckled.

“Thank you.” I looked up at her from my hood. “I’ll hang on to every word. I promise.”

She leaned in a bit closer to me. Her brown eyes seem to shine. My eyes moved from her eyes to her lips. I could feel my heart race a bit as I moved back up to her eyes.

Crap! Did she know what I was thinking about!? I panicked. I wanted to bite my nails but she was so close. I was too scared to do it.

“Make sure you do alright?”

I nodded.

“W-well, we should probably eat.” I stammered out.

However, I caught myself staring at her a bit. Her pink lips, her amber-gold like eyes. Her silky black hair that seemed to be shining. She was beautiful.

Annuals face flashed into my mind. ‘My knight’. Her voice seems to dance around inside my head. Was this right? Did I even deserve to feel like this after what I did to Annual? Am I even really over Annual?

I slowly stepped back.

“Your right. We should eat before it gets cold.” Valentina chimed.

…..

I needed Zack! My brain was literally exploding right now. I couldn’t get Valentina out of my head! Did she really mean what she said? And why isn’t this Alexis thing bothering me more!? It’s like as soon as I saw Annual again, she started to fade. Why is that? I felt like my stomach had a pit growing inside of it.

I still felt guilty. And for once, I wasn’t thinking about my mom. Annuals face filled my mind every time I thought about Valentina. I don’t know how to explain it. I just felt, wrong? Maybe it was because of what I did to Annual. How I ran away from her…

I slowly came to a stop on the street. I been blocking that out for so long. Blocking out all the memories I had with her. I guess, Alexis was just a shield from thinking about it. Something like this was right up Lux’s department. However, that flame of hope died. She wants nothing to do with me right now. Plus Annual, I was scared to bring up Annual with Zack. After all, I did something terrible to her.

I slowly started to walk again.

‘You needed to spread your wings all on your own.’ Zack's words soon came back to me.

I clenched my fist. My mom would want me to be happy. I started to walk a bit faster. I needed to break the last chain that was holding me down. I need to face my demons and take responsibility.

I needed to face Annual.

I turned the corner to Zacks apartment complex. As soon as I did. All the fire within me died. I was speechless. My blood ran cold as I stared in shock. Flashes of the past came into my mind as my breathing started to get erratic.

The red and blue lights of the cop car blanketed over the apartments. I could barely see the big white truck that stood next to Zack's place.

Please, don’t let it be happening again.