Gen One- Chapter Twenty One

My eyes were threatening to close on me even when walking through the front door with my arms full of luggage. To be honest, I was exhausted enough that the floor looked like a good enough bed. I only forced myself to make it to the couch because Eden was coming in behind me. The return trip had been the worst flight of my life so far. A storm delayed our original plane. Sap's parents were lucky enough to find us another flight not long afterwards, but in order to claim our position at the last second we had to take economy seats instead of first class ones the Spring family typically booked. None of them were together. I ended up in a middle seat with a grumpy old man on my left and a chatty couple on my right. A crying baby was a few rows behind, and the turbulence the whole ride was awful. I felt banged up, beaten, and sore by the time the plane landed.

I sunk into the couch cushions like they were cushions straight from heaven. Glad that I had at least thought to wear comfortable, lazy clothing for the trip, I had no qualms about making the couch my bed that night. I sat there, half-asleep, too exhausted to give Button the petting she wanted. She had to make do with simply sitting at my feet instead.

I was slipping away into unconsciousness when Eden's obnoxious and poorly contained chuckles broke me out of it. Opening my right eye ever so slightly, I glared at him with a passion. That only made him laugh harder.

     "You are so lucky that I don't have the energy to kill you right now." I mumbled the warning at him, forcing myself to sit up better in hopes of getting him to shut up.

     "Sorry. I just can't help myself. You know I go into that weird 'parent' mode from time to time. Seeing you just splaying yourself on the couch like that, well, it just brought up a plethora of quite humorous memories from the time when you were young and didn't care where you were or what position you were in when you wanted to sleep. I walked in for one of my visits to find your top half lying on your nightstand with your bottom half planked across onto the bed. Oh, how many amazing opportunity for the greatest photos I missed! I forgot to take my phone out of my pocket once, and they practically tackled me to the ground when I made my way towards your room."

A thousand question popped into my mind. My rational thinking wanted to know more about the building attached to my room. I wanted to know what it was like, how the security was set up, and exactly how many other people worked there. My heart, however, had no desire to hear the answers. It was already too much to know what I knew. Hearing more about the cold world I had been surrounded by wouldn't do me any good. Thankfully, Eden was generally as adamant about staying away from such topics as well. He gave slight mentions from time to time, like now, about the whole system, but he otherwise kept his lips sealed. In this instance, he didn't even dwell on his own words.

     "It just has me in awe that you can still occasionally have some tendencies of your younger self despite the fact that you are getting older." he concluded his explanation with a lighthearted shrug.

Once more, his words brought thoughts into my mind. One was even something I had been worrying about greatly since the previous evening. It had kept me awake deep into the morning, which had frustrated me badly considering I had finally gotten the situation with Amaranth out of my head. I had continued to fret over it during the trip home, and I wondered if it was best to simply address it in that moment.

     "Getting older..." I mumbled once more, not entirely certain how to bring up the subject.

     "Hmm?"

Eden looked at me in mild curiosity. I had trouble continuing, but when he saw my expression turning more serious he sat down next to me and made it easier for me to speak.

     "I am getting older," I started, "And I've been thinking, well, there's a certain thing people my age start doing around this time. However, I can't image that you'd ever allow me to do it too."

     "Are you talking about sleeping with someone? Because if you are, you know very well-"

     "No, no. I'm talking about dating, Eden. Gosh."

     "Oh. That's fine then."

     "Is it though?"

     "What?"

     "For me to date?"

     "Why wouldn't it be?" Eden asked in confusion.

     "You've been staying away from a romantic relationship because you don't want to drag a woman into our mess or pull her through a bunch of lies. Wouldn't me dating be doing the exact same thing? Don't you think it's a bad idea for me to trick some boy into believing I'm a certain person or give him a heart attack if he ever learns the truth about who I really am?"

Eden stared at the opposite wall deep in thought. I shifted in my seat, both expectant and nervous about his answer.

     "No, I don't think it's a bad idea," Eden revealed, shocking me, "Your situation is different than mine. Any woman I would date, especially if she is around my age, would almost be guaranteed to be looking for marriage. That's something I definitely can't get myself tangled into. High school dating is not quite the same thing. I don't think I have to tell you that most relationships that start there don't last until marriage. Most don't even last a year. I think it'd be perfectly fine for you to test the waters a bit. In fact, I think you should. Do it now while you're Meadow. Do it now while you don't have the worries about being an albino trying to find love. At the moment, you don't have to question if a boy likes you because he likes you or if he likes you because you're white. You can have the reassurance that you're liked for who you are as a person and the opportunity to learn the difference between what's genuine and what's fake. I know you're still somewhat pessimistic, but I want to be as optimistic as I can about hoping that we'll bring The Company down by the time you graduate. On the chance that any relationship you've started has lasted, I can almost guarantee you that the boy won't mind. He'll probably be ecstatic to find out you're actually white. You might see a shallower side appear to him then, but that's unfortunately just something you're going to have to deal with being as you are."

He glanced at me. I was still processing the fact that he was so eagerly giving me permission, heck, encouragement, to do something I thought he would outright deny, but I managed a nod and tiny smile.

     "You don't happen to have Sap in mind, do you?" Eden guessed knowingly.

     "Maybe, "I admitted, "I don't know where things are going to go just yet."

     "Whatever happens, remember, absolutely no se-"

     "I know, Eden. I know." I laughed in exasperation.

Eden still gave me a stare of warning, but I ignored him as my phone buzzed. I hurriedly pulled it out, ever so slightly disappointed to see who the sender of the message was.

     "Set noticed me arriving back home. Flower is over there visiting. They want to know if they can pop over for a minute. Apparently, there's some big news they have to tell me." I relayed to Eden.

     "It's alright with me if you have them over. You do what you want. I'll take your things upstairs for you, O Exhausted One, before retreating to my office." Eden replied.

     "Thanks." I accepted his offer gratefully.

He gathered up my luggage and made his way upstairs while I texted Sunset that it was alright if the two of them came over. I bit my lip to hold back more laughter when I watched through the window the two of them practically bolt out of Sunset's house, across the street, and right through my front door. They were out of breath even from that short run, but Sunset's voice was still incredibly loud when they launched themselves into the living room.

     "Meadow!" she cried, "This is like unbelievable big news we have to tell you!"
     "Yes?" I queried in amusement.
     "Okay, well, 'hi' first."
     "Hi."
     "Did you have a good trip?" Sunflower wondered.
     "It was truly enjoyable, yes. But we can talk about that later. I want to hear what the excitement is about." I prompted.
     "Try not to freak-"
     "We found out-"

The two talked over each other as they tried to explain.

     "I don't know how to say it." Sunset pouted to Sunflower.
     "Just tell the blunt truth then." Sunflower shrugged.
     "I guess that's the only way to do it," she accepted before turning back to me, "Alright. Get this, Meadow. Amaranth and Cocoa are dating."

Honestly, I swore I was so tired that I misheard her. The expressions on my friends' faces as they awaited my response, however, proved me wrong.

     "What?"

The statement of disbelief was all I could get out. Sunset and Sunflower took more appropriate places sitting near me on the couches before explaining further.

     "Am told us about it on Friday. Apparently, they've been going on secret dates for weeks now. Almost three months, I think." Sunflower revealed.
     "Why on earth would they keep it secret?"
     "He was really vague about that when we asked him. His answers mostly kept boiling down to him not wanting us to tease him about it, but it was obvious the reasoning went deeper than that." Sunset answered.
     "This is so bizarre. I suppose I can see him and Cocoa working well together, but at the same time it feels off. It might just be because this is coming out of the blue though." I pondered.
     "No," Sunset shook her head, "We've been somewhat concerned as well. It was Cocoa who asked Am out, and our main theory is that he simply didn't have the heart to turn her down."
     "But that doesn't seem like him either. I can understand him going on one pity date with her, but leading her on for months if he wasn't into the relationship? That's even worse than rejecting her. I can't get myself to believe that that's the case."
     "We thought of that too, which is why we're so conflicted." Sunflower added.

I sat back against the cushions and sighed. I was way too tired to process the news properly, but I did my best.

     "If they've come out and admitted that they're dating, I think we're going to have to accept that they're more serious than how it appears to us. Am has always been a lot closer to Cocoa than the rest of us because they both live in the city. It is ridiculously weird to have them together so abruptly. However, at this point all we can do it watch, support them, and see what happens. It's not like we can talk about our concerns to them lest we make them absolutely furious." I said.

Sunset and Sunflower both gave me hesitantly committal nods. I began contemplating that perhaps this secret was the reason why Amaranth had been so moody. Perhaps he had been guilty not saying anything about it. That still didn't answer everything for me, but I didn't have the brain power to critique the matter further. I was distracted anyway by Sunset sighing too before changing her expression to a gleefully suspicious grin she shot my way.

     "Speaking of dating," she began mischievously, "How did things go with Sap?"

That got one more laugh out of me, and I matched that grin of hers with one of my own.

     "You know what? The vacation was wonderful, but because I know it'll drive you crazy I'm not going to say anything about Sap and me. You'll just have to guess."
     "No! Don't do that! That means that something did happen, and I hope you understand our minds are going to come up with all these crazy ideas." Sunflower warned.
     "Fine. I'll say that nothing serious happened, but that what did happen would make Am more jealous than he has been."
     "More jealous?" Sunflower repeated in confusion.

Both she and Sunset looked quite perplexed.

     "Oh, he didn't tell you. It makes sense though, given how downright juvenile he's been acting. Amaranth suddenly blew up at me the night before I left. I thought he was only mad because the potential plans we were making were ruined, but I got him to admit the next day that he apparently thinks Sap is using his money to buy my affections. He hates that I go on so many trips with him. I can't think of another reason other than jealousy of why he is so against me spending time with Sap even if it makes less sense for him to be that way now that he's been seeing someone for a while already." I explained.

Sunset let out a strange sort of groan.

     "I don't know what's going on with that boy anymore. He and Sap have always been good friends since they were practically toddlers. That he would come out saying such nasty things is another thing we can add to the growing 'Doesn't Make Any Sense' board."
     "For the moment, I'm going to chalk it up to Am simply being a teenage boy. I'm too exhausted to do anything else." I said.
     "Yeah. You've got bags under your eyes." Sunflower giggled.
     "Bad sleep last night and a terrible flight home."
     "We'll head back to my house then and let you get some rest. We do have school tomorrow after all." Sunset offered.
     "Thanks. I'll call after I've taken a nap. Maybe a bath as well. That sounds marvelous to me right now."

I stood up. Sunset and Sunflower were about to follow suit when my phone buzzed again. I frowned when I saw who the text was from before giving a light glare to my friends.

     "You two are a curse. This never happens otherwise." I pouted.
     "Is it Amaranth?" Sunflower guessed.
     "Yes!"

The two laughed.

     "He wants to know if we can talk."
     "Ohhh, the 'can we talk' dilemma." Sunset smirked.
     "Honestly, screw him. He was a jerk, and he could have ruined my vacation. I'm not even going to bother replying to this. He ignored everything I sent him all weekend. He can wait a few hours until I feel like dealing with him." I spoke bitterly, my exhaustion and irritation flaring up.

Sunset and Sunflower agreed that was a good idea. They left after that, and I made my way upstairs to take my bath. I had barely got the water going before another text from Amaranth arrived. I ignored it once more. I only wish I had thought to put my phone on silent after I got into the tub. Naturally, I kept my phone far away from the water. There was no way for me to reach it when text after text came in four or five minute intervals. Doing my best to not pay attention, I was eventually forced to abandon my bath to put an end to the matter. I wrapped my robe around me before angrily selecting Amaranth's number.

     "What?" I asked in stiff fury when the call was picked up.

An awkward silence followed.

     "Um, I...Meadow...you got my messages?" Amaranth's voice questioned with intense hesitation.
     "I got them, but I haven't bothered reading any except for the first one. I only got back home twenty minutes ago, and I'm absolutely exhausted. I just wanted to take a stupid bath, but all your texts ruined it."
     "Sorry," he mumbled, "I didn't mean to bother you. It's that I know I was being horrible to you, and I just didn't want to wait any longer to set things right."
     "That's going to have to wait a while now. I'm not in the mood to talk to you, much less forgive you. I need sleep before I'll care about either. Maybe when I see you tomorrow at school I'll be in a better mood."
     "That's reasonable," Amaranth accepted quietly, "You go ahead and sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."
     "Bye." I said shortly.

I instantly hung up. Tossing the phone onto the bed, I began going about my way to find the most comfortable pair of pajamas I had. However, my fingers only just touched the wood of my dresser when another call came through. I cried out in fury and practically jammed the phone against my ear as I answered it.

     "WHAT!?"
     "Good Lord!" the person called out in shock at my shout, "Damn, sorry, Meadow. I just wanted to say hi."

The person was Allium. Intense guilt hurriedly forced me to calm down.

     "No, I'm sorry. Or, you can blame Amaranth if you want. He's been awful to me all weekend, and now when I'm trying to rest he thought it was the best time to ask for forgiveness. It's put me in a right foul mood." I apologized.
     "That sucks. Sorry to hear it. He should know better than to push a girl when she's tired."
     "Well, he was only sending text messages at first- ones I wasn't responding too. He didn't know I was exhausted until I called him to, uh, politely tell him so. Then you happened to call seconds later, and now we're at this point. And I have to say, the two of you have spot on timing. Amaranth didn't start texting me until I got home, and you knew I was home somehow too."
     "I wouldn't call it good timing. I just happen to have a window that faces your room that I can look through. I also happened to see you puttering about in there, which is how I knew you were back."

I frowned slightly, moving closer to the window and peering through the trees to find that the thick summer leaves had faded enough to allow me to get a decent glimpse at Allium's house.

     "You just happened to be passing the window to spot me after I got out of my bath- yeah, right. Charming, you have to squint in order to be able to see through the glass. There's no way you 'accidentally' caught me walking around in here."
     "Ugh, you caught me. Truth is I've been ridiculously bored all weekend. Am was with Cocoa, Sun were out doing girly things, and Frost was doing homework. I've been staring out this window watching cars go by since there has been nothing else to do. That's why I was able to see you," he explained before taking a suspicious pause, "You aren't naked, are you?"
     "What!? No! I'm wearing a robe! A thick one!"
     "Such a shame. You said you just got out of a bath, so I thought I could hope for a moment."
     "I would have to be a special kind of idiot to walk naked in front of windows with open blinds that face a relatively busy street."
     "I wouldn't mind."
     "You're such a pervert." I shook my head.

I was laughing lightly too though. With any other person, you can bet I would have been much more offended. With Allium, I didn't mind it all for some reason.

     "If you want to see someone naked so badly, just go on the internet." I told him.
     "I can't. Our computer is broken and our internet is down. That's why I'm so bored." he whined.
     "I'm afraid I can't help you then."
     "You could come over and hang out. Wearing clothes, if you want." he begged.
     "I'm exhausted, Charming, I mean it. I'm going to take a nap."
     "Alright. I get that," he said, his tone more serious, "I'll stop pestering you. Have a good rest, Meadow."
     "Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow."

I turned off my phone right away. Given how suddenly popular I had become, it seemed the only way to guarantee that I would be left alone. I gave up on a search for pajamas. Flopping myself on my bed without even bothering to get under the covers, I closed my eyes and let my weariness take over. It wasn't even a minute later when I was fast asleep.

Eden, with a goofy smile on his face, revealed to me the next morning that he had tried to wake me up for dinner, but that I had been completely out of it. He had all but blown a horn next to my ear, but even then I had still refused to wake up. I was ravished when I did wake up that morning, and yet I didn't mind. I preferred the sleep to the food. It was easier to gorge myself at breakfast than try to slip in some extra moments of rest before it was time for me to leave. Our house was within walking distance of all the places Eden needed to access during the day, so I drove myself to school. I arrived that morning at the same, slightly early time that I normally did. I could have waited longer if I wanted, but the truth was that I didn't want to. If one didn't get to the building before the buses did, then it was absolute chaos. Finding a parking spot would be a nightmare, and I tended to shy away from the thick crowds of other students that pooled around the entrances. Besides, I loved the atmosphere of the school when it was quiet and empty. It was almost as if it was an entirely separate place. It also helped that I was able to make it to my locker without having to fight through a mob to get to it.

When I heard footsteps heading my way, I was both not surprised at all and somewhat surprised. Amaranth had a habit of joining me as one of the first students in the building, which was easy for him to do with his house so close. We usually chilled in the library or walked around the halls talking. Typically, it was only when he overslept that he didn't show up. I hadn't been so sure that morning though on whether he would come at his normal time or if he was going to avoid me for a while. He had said he wanted to set things right, but I had been incredibly tart with him as well. I figured it was for that reason why he approached me with his head lowered. Amaranth could barely lift his eyes up to meet mine. I was amused that I had to fight back laughter. That moment then was far too similar to the time I went over to his house to see him after he avoided me after Thanksgiving. He was like a timid puppy, fiddling nervously and shifting under my watch.

     "Well?" I asked into the silence.

Amaranth dared to look up at me then, for it was clear to the both of us that I wasn't angry anymore. At least, not like I had been the night before.

     "Did you read the rest of my texts?" Amaranth asked, his voice still rather soft.
     "Oh, um, no, I actually forgot about them. I turned my phone off before I went to sleep. My nap turned into an all night snooze, and I haven't bothered to turn my phone back on this morning."
     "It's alright," Amaranth shrugged slightly, "They're all just what I'll say now, and I'll say that I'm sorry. Honestly, truly sorry. I was dealing with a lot of stress, and it seemed perfectly logical at the time to take it out on you. It was terrible to do, especially since you're one of the ones who has been the most supportive and understanding of everything and everyone all these years. You didn't deserve for me to be so nasty to you, and I really hope I didn't damper your vacation too much."

I gave Amaranth an accepting nod, but I confused him when I stared at him expectantly.

     "I'm still not happy that you've lied to me all these years." I said to give him a hint.
     "I haven't lied? What are you talking about?"
     "About you liking Sap. You only bothered to hide your glares and your annoyance with him once I brought them up, and now you've suddenly gone back to hating on him." I frowned.
     "Okay, I guess it would seem like that's the case," Amaranth began, his voice more confident and determined than before, "But I swear I haven't been lying. Sap has been my friend for as long as I can remember. I have no problems with him. None at all."

That was when his voice faltered again.

     "It's...when the two of you are together, as more than friends, that I get riled up," he admitted reluctantly and with embarrassment, "You were right when you said I was jealous. It's not about his parents' money or all the trips he takes. I just...don't like sharing you with him."

He pressed on quickly- most likely to quell the irritation that was beginning to show on my face again.

     "I know that makes it seem like I'm being possessive, but you're the only one who I can talk to who can understand what a lot of my life is like. Not having parents and not being raised by them. Having no other family. Al has tried to get what that's like, but he still has his mother and her parents that he can visit. You and me have relied on each other for so much. The thought of some other guy, especially one who doesn't want for anything in the world, barging in and digging into your private world that you've only shared with me so far, it just drives me crazy!"

I took a deep breath, using that second to think over the words I would say. My initial reaction was to apologize fully, for I hated the fact that Amaranth thought me being with Sap would drive us apart. Then I realized I didn't have anything to apologize for.

     "I'm sorry Am, but I don't know what you want me to do. I can tell you that I have no intention of any relationship I might have doing anything to stop us from being friends. Another guy coming into my life isn't going to take away all the time we've already spent together. He's not going to change the fact that I do rely on you and appreciate everything you've ever done for me. However, there's no denying that some guy is going to come along at some point. He's going to know about me in a way that you won't. There are sides to me he'll see that you won't. I'm sorry that doesn't make you happy, but I'm not going to avoid a relationship just because you don't like it. It wouldn't be fair, and trying to push that on me would do much more harm to our relationship than me dating. You're going to have to accept that, and you'll probably want to deal with the issue fast since-"

My sentence cut off abruptly. Amaranth stared at me with an expression I couldn't read.  It was obvious enough he didn't like what I was saying but was taking it with stride since he knew I was right, but otherwise I couldn't tell what was going on in his head.

     "Since?" he began with mild suspicion before shaking his head, "You and Sap?"
     "Maybe," I revealed, "I can't say with certainty what's going to happen, but I wouldn't be surprised if something does happen between us soon."

Amaranth's expression tightened significantly. He didn't speak for a long time.

     "You're right then, if that's the case. You're right about everything else as well. I know I really am being petty and possessive, and the last thing I want to do is be the problem that separates us." he finally did say with a strained yet comprehending voice.
     "Thanks. And talk to me about it all if you want. I understand you're certainly not trying to be jealous, so I won't fault you for that. I don't want you to feel as if you have to close yourself off now." I comforted.
     "I'll thank you too then and let you know if I want to take you up on that offer."

Unfortunately, the air remained a tiny too awkward and uncomfortable after that for my liking. Thus, I opened my locker again to pull out the thing I had only just managed to put in there seconds before Amaranth showed up. He took the wrapped box I gave him with confusion.

     "What's this?" he wondered.
     "Your souvenir present from Tropic Luna."

I almost laughed again from Amaranth's expression. He obviously hadn't expected me to buy him something after what he had done. Amaranth was laughing too when he pulled his gift out.

     "A snow globe?" he chuckled, turning, examining, and shaking it.
     "You know tourist places love to jack up their prices. With me being mad at you, I wasn't going to go all out on something nice."
     "No, that makes sense. I'm stunned, pleasantly stunned, you even thought to get me something."

Amaranth held the globe into the air to let the light shine through it. He gave it another shake before smiling wider.

     "You seriously got me a tacky snow globe. I love it."
     "Good." I smiled back.

My mood brightened greatly seeing Amaranth steadily shift back to his old self. It was hardly a moment later when we were talking as if nothing had happened. Then I took advantage of the better air to bring up another important subject.

     "So. You and Cocoa?" I questioned with a raised brow.

Amaranth instantly scoffed in exasperation.

     "If you can, please don't lay into me. I've already got an earache from everyone else about it, which is half the reason I didn't want to tell anyone in the first place."
     "You know it wouldn't be so bad if you had said something from the start. Now everyone's suspicious and concerned because you've kept it such a big secret." I pointed out.
     "I know."
     "Why did you keep it such a big secret?"

Amaranth hesitated, a debate going on within him.

     "I guess I have to tell at least you the truth. I don't want to lie either, especially since we seriously just made up," he began, "The truth is that I needed the time to sort through everything that was happening without anyone putting pressure on me or judging me. When Cocoa asked me out, I had absolutely no idea what to do. I had never considered going out with her myself, but at the same time I wasn't exactly that against the idea either. I did go on those first few dates with her mostly out of pity. Then I kept them going because I realized I was having a good time. Then I got confused as to whether I actually did like her in that way. It was a few weeks ago when it dawned on me that there was something there. It's not like we're madly in love or anything. We're simply continuing what feels right, seeing where it goes, and taking comfort in the fact that we don't have to make any big commitments. Imagine what would have happened if I had had Al breathing down my neck, making all sorts of crass jokes and never giving me a moment's peace. Or Sun sending me constant warnings that if I didn't stay with Cocoa that I would break her heart and turn her into a sobbing mess. Everything would have been a disaster."
     "I can see what you mean. That makes total sense." I agreed.
     "There's also the fact that I didn't want to admit to anyone that the relationship was started mostly out of pity. Cocoa's sensible, but I don't think she'd be happy to hear that kind of information. You're impressively good at keeping secrets, which is why I'm telling you and not everyone else."
     "Yeah, you don't have to worry. I won't tell a soul."

If only he knew exactly how good I was at keeping secrets.

Amaranth was forced to go on his way several minutes later. He was the vice-president of the student council, and they were having a meeting before classes started to primarily begin finalizing the details for homecoming. Amaranth hinted that the theme had been decided, but he teasingly refused to tell me what it was or when the date would be revealed. I had to roll my eyes. Amaranth was willing to trust me with the fact that he only began dating his girlfriend because he felt sorry for her, but he was tight-lipped about something superficial like what kind of decorations the school dance would have. It didn't make sense to me. Reluctantly letting him go on his way, I wandered into the nearby computer lab. The room was always stuffed full during the day with classes and then those with free study hall periods. Grabbing a computer before the bell rang was the only way to get a chance to study in the atmosphere I preferred over the library's. The computer lab was much more casual and comfortable, and one could get away with playing browser flash games if one was careful enough. That morning, however, I was working on school work- the assignments for next week, more specifically. I had already finished the ones for that week. It was the best feeling to get them all done and have all that free time. I also needed all that free time, usually because of situations like the one that occurred not three minutes later. The door to the computer lab was opened and a certain someone walked inside.

     "Meadow!" Allium practically cried out in exuberant joy, "My goddess! My savior! You have no idea how grateful I am to see you!"
     "What didn't you do this time?" I asked almost in a sigh as he rushed over to me.
     "I've done everything...except that paper due for History..."
     "Allium, that is supposed to be a five page paper, and History is your first class!"
     "I know." Allium said sheepishly.

He looked like a reprimanded child. He got that way whenever I went back to call him Al or Allium. It was meant I was displeased with him.

     "Do you have any of it done?" I asked.
     "I have all the resources, half a page done, and I know the rest of what I want to say. I just don't know how to put it down in words."
     "Half a page? Out of five? There's only twenty minutes until classes start."
     "I know! So, please save me Meadow! I will get down on my knees and beg if I have to."
     "Don't bother. It'll waste time. Just go plug in your flash drive and get everything pulled up." I sighed again.

Allium gave me one of his trademark smiles, squished me with a hug, and then rushed over to the computer opposite mine to bring up his currently pitiful paper.

I finished a few sentences of my assignment before saving everything and logging off my computer. With Allium's incredibly strained time-limit, there was going to be no chance that I would have a few extra minutes to continue my own work. I walked over to him right as he brought up his paper. I bent over to read what he had.

     "This really is barely half a page, and what you have is only the introduction and thesis." I remarked in contained horror.

I wasn't sure if even I was going to be able to help him pull this off.

     "Seriously, why did you leave this much to do until the last second?" I questioned chastisingly.
     "I was going to do it, I swear, but remember our computer and internet broke?" Allium explained with a pout.
     "Even though I was going to bed, you know I would have let you come over to use my computer. Or you could have just gone to the library. Why didn't you do that?"

Allium didn't give me an answer. He merely slumped in his seat and stared at the screen with his pout growing deeper.

     "Because once again your laziness won out over what you knew had to be done," I answered for him in exasperation, "You know, Al, I'm not going to help you anymore if things keep up like this. I can't save you every time you're a lazy bum who refuses to do his assignments, and I don't appreciate the fact that you keep taking advantage of my generosity. I will help you as much as I can if you put forth an honest effort, but if you continue using me as a last resort ticket to decent grades then I'm going to have to let you fail."

Allium nodded pitifully before glancing up to give me an apologetic smile.

     "That's fair," he said, "I swear this won't happen again. I'm sick of it happening too, so I can imagine how worn out you feel about it. I honestly am ridiculously grateful for each time you've saved my neck, and I hope you know that. To make it up to you today, I'll both buy you lunch and take you out somewhere fun after school. It's been a long while since just the two of us have done anything together anyway."
     "Sounds good. Let's make plans after we get this thing done though."
     "Oh, right. Now we only have eighteen minutes."

I had to dictate every word to Allium. There was no other way to get the paper done. I hated that I essentially wrote the thing for him, but I couldn't help but to feel satisfied when he printed off something that would at least get him a passing grade with a massive smile on his face. I earned another hug after he stapled it together.

We both jumped when the bell rang a split second later. Allium left to turn in his paper, and I made my way to my class. It was almost a typical day at school. Amaranth got teased mercilessly at lunch because of his new relationship, but he was a good sport about it. I have to admit, it made me feel weird seeing him and Cocoa sit together closely and look so lovey during the study hall the three of us shared. It was then that I began to get what Amaranth was going through. I liked Cocoa. She was my third best female friend after Sunset and Sunflower. Still, when I saw her with Amaranth like that I got quietly angry. It was if she was trampling on something she wasn't supposed to touch. Something that seemed like it should be mine.

I spent that whole period fighting to get rid of that feeling. I certainly couldn't tell Amaranth to get over his issue and then cling to the same one myself. Calming down was what I spent the last third of school doing. I didn't even bother paying attention in class. I didn't need to anyway. Once I had learned to read properly, I had soared to the very top of the class rankings every year thanks to my memory making everything so easy. I couldn't count how many times my teachers and the administration urged me to skip grades. They wanted to turn me into the school system's success story and poster child. Ultimately, I refused each time for two important reasons. I had no desire to go through my schooling like Eden had gone through his. I wanted to stay with my friends and be a normal girl instead of some genius prodigy. Then there was also the fact that I could have graduated high school and probably even college faster than Eden had, and had I done that I would have had a lot of attention on me. Attention Eden and I couldn't risk. It was him graduating college so early that had set The Company's sights on him in the first place, after all.

So absorbed in my thoughts about my new dilemma, I forgot about Allium's offer to hang out after school. I was actually about to drive home when he caught me. All in all, I ended up being glad he had procrastinated his assignment, for otherwise I would have just gone home and had a much harder time clearing my mind. Allium suggesting we go to the new activity center got me preoccupied. They had everything there- a skating rink, arcade games, pool tables, a cafe, and more. Allium and I made our way to the top floor where there was a small bowling alley. Playing the game and Allium being Allium made me completely forget about Amaranth and Cocoa.

     "Don't you girls ever get cold wearing stuff like that?" he asked out of the blue while I was prepping my shot.
     "Not really, but I'm not of the ones who keeps wearing short stuff even when it gets cold so I'm not the best one to answer that."

I lined up my positioning again, but I let the ball drop to my waist when I noticed Allium's eyes traveling up and down a lot.

     "What exactly are you looking at, Charming?" I questioned suspiciously.
     "At you." he replied with a snarky grin.
     "It doesn't seem like you're focusing on me making my toss."
     "I'm not," he said with his grin getting wider, "Do you not want me to?"

I rolled my eyes and set my focus straight at the pins, ignoring my frequently inappropriate companion.

     "Kidding." Allium chuckled several seconds later.

The match went horribly for me. It was because I had this bizarre fear that my fingers would somehow get suctioned into the holes when I went to throw the ball, yanking off my fingers in the process. All my rolls were too light. The ball went into the gutter or it only managed to strike a pin or two. Allium, however, clearly didn't share my worries.

     "Yes. C'mon!" he cheered as it seemed like he was about to get his fourth strike.

Unfortunately for him, the last pin remained resolute and stood tall.

     "Aww..." he whined like a little child being denied candy, "Meadow, it didn't fall over."
     "Hey, you're not the one who should be complaining right now. Have you seen my score?" I laughed.
     "I wanted a strike." Allium ignored me.
     "Then just hit that one down with your second go and get a strike next time."

Allium managed an impressive seven strikes and two spares. I marked it as talent. He called it pure luck. We contemplated paying for a second round to see which of us was right, but I changed my mind in the end as I wanted to do something that didn't have me worrying about the safety of my fingers. Allium and I chatted about suggestions of our next activity and also merely chatted as we sat down to take off our bowling shoes. It was when I put my normal shoes back on when I sensed motion behind me. Allium was beginning to wrap his arm around my shoulder.

     "What are you doing?" I questioned suspiciously again, but not in annoyance.

Allium kept wrapping his arm around me. However, instead of placing his hand on my shoulder he reached up, grabbed my left ear, and teasingly pulled on it. He quickly withdrew his arm afterwards.

     "That." he answered with a light laugh.
     "Really, Charming." I smiled as I rolled my eyes.
     "You're too easy to tease."

I just shook my head.

And he wondered why people constantly assumed we were dating.

Case in point- what happened seconds after that. Although, honestly, it was because it was Purity of all people who appeared out of nowhere that caused the brief exchange. I didn't cringe when I saw her like I used to do. With all of us starting Jr. High after my first year of official school, there were so many more students that we hardly ended up ever seeing each other. Purity found other people to tease and annoy, meaning she forgot about me for the most part. She sought me out every once in a great while  to lay down some petty insults for old time's sake, but that was the most of it. I was content to leave her alone, and she was almost content to leave me alone. It was the best I could ask for given our initial relationship.

     "Hey, Allium. Hey, Envy." she greeted us with mock friendliness.

Yes, she still called me Envy. Purity stared at us when we weren't prompt about responding.

     "Are you two on a date?" she wondered.
     "We're just chilling out." Allium back, his tone slightly stiff.

Out of my friends, Allium was the one who continued to detest Purity with the same ferocity as he did back when she sneezed on me and set her mother's wrath upon me.

     "Really? But I just got this cute picture of you with your arm around Envy," Purity revealed as she quickly pocketed her phone, "It's really super adorable. You can see it when I post it online later."
     "Wow, way to be a stalker. You're all sorts of messed up. Piss off and leave us alone." Allium demanded angrily.

Purity tilted her head, and I could tell she was going to bring out that fake, sickeningly sweet voice that made my ears want to bleed.

     "There's no need to say such things," she did continue in that awful tone, "I didn't mean any harm. Daddy's company just got the job of redoing the website for this place and the rest of its franchises. He asked me to come get some nice pictures of the building and its customers. I just thought a lovely shot of a cute couple enjoying their time in the bowling alley would be a nice addition."
     "You put that picture on some stupid site, and I'll sue you for using our image without permission. Neither of us want anything to do with anything your nasty family owns." Allium snapped back.

Purity glared at him. It wasn't the kind where one could see the anger on her face, but it was a glare all the same. She looked away from him with this strange expression on her face, making me fear she was planning something, before turning on her heel and walking away silently with her head held high.

     "You should have ignored her or humored her. Now she's up to something. I can tell." I said with dread.
     "That's like asking me not to breathe. I can't help it. Just the sight of her fills me with unparalleled rage." Allium sulked.

That really was the truth for him. Those short twenty seconds with Purity had put Allium in a bad mood. It took me leading him over to the cafe to show him all the pastries and sweets to cheer him up. A lot like the stores on Tropic Luna, the food was overpriced. I splurged a bit and got a thick creamy danish while Allium purchased a gooey brownie as big as his hand.

     "Tffgh tffng ihh shh duffh guhh."

That was what I heard when Allium tried to speak as he practically shoved the whole brownie into his mouth.

     "You're speaking a mess of nonsense." I told him with a giggle.

Allium tried to repeat himself, but more indecipherable mumbles was all I got. He quickly gave up.

     "You want to head to my place after we're done here?" I offered, "I know changing your bad ways of procrastination is going to take a little while, so I can make sure you're at least getting tonight's stuff done. I will even help you with it if you so require."

Holding back my laughter because his cheeks were stuffed like a chipmunk's, Allium eagerly nodded in agreement. I went back to my danish, but I had to sigh lightly once more.

     "Seriously, Charming. You're going to choke yourself. Don't eat like an animal, especially not out in public." I reprimanded humorously as I grabbed his hand to bring the last of the brownie away from his mouth.

Allium swallowed hard and gave me his goofy grin.

     "Yes, mom." he laughed.