"Have you ever wondered why people put themselves through such a nightmare for one person?" Tom asked Edd randomly one morning.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Edd.

Tom looked out the window.

"You thinking about Alexis again, aren't you?" asked Edd.

"I don't get why Edd." Tom exclaimed. "She moved in with that other girl-"

"That's Jewel." Edd interrupted.

"-and there's no way she deserves Eduardo." Tom finished.

Tom looked out the window at Alexis, washing Eduardo's car in the front yard. Alexis had recently moved from Italy, her black hair in a short pixie cut and wore a jean jacket, jeans, and zip up leather boots. Tom liked her ever since she moved in November.

"There's her roommate." Edd pointed out as an woman with her light blonde hair in a braid and wearing a pair of jeans, sunglasses, sneakers, and a pink sweater walked out, holding a cup of coffee before quickly walking back inside. "She's quite secretive. I never see her without long sleeves and sunglasses."

"The one who's freakishly obsessed with Matt?" asked Tom.

"I wouldn't say freakishly." Edd responded.

"I have seen her go through the garbage the day after Christmas to look for the photos of him that he gives us every Christmas." replied Tom. "Why can't she just muster up the courage to talk to him like a normal person?"

"Why can't you get the courage to talk to Alexis?" asked Edd. "I think its good that Matt has a girl who likes him. Maybe then-"

"Hey guys!" yelled Matt, running in holding a tie rack. "Look what I found! Can you believe someone was throwing this away?"

"Then she's got a lot of flaws to overlook."

Alexis walked back inside her house after washing the car.

"Hi Eduardo!" she chirped to her boyfriend, as he walked past her to the window. "I washed the car out front so that we can go to the movies later!"

"That's great." Eduardo told her, looking out the window at the neighbor's house. "Can you get me a diet cola?"

Alexis sighed, walked to the kitchen, grabbed a can of diet cola out of the freezer, walked back to the window in the living room, and walked up the stairs to her roommate Jewel's room. The room was darkened (as usual), the only light coming from the TV where Jewel was playing on her PlayStation.

"Well, I'm in a loveless relationship and I'm only twenty five." replied Alexis to her roommate.

Jewel paused her game and turned to look at Alexis.

She looked much different indoors. Jewel had albinism, so sunlight caused her to get easily sunburned or even skin cancer, and she was sensitive to sunlight. Jewel's room was mostly dark to keep out the sunlight, the lightbulbs where made out of non UV rays, and the TV was dimmed significantly.

"Be glad you're in a relationship." Jewel responded. "Look at me."

"You just need to go out there and talk to someone." Alexis responded. "Matt. You like him."

"Says who?" asked Jewel.

"Says the picture of Matt holding a toaster on your wall." replied Alexis, pointing to the picture on the wall of Matt holding a toaster that Jewel dug out of the trash can from the house across the street. "Plus the twenty others all over your room."

Jewel walked over to her bedside table, opened up the drawer, and took a small sketchbook out, working on a sketch.

"Look, I'm just nervous of breaking open." replied Jewel. "Someday I will."

"Promise?" Alexis asked.

"Promise."

Here it is! Chapter one!