(Author's Note) Hey guys! This is my first fanfic, so any constructive criticism that you can give me on how to improve the writing of the characters or my overall writing style would be greatly appreciated! Anyways, enjoy reading "Our Heaven"!

Our Heaven

Throughout time, human interaction has produced thousands upon thousands of interesting stories. Such stories become an important piece in the fabric of many societies, and to many people such stories define who they are. Some can be mundane to say the least, like the story of four men drinking in the alley most afternoons, or completely unbelievable but true, like the story of how one person, with some help from the world's most notorious villainess, managed to save an entire continent from a mad scientist's dream. No matter the story's content, it is from these stories that we create new ones, and it is during that process that history is written.

Enough of the opening monologues, then! This story, which is still an ongoing work in progress, is one categorized as a young boy's maturing in the world around him, a young girl's acceptance of such world, and ultimately, how these two people find solace in each other.

Where does this story start off again?...Ah, right! Seoul, South Korea. A warm 29 degrees Celsius and a mildly cloudy day reflected Mid-August's moderately warm but not overbearingly hot weather, and subtle hint at the yet colder, and considerably much harsher weather that would soon follow suit. The sun, although partially blocked out by the clouds, shined down on the city below. The skyscrapers and multi-level apartment buildings, which stood tall like ever-vigilant sentinels, towered over the populace of the city. A car horn here and there, a collection of children playing some games in a park, and of course-

"I have to do WHAT now?!"

-Orchid, a quickly rising star and perhaps South Korea's newest sweetheart, shrieking at the CEO of Black Wings Entertainment Inc., for another request that he most likely meekly made due to Orchid's hysteric attitude to change anything about her style. Her assigned subordinates usually had to remain aloof at all times, lest they wanted to wrath and inevitable tirade of "I can't even" rants.

Today, however, was a different story. The CEO, instead of sitting somewhat farther and looking extremely meek, meeker than Meek Mill when Drake dropped "Back to Back", sat up straight in his leather chair. His hands were neatly folded in front of him, and the expression on his face spoke finality about his decision.

"It is exactly like I said, Orchid. At the request of both Black Wings Entertainment and your family, you are to spend your last year at Shinsoo International as a full time student, and take a break from your TV persona and singing career." He firmly explained.

Orchid disdainfully scoffed. As a wildly successful pop star and national icon, the last thing she wanted was to be surrounded by more people who regarded her as nothing more than what she was on the screen. Not that the attention and the perks that came with her title were bad…it was only when the attention became overbearing did she really regret being so famous.

"Alright, old man, let's say I actually DON'T follow through with this zany request of yours. What then?" Orchid challenged.

The CEO bristled at her calling him "old", but regained his composure in a blink. "Well, I, and when I say I mean the Black Wings, can't really do anything-"

At this Orchid got up and walked towards the door, pulling out her iMaple phone and opening InstantStory as she had done so many times when she was bored. "Good. I don't want to hear any such propositions again." She had almost grasped the door handle when the CEO interrupted her. "I wasn't finished explaining, Orchid."

Huffing half out of routine and half out of extreme exasperation, Orchid turned around and walked back to her seat, making an extra effort to make a sound when she fell back into her seat. "What?"

The CEO adjusted his rectangular glasses and leaned forward, his face serious. "It's true the Black Wings can't do anything to keep you in school. Any effort that we made to force you would most likely be met with bad press. But…" He leaned forward a smidge. "We can terminate your contract."

At this, Orchid looked up. Any hint of annoyance or boredom on her face was gone. She stood up, slammed her hands on the CEO's desk. Her now furious face was practically two inches from the CEO's. "Wh-wh-ho?!..." After flubbing her words, she finally gained her composure. "You can't do that!"

The CEO smirked, and sank back down into his seat, satisfied with her reaction. "If you recall when we signed you, the contract stated that we can relieve you in the event that we deem it necessary, or when you act in contrast to the interests of the company. If you've conversed with any off the other stars we've signed about this, I'm sure they'd say those are fair terms." Orchid opened her mouth in order to argue, then closed it almost as quickly – in all due respect, the Black Wings had been fair in how they had treated her and many other stars.

The CEO motioned for Orchid to sit again, which she reluctantly. He sighed, his expression softening to one of sympathy. "I know you want to be out there on the road touring and what not, but your parents made an extremely convincing case to me. They value your education and your social interactions even more. This career really has taken a significant part of your childhood from you, and to be honest, I'm sorry. That's why I want you to take a year off to focus on your studies. Besides, it'll be your last school year. Don't you at least want to see your friends again?"

Orchid pursed her lips in order to hide a grimace and thought. Friends? Other than that weird transfer student who was there for her cathartic confession at the playground that one evening, she didn't have any other friends per say. There was Cassandra, the school's chatterbox and part-time fortune teller, but other than that she didn't associate with anybody else. There was Cygnus, her dogged follower Neinheart, and her little posse of friends, the legions of fan she had to encounter daily at Shinsoo, and…ugh, that clueless weirdo Francis. It had been nearly half a year since she told him why he couldn't be with her, and he still didn't get the message. "Yeah, I want to see my…friends, again." She replied somewhat tersely after some pensive moments.

If there were any signs that he didn't completely buy her answer, the CEO didn't show it. In any case, he cleared his throat. "You'll still be paid in your monthly allowances, as per the contract. Any money you make on the side is 100 percent yours to keep." Orchid simply nodded, her face showing no sign of her overwhelmed mind.

At last, he waved her away. "You can leave now." With a forceful "humph", Orchid stood up, walking to the door. As she opened the door, the CEO called out to her: "I hope you'll appreciate this decision, Orchid."

Her reply "I don't." was about as quick as her slamming of the door. With a brisk pace, she walked to the elevator at the end of the hall. On the walls were various memorabilia that signified when Black Wings stars had caught the nation's and even the world's attention. Some of the memorabilia were those of Orchid: interviews with important news stations, various photos of nationwide tours in South Korea and Japan, and even her visiting the DMZ while making a peace sign to the northern side. Orchid ignored all of it: she was in no mood to revel in her achievements, nor did she ever want to. What difference did any of it ever make to her?

Finally reaching the elevator, Orchid quickly entered and literally punched the button for the first floor. As the doors closed with a slight hiss, Orchid leaned against a railing. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. A whole uninterrupted school year? The very thought of it made her nauseous. "Well, at least it isn't an extremely populated school, so I won't be COMPLETELY swarmed…" she thought. She sighed. "I suppose it won't be the worst thing I'll the have to endure. I guess it'd be best if I made some school preparations."

Orchid opened her contact list and made a phone call. "…Manager, it's me. Pick me up, we're going shopping." She ordered. "Put all of it on my card. I'll tell you where we're going when you arrive." Without waiting for a response, Orchid ended the call and turned off her phone.

As the elevator doors opened, Orchid walked out, ignoring the good-byes of the desk clerks, and practically shoved open the doors to the building. Her mouth was set in a firm frown. It was not a good day for her, and certainly not for her subordinates, who arrived shortly.

As he opened the bag for the umpteenth time to make sure if its contents were real, Francis was elated to see that his curiosity was sated for about another 5 minutes.

Inside was a box containing a pristine, 100% worth-the-money, and undeniably kawaii Hatsune Miku Nendoroid.

"Ya-haa! Hatsune-sama, just you wait!" Francis excitedly said to himself. "You'll be up on my shelf with your other sisters! It'll be like a huge Vocaloid family reunion! Ahhhhhh, it's so exciting!" As Francis unknowingly gave one of his best impressions of Gollum, a passing pedestrian took note at his nerdgasm. Feeling slightly concerned, the stranger walked up to Francis and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Hey." The stranger said. "Hey, buddy, you alright?"

It took a few seconds for Francis to register that there was someone talking to him. "Hahahahahahahaha...haha…ha…oh? Are you talking to me, bro?" He whispered to himself: "I wonder if I was right to add bro at the end...yeah, that was totally cool! He'll totally think I'm his bro now, hehehe…" Francis turned around to fast the stranger.

The first thing Francis noticed about the stranger was his stunningly gray eyes. There was something in those eyes that spoke…power. Something that spoke determination. For what seemed like an elongated period of time, Francis was simply spellbound his eyes. Eventually, the stranger, satisfied that he elicited a response, took a step back. This snapped Francis out of his stupor, allowing him a few extra moments to get a full glimpse at this person's appearance.

The stranger placed his hands in his pockets. He was overall a lanky man, but he was half a head taller than Francis. The somewhat noticeable muscles in his forearms and neck reflected hardened reflexes, and to a certain degree, battle. His jet black hair was unkempt to say the least, as if it were a substance that was shaped by the wind. He loosely wore a white dress shirt, which was not tucked into his black jeans. The collar of his shirt was flipped up, and a loosely worn red tie hung haphazardly. The stranger ground some gravel with his black sneakers, which were covered here and there in dust. The last noteworthy details that Francis observed were the checkered belt and bracelets that the stranger wore. Francis gathered that he must have been some sort of free-runner, like in Assassin's Creed or Mirror's Edge.

The stranger fiddled with one of his bracelets. "It seems like it speaks. You alright there, man? You seemed a little out of it."

Francis raised an eyebrow. "What are you implying? That I'm a looney?" At the prospect of being called crazy, Francis became somewhat irate and shook his head profusely. "No, of course not! I only bought something that is very dear to me, and I was expressing my excitement!"

The stranger raised an eyebrow. "Really? Do you mind if I ask what it is?"

Francis' eyes gleamed. "Of course!" He pulled the figure's box out of the bag to show. "It's a pristine, freshly made Hatsune Miku Nendoroid!" The stranger leaned forward and squinted his eyes in order to examine Francis' new acquisition. Francis suddenly pulled the box back and held it close to him, as is the very presence of someone else's breath could dissolve Miku. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't get your breath all on Hatsune-sama!"

The stranger returned to his normal, relaxed stance. He wore a somewhat amused look on his face. "I gotta say, she is kinda cute. Well, in any case I'm glad you're fine. At least you're not trying to summon up some beasts or something."

"Well of course I wouldn't summon any hellish beasts! I am an eternal warrior of the light, and I'm the best UAC space marine – killing demons and any other hellspawns is basically my specialty!"

The stranger chuckled. "Well, it's good to know that we're on the same side here." All of the sudden, the stranger's eyes widened. "Ah, stupid me, I gotta go meet someone. I'll see you when I see you, dude." At that, the stranger waved good bye, turned around, and went on his way.

For a while, Francis stood there, with his box hugged close to his chest. "Huh…what a weird guy. Something about him is somewhat different." At the sound of a bus horn, Francis was once again snapped out of his own world and brought back into reality. "Oh crap, the bus! Gotta catch it, gotta catch it, gotta catch it!"

Stuffing the box back into the bag, Francis hurried to the bus stop as fast as he could. With a feat of athleticism, he managed to barrel through the closing bus doors and swipe his public transport card, paying the toll for the ride. He barely had enough to sigh in relief before the bus jerked forward, causing him to nearly fall. He managed to grab an open handrail that interrupted his fall and allowed him to get back onto his feet.

Panting heavily from the past half-minute of physical exertion, Francis soon found an open seat and sat down, looking out at the passing scenery of Seoul. Preparing for the somewhat long bus-ride back home, he put some earphones in and put his music playlist on shuffle. A familiar song began playing, and he closed his eyes to, in his mind, make time go faster.

"'Cause we could be immortals, immortals…"

"Just not for long, for long…"

"And live with me forever now, and pull the blackout curtains down…"

"Just not for long, for long…"

Francis was jolted from his partial slumber by the sudden ding! of a received email. Pulling out his phone and unlocking it, he paused the song and opened the email. He was somewhat surprised to see had sent the email: Neinheart himself.

Dear Francis,

I hope you're looking forward to the new school year. I know it may be weird that this isn't an automated email sent by the Shinsoo servers, but I am writing this to you to let you know of some changes that have been made to your schedule. Your new schedule has been attached along with this e-mail. You would do good to print it out before the school year starts. I hope that you enjoy the rest of your summer break, and know that I, Miss Cygnus, and the rest of our little friend group are excited to see each other and you again for the upcoming school year. Call me or send me an e-mail if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Neinheart

Francis frowned. Changes in his schedule? He had received his schedule just last week and had already made preparations for his 2nd-year classes. And although he was friends with Cygnus, Neinheart, Hawkeye, and the rest, he was never really that close with them. With a mental shrug, he opened the file that Neinheart had attached.

His brow first furrowed in concentration as he examined the new changes, and his eyes widened in surprise. Most of his 2nd-year classes were now deleted – they were now replaced with 3rd-year classes! With these changes, he was practically a 3rd-year student. So that's what Neinheart meant when he said they were excited to see him again. "Well, at least my genius is finally being recognized, and recognition is overdue. Maybe this year will be my time to shine." Francis thought to him. Indeed, this could be the year he made changes. He would not only be a nerd among nerds – he would be other things, too. He would be a more social, more known person. He would wipe the infamy of being a super nerd from last year away. And finally, he was looking forward to hanging out with the legendary 3rd-years! The thought of Hawkeye, Mihile, and Eckhart grinning when he came around the corner, Oz's bubbly hellos with a freshly opened carton of juice in her hand, Cygnus' radiant smile and Neinheart's tactically heartwarming hello, Cassandra's juicy but obviously false stories, and anytime he and Orchid locked eyes-

Orchid.

Suddenly the schedule change held so much more significance. He would be seeing a lot, a lot, more. She would be in his classes. She would be in his eyesight so much more often. She would…she would…

Francis could feel his heart pounding like a war drum in his head. His breath raced, and his hands shaky and sweaty. Dear God, Orchid would be so close to him. "Alright…alright, calm down! Calm down, heart! Stupid heart, overreacting like that!" Francis thought. "Okay, how did B.J. Blascowicz calm down…right! Count to 4…inhale. Count to 4…exhale. Count to 4…" Francis continued to rhythmically breathe until his heart rate slowed to a normal rate. With some difficulty, he shakily shoved his phone back into his pocket.

Sighing, Francis looked outside. This was definitely going to be an interesting change of pace. The last sentence of Neinheart's email echoed through his mind. "Yeah, I definitely have some questions." After some thought, Francis grinned. "Maybe he anticipated me contacting him. Wouldn't that be funny?"

After resuming his song, Francis opened a new draft and typed in Neinheart's address.

Dear Neinheart,…

It was a strange day for him so far.