p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Markona tossed about in her bed. She'd moved into a small guest room in Leigh and Lysander's apartment after she'd nearly escaped her father's violent anger earlier in the school year. She was grateful for the room but she was starting to feel like she was turning into an insomniac. For nights now she hadn't been able to sleep. Too much had happened recently and knowing her friend Demi's secret didn't exactly help either. She'd just found out that Demi was practically homeless due to her father finding out the real reason why she'd been bullied in her last school. It wasn't because of her steampunk obsession but because she was bi. She couldn't believe that Demi's dad would disown her because of that though. She tossed about more and just couldn't sleep at all. She was far too restless and she knew she'd have to get up in just a few hours for classes. She pulled up the window and let the cold air whisper over her skin. She could see someone jogging outside and noticed them look over to her, for a moment she felt like she knew them, but then they looked away so she did as well. She went over to her desk by her bed and decided to write in her journal. It was the only thing that had kept her any form of sane since these last couple months were far from normal. Let alone, far from /"At least th/spanspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"ings are getting better." she murmured as she let out another soft sigh, strands of her green hair getting into her face. "I wish he were back."/spanbr /Markona saw her cellphone light up and she flipped it open to see a text from Demi./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"Demi:/span Hey. Mason took me in. No fretting. Luv ya! 3br /span style="text-decoration: underline;"Markona:/span Thx Demi. Cya in class. Luv ya 2 3/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I guess that settles that." she said and closed up her cellphone. She picked up her pen, opened up her journal, and started writing everything on her mind./span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Dear Diary,br /spanspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Today is the beginning of spring. Lysander and Leigh both have been very hospitable to me since I left my father's home earlier in the school year. I get the impression, though, that they think I'm a lesbian. I honestly want to blame Demi for that with how naturally flirty she is. I play along with her sometimes because she's my friend but thankfully she knows i'm totally completely straight. It's kind of humorous really. I know I act like a guy most the time and most my clothes are considered boyish but I really am only into guys. It's really funny to me. I feel like it's an inside joke for me and Demi now since she knows that I'm starting to catch on. Thank god Rosa knows I'm not into Leigh. Definitely not my type at /spanspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"But Diary, that isn't the only reason I'm writing tonight. I found out that Demi was kicked out of her home because her dad found out she's bi. He's super religious so it's a big deal to him...but that wasn't necessary to do to his own daughter. Luckily she got ahold of her friend Mason who lives on the outer rim of town. He's gay and knows what it's like to be treated that way. He's letting her stay with him for now but his apartment isn't exactly meant for more than one person. I hope things work out for her. I mean I don't really know Mason that well but Demi really trusts him and she's like a sister to me...so I should be able to trust him too...I /spanspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Finally we get to the main thing on my mind. Iris told me that Ken has been doing well in bootcamp but it's been hard on him too. She's been keeping in touch with him and sends him letters for me...but I stopped getting letters back from him a couple months ago. I hate to admit it but I really miss him. He made it so much easier for me to be myself out here and lately...I feel like I'm trying to be someone strong for everyone else. I need a shoulder to cry on but no one's here anymore. Eva's gone, Kaia's with Nathaniel now and they're really happy together. Teli and Cas are doing well but he's having to protect her from her mother. I don't want to bring any of them down but...well...I just...I don't know what to do anymore. I'm sorry. Ken...please come back. I miss my best /spanspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"~Markona~/span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"She stopped writing, tears having fallen from her eyes. She didn't even know when the tears had started. Maybe it was just after Demi's text? Or was it half way through the entry? It wasn't really something she could tell./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"She got up from her seat and turned around to see a young man standing before her that she didn't really recognize. She was about to call for help when he placed a hand over her mouth and whispered to her, "Marko, calm down. It's me. Kentin."/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"She looked in his green eyes and was finding it hard to believe the person before her was her old friend. She nodded as if to say she wouldn't scream and he slowly removed his hand from her mouth./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""You've changed." she whispered, still trying to take this in. She recognized those green eyes but the young man before her looked quite different from the one who had left her./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Kentin nodded but then noticed the tear-streaks on her face. "You've been crying. Is everything ok?"/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Markona wiped the tears from her face and looked down. She bit her lip as if debating whether it was even reasonable to tell him anything. How did she know this was really Kentin? He could be some stranger. Though he did know the name their friends called her so it was possible it could really be him. "Alot has happened since you left Kentin." she barely managed to whisper./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Mind telling me about it?" He asked her, wanting to help his friend out. Even if it was just a little. After all, he could see the sorrow that had come over her and it wasn't just the tear-streaks on her face./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Markona went over to her bed and sat down on it. She patted it for him to sit down beside her. Though, a small blush formed across her face when she noticed the teddy-bear he gave her was peeking out the covers by her pillow./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Kentin sat down beside her and raised a brow at her sudden blush. He followed her gaze and just barely noticed the teddy-bear before she tucked it under the covers. "You actually still have it?"/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Yeah. It keeps me calm at night. My friends...our friends...are all going through some changes right now." Markona said and decided to pull the teddy-bear out, setting it on her lap and holding it close./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""What do you mean?" Kentin asked. He was starting to wonder if he was really prepared for what she would say. He'd only once ever seen her this choked up and that was when they were kids. Really little kids./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Eva's gone. She was killed by an idiot driver while trying to get Kaia out of the road." Markona said, an emptiness settling in. The loneliness she'd been feeling was creeping back up her spine. "Kaia and Nathaniel are together now. He's been a big help for her since the accident. Demi, she's living with Mason for right now. Her dad found out she was bi and kicked her out. Teli's with Cas and is fighting to stay from her abusive mother. Everything has honestly just gone to shit."/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Kentin cringed when he heard all this. He started to feel guilty for having not answered her letters these past couple months...but he hadn't had much choice in that. His father had been breathing down his neck with this bootcamp stuff and making sure he balanced his schoolwork with his military studies. He hadn't gotten much social time of late. But now that he was back in town he hoped to fix that. Starting with her if he could manage it./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Marko..." he started but then got quiet. He pulled her into a hug and just held her close. He could feel her trembling, trying not to cry. He'd seen this side of her before when they were younger. Only back then she had Demi who could calm her too. Now...it was just him. He hated knowing he'd left her all alone./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I'm sorry. You just got back and I'm such a mess." Markona whispered as a few tears fell. She wished she could keep her composure right now but at the same time she was grateful to have someone who she could break composure with./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""It's ok Marko." Kentin said as he ran his fingers through her short hair, the same way he knew her mother had anytime she'd start crying when they were kids. "Just let them out and you'll feel better. I promise you will."br /spanspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Markona let the tears fall silently and Kentin didn't stop her. He held her as she trembled in his embrace. He didn't like that this had happened. He hoped that she could just have been happy, if only a little, while he was away./span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Some time passed and Markona had finally calmed down. She wiped the last of her tears away, wishing he hadn't seen her in such a state. She looked up at him and gave a weak smile. "I'm better now. I promise."/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Kentin smiled softly at her and kissed her cheek. "As long as you're ok, that's what matters."/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Markona turned a shade red at that and looked down once again, but for different reasons, as she fidgeted with the teddy-bear that had managed to stay in her lap. "Y-yeah. I'm ok. I'm s-sure."/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""You don't sound like you are." Kentin said teasingly, a smile on his face now./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""W-well...you just k-kissed me. So wh-what do you expect?" Markona stammered, attempting to keep quiet so as not to wake her friends down the hall./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Kentin just tilted his head a moment in confusion. "I used to do that when you'd get upset before. Why's it so different now?" Granted he couldn't deny that they were kids back then./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Markona felt herself blush even more. "Well...cuz...I...ummm..." she didn't know how to get the words out. He'd been gone so long but she still cared a great deal for him. Now here he was and he was being sweet as can be to her. /spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Kentin's eyes widened some as he started to realize what she was attempting to say. A blush even crossed his face at the realization. "You like me?" he whispered./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""O-of course." Markona stammered, then quieted herself. "I have for a while but...I didn't realize exactly how much until you were gone and my heart ached so badly." She hid her face in the teddy-bear, wishing she could make the blush stop spreading./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Kentin smiled and kissed her cheek again. "See, you can be girlie after all." Though his own blush hadn't gone away./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Quit teasing me I'm being serious." Markona groaned in defiance to his 'girlie' remark./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Kentin turned her to face him. "I like you too Marko, though I'm pretty sure you already knew that."/spanbr /"Well...there's always the chance your mind could have changed." she /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"He chuckled and moved the teddy-bear away from her face. "Not with you."/spanbr /Kentin kissed Markona's lips tenderly, causing her eyes to widen a moment in surprise. She felt that loneliness in her start to fade. The emptiness start to disappear. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. He broke the kiss with a soft smile as she nestled her head into the crook of his neck. They heard some noise out in the halls that made them both jump. Kentin made his way to the window that he'd climbed through before. Markona following behind /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Please stay. That's just Leigh heading out to work." she whispered./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Kentin smiled at her. It was hard for him to believe she had become as fond of him as he was of her. "I'll see you later today. Get some rest."/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"With that he snuck another kiss and climbed out the window, and headed off towards his /spanspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Markona stared out the window and watched him go for a little bit. She reluctantly turned away and went back to her desk to write on a new page of the journal./span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Dear Diary,/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"I got to see Kentin today for the first time in months. I miss him already but it's ok. He and I will see each other more often now. I'm pretty sure we both fell more in love than what had been expected. Maybe, just maybe, things will start turning around for everyone now. Even me. At least, that's what I'm gonna hope /spanspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"~Markona~/span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"She closed up the journal with a soft smile on her face. "I'm pretty sure Demi won't ever let me live this one down once she finds out."br /She flopped onto her bed, teddy-bear in hand, and curled up under the covers. For once she actually managed to fall asleep./span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"((a style="color: #666666; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-color: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer;" href=" profil/Markona"Markona/a is my candygirl. Kaia is my friend's candygirl a style="color: #666666; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-color: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer;" href=" profil/Kaialynn"Kaialynn/a. That same friend also created Eva, Kaia's older sister. Demi is another friend's candygirl a style="color: #666666; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-color: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer;" href=" profil/Deminya"Deminya/a, who also created Mason. Teli is another friend's candygirl a style="color: #666666; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-color: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer;" href=" profil/Telinqua"Telinqua/a. All of us love making new friends so go ahead and add us if you want. :D ))/span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"Demi:/span Hey. Mason took me in. No fretting. Luv ya! 3br /span style="text-decoration: underline;"Markona:/span Thx Demi. Cya in class. Luv ya 2 3/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I guess that settles that." she said and closed up her cellphone. She picked up her pen, opened up her journal, and started writing everything on her mind./span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Dear Diary,br /spanspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Today is the beginning of spring. Lysander and Leigh both have been very hospitable to me since I left my father's home earlier in the school year. I get the impression, though, that they think I'm a lesbian. I honestly want to blame Demi for that with how naturally flirty she is. I play along with her sometimes because she's my friend but thankfully she knows i'm totally completely straight. It's kind of humorous really. I know I act like a guy most the time and most my clothes are considered boyish but I really am only into guys. It's really funny to me. I feel like it's an inside joke for me and Demi now since she knows that I'm starting to catch on. Thank god Rosa knows I'm not into Leigh. Definitely not my type at /spanspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"But Diary, that isn't the only reason I'm writing tonight. I found out that Demi was kicked out of her home because her dad found out she's bi. He's super religious so it's a big deal to him...but that wasn't necessary to do to his own daughter. Luckily she got ahold of her friend Mason who lives on the outer rim of town. He's gay and knows what it's like to be treated that way. He's letting her stay with him for now but his apartment isn't exactly meant for more than one person. I hope things work out for her. I mean I don't really know Mason that well but Demi really trusts him and she's like a sister to me...so I should be able to trust him too...I /spanspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: oblique; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Finally we get to the main thing on my mind. Iris told me that Ken has been doing well in bootcamp but it's been hard on him too. She's been keeping in touch with him and sends him letters for me...but I stopped getting letters back from him a couple months ago. I hate to admit it but I really miss him. He made it so much easier for me to be myself out here and lately...I feel like I'm trying to be someone strong for everyone else. I need a shoulder to cry on but no one's here anymore. Eva's gone, Kaia's with Nathaniel now and they're really happy together. Teli and Cas are doing well but he's having to protect her from her mother. I don't want to bring any of them down but...well...I just...I don't know what to do anymore. I'm sorry. Ken...please come back. I miss my best /spanspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"~Markona~/span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"She stopped writing, tears having fallen from her eyes. She didn't even know when the tears had started. Maybe it was just after Demi's text? Or was it half way through the entry? It wasn't really something she could tell./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"She got up from her seat and turned around to see a young man standing before her that she didn't really recognize. She was about to call for help when he placed a hand over her mouth and whispered to her, "Marko, calm down. It's me. Kentin."/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"She looked in his green eyes and was finding it hard to believe the person before her was her old friend. She nodded as if to say she wouldn't scream and he slowly removed his hand from her mouth./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""You've changed." she whispered, still trying to take this in. She recognized those green eyes but the young man before her looked quite different from the one who had left her./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Kentin nodded but then noticed the tear-streaks on her face. "You've been crying. Is everything ok?"/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Markona wiped the tears from her face and looked down. She bit her lip as if debating whether it was even reasonable to tell him anything. How did she know this was really Kentin? He could be some stranger. Though he did know the name their friends called her so it was possible it could really be him. "Alot has happened since you left Kentin." she barely managed to whisper./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Mind telling me about it?" He asked her, wanting to help his friend out. Even if it was just a little. After all, he could see the sorrow that had come over her and it wasn't just the tear-streaks on her face./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Markona went over to her bed and sat down on it. She patted it for him to sit down beside her. Though, a small blush formed across her face when she noticed the teddy-bear he gave her was peeking out the covers by her pillow./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Kentin sat down beside her and raised a brow at her sudden blush. He followed her gaze and just barely noticed the teddy-bear before she tucked it under the covers. "You actually still have it?"/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Yeah. It keeps me calm at night. My friends...our friends...are all going through some changes right now." Markona said and decided to pull the teddy-bear out, setting it on her lap and holding it close./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""What do you mean?" Kentin asked. He was starting to wonder if he was really prepared for what she would say. He'd only once ever seen her this choked up and that was when they were kids. Really little kids./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Eva's gone. She was killed by an idiot driver while trying to get Kaia out of the road." Markona said, an emptiness settling in. The loneliness she'd been feeling was creeping back up her spine. "Kaia and Nathaniel are together now. He's been a big help for her since the accident. Demi, she's living with Mason for right now. Her dad found out she was bi and kicked her out. Teli's with Cas and is fighting to stay from her abusive mother. Everything has honestly just gone to shit."/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Kentin cringed when he heard all this. He started to feel guilty for having not answered her letters these past couple months...but he hadn't had much choice in that. His father had been breathing down his neck with this bootcamp stuff and making sure he balanced his schoolwork with his military studies. He hadn't gotten much social time of late. But now that he was back in town he hoped to fix that. Starting with her if he could manage it./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Marko..." he started but then got quiet. He pulled her into a hug and just held her close. He could feel her trembling, trying not to cry. He'd seen this side of her before when they were younger. Only back then she had Demi who could calm her too. Now...it was just him. He hated knowing he'd left her all alone./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""I'm sorry. You just got back and I'm such a mess." Markona whispered as a few tears fell. She wished she could keep her composure right now but at the same time she was grateful to have someone who she could break composure with./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""It's ok Marko." Kentin said as he ran his fingers through her short hair, the same way he knew her mother had anytime she'd start crying when they were kids. "Just let them out and you'll feel better. I promise you will."br /spanspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Markona let the tears fall silently and Kentin didn't stop her. He held her as she trembled in his embrace. He didn't like that this had happened. He hoped that she could just have been happy, if only a little, while he was away./span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Some time passed and Markona had finally calmed down. She wiped the last of her tears away, wishing he hadn't seen her in such a state. She looked up at him and gave a weak smile. "I'm better now. I promise."/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Kentin smiled softly at her and kissed her cheek. "As long as you're ok, that's what matters."/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Markona turned a shade red at that and looked down once again, but for different reasons, as she fidgeted with the teddy-bear that had managed to stay in her lap. "Y-yeah. I'm ok. I'm s-sure."/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""You don't sound like you are." Kentin said teasingly, a smile on his face now./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""W-well...you just k-kissed me. So wh-what do you expect?" Markona stammered, attempting to keep quiet so as not to wake her friends down the hall./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Kentin just tilted his head a moment in confusion. "I used to do that when you'd get upset before. Why's it so different now?" Granted he couldn't deny that they were kids back then./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Markona felt herself blush even more. "Well...cuz...I...ummm..." she didn't know how to get the words out. He'd been gone so long but she still cared a great deal for him. Now here he was and he was being sweet as can be to her. /spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Kentin's eyes widened some as he started to realize what she was attempting to say. A blush even crossed his face at the realization. "You like me?" he whispered./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""O-of course." Markona stammered, then quieted herself. "I have for a while but...I didn't realize exactly how much until you were gone and my heart ached so badly." She hid her face in the teddy-bear, wishing she could make the blush stop spreading./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Kentin smiled and kissed her cheek again. "See, you can be girlie after all." Though his own blush hadn't gone away./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Quit teasing me I'm being serious." Markona groaned in defiance to his 'girlie' remark./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Kentin turned her to face him. "I like you too Marko, though I'm pretty sure you already knew that."/spanbr /"Well...there's always the chance your mind could have changed." she /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"He chuckled and moved the teddy-bear away from her face. "Not with you."/spanbr /Kentin kissed Markona's lips tenderly, causing her eyes to widen a moment in surprise. She felt that loneliness in her start to fade. The emptiness start to disappear. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. He broke the kiss with a soft smile as she nestled her head into the crook of his neck. They heard some noise out in the halls that made them both jump. Kentin made his way to the window that he'd climbed through before. Markona following behind /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Please stay. That's just Leigh heading out to work." she whispered./spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Kentin smiled at her. It was hard for him to believe she had become as fond of him as he was of her. "I'll see you later today. Get some rest."/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"With that he snuck another kiss and climbed out the window, and headed off towards his /spanspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Markona stared out the window and watched him go for a little bit. She reluctantly turned away and went back to her desk to write on a new page of the journal./span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Dear Diary,/spanbr /span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"I got to see Kentin today for the first time in months. I miss him already but it's ok. He and I will see each other more often now. I'm pretty sure we both fell more in love than what had been expected. Maybe, just maybe, things will start turning around for everyone now. Even me. At least, that's what I'm gonna hope /spanspan style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"~Markona~/span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"She closed up the journal with a soft smile on her face. "I'm pretty sure Demi won't ever let me live this one down once she finds out."br /She flopped onto her bed, teddy-bear in hand, and curled up under the covers. For once she actually managed to fall asleep./span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"((a style="color: #666666; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-color: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer;" href=" profil/Markona"Markona/a is my candygirl. Kaia is my friend's candygirl a style="color: #666666; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-color: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer;" href=" profil/Kaialynn"Kaialynn/a. That same friend also created Eva, Kaia's older sister. Demi is another friend's candygirl a style="color: #666666; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-color: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer;" href=" profil/Deminya"Deminya/a, who also created Mason. Teli is another friend's candygirl a style="color: #666666; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-color: initial; outline: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer;" href=" profil/Telinqua"Telinqua/a. All of us love making new friends so go ahead and add us if you want. :D ))/span/p