Prologue

I was in a hole. A very deep, very dark hole. It wasn't particularly uncomfortable in the hole. Sometimes it was hard to breathe, but that feeling would go away eventually. There was just enough light peeking in to let me know what time of day it was. Nights were the hardest. It was cold and bleak and I'd usually find my muscles stiff and sore from curling up into myself, trying desperately to hold everything together and keep myself warm.

But I was alone in the hole. That was worst, and best, part.

Trust me, I had tried to get out of the hole. I had climbed and climbed until my arms felt like they were going to fall off. I had even reached the top once. But I found myself completely blinded by the bright sunlight I had hidden from for so long. The sounds of life deafened me to the point where I couldn't hear myself think. The wind and sunlight were too harsh on my skin. Everything was overwhelming. It was too, too much.

So I decided to let go and fall back into the hole.

It wasn't comfortable, but it was comforting. It was my home. I was free to cry and sob and just be. I didn't have to plaster a smile on my face for the comfort of others. I didn't have to laugh and pretend to find all of Jake's lame jokes funny. It was quiet and peaceful and there was something so wonderfully numbing about the feeling. I didn't have to feel anything; I could just stay there and not think. It was perfect. For me.

Every now and then someone would come along and look down into my…is fortress of solitude too nerdy? I don't care. That's what it was. They'd have a peek and check on me, ask me how I was doing. I usually wouldn't answer and they'd eventually forget about me and keep walking.

There were a couple of people that tried to get me out. They'd throw down a ladder or a rope and try to get me to climb up. Sometimes the rope would be too out of reach, sometimes it'd land perfectly in front of me; but each time I chose to remain where I was. I never tried to climb up after that first attempt.

Emmett tried. If others were throwing down a rope ladder, he was throwing down the heavy-duty shit. Hell, he was probably installing an elevator or something. And I did appreciate it. I really, really did. But I didn't want or need to leave. I was fine here. A bit cold, a bit lonely, but I was ok, and that would have to do.

And then I met him. The asshole. He seemed so unthreatening at first, just another passer-by checking in and then growing bored and walking away. But then he came back. He came back and completely destroyed my hole. He dug and dug and dug until the whole surrounding area was even with the bottom of my hole. The sunlight rushed in to fill the space it had neglected for months. The wind rushed through my hair. People walked and talked and went about their daily lives all around me, invading my space, walking through my hole. I was exposed and scared and suddenly homeless.

But at the time I couldn't bring myself to care. Because he was there, sitting right next to me, looking up at the sunlight and watching everyone walk around me. He didn't even say anything; he just sat there and kept me company.

The nerve of him.

But I was happy. I didn't push him away or grab a shovel to dig another hole to bury myself in. I just sat and watched him, still hardly believing I could be so close to another human being.

I should've known it couldn't last.

I should've stolen that motherfucker's shovel and dug myself another hole.

A/N: Let me know your thoughts! (please)