Kyle stood on the rooftop watching the sun set over the busy city. He felt his stomach turn with anxiety as he looked down at the bush of white roses tattooed unwillingly on his left wrist. Another white rose had formed. The second to last one. After that was final one... and he would be doomed to stay like this forever. He heaved a big sigh, swallowed and turned the volume way up on the music playing on his head phones. Sometimes the music blasting would distract him... making him temporarily forget about so many unpleasant aspects of his current situation.

He really despised it having a mind of its own - it just suddenly making a bloom fill in an empty area of that involuntary tattoo. Even each petal that appeared in the flower on his skin always felt weird like an annoying fly crawling on his skin that he could not swat away. Each white rose that fully bloomed brought an unfortunate side effect with Kendra's terrible curse. Whenever a white rose was done blooming, without fail, he would always have a horrible night that followed with intermittent searing jabs of pain flashing across his skin in random places. It also filled him with this horrible feeling of dread that he was that much closer to being out of time.

Damn, he hated it. He had never said anything to Zola or Will about the pain strikes that came after the roses apearing on his wrist. He especially didn't want Lindy to find out. Nobody would understand. He just hid and tried to survive the night of pain without waking any of them. At first, he tried to call out to Kendra begging her to make it stop. She could not help, though, or give him any relief. It was useless. It just was what it was, and he was doomed to suffer through it each time. Magic cannot be undone... were her words that continued to echo through his head.

He didn't want to tell Zola or Will for fear that they might push him into going to some doctor or hospital. He hated hospitals. His Dad had taken him to see so many doctors at countless hospitals where the testing, poking, and prodding got old really quick. They were always interested in exploring his strange condition but never had any solutions. No one likes to feel like a medical guinea pig...he had had enough of that humiliation.

The first night a rose happened on his wrist, he remembered laying in bed alone that night and there were streaks of pain that lashed at his body like random lightning strikes. Then he realized that it was all related to Kendra's stupid curse. He knew because after the flashes of pain subsided, he felt a new, strange, tingling sensation remaining on his skin in that spot. He would put his hand down on that spot to touch it, only to realize in anguish when he looked at it closer that yet another ugly scar had appeared...as if he didn't have enough already.

His only comfort was that at least the additional scarring happened on his back, chest, shoulders or legs... places where he could hide it with clothing. At least the new ones were not more to add on his already wretched, mangled face. It was bad enough his face already looked like a creepy character from some twisted horror flick. He still felt such utter disbelief that after Lindy first saw it, she only told him she had seen worse.

Sometimes when Will was teaching without his red lense glasses on, Kyle would watch his broken eyes stray off in weird directions. Those times made him wonder if it really wasn't that bad of his Dad to hire a blind tutor. It was one less of the people in his living space that didn't have to be tortured or disgusted by his hideous appearance every day.

It was ironic that he had so much freedom to do what he wanted not living with his Dad anymore... yet at the same time he felt so caged and restricted. He could go out whenever he wanted, yet he felt so caged in by hiding under his black hood and constantly dodging the stares of others. He could ride his motorcycle all he wanted, yet who was there to go see when he was caged inside his ugly walls of skin.

Later that evening, everyone was gathered around the dinner table. Zola had made a delicious chicken curry dish with rice for dinner. But Kyle could only manage to eat a couple bites. He didn't have much to say and had no appetite. He pushed the food around his plate nervously with his fork. Her cooking had always been so good yet he had always acted like such a spoiled ass brat to her - never even thanking her once. It was pathetic he had never once shown a bit of gratitude to her in all the years she served them.

Kyles eyes drifted from Zola to resting on Lindy for a few moments. She was chattering happily with Will about an intense scene in their current reading material of Shakespeare's MacBeth. He could not focus on their reading today. Waiting for a conversation pause, Kyle tapped his foot and finally said,

"Zola, um, thank you for the dinner. I'm uh, I'm going to bed early tonight. Goodnight everyone."

He stood up abruptly and collected his silverware on his plate to take to the kitchen.

Will frowned, cocked his head and asked with a puzzled tone,

"What? Why so early tonight, Hunter?"

Kyle looked down at his feet and heaved a sigh. He didn't respond. He tapped his foot again not sure what to say.

Lindy gulped her mouthful of water and then teased, "No more Korean TV?"

Kyle looked up, half smiled and caught her playful wink. Oh man, how that sounded good to spend more time with her... another round of their silly game making up their own interpretations for Korean tv would be awesome. He wished he could tell her yes. He desperately wanted every moment he could to be near her.

But he had no idea how soon the new scars would start flashing and burning across his skin again. It was a consistent pattern he could count on that always struck that night. The sun had been down for a while so it could happen any time now. The sense of dread weighed heavy on him. He replied,

"Maybe tomorrow. I'm uh, not feeling well. I need to just go...sleep it off."

Will raised his water glass and said, "May you return to full health in the morning."

Kyle pushed in his chair, and responded, "Yeah, thanks. Oh and Zola thanks again for the food."

Zola frowned and responded,

"You no want dessert? I make cake. You no want piece of cake? Stay. Have piece of cake with us."

Kyle shook his head declining the offer, "No. Not tonight, thanks though. I gotta go," and quickly headed out. As he hurriedly exited the room, Lindy flashed him a big smile and said to everyone with a mischievous tone,

"Well, I'll eat his piece of cake."

As Kyle loaded his dishes into the dishwasher, he again felt the lingering pang in his heart to spend more time with Lindy. He heald on to the image of her sparkling brown eyes and mischievous smile. The mental snapshot would comfort him tonight. If only these stupid roses wouldn't cause him such a torturous and miserable night. It was bad enough he felt so short on time left for her to possibly say I love you.

He didn't need this stupid side effect of the curse eating up what little time he had left with her. He remembered the IM he saw on her computer last night saying her Machu Pichu trip was only a week from now. The person also asked if she still wanted to run away. Ugh, there just wasn't enough time. Kendra had said she could not extend his time. His time left was shrinking so fast...and it was hard not to let his hope shrink away, too.

Hearing their voices murmuring in the other room, he headed up the stairs wishing he could just push a fast forward button on life to tomorrow and make the night be done already. Suddenly, as his hand gripped the door knob to his bedroom, he felt it start again. Sadly, he had grown familiar with it. He gasped, scrunched his eyes shut, but managed to clench his teeth in a way to stay quiet so they wouldn't hear him down stairs.

Right leg this time. Damn. He hopped on his left leg awkwardly through the doorway and then with a shaky hand, shut the door behind him. He limped across the room and collapsed on his bed. He let out a big breath, feeling really relieved he had not waited a moment longer downstairs and had it start in front of them. Waves of fiery pain zapped his skin and quadricep muscles. "AaaH!" he gasped and grabbed his right leg. He buried his cinched up face in his pillow and used it to muffle his voice from the others.

When the pain subsided, he reached a hand down and felt yet another scar that this time had appeared on his right thigh. Ugh. Why, Kendra, why... hadn't he suffered enough already? It was almost like he was being punished for not finding someone to tell him I love you soon enough. He punched the mattress in frustration.

The night crawled by agonizingly slow hour by hour as Kyle suffered through the erratic waves of searing pain, squeezing his fists around handfuls of bedsheets or covers and biting his pillow to muffle his cries. He kept checking the time on his phone wishing time to pass quicker. Nothing could hold his attention for long so he had tossed his phone on the bedside table. Suddenly, his text alert chimed.

LINDY: U ok? Headed 2 bed now. Sorry if I woke U.

HUNTER: Still awake. I'm fine. Thx.

LINDY: Streetlamp counts later - walk again or rooftop?

HUNTER: No. Can't. Tomorrow night better. G'night.

LINDY: K. Night night. Feel better soon. : /

KYLE: TY. Night.

He was touched by her kindness of checking up on him. Kyle felt a warm soothing sensation fill his chest as he remembered the previous night together on the roof. He really enjoyed picking her up and carrying her to her bed. He smiled remembering when he was counting the street lights turning off and her head resting on his shoulder. Then her falling asleep on his lap and him touching her hair. He loved touching her. It felt surreal... almost like it didn't really happen at all.

He was so glad she had grown to trust him. Man, how he wished he could be closer to her and feel the amazing sensation of her touch again. He remembered stroking her soft hair and memorizing all the details of her face. There was no doubt now he was in love with her. But the question was, could she love him back?

He relived in his mind the memory of her self initiated touch on his hand after he shared the elephant story at the zoo. All a sudden she had reached out gently took his hand on his lap. It surprised him but he loved it. He remembered staring at it for seconds wondering if it were for real or if he imagined it. An exhilarating feeling had filled his chest and his heart rate soared. She was so accepting of him and listened so sweetly as he shared about his mom leaving. He had never talked to anyone about that... yet she made him feel safe enough to share that sad story buried deep in his heart. He could barely remember his mom now. His Dad always refused to talk about her and he didn't care to push him any further for details. She made her choice and he didn't give a fuck where she was now.

He hadn't realized how touch starved he had become since his terrible transformation. His old girlfriend, Sloane, came to mind and he remembered how she was always all over him. He never thought much about it... other than it made him look desired. His stomach rolled in disgust remembering seeing her her all over his friend at the Halloween party. Then all a sudden, there was nothing...not even his own father wanted to be near him.

He remembered how his Dad couldn't even look him in the eyes when he last saw him. There was just that last awkward hug before he left him for good in the new place. It even felt like Zola was hesitant to touch him the first week in the new place, too. She would approach him with this fearful look on her face that it would hurt him if she tapped his shoulder or touched his arm. But Lindy acted like it was no big deal. She made him feel like less of a beastly freak and more human. It was a glimmer of hope.

Later that night, when Kyle was nearly a hundred percent sure that everyone was sleeping, he decided to venture downstairs. Sounds of the housemates had settled down to silence, lights were lowered and the regular City sounds from outside became louder than sounds inside their place. His bedroom walls had been feeling more and more like prison walls as the time crawled onward that night.

It was usually a safe bet to assume everyone was in their bedrooms after midnight. Sure enough, everything was dark when he snuck out of his room. He crept downstairs to the kitchen. He fixed himself a large plastic bag of ice and then laid down on the couch in the living room. Sometimes icing the area where the pain flashes would strike would somewhat decrease the burning searing sensation that hit. He grabbed the remote and said a quick prayer he wouldn't come across any reference to his dear old dad on his news tv channel. The thought made his stomach turn with nausea.

He settled on a rerun of an old movie called, Back to the Future 2, when there was nothing else good on any of the other channels. The movie was a pleasant distraction and definitely more entertaining than being stuck in his room. During a scene of Marty McFly purchasing an almanac checking results of major sporting events of the future, Kyle didn't notice that Lindy was in the doorway. She called out quietly, "Hey Hunter."

Kyle was startled and nearly felt himself levitate vertically off the couch when she greeted him. His bag of ice fell to the floor. He quickly grabbed a throw blanket to cover his bare chest. He was only wearing thin sweat pants. "Oh! Lindy, hey um, Hi, I didn't see you there," he stammered awkwardly in response. She walked closer and said, "Sorry to surprise you. I just needed to come downstairs for some water... too many ju ju fruits - ha! Plus I can't sleep."

Kyle's heart rate and breathing was still accelerated but he tried his best to hide it. He said waving toward the kitchen, "It's okay. Yeah, uh, help yourself."

She smiled and headed for the kitchen. After she left the room a pain flash struck him again. No! Not now. Left foot. Damn, it hurt on that thin skin. Go the fuck away. He winced but tried desperately to conceal it knowing Lindy would be back shortly.

He adjusted the throw blanket trying to hide as much of his hideous chest as he could from her. It was bad enough she had to see his ugly face every day. Kyle stole a glance down to his left foot to investigate the new scar where the strange zapping sensation lingered. His eyes widened when he saw that it was another tattoo with fancy script that said, "Just missed the beauty boat."

He heaved a breath of frustration, shook his head and tried not to swear at Kendra out loud. One more terrible reminder of his lame ass speech from the school election. Ugh...having to see it on his eyebrows everyday was enough. Embrace the Suck right above his eyebrows. He hoped Lindy hadn't noticed. He watched the kitchen doorway carefully knowing Lindy would be back any moment... so he quickly tucked up his bare feet under the throw blanket.

Lindy soon came through the doorway holding a big glass of ice water and flashed him a beautiful smile. If only he could just turn off the tv and watch her instead the rest of the night. She sat on the arm rest of the couch, and asked with a concerned expression,

"You feeling any better?"

Kyle sighed and answered, "I'm getting there. This old time travel movie is a good distraction. I couldn't sleep either."

Lindy looked at the tv until her eyes suddenly lit up with recognition.

"Oh yeah! I love those Back to the Future movies. Okay if I join you?"

Kyle nodded right away and replied, "Sure, of course. But um, let me know if you'd rather get back to watching any Korean tv."

"Ha Ha... no, this is great."

He hoped desperately for no more embarrassing pain strikes while she was there. He just couldn't turn her away. He really wanted her to be close by. She slid down the arm rest and onto the couch cushion next to him.

Lindy sipped her water, watched the movie for a bit and commented, "You know, in my top ten list of cars if I could choose any... I think a DeLorean would definitely be one of them." Kyle chuckled and added, "Oh really? Nice if it could really travel through time... I know I would use it to try and fix some of my past mistakes."

She nodded and said, "Right? Same. All the car would need according to the Doc is..." Lindy paused and then they both said in unison, "One point twenty one jigga Watts," and they both laughed. It was fun they both were familiar with the silly old '80s movie series. One more thing in common.

"So, are you um, feeling super excited that your Machu Pichu trip is so close?"

"Yes! Super excited and maybe a little shock or disbelief it's finally here. It feels surreal when I've been working to get to this point for so long."

"Cool. You deserve it. It seems like you've worked really hard for it."

"Thank you. It has been a lot of work hours but I think it's something I'll never regret doing... I mean, who has a chance to go there that often, you know? Honestly, I'm glad I have a chance to do something for myself for a change... my life has been so focused on taking care of my Dad that it's easy to forget about myself in the process."

"That's one of the things I really like about you... you think and care about others before yourself."

"Aaaw shucks, well thanks, Hunter... I like that about you, too. Obviously, you know I didn't want to be here in the start but I um, I don't feel like running away anymore. Everyone has been so kind to me here. It's really turned out waaay safer than I first thought."

Kyle felt a rush of relief when Lindy mentioned not wanting to run away. He was glad she felt comfortable and wouldn't try to sneak out. For the moment, Kyle was also glad Lindy didn't know he used to be the selfish Kyle Kingston. Kendra was right. He had changed and cared about others now.

Suddenly, another pain strike hit Kyle in his shoulder. "Ah! Ow," he yelped instinctively and grabbed his shoulder.

"Oh my Gosh, Hunter... what's wrong?" Lindy asked frantically.