AN- DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ CHAPTER 26 OF BREAK MY FALL!Otherwise, you will be spoiled. Sorry for the caps, but it seems a lot of people don't read these...

So starts Lantern Hearts! I think you guys will really start to feel some sympathy for Vaati. At least I hope so, because that's what I'm aiming for.

Lantern Hearts is a sub-story to Break My Fall and will be twenty chapters, alternating between Vaati and Zelda. Each chapter will be compared to a few song lyrics, as shown–

But she wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts
She's Cheer Captain and I'm on the bleachers
Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find
That what you're looking for has been here the whole time

~Taylor Swift, "You Belong With Me"

"Goddesses, could Saria get anymore annoying?" I say irritably. Green and I are standing in the walkway in front of the office. It's directly above the courtyard, and from there I can spy Saria talking with Malon, being all peppy and giggly and– ugh. The girls at our school, I swear...

"What do you mean?" Green says. "I've been in school with Saria since third grade. I never thought she was annoying."

Really? I think. He's always been dense. But maybe it's his denseness that makes me attracted to him. I breath out and point towards the bench where the two girls are still giggling and chirping. "Well, just look at her," I frown, glaring at them. "Such. A. Ditz."

Green stays silent for a moment, staring like a idiot, before speaking. He doesn't notice me gazing at him the whole time. "Yeah, I guess I see what you mean," he says.

I smirk, knowing I've won. Not that I thought I would lose from the start. No, I always win. It's always been this way between the two of us, and it always will be.

Always will be... okay, maybe that's an exaggeration. Things will change between the two of us, I'll make sure of that. It'll just take some time. Okay, a lot of time. It's frustrating, to tell you the truth. To think we've been friends for three years and he hasn't figured it out yet... I've been here the whole time... waiting...

I snap back into reality, only to find Green spacing out as well.

"Hey, Green," I call, snapping my fingers in front of his face. "Hello. Earth to Green..."

He flinches, then looks at me sideways with wide turquoise eyes. Turquoise has always been my favorite color. He's always asked me why, but I would never tell. "What?" he asks cluelessly.

"Oh, nothing. It's just really fun when your friend is ignoring you," I say with sarcasm coating every inch of my voice. "Now snap out of it!" I cry out. He flinches again.

"Okay, okay," he says slowly. He sighs. "You just scared me."

"Well that's what I gotta do," I say, walking ahead of him. "Sometimes I hafta break you outta whatever trance you're in." Green catches up to me, and walks by my side as I continue. "I mean, really, Green! Without me, you'd be staring off into space all day!" Part of me knows it's not true, but it's what I'd like to believe. "That's why you need me. I keep you on the ground."

Green giggles. And while it's music to my ears, I have no idea what he finds so funny. I stop and stare at him.

"What? What's so funny?"

"Nothing...," he mumbles, walking ahead of me.

I grumble to myself. "Yeah, sure, whatever." I walk over to him, seeing as he's stopped to wait for me. He's so clueless...

"Hey, Green," says a cheery voice. "Hi, Vaati." Totally deadpan. I hardly even look, just to save myself the effort. It's her. Zelda Sahagun, last year's student curiosity president and the queen of ninth grade. Except this isn't ninth grade anymore. It's tenth grade, and things are about to change.

"Hey, Zelda," Green blurts out with a tinge of nervousness. I almost groan. Can he make it anymore freaking obvious that he adores her? Way to shove it in my face Green. He doesn't even realize that he does this, so of course he doesn't notice how jealous I am.

"Good to see you," she says, directing it solely to Green. How do I know? Because she doesn't even look at me. Stuck up bi–

"Yeah. . . you too," Green mumbles like the idiot he is.

She looks at us both, taking only a slight glance at me. She's probably checking Green out right now. That filthy–

"Where are you two headed off to?"

Green shrugs, smiling nervously. I resist the urge to gag. "Nowhere in particular."

I've had about enough of this. I cut in, stepping in front of Green to block her perfect view. "We were just walking around, seeing what's changed." I force myself to smile at her, no matter how fake it looks. She eyes me skeptically.

"Yeah...," she mutters, adverting her eyes from us. She shifts her view to look at Green and smiles. "Anyways, I'll see you third period." She starts to walk away, swaying her hips like some supermodel.

"And fifth," Green calls out, waving all-too enthusiastically.

I stare at him as he saunters off. And once she's gone, the words spew out like venom:

"You like her, don't you?" It doesn't come out bitter, or harsh, which surprises me. It's just a question. I'm only asking out of curiousity. I don't really care about your love life, Green.

But I really do.

Green twitches, his face turning a disgusting shade of pink.

"And I don't mean as a friend, you know," I add, and this time the tone matches the bitter taste in my throat. Blech.

Green turns to look at me, stammering incoherently. "W-well... I...–"

"You don't have to say it, I can tell," I keep my tone strong and stand my ground, because I don't care. In fact, I don't care so much that I'm walking away. And as I feel Green's smoldering stare burn me, I whip my head back around. I glare at him. Hard. Green steps backwards, shaking.

"Look, I just know, okay?" I snap, taking out my frustration on him. I turn my whole body around and muster a smirk. "Besides, I know you better than anyone, don't I?"

Funny how I'm beginning to believe that's not true.

I walk off, smiling my little fake smile and flipping my lavender hair back. "I'll meet you at lunch, okay?"

And as I walk off, I sway my hips slightly. I saunter, like Zelda.

I feel sick.