Good morning, guys!

To be honest, we weren't gonna do this until some time later, after finishing our latest story, but Hugs6 and I couldn't help it and we wrote another stoyr for you guys to read about our pair of favorite future-tellers :)

This one, however, won't focus on monsters and trips to the Underworld... This one would be more normal than the others, so I hope you all guys enjoy it!

Oh! And go check out How I met my brother in Hugs6's profile!

10 years earlier...

There was a stark contrast between his garden and hers. His was empty but perfect. There wasn't a single weed, just grass, trees, a fountain, and a few benches. Her garden had a ton of flowers. There was always a gardener out weeding and planting and watering the plants. And whenever little Rachel Dare came to visit he would pretend to spray her with the hose. She would laugh and squeal, and on the other side of the wall there was a little boy sitting against it, in the shade of a tree, listening to that laughter and pulling his knees up to his chest because it hurt.

And then the sunshine would peep over his side of the wall, with stolen flowers in her wild red hair.

"Hey!"He wilted against the wall he was leaning against, like moss in the cracks, if he could make himself any smaller he would have, and he tried to make it look like he had never been crying.

"Hey neighbor boy! Do you want to come over? My parents aren't home. It's just the gardener and we like him." Octavian didn't say anything. He couldn't. She hopped over the wall.

"Neighbor boy look at me." She ordered in a frustrated manner, pulling a rose from her curls and shoving it in his face. He flinched at the sight of the rose and shook his head.

"Okay don't take the rose. Come over! My family is gone. You won't get yelled at. You won't get hurt. The gardener might spray us but that's it. Please?" He was seven, she was five. He was taller than her when he stood up. She grinned and took his hand, tugging at him, and he followed her over the wall.

It really was like stepping into a different world, bright and colorful and on purpose, and perfect. That hadn't changed, the need for perfection was on both sides of the wall. But she pulled him past the color and the roses, and the daisies and everything and finally dragged him away form the wonderland.

"You wanna see my room neighbor boy? Your name is Ian right?"

"Octavian." He answered in a mumble, pulling his sleeves down to cover some bruises.

"Imma call you Ian. I'm Rachel."

"I know. Your parents yell at you and I hear it." She pouted.

"I don't like that."

"Me neither." He admitted.

"Come see my room! I have a secret." He followed her curiously, having never had secrets shared with him, other than the drunk ones his dad whispered that he didn't understand. She dragged him to her room, which was decorated like any typical little girl's room, with pink walls and a canopy bed and a soft white rug, and a doll house in the corner. And stolen flowers flung about the room. And the oddest smell of paint.

"Help me move this!" She pushed at her dresser and he cautiously helped her out. What he saw was amazing.

"I painted them!" She cheered when he saw the mystical creatures on the other side of the dresser.

"It's cool." He said with a small smile. She grinned.

"Thank you!" She smiled and stood on tippy toes, kissing his cheek and putting a rose in his hair. He stumbled back and threw the rose.

"No! I don't like roses!" His face turned dark, stormy. She took a step back, and then her smile returned.

"Why not? They're pretty. Like my pictures. You think my pictures are pretty, right?"

"Yeah. But Roses aren't just pretty, they hurt. You can't tell they'll hurt you, but they do." He looked at her, trying to convey the weight of his words to her.

She wasn't just a good artist, she got it.

"I won't hurt you Ian." She smiled again and patted his cheek where she'd kissed it.

"You wanna paint?"

"I don't know how."

"I can show you. It'll be our secret."

"My family doesn't like your family."

"Okay! We can be different. I like being different." Her hair went everywhere, a few flowers fell out.

"Why? Don't your parents yell at you."

"Yeah. Mommies and daddies are supposed to be nice. I read that somewhere. I guess they're different too."

"How is different good then?"

"I don't know. If there wasn't different there wouldn't be two sides of the wall." She studied the sulking boy, two years older than her.

"There wouldn't be you and me. Different's good." He shrugged.

"I guess."

"If there wasn't different, there wouldn't be flowers that don't hurt you. Here." She pressed a daisy into his hand.

"I like your hair. Put the daisy in it." He obeyed, since she was intimidating.

"You wanna paint now?"

"Maybe later. My dad is home. He'll be concerned."

"Is he gonna hit you?" She asked innocently, beginning to paint again. Octavian paled and shook his head.

"I hear your daddy yelling like you hear my mommy and daddy yelling. We can start a club to paint and hide from our parents. Okay?"

"S-sure."

"We'll meet by the garden wall. See you tomorrow. Stay safe." He quirked his head curiously. No one had really ever told him to stay safe before. She smiled.

"Garden wall. Tomorrow. Safe." She repeated, pushing him gently toward the door.

"Yeah. You can find me by the garden wall." He'd be there, but staying safe was another matter.

Hello, guys!

Normally, I wouldn't do this, since I have a regular A/N on Sundays' post, but I require this channel to let you know about a little something...

A friend/writer/roleplay buddy from Wattpad, with the username Purely_Half_Dragon (I bet some of you know him) has started a fund to earn money for a new computer. Is his goal to get one before going to college in March. I'd like for all of you to pass around this fund's site (it's on the site gofundme Laptop - for - College - Fund, no spaces) and, if you cannot because you're young, or you don't have enough money to donate, please, share it with your friends and relatives. When you do, add the #DonateForSean

It will take only a few minutes of your time and he would be more than grateful that you're sharing it around...

Oh! And go check out Hugs6 and I's new story, How I met my Brother! Is in Hugs6's profile!

Thanks for listening!