His conversation with the girl hung heavily in Steve's mind for the rest of the day. For a while he had been angry, how dare she come up and speak to him like that, assuming she knew him and how he felt. He didn't need her sympathy, he didn't need anyone.

He hated them, every single one of them. They thought they knew him, thought they could help him, they were all wrong. They were idiots, and he hated Darren for leaving him here with them all. He had to deal with all the shit day in day out now. He had to sit in their lessons, listen to those college educated morons thinking they're better than him, looking down their noses at him and expecting him to sit and listen like a good little boy, like Darren would.

He had to sit and listen to them talking, on and on about their pointless shit, civil wars and tectonic plates, equations and migration patterns. Like education was all there was to the world. Like he was supposed to go to college and get a job. And then what? Live happily ever after as a good little boy? No, not Steve, he was meant for more.

They were all the same, faces in the crowd. It was the students he hated the most. He couldn't stand them, all of them. Whining about their pathetic lives, complaining about homework and parents. He hated the way they would talk about Darren, how much they missed him, how they couldn't believe he was gone, how they had lost their best friend. They were all liars, no one knew Darren like he did, and no one missed him like he did.

He watched her curiously during their Literature class that afternoon. He didn't know why he did, or what interested him in her, but he found he couldn't look anywhere but at her. He'd never really seen her before, of course he'd seen her around, but he'd never paid her any attention. He watched her whilst she worked, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

He thought about her on his way home. He shouldn't have yelled at her like that, it wasn't her fault he hated his life, and she'd only been trying to help him. She didn't seem like the others, she hadn't flocked around him to hear the tale of his bite from Madam Octa, or claim she had been long time friends with Darren, seeking the attention.

She'd only been interesting in him. Not any sudden popularity that he had gained, not even any attention or sympathy that came from known Darren. She'd been interested in Steve and his grief; she'd offered her help, so why had he thrown it back in her face?

It wasn't her fault at all, and he knew he needed someone. He'd talk to her tomorrow.

*

It had seemed like a good idea the night before, but now he was here in the cafeteria, he wasn't so sure. She was sat with a group of her friends at a table near the back of the room. The six of them were chatting quietly, laughing about something and absent mindedly eating their lunch.

He took a deep breath and walked over to them.

She looked up as he approached, her friends looking too, some of them eyeing him suspiciously.

He fidgeted and mumbled 'Can I sit here?' she smiled a small smile and looked to her friends who had all started to talk very quickly and very quietly amongst themselves, whispering and shooting him suspicious glances. She shushed them quickly and jerked her head towards the door. The five girls all started to move, gathering their things and mumbling goodbyes to her.

'Sure' she said as her friends were leaving and looking back over their shoulders. He sat down hurriedly and avoided the stares of her friends. They sat together in an awkward silence for a few minutes until Steve spoke.

'I'm sorry I uh, yelled at you yesterday' he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck 'I didn't mean to'

She shook her head and smiled 'It's alright, I understand'

He watched her face for a moment, examining her bottle green eyes and friendly smile. Then it occurred to him that he didn't know her name.

'What's your name?' he asked, trying to keep the conversation going and breaking the awkward silence.

'Apollo' she answered blushing red and laughing lightly.

'You don't like it?' he asked, smiling for the first time in days.

'No, I like it fine, it's just most people think it's odd'

Steve nodded 'I like it, it's pretty'

Apollo blushed avoided his eye 'Umm, thanks' she said. She looked up at him and searched his face. His cheekbone was still bruised and purple from the spider bite and he looked tired. She had been there when he had been bitten, she'd seen it happen. She'd been one of the first to act as he hit the ground unconscious. She dropped to his side and felt for a pulse, pulling out her cell and calling for an ambulance.

'I know you miss him Steve' she said suddenly sensing his hurt 'It's okay to miss him, but you can't let it consume you'

Steve looked up at her 'You, you lost somebody?' he asked awkwardly, not sure whether he should ask her something so personal or not.

Her smile faltered and she nodded 'my twin sister Odette, she got cancer when we were twelve. She was gone in two months' she sighed and looked away, a small, sad smile on her face.

'I'm sorry' he mumbled.

She looked back at him and smiled again 'Yeah, me too'

'I do miss him' he said in a barely audible whisper, looking down at his hands on the table 'I miss him so much and it hurts all the time, and I can't make it stop'

Steve felt an odd sensation in his stomach as she reached out and took his hands. He looked up at her, finding her fingers surprisingly cold 'I know. I can't make it go away, but I can tell you it will get better, but only in time. This isn't the kind of thing you can rush'

'Your fingers are cold' he said, looking down at them.

She smiled and pulled them away, pulling the sleeves of her shirt down over her fingers 'Sorry, I'm always cold'

They both looked up as the bell rang to signal the end of lunch and the cafeteria started to empty, filled with the sound of scraping chairs and idle chatter.

'I can't do it without him' he said desperately, feeling that dull pain that had made his chest its home.

'I'm really sorry Steve, but you have to' she sighed, and then added 'but you don't have to do it alone'

He looked at her confused and shocked, taken aback by her comment. No one wanted to be friends with him, he knew it, they were afraid of him, so why was this girl offering him her friendship so willingly 'Come on' she said, standing up and swinging her bag over her shoulder 'We have a math class to not pay attention to'