ERMAGERD LOOK WHO UPDATED.

Seriously, you guys, I am really sorry I haven't updated this in so long. My drive for it died for a while, then I got busy with school and sports and stuff like that, but I managed to squeeze in some time to get this done because I love you all dearly. :D I changed the tone of this story a bit more. At least, I feel like I have. I went back and scanned the previous chapters and felt it hadn't been as serious as I wish it could've been, so I'm slowly trying to curb it in a different direction.

I hope to write a new chapter of Not So Unloved soon as well. :)

P. S. - I don't really know why I'm still going with these chapter names anymore, since I'm straying from what I originally planned. The old chapters are no longer sitting in my Doc Manager, so I can't go back and remove them. I'm thinking of just omitting the bolded chapter names at the beginning from now on, and changing the Contents to just Chapter One, Chapter Two, etc. A bit sloppy, but I do what I can.


It had been Emiri's idea to do homework at the park today. There was a cluster of large rocks down by the lake, and a few were smoothed out enough that they could sit comfortably. The weather was considerably warm today. There was a slight breeze, rustling the pages of their textbooks. The ducks quacked as an elderly couple fed them pieces of bread, and off in the distance, Andrew could see kids playing on the playground. He looked back down at the notebook sitting on his lap, and blinked when he realized he hadn't actually begun his work yet. When he glanced up, Emiri was staring at him with a small smile.

"Enjoying yourself?"

He smiled back, moving to grab his pencil and actually start his homework. "Yeah."

"Well, don't get too distracted," she chuckled. "There's plenty of work to be done."

She went back to her own homework immediately, and Andrew found himself lingering on her face: her chocolate orbs as she scanned the book before her; her black hair sloppily tied into a ponytail; the thin line of her mouth as she concentrated.

Who is she to me? Andrew frowned slightly as he pondered this. She's my girlfriend. Yes, that was true. But what else was she? She's my best friend. And someone he knew he couldn't live without. Not after having met her. If one day she suddenly disappeared, no word of her leaving or anything, he'd feel like there was a hole in his life that couldn't be replaced. Days would be blander, hours would move slower, life would be... awfully quiet. He didn't want her to just… vanish, but what of his… abilities, then?

He swallowed the lump in his throat as he stared down at the hand he had resting atop his notebook. The power coursing through his veins, flowing within him, would it be too much for her? For her to believe, to understand, to accept? What he possessed sounded like a bedtime story, a science-fictional fairy tale told to the kids whose imaginations ran wild with thoughts of aliens and advanced technology and superhuman abilities. The last one Andrew would've pegged as a fictional story too, if not, well, for him and Steve and Matt. They were proof that aspects of the science-fiction realm were indeed possible. But they weren't about to tell anyone. They couldn't risk doing that.

But then there was Emiri.

Andrew felt like he could trust her. He trusted her with so much already, so why not this?

This is much more than an ill mother.

It was easy for kids to believe such things when they were younger – hell, it was what they dreamed of witnessing! Each day they'd go to bed hoping that the next day, they'd wake up with a giant robot sitting outside their window. Well, that was what Andrew used to hope for anyway. But people got older, and before one knew it, these kids were no longer kids, but teenagers and adults and elderly. Fairytales deteriorated into fairy dust, carried away with the wind and forgotten with time.


"Andrew, are you insane?"

"Yeah, man, I think you're getting way in over your head on this one."

Andrew sighed. He knew this wasn't going to help anything. Telling Steve and Matt of his plan was a stupid move on his part. They just wouldn't get it – wouldn't get how close he felt to Emiri, so close that he had a gut feeling that despite the (at first) absurdity and (later on) dangerousness of his secret, she'd be okay with it.

"Guys," Andrew sighed again, "I know she'll be fine. She's understanding."

"But this isn't exactly an everyday secret. This is big." Steve even spread his arms out for emphasis.

Matt nodded in agreement. "It'll sound like you watched one too many sci-fi movies as of late."

"You don't know her like I do." He could sit here and try to argue with them all day, but it would be in vain. Their opinions would not be swayed. So instead, with a surprisingly firm voice, he reminded them that he wasn't asking for their approval, merely sharing his plan, then promptly changed the subject. He'd prove them wrong.


Tap pencil. Sift through papers. Scribble down notes. Repeat.

Emiri was determined to finish this work soon. Andrew's bed felt softer than usual today, probably since she hadn't gotten enough sleep the night before. She wanted to get her stuff done before she dozed off for a couple of hours. Andrew was watching her with an amused expression, and she avoided his gaze, a small smile on her lips and pink tingeing her cheeks.

In the middle of writing something down, her boyfriend set his hand gently atop her own, stopping her. She looked up at him, brown eyes wide. "Is something the matter?"

He didn't respond immediately, and his blue orbs looked away for a second. She saw him swallow, felt him squeeze her hand with a bit of pressure. She readjusted her hand and squeezed his back comfortingly. That was when he turned back to her. Now there was something different in those eyes of his, but she couldn't quite place what. It seemed as if he had changed in the moment he'd looked away from her. Worried, she set her free hand against his cheek, feeling if his face was hot. Maybe he wasn't feeling well.

"C… Can I show you something?" Andrew's voice came out just above a whisper.

Emiri studied him, searching for anything that could indicate what was going on, but came up with nothing. She nodded warily, just barely managing to get out a yes.

This time his eyes never turned away, never dodged hers for even a second. "L—" his voice cracked. "Look behind you."

She did as she was told, twisting around to look over at the nightstand. What she was expecting to see was his camera sitting there, aimed on them as they worked. But no, it was… it was hovering. She slowly brought a hand up to her mouth, shocked. Quickly she turned to Andrew. "Are you doing that?" she whispered. He nodded, not saying a word. She looked at the camera again, only to see it steadily rising and moving across her, then over to Andrew, who set out his hands and let it descend into his awaiting grasp. She shook her head. "Oh my God."

Andrew clutched his camera, subconsciously feeling its surface with the pads of his fingers in an attempt to calm down his rapidly beating heart. Emiri wasn't looking at him, only looking down at the bed sheets, her eyes wide in… surprise? Astonishment? Fear? He crossed his fingers and hoped that it wasn't the last one. "Emiri…?" He'd reach out to touch her, set a hand on her shoulder or curl a lock of her hair or something, but he was too afraid to. What if she thought he was a monster?

She turned to him silently, but every time her eyes met his, she'd look away again. Each time it made Andrew's heart pang. So maybe this was it then, eh? The end to his relationship with the best friend he'd met at the new bakery in town? The time they'd known each other felt like so long, yet not long enough. However, all good things came to an end eventually.

But when she hugged him tightly, paying no mind to the camera, it was his turn to be shocked. She nuzzled her face into his chest as he set his camera down and wrapped his arms around her waist. He heard a sniffle, and he looked down to see that her form was quivering as it was racked with sobs. He hugged her closer, eyes clenching shut. He wasn't sure what to say, wasn't sure whether he was supposed to even say anything or not.

"Thank you." If it hadn't been dead silent in the room, Andrew wouldn't have heard her.

"What?"

She pulled away slightly and looked at him with red eyes. "Thank you for trusting me."

There were those who grew out of the stage of fairytales, and then there were those who – like Emiri, Andrew noted – grew old enough to believe in them once more.


Quote I based practically this entire chapter off of. :P -

Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairytales again. – C. S. Lewis