AUTHOR'S NOTE: HKJSHGJSD getting sick of writing this angsty story. I promise to write something legit tomorrow, but right now im just dead tired.

This one is short, and crappily written because its three thirty fuckin' AM.

walk

Walking.

Walking.

More walking.

The orders were simple; 'keep moving until we reach the entrance to the bay. Don't stop, we're already off schedule.' Our legs stung with lethargy, our hearts aching with anticipation. I could see the bay clearly now, the only obscurity a simple hut made of white adobe.

I was excited, just as everyone else was, for the upcoming concert, overjoyed that I would get to experience this with my friends, in particular, Kafei. This chance to leave ClockTown, this one chance to be free, I cherish it as if it's my last, fore it might as well be. But . . . I am also sad. Sad at the fact that this will be my only time that I can leave freely, frustrated that we have to be so ostracized from the other cultures and races. Don't the adults realize that our generation has no prejudice against the other peoples of Termina? We have no reason to hate others, and yet, I fear that by the time we're adults, out minds will be hardened with strict teachings of hate and bigotry. It's an inevitable thing, I suppose, becoming cold because of your surroundings. It's not as if our parents wanted to become the way they are, they just developed those thoughts because it was easier than making a stand.

I don't want to be like my mother; harsh and forever grieving. I want to be happy, I want my friends to be happy, I want my children to be happy. I pray that anger and hate does not fuel our future lives.

My feet crunched against the sand, my calves burning because of the shifting terrain. I looked out towards the ocean, still in awe at its beauty and grace. Gawking seagulls hovered around a peculiarly shaped building in near the shore of the ocean. Some type of sea laboratory, I guessed, by the large hook protruding from its roof.

Kafei's hand brushed against me, and I could feel his little finger wrap around mine. He looked down at me with a sidelong glance, his scarlet eyes hidden by thick lashes.I smiled up at him, unable to keep up with the anger that I claimed to have.

It's not as if he didn't want me, he was just looking our for me, right? Trying to preserve my virtue? He said that he didn't want me to regret sleeping with him. Why would I possibly regret that?

Rejection is the same no matter how many times you try to reword it.

I let go of his hand in frustration, shaking him off. He continued to walk on on silence, but I could see the tightness of his pressed lips, the sag in his shoulders. He was upset, that much I could tell.

"Are you still angry about earlier?" He asked, finally breaking the pregnant silence.

I continued walking, too stubborn to muster a reply, too hurt to face him.

He's rejecting me.

My face grew hot as tears began to form in my eyes. I tried disparately to keep my cool and stop the tears, but they refused to be hindered. I bit my lip, hard, and broke the skin, turning my head towards the sea once again. Stop! Stop crying!

"I just wish that you'd understand where I'm coming from. I mean – hey, are you crying?" He stopped walking, stupefied at my action. He reached an arm out to stop me, because I had not stopped walking. He spun me around, "Anju, why are you crying?"

I tried to wipe my swollen eyes, but the tears kept coming. I shook with shallow sobs; I was losing control.

"I'm fine." I managed to choke out. A few stragglers from the group gave me an awkward stare as they walked by, unaware of our dilemma. I tried not to notice them, but found that I had buried my face into my hands in embarrassment.

"No. this," he waved an arm up and down my shaking body, "Is not fine. Tell me. Is it because I don't want to have sex yet? Because I want to wait? Because thats a pretty shitty thing to cry over." His words were harsh, but his tone gentle. I looked up to catch is gaze just as his thumb pressed against my cheek, his fingers in my hair.

"You don't want me," I started softly. He began to protest, but I stopped him with a finger to his lips, "But I want you. Kafei, I want you! I need to be with you, but you don't care! You make me feel silly an stupid, like I'm some kind of pervert for wanting this! I've known you my whole life, I've loved you my whole life, but you discard that and claim that you're trying to protect me. From what, Kafei? What are you protecting me from?" I wasn't angry, but instead hurt and confused.

"Think of how I feel, I'm a guy! I've wanted you since I was eleven years old! Everything you do makes me want you more! Are you blind? Can't you tell that I want this more than anything?"

"Then what's stopping us?" I asked in a low voice. The last person in the group finally passed by, leaving us totally alone.

"Me, I am." Kafei answered seriously, shifting on his feet as if unsure of his words. "I'm stopping this. What if someone told our families? What if you got pregnant? What would happen then? We'd be thrown out, banished!"

The calmness was almost deafening. He was right, as much as I didn't want to admit it; how would I tell my mother that I was pregnant? Or worse, how would Kafei explain to his strict parents that he was the father?

"Hey, would you guys hurry it up? We're going to leave without you!"

Kafei looked over my shoulder at Cremia, and then back at me. He licked his lips quickly, readying them for speech. "We have to go."

"I know."

"Do you agree with me?"

My eyes were downcast, my voice defeated, "Yes, I think that you're right."

"Love you."

"Love you, too."