I never would have expected Flynn Rider of all people to actually be helpful. But that's exactly what happened last night.

It was about two o'clock in the morning, and I was as usual in the common room, pretending to do homework. Suddenly I heard a voice from beside me say, "Aren't you a little too good at school to need to stay up this late studying?" My heart leapt to my throat, I was so startled. Flynn was sitting right next to me on the sofa and I hadn't even heard him enter the room.

I stammered something about being behind in history. He rolled his eyes and asked why I had really been staying up in the common room the past couple of weeks. When I didn't answer, he looked at me with more concern than I thought he had in him for anyone but himself.

"Look, Aurora, I get it, you don't want to tell me. That's fine. But whatever it is, even I can tell you're not yourself anymore. Have you told anyone what's got you so messed up?"

I opened my mouth but was afraid to speak for fear I'd start crying, so I just shook my head no.

He let out a long breath. "Damn it, Aurora, I thought you were smarter than that."

I went into defense mode. "Like you open up to people when you have a problem."

"Yeah, but you don't want to be as screwed up as me," he stated simply. "You're obviously a strong person, but whatever's going on is too big even for you."

I inclined my head so that my hair hid my face; I was having to fight back tears. He couldn't possibly think I was strong, but he seemed so sincere and I desperately wanted to believe that maybe other people didn't see me as weak as I felt.

After a pause, he said, "Start with someone easy, maybe that Hufflepuff girl who always hangs around you. She seems like the mindless puppy type. I'm sure you could tell her you're actually a serial killer and she'd still love you, maybe even help you hide the bodies."

I glared at him for making fun of my friend, but he just grinned. "There's the Aurora I know." His smile softened. "All kidding aside, don't let this come between you and your friends. I've seen you with Jasmine and Anna and I know that they'll stand with you through anything if you just let them." He started to get up, then settled back into the sofa and faced me with mock seriousness. "You can't tell anyone about this conversation, okay? It could ruin my whole reputation."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I certainly wouldn't want that."

He grinned and made his way back to his dormitory. Just before he went through the door I called his name and thanked him. He smiled at me over his shoulder and left me to my thoughts.

I'm still not sure I'm quite ready to tell anyone. But I also know he's right about the fact that I can't do this alone. I'm really not sure how anyone will react, but I've realized the first person I need to admit this whole mess to is myself. I'm finally going to go through the whole story of my curse. No distracting myself with other thoughts. If I have an attack halfway through, so be it, but I will come back to it again, as many times as I need to, until I can say that I've faced it. And maybe if I can be brave enough to tell myself the whole story, beginning to end, I'll be able to tell Anna, and maybe even Jasmine. Jasmine is supposed to be my best friend, and you don't hide things like this from your best friend. And your best friend is supposed to be your friend no matter what.

Maybe this will be okay, whatever happens this year.