AN: TRIGGER WARNING FOR SUICIDE ATTEMPT/THOUGHTS. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

Evalynn couldn't help reciting the colors to herself as she went about her day over the weeks following that interaction with Connor. She still hadn't let Evan or her mom know that she had found her Soulmate. However, that all changed one day when she was supposed to be in class. The warning bell rang just as she was finishing up getting her books from her locker.

"Hey, loser."

She turned to see who had spoken, to find herself shoved into the lockers. Daniel Collins. The most popular guy in school and the biggest bully to ever walk the halls. He was constantly surrounded by at least two of his lackeys on the football team and now was no exception. Three other jocks leered from behind him at Evalynn as Collins continued to push her around.

"What's wrong, Hansen? Cat got your tongue?" he taunted.

"S-stop it," Evalynn stuttered.

"'S-stop it,'" Collins mimicked her.

Another shove sent her sprawling to the ground. She let out a yelp of pain as her injured arm caught most of her weight.

"You're such a loser, Hansen. You know it. I know it. Hell, even your brother knows it. Why don't you do everyone a favor and just kill yourself already?"

Tears streamed down Evalynn's cheeks as the other members of Collins' group laughed and jeered. She felt herself shutting down, the familiar darkness creeping into her mind. Giving her one last sneering look, Collins and the others turned and left her there in the hallway. Once they disappeared around a corner, Evalynn pulled herself to her feet, cradling her injured arm to her chest.

'...just kill yourself already… just kill yourself already… just kill yourself already.' The words echoed in her mind, summoning the feelings she had had nearly a month earlier. Still cradling her arm, she trudged toward the entrance of the school, blindly making her way to an unknown destination.

'Why don't you do everyone a favor and just kill yourself already?...kill yourself already… kill yourself already…' Tears continued to stream down Evalynn's cheeks as she put one hand over the other, pulling herself up further and further into the forty-foot oak… Her forty-foot oak. Maybe this time, she would get it right. Maybe this time, she wouldn't screw everything up.

'...kill yourself… kill yourself… kill yourself…' Ten feet… twenty feet… twenty-five feet… thirty feet. The branches were getting dangerously thin. Evalynn risked a look down and almost freaked out.

'I'm sorry, Connor,' she thought. '...kill yourself… kill yourself… kill yourself…'

Taking a deep breath, she stepped up onto the next branch, one she knew for a fact wouldn't support her weight. She was close to thirty-five feet up now. If this didn't work… well, she couldn't exactly turn back now. She could feel the branch giving way beneath her, and suddenly she was dangling. No more footholds. No more places to grab. And with her cast, she only had one good hand to hold on with.

Her fingers were slipping. And then she fell. Down… down… down…

Connor rolled his eyes, leaving class halfway through without even giving an excuse for doing so. It was stupid, really, that he had even tried attending. As he headed down the hall, thinking about maybe heading to the park or somewhere to grab a smoke, something happened that made him stop short. The colors. They started to fade. They were still there, but they were considerably duller than they had been moments before.

'Evalynn,' he thought, pulling out his phone.

He dialed the number, desperately hoping she would pick up. He listened to the dial tone ring out before it went to voicemail. Hanging up, he dialed again, panic filling his chest. No answer. He ran. Ran out the front doors of the school, past his car, in the direction of the park. She loved trees. Wouldn't it make sense that she was somewhere with lots of them?

Connor breathed heavily, sprinting across the grass toward the tallest tree in the park. He could barely make out a form laying underneath. As he got closer, he made out the things that identified the person as Evalynn. Her blonde curls, her white cast… Everything was so dull. What could have possibly happened to drive her to do this?

Dialing another number on his phone, Connor reached out, putting a few fingers to her neck. He just barely made out a pulse, beating faintly, but fading.

"9-1-1. What's your emergency?"

"Hello. Ellison State Park… my Soulmate… she… I think she tried to kill herself…"

"Okay, sir, I need you to remain calm. Does she have a pulse?"

Connor swallowed, trying to gain some composure.

"Y-yes. It's faint, though."

"There are ambulances heading your way. Do you know CPR?"

"Um… Yeah, I think. We, uh, we learned in gym a few years ago…"

"Okay, if you can, I need you to keep her breathing to the best of your ability until help arrives."

"O-okay. Okay."

Putting the phone on speaker, Connor put the phone on the ground beside him. He positioned his hands the way he remembered, beginning chest compressions while the person on the phone continued to talk to and coach him through what to do. He barely heard the sound of the sirens getting closer as the colors around him continued to dim.