Lucy continued to see Dr. Fletcher in the months that followed, and she thought she was doing rather well. She wasn't as comfortable with the woman as she was with Dr. Wong, so she hadn't told her full story yet, but she was getting there. And Dr. Fletcher had this wonderful way of helping her work through her problems without even knowing what her problems were.

Lucy really thought she ought to look more into the art of psychology, but something told her that would lessen the impact it had on her.

As the last chill of winter finally began to thaw into spring, Lucy failed to keep track of the actual date. Which was probably why she was surprised when Casey – who usually stayed after her class had been dismissed when she could – placed a pink bakery box on her desk.

"Happy birthday." The shy girl said in a voice only slightly louder than the one she addressed the world with.

The art teacher gave her a strange look before going over the calendar in her head. Today was April 3rd, her birthday was April 4th. Tomorrow was Friday however, and as the school did not have any classes with the community center then, she would not see the girl.

"You remembered."

"Of course I did." Casey gestured to the box on her desk. "The cupcake's red velvet; I know it's your favorite…"

Lucy, noticing the telltale signs of her friend closing in on herself, smiled at her and wound an arm around her shoulders. "Thank you, my little Casey." She said, planting a kiss on the top of the girl's head.

The corners of Casey's lips turned upwards in the smallest of smiles. She liked the nickname Lucy had given her. The go to always seemed to be 'Casey-bear' for some reason; a name which had far too many memories attached to it, both good and bad. 'My little Casey' was something that was exclusively Lucy and only had good memories and feelings attached to it.

"Are you going to Claire's party this weekend?" she asked, hoping she didn't have to wait until the school had another class at the community center to see her friend again.

"Are you?" Lucy raised a surprised eyebrow.

Casey shrugged. "Something to do. Free food is free food, no matter the company."

That got her a laugh. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I dunno what it is about Claire and Marcia…I hate them?" she offered idly, getting a grin out of her friend. "I mean, I know I play favorites, but those two seem a bit more irritating than the rest of your class."

"I think it's the money." Casey informed. "The easier things are for you, the more you take the world for granted."

"Quite right too. The world does love being a double edged sword."

It wasn't until late that night, after the sun had set, that Lucy finally opened the small pink bakery box.

Her apartment was dark as she struck a match and lit the small blue candle that Casey had put into the cupcake. She knelt down by the table, resting her chin on her folded arms, and studied the flame.

"Another banner year." She remarked to herself. Watching the candle flicker a moment, she paused just as she was about to blow it out. Leaning forwards had caused her necklace to clink against the table, and she stopped to look down at it.

Cradling the curved metal in her hand, she ran the pad of her thumb over the engraving that had long since lost the black paint that emphasized the letters. She looked at it sadly for a moment before her eyes flickered up to the candle again.

Without a second thought, she blew out the flame.

******
Halfway across town, a pair of dark blue eyes behind rectangular glasses snapped open.