Chapter 4: One of Many Moments

"Shh, Glynda, you're going to wake up the entire house if you keep trying to climb up the lattice like this!" She's slowly making her way up the side of the house to the attic window.

"Oh, hush. How else am I going to spend time with my best friend?" I sigh. She's right. Madam banned her from the house after she found us asleep in my room over a year ago, the night I found out my father was dead. We've been friends since that night, and I regret nothing.

I laugh softly as I lean out the window to pull her up. "I don't know, maybe come by when they're gone?"

I heave one last time, pulling her fully through the window. I land on my butt, and she lands on top of me. I blush and retreat from her a bit faster than I should have. She rolls her eyes. "But they don't leave often enough to my liking." She stands and dusts off her outfit.

I stand up, too. "I just don't want you to get hurt or die because of me."

She bites her lip. "That's a risk I'm willing to take to see you."

She doesn't understand. It's not a risk I'm willing to let her take, but every time I see her, my resolve seems to just disappear. It's like I never even thought about it, worried about it, until I was literally biting my tongue, trying not to scream in frustration. I hug her to me. "You need to stop. I don't know what I would do if you were caught one of these nights."

I can sense the eye roll she just gave me. "Don't worry about me. They can't do anything to me, and you know it." She pats my back and pulls away. "Don't do anything stupid if you think I'm in trouble. The same goes for me, you know. I don't want you getting hurt, either. It breaks my heart every time I see what they do to you."

My hand automatically goes to the new wound on my shoulder, one that was entirely unwarranted and unexpected. Madam just came at me with the fire poker today. I don't know what I did to set her off, but one swing was all it took. I'm just incredibly lucky that she has a softer swing than Ozzie and her aim sucks. "Don't let it get to you. I'd rather it be me than you any day."

Her gaze sticks to the spot that I'm holding. "A new one?" She reaches for it, and I let her touch it, suppressing every bit of response that I would have to the pain that courses through me with every gentle touch that she applies to it.

I nod, blinking back tears. "Yeah."

He hand moves from my shoulder to my cheek, making me look her in those startlingly green eyes. I note the concern in them, the fresh tears that threaten to spill over. "What happened?"

I smile and pat her shoulder with my good arm. "Don't worry your pretty little head about it, Glyn. I'll be fine after my Aura heals it tonight."

She bites her lip, and I can tell that she has more to say about it, but she refrains. "Alright, but I'm going to remember this. If I ever get a chance to make their lives a living hell legally, I will. I just don't want you to get into trouble. They were so convincing the last three times that we went to the authorities that I'm not sure that we'll be able to win that way."

I hug her. "I know. I'll find a way out. I just have to be patient." I rest my head in the crook of her neck, a comforting place that I seem to find more often than not.

She wraps her arms around me carefully now that she knows about my shoulder and arm. "You shouldn't have to wait. If I could, I'd help you run away. You don't deserve this. You never have."

"It's life, little witch. I know what's coming to me if I escape, and they find me. I know they'll find me, too. It's too much effort to try to plan anything more elaborate that what I've already tried, and I have little to no resources to make anything to happen."

She pulls away from me to go sit on my pallet. "We could just run, the two of us, together." She looks at me with such hopeful eyes that it breaks my heart to tell her that I can't, she can't.

"You know that you'll miss your family, Glynda. There's no way that I could do that to you. I can't make you throw away everything good in your life for me." I turn away from her in fear that she'll see the utter heartbreak within me. I can physically feel myself lose myself to the emotional pain that denying her caused.

I hear a bang and turn around to see Glynda glaring at me furiously, standing with her fists balled at her side. "You're not making me do anything! I choose this. I choose you, Cinder."

I glance toward the door and hold up my hand for her to be quiet. I listen for a little while and don't hear anything from downstairs. "Please, don't yell. They can't find you up here."

She deflates a bit, both emotionally and physically. "I'm sorry. I know they can't find me, but I'm just so tired of all of this, Cinder. I don't like seeing my little flame being put out, little by little. It's a smothering experience for us both." She sinks to the floor slowly, not even bothering to catch herself as she descends. She opts to let her head fall into her hands as sobs wrack her body.

I walk toward her slowly and sink down beside her. "Why are you crying?"

She looks up at me and laughs a bit through her tears. "Why aren't you?"

I smile a crooked smile. "Someone has to not be the crybaby."

She sticks her tongue out at me. "Meanie."

I laugh softly at that. At least I broke the tension. I feign hurt, pressing my palms to my chest dramatically and making a gasping gesture. "Oh, you wound me, my little witch."

She rolls her eyes and wipes the tears away. "You're so dramatic, Cinder, I swear."

I just beam at her and pull her down to lay with me. "Yeah, but you stopped crying, right?" She just sighs in contentment and we lay there for hours, neither of us falling asleep for fear that we'll be caught. An hour or so before dawn, I watch Glynda slip out of the window and pray that I get to see her again.

A/N: That moment, though. This is still so early in their friendship for it to actually be called romantic, but awwww. Ok, really, they're only, like, fifteen. I know a lot of people have a relationship at this age, but I'm pretending they're not normal teenagers and they just want friendship... for now.

I do have a account. The link is on my profile. Any contribution would be much appreciated. Guys, I'm not guilting you, trust me. I know how it is to be broke. I'm a college student for crying out loud. So, yh, contribution... appreciated. :)

Follow, Favorite, Review! :)