On the other side of the portal, Libitina hobbled through the streets, an old woman out for a walk just before 3 p.m. It was rather deserted for a Saturday, and the only people she saw were a lady with a teensy dog who turned her nose up at her, a group of young boys who looked at Libitina once and then looked away, and a young couple who ignored her completely.

After a few blocks, she stopped outside an old, derelict-looking house, complete with withered lavender bushes and wrought-iron fences. It was dark and gloomy compared to the rest of the street, but Libitina smiled, her face seeming to fold in on itself from the wrinkles. She went through the gates and pushed open its massive oak door with unexpected ease, before slipping away into the shadowed, cobweb ridden hall.

"Thanks again."

Kemina looked up, blinking at Phrixos beside her. They were both sat on her bed, each holding a cup of hot chocolate, despite the sun beating through the room's open window, and she had been telling him about Greygrove. To him, school still held bad memories, although Kemina had assured him that's he would stay with him all weekend.

"Huh?"

He blushed and repeated,

"Thanks for letting me share a room with you. I am a boy, after all."

"No biggie. Normally, it's not allowed but, I mean, there's no space anymore. Greygrove's been one of the favourite boarding school for a this sharing'll just be temporary, y'know." She took of sip from her mug and shrugged indifferently. A small smile crossed Phrixos' face, hating the silence that hung between them. Kemina was stirring her chocolate with a finger, whereas Phrixos hadn't touched his, but didn't want to say anything to imply that he though it was poisoned or anything. He was jumpy and kept glancing at Kemina, who made an effort to ignore him, but it wasn't helping. Where had this come from? He could be so rude at times, and wasn't big on politeness anyway, despite his mother's best attempts.

"So, erm…Kemin-"

"Kim." She interrupted promptly, which resulted in a blank look from him. She smile and said "Kemina's a mouthful, sorry."

"Kim, so…how old are you?"

"I'm 17." she said quickly, then added with a sigh,"Well, nearly. I'll be 17 in a month and a half. I'm the youngest in the class. The year, even. You?"

"17 6 months ago."

She glanced up again at him, who was staring into space, his face oddly blank. His normally clear green eyes were dark and creeping her out.

"You're with me then?"

"Yeah, only just. I always was the oldest in my classes."

Kim chuckled, and noted:

"Some-one won't be pleased about that." After a confused look from Phrixos, she explained,

"There's a lad in our year, Gethin, likes to think he's all older than us and macho, for want of a better term. He won't be happy to see that you're older than him. And taller too!"

They laughed, Kim enjoying the moment, Phrixos laughing uneasily at picturing this Gethin.

"And you're so thin!" She looked enviously at Phrixos' skinny frame, his arms hugging his knees and the green mug. Then down at her own figure, which seemed gigantic in comparison, but Kim never was a size 0 anyway.

"I wish I was that thin." She muttered the last sentence with an undisguised hint of envy.

"No, you wouldn't." he answered bluntly.

She stared at him, her brown eyes showing every ounce of disbelief she could muster.

"Wanna bet?!"

"You wouldn't." He mumbled again, almost whispering, and sighed shortly.

"I've got brittle bones, and my skin scars really easy."

Upon saying this, Phrixos put the mug down finally and crossed his arms against the grey T-shirt he was wearing. He bit down on his lip, and Kim guessed –rather cleverly-that he was hiding something.

"Really?" She was watching his face with anticipation, hoping that he would show whatever it was. Kim was nosy like that.

He glanced up at her, her hair curling around her ears and framing her heart-shaped face in reddish glints. Slightly, he loosened his arms and held them out to looked at them once, then bit down on whatever she was going to say, her eyes widening behind her glasses.

On his pale flesh, there were thick, pink scars running all the way from above his elbow, down to the end of his wrists. They hadn't been too deep, but the scars that they'd left were rather unpleasant. Phrixos gazed down with slight boredom, but let her feel their track, their smoothness compared to the unmarked skin.

"How…when?" She asked simply.

He considered not answering, but said

"Not long, maybe 6 months. More."

She turned his arms over, checking the other side. Not a mark.

"How?"

Phrixos hardened, and sat back into his position, and pulled the t-shirt sleeves roughly, as if they could cover it up. Kim drew back, rather disappointed, but wary of how his mood had changed so suddenly. It was like watching a cat turn from docile to aggressive in a flash. But Laura had warned her not to push Phrixos too hard; there was no doubt that she'd leave him a while.

"Sorry, Jack. I didn't…I mean…" She left the sentence hanging, and stood up. Kim made to go out, but turned back and gathered up their mugs before closing the door behind her with a satisfying click.

Phrixos was caught up in his thoughts, not focusing on anything and feeling his consciousness become more and more distant. He felt that crazy feeling when he let schizophrenia take hold. The sun was bright and lit up the room, making it seem cheery and optimistic despite his dark mood. His eyes prickled, tears welling up there. Phrixos stayed stock-still, letting the tears flow, like the countless times before.

It was always going to be a tender subject.