"-Like a splinter in my thumb, you're not going anywhere, not like I care, cause I have got used to it. Refuse to quit. You're like the label in my shirt, that keeps scratching at my back then I forget, because I've grown immune to it. Go figure it. Knew you were trouble back then, but that's what turned me on. It's all wrong..."

-Ashley Parker Angel: Crazy Beautiful

I didn't know why I did what I did.

It was the boredom's fault, probably. It was taking over the logical and rational portion of my brain and infecting it like a disease sent out to destroy the healthy cells and leave me brain-dead of the rest of my life.

No, I'm exaggerating. Don't listen to a word I'm saying. It's the boredom speaking once again. It's really difficult to get a hold of myself these days, and I think I just miss having something to occupy myself with. So I decided to engage myself with this... this... being.

She told me that her name was Michelle Chua, and although I doubted her truthfulness at first, I now know that she's not at all bluffing. When I went home after our second encounter, I did some research and looked around for any connections Light Yagami might have with a person called 'Michelle Chua' and found none. Then, I requested for permission from the neighborhood police station to view the profiles of each and every single person living in this town and soon enough, her name popped up.

Michelle Chua, age 14, born on the fifteenth of April, year 1995. Apparently, that was her real name and she wasn't lying when she told me that she came from Singapore, either. I didn't know if I should be more surprised at the fact that I managed to remember her telling me that, or that I'm the one acting like the stalker now instead of her. See the crazy things boredom do to you?

I shut down my laptop after I found out what I wanted to and crept off to get some sleep. It was getting late and I was feeling a little drowsy after all that moving around I did.

I couldn't help but think about her constantly now, since there really is nothing else for me to think about. This strange, loud, noisy, clingy, emotional person... how is she going to affect my lifestyle? I couldn't help but wonder.

...Don't get me wrong. I still don't like her. Just because she's on my mind so much doesn't mean I had to take a liking to her. In my opinion, she still was dumb as a brick. Perhaps a little wrong in the head as well, to boot. How many people in existence become infatuated with you just from one, small look? Insanity. Pure madness.

But now that I know her name... she's became an acquaintance, yes? I climbed onto the bed and reached for the blanket as I thought about it. I pulled the blanket up and allowed my head to rest on the soft pillow. An acquaintance... meaning that she's officially a part of my life now.

Just a very minuscule... unimportant... part of my life... I yawned and closed my eyes, getting more and more sleepy. I probably wouldn't even see her in the following week, would I? Those were my last thoughts until I finally dozed off.

...It's a pity. I really did wanted to get that WJK robot today...

You know what they say about life? That it's extremely unpredictable? I think I can easily vouch for the truth behind those words. Only one week has past and I have bumped into Michelle, not one more time, but twice this week. The town isn't even that small, for God's sake, so I really wonder if she has been stalking me for real. The idea of it all being a reoccurring stroke of 'luck' or 'coincidence' remains to sound rather unpromising to me, and even if it did turn out to be that case, what sort of foul-tasting luck is this?

Our third meeting was in the national library, where I decided to pick up on some reading. I was just innocently sitting in a corner when suddenly; "BOO!" she tried to startle me by springing up out of no where in front of me.

Well, it didn't work and she was a bit disappointed and I was not very amused by the sudden change of events. She then, like always, made herself at home by inviting herself to join me in my reading.

"What a thick book! What are you doing reading up on German history?" she asked, gesturing to the book laid out right in front of me. "You must be really bored or something..."

I knew that was a fact, but I didn't say anything to agree with her. But I didn't quite ignore her this time, either. Instead, I sat and stared at her, wondering what other rubbish she had to say. One thing I've learned about Michelle so far is that she talks about anything and everything, be it the weather, animals, her feelings, what she thought were my feelings, wood, metal, plastic, what was on television last Friday night, the reason why the world is round... I wouldn't have been surprised if she started to choke up facts about Hitler that I didn't know about.

"Did you know that Hitler, before he became all powerful and in command and stuff, was rejected from an art school and he had to sell postcards on the streets to make a living after that because he was crap at everything else he did? ...and he only had one testicle."

"..."

I had looked at her with probably the most emotion I had ever used in awhile-puzzlement, amusement and disgust. For the love of everything that is good and pure, woman, if you want to tell me random nonsense, can you at least tell me something that won't possibly traumatize me or give me constant nightmares? I just happen to enjoy sleeping, unlike L, if you must know.

"You know, I wanna be a writer when I grow up... and publish a book."

Ah, that was a lot better. But still random. A writer? That's interesting, I guess. I wouldn't have imagined someone like her to like writing- or reading, the way she was manhandling the book I was previously reading.

"...if you chuck this at someone's head, you could kill people!" she gasped childishly, clearly amused at the thought, and lifted the book up and down with her hands, struggling slightly with the weight, since it was indeed quite a lengthy piece of work.

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes and prevented myself from making a snide remark about her actions.

If she wasn't going to be more careful with that book, she's going to hurt herse-

"OW! FUCK!" she cursed harshly when she expectantly dropped the book and it landed on her foot. I cringed at the vulgar language she was using and scowled openly to show my distaste, but the goon was too busy babying her injured toe to notice.

I bent over to pick the book up, a little more concerned for it rather than my company who seemed to be tossing ungrateful glares in my and the book's direction, grumbling things under her breath about how she's finding it demeaning that I care about an inanimate object rather than her well-being. It's not my fault she deserved it for being so clumsy.

My conclusion of all the traits Michelle had so fair? Loud, talkative, clumsy, desperate, emotional, bizarre, irrational, crude, unsophisticated, shameless, immature and, of course, moronic.

I don't know why I even bother. She was a breathing natural disaster who was going to bring me nothing but trouble. Yet, at the end of the day...

"You know, you haven't said anything for the whole day... not even 'fourteen', this time. Have you decided to go back to being a selective mute again?"

"Five."

"Hm? Another number? ...Five? What does that mean?"

I turned away without answering and left her standing there in the library, looking confused with that heavy history book clutched tightly in her hands.

The fourth time was when I returned to that toy store to see if they had gotten any fresh stock of the toy I wanted yet. No such luck. It was just too early, and we were no where near a month.

The news had put me in a bad mood and I was sulking to myself as I stepped out of the store. This time, I was the one who technically ran into her first, instead of the other way round. Literally.

I had been deep in thought and was looking in another direction, and had to steady and stop myself from stumbling and falling over when I bumped into something solid. The thing- or in this case, person- I collided with, however, was not so fortunate.

"Oof!" the voice I was getting quite accustomed to hearing cried as she got the wind knocked out of her in surprise from the sudden push. She fell frontwards and was flailing her arms wildly before landing on her knees. "...Shittt, that huuurts!"

I stood there, a curled finger to my mouth, eyes enlarging a little, as I took a step back, not really knowing what to do. I never injured a person before nor have I been so careless to bump into one, so I was unsure of how I should respond to this situation.

I could only stare as she slowly helped herself back up onto her feet, dusting her clothes off unhappily with her hands before whipping around with a scowl and a glare, "Watch where you're going, will yo- Angel?" Michelle stopped mid-growl and lucky enough for me, her anger seemed to drained away at the realization of my presence for some reason.

I nodded my head at her in greeting, still a little worried of the accident I just brought about. My eyes wandered downwards to her kneecaps, and I noticed they were slightly scraped up, raw and red in colour from her fall and I applied pressure against my lips with my finger. Truth to be told, I didn't know why I cared, but the sight bothered me horribly. I didn't appreciate being the blame of an accident.

I think she could distinguish how I was feeling from my awkward body language, since I still had on a mask of indifference, and she followed my gaze to look down at her injuries. Was she still pissed? I knew I would be.

"...Oh. Don't look so worried, Angel. It's alright," she brushed off casually with a reassuring grin when she got the message, "I hurt myself all of the time, so this is nothing new. Plus, it really isn't that painful, so you don't have to look so concerned." What? She was willing to forgive me just like that? ...Strange.

"Why do you look so taken aback?" she chuckled and I stared more at her. "I told you, it's okay. Really. It was just a tiny accident, and you don't have to feel bad about it. I can tell by your reaction that you're not used to this, are you? It's fine, I'm willing to forgive and forget, so you should too- where are you going?"

I made for the other direction quickly, and she started to follow after, but I turned around to hold a hand up at her in a stop sign, signaling her to wait for me there. Somehow, my signal got through and she obediently halted in her steps and did what she was told.

I returned approximately five minutes later from a convenience store nearby and I was relieved when I saw her still there in the distance, sitting on the side walk, watching cars speed by on the road distractedly.

"You're back!" Michelle smiled brightly, seeming to be delighted at my return and I gave her a mute nod once again to acknowledge her words. She watched me in question as I reached for something in my pocket and produced two plasters. "Oh...?"

We both remained quiet as I peeled off the cover of the plasters and directed her to stretch out her legs so I could help her apply them to her wounds. When I was done, I raised my head to look up at her. Her smile had expanded and upon the sight of it, I felt the need to avert my eyes.

"Angel..." she spoke, and I twirled my hair, almost feeling self-conscious. I didn't want her to think that motion meant anything. I was merely taking responsibility for my actions, that's all. It wasn't like I cared about her or anything of that sort. Certainly not.

She chuckled and I was wondering what was so funny until she pointed to her knees in amusement. "Why did you get me these plasters? What the hell? They're pink and have Disney Princesses on them! I'm fourteen, not six, you know!" she laughed and tenderly fingered the image of Cinderella on her right kneecap.

I found myself pouting slightly at her amusement. How was I suppose to know that she would find that to be funny? I was always under the impression that girls liked that sort of stuff. Really, she should be more grateful that I got her anything at all.

She managed to smite her giggles and told me "thank you" before she reached out and patted me warmly on the head.

At the sound of her words and the feel of her contact, I jerked backwards almost instantly, as if her hand had been a hot iron and scrambled onto my feet, feeling a sudden warmth rushing to my cheeks. What did she think she was doing? Showing me affection like I was some kind of cute, little kid?

I glared at her, unamused and tried to control the small, embarrassed blush that had appeared on my face while I rubbed my head self-consciously, as if that would've erased what she had done.

I huffed a little and decided to take my leave, a small stomp in my step, hearing her being to chuckle once again as she gingerly helped herself up off the sidewalk.

"Hey, Angel! No number today?" She called out chirpily and I just kept on going and mumbled something under my breath. Somehow, she had managed to catch me despite the low tone I was using.

"...Number One, you say? Alright then. I'll see you again, whenever! Thanks again for the plasters!" I heard as I went around the bend.

I am deathly unhappy with this outcome. Apparently, the robot that I had wanted did end up coming in about a whole two weeks earlier than expected, but I had missed out on its arrival once more.

I'm beginning to think that I'll never get it. Maybe it's just one of those things you want so badly but fate does not allow you to have so it can laugh at your misery.

Reality is cruel.

I grumpily plopped onto the park bench in front of the lake and watched as a mother duck and her ducklings waddled pass near the yellow ducklings follow their mother closely as she hopped into the water with a splash.

Unconsciously, I related what I saw with a certain Chinese girl who kept chasing me around no matter where I went. Yesterday day was the fifth time I saw her and it was when I was having lunch in a nearby cafe. It was just my luck that she was having lunch there as well.

...but I don't know. When she spotted me and waved her hand for me to come over, I obliged without much thought. I didn't even mind all that much when she was chattering away the whole time while we had our meals. I must've gotten used to it by now. In fact... I think I might have even enjoyed listening to her. Just a little. Once I really paid attention to what she was talking about, I found that what she said actually made sense, albeit the random topics.

When I left, I gave her the number Eighteen.

It was weird that my opinion of her changed so abruptly, possibly after that incident where I made her fall. I guess it was then when I started to deduce that she wasn't just chalk full of negative traits.

She was admittedly... nice. And I had a feeling that she wasn't someone you could push around either, the way she almost snapped at me, assuming that I was a stranger- although I didn't know why she stopped herself when she recognized me. So she was headstrong, as well. She was always bubbly and cheerful- something I'm not so sure of, however. I don't know what to think of people who were always like that. It was like they were too dense to see the downside of life. But I suppose in another point of view, that would be considered a good thing...

...If only she wasn't such an idiot...

"ANGEL! ANGEEEEL! I'VE BEEN LOOKING LIKE HIGH AND LOW FOR YOU!"

Speak of the devil. I looked over my shoulder and saw the girl sprinting up to me from up the pathway, swinging a plastic bag in her hand as she grinned. She was out of breath by the time where she reached to where I was and wiped the sweat off her forehead as she sat down heavily beside me, panting.

"I-I s-swear..." she breathed, wrinkling her nose at me accusingly, "You should just tell me w-where you live already to save me the trouble..."

Silly girl, I thought in my head as I waited for her to calm down. If I did that, then what kind of stalker would you be? You're supposed to find out where I live all by yourself. Such a lazy person. Now, I wonder what is so urgent this time...?

"Aaaanyway... I got something for you~!" Michelle grinned some more and shoved the plastic bag she was carrying into my arms. She nodded at it and then at me as she slumped a little from exhaustion, telling me to open it.

With a stoic expression, I stared down at the bag until I deemed it safe and not going to explode in my face before taking out whatever was inside. When I saw what was inside, I froze.

...How on EARTH did she get this...?

My lips parted in awe as I examine my gift with a mix of speculation and astonishment. It was neatly packaged, still in it's box and most definitely spanking brand new and freshly bought off the market. But how?

"The WJK model no. 808... robot toy thinger..." she sat up straight, looking at me and probably taking in the look on my face. "Wow. You must've wanted it REALLY badly. That's the most emotion I have seen you expressed since I first saw you. You're such a geek." She sniggered and I would have glared at her if I had bothered paying attention to that comment.

She must have known that I wanted answers because she shrugged and smiled at me, "Actually... I went to that store to ask about what the WJK thing was all about, and the lady explained to me that it was some kind of limited edition toy that was selling out really quickly. I put two and two together and figured that you must have wanted that toy... so I went there really early for like, what? Everyday? And asked for it... and don't look at me like that. I'm not as crazy as I sound, I promise!"

I shifted uncomfortably, not knowing why she would do something like that for me, if all I had ever been was nasty, cold and unfeeling towards her right from the start. A feeling of guilt suddenly overcame me as I thought back on my behavior.

I didn't understand why anyone would continue to be so friendly to someone like me.

"...You're not a bad person, Angel," I was stunned once again. She seemed to be able to see right through me. Nobody has ever done that before. How could that be, though? I'm quite sure that my face is still as close to unemotional as I could possibly managed. She was giving me feelings of unease again.

"...You really aren't." She told me, smiling slightly at the way I was clutching my gift tightly in my hands and staring at her, intrigued. "I can tell, you know. No bad person would give an injured person plasters. And I'm not stupid, really, even though you probably have been thinking that since you first met me, haven't you?"

"..."

"You severely disliked me from the start," she pointed out bluntly before continuing. "I'm not that much of an idiot to haven't notice that. That was why you took it upon yourself to ignore me and even though you can talk, you just refused to even speak even a sentence to me. I'm fine with that. I'm just glad that you stopped running away when you see me and that you actually bother to spend at least some time with me."

"Also, I think I figured another thing out. I've been putting a lot of thought into it; the numbers you gave me every time you leave... I just have to check something first so I can prove my theory... do you still have any more numbers to give me?"

I shook my head to indicate no and she nodded away, looking frontward to the lake.

"...You gave me four numbers. 14, 5, 1, 18. According to the alphabet, 14 is equivalent to the position of the letter 'N', 5 the letter 'E', 1 the letter 'A' and 18 the letter 'R'."

She turned back to me.

"... N, E, A, R. Near," Michelle was facing me now, eyes focused intently on my own as she whispered my alias out loud. "Near... what does that mean..?"

My hand traveled to my hair and I caught a lock and twirled it out of habit. My gray eyes were glinting in amusement and the side of my mouth tilted upwards into a smirk. I spoke clearly and smoothly.

"It means, Michelle Chua, that you do not appear as stupid as I first assumed for you to be. I apologize for that. Hello, there. My name is Near. It's a pleasure meeting you- no. It was a pleasure having met you, Michelle." I corrected myself, the smirk still playing on my lips as her jaw dropped wide open.

She didn't say anything at all for the few first minutes. Just stared at me as if I were a dream. I chuckled softly and told her that it would have been nice if she would have been this quiet all along.

She pouted at my comment, narrowed her eyes angrily, and then burst out laughing.

...Truly an enigma.