I was angry. I was sad. But most of all, I hated everything around me. It was as if the world was revolving in a certain way just to go against me.

You see, I had been consumed by my sadness for the first few days after my cat had passed away, and then the anger began to grow. Yeah, sure, you probably think that's a stupid reason to be upset. You don't know my life. He was my everything. He was in my life as long as I could remember. And now, he was gone. My life was destroyed because life moved on without me. And so this is where you will find me: in my apartment, by myself, hidden from the world.

My friends were there for me at first; if anyone was a good friend, they would show that they cared. But the longer it went on, the less they cared. It's now been two weeks since that day has passed, and I still find myself looking around the room or listening for a quiet meow. According to the rest of the world, I should only be sad for a day, three days at most. After that, you're supposed to go on like everything is fine. But it isn't. And it never will be now that my friends have left me. I can hear their whispers, see their stares. They have become part of the society that doesn't care.

Every day was difficult. I continued my work at a bakery, but only because I knew I couldn't remove myself from the world. Completely shutting down wasn't an option. I hid myself in the back and did as much baking as possible to avoid any sort of contact with the outside world. Even my boss left me alone instead of trying to talk. I locked myself in my apartment for every other moment of the day when I wasn't at work. No friends, no neighbors, no person to bother me.

For the first time in a long time, a knock echoed through my apartment. I continued to sit on my couch for a few more seconds until the knock came again. I slowly got up and made my way over to the door. I paused for a moment. "Danni, I know you're in there," the voice said.

Of all the people it could have been, it had to be him. I pulled the door open, a frown settling on my face. "What do you want?"

He was bundled up in a black jacket while a yellow scarf covered his mouth and nose from the harsh cold outside. I shivered lightly when the wind found its way inside. "Can I come in? It's too cold out here to talk." His voice sounded quieter and flatter than it was when he normally talked to me.

I moved to the side and he walked in. He shed his jacket and scarf after I closed the door. His hat, too, was left behind. I vaguely remembered getting upset with him for wearing it inside once. He went into my living room and sat down on the couch, right next to where I had been sitting. I followed him partway, although I didn't sit down. He's done nothing but tease and annoy me since all of us, him and our friends, started hanging out together. "If I wanted a pest, I would've called," I snapped lightly.

"I know." It didn't look like my words fazed him at all. "I just came to see you. You haven't been around for a while."

I looked away from him. "No shit. I didn't want to come around."

I heard a small sigh. He sounded… almost tired. What was bothering him that much? I've only seen him act like this once before. It was back when his mother went into the hospital and no one was sure if she would come back out. It made my chest hurt a little bit. "Law, did something happen?"

He must have heard my fear. He got up quickly and shook his head. "No, it's nothing. Danni, I wanted to make sure you were all right. I know- I heard what happened with Sora." Just hearing his name was enough to break my heart. I turned away from Law and tried to bear down on my emotions before anything could escape. He walked around me and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Do you remember back when my mother was sick?" His voice sounded a little hoarse. I nodded. "You came up to my own apartment to check on me. You asked if I needed a hug. Now I'm going to ask the same of you: do you need one?"

I nodded, tears building up in my eyes, and put my arms around him. I could feel his arms doing the same and I cried. I'd been trying for so long to hold everything in and bury it all, but I couldn't. After a little while, he led me back to the couch and I finally sat down. My breathing was still shaky, but I had calmed down slightly.

He leaned back and pulled me so I was leaning against him. For once, I was grateful it was him who was still with me. He kept an arm around me, making me feel less blocked off from the world. "Would it be stupid of me to ask how you've been holding up?"

After so many days of nothing but sadness and anger, mirth began to bubble up my throat. It sounded much funnier in my current state than it normally would have. "I'm still here," I answered, my statement punctuated by a sniffle. "Why did you come here? No one else wanted to talk with me anymore."

There was a small pause. "The group isn't the same now." He was so quiet. "You were the one bringing us together and no one really wants to hang out when there's a cloud that hangs over us. And truthfully," he added, "I've missed you."

I shook my head. "You missed having someone to prod," I muttered.

"At least it got your attention." What did he mean by that? "You would have ignored me otherwise. And it kept the rest from monopolizing you." His laugh sounded weak and empty. "Would you have allowed me to be with you otherwise?"

How did I go from being sad and comforted to be confessed to? I turned and placed my head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I didn't notice," I muttered. Silence filled the room, nothing impeding on the comfort. "In two days, he'll have been gone three weeks." It was sad, but it didn't hurt quite as much as it the first few days.

"It was a year yesterday that she's been gone." One year? It felt like a block hit me in the chest. His mother died just over a year ago.

I did my best to give him a hug while we sat. "I can't believe it's been that long since she left. Is that why you're tired?"

He gave me a nod. "Yeah." He didn't add anything else. "Thank you."

That came out of nowhere. "For what?" I was started to get tired from all of these emotions.

"You were the only one who came that day. You were the last person to come see her before she… left. She always told me you were too kind for this world. She loved you all the more for it." He took a deep, careful breath. "So, thank you."

I closed my eyes. "Promise me something. Promise you won't try to make me mad like you used to. I don't want to risk losing the only person who cares." I don't want to lose the only one who hears me.

"I won't."

Here's another addition for my series. Send some ideas for more chapters and characters. Have you figured out the pattern yet?

I'll see again, my little monsters.

-Levvi