"Are you fucking serious, Gilly? What are you, a girl, with those friendship bracelets?" Angel's laughter echoed through the empty street. He leaned against the car in which they'd put her stuff, a cigarette dangling down his mouth.

Gilly shrugged his shoulders, a slight blush coloring his cheeks. "I just want her to know that she's not alone, even though it might feel like that sometimes. For eternity – that's what we always said about our friendship. But now – now she's moving to the northern part of the state and before you know it, we haven't spoken in months..."

Hopeful eyes looked up to her, hoping that she understood its importance.

Alesia wished she could smile, but she failed. She wished it did something to her, that it would warm her heart – but it didn't. Her numbness was simply too overwhelming.

In one day she had lost everything. Her parents, her beauty, her house, her life. And soon, she could add her two best friends to that list.

Gilly ignored Angel's commentary and Alesia's resignation. He held out his hand. Alesia held up hers. The bracelet he dropped in it consisted of six black braided threads, of which the middle two were held together by an iron infinity sign.

It looked cool, Alesia had to give him that.

"Thank you," she said softly.

Angel pushed himself away from the car, curious now and looked over Gilly's shoulder. "That thing looks like something I should recognize."

"The infinity symbol," Gilly said, his voice a little offended because his friend needed an explanation. "You know. Infinite friendship or something." He shrugged his shoulders. "Mom said it was nice."

His last addition made Angel chuckle. "It was cool until you mentioned your mom."

"Don't mess with him, Angel," Alesia sighed.

Their eyes met. She knew his lightness was nothing but an act; his way to deal with what had happened. In silence, he took the bracelet from Gilly, where after the three shoved it around their wrists. They raised their hands, stared at it for a while. Both boys wrapped an arm around her shoulders and around each other's, as did she.

Her eyes were stinging as if the tears were ready to come, but after the past weeks not a single tear was left. She bent her head and rested it against her two best friends.

"For eternity," she whispered.

Two words that had completely lost their meaning, in recent days. Nevertheless, it gave her a bit of comfort.

"For eternity," the two boys agreed.

Alesia was sitting on the edge of the bed. Her thumb followed the infinity symbol of the bracelet. She had moved to Oakland a month ago to live with her granny. The woman had barely spoken to her; she was tormented by her own grief. Losing a child was something no parent should go through, no matter their age.

Alesia cared more for her grandmother than the other way around. She ran errands, cooked, made sure the woman ate. She didn't mind – it kept her busy. If not, she was afraid she would just stare like the old woman herself, with eyes seeing nothing.

Today however she had to leave the house; it was her first day at her new school. She didn't look forward to it, to go to a place where everyone had known each other for years. The Holidays had ended two months ago, she would be the only new face. A nightmare for every teenager – and she was one who looked like a freak.

She got up from the bed and walked over to the mirror. Her thumb stroked the fiery scar running across her eye. The artificial eye was new; she'd gotten it a few days ago and she still had a hard time getting used to it. Sometimes the wound would still sting. With a sigh, she stared at her mutilated face. She had considered trying to cover her face, but there was no point in it. She couldn't hide who she was.

A victim of a gruesome crime.

She had no choice, she had to bite the bullet. People would stare at her for the rest of her life. Deep inside however there was this little hope, the hope they wouldn't stare at her and pretend that she looked like everyone else.

They didn't.

Whispers followed her through the hallways of her new school. Girls stared, boys snickered. She ignored them, told herself she was here to graduate. Crouching down in front of her locker she put the books away she didn't need for the next classes; holding the covers close to her face because her intact eye wasn't able to correct the missing abilities of the other.

"Hey, the freak circus is one street further ahead," a mocking voice sounded.

From the corner of her eye she saw a shadow. Alesia pretended she hadn't heard the comment and continued with what she had been doing until only the stuff she needed was in her bag. Then she stood up. She wanted to turn away from the boy, but he grabbed her arm and turned her back roughly.

"Who the hell do you think you are? You think the rules don't apply to you just because you're new and ugly?"

Alesia clenched her fist. Growing up with guys like Angel had taught her how to throw a good punch. However, she knew nobody here; the boys who always had her back were no longer around. She was all alone and there wasn't much harm she could cause this walking closet.

The chuckling in the background told her he wasn't alone.

"Leave me alone," she said, tearing her arm away from him. He let go of her immediately, so she lost her balance and fell against the lockers. Laughter arose around her. Shame made her face burn.

The bully stepped closer again, staring down at her. "What are you willing to do to be left alone? I don't do favors like that for nothing."

Alesia was still silent and tried to pull herself away from him.

"It's just your eye that ain't working, huh? Nothing wrong with your mouth," the boy growled. "And you should know that –"

Suddenly he was thrown against the lockers. The laughter died away. While he pushed himself away from the wall, another boy grabbed him by the collar and punched him right in the face. "You ever talk to her again and I give you two of those eyes, you got that?" a threatening voice sounded.

As tough as the boy might have felt; right now he couldn't wait to leave. A little dazed Alesia looked up to her savior. Just like she he was Hispanic, although his eyes were remarkably blue.

"You okay?" he asked. First he looked at her intact eye, then his glance moved briefly to the scar.

"Yeah," she answered quietly.

"Just stay close to me," he said. "Then no one's gonna hurt ya."

Alesia didn't ask why. Something about his demeanor reminded her of Angel, who could be very harsh towards others but had a heart of gold. She immediately felt safe around him.

"What's your name?" he asked as they headed toward what Alesia thought was the cafeteria.

"Alesia." She peeked at his handsome face. "And yours?"

"Esai. Esai Alvarez."

He looked at her as if that name sound mean something to her, but it didn't.

She nodded. "Thank you. You always patrol the hallways to save outcasts?"

"Only the pretty, ones" he winked.

She felt her cheeks flush. She had been convinced nobody would ever call her pretty again.