Having said good riddance to the school property, Ava led me through the busy park as she wanted to explore the area she was living in. Of course, Ava had done this unwittingly. However, this was still the same park we had met in that night - the same park we had made that promise in. Needless to say, it stung quite a lot being there. Yet, I remained silent.

"This place is beautiful..." Ava kneeled down and touched the Periwinkle. "It's so much prettier here."

"That's because the only thing people here care about is image." I sneered. "This place is all about how you look, how your house looks. They are so caught up in their appearances that they forget about what matters - they forget about what it's like to actually feel something. This place isn't beautiful...it's not anything but...plastic."

"Wow." Ava stood up and turned her head. "I'm surprised that you're speaking so highly of this place."

I made note of her obvious sarcasm, and nodded. Truthfully, it had made me smile. Something that I had not truly done in quite some time. A real, hearty smile was something that I hadn't done since Kylie died, and to be honest, It felt nice being able to smile without being judged, or looked at the wrong way.

"But seriously, isn't everyone like that?" Ava asked. "Whether we like it or not, we all wear different masks for different reasons. We all hide our real selves; to prevent being judged, to lie, to cheat. Everyone has at least one, and we both are no different."

"Lets-"

I was interrupted. Not by Ava, nor was it by anything human. What had interrupted my words was a stray soccer ball that had clipped my cheek, and then went on to hit Ava square in the face. Ava collapsed, pressing her hand against her eye. It was at that moment that I felt it, and heard it. Everything had come rushing back. The trembling, the sounds of crying, the sound of violence - it all came back like a vengeful spirit, all along with that too familiar twisting.

I snapped, and immediately headed towards the person I had assumed kicked the ball. The word snap, in and of itself, was likely an understatement in this case. It might be more accurate to say that I was no longer myself - that I had reverted into nothing but a primitive, feral beast.

"Hey, bro." I reached him as he began to speak. "I'm sorry about that. We cool?"

"...No." I returned.

Swinging with a fully loaded fist, it connected with the side of his face. He tried to return a punch of his own. I swayed to the left, causing him to miss the mark on top of leaving himself wide open. As he tumbled forward, I sent a knee into his stomach and followed it with an elbow to the back of his head. He hit the ground face first, dropping like a dead fly.

An accident that could have been handled maturely, at least on my part, had turned into yet another fight - and would only serve to cause more violence. I suddenly snapped back to reality, and thoughtlessly turned around, having remembered that Ava was the one who took the brunt of that "accident". With her hand still over her eye, Ava was continued towards me.

Just as I had quietly sighed my relief, I heard a voice.

"Jesus, dude!" the feminine voice flew past me, to whom I had assumed was her boyfriend. "It was an accident. Do you think he really deserved this?"

As the footsteps grew closer, I had assumed that it was her approaching me in place of her unconscious, douchebag of a boyfriend. A hand clutched onto my shoulder, and then it pulled me around, twirling me in a circle. At that moment, I found it impossible to believe my eyes. I hadn't expected her, of all people, to be at the same exact add  place at the exact same time I had been - especially with a guy like him.

"C-Cyrus..." she stuttered.

I had barely recognized her. She had been a shell of her former self, and her former beauty. Skinny as a rail, black bags under her eyes, and yellow teeth weren't something I had ever, ever expected to see out of someone who had once had the wish of being a model. I could have only guessed her reasons for falling so far, and that hadn't been anything close to something that I wanted to do.

"Maggie?" I asked, unsure if it truly was her. "What...happened to you?"

"What do you mean? It's been the same old, same old for me. You..." Her eyes suddenly began to widen as she trailed off.

Her expression flipped like a coin, from excited to sad, animated to repulsed. Maggie, who had already been holding her bicep with her left hand, began to squeeze even tighter. Her nails were clearly digging into her skin, but as painful as it had looked, I did absolutely nothing to stop her--rather, I didn't know how to.

Looking out from the corner of my right eye, I saw Ava looking with a curious stare and an unbefitting frown. My eyes flicked back and forth between Ava and Maggie, and anyone with normal eyes would have been able to see it clearly. Maggie was glaring at Ava without hesitation, for reasons unknown. What I did do, however, was step into Maggie's line of sight, cutting her off from Ava.

"She looks just like her." Maggie looked back at me. "...Is she your new girlfriend?"

"No, she isn't." I replied, beginning to turn around. "Even if she was, it's not like it would be any of your business."

"Good for you, Cyrus. But all you're doing is replacing one for another." Maggie spoke loudly, clearly aggravated. "I was the only person who tried to help you afterwards, I was the only one there to help you pick up the pieces! You motherfucker!"

"Yeah, and look at you now."

As I took Ava by her arm, we began to walk away. Maggie, however, continued to scream herself hoarse with pejorative words pointed at my back, along with what she thought she had done for me. Though partially she spoke the truth, the only thing I could do was ignore her words. That was the only thing I could do to stop myself, to contain myself inside and out.

...It was the only thing I could do.

---

I had practically dragged Ava away from the park. I was sick with anger, so much so that I had completely forgotten she had been with me. Even through that, I hadn't let go - and for that, I had no answers. None for myself, and none for her. I was confused, lost in my own thoughts, buried in moments of the past.

"Aiden!" her yell finally shot through my ears. "Slow down!"

I stopped, letting go of her arm. "Sorry...You all right?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." she answered with her hand at her hip. "I'm just a little dizzy."

I guess it wasn't all that surprising, such a small girl had taken a full speed, male-kicked soccer ball to the face. As a matter of fact, I would have been more surprised if she came out completely fine. Maybe I was overreacting, or maybe I felt as though I needed to take some sort of responsibility for a mess that I felt I created. I honestly didn't know why I did it, or why I had even felt the need to.

I lowered myself and put my hands behind my back. "Get on."

"Are you kidding?" I heard a slight laugh escape her mouth. "I can walk fine on my--"

"Shut up and get on, or else I'll throw you over my shoulder and carry you that way."

"Fine, I'll get on..." Ava trailed off momentarily, just before footsteps could be heard. "Just don't turn around, or drop me."

An air of silence took over as a small pair of hands gripped my shoulder, and then came the added weight. With her arms around my neck and my hands wrapped around her thin, lissome thighs, I pushed myself up. At that near noiseless moment, I felt my heart pummel my insides, like a stick to a drum. It had felt so loud, so heavy - so familiar.

I focused on walking, remaining quiet as my chest continued to rap ruthlessly. I knew this feeling well, as I had experienced it so many times before. Yet, at that place and time, I hadn't known how to deal with it. It had been so long, that I had forgotten how to deal with those excruciating feelings, those neverending sounds.

That feeling, in and of itself, scared me to no end.

Ava rested her chin on my shoulder. "I won't ask."

"What are you going on about?" I asked, studying the cracks in the sidewalk as they appeared.

"Obviously some heavy stuff happened..." Ava gave a muted, if not hesitant, reply. "I know there's things I don't want people to ask me, so...it's like a "treat people the way you want to be treated" type of thing for me."

Lowering my head, I didn't respond. I hadn't said anything back to her because she had struck something of a chord with me. It had been selfish to think that I had been only one in the world with problems. I was self-centered, so caught up in myself that I ignored the problems of the people around me. It was a reality check, one I definitely hadn't liked.

"It wasn't anything heavy at all." I lied through my teeth, laughing to add realism. "She was the older sister of an ex that I had a bad break-up with. Nothing more, nothing less."

Why had I lied? She had so clearly told me that she wouldn't ask about anything, yet I had went and spouted a lie that hadn't even been close to being true. What had I been trying to gain by lying to a person I had only just met? It was in this moment of self-reflection that I stumbled upon the answer.

That feeling and that sound in my chest, the way I had been unable to look away from her, and even the lie. They all came together at once, painting the clearest picture I had ever seen. It was so obvious that it had made feel stupid, clueless to the point of obliviousness. The answer to everything was being carried on my back...

Ava was my second chance.