REVISED.

"Kirsten Carlisle!"

The screech brought the chattering voices that filled the classroom to an immediate pause, resulting in every pair of eyes in the room to land on the young girl with that very name.

Kirsten Carlisle wasn't your typical thirteen year old girl. Growing up in a children's home, or as she preferred to just call it what it was - an orphanage - was just one of the many reasons why. It's not like the children at home were the most welcoming. The hushed whispers, harsh teasing, and physical violence thrown her way since a young age took a toll on her. Although from her observations, she had concluded that's what most children dealt in their lives at some point. Of course, most probably experienced these issues at school, and not at home like her. She did know a boy who experienced the harsh brutality at home as well. It hardened her in a way and for that she was grateful. It's helped her deal with nuisances in her life; like the incompetent teacher standing in front of her for one.

What was it that made her unusual though? It could be the fact that she always happened to bear witness to the strangest occurrences. Occurrences that seemed to align with her frame of thinking. A couple of months ago, it was the was clock on the wall during a detention she was serving. The clock's hands kept moving to the time of dismissal every ten minutes or so, whenever she'd wish she would just leave. Considering she was the only one in the room, her teacher immediately pinned the blame on her but the man had gotten so frustrated and confused when he realized she was still seated, that he dismissed her early.

There were even times she had found herself front and center of these odd occurrences.

Like the time she almost died. It happened years ago, where all the children in the home were taken on trip to the beach. A teenage boy named Patrick, who had lived with them, dragged her to the cliffs and pushed her off. She couldn't really remember much afterward except the blinding pain that coursed through her body. She should have been dead but instead, she was found on a large boulder by the matron of the children's home, Catherine DuPont. And what happened to the boy that pushed her off? He happened to have third degree burns that marred his body and was comatose for a year before being declared brain dead. She was only seven years old at the time.

But that wasn't what made her an unusual teenager. It was the fact that even with a past and present so dark and bleak, she was able to manage a smile. Of course, the current smile on her face was one of mocking toward the woman that just screeched her name, but it was still a smile. And when it came to the young teenager, the sound of her name being bellowed from an adult was routine in her life. She wholeheartedly blamed her brazen behavior on the cold environment she called home for twelve or so years.

Rolling her eyes, the young girl turned around to come face to face with a rather slender woman. Soft brown curls rested along the her shoulders, her light blue eyes piercing into Kirsten's. Unfortunately, for the woman, the cold look that she sent the girl's way didn't faze her in the slightest as she stared right back at her.

"Really, there's no need to yell," Kirsten said, eyeing the woman before her. "I'm right here."

Kirsten's response seemed to irk the woman, her teacher who went by Mrs. Adams, even further. Mrs. Adam's cold blue eyes narrowed in the girl's direction, while Kirsten quickly glanced at the clock past the woman's head.

"Well, Carlisle, you have once again disrupted my class, and now you're trying to leave. Truancy can earn you detention," Mrs. Adams finished. As if that was going to stop teenager from leaving. The woman clearly forgot that summer holiday started in only a few short minutes.

"Now why would I ever attempt such a trivial sport?" Kirsten replied jokingly, refocusing her gaze back on the woman. The smile still hadn't left her face before continuing, "Takes some serious skill, you know."

"Carlisle, when you come back to school next year, I will make sure you get detention for—Carlisle, get back here now!" Mrs. Adams screamed as the girl started her way towards the door. Kirsten cringed at the shriek and immediately pitied the woman's husband.

Their arguments must be absolutely terrifying.

Turning her head back around to face the furious woman, Kirsten threw the woman a knowing look.

"That's ridiculous, Stephanie. How many times have I missed your class this year?" she said, tilting her head and shrugging her shoulders. "It's a pity no one's bothered to tell you that your class is senseless. Or maybe it's just you."

A look of shock crossed Mrs. Adams's features as Kirsten rolled her eyes. The woman was an absolute loon who harassed her since her first day of class. It didn't matter if it was the last day of term, this was something she held all year long and the woman had to know.

"Carlisle…"

"And I'm outta here," the girl muttered quickly, taking quick strides out the door that led into the wide hallway.

Readjusting the strap of her bag, Kirsten glimpsed over at the furious woman exiting the classroom and gave her a mocking wave. The bell rang a second later, simultaneously releasing a wave of students and aiding in Kirsten's disguise to get out of the school. Shouts from the woman in the distance reached Kirsten's ears, calling her name but she ignored it. She had to be an absolute moron if she were to go back.

Excited and chatty students invaded the curly headed teenager's space as they surrounded her and filled the hall. She heard bits and pieces of where some of the students were going on holiday as they explained to their friends. And it didn't take long to find herself outside of the school, a sigh escaping her lips as she thought of what she'll be going home to.

"Wicked Witch of the West, here I come," she muttered to herself, realizing that Mrs. Adams would definitely be phoning DuPont. But a small grin snuck onto her face at the memory of watching The Wizard of Oz.

If only it was as easy as throwing water.

Kirsten's feet effortlessly guided her on the short trek home but stopped short at the steps leading into the large house. Her hesitancy didn't last long and she moved forward to open the door, peaking her head around to see if Madame DuPont was anywhere in sight.

With no physical sign of the woman in the vicinity, Kirsten quickly checked the stairway stretching from her left to see that it was clear. Trying not to apply much pressure on the floorboards, she headed towards her goal that was the large living room, figuring it was best to blend with the other children.

The familiar heads of her fellow inhabitants all turned in Kirsten's direction when she peered through the door, and despite several looks of loathing, she let out a small "ha!" in triumph.

"Carlisle…"

"Ah, damn," Kirsten muttered.

The curly headed teen reluctantly turned herself around to face the woman the voice belonged to, her grey eyes landing on the tall blonde woman she was trying to avoid. "I was just on the phone with Mrs. Adams."

Whirling around, the blonde woman began to walk off in the direction of her office, motioning for Kirsten to follow. However, the girl had to blink back her surprise at the calm demeanor the woman had taken with her.

It was an odd move for the lady considering she would generally reprimand her on sight.

"Did she tell you that I was arguing with her again?" Kirsten asked, testing the tall woman that she was walking beside. She glanced at DuPont, who's pursed lips thinned into nothingness.

"Yes."

"Well, I wasn't," the girl said simply, shrugging her shoulders, "I was merely pointing out something that contradicted what she was teaching in class. It's her fault for losing her temper on a child, so why wouldn't I want to walk out of her class?" And with that said, Madame DuPont's eyes narrowed into slits as she opened the door for the teenager to enter.

Kirsten could've sworn she saw the small tug at the corner of the DuPont's lips, before her folded to a thin line and held the door open for her.

Entering the room, Kirsten's eyes immediately landed on a familiar looking woman, sitting down comfortably at DuPont's desk. The woman's eyes were now directly on the young girl.

It was DuPont's cousin.

The green tweed outfit seemed rather snug on her wide frame and Kirsten had half a mind to comment, but decided to hold her tongue just this once. Instead the girl noted in her head how odd it was that the woman wasn't wearing her usual hideous pink getup; it was much easier to attribute her features to a pig that way.

Though the green really did bring out her toad-like features now that she thought about it.

Glancing back down at the papers on her desk, the wide woman piled them quickly into a folder and stood up.

"Well, look who it is," Kirsten muttered, making herself comfortable in the seat placed in front of the desk. "It's the She-devil herself."

The woman didn't flinch at hearing Kirsten's quiet insult. Instead her lips curled up into a rather nasty smile.

"Hello to you too, Kirsten," a high pitched and girlish voice exited the woman's mouth. The wide set woman made sure to grab her case before heading toward the door, passing Kirsten on the way. "I'm terribly sorry I won't be here to discipline you but I guess that will have to wait, won't it? Have a lovely holiday."

What an outrageous cu -

"Are you even listening to me?" DuPont snapped, looking irritated beyond belief and settling herself down in her chair. Kirsten didn't even realize that DuPont was speaking all this time since her attention was on the awful woman who had just left.

"Yeah, you mentioned a load of cro — words along the lines of how I inappropriately addressed Mrs. Adams… that happened to embarrass her in front of the entire class," Kirsten said, hoping that it was something along those lines. She inwardly sighed with relief when the woman did not begin to berate her for not recalling the one-sided conversation incorrectly. "I think its very kind to call someone by their first name. It means that we're friends, right Catherine?"

She really need to stop infuriating the hell out of everyone.

"That is the thirteenth time you acted out this year in class," DuPont said, glaring at the grey eyed girl.

"It's not my fault the woman has it in for me!" Kirsten responded, crossing her right leg over her left and leaning back in her seat.

"You are not allowed out of this house unless I say otherwise," she stated, moving several papers off her desk. Biting her tongue, Kirsten tried her hardest not to come off as angry so DuPont wouldn't know that she was actually furious for a change.

"Not even for a happy stroll in the neighborhood?" Kirsten asked cheekily. The woman raised up a thin blonde eyebrow in response.

Damn it.

"So, Carlisle, grounded for the whole holiday, again?" Kirsten heard the joyful voice gloat.

She merely glanced in the direction of the voice to see the honey brown haired girl that had always despised her for some reason. Kirsten could only roll her eyes at the girl's feeble attempt to get her riled up. Despite the foul greeting, Kirsten threw a smile at the brunette and the group of girls gathered around the sofa in the living room.

She was used to them and their despicable behavior.

"Yes, Victoria. And my time spent in this magnificent house with the absolutely best people will be the most outstanding summer I've had my whole entire life," Kirsten replied sarcastically, heading towards an empty armchair that was further away from the group of bullies. One of the girls whispered "freak" and the whole group of girls started to giggle.

It was funny and slightly pathetic that Victoria needed her groupies to insult and laugh at Kirsten in order to make her feel better.

Kirsten glanced their way before looking out the window only to look at them again, a plan formulated in her mind to shut them up.

"Sociopath is a much better term," Kirsten informed them knowingly.

The girls looked on with confused expressions on their faces with the exception of two.

"What are you on about, Carlisle?"

"Well, you see, a sociopath lacks a conscience. I was reading a book on general psychology at a bookstore one time and found out symptoms of sociopaths…"

"When the bloody hell do you ever read?" one of the girl's asked, amusement clearly evident in her voice. Kirsten's eyes met the owner of the voice and she gave her a little grin.

"Last holiday," she reminded the girl, and Sophia let out a low chuckle.

"Now I remember. You became a nerd when Madame —"

"Yeah, I think we all know and remember those times," Kirsten interrupted impatiently, not trying to divert the subject any longer. "Some sociopaths tend to go on a murdering rampage, and still don't regret their actions."

"So put two and two together, and you equal Kirsten doing something appalling to you all in your sleep," she finished rather happily, adding a little smile to further their mingled horror and shock.

Kirsten's eyes traveled across the room to the television, where many of the other children were seated around. Their eyes all glued to the screen with the exception of one pair. Blue eyes distracted her attention from the television, and she a smile spread on the owner's lips. He had obviously heard what had transpired between her and the girls.

"Hi Kirsten," the boy greeted, and Kirsten couldn't help the smile that graced her lips.

"Hey, Aaric."

The other boys and girls around him, eyed the two quickly before tuning back to their program. And from the corner of her eye, Kirsten saw Victoria seething while the girls around her were chatting about something from the magazines in their hands. It was no secret Victoria liked Aaric ever since he stepped through the doors two years ago.

Kirsten had gotten to know him well since he arrived despite the fact that he was shipped off to a boarding school during the majority of the year, only returning for the holidays. He had just come back to the house from school a couple of days ago. Everyone in the home found him fascinating since he was practically a mystery to everyone. He never spoke about his past so none of the kids knew what happened that ended up with him at Blake's Home for Children. Combine his mysterious nature with his good looks and friendly demeanor, and the kids at the home were wrapped around his finger.

However, Kirsten had found him odd since the day he set foot in their home. The way he seemed to draw close to her from the get go and never seemed to back down. He obviously heard the whispers from the other children about her and he immediately began speaking to her in front of the others rather than behind her back.

He had somehow made her life easier when she thought it was going to be a lot harder, after losing contact with the one friend she ever had.

"There's a couple coming tomorrow."

Kirsten eyed the group of girls settled around the television, coming to a halt toward the stairs to check to see if that statement was directed to her. Once she put the face to the voice and spotting Victoria among them, she continued to walk past.

"And I heard Madame say they are definitely looking to adopt," the brunette added smugly.

Kirsten raised an eyebrow at her, wiping the sweat from her brow and stopping once again. She glanced at the stairs and then looked back at Victoria, contemplating whether she should stay or go especially in her current state. Sweat drenched her clothes, green grass stained her knees, and she was sure a bug or two might be crawling somewhere on her body. She really wanted to take a shower after playing and winning a rough game outside with several of the boys.

"Do you realize I don't care?" Kirsten asked her.

"It's definitely not going to be you," Victoria continued, watching Kirsten pick at her sweaty shirt. "Nobody wants to adopt a bitch."

The curly haired teenager raised an eyebrow at the girl. "So will you be hiding up in your room too?"

Giggles could be heard from the group of girls at Kirsten's remark, causing Victoria to scowl and Kirsten to flash a mocking smile in her direction before turning to head up the stairs.

"Like you did?" Victoria remarked. "With Patrick?"

Silence filled the room. No one spoke as the name resonated through the room and Kirsten froze in her tracks at the name. Slowly, she turned to face Victoria.

"Excuse you?"

Victoria couldn't possibly know what happened. How could she know about him? It was years before she came to Blake's. Hell, it was years before most of the orphans here were orphans.

"Nobody likes you," Victoria continued, not realizing how close Kirsten was getting to her. "I can't blame Patrick for what he did –"

Kirsten didn't let Victoria finish her sentence as she swung her fist as hard as she could at the girl's face. Victoria landed on the floor from impact and Kirsten stood over her. Loose strands of black hair spilled onto her face as her grey eyes narrowed with contempt at the girl on the floor. She had half a mind to kick the girl right in the face as she laid on the floor but went against it, turning to go up the stairs.

Before her foot could reach the bottom step, Kirsten felt hands wrapping around her neck. Reaching for the pair of hands, Kirsten tried to pry the fingers off of her neck but they wouldn't budge. Little black dots began to obscure Kirsten's vision as she felt her breath leave her and a sharp pain in her chest. Kirsten jabbed her elbow behind to hit Victoria and fell to the floor, taking in as much air as she could. Fortunately, the black dots faded from her vision and she quickly turned to see Victoria, clutching her stomach. It was then that Kirsten almost felt sorry for the girl, but that thought shattered as she felt another sharp pain in her stomach.

Grey orbs met Victoria's navy blue eyes and a pent up fury built up in Kirsten. Victoria's eyes widened as Kirsten brought down a curled fist, swinging it on Victoria's cheek. Hard.

Shrieking pierced her ears, but it didn't faze Kirsten in the slightest as she slammed down another fist onto the girl's reddened cheek. The feud ended when a fist collided into the side of Kirsten's face, causing her head to turn to the side and bringing her out of her flurry of punches. Tears began to well up at the hard impact and Kirsten wiped away the evidence of the tears with her shirt.

Then it happened.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

She could hear them. The sounds that drove her into a fury. The noises that sounded like voices. Voices that pushed her to a desperation and desire of wanting to cause pain she was suffering from to everyone in close proximity.

Kirsten never wanted to wish harm on anyone but in that moment, she wanted to kill Victoria. The girl tormented her for years, spread rumors like wildfire, and most of all brought up a name she never wanted to hear again.

"Leave me alone!" Kirsten hissed angrily, eyes on the staircase but her focus clearly on the girl.

As Kirsten looked back at Victoria, who had been moved several meters away and surrounded by some of her friends, her eyes widened. Victoria's body jerked back suddenly — as if an invisible lasso had been tied around her body — breaking free from her friends' grasps, and was flung right against the wall behind her. It wasn't too far or hard enough to knock her unconscious but it still caused Victoria to scream.

The blood in Kirsten's veins ran cold while staring at the space Victoria occupied earlier. And it wasn't for Victoria's well-being….

"What did you DO?!"

The ear deafening shriek from Victoria's best friend, Kate, brought Kirsten from her reverie. With Victoria's ear piercing scream and Kate's deafening shriek, the back door burst open in mere seconds with the boys filing through, sweaty from another round of football. It wasn't long until Madame DuPont came rushing towards the scene from her office, looking around for the source of panic. Her questioning gaze lingered on Kirsten before they moved to who the girls were all crowded around.

"What happened?" the woman asked, moving to where the other orphans were heading and bent over Victoria.

"Looks like Victoria's just got her ass kicked," Aaric said, trying to control his laughter and failing miserably at it. His cerulean blue eyes left Victoria's form and looked over at the girl responsible for her condition. Kirsten couldn't help the small smile that slid onto her face when he winked at her, and she noticed that several of the boys were trying to control their laughter as well. It wasn't every day that some of the boys laughed at Victoria's misfortune.

"Aaric, this is no laughing matter," DuPont snapped at the black haired boy. "You two as well, Oliver, Gregory."

"I don't… I don't know…" Kate began when the administrator looked upon her once again, "Kirsten said something really mean to Vicky and she ignored her. But Kirsten punched her…. And then Vicky was telling her to stop and then she gets thrown to the wall. Kirsten wasn't even near Victoria when she threw her. Something just threw her back! Kirsten did something to her!" Kate exclaimed, stifling her quiet sobs and pointing her index finger in the suspect's direction.

Everyone in the room became silent and all eyes were on the accused. Sophia glanced at her guiltily but did nothing to defend her, though the stare coming from Aaric was one of interest; like he knew something that she didn't. She saw how the sixteen-year-old boy's eyes flickered over to Madame DuPont, then back at her. The matron, however, stood up from where she was kneeling and whirled around to face Kirsten.

"William, Sophia, take Victoria to my car," the woman instructed, pulling out a pair of keys. As the trio walked away, Kirsten caught a glimpse of girl's messy hair and bloody lip. It wasn't Victoria's disheveled appearance that got Kirsten's lips twitching upward; it was the sight of the brunette's painfully twisted right arm.

"Explain."

"I started it. Everything. It wasn't Victoria's fault," Kirsten lied, all traces of amusement left her face. There was no way she was going to talk about Patrick here. Not in front of everyone.

Kirsten eyes drifted from the people scattered around the room to DuPont. Her cold brown eyes pierced Kirsten, and the girl knew that this will not bode well.

"And you threw Victoria as well?"

Silence rung throughout the living area with all eyes were on her. A ghost of a smile splayed on Kirsten's face as she looked directly at DuPont.

"Can I throw a cow?" she questioned. With the look on matron's face, Kirsten thought she was clearly going to get slapped right then and there. However, the woman did nothing but glare at her. "Obviously not. She wasn't even close to me –"

"She's lying, Madame!" Kate yelled in Victoria's defense. "She did something weird again! Like that time during the field trip!"

Kirsten's jaw dropped as she stared at Kate in disbelief, and she could feel all the stares once again. Watching the girl in front of her, Kirsten wanted nothing but to punch Kate as hard as she could. She forgot that Kate was one of the few in the orphanage that was here when Patrick was around. She had to have been the one who told Victoria.

As soon as Kirsten caught a slight twitch on Kate's face, she realized what was going on. Kate was baiting her. Trying to make her snap.

"You don't even know what weird is," Kirsten said.

"Go clean yourself up and stay in your room, Kirsten," she heard Madame DuPont command. Kirsten's eyes snapped in the woman's direction, who was no longer looking at her, before she turned away and up the stairs.

The trip back to her room was quick and short. No one dared to talk to her and she could hear the whispers coming from the others. It was then that Kirsten made up her mind as she entered her small room.

Closing the door behind her, Kirsten grabbed her schoolbag and dumped the contents out. She watched as the last bits of crumpled paper hit the floor and walked towards the small wardrobe. Several clothes were piled into her bag in a matter of minutes along with a small stack of paper notes, coins, and some nonperishable snacks that she had casually sneaked from the kitchen.

CLICK.

She shoved the bag quickly in her wardrobe after closing it, and jumped on her bed before the door swung open. Her eyes strayed over to see blue eyes staring curiously at her. It was Aaric.

The boy was a complete anomaly to her. Here he was standing in her room alone looking to talk after what just happened downstairs with Victoria. He didn't look fearful like the other kids, but intrigued.

"Hey," she greeted lamely. She was a bit out of breath considering she quickly threw her bag in her wardrobe. Or maybe it because the boy was incredibly good looking.

"Hey," he replied, smiling at her and closing her door. Kirsten watched him warily as he came closer to her, remembering the way he was looking at her downstairs. She hoped for his sake he wasn't going to ask her questions about what happened.

The bed creaked as he sat down next to her, head tilted, and blue eyes on her.

Not many things bothered Kirsten especially when it came to Aaric, but this was downright unnerving. She wasn't used to being in close proximity with anyone unless they were doing so in a threatening way.

"What?" she questioned. "Do I look that bad?"

Of course, she just had to state the obvious. She didn't have to look in the mirror to know she looked terrible, she could feel the perspiration glossing her skin and frizzed curls sitting on top of her head from all the recent activity. The boy would be blind to say otherwise.

"You never do. I just wanted to see how you were," he told her. Before Kirsten could process his first words, the dark haired boy reached out for her face with his fingertips lightly grazing her cheek. She flinched at the touch, not realizing if it were because of his sudden touch or the pain. "You have a cut here."

"I can feel that," she said sarcastically, shifting away slightly from the boy. It wasn't that she didn't like him, she just felt oddly nervous in a way. "And you decided to touch it?"

Scarlet rushed to the boys cheeks at her response and she looked back in surprise before grinning.

"I'm sorry, Kirsten. I did – I mean, I didn't mean to hurt you and –"

"Really, Aaric, it's no problem," Kirsten said, assuring him. "It doesn't hurt much anyway…"

Silence passed between them, and Kirsten felt the lighthearted mood fade away the moment she glanced at Aaric from the corner of her eye. The boy's blue eyes were downcast, a thoughtful expression by the furrow of his brows as he stared at the floor.

"Is it true?"

Shit.

Kirsten feigned a bewildered look, which worked as he caught the expression on her face and continued, "The girls downstairs told everyone else what happened. Did Victoria just slam against the wall without anyone touching her?"

She could feel the pace of her heart pounding faster as each word left his lips. Aaric was the only one who was her friend at Blake's. He didn't see first hand any of the weird occurrences that surrounded Kirsten's life. All the oddities that would happen were just rumors whispered to him since he was at boarding school for most of the year anyway. She would rather keep it that way with him. She didn't want him to think she was abnormal and cast her out as a friend. But she should have known that was inevitable. That's what all the children that lived here did at some point.

"Are they saying it was me somehow?" she asked quietly, searching for his face which was void of emotion. The nod from his head was more than enough for her to shift her eyes elsewhere. "I don't know if it was me, but I felt this push and then it happened. You must think I'm a freak too."

She felt his fingers against her chin and in the next instance, she was facing him again. His sapphire-like eyes gazed at her curiously and the quizzical look on his face would've bothered her if it wasn't for her noticing how close they actually were to one another.

Kirsten could feel the blood rush to her cheeks in an instant.

He was so close.

"Why would I?"

Click.

Kirsten took the chance to scoot away from Aaric at the sound of her door opening. Her eyes caught sight of blond hair peeking through before showing the face of one of the boys, Oliver. He smiled slightly in her direction before focusing on Aaric.

"Mate, that bloody woman's coming over soon – "

Kirsten didn't bother with listening to the rest. She immediately knew who he was talking about. Madame DuPont she could deal with, but her cousin? No. The last time she saw her was when school let out, and she wanted to keep it that way. That woman was borderline insane and to think that she'd be alone with her... and with no DuPont to ease the situation?

The woman no doubt had heard about what she did to Victoria?

It didn't take long for Kirsten to make up her mind.

"Would you two mind carrying this conversation elsewhere?" she asked both Oliver and Aaric. The blond boy nodded his head and gave her another small smile.

"Good luck with her, mate," he told Kirsten. Then a look of realization appeared on her face. "Almost forgot to give you this."

She didn't realize that he had been holding a sandwich in his hand during their brief conversation. With recent chain of events, Kirsten forgot that he owed her a sandwich since she scored a goal on him earlier.

"Thanks, Oliver," she said, giving him a smile and the boy left her room. Her eyes landed on Aaric next.

"Can we talk later?" he asked, his eyes watching Kirsten. "Or I can stay with you –"

"No, um – I'll be fine. Okay?" she said, before getting closer to the boy and pulling him into a hug. Warmth enveloped her as she felt his arms wrap around her and it was at that moment that Kirsten realized that was the first hug she had ever given someone. And with the warm feeling of comfort that she felt, she certainly didn't want it to be her last.

Kirsten pulled away from the boy, her grey eyes traveled upward to meet his slightly confused ones.

"Just in case that woman does me in," she joked poorly. A smile no longer on his face when he looked down at her. Instead there was a flash in his eyes that she could not make out. His head inched lower until she felt his lips pressed against her cheek for several seconds. She felt the heat spread throughout her face as he backed away slightly, his own face flushed.

"She won't. DuPont won't let her," he said adamantly, his hand now on hers. "Will you stay up?"

It took Kirsten several seconds to come up with a response. She didn't know exactly what to say immediately to his question what with the kiss he had planted on her cheek. She was still in shock, her heart still hammering in her chest and face hot. Nodding her head was all she could do at the moment.

A smile broke out on his face before he left, leaving Kirsten with her mind thrown in a tizzy. She stood there, rooted to the spot as she looked at the closed door almost contemplating not to leave. And for what exactly? Because a boy who happened to be her friend kissed her cheek? Because, instead of being repulsed by intimacy of any kind, she felt warm and fuzzy?

No. This wasn't going to stop her. It couldn't. Aaric was a friend now, but who knew if he would turn on her at some point. All of the kids did. What made him so different?

She was going to leave.

But, unfortunately, the blue eyed teenager was on her mind the entire time she surveyed her room for any personal items to take with her. The feelings she didn't realize she had towards him coming out in full force.

Sometimes she forgot that she was just a regular girl, hormones raging and body developing. Having a crush on a boy was apparently the most normal feeling to have based on the conversations she would overhear from the other girls at home and from school.

But why did she just have to realize her feelings towards him the moment she decided she was leaving?

Sighing, Kirsten did another once over of the room. Memories flitting through her mind of her life in this small space. From the time she was a baby to the present, this room was hers and an odd sense of nostalgia hit her.

She was finally going to leave this place and everyone in it behind. Aaric was going to be the only one that she truly missed around here. He was her only friend.

And if he decided to still be her friend, they could write to each other. Kirsten sighed in frustration, realizing the problem. He'll be leaving for boarding school in a matter of weeks, and he never disclosed where it was located.

"I'm sorry, Aaric," she muttered, opening the window. Her eyes cast down at the ground and she took a deep breath, trying to shake her fear of heights. She glanced at the large tree branches stretching towards her window, and prepared to make her jump to a thick branch.

It was about a half hour later that Kirsten found herself walking alone on a deserted street with houses on the opposite side. She decided it was better to go to West End first before heading in the direction of another children's home.

"GRRRR…."

Her feet stopped in its tracks and she jerked her head around in alarm at the sudden noise. Kirsten's eyes landed on a large black bear-like creature several feet away from her. And for the second time that night, Kirsten's heart was beating rapidly.

She observed the outline of the four legged creature and summed up that there was no way she could outrun it. The creature came closer, causing the young teenager to back onto the bare street. As the animal moved further from the shadows, Kirsten breathed out a sigh of relief, realizing it was only a dog. It didn't look as menacing in the least considering the fact its teeth were no longer bared in her direction. Instead the dog simply looked at her.

Her heartbeat considerably slowed down with the realization and she let out a chuckle.

It was actually kind of cute.

She heard a grumbling noise and smiled in the dog's direction. Grabbing a hold of her bag from her shoulder, she pulled out the sandwich Oliver made for her earlier. She quickly split it in half and held one half to the dog. Said dog didn't budge.

"Take it," she muttered, a little frustrated. She decided to take a bite from the other half in order to encourage the dog to eat. "I heard your stomach growling, mate," she added, her mouth full. She hadn't realized how hungry she really was and was happy that she had some snacks on her.

It took several more seconds until the dog came closer to the sandwich in her outstretched hand, sniffing her palm before snatching the food with its teeth. A minute flew by when both Kirsten and the dog finished with their food.

"I hope you don't have any fleas," she joked, talking to the hound and scratching behind his ears. "You are a boy, right?"

The dog barked lightly in response as if it understood what she just asked.

"Well, then. You wouldn't mind being my partner in —"

She stopped immediately when her peripheral vision caught sight of a bright light approaching her and the dog. Everything happened so fast, that she didn't realize what happened until she found herself lying down on the hard pavement of the sidewalk. A heavy pressure left her chest and she heard the horn of a car blaring in the distance.

A car that almost ran her over…

"You just saved my life," Kirsten muttered, closing her eyes as she rolled onto her back. She expected to hear a light bark or feel a muzzle against her cheek. What she didn't expect was a voice to respond.

"You're welcome."