That night was a warm one. One with a cool breeze and a sky full of shining stars and a brilliant moon. Summer was just around the corner, but it felt like it was already here. It was a night to enjoy with your closest friends.

A girl runs through the almost-summer night. Her hair flows in the breeze as she frantically runs. The shining moonlight reflects off of her flowing tears. She crashes into a trash can and falls, dropping a plain, white envelope. She screams into the empty night.

A breeze blows through the open window. The curtain sways along the breeze as two dark figures lay below the window. The moonlight shines down as if it was cradling them.

The girl opens the door. The sight of crimson burns her eyes. She falls to her knees and begins to endlessly cry. She stares at the face of one of the figures, another girl.

She was smiling. She had the smile of an angel.

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I COULDN'T SAY IT

PART I: Changing Fate

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The sunset turns gray as the school buses roll into the parking lot. Students entered the building to find long lines for schedule pick-ups. Teachers were frantically walking through the hallways, scrambling to get ready for their first classes.

The first day of the new school year was just beginning.

I stood patiently in line for my schedule, passing the time by reading a book. Suddenly, I feel a pinch on my shoulder.

"Ow! Who-"

I turn around to find one of my friends, Taiki, shoving her schedule in my face.

"Well, do we have any classes together?"

"Not sure, maybe because I haven't been able to get mine yet."

"Why don't you just skip the line, like I did?"

"I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to do that."

"I guess not, maybe that's why I already got a detention."

"Moron."

"Nerd."

"Hey, sorry to interrupt the flirting, but you guys are holding up the line."

Taiki and I both turned to the intruder to our conversation, the student in line behind us.

"WE'RE NOT LIKE THAT."

Eventually, I got my schedule. I shared a math class with Taiki during second block.

After we got breakfast, Taiki parted ways from me. "Try not to trip over a chair this year!" said Taiki as she walked off into the sea of people in the hallway.

I took the tripping comment seriously. On the first day of my freshman year, I managed to trip over my chair while attempting to take a seat. That became an unforgettable moment for the other students in that class, including Taiki.

It was already bad enough that I was embarrassing myself with my clumsiness. I have only had two friends since middle school, I was a loner who often kept to myself and my books. The other students branded me as a "creepy nerd" and kept their distance from me.

I was determined to make a better first-impression on the first day of my sophomore year.

I walked through the door of my first class and made my way to my seat. On my way there, the loop of my backpack caught a desk. I took a slow and painful fall to the floor, flipping the desk on top of me.

The class roared with laughter.

The rest of first block was uneventful. The first day of each class always focused on syllabi.

In between class, I went to my assigned locker for the year. I hadn't bought anything to put in it yet, so I used it to ditch my brand-new thousand-page textbook. I closed my locker and turned around.

Standing in front of me was a stocky guy with bleached hair. With the largest smile that stretched from ear to ear, he made a declaration to me:

"There's no room in this school for losers like you."

I stared at the floor as the stocky guy walked off. I wanted to respond, but for some reason, I couldn't. I couldn't find the courage to fight for myself. I was a total loser.

I walked to the vending machine to get my favorite snack, nacho chips. The machine was completely empty. It looked like the school had forgotten to refill the machines before the year started.

I walked to my next class, wondering if the day could get any worse.

Suddenly, something comes running as fast as a cheetah around the corner. I suddenly started to regret wondering if the day could get any worse.

I was suddenly on the floor. My glasses had fallen off my face, but surprisingly, there were no cracks. I scrambled to put them back on, as I was near-blind without them. When I managed to get my glasses back on, I was in complete shock.

A girl with endlessly long, blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes was sitting in front of me. She was as pale as a white flower and healthily skinny. Those brilliant eyes looked up to meet mine, and I was immediately frozen. In that moment, I had completely forgotten how to operate as a human being.

She then apologetically smiled at me. That smile appeared to be one of something bigger than our world.

On that day, my fate forever changed.