TERRIBLE THINGS

nine

Jase was standing in the snow outside Kova's house.

Kova was late. He was never late. Every weekday, at precisely seven hundred hours he would be there, waiting for Jase. He wasn't there now. He hadn't come back to work yesterday. No one could contact Huraira. And worst of all, Bonnie was in the hospital, comatose and barely kept alive by her magic. Oddest of all was that the one who'd apparently brought Bonnie to the hospital steps - who'd saved her life - was Cinderella.

These things could not possibly be related. Or that was what Jase kept telling himself. Huraira wasn't Cinderella. She wasn't even a Smile! Jase was just being stupid and paranoid, which was the same reason he felt sick waiting for Kova.

Suddenly, the door creaked open.

Jase spun around, only to find himself face to face with not Kova, but Huraira. "Jase?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

Jase's jaw went slack as he stared at her. Something was different. Something in her dark eyes made them seem hollow. Something that had poisoned her body, painting dark circles and smothering the fire in her soul. Her dark braids hung loosely from her head, like moss hanging from an oak. Her cheeks were stained with tears that had fallen when she thought no one was looking and tears that no one would ever notice but Jase.

"Are you okay?" he asked instead of answering her question. Because Jase knew for a matter of fact she was not okay. That she was a moment away from breaking.

Huraira shook her head.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jase asked. Probably not right now. When she felt better, she would tell Jase everything. Everything she could at least. For some reason, Jase's mind was still toying with the idea that Huraira was somehow related to Bonnie's accident.

"I can't," Huraira said.

What did that mean? It almost sounded like a confession. He didn't know if he wanted to hear a confession. But that didn't stop his mouth from opening his damn mouth and saying, "You can tell me anything."

Silence followed as Huraira stared at her hands. Her nails were bitten down and the skin around them had quickly followed. Huraira hadn't bitten her nails since they met. "No... Jase, I really can't," she said. "Because you're so... so perfect. You have your life figured out and I'm just..."

Not the confession Jase was expecting, but one nonetheless.

And one that stung.

"Is that... really what you think?"

"Yes." Her voice was so low that it almost sounded like a growl of resentment. "I mean, it's true. You've always known who you wanted to be. You've always known where your strength came from and what to do with it," Huraira said. "You've always known everything about yourself! And I'm just-"

Her voice broke. Huraira's jaw was clenched as tears slid down her cheeks. Jase gave her a sad smile, before walking up and wrapping his arms around her in a hug. Huraira had been his best friend for over five years now, maybe his only real friend too.

Though their bodies might've been painted green with envy as the rest of the colors faded to black and white, they were still together.

"Why are you being so loud?"

Jase jumped at the sudden voice flinging his body around to see its owner, Kova, had appeared out of nowhere. Jase opened his mouth before he closed it again. Huraira just glared, not bothering to hide her annoyance. She'd never been fond of tucking her emotions away for the sake of others. Kova didn't pay it any attention if he saw it at all. There were times when Jase thought Kova couldn't see anything except the road in front of them.

"How did you get out here?" Jase asked. He hadn't heard the door open.

"My windows are broken," he said as if that explained everything.

Kova always spoke like that, though. Blunt and simple, like he expected people to understand what he meant when he said a few random details. It was strange, but Jase had gotten used to it.

"Well I was waiting for you," Jase huffed. "Why are you so late?"

"It's Saturday," Kova said.

"So?"

"We don't run on Saturdays."

Jase opened his mouth, ready to protest before he realized Kova was right. They only ran on weekdays before work. Which meant he was the dumbass loitering outside of Kova's house for an hour in the snow.

"You guys run?" Huraira asked. Her voice was stiff, but there was genuine curiosity in her eyes. "Since when?"

Frowning, Jase thought back. "Several months ago. Before the cold season began but after I got my new legs."

"It's good," Kova said, his voice soft. "You should try it."

Huraira looked startled before she decided to glare at Kova again. Jase smiled, realizing Kova was probably right. Running was numbing and Huraira was obviously hurting, though she would never admit it. She had so many walls up it had to be hard for her to see.

"Yeah, it's nice," he said. "You should come with us sometime."

With wide, midnight eyes Huraira turned to him. She truly was a beautiful person, both inside and out, although Jase would never see her in a romantic way. She was more like a sister to him. Family. They were two kids who had grown up without parents in one way or another and had somehow found one another.

And now they had Kova as their annoying little brother.

Huraira nodded, slow and unsteady. "That would be... nice," she said. "Really nice, actually. Let's go."

"Now?" Jase asked. "Like right now, now?"

"Yeah. Come on. I'll race you," she said, before taking off, leaving both Jase and Kova in the dust. Jase grinned at Kova who muttered something unintelligible under his breath before they began to chase after her.

Their little family, running into the sunrise.

[author's note]

aw