The Fox and The Wren

4

He lets out a few shaky breaths, finally letting the tears he's been holding in for the past year flow like a river. I haven't had a proper hug in so long, I missed it...

After a few minutes, Damien breaks away from the hug. He wipes away the remaining tears and gives Genie a tiny smile. "Thank you, I really needed that." he whispers, the smile slowly fading. Then he realizes how close they actually are and scoots over a bit. He rubs the back of his neck as his ears start to turn a bright red and looks down at his lap, staring at his hands. I still can't believe she hugged me. Is this a dream; should I pinch myself to see if I'll wake up? He's taken out of his thoughts by Genie speaking.

"It's no problem, Damien." she looks at him and pats his hand before putting her own into her lap. "Everyone needs a good cry sometimes. Everyone needs someone to hug, confide in." she looks down at her hands, playing with her fingers. "I may be a loner, but when I see someone that needs help, no matter if it's a stranger, friend, someone I just met, even someone that hates me, I just feel a pull towards them that makes me help however I can." she sighs and stares at the light of the streetlamp across the street.

Sometimes I wish I wasn't such a caring person; it's gotten me into some trouble before, especially when it comes to Karol, Ester, and Charles messing with me at school. Spreading rumors, calling me the most horrible names they can think of, even sometimes going to the extreme of beating me up; they stop at nothing to make me feel lesser. Is it bad that I'm actually starting to believe it?

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Damien looks at her, taking in her features that seem to be changing from happy to sad. Before he even thinks about what he's doing, he takes her hand and gently squeezes it.

She jumps a little but relaxes soon after and looks up at him, smiling. Tilting her head, she looks at his icy blue eyes that are staring right back at her light green ones. His eyes are mesmerizing... She gets lost for a second and so does he. Damien breaks the silence.

"I'm happy you helped me, maybe someday I'll be able to return the favor." he continues looking into her eyes, before letting go of her hand and getting up. He turns around and holds out his hand to her, grinning. "Shall we get you home now? It's pretty late and I don't want you getting in trouble or anything." Genie looks up and smiles at him. Her smile is so darn cute!

Return the favor? I hope he never sees me in a bad enough state to warrant that. She stands up and takes his hand into her own. "I won't get in trouble but thanks for the concern." she laughs a little and starts walking. "My parents are pretty laid back, to be honest." she looks over at Damien to see him looking straight ahead, scanning alleyways they pass to make sure no one's there. Well, he's observant... She then looks away and sees her home up ahead, all the lights off. Guess mom and dad are asleep already. I have to be quiet when I go in, so I don't wake them.

"Good to know that you won't get into trouble, then." he smiles a little and takes a closer look around at his surroundings. Hmm, this neighborhood looks familiar; wait, do we live in the same one? His question is answered when Genie suddenly stops.

"Welp, this is my stop." she points at her house and let's go of his hand, looking at him and smiling. "Thank you for walking me home, Damien. I hope you get back home safely."

My house is literally right across the street from hers, why have I never noticed her before today? "I live across the road from you, so it won't be much trouble getting home." he chuckles when he sees her eyes widen a bit and he flashes a bright smile. "I'll see you at school tomorrow. Take care Genie and sleep well." he jogs across the street to his front door and turns back around, waving goodbye before walking in, leaving a smiling Genie walking up the steps of her front porch.

She unlocks the door and slowly opens and closes it behind her, making sure to keep quiet and relock it. She trudges up the stairs and goes into her bedroom. Walking up to the dresser, she opens one of the drawers and finds some pajamas; she puts them on and plops down on her bed, absolutely exhausted. She closes her eyes and quickly falls asleep while thinking about a certain pair of icy blue eyes.

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Damien slowly walks to his room and goes into the bathroom, taking a quick shower. After drying off, he pulls on a pair of sweats and hops into his bed. He stares up at the ceiling for a while, then sighs and closes his eyes. Before drifting off into sleep, he gets a thought. Did I fall for her already?