(note: normal words like this is Opal's Point of View, and underlined is Connor's; bolded words are both. Italics means it's the song; I switched up a few lyrics to better fit the story. A link to the song is at the bottom of the story. Hope you like!)


Opal Shelbey Helbrew's high school career had gone something like this.

Her freshman year had started off with a big bang of terrible proportions. Being a girl with crippling social anxiety made it hard to talk to people and make friends in a new school. To make things worse, Opal's mom persuaded her to attend Homecoming, even though she had no friends or date to go with, and the moment she'd walked into the crowded, loud gym, she'd panicked. She backed up into the food table, knocking the punch bowl onto the dress of the school's resident Queen Bee. Opal then promptly puked all over the floor, she was so riled up, and fled the building in a whirlwind of panic. Henceforward she was known to all as 'Punch Puke Girl', a highly uncreative but painful nickname of scorn, and the Queen Bee of the school, who was two years older than Opal, made her life absolute hell for the next two years. 

Except, there was this new girl who came at the beginning of Opal's sophomore year, Erin Daugherty, who somehow decided Opal was cool. Erin quickly led Opal to trust her and believe they were good friends. Although the anxiety-riddled girl could easily tell Erin was kind of manipulative and an obnoxious know-it-all, she was desperate for friends and so immediately accepted the new girl into her life. Erin, unlike her new friend, was quite outgoing, and so was often frustrated by Opal's reluctance to attend social events.

That sophomore year wasn't much better than freshman, as her anxiety had only grown worse over the summer, due to a highly embarrassing incident at summer camp she'd rather never think about, and she still had no friends, except Erin, who wasn't much of a real friend at all. She could be cruel, spiteful, and very, very manipulative. When Junior year rolled around and the Queen Bee was no longer around, Opal felt the worst when still, even though they wouldn't evoke that popular bitch's wrath, no one except Erin would even want to speak to her. 

She lied to her mom and said Erin wanted her to come over to her house often (though Erin threatened Opal that she would ditch her if she ever tried to hang out with her outside of school) and pretended to go over to her home after school, but truthfully she would just retreat to a shut-down orchard a few blocks away from the school, sheltering under the biggest tree in the dead center of the little, orderly glen. She'd do her homework quickly and then cry despondently for an hour or so before heading home. If it was a rainy day, the most secluded corner of the local library would do, though Opal preferred the old orchard. 

Senior year had rolled around by now and Opal had nearly given up. She had only one friend and practically no social life whatsoever, her mom was rarely around due to having taken a new job with better pay but much longer hours, and her father hadn't been around since she was seven, having died in Afghanistan while serving in the United States Marine Corps. She wasn't sure what to do with her life. She had no dreams, no plans, no idea what her future could be. Everything seemed hopeless and she was starting to consider the prospect of an easy way out of this hellish life.

A week or so into the school year, one of the most popular kids invited everyone in the grade to a party at his fancy place while his rich parents were off on vacation on some tropical island. At first, Opal thought it was a fluke. No way she'd been invited. But yep. When she worked up the nerves to ask the kid after school one day, in a questioning sentence so full of stuttering she had to repeat it twice for him to understand, he just shrugged and said, "Yeah, whatever. Come if you want. There'll be beer and pot and 'party games', if you know what I mean." He wiggled his eyebrows at her and Opal nearly fainted. A stuttering mess, she fled immediately and went home. Nope. She wasn't going. Nope nope nope.

That Saturday, Opal found herself standing on the front stoop of a sprawling mansion in the high-end of town, clutching the end of her t-shirt in both hands as she took a few deep breaths to steady her pounding heart. Erin, beside her, nudged her arm encouragingly and rang the doorbell. Opal dropped her hands as the door opened suddenly and they were beckoned inside by the host, who was holding a glass of beer and already wavering on his feet. They walked inside and instantly were hit by the scents of horny teenagers, beer, pot, and, strangely, chocolate. Erin wandered off to socialize without even a 'be right back', leaving Opal to fend for herself. flattened herself against a wall in the living room and tried desperately to stay calm amidst the cacophony of noises, stifling atmosphere, and flashing disco lights. A few beers couldn't hurt, right? She grabbed two and sank down on the floor, drinking them a bit too quickly in her zoned-out panic.

Across the room, in the exact corner, slouched a boy, also a senior, holding a half-empty beer bottle in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Connor Murphy's long black hair swayed in front of his face as he scanned the room, his eyes landing on a girl who'd practically pinned herself against the far wall. Her eyes were full of panic and he could see by the way she clenched her fists and trembled she was completely freaking out. He gave a sharp laugh. And people called him the wacko. She looked like a trapped animal and Connor kind of felt bad for her. He watched her drink two bottles of beer in very quick succession, an amusing sight to him, and then she stood again. He took a swig of beer, glanced away for just a moment, and then she was gone. Disappeared into the fray. He frowned and gave a sigh of apathy. Whatever. Right?

But something made him pause. He could understand the panic the girl felt. He wasn't often that great in social situations either, the only reason he was here was because of the booze and smokes. He debated the situation in his head for a long moment before giving a sigh and forcing himself to get up. He put out the cigarette on the tablecloth beside him and tossed it to the floor, not really caring. He chugged the last of the beer and then left that also on the ground, wiping at his mouth with the sleeve of his black sweatshirt. Might as well find that girl. 

Meanwhile, as Connor Murphy had debated with himself over what little caring he had left, Opal had fled to the nearest bathroom. She'd locked the door, curled up beside the shower door, and tried to chase away the panic attack she felt swiftly approaching. She gazed at the room around her, trying to distract herself. It worked, slowly but surely, as she examined the somehow-spotless white tile floor, the bathtub large enough to fit a giant panda, the shower with four fancy faucets, the mirror, the sink, and the toilet. Once her breathing evened out, she stood up, grabbing a wad of toilet paper to wipe away the tears on her cheeks. She sat down on the lip of the huge bathtub as her spirits, already very low, fell even more while the party raged on, quite loudly, just outside the door.

"I am hanging in the bathroom at the biggest party of the fall.
I could stay right here, or disappear,and nobody'd even notice at all."

She gave a sigh and absentmindedly began scratching at the weird stuff in between the cracks of the bathtub's model. She glanced down at her shirt and gave a choking laugh as she remembered the t-shirt she had on. 'The wand chooses the wizard' was written in swooping grey font across the pine green cloth. Kinda pathetic for a high school senior to be wearing.

"I'm a fangirl in a bathroom cause my buddy kinda left me alone,
but I'd rather fake pee than stand awkwardly
and pretend to check a text on my phone."

Opal threw her head back and examined the ceiling, which was painted a deep burgundy.

"Everything felt fine
when I was half of a pair,
and through no fault of mine,
there's no other half there."

Outside the door, Connor Murphy was strolling past and heard a quiet voice from inside the bathroom. He paused his search for the girl to listen. It sounded like... singing?

"Now I'm just
Opal in the bathroom,
Opal in the bathroom at a party.
Forget how long its been."

Connor suddenly remembered where he'd seen this girl before. She went to his school, right, and her name was Opal. This was probably her. She'd always seemed very shy, kinda lonely too. His mind went back to freshman year, specifically the Homecoming dance, which he'd gone to on repeated 'requests' (threats to take away his phone) from his mother. He remembered the Queen Bee of the school back then shrieking and drawing everyone's attention. Connor had ignored the scene mostly, but had noticed a new girl racing out the door, her face red and tears running down her cheeks as Bitchface McGee (as Connor liked to call the Queen Bee in his head) shrieked to have someone named Opal's head cut off. Huh. Lovely memory. Connor leaned against the door to listen better.

Inside the bathroom, Opal heard a soft thunk against the door.

"I'm just Opal in the bathroom.
Opal in the bathroom at a party-
no, you can't come in!"

She called this last line a bit louder so the person out there, who she assumed was knocking on the door to try to enter, would know it was occupied. She took a deep breath as her annoyance at being ditched by Erin and her ever-present feelings of loneliness swamped over her mind in a wave of emotion. Tears pricked at the edges of her vision but she stubbornly blinked them away.

"I'm waiting it out 'til it's time to leave,
and picking at grout as I softly grieve.
I'm just
Opal who you don't know,
Opal flying solo,
Opal in the bathroom by herself!"

She lurched to her feet and leaned against the wall, slamming her fist angrily into the plaster. It left a little dent, but, unlike she normally would, she felt no remorse.

Connor, still out in the hallway, was leaning against the door still, though now seated on the floor, as he listened to Opal. He'd determined by now that, yes, this was in fact the panicked girl he'd followed for no particular reason other than a small feeling of pity and sheer boredom. She was singing, no doubt about it, which wasn't something Connor heard everyday. She had a pretty good singing voice, sure, but what really interested him was the raw emotion he could hear in her voice. He could tell she was upset, but also fed up with the bullshit of her life.

"I am hiding,but she's out there,
just ignoring all our history.
Memories get erased
and I'll get replaced
with a newer cooler version of me."

In front of Connor, people walk back and forth past the door, almost all offering him suspicious glances and a wide berth. Nothing he wasn't used to. If someone got too close, he'd just swipe at their leg wordlessly and they would yelp and hurry off with a glare at him. Someone started karaoke in a nearby room, only making the noise of the party somehow louder, and cheers went up as an old pop song started. From the cheers and taunts, Connor could guess the girl warbling her way through the song was probably very drunk, and probably acting provocatively.

Inside the bathroom, Opal paced, scuffing her feet on the pristine white tile, leaving marks from the black soles of her sneakers. She leaned against the cabinet sink, examining the hideous painting of a grotesque baby opposite to her as the intoxicated karaoke singer somewhere out in the house belted her song very much off-key.

"And I hear a drunk girl
singing along to Whitney through the door:
'I wanna dance with somebody!'"

Connor gave a low whistle. Yeah, this Opal girl had quite the singing talent. He started to wish he hadn't finished his beer so quick, but oh well. He wasn't about to leave now.

Opal heard a soft whistle from outside the bathroom door and assumed it was for the karaoke girl. Her head fell back lazily on her shoulders and her gaze again met the burgundy ceiling. She determined it was an ugly color as she continued to sing her song, made up on the spot.

"And my feelings sink,
'cause it makes me think,
now there's no one to make fun of drunk girls with anymore.
Now it's just
Opal in the bathroom,
Opal in the bathroom at a party."

She could feel a buzz coming on and she sighed, sinking to sit on the floor again, now leaning against the sink cabinet and drawing her knees up to her chest. Outside the bathroom door, the music swelled and dimmed amidst the catcalls and shouts of so many of her peers, not a single one of whom was listening to her or cared... Or so she thought.

"I half regret the beers...
Opal in the bathroom,
Opal in the bathroom at a party."

Tears again swam in her vision, but Opal brushed them away with an angry swipe of the hand, clambering back up to stand as she lamented to no one in particular, her voice rising as the anguish in her heart grew.

"As I choke back the tears,
I'll wait as long as I need
til my face is dry,
or I'll just blame it on weed
or something in my eye!
I'm just Opal
who you don't know,
Opal flyin' solo,
Opal in the bathroom by herself!"

Opal turned and stared at her pitiful self in the mirror above the sink, swaying slightly on her feet as she did so, the emotions coursing through her growing to a fever pitch, the alcohol in her system not at all helping to calm her down.

"Knock, knock, knock, knock!
They're gonna start to shout soon."

She'd predicted exactly right. Outside the door, her singing had attracted more attention than just Connor. Some jock leaned over him and pounded on the door. "Hey! Who's in there?!" he called, obviously drunk. Connor climbed to his feet and crossed his arms, glaring at the buff kid, who realized who he was facing and took a few steps back.

"Knock, knock, knock, knock!
Ah hell yeah I'll be out soon!"

The 'knock, knock, knock, knock' she sang set Connor on edge. She sounded like she was losing control of her sanity. It was repetitive, a nervous tick, signifying she was growing more upset.

"Knock, knock, knock, knock!
It sucks she left me here alone!
Knock, knock, knock, knock!
Here in this teenage battlezone!"

Opal clutched her head in her hands as her voice raised, getting louder and sharper.

Outside, the jock moved on and Connor was standing outside the door, his fists slowly clenching as his mind went through all the negative possible outcomes of her freaking out.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang!
I feel the pressure blowing up!
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
My big mistake was showing up!"

Splash, splash, splash, splash. She threw some water in her face. Now she was in a better place. She went to open up the door- but she couldn't hear knocking anymore. Her voice was soft again as she resumed singing.

"And I can't help but yearnf
or a different time.
And then I look in the mirror,
and the present is clear,
and there's no denying:
I'm just-"

Opal slumped to the floor for the third time this evening, leaning her head against the lip of the bathtub as she started to calm down, tears streaming down her cheeks. She hummed, her voice cracking a few times, and she took a shaky breath.

"... at a party.
Is there a sadder sight?
Oooohhhhh,
Opal in the bathroom at a party.
This is a heinous night.
I wish I stayed at home instead,
watching cable porn-
or wish I offed myself instead,
wish I was never born!"

Opal slammed her fist on the tile, which hurt a lot, but she didn't care at that point. She was sobbing and singing and suffering.

Just outside the door, Connor was listening intently. He got a few disturbed looks from kids walking past, but he didn't care. He knew how this must look. Creepy. But Opal's spontaneous song of pain was too sad and yet lovely, understandable, for him to not listen to.

"I'm just 'Opal
who's a loner,
so she must be a stoner!'
'Rides a PT Cruiser-
God, she's such a loser!'
Opal flying solo,
who you think that you know!
Opal in the bathroom by herself!
All by herself!
All by herself!"

Opal took a few deep breaths and clenched her fists, then released them, repeating this a few more times as she also tilted her neck back and forth. It was time to get out of this hellish place.

"All you know about me
is my name.
Awesome party-
I'm so glad I came."

Opal wrenched the door open. Connor stumbled back and they met each other's gaze for a long moment. Neither said anything.

Connor saw a girl with big grey eyes, staring at him with surprise. Her cheeks, nose, and eyelids were red, signifying she'd been crying. Her skin was fair and peachy and covered in freckles. Her mouth was set in a little 'oh', and he could see her two front teeth, which were a little bit crooked, but it was kind of cute. Her wavy hair was a bright red, and it took him a moment to place the right word for the color- ginger. She wore a t-shirt with a quote from Harry Potter on it and dark-washed bell-bottom jeans, out from the bottom of which poked battered converse.

Opal saw a boy with eyes that were mostly blue, with his left eye tinted half brown. His skin was pasty, like he didn't spend much time outside. His mouth was twisted in the smallest of smiles at her, like he had a secret and he wanted to share it, but only with her. His hair reached his shoulders and was a shade of black she would describe as ebony. He wore a black hoodie with a white zipper and black jeans, which matched with his also-black sneakers.

Their staring match was broken when the host of the party sauntered over and nodded drunkenly at both. "Yeaaaaah, Murphy, get soooome!" he slurred, waving around a beer bottle. The stranger boy's hands clenched, but it was Opal who got to the guy first. Her fist connected cleanly with his jaw and he stumbled back, falling on the floor, with a meager shout of "Hey!". He started shouting at both to get the hell out and Opal snaps back as she headed for the door, shaking her punching hand out in front of her, "I was already planning on it, jackass!" The front door swung open with a creak of the hinges and she breathed in the cool night air, a refreshing change from the stifling madness of the party behind her.

"Uh, can you move?"

She glanced back to see the boy who was standing outside the bathroom when she left. She stepped aside and let him pass, staring at the back of his head as he walked down the front lawn, hands in his pockets, shoulders slouched, ebony hair swishing. Almost as if he could tell she was watching him, he turned back and tilted his head a little bit at her. "You coming?" She blinked twice and shrugged. "I guess so." He seemed surprised as she headed down the steps and across the lawn toward him. "Opal." She extended her hand politely to him, but he just stared at it.

"You're supposed to shake it." Connor blinked and nodded, doing so as he silently chided himself for hesitating. "Connor." "Murphy?" the girl, Opal, asked without missing a beat as they both dropped hands, heading onto the sidewalk and to the left for no particular reason. "Sure. Why?" She shrugged. "Just... I think they're wrong about you." Connor's heart skipped a beat, a sensation so odd to him he literally froze in his tracks. "What?" "They're wrong about you, I said. They say you're creepy. I don't think so." Connor gave a cough and resumed walking, catching up to Opal as he shook his head. "I'd better set you straight then. Guess who was listening to you in the bathroom?"

This time, Opal stopped walking for a moment. She gave a sharp laugh and shook her head at Connor. "So? It's actually kinda nice to know someone listened to me being pathetic. Makes me think someone actually cares." He took a few steps in front of her, crossing his arms. The full moon was bright enough to let them see where they were going, so she could see him frowning at her, walking backward to keep pace. "Yeah, you're pathetic." She raised an eyebrow, not expecting that answer. "I'm pathetic, too," he continued and she gave a breathy laugh. "Huh."

Connor watched her in the pale light as they walked, him pacing backward to face her as they conversed. A strand of her hair drifted down in front of her face and he felt an urge to brush it away, but he didn't. Distracted, he stumbled and fell forward, towards Opal, but she caught him right away and tilted him back up. He felt his cheeks flushing and was glad the moon was dim enough to only show colors in black and white and grey. "Sorry." "Eh." He walked along beside her now and nudged her arm. "Eh? That's it?" She shrugged. "I'm not great with human interaction, as you might have noticed. Please make note of my crippling social anxiety, thank you very much."

He chuckled at her dry tone and Opal felt a smile flicker on her face. She'd amused him. He had a nice laugh, deep but youthful, and she found herself wanting to hear it again. The pale light began to fade as a cloud drifted over the moon and Opal reached into her pocket, fumbling for her phone. She turned on the flashlight to light the way and noticed a familiar tarnished gate a little ways down the road. "The orchard," she mumbled aloud and Connor took a sharp breath. "You've been there?" "You have?" "Hey, I asked first." Opal gave a little nod as she replied in the affirmative.

Connor frowned. Why would she have been to the orchard? It had been closed for almost nine years by now. And how would she get in? The gates were locked. He knew- he'd tried at least five times in the past few months. As if she knew what he was thinking, Opal reached through the gate, her arm slender enough to fit through the gaps in the bars, and fiddled with the lock for a few seconds. It was a cheap one, not meant for use on an outdoor gate, and clicked open with little effort on Opal's part. She smiled a smile that made Connor's heart do a flip and pushed the gate open. "Voilà." Connor was, to say the least, impressed.

Opal led the way into the orchard, holding her phone out in front of them to light the way. She followed the familiar path down through the orderly trees, over the little brook, and past the mulberry bushes, Connor following behind her. "How do you know this place?" she asked absentmindedly as they treaded along. "I used to come with my family when I was a kid," he said, gazing around as if remembering. "My dad flew a drone toy into that brook. It was a lot bigger then. And over there- by those bushes- my mom would set up a picnic. Always on the same red and white tarp. My sister and I would run through the trees and pretend..." As he kept talking, narrating his past to her, Opal watched his face in the dim light. He was smiling.

Connor talked for quite a while as memories came back to him of the orchard. Running through the trees with Zoe, pretending to be mythical beings, collecting snail shells on the banks of the brook, which was more of a river back then, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on that red and white checkered cloth. He could tell Opal was listening well, for when he pointed at one of the smaller trees, the one with branches that grew upward into the shape of a warped human hand, she looked directly at it. "Zoe- my sister and I would laugh at that because we thought the middle finger was extra long so it looked like..." He trailed off, cheeks flushing. "Well, you can see. You're smart. I'm dumb. I shouldn't have explained."

Opal stopped walking for a moment and turned to Connor, raising an eyebrow. "Why would you be dumb? Yeah, it looks like that tree is flipping us off, but I don't think I would have noticed unless you pointed it out." His expression brightened and he offered her a quick smile. "So- why do you know this place?" Opal sighed and resumed walking. They were fairly close to her special tree, and she felt a familiar wave of sorrow wash over her. "Well, I came here for reasons way more depressing than yours. I found this place in the summer between my sophomore and junior year... I'll tell you more in a sec." They had reached her tree.

Opal held aside a clump of branches on a bush row that surrounded a huge oak tree. Connor looked at her, a bit confused, and she beckoned for him to crawl through the opening. Swiping away any dirty thoughts that appeared suddenly in his brain, he made his way through. A few briars poked at him as he clambered into a small clearing in between the bushes and the tree. Opal followed after a moment and sat beside Connor, both of them leaning against the base of the large tree. He could feel the heat from her body she was so close, due to there being not much room in the clearing, and he pulled his knees up to his chest, silently ordering his heart to slow down.

Opal looked up at the night sky through the branches of the oak tree above. She turned off the flashlight on her phone and slipped in back into her pocket as the moon came out from behind the cloud again. She took a deep breath as tears brimmed at the edges of her eyes and she turned aside to to try to swipe them away subtly. It didn't seem to work, as Connor raised an eyebrow at her when she turned her head back forward, and her cheeks flushed as she continued her story, quickly trying to distract him, "I would come here after school most days in my junior year and do my homework, then have a panic attack or two and head home. I'd tell my mom I was going over to my friend's house..." 

"But you didn't have any friends?" Opal shook her head and Connor held back a wince, afraid he'd offended her, but she just continued on. "No, I had one friend. She's... well, she's kind of a bitch." Opal gave a sharp laugh and flicked an acorn away from her with one finger. "Scratch that. She is a bitch. A total bitch." Connor gave a huff of air and nodded wryly. "I know plenty of people like that. Let me guess... Jared Kleinman?" Opal chuckled and swatted his arm, apparently thinking he was joking. "Nah, he'd be a better friend than Erin Daugherty." Connor froze. That girl? Opal was that girl's friend?

"What?" Opal had noticed Connor's pause. He turned to her and shook his head, a grim smirk coming onto his face. "Just last week, that bitch asked me where I kept my stock of AK's." Opal gasped in shock. "She- really?!" Connor nodded, still shaking his head. "Yup." "I- I-" Opal's face set into an expression of cool fury. "I won't apologize for her. I don't know what the hell she was thinking." She clenched her fists, declaring, "Finally I have a legitimate reason to give her a black eye!" Connor gave a pff. "Glad to hear it." She turned to him and sighed, crossing her arms. It was getting kind of chilly out, and Opal tried not to shiver as she replied to him, "That really is a terrible thing to say to someone, though."

Connor noticed she seemed a bit cold and and instinctively took off his sweatshirt. He was slipping off his right sleeve when he heard something that sounded like a low grunt and paused. He glanced at Opal and saw her pretending not to shiver while grumbling under her breath. "Did- did you just growl?" he asked teasingly as he handed her his sweatshirt. She paused and stared at it, then him. "Um, yes, and also, what's that for?" "You're cold." "Nope." "You're shivering." "Not really." "Just take it." " Fine." She put it on, the sleeves a bit too long, and huffed, glaring at him. "Thanks." "You're toughie act isn't really working." She growled again and he laughed, adding, "Alright, alright, you're tough, you're tough!"

Opal chuckled at his teasing, his laughter again like music to her ears, and absentmindedly leaned her head on his shoulder, scooting closer to him. 

Connor, who was in the middle of saying something about Erin being quite the bitch, cut himself off as he felt the weight of her head on his shoulder.

Opal realized what she'd just done and immediately sat back upright, apologizing in a flurry of words and annoyed jabs at herself. Connor silenced her by shaking his head and saying over her panicked speech, "No, you're not an idiot, no, I don't hate you now, and no, I didn't mind that." Her cheeks, already pink, darkened even more, and she silently thanked the moonlight for being just dim enough not to show it. She quickly weighed her options in her mind and slowly lowered her head back onto Connor's shoulder. He, after a moment, wrapped his arm around her and they sat in comfortable silence for what felt like a long time.

"You know, you saying you just casually had 'a panic attack or two' every time you came here worries me," Connor spoke up, mentioning what had been lurking on his mind ever since she spoke about it earlier. Opal gave a sigh. "Well, I told you already. I've got crippling social anxiety. It's kind of a miracle I've been able to talk to you for so long without completely freaking out." He raised an eyebrow at the bushes in front of him, not wanting to move in case she lifted her head. He liked the feeling of it on his shoulder. "Huh. And why do you think that?" Opal shrugged. "Well... I suppose it's because you've got this energy around you." Connor pretended to be exasperated and gave a dramatic sigh. "Oh, please tell me you're not one of those crystal healing hippies."

Opal laughed. "Oh, come on, really? No, I'm not. I believe in vaccines and science, thank you very much." He nodded and waited for her to go on. "Well... I suppose I shouldn't say energy. It's like- you've got this calming presence, sort of." Connor chuckled. "Oh really? I know at least a hundred people who would say otherwise." Opal poked his side and he yelped, quickly nudging her back and declaring, "Oh, you're in for it!" And so a silly battle of poking and laughter ensued and by the end of it, about three minutes later, Opal found herself laying on side, back up against the oak tree, and Connor across from her. Their laughter faded as they realized how close they were to each other and both blushed.

Connor's first instinct was to kiss her, but of course he completely ignored that idea and instead rolled over on his back, trying to slow his heartbeat, which had yet again sped up. He looked up at the moon and stars through the tree branches as he tried to forget how lovely her eyes, how soft her skin, how sweet her lips looked. This was insane. There would be NO falling-for -girl-he'd-practically-just-met scenarios. Nope, nope, nope. That was only a thing in cheesy romance novels. This was real life, where everything was shitty and depressing and love wasn't meant to last. Besides, this was NOT love! And even if it was, which it WASN'T, it wouldn't matter anyway. Connor was fairly sure no living thing on this planet would ever feel affection for him.

Beside Connor, Opal also rolled onto her back and pretended she hadn't wanted to kiss him out of the blue. It's just hormones, she told herself. Just the spur of the moment. She ignored how his eyes sparkled when he met her gaze, how his laugh made her heart sing, and how she was starting to think he was pretty cute. Crushes out of nowhere happen, yes, she chided herself, but it's very improbable. And there wasn't any point it in anyway- Opal thought herself to be as pretty as a pile of donkey shit. Besides- she didn't like him, yeah, no. She didn't. She just did not.

And then Opal's hand fell just beside Connor's, her little finger brushing against his, and he knew all of the convincing himself he didn't like her was for naught. He tensed up for a moment and he didn't dare look to his left and at her, but when she started to move her hand away, he grabbed it. Her breath came out sharp and he started to regret the impulsive move, but then she let her fingers intertwine with his and he relaxed. He let his attention float back up to the twilight sky, watching the stars twinkle above as her soft hand gently held his own.

Opal wasn't sure why she had put her hand just there, so close to his, but when he had taken hold of it when she tried to pull it back after a moment, all her logical reasoning for why she hadn't developed a sudden crush on him went out the window. She certainly didn't mind the feeling of her hand being held and holding someone else's in return. In fact, it felt very nice, especially when it was Connor's hand. She noticed he was looking up at the sky and the stars and so turned her gaze upward as well. His hand, which was just a bit larger than hers, felt rather rough, but in a gentle way. She tried to memorize every crease she could feel, to remember this moment.

Opal wasn't sure what the future held, or even what tomorrow could bring. 

Neither was Connor.

Just a few hours ago, they had each had thought there was no reason to remain in this world anymore. It was only an amount of time before one of them said fuck it and ended it all. But then this chance encounter happened.

And as they laid there, side by side and hand in hand, both felt like they'd found something worth living for.

(Hope you liked this story! If you want me to continue this story and make it into a series, just let me know through a comment, private message, or post on my profile :D )

Here's the link to the song-

https://youtu.be/JM8KJRVcofA