Aphmau started up the steps of the school, looking at the group of friends who were waiting for her at the top.

She stopped suddenly.

She turned her head as she saw him. A tall, broad man with black hair, proud black and red werewolf ears sitting perfectly on his head, and entrancing black eyes. She felt herself freeze. She stopped breathing. She watched him walk down the steps then disappear from sight. "Aphmau? Aphmau are you okay?"

She looked up and saw Katelyn looking at her funny. "What the hell happened man?" She asked, walking to Aphmau. Aphmau felt herself unfreeze, her breathing went back to normal. She snapped out of her trance. "H-Huh? O-Oh!! I don't know...something happened I guess..." Dante flung himself from the top step and jumped to where they were standing.

"That, Aphmau, is Aaron Lycan. He's a junior here, been here since freshman year and, seemingly, has NO friends." Katelyn looked over at Dante, a confused look on her face. "You know the guy?"

"Nope, but I take notes." Aphmau took a deep breath in, and then breathed out. "Aaron Lycan, huh?"

"Mmhh." She nodded and began up the stairs again. "Lets go guys, don't wanna be late." The three got reunited with the rest of their friends and they all headed inside the school. As they walked, the friends bunch by bunch scattered to their classes, until Aphmau was the last one left. She has first hour art, which was further away from the other classes. She stared at the floor as she walked, watching her feet hurry along the white tiles. Until she bumped shoulders with someone. She stopped. She looked up then turned her head.

And there he was.

It happened again. Something about him just entranced her. She didn't know what. He was different, he was interesting. Yet, she didn't know HOW he was different, and HOW he was interesting. She had never met him, never heard him talk, never even seen him. She cleared her throat and spoke. "U-Uh, hi." He turned around and looked at her. And then she got her first chance at a good look at him. He seemed off. Like, something wasn't right. But she couldn't tell what it was yet.

"I'm Aphmau."

"...." He stared at her with his cold black eyes. He then went to speak but nothing was heard. The blush that formed on his cheeks became evident on his scarred face. He cleared his throat then spoke. "Hi...I'm Aaron."

"So I've heard." He cocked his head to the side, his ears flattened against his head. And thats when she realized what she said. "O-Oh! Sorry that sounded weird, huh?" He gave a small 'heh' and looked down at her. "It's okay. It didn't sound weird." She sighed in relief then looked back up at him. "Can we talk later?" She asked, a hopeful tone in her voice. He hesitated, but sighed and looked down at her. "Yeah, sounds good." She nodded and turned around. "I'll catch ya later." And she ran to her class, making it in time before the bell rung. She sat down in her seat next to Blaze. "Heyo Aph, what took ya so long." He asked, not looking up from the sketch he was starting. "I was stopped on my way over here." She said as she reached into her bag for her sketchbook. Blaze looked away from his sketch, his ears perked up. "Oh? What stopped you?" He asked, sitting up straight. Her lips curled into a small smile, and she looked up at Blaze.

"Aaron." Blaze raised an eyebrow at her. "You mean Aaron Lycan?" She nodded. "Yeah, you know him?" She asked, her head tilted slightly to the side. He nodded and looked back down at his sketch. "He's a werewolf, Aph. Almost every werewolf at the school knows OF him but...we never really speak to him."

"Why not?"

He went to speak but stopped, looking to the side to think of how to explain it to her. "Aphmau, werewolves don't really work like humans. We.....We don't really put ourselves out there if it isn't needed. It'd be weird for one of us just to go up to him and start small talk... Its just kinda....unorthodox...y'know?" Aphmau frowned. "Well that's dumb."

"It's culture, Aph."

"Dumb culture."

He laughed and shook his head slowly. "Don't say that too loud Aph, you're gonna offend someone."

"Sorry, sorry." He nodded and continued on his sketch, and the two worked in silence for the rest of class.

The day went by quickly, till lunch came and Aphmau scanned the crowd for her mysterious new friend. She almost gave up hope until, "Hey." She jumped and turned around, seeing him standing there above her. She sighed in relief and gave him a small smile. "Aaron! There you are." He shrugged and looked down at the lunch bag in her hand. "You wanna go eat outside?"

"Yeah!" He turned around and led her outside to a spot on a hill that was shaded by a large tree. "I didn't know we were allowed to eat outside." She said, plopping herself down against a tree. "We aren't but they don't give a damn."

"Hey watch your language! You kiss your mother with that mouth?" She said playfully. He stopped and pressed his ears against his head. "I don't have a mother to kiss." Aphmau stopped and herself get flustered. "Oh my Irene! I'm sorry I said that!" He shrugged. "It's fine." He got a sandwich out of his bag and slowly unwrapped it. Aphmau sighed and began taking her lunch out of the brown sack one by one.

"So...where is your mom?"

"She's...away."

"What about your dad?"

"Away."

"Siblings?"

"My sister...works....non stop so I don't see her."

"Oh."

They ate in silence for awhile until she asked, "How come?" He sighed and put his sandwich down, then brought his legs to his chest and hugged his knees. "If she doesn't work, we can't keep living in our apartment. We can't live a decent life if she doesn't work."

"Oh. What happened to your parents?"

"You're pushing it, shorty."

"Sorry, sorry."

He breathed out and looked down at her, a puzzled look on his face. "Why did you want to talk to me?" She nearly choked on her food when she heard that, her cheeks heated up. He leaned away from her, somewhat scared of her reaction. "Huh?!" She asked. He let out a small chuckle and repeated the question. "Oh..." She took a deep breath and then said. "I don't know what it is but...there's something different about you. I don't know what...I just.....feel it."

"You FEEL something is different about me?" He asked in a cocky, skeptical manner. She laughed. "I know it seems silly but- there REALLY is something different about you, Aaron."

"Hm."

They finished eating then got up, locking eye contact for a few seconds. "Hey shorty, thanks for the talk."

"Heh...no problem! Lets do this....tomorrow?"

"Sounds good."

And it did happen the next day. And the next, and the next, and the next. Every single day they sat on that hill under the same tree. Over, and over, and over again. But after all of those times under the tree, she never found out about his parents. She never found out what was different about him. But she wouldn't give up.

"Hey...Aaron?" He looked up from the ground, locking eye contact with her. "Yeah?"

"Can I meet your sister?"

"Can you meet what??" He asked, giving her a confused look.

"Can I meet Melissa?" He looked away, scratching the back of his neck. "I don't know Aphm-"

"Please, Aaron?" He sighed and looked back at her. "No, Aph."

"Why not?" He felt a pang of hurt hit his heart. "Aph...no." He got up and for the first time in the months of their friendship, the months of lunch outside, he left.

Last night, a police officer came to Aaron's door. Melissa was killed during one of her...'jobs' and the suspect fled shortly after. She was gone. Which left Aaron by himself, working late after school, and supporting himself. But, it also left him COMPLETELY alone. He wouldn't see Melissa ever again, he wouldn't see his parents, he had NO family. It was just him, the last Lycan standing.

But at the same time- Aphmau realized what was so different about him. He was able to say 'no' to her. Not kindly disagree and make up for it, not fake it and say 'yes'. He said NO. He didn't let her get what she wanted. And now she understood why he was special. He wasn't like everyone else, he went against everything she ever knew.

And she liked it.

"And then he just...left!" Aphmau complained, throwing her head back. Katelyn shook her head. "You WERE being unreasonable."

"Who's side are you on?"

"You asked for honest opinions Aph, I'm telling you that you were being kinda rude. Maybe he doesn't WANT you to meet her. You never know, Aph. Just leave the poor guy be."

"I dunno Katelyn, it seemed like a jerk move." Nicole interjected, not looking up from her phone. "Who's side are you on?"

"Does it matter?" Aphmau shook her head at them. "I guess it's fine. I'll meet her eventually, I guess."

"Probably."they looked up as the bell rang. The three stood up and grabbed their bags. "Where are you all headin' to now?" Katelyn asked, looking at two. "Home." Aphmau said as she packed up her things. "Why are you asking?"

"Wanna hangout?" Aphmau sighed and shook her head. "As much as I want to- I gotta go do some after school stuff. Maybe tomorrow?"

"Sure, see ya Aph." Katelyn said as her and Nicole walked off, waving 'goodbye' at her. "Bye."

Aphmau walked through the halls and stopped when she heard yelling. She slowly walked to the voices and stopped around a corner.

"C'mon, Gene! I know you got somethin'!!"

"You can't have any of it, mutt! Now go home to your pathetic life!"

"My life isn't the ritz, Gene. But at least it's not as pathetic as your's!"

"Agh, you're wastin' my time, kid." She heard the booming steps get closer to where she was till they stopped as she heard, "Wait, I'll pay you extra!"

"You'll pay the full two hundred?"

"I have it right now!"

"That's stupid, Lycan. But...ugh. Alrigt, meet me at the 'spot' tomorrow night and I'll give you all of it."

"Deal." The foot steps began to get closer until they stopped once more. "Hey kid, don't fuckin' kill yourself with this, alright?"

"I'll try not to." Gene laughed and walked away, leaving Aphmau with less time to run away from the area. She successfully fled but then, it left her with questions. What was he buying from Gene? Because Irene knows that, Gene is nothing but trouble. Always has. She snapped out of thought when she reached the art room. She walked inside where Blaze was, his feet propped up on the table.

"There you are, where have you been?"

"I got sidetracked."

"With what?"

"...." Blaze sat his feet on the ground and sighed. "You don't have to tell me, but if you want to....I'm all ears." He said, wiggling his wolf like ears. She giggled and sat down next to him. "Well...I overheard Gene and...someone I know...talking about a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"I don't know! Something about two hundred and a spot?? Ugh I'm just...worried."

"Oh, that kid gonna get 'effed UP!" Blaze said, his eyebrows raised. "Blaze be serious! I'm worried that he might get hurt or even worse!"

"Aphmau, don't worry. If they were talking about it IN SECRET, then it is going to STAY a secret." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Maybe..I just- I don't know Blaze. Whenever Gene is involved it's always no good."

"I know, I know. Just- trust me on this. NOTHING will happen."

"...whatever you say." Blaze slammed his hands on the table in a melodramatic manner. "RIGHT, LET'S FINISH THIS PROJECT SO I CAN GO HOME!!" He yelled with enthusiasm, making her giggle. "Yeah..."

The next day

"Hey, Aaron!"

"Hey, shorty." They plopped themselves under the tree and did the usual thing. Talk, then eat lunch, then talk more. But today, it was different. It was quiet. They just ate in silence...Aphmau then began to talk. "Aaron, I know what happened with you and Ge-"

He cut her off by kissing her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. Her eyes widened, her heart raced. Time stopped. The world stopped. Everything around them disappeared. Her heart seemingly stopped. Her cheeks heated up, her palms got sweaty, she became flustered yet entranced at the same time. She slowly melted into the kiss, and wrapped her arms around his neck. When he pulled away, she had a puzzled look on her face. "The hell was that?" She asked, out of breath.

"Aphmau....have I ever told you that I......."

"Well?" She asked, waiting for him to speak. He sighed then, eventually, found the right words.

"I care about you."

"Okay? I care about you too." She said with a giggle, making him sigh in relief. He grabbed his stuff and got up. "Hey Aph, I gotta cut our lunch short today. I...I gotta go deal with something. I'll see ya later, okay?"

"Alrighty, see ya Aaron." As he walked down the hill he stopped and turned around. "Hey, shorty?"

"Yeah?"

"I care about you, don't do anything stupid." She laughed and nodded her head. "I care about you too, Aaron. I'll talk to ya later, alright?"

"I'll try." And he walked off. "Huh..." She said quietly. "That was weird." A little later after he left, she packed up her things and walked towards the school, escaping the cold winter air. The day passed by quickly until before she knew it, it was the last hour of the day. Seventh hour was her personal favorite because the teacher assigned projects that people would quickly finish before the three week due date, so they did nothing in class. So, she talked to Katelyn and Nicole the whole hour.

Aphmau walked into the class and sat in her seat as the bell rang, making it just in time. "Soo, Aph. How was lunch with your boyfriend?" Nicole asked, propping her head up with her hand. "He's not my boyfriend, Nicole."

"Was he sore after what happened yesterday?" Katelyn asked, leaning in to the conversation. "Actually....no. It was weird. He was all strange today..."

"How so?" She asked, a glint of curiosity in her blue eyes. "He uh....he kissed me." Katelyn's eyes widened. Then she raised an eyebrow and asked, "Wait, I didn't hear you what did you say?" Aphmau sighed and repeated, "He kissed me."

Katelyn almost fell back in her chair, almost taking Nicole down with her. "OH MY IRENE, HOW DID IT HAPPEN?!" She asked, pulling herself back up. "I was talking and then he just did it, I guess. I don't know it was kinda weird, Katelyn." Nicole leaned towards Katelyn and loudly whispered. "SHE LOWKEY ENJOYED IT."

"I can hear you, Nicole."

"I know, now this is the part where you confess that you DID lowkey enjoy it." Aphmau groaned and leaned back in her seat. "I did."

"Aww." They said in sync, making her blush. "I hate you two sometimes."

"You know you love us." Nicole said, a small smirk on her face. "Yeah, I do." They giggled obnoxiously then the topic changed. For the rest of class they talked until the bell rang, and then they all left.

Aphmau walked in the door of her house and yelled, "MA, I'M HOME!!"

"APHMAU, GO START ON YOUR HOMEWORK." She groaned and walked up the stairs, her small dog tagging along. She walked in her room started her homework. After an hour, she decided to call it a night....even though it was six o' clock. She picked up her phone and clicked on Aaron's contact, and decided to see what he was up to.

•Hey

And for awhile she heard nothing back. She shrugged it off and went on doing whatever needed to be done.

Later that night.

"Phoneix Drop Police, open up!" A voice boomed, followed by loud knocks on the door. Aphmau sat up, her dog barking obnoxiously at the noise. She walked to the window and saw two police cruisers outside the house. She walked out of the room and walked downstairs, seeing that her mother hasn't gotten up to see the commotion yet. The dog repeated barked at the loud noises till Aphmau yelled "Perro callate!" Aphmau opened the door and saw two police standing outside. "Can I help you?" She asked with an unsure voice. The man nodded and showed her his badge. "Is your guardian around?"

"Yes."

"Can she come here?"

"Yep. Ama, ven aca!" Her mom ran to the door and loomed at the officer. "What is the trouble officer?" She asked, concern in her eyes.

This was the officer's least favorite part of the job. Telling them the bad news. "Ma'am, earlier tonight, a young man by the name of Aaron Lycan drove off the edge of the road. His car rolled down the cliff and...he didn't make it. We salvaged his phone and we tracked down the only contact on his phone, which I'm guessing was...you?" He asked, handing the phone to Aphmau. "We didn't know what to do in this situation, he has no living family in the country so we found the next best thing."

"What do you mean? He has a sister, didn't he?" The officer sighed. "He did. I'm not allowed to give any details on that. But, as we were investigating, we found a note in the case of his phone that was...addressed to you....I'm sorry for your loss." Aphmau took the note and the phone. "Aren't you supposed to keep these as evidence?"

"In normal circumstances, yes. But, the case was so awkward we wouldn't have any use for these. Unless...you have names?"

"Names for what?"

"He had something in his system, and we don't know where he could've gotten it."

"A guy named Gene, at the high school. I'm positive it was him." The officer nodded and wrote the name down in a small pen pad. "Thank you ma'am. Have a nice night."

"I'll...try." The two officers went away and Silvanna shut the door. "Aphmau honey I'm so sorry, I-" she went to hug Aphmau, but she was pushed away. "Mom I...need some time alone." Aphmau walked upstairs, looking at the items in her hand. When she got in her room she pressed the 'On' button and turned her desk lamp on. Aphmau sat down in the cold plastic chair and looked at the neatly folded note. With hesitation, she unwrapped the note and began reading.

"Hey shorty, didn't think this would happen, did you? Actually...you probably did, you're a smart girl, Aphmau. Anyways, I knew this would happen. And, I meant for this to happen. Aphmau, I'm sorry I don't get to tell you this in person. But, I think you deserve to know all the things you probably want to know. First...my phone's password is 2744. Which spells out Aphh. Yeah, I know that's kinda weird but...you're always on my mind, Aph. Might as well put you on my phone too. Second, I didn't want you to meet Melissa because she had died the night before you asked. She was killed on the job. Life's a bitch, huh? Now, I bet you're wondering about my parents. Aphmau, they were on the run. They're all the way in Europe and just left me and Melissa behind. We don't know where in Europe, because there's too many damn places there for us to know. They left me and Melissa with nothing. Not the house, not any of our belongings. Just with the shirts on our backs. And we haven't heard of them since. Now that those two things are answered, I bet you're wondering WHY I did it. Why I purposely drove off the road to my inevitable death. Aphmau, there isn't many good things in my life. With my parents leaving me and Melissa homeless, then with Melissa DYING while trying to keep us in our home. My life sucked ass, shorty. It really did. But, then I met you. About four months ago, I bumped shoulders with you on my way to math class. And my life grew slightly better. But Aphmau, even your sunshiny happiness couldn't keep the darker thoughts away. That's why I took the two hundred dollars Melissa had saved for the rent money, and bought drugs off of Gene. So I flew off the edge, high as a kite, and died a death that didn't hurt because of how much drugs I was on. So, good for me...I guess. And now, we come to the last question. Why did I kiss you? Aphmau. That day I said "I care about you" I meant more then just that. Aphmau, I love you. I know that sounds cheesy as hell but, I can't find any other words to explain it. I know what I did was selfish, and as I write this, I keep rethinking my decisions. But, even though I love you with all of my broken heart, you weren't enough to save me. I know that sounds awful, but think of it like this; your sunshiny happiness could work on someone else, Aph. I don't want this event to take away your happy smile. I get that you're only human, so it's okay to cry, Aph. Just remember....I love ya shorty. And I'll always watch over you. (Not to be a creep or anything. Just to make sure no assholes are being mean to you.) So....so long, shorty. See ya again someday.

Hopefully.....
With love,
Aaron Lycan 8D
(P.S , you can look through the phone if ya want. I wouldn't have given you the password if I didn't want you in it.)"

"That face..." She said with a small smile on her face, feeling the tears roll down her face. She looked at the phone and decided she would look through it later, not ready to see what might be in there. Instead, she read the note again and then stood up, not having enough energy to cry anymore. And she got in bed then slept.

The next day, she walked pass her group of friends at the top of the stairs, and went straight to class. Blaze was already there, waiting for her to show up. "Heyo, Aph. You came here earlier today, huh?"

"Blaze, you were wrong."

"About what?" He asked in a confused voice, looking down at her with a skeptical look. "The whole 'I know, I know. Just- trust me on this. NOTHING will happen!' Crap you told me! Blaze, he died!" She said above a shout, making him flinch slightly. "You're kidding right?" She felt tears sting her eyes again. "Does it LOOK like I'm kidding?" He frowned and leaned forward towards her. "A-Aph...I'm so sorry." He went to hug her but she leaned away. "Don't be sorry, you didn't do anything."

"Does his family know?"

"He doesn't have any family."

"Yikes..." He sighed and looked down at her. "Aphmau, it's okay to talk about it."

"I don't need to talk to anyone, what I need....is Gene...and someone's cleats."

"Ohhh, Aphie's gonna beat the crap outta him, is she?"

"IMA KICK HIS BALLS IN." He leaned away from her and let out a chuckle. "YEAH YOU WILL, GIRL!" He yelled, throwing his hands in the air. "YEAH!"

Later that day...

Aphmau walked into the lunchroom and scanned the room for Gene, Blaze following behind him. "Remember Aph, this boy GAVE him the stuff. It was APART of his death. Knock him hard, girl." Her eyes stopped wandering as soon as she saw him. Blaze saw him and rubbed her shoulder. "Aph, I'm right behind ya. If things go south, move out of the way and I'll handle it."

"Gotcha." She straightened her posture and marched to Gene, with the most intimidating expression she could make. He saw her from the corner of his eyes and smirked. "Ah, kitty! What a pleasant surprise to see you again! Now, what do ya want, I don't got time for you." He said, a bored expression on his face. "Gene, I know about your deal with Aaron."

"The mutt? How do you know about that?" He asked, leaning closer to her. "It doesn't matter Gene. I KNOW that you sold him something. He's DEAD, Gene." Gene choked on his own spit after hearing that. "I told the kid he couldn't handle it, but he INSISTED so I took his money and gave him what he wanted."

"So you KNEW that it would cost him."

"Aside the two hundred? Yeah, but I couldn't pass up two hundred dollars, kitty. It's his own fault for killin' himself with the stuff."

"He didn't overdose, Gene."

"Then why are ya bothering me about this?"

"He was driving under the influence Gene. And YOU provided the stuff Gene. I hope you know that the two hundred dollars want do you good in jail." Gene nearly fell on the floor when he heard that. "YOU TURNED ME IN?!"

"THEY ASKED FOR NAMES, GENE. OF COURSE I TURNED YOU IN!"

"NO ONE LIKES A SNITCH!" Before he said anything else, Aphmau punched him in the gut, making him fall to the floor. He clutched his stomach and looked up at her. "You wanna go, Kitty? Because I WILL make you pay for that." Blaze smirked and bent down to height and whispered, "Do it, Aph." She then proceeded to kick him in the crotch, making him yelp loudly. "ARE YOU WEARING FUCKING CLEATS?!" He yelled, curling into a ball to try to ease the pain.

"Happily provided by the soccer team." She said with a smirk. She then got on her knees and told him, "When the police get you, I'll make sure that they find your stash, and destroy it. You're outta business, Gene." She then stood up and flipped her hair sassily. "Lets go, Blaze." He nodded and then followed her out of the cafeteria, and outside on her and Aaron's hill. "Is this where you snuck off to during lunch?" She nodded. "Every day me and Aaron ate lunch on this hill under the tree." She said, patting the tree softly.

She looked down then looked back up at him. "Hey, thanks for all the support and stuff back there. I wouldn't have said anything if it weren't for you." He smiled and winked at her. "No problem, Aph." She smiled as she remembered the pep talk he had given her while she was putting on the cleats. It was very intense. She sighed and looked around them. She looked at the cleats and sighed. "I'm gonna return these and head home. I'll see you around, Blaze."

"Catch ya later, Aph." She turned around and went to the gym and returned the cleats she had borrowed, then went on home.

When she reached the house, she grabbed the keys from her pocket and unlocked the door then stepped inside the house. She shut and locked the door then ran upstairs, fumbling on some of the steps. She got in her room then looked at her desk, which had the note and the phone still on it. She threw her bag on the floor and sat down in the chair, looking at the phone.

She took a deep breath in picked up the phone then typed in '2744' and it took her to the home screen, which was a picture of her. She scrolled through the phone till she found the 'Photos' app and she clicked on it. She scrolled through the pictures which were mostly her and Aaron until she found a picture that caught her interest. It was a girl, long brown and slightly blondish hair, giving the camera a small smile. She looked at the date the picture was taken. "Two days before Melissa died..." She spoke softly, examining the picture. She scrolled again and saw a video. She clicked play and watched silently.

"Aaron, why do you want a picture of me?"

"It's for school, Melissa." She laughed and rested her head in her hand. "Alright, you can take a picture of me." She said in a teasing tone, making Aaron laugh. "Thanks, sis."

And the video ended. Aphmau realized that was his sister. She never got to meet her, so he did this. She continued scrolling until there were no more pictures to look through. When she finished going through the phone, she sat it down carefully and felt the tears roll down her face.

She then examined the phone itself, which had held the note. She took the red see-through case off and looked at the back of the phone. It was in good condition. The only mark on it was something he wrote on it. "For shorty, XoXo" She let out a small laugh, looking at the words with a tender look in her eyes.

That day, she cleared out a drawer in her desk and filled it with stuff that was given to her by him. The phone, the note, and printed pictures that she got from the phone. It was her 'memento drawer' and she kept it so that she never could forget him. Not that she would.

In the weeks that follow, Gene was arrested for making and selling drugs, not surprising. The school went on normally, and no one knew that he died. Because very few people knew Aaron. There was no assembly, there was nothing to remember him by. Except the tree, which Aphmau carved their names into with a screwdriver she found. Over time, became less mopey because she realized that probably wasn't something he would want for her. And her life continued without him, even though it felt lonely as she lived on without him. And although she never forgot him, over time she thought less and less of him, until he was just a thought in the back of her head. But, she did keep the drawer in perfect condition, despite her thinking less about him.

And one day, they would meet again.
But till then
This was the story of,

THEM.

Fin~