catch me if you can [c]

[CANYON HART PIERCE]

It really hadn’t been that long since Canyon had been to Lake Eola. Just last week he had taken his new bestie for a picnic at the lake. Jin Li. He was a cute little guy and Canyon enjoyed his company. Though, as much as he enjoyed the sophomore’s company there were just certain things he didn’t want him to see. And one of those things was when Canyon was running. The senior had been pondering it a lot since the little chat he had with Asia at the Ravenous Pig. He had realized something then: he might run until he throws up as some sort of physical torture. He knows his limit. He knows he can stop whenever he wants but he never does. He just runs and runs and runs until he makes himself sick. Canyon wasn’t stupid. He knew very well that that was not healthy – especially in his condition. He had to learn to stop when his body couldn’t take it anymore.

Which might have been the reason he seemed a little nervous today with Asia. He had no doubt that she knew about his little habit. The whole track team knew about his habit. It was kind of hard to miss the giant bent over in the grass as he puked his insides out. He was just worried about what Asian thought of it. At least now he was. He had always claimed that he did it to be stronger but did that make it any less of a weird twist to self-mutilation? Canyon wasn’t sure anymore.

Still, he hadn’t backed out. He and Asia had set up a date to run and the senior was never one to go back on something like that. He just had to be careful. He had to push his… could it be called an ego? Whatever it was, he had to push it aside and call quits when it was time for him to quit. The last thing he needed was to end up in the hospital again. Wouldn’t his mother just love that? And Jin. He didn’t want to worry Jin or Asia.

Despite all this, he wore a friendly smile just as he always did as he paused in stride. They had already made the treck from school to Lake Eola. Canyon had changed into a pair of baggy, athletic shorts and an old muscle shirt. “Ready? I hope you can keep up with me. I’ve had people say my shift should be a cheetah before.”

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[Asia Nicole Sedgewick]

Despite Asia's concerns they had met up in the cafeteria without a hitch and were safely en route to Lake Eola. She had noticed that Canyon was acting a tad differently, but she didn't make any assumptions as to why. Asia didn't make assumptions period. She was as free of judgement as a human being could be. Supernatural human being, that is. She was the devil's advocate, freely giving the benefit of the doubt. Her opinions of people were always in a liquid state, changing with the circumstances.

As they entered the park, Asia got to thinking about running. Her entire demeanor brightened at the thought. There was even more "pep in her step" as the saying went. Inevitably, thinking about herself running led to thinking about Canyon running. Leading up to this meeting she had kept in mind his... habit. She had wondered if he'd push himself past the breaking point today. And if she would be able to stop him. She knew that opting for confrontation might lose her a running partner before she even really had one, but her concern for his well-being outweighed everything else. As they neared the jogging path she cast him a look out of the corner of her eye. There was an uncomfortable feeling in her gut, just a warning of how she'd feel when and if she actually had to round on someone and make them do something. For all of her confidence, Asia despised confrontation. She knew when it was necessary tough, and that assurance was all she needed. And really, there was a chance that all would go perfectly fine.

Her eyes flashed with laughter at his comment. In previous years she might have struggled to keep up with Canyon, but ever since he had come back to track there was a noticeable change in her speed and stamina. At the same time she had been focusing more and more on becoming stronger, faster, overall better. She had decided that this year she would really get competitive in the track meets. The gap between their abilities had definitely shrunk. With a smirk she said, "Cheetahs are sprinters, love. They fade out after just seconds." She thought of her own shift, running over several kilometers at top speed. This was going to be fun.

[CANYON HART PIERCE]

“Oh…” He looked like a child that had his favorite balloon assaulted and popped by some cruel baby sitter after Asia had pointed out the fact that cheetahs were sprinters. He had prided himself on those comments because, well, cheetahs were the fasts land animals in the whole galaxy. But if they’re sprinters, they didn’t count. Not to Canyon. And not just because he was a distance runner. He never had deemed sprinters as fast. They were just capable of quick and powerful bursts of speed over a short distance. Canyon, being the borderline immature teenager he was always liked to make things… fun. A competition, maybe? He wasn’t sure what it could be labeled as but he viewed speed as something that is capable of getting you away from a crazy, psycho killer in a horror movie. A quick burst isn’t going to get you away. Though, maybe he should be priding himself more on endurance than speed.

Ugh. Rant aside, he would have to get Asia back for bursting his bubble. In the most loving and playful of senses, of course. And that was by making this a race. And he knew that they should probably stretch but he was in a hurry to get running. The only thing he did to get ready was shake his legs out. “Well, then…” he stalled, furrowing his brows but that tell-tell smirk started to appear on his lips. He was up to something. And, in a flash, he quickly sputtered it out: “Maybe we should just settle this with a race?” An eyebrow arched as he looked at her. It sounded like a good idea to him. “Can you take on this Giant Panda, Miss. Wild Dog?”

He was certainly ready. He knew this was supposed to be just a friendly little run but he couldn’t help but get just a tad bit competitive. They could always just chill to a slow pace afterwards. It sounded like a good idea to him. “Of course that’s only if you want to. I’d understand if you were a little scared.” Well, he had been trying to see what she wanted but it came out as more of a tease. He meant the best by it, at least.

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[Asia Nicole Sedgewick]

Oh boy. There was an unmistakable shift in Canyon's train of thought following her jab. Just goes to show that smart alec comments had the potential to backfire. A look of trepidation crossed her face as Canyon wound up with his rebuttal. When it came in the form of the Senior proposing a race, though, all uncertainty vanished from Asia's face instantly. This was a language she understood well. Her grey-blue eyes narrowed at the challenge. "A race it is." She did not deign to respond to his teasing comment, opting instead to shoot him a glare.

Rolling her shoulders, she lined up next to Canyon and gazed down the path. "One loop around the lake. That's a little under a mile. Think you can make it, teddy bear?" Her voice was barely masking the laughter that threatened to erupt. While she knew that this was just for fun, a friendly competition, she would take it completely seriously once they were off. She wasn't normally competitive, but she could feel the instinct rising in response to Canyon's words. She would definitely be giving this her all.

She stepped forward into a sprinter's start, rolling onto the balls of her feet. "On your mark..." They didn't have the starting blocks like they did at the track, but it didn't matter. "Get set..." Asia could feel people's eyes on them as they passed or got out of the teenagers' way. "GO." As she said it the canine shifter launched forward with all of the power her legs could muster. She inclined to a comfortable angle, keeping her eyes trained on the path ahead. She focused first on finding a decent speed that she would be able to maintain for the entire race, while still leaving enough energy to actually put on some more speed toward the end.

They were both long-distance runners, and a mile was more of a middle-distance race. They would both be able to handle this easily. Finding a satisfactory rhythm, Asia sought out Canyon to gauge his performance thus far. If he was gaining considerable ground she'd have to readjust, at least enough to match his speed.

Asia felt herself slipping into the familiar mindset, leaving behind all thought besides the ones absolutely vital to her performance. Any problems she was having slipped away, drowned out by the steady impact of feet on ground. For the sake of the race she had to maintain a bit more awareness, but the feeling of self-assurance was the same. She knew this was something she was good at. Everything about running was certain. Perhaps that was why she had taken it up all of those years ago. Seeking out the certainty of running in uncertain situations was how she dealt with life.

[CANYON HART PIERCE]

“Sounds good to me, girl friend.” Running a little under a mile? Canyon could do that in his sleep. Backwards. This should be a piece of cake. He could run quite a few miles before he ends up making himself sick. His worrying about his habits wasn’t needed. At least not at the moment. Canyon was fairly confident in his ability to run Asia into the dust. Standing at six-feet-two-inches, he had quite a stride on him. He could cover more ground in one step than the petite girl beside him. Though, he was well on his way to weighing in at two hundred pounds. That was bound to slow him down just a bit. But still… Canyon held championships under his belt. He was quick and had enough endurance to last him for quite a while. This should be easy.

Right?

He dropped down with ease as Asia did. The classic runners position. He didn’t care if this earned them quite a few quizzical stares. Half of what Canyon did could earn him those kinds of stares. He was used to it by now and simply just didn’t care what people thought of him. All that mattered was Canyon and his friends around him and as long as they had fun, what did it matter? Everyone only got one life and the it could end at any moment. Tomorrow was never promised and he learned that you had to take it one faithful, heart-wrenching, blood-chilling, hell-raising, risk-taking leap at a time. You had to make the best of it. It took him a dose of cancer and a friend’s death to realize that. Though, it took most other people longer. He was grateful.

The second she said go, he was up and running. His lengthy legs took full strides and he had no trouble keeping up with his friend. His gaze was focused straight ahead as he judged what speed he could maintain. Since the distance was less than a mile, he could risk going just a little faster, couldn’t he? Life was about taking risks.

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[Asia Nicole Sedgewick]

As they ran, Asia noticed that she was having to strain a bit to maintain Canyon's speed, what with his longer strides. She would have been more comfortable going slower, but a race wasn't about comfort. It was about competition, pitting yourself against your opponent and seeing how your respective strengths and weaknesses stacked up. She could only hope that she would have enough juice left at the end to sprint to a cheerful victory.

As they looped around the lake, the Junior had to dodge a couple groups of people but for the most part it went without a hitch. She got over the initial threshold of fatigue and plateaued off. Recognizing the feeling, she steadied her breathing to draw each inhalation and exhalation over four steps. Breath in through the nose: 1, 2, 3, 4; breath out through the mouth: 1, 2, 3, 4. Ideally, she would be good to go at this pace... well, for a long time. She'd have to ramp it up toward the end, though. This thought kept her from growing too confident.

As they rounded the last turn, Asia looked ahead an identified their starting point. She had been tuning out all feeling up until this point, but seeing that she would now have to somehow dig up a surge of energy left her feeling more than a little hopeless. She tried to picture the thought of losing and was suddenly assaulted with some less than pleasant thoughts.

If you fail, you will be a lesser person.
Failures are invisible to the world.
You will lose everything. You will be alone.

Of course it was madness, but she had left rational thought behind with all of that other stuff when they had taken off. There was nothing to shield her mind from the steady barrage of negativity and the onset of panic. Suddenly she wasn't running to win any race, she was running to escape these demons.

Feeling her inner predator snarl with frustration against her human limitations, Asia had to fight back a strong urge to shift. One, they were in a public place, so... yeah. Stupid. Two, that would pretty much be an instant disqualification. Fueled by the panic, Asia leaned into a sprint, driving her arms back for all they were worth. She thought of that simple little sentence explaining how to run faster: "Increase your stride length and stride frequency." Easy enough, right?

She powered past their imaginary finish line and pulled up quickly. The second she looked back and realized that simple little fact, she had won, all ominous thoughts fled from he mind. Rationality poured in, instantly dismissing whatever had driven her earlier. She bent over, resting her hands just above her knees, and caught her breath. She was smiling widely, looking up at Canyon. "Well panda bear, is it settled then?" She laughed breathlessly, casting about for a drinking fountain.

As soon as sh spotted one she made a bee-line toward the shiny giver of life. She was careful not to drink too deeply, knowing that they weren't done. As she bent over the arc of water, she thought fleetingly of the sudden anxiety that had overwhelmed her toward the end. It was.... strange. She had been so certain that those issues were in the past. Mentally shrugging, she buried them again. They would stay in the past as long as she didn't pay them any mind. Returning to the Senior, she clapped her hands once and asked, "Ready to keep going?" A side effect of not being competitive was a stark inability to rub it in.

[CANYON HART PIERCE]

Canyon never was the competitive type – even when he was racing. He could talk up a big game, but when it came down to it, he didn’t care if he won or lost. He was a good sport and would congratulate the victor. If he ended up finishing first, he would be chill about it. It was no big deal. Especially now. It was just a friendly race between him and a friend. He would do his best and be proud of where it got him because the ones supporting him were always proud of him no matter what. Though, that was just his optimistic outlook on life. He had been molded to think that way.

And even as they ran, he wasn’t fretting. It was a silly thing to be worried about even if his ‘pride’ may have been resting on it. As far as he was concerned, he was making sure he was leaving the Track Team in good hands for when he graduated this year. And there was no doubt in his mind that Asia would make the team proud. Especially with the way she handed obstacles. Canyon was a marvel when it came to jumping over hurtles. But weaving through clusters of people was a weak point for him. He didn’t want to bowl anyone over and when they didn’t get out of his way, he was forced to slow down, allowing Asia to get ahead of him. And with each group they had to dodge, the farther ahead she got.

Canyon remained calm and just watched her with a breathless smile. His long strides helped him close the distance between them but not quickly enough. He could feel his heart beat in his temples, hear it in his ears. The muscle pounded against his ribcage as if it were trying to break its way out of his chest. His legs were starting to ache but only when he unconsciously slowed which gave him a random kick every now and again. He was sure to control his breathing. This was what he loved. The runner’s high. He felt as if he couldn’t stop or else he’d turn into a puddle of weak muscles. This definitely had to play a part in his unhealthy habit but… he didn’t care.

As he caught sight of the finish line, his first thought was that he didn’t want to stop. The second was that Asia was going to win and he was okay with that. The third was what Jin would think when he told him this story because, undoubtedly, he would.

Ugh, unfortunately he had to stop. He wasn’t far behind Asia and as soon as the imaginary line was crossed, he slowed to a stop. Canyon turned to face Asia and arched his body so his face was pointed to the sky. Closing his eyes to the glaring sun, Canyon clasped his hands together behind his head and steadied his breathing. He was still smiling despite the loss. Finally, after catching most of his breath, he looked over at his friend. “Haha… L-Looks like the team will be left in good hands when I leave…” He let her leave to get the water and dropped his hands to his side. His calves were starting to ache and he shifted his weight from one foot to the order to remain in motion. “Ready if you are,” he grinned when she returned.

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[Asia Nicole Sedgewick]

Asia felt her heartbeat slow and quiet with the brief break. Being an athlete, her recovery time was very rapid compared to the average person. The same went for the senior, it seemed. Upon returning to Canyon, she could see before she even asked that he was good to go. "Lead on, then." She waved an arm in the general direction of their path, determined to let Canyon pick their path and simply follow wherever he chose to go.

His congratulatory words of praise ran through her mind again and brought a smile to her lips. There was a tinge of sadness to the thought, though, because it reminded her that he was, in fact, a senior and would be graduating this year. She felt like although she'd been on the track team with him for years, and they had bumped into each other at other times, she had never really gotten to know him. Which was strange, since she collected friends like she was a squirrel hoarding nuts for winter. She would have this final school year to really get invested in this friendship, and then he would be gone. This, of course, did not dissuade her at all. She had lost a couple of friends the previous year when that senior class had graduated. It was just a fact of life, time marches on and all that. You couldn't slap an expiration date on relationships and avoid the ones that would spoil before you got a chance to enjoy them. That was no way to treat people. She would make the most of the rest of the year and thoroughly enjoy her new friendship with the tall senior.

Running beside Canyon, Asia settled into a thoughtful silence as she considered all of these things. Having everything cleared up in her mind left her feeling content. She maintained an awareness of where Canyon was running in relation to herself so she wouldn't go off on some random path, but for the most part she let her thoughts rest on the rhythm of her heartbeat and pounding feet. Again all worries evaporated as they ran through the park. This time there was nothing to trigger the wave of frantic insecurities. Really, even the birds were chirping up in the branches. It was a good day.

[CANYON HART PIERCE]

Canyon was never a really big fan of silence but he couldn’t help slipping into his own thoughts as they ran together on the random path he had chosen for them. As long as they weren’t running in a circle, he didn’t care where they went so he would zig there and zag there, always making sure Asia was at his side. Normally, Canyon would have his little, blue iPod Shuffle hooked into the waist of his pants but since he was being accompanied by Asia, he felt no need for it. She was supposed to be his replacement entertainment – not that he expected her to turn blue and sing whatever song he requested. Surprising, the lack of sound didn’t bother him much at the beginning. He had the music of their feet and the voices of everyone around them drifting in one ear and out the other.

He couldn’t help but think about his life on the Track Team. From the very beginning of freshman year, he had owned the place. If he wanted to, he probably could have been the track captain. However, with his half-year absence the previous semester and the fact that he just didn’t care to be leader, he wasn’t. Canyon was perfectly okay with going through the flow of things, allowing someone else to raise the waves that swept them up because he knew he could always break past them. In his mind, this was his team. His world. Even if he wasn’t the fastest or the one that can go the longest distance. Even if he was now missing his little group of cheerleaders.

God, December. She was always on the forefront of his mind when he wanted to escape her the most. He just wanted to put her death behind him now that he had accepted that she… she wasn’t there. She wasn’t going to come back. He would never be able to pick her nearly white head out of a crowd of students again. He wanted to be okay with it. He wanted to move on and be happy with the friends he has now. With Asia and with Jin and with Graham and with Kai and with everyone else he failed to mention. He was trying. He honestly was. But this… this was the hardest thing in his life beside his encounter with cancer.

Canyon was only half aware that his thoughts were apparent in his features. The gentle creasing of his brow gave away his worry, the gentle frown slowly pulling at the corners of his mouth was hardly ever seen on his normally positive self, and the light that caught in his evergreen eyes glittered with it all. He just glanced at Asia and offered her his first forced smile hoping it wasn’t as unconvincing as it felt.

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[Asia Nicole Sedgewick]

As she ran, Asia began drawing comparisons between her running and drugs. Sure, one made you stronger while the other took away your strength, but her purpose was the same. She could not say that with much certainty, having no personal experience with drugs, but when she laid it all out there were some obvious similarities. She ran to escape, not from some pursuer, but from her own problems. Running placed her firmly in the moment. Right now she could just shrug off this thought and only be concerned with the path beneath her feet, avoiding a bench or a mother with a stroller, and staying next to Canyon. She lost all worries, all stress. But she didn't need to keep upping the dosage to get her "high." And running didn't always serve her purposes. Sometimes she ran to feel good, like now. Sometimes she went out with the specific intent to run into oblivion. Probably not the healthiest outlet, but it had worked well for her in the past. Not wishing to delve into the obvious shortcomings of her drug of choice, Asia slipped back into the reassuring emptiness.

While she may have been tuning herself out with great success, she was not trying to do the same with Canyon. She was comfortable with the friendly silence, so wasn't racking her brain for a topic to chat about. She kept him in her peripheral vision at all times, so she would not stray from the path and have to dash to catch up. Periodically she would glance at his face, not looking for anything, just a reflex that came with being around people. People did not have to talk to carry on a conversation. Asia was just making sure she was staying engaged.

Thus, it was not surprising in the least when she noticed a change in Canyon's expression. The senior didn't look fatigued, just... down. Really down. Asia pulled up, placing a hand on Canyon's arm to keep him from running on without her. "Hey, what's wrong?" The wan smile only made her more worried. Impulsively, she gave him a hug, then stepped back and studied his face again. She made sure her expression showed concerned interest instead of worry, though, not wanting him to bury his feelings and pass it off as nothing on account of her reaction. Because it was something. People like Canyon were not supposed to be upset. They were too good, they didn't deserve hardship.

[CANYON HART PIERCE]

Canyon didn’t really expect her to stop running after he had offered her an unconvincing smile. Though, he shouldn’t have been surprised. Asia was a good friend so, of course, she’d take notice of such things. Canyon wasn’t really one to hide his emotions in the first place so it wasn’t like it was easy for him to just mask it. It was freaking impossible, actually. Canyon was horrible at telling lies and hiding things. He just didn’t have the heart to do it – even if it was to keep a person from finding out about a surprise party or something. He just always had this big, stupid grin on his face whenever he knew something that other people didn’t and when people would ask him, he always blurted it out. Save for December’s secrets. He never told a soul about her secrets because he had promised her.

The senior blinked as they stopped and he tilted his head to look down at her in confusion. The hug that came next completely surprised him but he didn’t reject it. He never rejected things such as that. A touch of his natural smile graced his lips when she pulled away. “It’s nothing,” he replied softly. He didn’t want to burden her with his thoughts, honestly. It never took much pestering for him to fess up and tell someone what was really on his mind. He just wasn’t good at hiding his feelings. Though, hoping to reassure her, he couldn’t help but to repeat himself: “Really, it’s nothing.”

Everyone had their own problems to deal with. He hated when he complained about something to someone else because of that. Canyon would rather be the one carrying everyone’s weight beneath him rather than even dropping an ounce of his own onto them. It is just the way he was. He wants to save the world, after all.

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[Asia Nicole Sedgewick]

Asia raised a very unconvinced eyebrow at his claim that nothing was amiss. He wasn't very good at this. She would know. She crossed her arms across her chest and lifted her chin to look defiantly into his eyes. Every line of her body and face screamed stubbornness. "No. It's not." Despite her posture, her voice came out sounding surprisingly gentle. At his repetition her resolve hardened and her expression softened. Still, the tilt of her jaw insisted that she would not be dissuaded. Having something to focus on so clearly brought her down from the oblivious cloud she'd been floating along on, slamming her definitively into the present. In truth, she couldn't not be concerned. She wasn't the type to let things go by without comment, staying disinterested in the lives of people around her. Her friends deserved better than that. "If you really can't talk about it, I'll understand. But you can talk to me. You don't have to worry about burdening me." She uncrossed her arms just long enough to thump a fist against her chest. "I'm a big girl. I can handle it." Her earnest expression was broken for a second as a smile flashed briefly across her face. It was back to genuine concern an instant later.

In the big picture, the two figures were quite insignificant. People moved around them without a second look, despite their conspicuous position in the center of the pathway. Nobody took notice of the exchange. For Asia, though, they were standing squarely in the center of the Universe. The entire Milky Way had been put on pause to give them time to deal with whatever it was that was on the senior's mind. Her intensity at that very moment stood out starkly against her carefree, idle state of being that she had been in just minutes prior. Her friends took precedence over everything, as far as the junior was concerned. She was honestly interested in what was bothering her friend. Not because of some morbid curiosity, either, but out of a strong desire to help. Asia was a fixer. Not obsessively, but at the very least passionately.

[CANYON HART PIERCE]

It was as if she had been reading his thoughts and for a moment, Canyon could only stare down at her. The smile faded from his features as he realized that she wasn’t going to let him wiggle his way out of this conversation. He didn’t know what to say, honestly… She claimed that whatever was bothering him would be no burden at all but how was he supposed to tell her what was on his mind? He was dwelling over something he couldn’t help. Something no one could help or fix or anything. So what was he supposed to say? Oh, I was just thinking about my dead girlfriend and how I’d love to see her again. That was a lot to throw at someone. Not to mention at such a random time. They were here to relax – to have fun and put their worries behind them. It really didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that death… yeah, that’s just not fun. Sprinkle some cancer in there and that could depress even the happiest of people.

He really didn’t want to bother Asia with it but she looked as stubborn as a mule at the moment. If there was one thing Canyon knew about arguing with stubbornness, it was like arguing with a wall. No matter how much you pushed and pried and tried to move it, it would just stand tall and strong without even budging an inch. It was no use to argue with Asia and when he realized this, he sighed in defeat. His gaze drifted from her as he thought about how to word it.

Asia probably knew December, right? If she were still alive, they would have been in the same grade and possibly even shared a class or two in the previous years. The blonde-haired girl managed to make it to all of the track meets to support Canyon. One way or another, Asia must have bumped into the almost hostile friend of the senior’s. Then there were the rumors… So all he could think to say was, “Do you remember December…?”

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[Asia Nicole Sedgewick]

Asia sighed. It wasn't sad, or tired, or disappointed, it just held a lot of feeling. Things that she couldn't immediately express. Canyon's single, hesitant question brought so many emotions rushing to the forefront that she'd had to take a moment to secure everything going on inside of her head before something jumped overboard. The rumors, the vague memories, the sympathy that couldn't be properly expressed because how were you supposed to say, "I'm sorry that your girlfriend died and you had cancer," to someone? She shoved it all back into place impatiently; this wasn't the time and place to sort through those things. This was not about her and her feelings.

All the same, she was at a loss. A single sigh was all that had escaped thus far, and she was determined that it would stay that way. If she balked and acted like this whole conversation was making her uncomfortable then all of her previous statements would be meaningless, and she was not a liar. She knew it was normal to feel... uncertain talking about death and the recently dead. No sane person inserted those topics into casual conversation. She also knew that she could get over it and let the senior talk, if talking would help. She remembered the first day she'd seen Canyon back at school after his return from the hospital. She'd given him a hug, a sad smile, and said, "I'm glad you're back." And that was it. It had been such a woefully insufficient thing to say, but then again, what wasn't insufficient?

The junior nodded slowly, aware that her eyes, at least, betrayed the sadness and sympathy that she felt following his question. She didn't bother with maintaining a completely stony expression. It was not comforting to talk to a human-shaped rock. "Yeah, I remember her." She'd seen the blonde at the track and around school, had treated her the same as any other near-stranger. She was the most distant friend-of-a-friend that Asia had had, so their interaction was pretty much limited to a little wave if they passed one another. Even if they had been stuck in an elevator together, Asia doubted they would have gotten much farther than superficial small-talk. When she'd learned of her death she was shocked that a person had died in the school, on her own dormitory level, rather than affected on a personal level.

She had no idea of what Canyon was feeling. She couldn't relate to loss like that. Sadness and loneliness she could understand, though, and her best guess was that those two emotions followed death very closely. Even if she'd had nothing to go on she would still do her best to make the senior feel better. She was going to try because no matter how you looked at friendships, trying was what they were about.

[CANYON HART PIERCE]

“I miss her…” his voice was just a broken whisper of truth. He really did miss his best friend, but who wouldn’t. When you know someone for practically… all of your life… the idea that one day they may not be there never crosses your mind. At least that was what happened to Canyon. He could remember the first day he met December. They were just little kids that lived in the same neighborhood. They had met at the complex’s park and played together. They grew up and went to the same school together. They were shifters… together. They were as close as two best friends could possibly be… and then even closer. No secrets were hidden between them and no lies were spoken. Their relationship was pure and full of love. At least that had been what Canyon thought… until he found out about her depression. About her self-mutilation.

He had realized how she had become distant to the world and allowed only him into her bubble of affection. And he allowed it all to go on. He tried his best to help her but never got her the help she truly needed. He never expected her to throw her life away like she had done. Especially in the bathroom right outside her dorm room. She wanted to be found; she wanted the horror to be discovered and her mark to remain. Canyon was convinced of that. But why? Did she have a vague, hopeful expectation that Canyon would live through the cancer even after the condition she had left him in? If he did live, he knew she would want him to know. She would want him there, at her funeral.

But he wasn’t there. And that was the only part of the fairy tale turned nightmare that he could not put behind him. He was not even aware that she had done what she had done until after he was released from the hospital. The most anyone had told him was that she had become busy with school work and he thought nothing more of it.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled after a moment of utter silence on his part, “I don’t mean to be a downer.”

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