• “Don’t you remember?” I asked, a frown embedding its way into the crevices of my lips.

    “What?” came the gentle sigh formed from a deep voice, his normal reply. His deep chocolate eyes seared their way into my being, causing my vulnerability to show. This in turn angered me, thus making my very nature volatile. This was my typical response on this bland day.

    “You don’t…. Never mind, Jordan! Just… never mind,” I snapped, turning my back to him. Furiously grasping my pencil, I began to continue writing. Only thirty pages in… this will be no winning novel. 'How am I going to pay for tuition?' Was the only thought haunting my mind. This was truly my only shot into an Art Academy, considering I screwed over my high school years.

    “He wouldn’t do that,” Jordan announced, causing me to stop and jerk around to face him.

    “What?” I scowled.

    “Falfura wouldn’t go quiet after she said that,” he pointed out, simply adding spark to my already raging fire.

    “Alright, what do you want him to do then?” I demanded, wanting nothing more than to crumple up the paper and chuck it into the trash can near me. It was already full of invalid ideas, some that were actually good but I hated. You see, I was slightly OCD when it came to my art. Writing, drawing, playing guitar… I hated when I couldn't completely master something. Now, I wasn't horrible at these things, but improvement was definitely needed. I blamed the Japanese in me for this attitude. I knew it was holding me back from all my potential.

    “He would do this,” Jordan smiled, slowly wrapping his arms around my form. I winced for a moment, my last struggle as my anger melted away. Pouting, I simply sat there wordless. “You know I do love you,” he reassured me, resting his chin on my shoulder. We simply sat that way for a few minutes. I took some deep breaths, calming myself completely.

    “I hate you sometimes,” I grunted, leaning back against him and closing my eyes. He simply chuckled at my lie and laid down with me. Somewhere, in the deepest corner of my mind, I wondered if this was truly what Falfura and Aurikyo would do. They were the embodiment of us in a book, but there were still differences… Perhaps I would have to go over my writing once more in the morning. With that, I easily slipped away into a comfortable sleep, a slight smile replacing my scorching frown.

    It was typical for this to happen, as Jordan would usually leave in the middle of the night before my parents came to check up on me. They were never too happy to see him in here while I was sleeping, even though I had explained to them on countless occasions that sleeping without him around was increasingly difficult. They would have none of it.

    So waking the next morning, I expected to be alone. Yawning loudly, I began to stretch in my bed to wake up. My eyes were still closed for the moment, entertaining the part of me that still wished to sleep. Of course, eventually I would have to open them. As I did, I instantly reached up to wipe the sleep out of them so I wouldn’t have to spend a few minutes trying to see in a blurry setting. I hated the feeling of not being able to see.

    Sitting up, I noticed something from the corner of my eye and instantly jumped up, facing it. “Wha-?!” I gasped, not even able to finish my sentence. Slowly I pointed at the thing before me, unable to take it all in. Before me stood a female with fair skin, and with shockingly blue eyes that held little yellow shards of color within them. Her features were sharp, calculating, and knowing. But these things weren’t what had captured my attention. No, it wasn’t even her flowing white hair. It was the scar across her upper bicep, her claw-like nails, and the fire in her eyes. The smallest of details were what assured me that this had to be a dream. For, you see, this was my character. This was Aurikyo.

    “…You must be whoever sent me here,” she frowned, peering closely at me.

    “Sent…?” I raised my brow. Well, this dream was already off to a strange start indeed.