Episode 2 | New Companions, Part 2

Her heart almost literally stopped beating as Dianne instantly widen her eyes at her. For a moment, she thought she misheard the younger girl. She raised her hand and felt her face, dreading that she wasn't wearing her sunglasses.

Then the comment hit her hard.

She was speechless. No retort, not a single defensive comment was able to form in her head. Dianne couldn't say a thing. She didn't want to be backed into a corner like this. But this… this situation was unfamiliar to her and she had no idea how to act.

Dianne hated the look Kylie was giving her, the pity that was so apparent in her eyes. The amber-eyed girl clenched her teeth, seething. 'Who does this girl think she is? How dare she assumes she knows better than me!'

The kids were still in the lounging room, and she could hear them starting to get up and inevitably come to where Kylie and Dianne were. Despite how angry she was, Dianne couldn't make a scene, especially not in front of them. With difficulty, she forcefully sucked it up and only lowered her head slightly to tear her eyes away from Kylie's gaze, as she silently walked past her and headed towards the stairs, not once looking back.

Kylie remained where she was. Dianne could feel her lingering gaze on her back before disappearing from her sight.

~O~O~O~

Dianne remained in her room for almost the entire rest of the day.

Call her a coward, but she didn't want to face Kylie, especially after what she just said had such a noticeable impact on her. In fact, she didn't want to see anyone right now. Giselle must have gotten worried about where she was, and sent Leon – an 8-year old kid – to check up on her.

Dianne simply said she wasn't feeling too well, which wasn't exactly a lie.

It was such a shock as to how easily Kylie saw right through her. Even Chelsea, who was her companion for a long time, didn't and still hadn't figured out as much about her as what that girl said in a single sentence.

The amber-eyed girl lay down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling while fumbling with the sunglasses in her right hand. Dianne sighed before she sat up rather abruptly from her bed. She slipped on her sneakers that were lying near the door and grabbed her black coat. It was getting rather stuffy in her room, and she desperately needed fresh air. After a few turns here and there, she found the window she was looking for, and easily opened the latch, hoping to find solitude at the place Giselle was talking about.

Since their place in the condominium was on the last floor, she could easily access the rooftop. The wind was chilly and she had to stuff her hands inside her coat's pocket.

Sadly, however, that spot was currently occupied.

"What are you doing here?" Dianne said harshly, as she narrowed her eyes at the intruder.

"I could ask you the same thing," Kylie replied, sitting with her knees held together with her gloved hands. "I was here first."

"It doesn't matter who was here first," she snapped. What the heck? Did this girl have some handbook titled '101 ways of how to piss Dianne Hunt off'? "I'm supposed to be here, not you-!"

"Oh?" Kylie said amusingly. She raised an eyebrow. "Is this roof of yours perhaps licensed? Or does it have your name on it?"

Dianne glared at her.

"I didn't think so," she concluded, taking in her silence as an acknowledgment, "but I certainly must say, this truly is the perfect place for moon gazing."

Her face tilted up towards the cloudy grey sky as Dianne begrudgingly decided to sit at least 5 feet away from her. There was no way she was going to let Kylie win another argument.

They sat there in silence, enjoying the snowy white view from above.

"I'm sorry," Kylie suddenly murmured.

Dianne turned her head towards Kylie in surprise.

"I didn't even consider your feelings, and I may have said things that may have hurt you unintentionally, and for that…" she turned her face slightly to face the amber-eyed girl, her eyes looking sincere, "I apologize."

There was a brief period of silence as Dianne contemplated what she should say. She really hadn't expected that Kylie would actually apologize, and to say so in such a manner and this soon! Then, she realized that it was because of Kylie's apology that made her comprehend what she had actually done…was wrong. She was only curious. Heck, she only asked Dianne simple two questions! And what did she do? Shoved her to the side, and made her feel guilty by staying in her room all day for no good reason.

'Just when I thought I couldn't be any more pathetic,' Dianne thought to herself.

Kylie had slowly focused her attention on something else until Dianne's answer turned her focus on her again.

"You don't need to apologize," Dianne said quietly, not really looking at Kylie as she reclined her head on her folded arms. She was already feeling so, so awkward. "You didn't know, and I just…lashed out on you. So, in truth, I suppose I'm the one… who should be saying sorry."

Dianne glanced at her briefly to see her reaction, and that was when she saw Kylie smile.

She had her head slightly lowered, her eyes half closed as her dark hair blew smoothly in the light wind with bits of snow swirling in the mix.

"You are even more mature than I realized," she said softly, still smiling.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Dianne said questionably. She didn't know whether she said that as a compliment or as an insult, or even both.

"Let's go in now, Dianne," she said as she got up and moved towards the edge. "It's getting cold."

For once, the brown-haired girl followed Kylie without any complaints.

That night after dinner, all of the children gathered around the big table to celebrate Kylie's birthday. Dianne was dumbfounded that the very day she and Kylie had misunderstandings was actually Kylie's birthday. It just added salt to Dianne's wounds.

After singing the usual 'Happy Birthday' song, she blew out the 13 lit candles that surrounded the surface of her whip cream cake. As the cake was getting distributed, Dianne noticed that Kylie was nowhere in sight. Still feeling guilty about what she'd done earlier, she picked up two plates of cake and decided to go look for her.

Guess where Dianne found her?

"You know, you really shouldn't go on the roof that much," the amber-eyed girl said, sitting down closer to her this time. "You might accidentally fall off."

"And you won't?" Kylie said, her eyebrows raised.

Dianne gave a small laugh.

"Of course not," she said a bit proudly, "I have good balance." Noticing her disbelief, Dianne added sheepishly, "and a lot of practice." She handed her a piece of cake. "You want one?"

Kylie shook her head, "That's nice of you, but I already ate. You can have it."

"Suit yourself," I said. 'That meant more cake for me.'

Dianne sat down and began to eat her cake, enjoying the rich taste of whip cream in her mouth. 'Oh man, I really got to thank Giselle later. Whipped cream was like the bomb,' she hummed to herself.

The sky had begun to darken as clouds began to gather around. Bits of snow swirled around gracefully as the winds finally died down. The full moon remained as bright as ever and seeing it made me feel relaxed and forget everything around me. There were no black creatures here. It was only her and the surrounding beauty of nature and snow. I wish I could remain in that moment for eternity.

Then, Dianne remembered something she should have done earlier.

"Happy Birthday, Kylie," she said, a smile gracing her features.

Kylie stared at her for a moment.

And this time, she smiled back.