This was supposed to be a sad chapter but it's just long instead. No angst...for now. Also this continues from last time when our dear group has just finished elementary and it will be the last 'flashback' chapter we'll have :-)

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"Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy."

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Here's the thing; People grow apart and that's just how life works. As you grow up, you become a more complex character and even the environment in which you live changes progressively, therefore no one is surprised when people grow apart. It's  not enjoyable in one way or another but it happens and you can not stop it.

Sometimes change is scary. Everyone knows it-it's why they hold on to the past with everything they have. But life doesn't work that way. It moves and you are bound to move with it either slowly or all at once.

Here's another thing about humans and life; in the first years of one's life, they live in a bubble. Children are happy and careless, loving everyone and everything. They don't discriminate, they give their entire being to others because in their own little magical bubble everyone is as nice as they are. It starts with them learning to understand the dirty hidden innuendos in cartoons and evolves in learning about death and the world's real boogeymen.

From that point and after, you either die or survive.

You either embrace the end or live long enough to be the one person your parents warned you about.

(There's a third category in which you're just a broken vessel searching for someone to fix you. But isn't it ironic how the only people that will understand how broken you are will be just as broken and unable to fix you?)

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Skye can't sleep.

It's been happening for quite sometime and it keeps getting worse. Her energy was at its lowest and she could barely stay awake in her classes. It ate her alive and neither her nor her parents could make things better. If something, they only made things worse and left a bigger mess to clean.

Skye figured out that no one could really help her and if she was to be saved, she needed to do it herself. With that thought in mind, she sheltered herself from the world and avoided everyone at all cost. Even her best friends who had already suffered the loss of both Newt and Brendon. Skye liked to believe that everything was for the best. When she would get better, because she would, she would run to her friends' arms once more.

They didn't deserve to be around a broken person like her.

"That's all I have."

"You know I brought you many stuff, I was expecting a little more from your part."the older boy mumbled making Skye frown. She might have been two years younger than him but that didn't mean she was scared. She could knock him out if needed.

"Cut it Puckerman"she shot back"or do I need to let principal Coulson know about your little drug dealing."

"Fine, shortie."he grumbled and put his hand on his bag. He reached for a small bag of pills and handed them to her along with a large cup of coffee"You know, when you get tired of these, I could probably find some LSD for one of my best clients."

"I'm not like you."she whispered and grabbed the coffee and pills from his hands"I will not end up like you."

"They all say that at the beginning, but it's never true baby-doll."

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Dan didn't like drugs.

So he really had no idea what was he doing behind that damn alley filled with smoke to meet a sixteen year old who was obviously a drug dealer. When he had confronted Skye about shutting him out and she had explained to him that she had some problems, he didn't exactly expected a drug problem. Not in a thousand years.

"Will I see you next week? I might find something stronger."the voice of the one and only Noah Puckerman sent shivers to Dan's spine. The boy wasn't good news and he certainly didn't want him to hang around Skye.

"Depe--"

"Skye! No!"Dan yelled as he pointed his finger towards Noah"I'm going to help you come clean. My best friend will not be a druggie."

"What are you talking about?"Skye questioned confused before taking her bag of pills and handing it to Dan"They are not drugs. Technically. They are hypnotics."

"For your sleeplessness?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."he told her feeling a bit embarrassed with himself"Are your parents fighting?"

"What do you think?"she asked bitterly and motioned her hand for them to go. Dan was the only person who truly knew what was happening in the Johnson residence but since Skye had tried keeping her distance, he had never learned that things had gotten worse. He just thought her parents visited a marriage counselor ."Please don't tell anyone."

"I won't. Promise."

All Skye wanted was to be left alone, to fix herself and then let other people in. It was a good plan but she forgot that once you shut someone out, you couldn't erase the past and bring them back. Lucky for her, Dan wasn't going to let her give up on their friendship. The downside? Eventually, they both gave up on one friendship.

Just not their own.

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"What about a book?"

"I've read many."

"But not all."Charlie argued gazing outside his room's window. Summer was just around the corner and with school ending, a book would be a great company for a lonely soul. Furthermore, there were a billion books in the world and one could not simply have read them all. He scratched the back of his head for a while and then jumped from his chair."How about a record? You like Wham! right?"

"You really don't have to get me anything."Quinn continued with a warm smile"I'm not even throwing a party."

"Why not?"

"Brittany has a competition and mum and dad will go with her to Manchester for ten days, until the tournament is over."

"And you'll spent your birthday alone at home?"Charlie asked shocked. He recalled Quinn's past birthdays, they weren't anything fancy-just the six friends eating, playing and sometimes staying overnight-but they still were enjoyable. This year, however, he knew that things would be different. This year it would be just her and him. And they both had a pretty rough year already, they needed to blow off some steam.

"You know what? My aunt is coming tomorrow,"as Charlie spoke he witnessed Quinn's eyes becoming brighter and a hopeful smile formed on her lips. It made him hurt twice as much as he shook his head."my mother's sister."

"Oh. Have you talked to him?"Quinn asked sadness filling her voice. From what Charlie had heard from her, they didn't have any news from Brendon and the few times she had called he wasn't there or didn't want to talk. Eventually she stopped trying. They all did. Newt, on the other hand, was not any better. His aunt and uncle had cut all contact with Charlie's family which meant he hadn't heard from Newt for almost an entire year.

"No."Quinn nodded sadly"Anyways,"he continued after taking a deep breath"She'll be in our house for one week but when she's gone, I could ask my parents if you could stay with us for a while. It will be one day after your birthday but it will be fun."

"Charlie, you don't have to."

"I want to."the two children smiled and shared a hug.

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"You smell like smoke."

"And you smell like daisies."Dan said and coughed a little bit. He couldn't possibly be smelling smoke, he had barely managed to finish a cigarette. It wasn't that he liked smoking, it was all his brother's fault for not hiding his own pack of cigarettes well. Dan was only a kid and it was obvious that curiosity had gotten the best of him.

"Noah told me you wanted him to find you more nicotine."Skye explained"Since when is that a thing?"

"I tried this morning."he told her"It's nice, a bit uneasy at first, but it calms me down. It clears my head too."

"It's a drug."

"Says you."

"I take pills because they help me."she argued and let herself lean against the wall"My parents are divorcing."The statement made Dan raise an eyebrow.

"Are they going to fight for your custody?"

"No."she chuckled bitterly"They don't want me. Neither of them."

"And what does that mean? Wha--they can't do that."

"It's a small town. No one will judge them."she stated sadly"They're going to sent me back to the orphanage."

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In exactly one week things have fallen apart for Quinn. Something happen to Charlie, like he completely disappeared of the face of the earth. Dan and Skye remained distance with only occasional hellos if they were to cross paths and they usually chose to avoid those too. Then her birthday came and she believed something would change.

Nothing did change though.

And Quinn spent her twelfth birthday alone in an empty house with no people calling her to wish her a happy birthday, not even her parents. Only Brittany sent her a message in the afternoon apologizing on behalf of both her and their parents for not calling. Quinn was once more left alone.

The one thing they had promised her she would never feel again.

"Oh, why are you crying, Quinny?"the voice was sweet and caring. Quinn lift her gaze and watched the girl talking. She was taller than her with long brown hair and a caring smile, a smile she knew all too well."Look at your eyes! Who made you sad, honey?"

Next to her stood a taller brunette boy who Quinn thought she would never see again. At least she hoped she wouldn't.

"You're not real."

"That's nonsense! Of course we are!"Marley argued and sat next to her"We heard it was someone's birthday and said we should stop by."

At that moment, Quinn brought her knees closer to her face and let her small 'birthday girl' hat fall from her head. She pressed her palms against her face and began sobbing. For she truly was alone. Marley and Ryder was just another proof of that."They all left me."

"But we won't."and with that Marley and Ryder hugged her tight bringing the feeling of safety back to her. A feeling she had missed dearly.

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"There is someone on the phone for you."

"I don't want to talk."

"They refuse to hang up though."the blonde woman told Charlie. The boy sighed, why couldn't they all just leave him alone? He left his bed and snatched the phone from his aunt's hand. The woman just scoffed in return. If only she wasn't that cold hearted. She might have been related to his mother but the two women had nothing in common.

His mother was kind and caring, she smiled and could light up the world. She brought hope even in the most tough situations, that was what his dad always said, and was prone to help anyone who was lost. She was a fighter and one of the most important people in Charlie's life. His aunt, though, was the completely opposite. She was cold and distant, she showed no expression or fear and Charlie was positive that she never cried either.

"Hello?"there was a pause on the other line. Charlie wanted to scream, it was one of these calls again. He hated doing these, he hated hearing all these distant relatives who suddenly remembered his existence. He hated hearing them pretending they care.

"Hi."the voice comes out in a whisper but Charlie would recognize it everywhere"My parents let me call. Grandma said, er she called and, it was just yesterday. I didn't know. We didn't."

"I know."

"You were in the airport."

"My aunt was coming, we went to pick her up."he said and sniffed his nose.

"I'm really sorry."

"It's okay."he whispered"It's okay that they aren't here. They are living a life beyond and travel the stars."

"In their red box?"Newt chuckled remembering the dream that Charlie had.

"Yeah."

"I still wish I was with you."

"I know."

"And what are you going to do now?"Newt asked sobbing"Live on your own?"

Charlie glanced at his aunt who was, rather apathetically, reading a book while drinking tea in silence. He turned his gaze to his shoes and sighed"Oh, how I wish that was the case."