He gets a normal hot coffee and puts in creamer and sugar, I just get a hot chocolate. I don't like the taste of coffee no matter how many times I drank it because Tyler wanted me too. He pulls the white mug to his lips and takes a long sip, then taking it down and staring at it, his finger itching the side of it then looking up at me with his blue eyes. "What's your name?"

"Mae."

"Nice to meet you Mae." He smiles. "I'm Jackson, Jackson River, but my friends call me River." he smiles again.

"Why River? Why not Jack?"

"River sounds better I'm guessing," he laughs, taking another sip of his coffee. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen." I take a sip of the hot coco from the blue mug, gently placing it down as he studies me. He has a blue streak of hair through all the black.

"Why would you jump? You still have your whole life ahead of you?" His voice is...it's so hard to explain. It's deep, but high at the same time, and it's raspy but smooth at the same time. He speaks perfect English, and I would expect him to speak French at first glance.

"My boyfriend was murdered." I don't mean to be that blunt. "I don't really have a whole lot left."

"What about family? Friends?" He lifts a brow, taking the brown scarf around his neck off and hanging it on the side of his chair with his green jacket.

"My family is always fighting, and I don't have any friends." Well, I did have friends, but they didn't matter anymore when me and Tyler started dating. I look out the window to the forming puddles in potholes the city never fixes.

He hums. I know he's trying to find a way to make me stay alive, but there's no reason for me to be alive. High school has and will always be torture for me now, and Tyler was protecting me from everyone who wanted to hurt me.

"Well," his voice breaks my from the window. "I'm no good at these suicide speeches, but, a boy shouldn't be the reason you die. Everyone dies at some point, he just had to punch his clock," River shrugs his shoulders. Now that we're sitting, they're not as broad as before, and he somewhat slouches, but he is tall, probably 5 foot 11. "How do you know he was murdered?"

"It was on the news, and–and his little sister was the one who found his body on the side of the road in front of his house," my voice breaks and my throat is suddenly dry. I shakily pull the mug to my lips and take a long sip, then pull it down and rotate it on the table so I don't have to look at him. "H-How...How old are you, again?" He looks old enough to be in collage but young enough to be in my high school.

"Sixteen," his voice is smooth and calm. "Why don't I walk you home?" I slowly nod as we finish our drinks in silence, him paying and then walking me home. I stay quiet until he decides to speak halfway through our walk by the bridge. "I moved here a week ago with my brother, he's going to college here." The nearest college is in the middle of the city, a half an hour drive there. "What school do you go to? Maybe I'll see you there."

"Concerts High School." The school name is being changes to I don't know what. I think the last thing it was going to be was Harpers after Abigail Harpers who died due to a brain tumor that killed her mid class her senior year. That was like, twelve years ago. I heard people say it might be Brooks High School now, because of Tyler.

"I'm starting there tomorrow!" He smiles and laughs, turning to me and grabbing my shoulders and slightly shaking me. His smile is somewhat contagious. "What year are you?"

"S-Sophomore." I stammer.

"Oh," he nervously laughs and let's go of my shoulders. "I'm going in as a Junior, even if I should be a Sophomore." I nod as we continue to walk to my house. He stays quiet, humming slightly as I walk up the steps of my house.

"See you tomorrow." My voice is soft and ready to break.

"Uh wait!" He runs up the small steps and pulls out his phone, looking at me then nervously laughing again. "Can I get your number? I don't want my first friend here to end up dead."

I can't help but laugh slightly. "Sure." I take his phone and put in my number, his smile only growing wider as I put in each number.

§•§•§

I stand at my locker again, looking slightly better. My hair is still down, still in ratted tennis shoes and a baggy shirt and hoodie, but I put on jeans. That's gotta be something. "Uhm Mae?" I look to my left and see Lindsay. She has her arms crossed with the rest of the cheer squad behind here. Otherwise known as Tyler's Girl Friends. They let me on their team, even though I didn't want to join but Tyler wanted me too, so I did to see him smile and trip during one of his games. "I'm sorry to say this but you're off the team."

I'm still a little hurt even if I didn't want to be on it to begin with. "W-Why?"

"You're just too depressing right now." They all walk away and I stare into my locker again. What am I suppose to be? Excited that my boyfriend was murdered another night we snuck out to see each other? I start creating a list in my head.

Things I've Lost
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
•Cheer Squad
•My dignity
•My life
•My soul
•My way of speaking
•Tyler Brooks

"Hey Mae!" I turn my head and see River running to me. I look away and into my locker of darkness, only the fairy lights hung at the top illuminating the bleak grey inside the lockers. I close my eyes shut and feel their eyes on me. They can't be looking at me right? He has to mean another Mae. "Mae." He touches my shoulder. He wants to talk to me. I slowly turn to him, looking up in his hopeful blue eyes. Juniors never talk to me. "What's up?"

"Nothing." I mutter, grab my textbook and walk down the hall. He follows me.