Audrey had just finished a conversation with Laura and Aaron. They were going to school tomorrow. Laura decided that is was safe enough to go to school, but not to return home. So, Aaron and Audrey would be picked up from the school and brought to Laura's safehouse afterwords.

It was evening time, and Aaron wouldn't let Audrey out of his sight, in fear of cutting herself again. The only places Audrey hadn't cut was had head/face, neck, and torso. All the way down Audrey's arms and legs was cut and bruised, (Audrey punched herself with her metal arm before she cut). It was 8:00pm. Audrey decided to take a shower and get ready for bed.

While Audrey was scrubbing her hair and rinsing it out, a sudden wave of grief washed over her. Audrey felt like no one needed her. So, she tilted her head up and tried to inhale the water. She failed. Audrey began sputtering and coughing up the water. Aaron knocked on the door.

"Audrey? Are you OK?" Aaron asked.

Audrey coughed. "Yeah, I'll be out in a bit."

Audrey finished her shower and dried off. With the long towel wrapped around her body, she went into her room and locked the door. Audrey got dressed and was combing her hair when she heard a knock on her door. She unlocked it and opened it up.

"Hey, Audrey, I have some clothes that Laura told me to give to you for tomorrow, I don't think people will find a cyborg normal." Aaron said, handing her the clothes.

Audrey took the clothes and laid them out on her bed. There was a purple long-sleeved shirt with black flowers stitched in the front, a long and loose pair of jeans, a black sweatshirt with sleeves that ended in gloves that you could take on and off, and a pair of sunglasses. The sunglasses fit perfectly over Audrey's robotic eye, and were dark enough that nobody would be able to tell.

"Aren't you going to get too warm in this?" Aaron asked.

"Nah, when they turned me into a cyborg, they made it so that no matter what temperature I was sent in, my body temperature would stay normal. I'll be fine." Audrey replied.

Audrey went back to combing her hair, but there was a big knot she couldn't fix.

"Need help?" Aaron said.

Audrey nodded. Aaron took the comb from Audrey and had her sit in front of him on the bed. It took a few minutes, but there finally wasn't a knot anymore. Audrey thanked Aaron and walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She was finishing up rinsing out her mouth when she felt a pair of hands grab her shoulders, making her look up, jump, and spit all the water on the mirror at the same time. Aaron laughed.

"Aaron!" Audrey yelled, failing to conceal a grin.

Aaron laughed and ran away, with Audrey on his tail. Audrey finally caught up to him and jumped on his back, causing them to both fall over in a pile of laughter. It was 9:00 now.

They both stood up and Audrey looked over her shoulder to see an unfamiliar girl standing there, smiling shyly. Audrey turned to face the girl.

"Hello?" Audrey said.

"Who ya talkin' to?" Aaron asked. He still hasn't looked up yet, because he was tangled in the sweatshirt he was wearing over his pyjamas.

"I don't know." Audrey turned towards the girl. "What's your name?"

The girl mumbled something and looked at her feet.

"What was that?"

"I said, 'my name is Sophie.'" She replied.

"Nice to meet you, Sophie! My name is Audrey, and this is Aaron." Audrey said.

"Audrey, there's nobody there." Aaron said with a confused look.

"Yes there is she's right- where'd she go?"

"Oh no. I know what this is. You're hallucinating. Schizophrenia. Go to bed." Said Aaron.

Audrey sighed and walked to her room. Sophie was sitting on the bed.

"Go away, I know you're not real."

"I may not be real, but not all your hallucinations will tell you that. I can still have a conversation with you, though."

"No! I want to sleep! Go away!" Audrey shouted.

"I can't go away until you mind makes me. You can't control it. So just close your eyes and I'll dissappear, alright?"

Audrey nodded and lay down on her bed, snuggled under the covers, and went to sleep.

----------------time skip------------------

The next morning, Audrey woke up and Sophie was gone. Audrey got dressed and made sure that every robotic pert of her was covered. She walked down the hall and saw Aaron eating a bowl of cereal. Audrey sat next to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Good morning." Aaron said.

"I'm not sure if its so good."

"Why?"

"Because what if someone finds out I'm a cyborg!? They'll go berserk!" Audrey almost shouted.

Aaron turned to Audrey and gave her a tight hug.

"So what? Nobody will bully you anymore. Especially not Alannah. Come on, Laura is waiting outside." Aaron said.

They walked outside to see Laura waiting in her van. They climbed in and started towards the direction of the school.

"So, what do we tell them when they ask where we've been?" Aaron asked.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Laura replied.

"What if I loose control and Zayla comes out?"

"Trying at that too."

They spent the rest of the ride trying to figure out the answers. By the time they got to school it was too late and they had to go. Aaron and Audrey rushed into the school. As they were walking down the hall other people pointed and whispered. Aaron grabbed Audrey's arm and pulled her to a corner.

"Do you remember the sign language I taught you?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"I forgot to turn off my hearing aids last night and now they're dying."

Audrey nodded. They continued towards their first class. Aaron and Audrey sat next to each other. When the teacher came in he did roll call, and skipped Aaron and Audrey. Audrey raised her hand. The teacher looked confused, because he didn't recognize her.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Uh, yes? Who are you?"

"I am Audrey. Aaron and I are back."

Everyone gasped. Talk about drama, Audrey thought.

"Where did you go?" The teacher asked.

"I'm getting to that. Aaron went deaf and his hearing aids died. I am going to have to sign to him, so please don't go too fast. Aaron and I were in Italy because of an emergency with both of our families. I'd rather not share the rest." Audrey replied.

One of the girls leaned in closer to Audrey.

"Why are you wearing sunglasses? Its not even bright." She whispered.

"My eyes are just SUPER sensitive." Audrey whispered back.

The girl shrugged. Normally, Audrey wouldn't be in this class. This is the 8th grade class. But sh had to be here to sign to Aaron, and besides, she already knew most of the 7th grade stuff.

After class, Audrey spotted Alannah in the hallway. She tried to steer away, but Alannah stepped in front of her.

"So, you finally came back. Were you too scared?" Alannah teased.

Audrey tried ignoring her and follow Aaron, because he was heading towards the next class. Aaron couldn't hear what was going on. Aaron turned around and saw Audrey trying to walk away from Alannah. Audrey started signing.

'Come here, I might be able to charge up your hearing aids a bit.'

Aaron quickly responded and Audrey snuck one metal finger out of her glove and changed it to send electricity to his hearing aids. Aaron could hear out of one ear, but Alannah had grabbed the hood of Audrey's sweatshirt and pulled her back.

"Hey, I'm not done with you yet!" Alannah growled.

Audrey turned towards Alannah. Big mistake. Alannah snatched Audrey's sunglasses away, but Audrey covered up her face before anyone could see. The hall was mostly deserted now, and class was starting in a few minutes.

"Come on, let me see your face!" Alannah said, prying Audrey's hands away.

"Get away from her!" Aaron said sternly, on the verge of shouting.

"Why do you care?"

"Because she is my girlfriend. Now get away!"

Alannah looked confused for a moment, and then finally managed to pull Audrey's hands away from her face.

Alannah stepped back in shock, seeing Audrey's robotic eye and the scar running through the center of the other eye.

"You- you're a freak! What else are you hiding?"

Alannah yanked away the gloves, ripping the sleeves of Audrey's sweatshirt and revealing her metal arm. Aaron was enraged. He grabbed Audrey's arm and they ran to class. Audrey kept her hands in her pockets and her head down. One of the other school bullies shoved Audrey so she fell over. Aaron looked at the bully, and punched him in the jaw. Aaron turned back to Audrey and saw a circle of people had gathered around her.

"What the heck?!"

"She's a monster!"

"A freak!"

"She should go die, she'll never fit in."

And other rude comments were thrown into the air. Audrey got up and made it to a seat as Aaron sat beside her. A single tear squeezed out of the scar in her right eye.