There are no strangers here
Only friends you haven't yet met.

-William Butler Yeats

(____) slowly opened her eyes and was met by garish light. It was cold and unfeeling and she wanted to relapse back into her darkness. The darkness that cloaked her against the cruelness of society. The darkness kept her safe, away from the jeers and the taunts.

If only the darkness could keep her in hiding forever...

She was about to close her eyes when something blocked the light out. It wad a dark figure; she wasn't able to decipher the face.

"Hey, Toris, I think she's awake!"

The figure seemed to turn its face away and the tasteless light shown down on short, golden hair.

"She's awak- Hey stop, no!!!"

"O-oh sorry..."

The figure turned back to (____).

"Hey, girl, like, you gotta wake up!"

She felt a hand touch the side of her cheek and (____) forced herself to focus on the cold world.

"Wh.....where am I..." she managed to speak out.

"Here, get up now."

A hand grabbed her arm and forced her to stand up. Her eyes focused on the person who was helping her and found herself looking into a young boy's big, bright green eyes.

"Who-"

"Hey, Toris, she's okay!"

The boy grinned triumphantly.

"You're (____), right?" Someone asked from behind him. A boy with brown hair was awkwardly holding a bucket filled with water.

"Yes..."

"(____), huh? Well, my name is Feliks Lukasiewicz! And the dork behind me is Toris."

"Do I know you?" (____) asked.

"I don't think so, but we can, like, totally be friends, and I think you're, like, totally cute!"

(____) found herself blushing.

"No one has ever called me 'cute'..."

Just then, a girl came into the bathroom and saw Feliks and Toris.

"Eek! What are you boys doing here?!" Then, she saw (____). Feliks felt (____) freeze and she began to shake. The other girl was eyeing her coldly.

"You're still here, you filthy rat?"

(____) let out a meek cry of fear.

"Hey that's not nice!" Feliks started to say.

"Yeah whatever," the girl snapped her head in his direction, "Don't talk to me you homo! Go complain to your boyfriend!" She pointed at Toris

"How many times I have to tell you people, WE'RE NOT GAY!" Toris exclaimed in exasperation.

"Whatever. Tell that to your boyfriend!"

She looked back to (____) and Feliks and huffed.

"You're all going to be in big trouble once I tell the teacher!"

Before she could turn and leave, her face was met with a cold splash of water.

"EEK!" she screamed out.

Toris was smirking at her, holding an empty bucket.

"NOW YOU'RE REALLY GOING TO GET IT!" She screamed at him. The girl began to cry, "NOW MY MAKEUP IS RUINED!"

She ran out of the bathroom crying.

"It's going to be alright," Feliks said as she patted (____)'s back. She was shaking and breathing hard.

"Was she the one of the girls that hurt you?" He asked.

She nodded.

Toris smiled triumphantly as he walked over to the two.

"Did you see the look on the girl's face?" He asked, "It was amazing!"

Feliks laughed, "She totally, like, deserved it!"

(____) let out a brief, shaky laugh.

Then, they heard a bell ring.

"Darn, we are so late. Like, the teacher is gonna kill us!"

"Well, come on, let's go!"

Toris threw the bucket into the corner and ran out the bathroom.

"Let's go, (____)!" Feliks grinned at her.

She lifted her eyes at him and managed to force out a smile.

"Alright."