"She stared at the stars like they were pillow for her mind and in their light, she could rest her heavy head."
~Christopher Poindexter

The conversation droned on, and I desperately wished for someone- Caleb, Iris, Killian- anyone, to rescue me from it.

"So, Lilly, what's your story?" Dylan asked, shoveling a piece of salmon into his mouth.

"Pretty similar to Viv's, I guess. Really the only difference is that I'm an only child, and I'm in business. Honestly, there's not much to tell. We've grown up together, so everything she's told you, I experienced the same."

"Vivienne mentioned you're a reader?" Esmeralda chimed in.

"I read anything and everything, really."

"I must show you my library. You'd absolutely love it! Books from all over the galaxy, even some from Earth. Of course, some of the ones from other planets have been translated. We don't all speak the same language."

"What other languages are there?"

"Let's see... there's French, Chinese, Spanish, German, and more. Pretty much, all the languages you speak on Earth, there's a planet in space with that same language."

"Even the ones that are dying out or are extinct on Earth?"

"The ones that are dying out may or may not have a planet that speaks their language. The languages that are extinct most likely do not have a planet that speaks their language as those planets were most likely destroyed."

"Destroyed?" I repeated in bewilderment.

Esmeralda nodded sadly. "I have seen languages form. I have seen languages die. I have seen people rise from the ashes to build a new life for themselves and their people. I have seen people be wiped out by the horrors of war."

"You mean their own wars or wars waged by other planets?"

"Our population was decimated by our own civil wars, but certain planets were wiped out by the very enemy we're facing today."

"You mean the Malkans?"

"Yes. They've slowly been attacking more and more planets. Most cannot resist for long. We are one of the few who can."

"Why attack us if they know you can resist?"

"Because they underestimated us. We might be smaller in numbers, but we have powers they do not. We are stronger than they know."

"Why do they keep attacking planets?" Vivienne inquired. "What's the point?"

"I wish all people thought like you, dear. Originally they attacked the people who weren't like them. They believed certain powers people should not possess. Once those people were exterminated, they attacked the countries of those people, annihilating the population, decimating the planet, and taking the resources for themselves. They started with the planets closest to them that were weakest, and as the Malkan's power grew, they grew bolder. They started attacking planets further away. We are lightyears from them, but they wouldn't be waging war with us if they didn't think they could win it. I believe the Malkans have a trick up their sleeve that we're not going to expect, but that is with every war I presume. Of course, we have secret weapons as well, one of those being you two. The Malkans most likely do not know that the last two names on the prophet's list have been brought here," Esmeralda said.

I slowly began eating my food while digesting all this new information. Something bugged me about the whole situation. I mean, there should have been a lot more bugging me, but it was just one thing, and for the life of me, I couldn't place what it was.

Meanwhile, Vivienne led the conversation away from prophecies and Malkans and wars; I pretended to pay attention.

"I should've brought a jacket," Vivienne mused. "It's gotten quite cold."

"Ah, yes. The heating has been acting up. The electrician cannot figure out for the life of him what's going on. It's causing havoc on my plants," Esmeralda remarked.

"Maybe we can get one of Viv's many friends from the hospital to check on the plants," Dylan suggested. It was only when he said this that it suddenly dawned on me what was bothering me. Earlier Esmeralda mentioned that people were whispering and staring at us because of who Vivienne and I were supposed to be. What if people were also pretending to be our friends just so they could say they were friends with the people of the prophecy?

I told myself I was overthinking this. I had a hard time seeing Dylan becoming friends with someone because of what they were rather than who they were, and it was even harder for me to see that with Caleb. Chad honestly didn't seem to care about anything, and hardly anyone except for Caleb, Dylan, and possibly Esmeralda. I had a feeling he wouldn't be at this meeting if he didn't care for her.

But I couldn't shake the feeling of people using me for their own personal gain. I couldn't shake the feeling they were only befriending me because of what I was to be rather than for who I actually was.

The conversation seemed to last hours when, in reality, it only lasted two. Esmeralda had to excuse herself; she had to check with Caleb about his progress with Felicity, leaving me, Dylan, Viv, and Chad. I was the next to go. I was heading straight for my room when Dylan called out my name. When I didn't stop, he came jogging up next to me.

"Hey, why the long face?" he asked.

"What long face?" I replied, trying to play dumb.

"You barely spoke the entire lunch except for asking some questions. Mind you, they were excellent questions."

"I'm fine. Just trying to process everything is all."

"Look, don't sweat it. You have a ton of people watching out for you. Trust me, nothing bad is ever going to happen to you as long as me, Caleb, and Chad are around."

"Thanks, Dylan."

He sighed. "No witty comeback? No... sassy remark? Wow, that conversation really got to you. Okay, at least tell me if my salmon was good," he said, holding out his arms expectedly.

I couldn't be rude to him. I gave him a genuine smile and said, "It was delicious. Maybe you can make another dinner soon some time? I'll make a dessert."

"Finally! Someone with some culinary skills. Caleb can do simple dishes. Chad nearly burned his apartment down the last time he tried cooking. You, me, we need to get together and share recipes. I'll let you go because I can tell you don't want to talk, but later, we're getting together!" Dylan clapped his hand on my shoulder and dashed off. A few moments later, I heard Vivienne let out a yelp, followed by Dylan's unmistakable laughter. Most likely, he'd flamed on and scared her.

I entered my apartment, heading straight for my bed. Caleb wouldn't be back for a while, so hanging out with him was out of the question. Vivienne would be back at the hospital, so talking to her wasn't possible either. Chad hated me, so that was self-explanatory. I thought about talking to Iris but decided against it. I didn't know if I trusted her as much as I did before. I didn't know if I trusted anyone as much as I did before the conversation with Esmeralda.

I rolled over, buried my face into my pillow, and let out a frustrated groan. Whenever I was having a bad day, I would typically grab my kittens and cuddle with them while watching a movie. But they weren't here, so I did the next best thing. I grabbed my phone and scrolled through all the pictures and videos I had of them, missing them more and more as each photo and video passed.