-Narcissistic personality disorder: lack of empathy.

WINTER. STARED down at the sketch of the man with a squinted eye. This time she'd made it so he was laying down, his arm wrapped around a blanket, looking peaceful in his sleep. She tried to understand why she felt the need to draw him once more- even after she did not want to the first time around, but couldn't come up with a logical excuse. Perhaps it was nothing. She may just be drawing the first thing that popped into her mind, like she always did when she was bored. There was nothing more and nothing less to it.

She continued to observe the sketch for a few moments more before picking up her pencil and slowly scribbling over his face to get rid of him. Keeping it on her paper made her feel uncomfortable for some reason. If he wasn't there, he wouldn't bother her. That was the logic that kept her at bay.

Kristopher gently bumped his shoulder against her's, successfully drawing her attention away from the notebook page. He shook his head disapprovingly at her, telling her with his large sky blue eyes that she should be paying attention to the lesson that Mr. Kenny was now getting into and not slacking off like she was on the road to doing. She stuck her tongue out defiantly at him and signed:

I don't feel like paying attention right now.

They'd learned how to sign together during the beginning of their friendship, when they both figured out that they were both too loud or too verbal with their speaking within earshot of other people. Shy as he may be, he was never that shy whenever he was around her. They just clicked. It was like a switch had been flipped on, and they didn't really realize that being as loud as two wild hyenas eating a freshly killed animal carcass was something that they were doing. So they decided that if they were going to do something, why not learn a new language?

It took them a few months to master it to a manageable and understandable level, but once they figured the basics out, they added a few signs of their own that only they would understand. For instance, dumb bitch or stupid dick was a finger the crotch and pointing to an eye. There was other stuff, too, but this happened to be the most common sign that they used together. Well, it was more commonly used on Winter's part, considering how Kristoph mostly frowned upon using such " vulgar" and "inappropriate," language whenever he was cranky or feeling particularly seldom.

He wasn't a guy who was very big on swearing, or hearing others swear within close proximity of him. It made his skin itch, he claimed. But Winter was sure that it was just because his parents were seldom people who didn't encourage anything beyond the practical basics of the bible. And, being Kristopher, he had obeyed their beliefs with an unwavering mind.

He tilted his head to the side and clicked his tongue against the inside of his cheek, a move that showed yet another wave of disapproval from him. With a shake of his head, he signed back:

Its important that you know this stuff though, Winter.

Somehow I feel as though I will survive.

You're too stubborn for your own good.

She punched him playfully on the arm.

I'm not stubborn.

What ever helps you to sleep at night.

She decided to let the conversation lie and focus on the boring lesson, which was most likely poorly based on the quiz that he was sure to give at the end of the week. Although, soon enough, her mind ultimately drifted back to the man.

.....

At the end of class, Winter had to be woken up by Kristopher. She'd dozed off by the final half hour of the lesson and he had decided to let her sleep.

She dreamed of nothing.

As she gathered her stuff to get ready to head to her next block class, she caught sight of Stacey and her idiotic drones following behind her heading in she and Kristopher's direction. She groaned loudly and smacked her palm against her forehead. Escape was almost there. She had almost been free.

Nearly every day Stacey came over to their table at the end of the class period to 'talk' to Kristopher while her annoying smug faced copies stared Winter down like she was a piece of mold hiding in the kitchen corner.

She'd never done anything to any of these girls. She would ignore them all day if she could, and that was typically what she tried to do. But it has become harder and harder to ignore the fact that they were all around terrible people and she has never been very good of remaining tolerant of illiterate, good for nothing idiots who didn't comprehend how to function without their 'best friend', Stacey.

Sometimes Winter caught herself feeling sorry for Stacey because she had to deal with them on a constant basis, but then she remembered that Stacey put herself in that position on her own. So the feeling typically diminished rather quickly.

When Stacey made it to the table, she smiled brightly at Kristopher like he was the Sun and she was a plant newly sprouted from the ground, eager and happy to be fed. It made Winter feel sick.

"Hi, Kris," she sing songed. It was always like this. She would make her voice pleasant, bat her sickeningly long eyelashes, and stare at him with undisclosed admiration. Winter had to admit that her willpower was strong and an admirable trait to have, but it was terribly overshadowed by the fact that her personality was not the nicest, or the kindest, or even the most decent. At Least, not to anyone besides Kristopher.

For Kristopher, she often made herself seem like she just swallowed down a whole bag of sugar and become Sally Sunshine in his presence. However, her efforts were not lost on him. He knew that she was trying for him, and for the fact that she was able to show kindness at all made some small part of him at least want to try.

Kristopher smiled at her politely. He was always so polite that sometimes it sickened Winter. It should seem impossible that someone could be as sweet as him. And that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it was just that he gave his niceness to everyone, even when everyone did not deserve it. But, as he would say, she had to be more understanding. And patient. Two things, according to him, that she seemed to lack greatly.

But she knew that he was right.

Growing up, Winter had never been one to hold somebody's hand while they cried, or helped to pick them up when they were feeling down. That wasn't really her. She was more like the kid who would stare at them as the tears poured out of their eyes, or would tell them to shake it off because a little scratch on their arms or a cut on their legs wouldn't be the end of them like they thought it to be. Their limbs weren't broken, and they weren't dead. If they could walk at all, then they were fine. If they were still breathing, then they were fine. Simple as that.

She remembered how once, in fifth grade, she was at the store with her father and Spice to shop for groceries. This particular store trip had been just a few tender months after their mom died, and her father was still getting used to doing certain things on his own that he had not done before. Like grocery shopping, and properly making sure that his kids didn't get into any real trouble.

He sent her off to go pick out a snack she wanted for when they got home, and when she went to go get it- which wound up to be chips- she discovered a boy no older than she was wailing at the top of his lungs and clutching his knee on the floor in the middle of the aisle. When he saw her, his eyes grew wide and his screams increased as he pleaded with her to help him.

"Help me, please! I popped my knee!" he had yelled. " Please, go get my mom! I can't move!"

She did not take a step away from him. Instead, she took a step closer and peered down at him and his hurt knee. It was swelled up under his small fingers, purple and blue and horrifyingly massive, about the size of a baseball. He let out another scream as he saw her observing him rather than being of use, and she reluctantly backed up.

"Help... Me! Go get my mom! Please!"

She cocked her head to the side and listened to his plea's, her mess of red waves tumbling slightly onto her face. She didn't know why, but seeing him just... Laying there, defenseless, made her angry and confused. She couldn't process why he was screaming so loudly. She couldn't understand why he was so intent on getting his mother. She couldn't understand how he was screaming his head off, and how no one had managed to come find him yet.

"What good can your mom do?" she had finally asked. " You're the one who's hurt. She can't do anything for you but hold your hand and say you'll be okay until you get to the hospital."

His face contoured into a mask of confusion and pain.

"What? What are you talking about? Just please go get her!"

He let out another scream. She watched him as he wailed.

"I don't even know what your mom looks like. I really can't help you," she'd stated plainly.

He screamed again. His nose was running and his snot fused with his tears, making his face disgusting and wet and slimy. She could not move. She didn't know why, but watching his face had fascinated her. Looking at him cry was fascinating in a weird way. It was like watching a wounded animal scream from pain, yet do nothing to help itself get out of its situation. It was odd and wrong to just stand around and do nothing to help him, and yet that is exactly what she did. Absolutely nothing. She was almost paralyzed by watching him struggle.

A few seconds later, however, a portly woman with a face caked with makeup and a stylish Bob showed up. She was furiously wheeling a shopping cart and looking frantically around the isle until she spotted the boy lying on the ground screaming his head off. Her eyes bulged and she fell down on the floor to him, quickly letting her hands fly around his leg and his knee, which was now beginning to pulsate under his grasp.

"Timmy, what happened?"

He only screamed.

She looked up at Winter, her eyes pleading and watering. She presumed that this was her son, and she must have heard his cries from somewhere in the store.

"Do you know what happened to him?"

Winter only shrugged, reached over, and grabbed a bag of Sour cream and Onion chips from off of the shelf. She hugged it to her small body, made eye contact with the concerned mom one last time, and than walked away from them before her dad began to wonder what was taking so long. The mom had hollered for her to come back, but she did not. There was no reason for her to stay.

When she arrived back to the other side of the store where Spice and her father were still at, he glimpsed at her and asked her why she took so long.

"I had to decide on what I wanted?" she said, not meaning for it to turn out like a question.

He glanced at her bag. " And that's what you want, kiddo?"

"Yep."

He nodded once and presumed his shopping. " I could swear that I heard a baby crying rather loudly somewhere in the store," he mumbled.

She tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. " Yeah, me too."

Beside her, Spice snickered and tried to trip her while she was still standing in place. She gasped and, In return, punched his shoulder. She did not mention the boy with the swollen knee or how she failed to see the point to helping him to either of them.

Winter snapped herself out of her memory and focused back on reality. Back on Kristoph and Stacey and her awful friends.

"Hi, Stacey. You look pretty today," he said kindly.

She giggled.

Winter gagged.

"Thank you. It was just something I threw on," she said.

Behind her, her two drones nodded their heads in agreement. One of them, a dyed blond named Kimberly, said, " Doesn't she always wear the cutest outfits?"

Kristopher nodded his head once.

"Yes. She always looks very beautiful."

Stacey and her comrades giggled in unison. She flicked her straight platinum hair behind her shoulder and stared at Kristopher like he was a piece of steak. It was a wonder that she hadn't tried to take a bite out of him yet, with the way that she was constantly staring at him like he was a prime rib or a choice cutlet on a menu at a fancy restaurant.

"Thank you... So, Kris, I was kinda wondering if you wanted to do something this weekend?"

Oh. No.

No no no no no.

Did she just ask him on a date? She really just asked him out on a date. A. Date. A thing that involved dinner and romance and hand holding and maybe even kissing. She had finally gone to that extra step and decided that she wanted to spend time with Kristopher outside of school.

Ew.

Surely he wouldn't say yes to her. He was nice, but he wasn't that nice. This was like a gruesome charity case. He would literally be tortured by her high pitched laugh and flustered by her constant flirting for hours. Not just a few minutes like he had been receiving every day, but for actual hours. The madness of that was beyond incredible!

For a moment, Kristopher said nothing. Winter could see the wheels working in his brain. He was weighing the Pro's and Con's of saying yes to her and to saying no to her. On one side, he didn't want to be rude and turn her down. That wasn't what a gentleman would do, and to be below a gentleman was not who he aspired to be. But on the other, he didn't want to spend so long with her and endure her all alone. What a mighty decision the ever-so-kind Kristopher will have to make now. She was almost amused.

Almost.

Having come up with a conclusion, he smiled graciously at Stacey. Winter's heart failed. That was his well here goes nothing smile. The smile he gave when he was about to cave in on something he did not want to do. Winter herself had seen it countless times when she would push him into doing outrageous task with her that he was more than reluctant to proceed with. But, in the end, he would nod his head once, give her that look, and run along with whatever dumb idea she managed to have thought up.

"I would love to do something this weekend with you, Stacey."
Winter threw her hands up in the air in frustration at the same time Stacey and her duo of companions squealed in unison. They all sounded like starving pigs running towards food.

"But-" he said.

They immediately stopped. She looked at him, her eyes glassy with excitement but her smile starting to falter. "B-But? But what?"

"But," he said again, drawing the word out gingerly. He grabbed onto Winter's arm and gently tugged her forward, confusion clear on her face. "But I don't really enjoy doing anything without Winter. She makes things more... Interesting," he said with a shrug. "So, if you don't mind, I'd like to take her along with us."

"What?" they both shouted in unison. The two minute warning bell sounded off, indicating that if they didn't hurry, they would be late. Kristopher, calm and collected as ever, merely smiled at the both of them, but his eyes were focused solely on Winter.

"It would mean a lot to me if you tagged along, Win."

Winter paled. "There is no way on God's good green earth that I would ever even consider third wheeling on a date with you and the Wicked Bitch of the West," she spat.

Stacey cringed. "Excuse me?"

"Yes, excuse you."

"I don't want you on this date either, you little blue hobbit," she cried out. "I don't want you anywhere near me!"

Winter huffed. "Well would you look at that, I don't want you anywhere near me either. That's something we agree on."

"Ladies, please. Let's be civil."

"She started it," Stacey mumbled under her breath. Then, a little louder, " You know what, I think it would be a totally fun idea to have Winter come along. It might do her some good to be out and about with some fresh faces for once."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

She simply studied her long red finger nails. "Nothing.. Anyways, sure. She can come."

"I'm not third wheeling you guys and I certainly don't want to be around you."

Kristopher looked at Winter with pleading eyes. " Come on, Win. For me?"

She scrunched her nose at him and frowned. He always knew how to get what he wanted. And if she said no, he would be sad and mopey around her for god knows how long. Plus, she knew that she would probably ask the same thing of him had the roles been reversed. Was it the least she could do? Maybe. Did that mean that she wanted to do it? Hell fucking no. But she was bound by their friendship to oblige.They were best friends for a reason, right? What were best friends for if not for situations like this.

"You owe me big time," she said. "Like buying me a large pepperoni and sausage pizza. With a side of cheesy bread sticks. And a large Mountain Dew."

He smiled. "Okay, deal."

He turned to Stacey, the smile still on his face. "Could you manage a date for her too, please? Just so she won't feel alone when we're together."

Her eyes flashed. " A date? For her? Like, an actual guy or girl? Who can see?"

Winter balked. But just before she could tell Stacey just where she should stick it, Kristopher put a calming hand on her shoulder and spoke before she could get a word in.

"Yes, Stacey. If you don't mind," he said cooly. Then he flashed yet another smile at her, making her giggle uncontrollably once more. After it calmed down some, she shrugged her dainty shoulders, her smile still in place.

"I'll see what I can do...Anyways, we should really be getting to class. Can't be super late, you know?"

"Yes, of course. See you later."

When they were gone, Winter hit Kristopher as hard as she could on his shoulder. Which, apparently, wasn't very hard because he didn't even flinch. She pretended like he was crying on the inside and that was why he didn't show his pain.

"What the hell, Krissy! What. The. Hell."

"I didn't want to be alone with her, Win. Surely you of all people could understand that."

She picked up her backpack from off the floor and frowned once more at him. Instead of responding to his statement, she said: " I want extra cheese on that pizza, too. An extra large, extra cheesy pepperoni and sausage pizza. And I won't be sharing."

With that, she walked out.

And like the best friend he was, he quickly followed behind.