"How was school?" Mom asked.

"It was decent," I said.

I knew Mom tried to make my days better, but it only made the pain worse. I didn't know why she did these things. If she wanted to help me, she shouldn't be so selfish and divorced with my dad. I swear she only cares for herself.

"Did you make any new friends?" she asked, cautiously.

"I mean...." I started thinking about Kylie. She wasn't a friend, but she was the only person, besides Andrew, that spoke to me the entire day.

"Were they a girl?" Mom teased.

"What?" I said, alarmed, "What does that mean?"

"You seemed a bit hesitant on telling me. Did you get a girlfriend?"

"What?! Mom, no! First off, I don't want a girlfriend after so much shit, second off, Kylie isn't my type."

"So, her name is Kylie?"

"Yes."

"And she's not your type, because...?"

"Mom!" I warned.

"I'm just curious. Sheesh, ever since your father and I separated, you've been so negative!"

Those words burned, but I shrugged it off.

"She's not my type because she's too energetic. I honestly don't think I've seen anyone as happy as her."

"Now that's a girl I like. Plus, her name starts with a 'k'."

"MOM!" I raised my voice to a yell.

"Keith," the warning in her voice was high, "Don't you raise your voice at me."

"Why not?!" I shouted, "You did it all the time, no matter how many times I told you to stop! So why shouldn't I?"

She dropped the plate she was washing in the sink and sharply spun towards me.

"Because I'm your mother, and I said so!"

"That's no God damned excuse, you whore!"

Mom's face turned hurt, right there. I hit a nerve, badly. Her face turned red, and her eyes were filled with pain and tears.

"Go to your room, young man," she said.

"Mom-" I began.

"I said, go to your damn room!" she cut off, her voice cracking, "Don't come out until you've learned your lesson!"

I ran up to my room and locked the door. The small, white walled room made everything look for what it really was. Plain and boring. Nothing new to see anymore. I decided to open my window and sneak out. Ever since Mark left, I took out the screen and ran away from the house. Easy in, easy out.

I dropped down from the 5 foot fall, and walked to my normal den. It took 5 minutes for me to get to the forest. I would normally sit in an abandoned treehouse there, and I would contemplate life. This time, however, someone else was in the forest. The person was walking in a white dress with flowers crawling up it. Her dress swayed with the wind, and the person was feeling these weird marks on one of the trees. Wait, was that Kylie?

I studied the person a bit, and sure enough, it was her. Her dark hair danced with the wind, and the green leaves and flowers flew around her. One of the blue flowers landed on her head, so she lightly grabbed it. She leaned against the tree, with the markings and studied the flower. Her eyes were a bit blue, and her black shoes gave off a shimmer with the golden accessories on them. Her happy eyes then turned solemn. Well, that's a first.

Not only did the happiness leave her eyes, but her entire face fell sad. What's with her being happy to turning sad? She took her thumb and outlined her waterline, and put the flower in her head. Wait... was she crying? Her glasses gave off a glare, which got in my eyes.

"Ow," I whispered.

She caught sight of me and smiled a bit.

"What did I say about stalking me?" she said. "I've got nothing for you, Keith."

I looked at her, shocked.

"You remembered my name?" I asked, rubbing my eyes from the glare.

"Of course, I did!" she giggled, "Once someone tells me their name, I never, EVER, forget it."

"Hmph," I grunted, "Good for you."

Of course it came out like "I don't care", but I did care. No one ever remembered my name after the first day I told them. Only Mark did that. I looked at her, and she gave me an enlightening smile.

"Oh!" she said, "Hold on. Close your eyes, real quick."

"Why?" I asked, curious.

"Because. Now, close them! And also, can you pay attention to the surrounding area. I think you'll like it."

I sighed and closed my eyes. I heard rustling of the leaves, the sunlight bringing in a slight warmth with the wind, and I smelled a sweet smell of nectar. I felt more relaxed than I've ever felt before! I felt a smile tug at the corners of my lips. I haven't smiled since Mom and Dad divorced.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now," Kylie said.

I opened my eyes, but she wasn't there. I looked around the green, sunlit forest, but I saw no sign of her. When I was about to give up and go to my treehouse, she popped out from one of the trees, and she hung upside down like a monkey.

"Boo!" she shouted.

I flinched, but I wasn't very much scared of the jumpscares. Kylie saw my lack of fear and pouted.

"Ah man," she said, "I was really hoping I'd get a scream outta you. Gosh, I need to work on my jump scaring skills."

I rolled my eyes and started walking towards my treehouse.

"Headed off to that old structure, in the trees?" she asked.

I turned towards her.

"How do you know where I'm going?" I asked.

Kylie shrugged, while flipping back to the ground.

"Just a hunch," she said, smirking, "Besides, at least I know that the old thing is getting used. I used to go there and I even made my own secret exits and entrances."

My eyes widened.

"You made all those paths and corridors within the trees?"

"Well, my grandpa and dad helped me, but I made the different designs. Why?"

"That stuff is awesome!" I said, excitement overwhelming me. "I don't go down most of them, but that's so cool!"

"Ha," she said. "I guess me talking to you makes you lighten up a bit, huh?"

"What?" I asked confused, "What are you talking about?"

"You're smiling."

I realized that I was smiling.

"W-well, don't get used to it," I said.

"Ha ha, very funny," Kylie said. "You said that earlier today, and you agreed to not swear. And look, you haven't sworn this entire time."

"Well then, why the f-"

"Ah da da da!" she said, running over to me, and putting her finger over my lips, "Don't even!"

I chuckled a bit at her response. Wait, I laughed? After all these months, this girl made me laugh? Kylie smiled and walked out of the forest. Yeah, this girl was making me go crazy.