(Aiden)  

     Aiden's blue eyes lock onto an old, Victorian mansion looming over him. His foster family is in the background nearby slowly unpacking bags and boxes from the van's trunk next to his left. He blinks, an icy breeze blowing his blonde bangs in front of his bright, blue pupils. He's rather tall with a lanky build. His pale skin glows in the sunlight like a porcelain doll, black smeared around his eye sockets from sleep deprivation. A light green hoodie with army dog tags, gray ripped skinny jeans, and black vans make up his outfit. 
    A shiver automatically goes down his spine as an odd feeling settles into his heart. Something rubs against his ankle, making him look down. He softly smiles at Midnight, his black cat. She tilts her head to the side and meows loudly. Suddenly, someone shoves his left shoulder roughly. He stumbles slightly to the side while his feet get caught on each other. 

     He clenches his jaw as he collides with the grassy ground. Pain circulates through his lower half, his eyes narrowing. He lifts up his chin while pushing himself to his feet. 
     "What's your problem, Max?" He asks, locking eyes with one of his foster brothers. Max is a bit taller than Aiden with an average build. His ginger hair is spiky, his green eyes flashing. He laughs loudly like a cackling hyena and tosses his backpack over one shoulder. He quickly walks away, heading for the house. Something else hits Aiden yet again, making him stumble over his feet clumsily. He quickly catches himself as a backpack hits him in the chest. He clenches his jaw, grabbing it by one of the straps. He looks at his second foster brother with hate. 
     "Great. Up to your sibling's little game too?" The boy snickers in response while popping his neck. 
    "Wanna finish that round you started earlier, John?" John is the same height as his brother with an average build. His strawberry blonde hair is a curly mess, his brown eyes flickering with annoyance. Aiden gently drops the backpack, walking up to the other boy. 
     "It won't be much of a fight. What can a freak like you do anyway?" John replies and quickly throws a punch. 

    Aiden gracefully moves to the side, grabbing John's arm and bending it backwards. He smirks lightly, the other boy squirming in his grip. John quickly kicks in a random direction, hitting his opponent in the stomach. Aiden's grip loosens as pain circulates throughout his body. John pushes his foster sibling to the ground, attempting to stomp in his head. Aiden rolls to the side while sweeping John's legs. He pushes himself up and grabs the other boy by the collar of his shirt. 
    Suddenly, Max grabs Aiden under his arms and drags him away. He struggles against his attackers, before being twirled around. Max quickly grabs the back of Aiden's head and slams his skull onto his knee. He hits the ground roughly, pain overwhelming his senses. Aiden looks up as he pops his nose back in place. He frowns, blood leaking down his chin. He quickly wipes it away with his sleeve and spits out some more blood onto the ground.

     "What's going on over here, boys?" A loud female voice suddenly breaks the tension. The boys look to their left to see Miss Meyers glaring at them. She's rather tall with an hourglass frame. Her ginger locks are pulled back in a ponytail, her blue eyes narrowed. Max grins widely as he grabs Aiden's arm and pulls him to his feet. He quickly puts the other boy in a light headlock, pressing his knuckles roughly against Aiden's head. 
     "Just rough housing, mom. Isn't that right, Aiden?" He asks while digging his elbow painfully in the other boy's neck. Aiden swallows what's left of his courage and reluctantly mumbles something in agreement. 
     "I need to talk to you, Aiden," she states as Max lets go of him and walks away. She gently takes Aiden's hand and picks up his bag. She hands it to him while leading him to the house. 
    "I want you to watch the house and your siblings while your dad and I go guide the moving truck to the house?" He rolls his eyes, wrapping his slender fingers around the doorknob. 
    "Sure, but they're not my brothers and you're not my mother," he responds, opening the front door. She glares at him with sadness as she squeezes his hand in an attempt to comfort him. 
     "Aiden, you're part of my family, now. You're basically my son," he makes a huffing sound while yanking his hand from her grip. 
     "No, I'm not. I'm a foster kid and you probably won't adopt me, anyway. You are not my parents and these guys are not my siblings, no matter what. I lost my other foster family and my real parents. They died in a fire when I was twelve years old and my older brother died in the military by an explosion," he mumbles, sadness reflecting in his eyes. She goes to say something else but, he quickly steps into the house and shuts the door in her face. 

    Aiden sighs as he makes his way up some stairs leading to the second floor. He heads down a narrow hallway, taking a right turn. Doors line both sides of the wall, a window at the end of the hallway ahead, and some old paintings are hanging up by rusty nails. He hesitantly steps in front of a door to his left, cautiously walking into the archway. His blue eyes lock onto an already messy bedroom. A bed is in the middle of the room, a window to the right, a closet in the left corner of the room, and a TV stand leaning against the wall to his left. A unzipped backpack, piles of clothes, and video games lay scattered on the mattress. More clothes, stocks of comic books, and cables litter the floor. Max is sitting in the floor criss-cross as he unpacked some more comic books. He lays a pile of four next to his right side and turns to look up at Aiden. He automatically growls like a wild animal, grabbing a heavy comic series still in its package. 
     "Get lost. This is my bedroom, go bug someone else!" He shouts while throwing it at the other boy. It hits Aiden square in his face, before colliding with the floor. 

     Aiden clenches his jaw as he kicks the object back at Max, before slamming the door and heading to another staircase leading to the attic. He opens the door with ease, stepping into a small bedroom. A bed is pushed in the left corner next to a window, a closet to the far right of the area, a TV stand pressed against the wall in the center of the room, and a door next to the bed leading into a bathroom. He takes in a breath and tosses his bag on the bed. He sits down on the edge, exhaling and sitting cross-criss. 

     "Can't wait until I'm old enough to fend for myself," he mumbles to himself, running his fingers through his blonde fluffy hair. Suddenly, a loud metal electrical guitar solo breaks the silence. He rolls his eyes while fishing his phone out of his hoodie pocket. He quickly types in his password, the screen illuminating his face blue. He softly smiles at his background, his thumb tracing the picture. The image itself is a piece of paper with a stitched up heart printed on the page. The words I love you are engraved inside the heart with bleeding red letters. In black ink below the heart are the words with all my sunshine, Beth. He quickly clicks on his messages, getting on a chat called "My sunshine/bright star," 
    His eyes quickly scan the latest message, before he slips his phone back in his hoodie pocket and pushes himself up. He makes his way to the bathroom, turning on the light switch. Light immediately floods the small room. He steps in front of the mirror, hooking his fingers around the edges of the sink.

    Aiden frowns at his pale reflection as he gazes at the side of his face where he got hit earlier. His left cheek right below his eye socket has faded to a purple shade mixed with a light blue color. He steps away from the mirror, heading back into the bedroom and walking up to the window. He presses his palm against the glass as he gazes down at the ground near the forest area. His blue eyes lock onto Midnight's tiny frame sitting on top of a log next to a trail. She lifts up her head, tilting her ears in his direction. He steps away from the pane while throwing his hood over his eyes and races downstairs toward the backyard. 

    Cold air blows against Aiden's back, making him shiver. He cautiously looks back up at the house as sounds of yelling and nonsense echoes from the interior. Evergreen trees lay ahead, tire tracks are engraved in the dirt, and fallen leaves scattered about. He places a hand on top of Midnight's back, petting her. She meows loudly as she rubs her side along his stomach. She meows once-more, before jumping off the log and landing gracefully on her paws. 
    "What's wrong?" He asks, stepping toward her. Suddenly, she hisses and runs into the woods. He sighs while standing up right and chasing after his cat. 

     Aiden crosses his arms over his chest, glancing at both directions of an intersection in the carved out path. An old, wooden pole with a rusty sign nailed to the top of it is leaning against a tree nearby. The words engraved in the wood are faded, barely legible. To his right, a path is covered in leaves with paw prints pressed into the ground. To his left, another path is covered in old tracks with pieces of debris littered about. He stares at the debris, curiosity pumping into his heart. He steps one foot onto the path with hesitation. 
    Suddenly, a strong breeze blows right into him as sounds of crows break the silence. He stumbles backwards against the current, tripping over a pipe and hitting the ground. He lifts up his chin, ducking out of the way of a crow. He scrambles away while struggling to find his footing. He swipes his blonde bangs out of his wide eyes, fear circulating through his veins. His pupils lock onto a flock of ravens and crows nested in the trees, leaves, and debris. He carefully turns to face the other path, racing down the trail and coming to a shoreline. 

    Aiden glances ahead to see a frozen over pond, fall leaves scattered on top of the thin sheet of ice. He frowns, spotting his cat in the distance. 
    "Hold on. I'm coming!" He shouts while hesitantly placing a foot on the ice one at a time. He takes in a deep breath, carefully stepping one foot ahead as he makes his way toward the center of the pond. A loud cracking sound silently follows him, making him stop in his tracks. He looks down at his feet to see tiny shattered lines forming a circle and centering at his heels like a web. 

    Aiden's body plunges into the water immediately, gravity taking hold of him. He tries to take a deep breath, but only air bubbles escape his lips. Coldness pours into his mouth and settles into his bloodstream. A painful burning sensation plunges into his lungs like a thousand needles burying themselves in his airway. His arms and legs kick out desperately as he struggles to swim up to the surface. Unfortunately, death grips him and starts to drag him deeper into the pitch blackness. Numbness quickly  latches onto him like a leech and sucks all his remaining energy away. Black and red spots appear in front of his pupils, his arms and legs finally coming to an abundant stop. He blinks while managing to lift up his chin.
    "Surprisedly, the thought of my own death being like this, isn't that bad. In fact, it's peaceful and beautiful. I can even see the moon from here. I hope Midnight made it back,okay," he softly smiles at the thought as his vision fades to blackness. An arm plunges through the water, slender fingers wrapping around his shoulder and pulling him up to the surface. 

(Beth) 

    Beth stares at Aiden's unconscious body laying on the muddy ground. Moonlight shines on her, her white skin shining. Her wavy light brunette locks reach her shoulders, her blue eyes cloudy. A spaghetti strap yellow dress with orange ruffles along the bottom of the skirt and black vans make up her outfit. A black feather necklace is wrapped around her neck, a black bracelet pulled over her wrist. 
     "Aiden, oh my goodness. What were you thinking, you idiot!" She shouts as tears pour down her face. She frowns, lifting up his head and propping his shoulders on her lap. She brushes his dark blue bangs out of his eyes, sadness pumping into her soul. His skin is a sickly pale shade and icy clings to his soaked clothes. Patches of blue and purple shades are faded into his flesh. She places her hands on top of each other and immediately starts doing chest compressions. She stops for a moment, glancing down at him with worry. She takes a deep breath, opening his mouth and pinching his nose. She bends over, placing her mouth over his and blowing twice. She lifts up her head, leaning her back against a tree. 

    Beth taps her foot impatiently as pain and numbness circulates through her veins. She sighs in sadness, lifting up his body. 
     "Come on, open your eyes. Please, I can't lose you," she whispers while staring at his porcelain frame. Flashes of their happy moments together soar across her vision. Her silent tears quickly turn into sobs. 
     "Wake up! You probably saved some poor animal,again! Just like last time I had to pull you out of the highway due a puppy!" She shouts into the night, shaking his shoulders. She pulls him against her while hugging his body tightly. 
    Suddenly, a muffled protest interrupts her sobs. She stops squeezing him and pushes him away enough from her to see his face. A smile twists into her facial features, her fingers ruffling up his wet hair. Aiden blinks, his blood shot eyes watering.

He coughs roughly and pukes up water. He shivers from the cold, his teeth chattering. 
    "Beth....I'm...so...glad...it's so c..old," he says, his voice is hoarse. He moves closer to her as he leans against her side and buries his head into her neck. 
     "Aiden, we have got to get you to the house. If you don't, you'll get sick," she takes his hand while carefully moving him away from her. She pushes herself up, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and helping him to his feet. 

    They stumble into Aiden's room while Beth tightens her hold on his arm to keep him from falling. She kicks the bathroom door open, stepping into the small area. She lets go of his arm as he stumbles to the edge of the bathtub. His body shakes violently, his fingers turning light purple. She quickly flips on the light switch while sitting beside him. 
     "What were you doing?" She asks as he struggles to pull off his wet hoodie.  
     "M..y..cat...she...needed..d my help," he mumbles through chattering teeth. She sighs in frustration while taking his hands and quickly helping him out. 

      Aiden blushes light pink as she glances at the tiny scars littering his skin. Her face flushes in return, her pulse picking up speed. She kisses his forehead while standing up and tossing the hoodie on the floor. 
      "I'm sure you can handle the rest. I'm going to find some dry clothes, okay," she says and steps out of the room. 
      
    Beth wipes her eyes with the back of her hand while unzipping his backpack and grabbing some extra clothes from his bag. She heads back toward the bathroom, opening the door somewhat and handling over the clothes. She shrugs her shoulders as she walks up to the bed, sitting down. She lays on her back, quickly kicking off her shoes. She tosses them into the floor, grabbing a fluffy blanket thrown over the bedpost. The bathroom door opens while she turns off her phone. 
     The weight on the mattress shifts as Aiden lays down next to her. She turns to face him to see him wearing a Batman t-shirt and black skinny jeans. Instead of saying a word, he moves closer to her and cuddles with her. He wraps an arm around her waist, burying his head into her neck and wrapping his legs around hers. She pulls the cover over both of them, placing a hand on the back of his head. She runs her fingers through his hair, closing her eyes. 

© StarsofClarity