A young boy shot up in his bed, his sweaty short black hair sticking to his forehead. The boy gripped his t-shirt by his heart tightly as he recalled the nightmare, but he couldn’t remember anything, not that it was anything new with these “dreams” of his. He never remembered much about them, though this time he remembered the sudden burst of white that had shocked him awake almost like he had felt it himself. Taking a few deep breathes to calm himself he looked at the clock on the wall opposite his bed, it read 03:12am, with a sigh the boy got out of bed and shivered when his bare feet touched the cold floor, “Too many sleepless nights” he muttered to himself softly as he made his way over to the bathroom attached to the room, he made sure to not wake his roommate and best friend sleeping in the bed next to his.

Standing before the sink in the bathroom the boy looked into the little mirror that hung above it, he studied his reflection while his hands gripped the white little sink. He looked deep into his own eyes, the deep green eyes that he didn’t want; the eyes that are the cause of all of his problems as far as he was concerned. Shaking his head the boy opened the cold water and lowered his head to splash some cold water on his face, he reached for a towel next to the sink to dry his face while he stood back up, “I’m fine” he said as he put the towel back, the boy by the door having not made a sound knew how he had been found out so he only walked closer and put a hand on his best friends shoulder, “Of course you are” he said giving the boys shoulder a squeeze.

“Come on, let’s go for a run. You always feel better after one” the boy said while the other smiled at their reflections, “Thanks Drew” the boy said to his friend, “No problem Eric, that’s what best friends are for”. The two walked back into their shared room and got dressed for their run in the cool morning air; afterwards they headed down the hall and out the door of the small orphanage that they called home and headed out on their run; though neither boy noticed the face of the woman who watched them go from the top floor, not that they ever did when they left this early.

As the two jogged down the narrow road to the small town thirty or so minutes away at a brisk walk they enjoyed the sounds of the spring morning that surrounded them; the sounds of the waking birds and the slight breeze playing through the trees. Their songs setting the pace for the two boys as they jogged, “Feeling better” Drew asked, his composed voice and lean runner’s body giving away that he did this a lot. Eric looked at his friend and gave him a small smile and a nod; he closed his eyes and just enjoyed the cool breeze against his face while trusting that Drew would be his eyes, they had known each other long enough for them to put their lives in the others hands without thinking about it, not that they would ever have to.

The memory of the dream came back to him again as he jogged, or rather what he could remember of it which was becoming more and more each night and as it did that same sudden flash of light shocked him again. Eric stopped jogging and stood still while he brought his hands to his face to rub his eyes, they were feeling like they were on fire; breathing in deep and then out again to calm himself just like he had learned from their caretaker. When he finally did lower his hands and blinked the world around him came back into focus and he saw Drew looking at him, the boy knowing better than to offer any help, but the thought that he was there if Eric needed him was more than enough for him. “We should get back” Eric said before turning around and running back up the narrow road to their home.

Drew watched Eric gain ground for a minute or two before he set off after him, the boy making sure to give his friend some distance so that he could sort through whatever it was that was bothering him. He only wished that there was something more that he could do for him, anything would do as long as it helped him, anything.

As long back as he can remember Eric would get a flash of something, of someone and he would then see something related to that; and every time he would get a headache and his eyes would burn like they were on fire. He was taken to doctors to find out what caused it but they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him and in the end just gave up trying to find fault with a healthy boy, that was when he was five or six. At fifteen he still got the flashes but more clearly, much more clearly; he could see things others couldn’t, know things about people miles away from him and he hated it because each time a family wanted to adopt him this “curse” of his would get in the way, after all no one wanted a kid who was plagued by something unknown that allowed him to know everything about you at a glance.

It didn’t take long for the house to come into view, Drew was brought out of his thoughts as he looked up at the place that had been his home as long as he could remember. He sighed as he saw Eric slow down to walking; he really wanted to help his friend but having to get up before the sun nine out of ten mornings to run to town and back was getting to him as much as it was Eric but it was the only thing that seemed to help Eric relax and not have one of his episodes throughout the rest of the day.

Standing outside the three story house that they called home, the two boys stretched and admired the sight of the sun rising into the sky slowly. “Couldn’t sleep again muchachos?” a gentle and soft voice asked the two from behind startling them both, the woman behind them laughed when they jumped slightly, “Breakfast is ready, pancakes. The other Ninos have a head start so hurry along before they eat them all” she said before walking off with a basket of laundry in her hands. “I hate it when she does that” Drew stated trying to catch his breath, running a few miles didn’t get him winded but their caretaker could do it easily, “Why can’t you ever see her sneaking up on us?” Drew asked his best friend jokingly, Eric looked after the woman, his eyes trying to figure her out but coming up with nothing, “I don’t know” the boy said seriously.

The two boys gave the young woman one last look before they went inside to join the rest of their patchwork family for breakfast, the old door sounding its protests as they opened it. The house entered right into a large open space which held the dining table where all of the children sat eating and talking before continuing into the large kitchen which is where Hayden their caretaker spent most of her time brewing tea and baking something or the other from her “interesting” range of books on the subjects.

Sitting at the table with the other kids the two filled their plates with pancakes just like the other children that lived there; there were ten of them but Eric only got along with Drew and Maddie, mostly because they were the same age as him but he would be lying if he said that it was the only reason. He only really trusted them, mostly Drew but Maddie as well to some degree, which is why he steered clear of the others who thought he was weird because of his eyes, some were even afraid of him.

From oldest to youngest their names were, Rachel a reserved seventeen year old redhead who wanted to become a lawyer. Owen, the bully of the house was sixteen years old and never shared much of his life or dreams with anyone other than Hayden. May was the kind hearted big sister only a year older than Eric and Drew; she liked spending time learning how to cook alongside Hayden and dreamed of becoming a chef.

Eric, Drew and Maddie were the only ones that brought up the fifteen year old category, but the Sam twins Samuel and Samantha came after them at fourteen. Mat and Kat were the youngest of their family at ten and eight, the two also brother and sister with a harsh past which has caused both of them not to talk, though Hayden has gotten Kat to at least talk to her when no one is around. Hayden was also the one who had renamed them to help them forget about their past

Looking at Drew while he ate Eric recalled the day he came to the orphanage. The first day he had spent here the kids had all avoided him because of the rumours that had been going around town, all the kids except Drew. Drew was the only one that walked right up to him and asked him to play with him and after a day spent playing declared them best friends, the boy hasn’t changed much; he still accepts things as they come and ignores things and people he doesn’t like or that doubt him.

The boy with his short bright blonde hair always wore a smile, but Eric could always tell that the smile never quite reached his light grey eyes; he remembered how he had opened up to Drew during his first year at the orphanage and how the boy had opened up to him in return. They were brothers in all but blood Hayden had said once, but she always had this sparkle in her devilish brown eyes whenever she said it.

Smiling at the way his best friend ate Eric turned to look at his other friend who sat across the table from him. The girl who wanted to be a doctor so she can help him, her shoulder length brown hair getting in her face so much that she got frustrated from just moving it away from her face, but when asked why she didn’t just cut it she would stomp her right foot and say, “The same reason I didn’t make a hole in the ground” before storming off with a fire in her light brown eyes that normally only held compassion. Maddie had arrived two years after he had, and when she saw his first episode she jumped right in and tried to help him, the girl not listening to the many “no’s” and “don’t touch me’s” that was yelled at her. She rarely left his side since then, and when she had to she made Drew promise to stay with him, it made it hard to get some alone time but he didn’t mind much because he knew that they cared.

“You muchachos should get cleaned up before lessons start” the same gentle voice that had startled them earlier said when Hayden came back inside, the two boys looked up at her and Drew replied, “Will do Hayden” Hayden smiling at the use of her name, she had told the children to call her Hayden because anything else made the thirty-two year old woman feel old. When they were finished and put their plates in the sink they sprinted down the hall to their room which was to the left of the front door, they didn’t have to share a bathroom like the other kids but they still wanted to hurry so that they wouldn’t get garbage duty again because they were late.

Drew got to the shower first so Eric went back to their room and sat down on his bed and put his face in his hands again, he had a bad feeling, like something was about to happen and he didn’t want to worry anyone but the truth was since his eyes started burning that morning they haven’t stopped. He had gotten so used to the burn by now that he almost didn’t feel it, but this time it was harder to keep a straight face because of how much worse it was which is why he felt like something bad was about to happen. His eyes had a knack for foretelling something bad, but this time it wouldn’t be just some bad weather, this time it felt like it was something much worse.

Drew finished quickly, the boy walking into their room with a towel around his waist, his short bright blond hair dripping onto the floor, “I’ll clean it up” he said when he saw Eric giving him a disapproving look, it was a look he got more often than not since he did his best to keep Eric’s thoughts on him and not whatever bothered him at the time.

Eric had gotten up and headed to the bathroom, when he passed Drew he could feel the boy turn to look at him. It wasn’t like Eric didn’t notice that Drew was always watching him, and not just in the sense of a best friend worried about another best friend, no he knew that the looks Drew always gave him held something more than just friendship, though he never called him out about it and just let him be.

Eric didn’t waste time with a long shower but he did make it a cold one to help relieve the burning in his eyes, not that it helped much. Walking back into the room, his own towel around his waist and the water dripping off of his hair this time around, “Dude what’s that?” Drew asked him when he was looking for clothes to wear, “What?” Eric asked but before he could get an answer Drew was already tracing something on the back of his left shoulder after getting up from where he had been reading a comic on his bed.

“You got a tattoo without telling me” the boy exclaimed, “Tattoo, I didn’t get a tattoo” Eric said nervously, “Than what’s this?” Drew asked tracing the lines again before Eric walked out of reach and stopped to look in the mirror they had in their room. The boy turning so he could see his back and surely enough there were lines drawn there, they looked like a thorny vine starting at his spine and moving across his shoulder blade. Rubbing at it with his hand Eric tried to get it off but it didn’t work, “What do you think it is?” Drew asked, he was inspecting it more closely now but when he looked from the lines to his friends face he saw fear there for the first time that he could remember. “Don’t tell anyone… please” Eric begged his friend and Drew who had never seen this scared side of his best friend before nodded.

Eric quickly got dressed after that, panic still clearly visible on his face though. “Don’t worry about it too much; it’s probably just some kind of rash...” Drew tried to cheer his friend up but he could see that he failed. Eric checked himself in the mirror again just to make sure that no one could see the strange tattoo through his t-shirt before they both headed out to start their day.

Neither Eric nor Drew could concentrate on the lessons given by the teachers that come to the orphanage, the two boy’s only thinking of one subject and the teachers picked up on it. The orphanage ran on donations from several sponsors, and it were those sponsors that sent the teachers every day; and the teachers knew to take it easy on the children because of the back stories of each child that comes to this orphanage has, and every teacher knew about Eric and his episodes and they didn’t want to send him into one so they gave him some leeway.

After the lessons for the day the two boys snuck away to their room, Drew making sure that they weren’t followed before locking the doors, the one leading from the hallway into their room and the one to the bathroom they shared with the room next to theirs which had been empty since the boy who had lived there moved out and started his life. “You okay?” Drew asks when he sees his friend looking at the mark yet again, his shirt laying on the ground by his feet, “Would you be?” Eric replied and those three words were enough to let Drew know that his best friend was nowhere near okay, “We’ll figure this out” Drew stated to try and reassure his friend, but more to reassure himself.