Popsicle wanders across the small bridge leading past the forest on his way home. He walks in silence, with the only sound filling the air being the rustling of the nearby trees.

His mind is tired but alive, still pondering about 'Specky'.

He clicks his pen over and over again as he approaches a junction.

Right was to his house. Left was to the riverbank.

He checks his watch. Only 4:30pm. He could chill for a bit. He goes left.

As he trots down the sloped path on the way to the riverbank, he opens up his notebook.

"Trees sway in the wind like elderly couples dancing to some blues."

Decent. Can do better.

"The gravelled path crumbles beneath my wearied feet, i am a water current bursting downstream."

He smiles to himself. That one was kinda cool.

"My mind is blurred by an unclear girl... a girl of horror as opposed to a gleaming pearl?"

He thinks about that one for a little longer. If that 'thing' in the classroom was not her, was it a ghost? Why did she smile at me like that? Maybe it was a prank? But why was the 'thing' in the classroom so clear and horrorfying?

He closes his notebook and his eyes for a few seconds.

He breathes in, then out.

He looks up. Ah, the riverbank. So much peace and quiet to be enjoyed here. Never much drama here-

He stops.

"Hi."

-----------------------

He doesnt say anything at first. He looks up and down.

...

"Who... are you?"

"WOOWWWWW", the girl tuts and shakes her head.

"You dont remember me from this morning? Ya know, i said your face was funny." She chucks a grape in her mouth and munches loudly.

Popsicle sits down on the bank. He shuffles slightly away from the annoying girl and pops open his notebook omce again.

...

"ARE YOU NOT GONNA ASK MY NAME OR ANYTHING??"

Popsicle looks up, startled.

"Err..erm... what's your...name?", he says through a forced smile.

"Lou. Nice to meet you, Funnyface."

Popsicle shows her the front of the notebook with a slight bit of sass, pointing his finger at his nametag on the notebook.

"Oh so its... Popisikl... what is that-

"ITS POPSICLE OK."

A silence fills the air after Popsicles outburst. He takes a deep breath and looks back down at his notebook. He wanted to focus.

"The calming river moves steadily along, it blueness shattered by the suns glare-

"Whatcha writing there "Popsicle"?"

He slams his notebook shut and looks over at Lou.

"What do you want? Why do you care? No one else cares, so why you?"

Lou looks taken aback. She sits in silence for a few seconds before seemingly composing herself.

Lou blushes as she looks out onto the river.

She twiddles a hair strand between her fingers.

"Well... i just... i just think you're kinda cute, thats all..."

Popsicle suddenly stares at Lou, expressionless.

He doesnt respond.

"I've been watching you and you've always interested me, with your head deep in that notebook of yours. I want to get to know you, Popsicle."

She looks at him, wide eyed, waiting for any sort of response.

Popsicle gets up. He looks down at Lou.

"If you find me interesting, then you shpuld probably see my room. Lets go."

Lou sits there, amazed.

His room?? Already??

"Wow Popsicle! Your so straightforward, taking me to your room and all-"

"Shush. Walk."

Popsicle wanders ahead as Lou scurries to pick up her bag and get up.

The pair wonder off back towards the junction.

A few seconds later, a third person gets up from further along the riverbank. This person had not been seen by the pair. This person watched the pair.

A girl. 

Red hair. 

Green eyes.

Glasses. 

------------

"I'm home mum. I got friend with me, no she's not my girlfriend and no she doesn't want to stay for dinner."

A large, blonde woman stands, frozen in the corridor of the small house with a welcoming smile stamped on her face.

"Oh...Oh! Okay!" She says, with a sad look on her face.

Popsicle weaves past her and lumbers himself upstairs, with Lou confusedly following suit.

"Ignore my mum, once she starts talking she can't stop." Popsicle says as he cracks open his bedroom door and flops face first into his bed.

Muffled, he says,"You can sit on my desk chair, I guess."

Lou stands in the room doorway. She looks around. A small room, only enough space for a bed and wooden desk. Any other speck of space seemed to be filled by either an item of clothing or a book.

One trait of the room specifically stood out. Paper. It was everywhere, on the floor on the walls, all with scribbles writing or scribbled out writing.

"You like to read and write alot, huh..." Lou says as her eyes wander.

A weak breeze blows in from the open window.

Lou looks down at Popsicle. Is he... asleep?

Popsicle lets out slow, soft breathes and his hair rustles slighlty from the breeze.

Lou blushes slightly.

She looks at his small lips...

Her heart rate begins to build, her mind filling with thoughts... dangerous thoughts.

There was a chance here.

Lou slowly leans down, her heart race speeding up with every millisecond. Her short, black hair flops down as she leans further, getting ever closer to Popsicles face. He big blue eyes begin to close as she pouts out her own lips....

A rattle. Lou immediately straightens up and looks around. Was somewhere there? She searches for the source of the rattle... the window.

As she moves towards the window to close it, she sees something that makes her freeze. Standing still as a statue, staring right into her eyes, was a girl. This girl stood in the middle of the road, her back hunched but her eyes directly aimed at the bedroom window.

Red hair.

Green eyes.

Glasses.

A sinister smile...