"'How can you break a heart that is not there?' That's what Skye said before she suddenly disappeared. She left about a week ago. I questioned her, but she wouldn't respond. Truly, I cannot ever imagine life without it all. Without her, without happiness.

"If a child lives with hostility: He learns to fight for what he loves."

"...Skye's gone!?" The shout was horrendous. All you could really do was stare in awe as seventeen year old Shadow O'Ryan grasped the front of a young man's shirt and scream in his face. The cigarette inbetween Shadow's lips were now clenched inbetween his teeth; the teeth were carving large holes into the tan filter part of it. "Well?! What happened, you stupid Aussie? Huh?! Did you just drive her outta town? 'Cause you knocked up some random chick?!"

"That's totally uncalled for!" Gunner shouted back angrily, grabbing the other man's black shirt as well. "Look, Skye insisted Alina to keep Asta and not get an abortion, I know that! I didn't suggest that it was her fault that Alina is dead, it's not my fault!"

Shadow paused, then rammed him into the nearest wall, holding him up against it with fury evident in his eyes. "You wanna live another day, you tell me what happened..."

--

The sky above her head was dark; dappled with white spots, the blanket of inky blackness spread deeply around the world. The air was as cold as Le Lac du Mort's surface in the midst of winter. There was a girl, sitting at the edge of the lake, throwing pebbles into it with a blank look on her face. Albeit to the blankness upon her face, her body language was stiff and sorrowful. In silence, she stopped throwing the pebbles. Her tresses of white, curled beautifully, to perfection, was up in a long, curvy ponytail. One would say she looked like a ghost, waiting for her lover to come back from sea. After all, didn't Lac du Mort connect to the ocean? Hm, curious... She wore a black uniform. One who was not savvy with highly renowned Japanese school uniforms would presume she was dressing up in a mild, mediocre lolita dress with a sailor's flap on the neck, connected to the dress with a lovely, black bow. She turned around as footsteps sounded behind her.

"What would you require of me, Gunner?" she asked in a monotone voice.

"...It's not your fault, you know. Don't beat yourself up--" The girl interrupted strictly, "I'm not." There was a moment of pressured, somber silence. The atmosphere surrounding the two was tense and rather tightly fit. One person had to leave to make the atmosphere return to normal. "...You stripped the black out of your hair. I like it. It suits you... Your natural hair colour, that is..." Gunner cleared his throat.

"Stop beating around the bush, Gunner. You're embarrassing yourself in front of a proper woman." She quirked a brow. Her entire face was free of piercings, her tattoos were covered beautifully. She sighed.

"...Whatever do you mean, Skye?" The girl perked up oddly as he mentioned her name. She cleared her throat as well.

"I mean, why don't you just say your goodbye to me and leave?"

"...Goodbye?!"

"Yes. Goodbye."

There was an awkward pause. She continued, "If you want to cross a bridge, you must pay a toll. If you cannot pay the toll, you do not pass. I've paid my toll. I'm passing my bridge. I cannot stay here... I'm sorry, Gunner, dear. I'm moving in with an old friend of mine, far, far away. I'm going to school there for a little while, too. Skyler offered his apartment to me." She shrugged.

"No! No, no, no!" said Gunner hurriedly. "You'll miss Asta's baptism! And Alina's open-casket funeral! And--" He grabbed her arms. She just stared blankly into the air in front of her face-- not him, no... Just the air.

"Alina is the very same reason why I'm leaving." Her voice stayed calm. "I named her child a beautiful name. I attended to her death wish. But I cannot tend to her other wish, for me to love Asta as if she were my own, and to raise her. Whenever I gaze down at Asta Hope Brookingham, I'm reminded of Alina. This place reminds me of her. But before I left, I wanted to come here. This is where Alina and I used to come. We would have silly competitions and throw rocks at the waters of Le Lac du Mort, in hopes of them bounding into the distant, albeit our horrid aim." She cracked a small smile. "We would sneak down here. So I just wanted to come here, to say goodbye."

"To what?! You're not leaving, you can't--"

"...To her." she said simply. Standing, Skye then walked past him, picked up a small bag hidden behind a small boulder, and disappeared into the distance. "...Goodbye."

--

Hearing about Skye leaving was hard. It was very, very hard. While Gunner explained, Shadow remembered times they had together. Times were fun with Skye, considering his past, that is.

All Shadow could really remember from his troubled past was always shop lifting, bad grades, tears, and coping with it all. He recalled little to none of his abuse as a child. He recalled some of it. Him coming home from another horrid day at school to be hit by his father whilst his mother desperately flailed herself upon him, begging for him to stop hitting Shadow. All the boy could do was cringe, and writh on the floor in pain. The only thing he ever woke up for, went to school for, stayed alive for... Was Skye's smile and laughter.

He loved to spend time with her. Of course, this also meant spending time with Alina. Honestly, Shadow couldn't care less for the girl; he wasn't even phased by her death. He felt depressed when Skye stopped smiling and laughing, though.

When Gunner left, Skye came. She was silent, and explained everything to me. About her feelings, and how sad she felt. Although Gunner described Skye as somber and lacking emotion in his explanation and story, she seemed desperate and depressed when he was around. She only felt comfortable revealing her feelings to him, and Alina. Eventually, she said she had to leave, because her flight wasn't going to delay for her. She offered Shadow to follow her. He asked her, "Why?" and she merely smiled and said, "Because you make me smile." He asked her, "I'd hate to see your heart break if I couldn't come..." and she merely turned away and walked to the door.

"How can you break a heart that isn't even there anymore?"

And then she was gone.