Moving Forward

"Rose?" Montague leaned over the slide where I sat. I hugged my knees closer to my chest and hid my face.

She crawled under the slide and sat next to me.

"Are you going to be okay?" She asked me

I nodded.

"Okay."

We didn't speak after that. She simply rubbed my back in comfort as the tears from my eyes fell. The only time she left my side was to get some water for me when I got hiccups.

It had only been a few days since mom had left the house. I knew that my parents weren't like others. They weren't warm with each other nor did they ever embrace one another. They never had the connection other parents did. But I never thought that I would be so upset when they split up. I didn't think they would leave me.

My mother had left to live with my uncle. I occasionally visited when I could but I mainly lived with my dad.

I guess I was delusional thinking this would only be for a few days. The woman my father wants to build a future with us at home right now. And it's not my mom.

"Montague. You'll be with me forever, right? You won't leave me?" I asked

"Right! We'll be friends until death!" She gave me a bear hug.

A month later

"Rose!" Montague yelled as she caught up to me. I looked back to see her dark hair flying around her face. I had to hide the smile that crawled up my face. I knew she was self conscious about her wild hair.

"How's the new house? Are you okay living with your uncles?"

I nodded. "Yeah. They're great. They had my room all set up before I even moved in."

"Sweet! I'm so excited for the new school year! I think there's going to be new kids this year! What do you think their quirks are?" She skipped backwards. Her hair flopping around her face.

I shrugged. "Dunno."

"C'mon! You gotta have some imagination! What if they have a quirk that makes your farts smell like an air freshener?"

"I'd say, go see a doctor." I stated

She rolled her eyes but smirked.

She hopped back forwards but was too late to avoid the person behind her. She smacked right into the boy who had his back to her.

"Ack!" The boy yelped as the paper he held flew into traffic.

Montague gasped and apologized profusely.

"Sorry! I'm sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going!" She bowed to the boy.

The kid's light blue hair fell down his green eyes as he stared into Montague's hazel ones.

"Umm…do you guys know how to get to the school?" He asked

"The middle school? Yeah!" Montague exclaimed

"Could you guys show me the way?" He asked, "I got lost."

"Where do you live?" I asked him

He pointed to a house a few blocks away.

We stood in silence for a while before leading the way to the school.

"My name's Kota by the way." The boy said

"I'm Montague. This is Rose." Montague introduced us.

As it turned out, Kota went to a different school but we always managed to meet one another at a cross point. We eventually got close enough to meet outside of school times.

A year later

"Rose!" Kota called out "Montague! Over here!"

He ran down the road to where we were.

"Kota! Let me guess. You got held back a year. So sad!" Montague fake cried as she wiped away an imaginary tear.

Kota rolled his eyes. "No! It was a close call but I passed all my tests!"

"It wasn't too bad" I shrugged.

"You don't count! Your memory is way too good!" Montague yelled out.

"Don't hate the player." I smirked

"Oh! We will!" They two said in Union.

"So what are you guys going to do after middle school? We only have this year and the next!"

I shrugged. "Move onto high school I suppose. What else is there?"

"Yeah but what school? I want to go to UA! I wanna be a hero!" Montague said

"Isn't that hard? It'll be dangerous." Kota said with a worried look.

"Yeah. But it's been my dream for so long!" She had a far away look.

"Then, I'll go as well!" Kota said "Someone needs to keep you safe."

His face went bright red with that last sentence.

"We can all go together!" She said excitedly.

"Who said I'm going? I don't even have a quirk." I asked

"Me! We can go to school together!" Montague said

"I'd rather go to a regular school. Being a hero is your dream. Not mine." I said

"What's your dream, Rose?" Kota asked

I shrugged "Dunno yet."

"But in the meantime, we should stay together for as long as we can. You should try to get into UA." Kota said

"I guess…" I said

Montague smiled a big smile. "Then it's a plan!"

The plan was to spend as much time together. We knew we would have to go our separate way eventually. Our dreams were just too different. Little did we know how little time we had.

Two months later

"Kota!" I cried as I reached out to him.

He fell to the ground so fast. The man's hands shifted back to normal and he ran away. I heard noises in the background but it was all muffled. All I could see was the bloody corpse of my dear friend.

They say that in your last moments, just before death, your life flashes before your eyes. I wonder if that's what happened to Kota before he was shot dead. I wonder if I'll remember as well. Because right now, all of my memories of him were clouded by this gruesome scene.

A wave of black feathers covered my vision and it's like the grim reaper was standing behind me.

Three months later

"Rose…" Noel knocked on my door. "When do you think you'll be able to come out?"

I buried myself under the covers even more.

I hadn't left my room for three months. The only time I had ever stepped out was for the restroom. No one rushed me to leave the house. I wasn't in a rush either.

"Please…It's Montague…" he started.

I listened to him tell me of her depressed state. How desperate they were to help her. She was admitted into the hospital multiple times after refusing to eat. She did nothing but sleep or stare aimlessly at the wall.

I lifted myself from the bed and opened the door.

"I'm going to take a shower." I said

Two weeks later

"Montague…" I whispered as I saw the faded red string connecting her to a grave.

She kneeled on the grave with her head hung low.

This was our first time visiting Kota's grave. We didn't attend the funeral. It felt like two months after death was just not enough time to accept his death. But when was it ever?

Several strings appeared out of thin air. Some that connected the two of us. Others that connected her to others. I looked around us and saw more strings. Many that connected the living to the dead.

To this day, graveyards were the most terrifying place to me.

Three days later

"Montague, do you want me to help you? I think I know how." I said

"Help me with what?" She asked

We sat on her bed in her room. She asked me to spend the day with her. For a moment, it had been like nothing ever happened. Like Kota would join us. Making up excuses for being so late.

But that moment was just that. A moment.

"My quirk manifested." I said

"Yeah. The wings." She smiled at my wings that laid on the bed.

"Not just my wings. I can see the string. Just like my mom."

"Nice." She smiled at me "I'm glad."

Her spirit had long died along with her fated one. I felt like I had to make jokes just to remember who she used to be.

"I can also touch them. And cut them." I said

She froze. Her plastic smile was gone.

"I asked my uncle Joseph about it. He said that I can cut the string and tie it back together. What if we cut yours-"

"No…" Montague shook her head. Her eyes filled with tears. "Don't cut the only thing I have left of him."

"But there's nothing left of you! He's not here. But you are! I need you back." I cried

"Don't!" She jumped up.

I grabbed the faded red string with both hands.

She stared into my wild eyes and sat back down.

Her plastic smile was back. "Do whatever makes you happy."

The next day

"Rose…" my uncles walked towards me slowly. It looked like they stayed awake the entire night.

"What happened to you?" Noel asked as he touched my red wings.

He quickly pulled away when he cut his hand on my red feathers.

Joseph held my face in his hands. "You were crying." He didn't mind the blood splattered on my face. Blood that obviously wasn't mine.

I couldn't help but let loose more tears. These (dumb dumb) tears! How could you betray me!

"Rose, was Montague with you yesterday?"

I sniffled but replied "I was with her all day. I left her house around ten at night. Why?"

"She's missing."

Present time

I stared out into space.

They say Montague died from heart ache. I've told myself that if it weren't for me, she might've still been alive. Whether that's true or not, I would never know.

"Rose! No more daydreaming! Clase is starting! Get a move on!" Mina called out to me from the door.

I ran after my classmates. "Wait! If I get there last, Aizawa will yell at me. And I'm sensitive!"

We were supposed to live our lives together. Now, I'll live out their dreams for them.

.

.

.

"Help me!" Someone yelled

I ran to the edge of the cliff. There Rose was. On the edge of a cliff.

I grabbed a hold of her arm and pulled her up.

Just as she got half up, she held onto my arm.

"Where have you been? Where?"

"In life…"

"No…don't tell me…was I just used for…promotional use?"

"No! No. I've been meaning to write more chapters but work got in the way and there's just no time."

"Excuses." Rose huffed.

"But since we're here…let me tell y'all about my new novel I'm writing!"

"I knew it!!! If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me!"

Rose pulled on my arm and we fell down the cliff together.

(I'm not sure if there will be any new chapters for this fanfic. If there aren't, then thank you so much for reading my stupid little story. If there are, then color me surprised.

Writing this was my getaway from reality. I love thinking of stories and writing is my only way to bring them to life.

I'm currently writing a new novel called "A Song In The Wind" (no it's not a fart) I've had this idea for a long time but just needed some time to myself to plan it out.

It's a bl involving two kings from rivalry kingdoms. There's magic, betrayal, love and so much more. If you're interested, please take some time to check it out.

I also wanted to explain how the story came to be in the author's thoughts. (Okay! Scratch that! There's a 500 word limit and I exceeded that! Lol. Thoughts are below.) If you'd like to read that, beware. I like to rant. (Obviously)

Again, thank you for reading this far!)

The story "A Song In The Wind" was only a thought that came to mind while listening to a song as I watched two leaves on a tree. They fluttered in the wind until one fell off. (Is this a spoiler? Perhaps.) (Also, this sounds so poetic. I swear it did happen though!) I wanted to write the story much earlier but held myself back. I wanted to have real world experience before writing something so complicated. For the past few years (jeez, I sound like I'm old. I'm only twenty!) I've had my share of ups and down. I finished school and got a job as a hair stylist. Only a few months in and I already regret it. (People anxiety is real. Not sure why I thought this was a good idea. But I'm putting that full year of cosmo school to use if it's the last thing I'll do! Plus the stress brings out my creative self so who cares!)

To me, my stories are a reflection of myself. My struggles and inner thoughts. This fanfic was a reflection of my inner stupid. The novel reflects my inner anxieties and struggles.

The main character is born into a world with expectations that he must fulfill. One mistake, and everything falls apart. I'm sure almost everyone feels like that at some point, I just wanted to build a story surrounding those struggles. I have so much more I want to explain but those would be spoilers. Thank you for reading this far. (if anyone has)