somebody that I used to know

[But you didn't have to cut me off

Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing 

And I don't even need your love

Now you're just somebody that I used to know] 

 Although she was early for lunch, the place was already bustling. Lily was seated on a different table with three other people, so she joined them. 

  She forgot their names immediately after they told them to her. Last night left her tired and exhausted and only with two lives. 

  She ordered the same food and Shecouldn't remember if it was also overcooked, she finished her food faster than them all. 

 They tried to include her in their conversations out of pity but after noticing that she didn't mind being ignored they stopped completely.

 Everything she looked at on her way to class seemed old, unoriginal and dull, it wasn't as colourful as she remembered. 

 'Death.' These words kept ringing inside her head. 

 "Wait for me!" Cordelia's annoying voice yelled, so she continued walking. No, she started running.

 She could hear her catching up and she knew it was over. 

 "You probably didn't hear me so I decided to chase after you." Can't this girl take a hint. 

 "Go away." Yima said breathlessly as she turned to face Cordelia's sweating face, good, at least she wasn't the only one sweating.

 "Where was your brother last night?" He wasn't in the house when she burned the door down. 

 "He was with Kai," Cordelia looked down, "That's what I wanted to tell you right now, we need to find a new teacher, Neon is with Kai now." 

 A flame lit up in Yima, first she was going to die and now she was going to fail?

 "Where is he?"

 "Training for the upcoming tournament of Ashins." 

 "You knew didn't you?" Yima narrowed her eyes on her.

 "What are you talking about?"

 "Don't play Miss innocent with me, you knew about the lines on my neck." Yima half hoped she would say no, she couldn't take another betrayal right now. 

 "We all knew." Cordelia said defensively. Yima felt empty, nothing. 

 "Ok." Yima turned to leave but stopped herself, "Don't ever talk to me again." 

 "You don't mean that." God, if only Cordelia knew how angry she makes her.

 "I will burn you if you come anywhere near me!" Yima barked.

 "What's going on here?" Estelle came into view next to Cordelia.

 "You too," Yima said pointing at Estelle,"Never talk to me ever again!" 

 "What did I do wrong?" Estelle looked to Cordelia but she found no explanation on Cordelia's stone cold face.

 "Everything, you did everything wrong." 

 "Yima I don't like it when I fight with my friends so just tell me proper-" 

 "I'm not your friend and I never was your friend." 

 "Estelle let's go." Cordelia tried to tug at her hand but failed so she left, leaving Estelle and Yima alone. 

 "I thought we were friends, I don't understand."

  "Why, is it because you are so perfect and everyone likes and wants to be you that you can't believe me when I say I don't like you!" Estelle's cheeks were bright red, "You are not special, and you never will be." Yima yelled at her.

 "I know okay, I know I'm trash but that's not the point," She closed her eyes. "I just wanted to be your friend, I just wanted to find someone who was going to accept me for who I am without me having to try so hard, without having to act like a machine built to grant everyone's wishes. People love the fake me, the perfect girl who doesn't get hurt when she's treated the way she treats herself, like trash." She was shaking and breathing heavily. 

  "You will never be my friend." 

 Her face fell.

  "Why?" Estelle whispered at the verge of tears. Because you never told me about the lines and I'm in love with a guy who has a crush on you, Yima wanted to scream.

 "I don't need to reason. " She said instead.

 "Is it because of Kai?" Yima's heart fell apart.

 "I'm sorry-" Estelle began but Yima held up her palm. 

 "You knew, you all knew!" Yima was surprised that she wasn't crying or having a mental breakdown. 

 "You know what, forget it." Yima went to class and Estelle walked behind her at a distance. 

 She was early.

 ****

 Class ended and she went looking for Neon. She was planning to hurt all of them, one by one. Estelle Neon.

 She saw a figure leaning against the same tree she had found Hunter so she approached. 

 "What do you want with him?" The voice's owner stepped out of the shadows. 

 "Nyx." She breathed out in shock. Nyx moved in the darkness like it belonged to her.

 "Answer the question." With the shadows of the leaves still covering most of her face Yima noticed a startling resemblance with Hunter. 

 "You're his sister." Yima declared to the nosy wind and Nyx narrowed her eyes silently daring her to ignore her question one more time. Yima chose the best option.

  "A note," Nyx's jaw clenched and Yima hurriedly added, "a dropper said something terrible to me on a note so I reported it to him, the leader. And I need his help on a private matter." She needed someone to help with the lines, Hunter was the only one she could think of. 

 The silence continued and soon it reached around her throat and choked her, when Nyx spoke and she felt free again. 

 "Early Monday mornings only." Nyx said, adding emphasis on the only.

 "Late monday evenings only." Yima negotiated

 "Who gave you the right to choose?" 

 Yima kept quiet.

 "Don't expect him to be available every monday, he has better things to do than waste his time with you." Nyx waited for Yima to correct her and she did. 

 "I'm not a waste of time." 

 "My time just got wasted, because of you." She sped past her. 

**

 Neon was training alone, in the woods. The sight of him made her even more angry. He stopped training and turned around to look at her. 

 "I'm busy." He dismissed her after that and continued taking back the trees around him to the past. 

 "Busy!?," Yima hissed, "I just found out I'm going to die and I don't even know why or how because of you and you tell me you're busy!" 

 "Yima, who told you that?" 

 "It doesn't matter who did, what matters is that now I know." 

 "I was trying to protect you and also myself." 

 "Protect me from what?" Yima was trying hard not to explode.

  He looked down just like his sister.

  "I had a right to know, I would have done things differently if I knew I had such little time." Yima felt the hole in her heart grow, the sting in her throat making her even more angry; she just wanted to bite Neon's head off.

  "I would have hugged my family tighter, I wouldn't have promised my brother that I was going to visit them soon, I wouldn't have agreed to marry that awful man's son, I wouldn't, I wouldn't have fallen in love just to get my heart broken." 

  "I know how you feel,"Neon said. 

  "No, you don't. How dare you even relate to me. But you know what, at least now I know that I won't last to see my twenty-first birthday, at least now I know I don't have to worry about the future, at least now I know I won't be stuck in a loveless marriage forever and at least now I know my enemies!" 

  "We can only talk when you're cooled down." 

  "I don't want to cool down! I deserve to let it all out." She screamed her lungs out. 

  "I need to get back to training, you only have two lives left, I suggest you control yourself. " He turned back around. 

  "Rubbing salt on the wound is not going to calm me down." 

  "You don't understand!" He balled his fists and clenched his jaw. 

  "I'm the only one who has to be angry." Yima yelled.

  "I can't do this right now." He says as he walks away.

 Yima didn't like the attitude he was giving her, she was the one who had to behave like that, she was the one who was supposed to be angry. 

  "Turn.around." she sneered knowing well that she was about to light this place on fire.

  "What do you want?" He wiped sweat from his brow as he turned to face her. 

 "Tell me how this works, the lines." She says as she continues walking up to him, "can I stop it?"

 Neon remained silent as he looked down and Yima charged forward and Neon blocked her attack by holding both her arms.

  "Answer me!" She yelled in his face. 

  "You need to calm down or else-" Yima lit up and when Neon let go of her hands to escape being burnt, she grabbed him by the arms.

  She could feel his meat melting away and gathering into her palms. The pungent smell of burning meat fuelling her fire. She squeezed his now exposed bones smirking at the sound of bone cracking.  

 "Talk!"