U.N.I.

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Immediately after I told Holden that I would see him later, I regretted it. The voices that have restricted me from moving on were screaming once again. The fear of Wesley finding out, and him never taking me back floated through my mind. There was the rational part of me that knew that Wesley wasn't coming back, nor would he ever care about my current whereabouts. I had to shove the intermixing thoughts aside temporarily, and move on with my day.

Holden's POV:

As soon as I walked into the classroom I saw the broken girl next to the window. Sure, there were other seats in the classroom. Something drew me to her, I had to help her. Some people have the instinct to help animals that are in distress, for me it was similar to that. I could sense that she little to no friends, hence why she was sitting by herself. I could tell that there was a sliver of hope on her face for a fraction of a second when I sat down. The hope that once adorned her face quickly changed back to sadness.

She was extremely quiet. Her name is Carson, not too feminine which fit her. I got conversation out of her slowly. The more we talked, the more I wanted to pull her to my chest and tell her that everything would be okay. You could tell that she did her best to keep herself pulled together. She wasn't good at hiding the pain in her eyes though.

The class period quickly ended and she didn't follow me out of the classroom. I knew I had to help her, even learn to love her. This girl was extremely pained and I needed to find out who did it to her. I felt a tug on the back of my shirt and I quickly turned around to see who it was.

It was Carson.

"Hey, meet me by the front stairs after school. We can talk more later, or whatever." Said Carson

I looked down at the frail girl in front of her and gave her a smile. "I'll see you then little bird."

I was quickly becoming very fond of the nickname I had given her. She was small and frail, and it seemed like the simplest things spooked her. I wanted to know every single one of her fears.

Carson's POV:

Three o'clock came a lot sooner than I anticipated. I wasn't ready to see Holden again. The fear that I tucked away had returned again. I didn't know his schedule so I didn't know if I'd be able to get out of the school with out him noticing. I took a deep breath and decided to go look for him at the front stair case. "Hey little bird."

I looked up to Holden once again smiling down at me. "Oh, um hi Holden."

"What do you have planned for us little bird? It's getting kind of chilly, and I don't want to get you sick." Said Holden.

He worried like Wesley did. Wesley made sure I was always bundled up, or had a sweater even if it wasn't cold out. He knew I had a poor immune system that frequently made me ill. "Little bird, you still there?"

I snapped out of the trance I was in."Oh, yeah sorry. We can go to the coffee shop down the street if you'd like."

"I'm not usually a coffee drinker, but I do enjoy a hardy cup of hot chocolate." Said Holden.

I gave him a weak smile and led him outside of the school. The air was cool, dropping in temperature due to the sun rapidly setting. Wesley and I had made this walk to the coffee shop a handful of times. He would hold my hand and offer his jacket to make sure I was never cold. This is one of the things I missed most since he left. I no longer had somebody who constantly cared about my wellbeing more than their own. Holden walked to the right of me. He never got too close so we never touched. I was thankful for that.

We crossed the street and got to the coffee shop door. I reached for the door, just to be intercepted by Holden's large hand. "Let me be polite little bird, after you."

I gave him a quick nod and walked inside. I tried my best to avoid the booth where Wesley and I had shared so personal thoughts with each other. After we received our drinks, I led Holden to a table top bar next to the window. "Carson, I want to know more about you."

My heart sped up drastically. He knew about Wesley, he had to. Why else would he want to know more about me? "Why, I don't think that's very important?"

"Calm down little bird, we're best friends now remember. Best friends are supposed to know everything about each other. If it makes you feel better, I'll give my answer to the question after you." Said Holden.

I quietly sighed in relief, but angry that I was already jumping to conclusions. "Alright, I guess ask away then."

"Favorite color?"

"Maroon."

The simple questions went on for awhile. I started to relax until one question. "What is a girl like yourself doing with out friends, or even a boyfriend?"

I started to choke on the coffee I was drinking. "Shit, Carson you need to breath."

Holden took the mug from my hand and patted my back. I couldn't believe he brought that up. He wasn't out of his rights to ask this, but I wasn't ready to discuss this with practically a stranger, let alone anybody. After a few seconds I began to calm down. I looked up at Holden who had concern written across his face. Quietly I said, "I'd rather not discuss that right now. It's getting late too and I'd prefer to not walk home in the dark."

"I'll walk you home then Carson. Will you promise me that you'll tell me more about you though?"

"You don't need to walk me home, I'll be fine. I'll tell you more eventually, right now I can't promise about what though."

I quickly gathered my items and ran out the door. I felt terrible about just leaving him there. For the first time in a very long time, I felt comfortable with somebody. Holden gave me a sense of relief like Wesley did. I could tell that he had a genuine interest in me, not in an intimate way either. He wanted to know me for me. The part of my brain that was still caught up with Wesley knew that was't okay. Part of me wanted to believe that Wesley should only be the person who brings me happiness and relief. He'd be extremely angry if he knew that another boy showed interest in me.

The other half knew that this wan't the case. It was good to let people in, it was time to let me depend on someone else again. I didn't know how though. I wanted to give Holden a chance. I wanted him to know everything about me. I just wanted a connection with another human being again. I had to forget my first love, and let in a total stranger.

If I only knew how he felt.

A/N: I hope you enjoy chapter 2! Do you like the multiple POV's? I'm still trying to figure out how I want to format everything still. Vote and comment! XO, until next chapter.

Word count: 1258