Chloe sat in the dormitory common room, holding back tears. She was the new girl, and while the others had been at the school for three years, she had joined last week. Only she knew why.
"Who is she anyway?"
She knew they were whispering about her, but stared at the pages of her book, which words had blurred.
Alice and Mimi, her older sisters, were in another house. She was alone. Chloe started to fiddle with her plait nervously as she felt eyes stare at her.
"Why don't you just talk?"
A tall, blond girl with piercing blue eyes snapped at her. Everyone started to look. "I-i just.." Chloe couldn't think of anything to say. She'd been away from people her age for so long, she'd forgotten how to make friends and interact.
The blond girl sneered and flicked her hair. Some of the boys laughed and Chloe went red. She just wanted to go home.
After a excruciatingly long time, the other students left for bed, and Chloe was alone. She went to curl up on the sofa and sleep. She wouldn't dare sleep near the gossiping girls.
•
She awoke to hear the sound of breathing, and jumped. A boy with bright blue eyes and silky black hair was looking at her intently. When he saw her open eyes, he darted his attention away.
"Um, are you okay?" She asks uncertainly. A little smile flickers across his lips.
"So you can talk" He says. She blushes. "Hey, it's okay"
Chloe suddenly feels extremely grateful for this boy's company, and makes him room to sit down. He sits next to her.
"No-one knows anything about you. Why you don't talk, why you just turned up." He says this with the hint that he wants and answer, but she doesn't speak. A tear rolls down her cheek as he looks at her.
"I didn't mean to make you cry" he says softly, wiping away her tears.
Chloe finds herself looking at the boys lips as he says this. What would they taste like?
A cackle from the fireplace sends her back into reality, and she realises she want's to tell him everything, so someone would understand.
"I-i'm Chloe. I was supposed to start the school when everyone else did, but i couldn't. The doctors had just diagnosed me with type 1 diabetes, then i found out i had a rare brain cancer. I..." She stops talking as the tears start to flow, but the boy just puts his arm around her and strokes her hair.
"It's okay. Sshhh" he whispers softly as she buries her head in his chest. She sniffs and carries on. "I went into the hospital for chemo, but it didn't work and they said that i had a week left on the life machine, and if i didn't improve they'd have to turn it off. On the last day i started to breathe for myself again. I spent 4 years in that hospital, never talking to anyone my age..."
The boy simply looked at her and whispered "you're so brave, so beautiful" and kissed her softly.
Chloe feels a pulse of electricity through her as this boy's lips touch hers. It's so comforting that she never wants it to stop, and wraps her hands around his neck. He pulls her onto his lap and rests his hands on her back.
They kiss softly, but each never wanting to stop. The boy feels such a delicate beauty in this girl, he wants to be there to hug her and hold her and protect her. The girl feels safe and wanted as never before.
After a while, Chloe falls asleep, leaning on the boy. He smiles and picks her up. He is taken aback at how small and light she is. The boy carries her up to her bed and tucks her in without a sound. With one last kiss, he goes to his own bed.
The next day, the girl and the blue eyed boy never leave each others side.
