You're different

"Who was that?" Chloe asked, leaning against the door frame.

            She looked different. She was wearing a different shade of lip gloss...a lighter pink color, and her hair was down. Not only that, but it was drenched. She looked different. How could she do that with two minutes in the bathroom? Okay, I know it wasn't much of a change, but she did look almost completely different.

            "That was my brother; they're going to be home late."

            Her eyes widened, "So, they can't take me home?"

            "No," I said. "But the rain should stop soon. I'll walk you there."

            "It's fine, I can walk there by myself."

            "Chloe, you can't--"

            "I like the wallpaper in your room," She blurted out. Her voice had switched to a sort of peppy tone. "It's red...I like red. But my room is green..."

            "Um, yeah, I painted it myself," I said. She was changing the subject, I knew that. But I wasn't in the mood to press her.

            "Oh, I love to paint!"

            I smiled, "So do I."

            Chloe looked at me hesitantly. She looked at the TV. I didn't take my eyes off of her. She was so...intriguing. The way her eyes seemed to examine every inch of the room; she was taking everything in. She had to know everything. She held my attention; even as thunder caused the house to rumble.

            She gasped and rounded the table. She crashed into me on the couch and squealed. I sat up.

            "Whoa, what are you doing?" I asked.

            "I hate thunder," She confessed.

            "Chloe, it thunders every other week. How are you not used to it?"

            She took in a handful of my shirt, "I just don't like loud noises."

            "Why not? They won't hurt you. They're just noises. And even if they were able to hurt you, I wouldn't let them. I promise."

            That got her. Her face lit up, and a smile took a home on her face, only to disappear quickly.

            Chloe was so complex. Her mood shifted so many times.  I just thought she was misunderstood. She had this cover up to hide her true feelings.  I'd always wondered about her parents. I only met them once about a year and a half ago. They were nice, but they looked frightened the entire time. I don't know if I was the cause for that or not. Her parents seem to be embarrassed of her. It's like they wanted another daughter.

            She was staring at me...intensely.

            "What?" I asked.

            "Melanie," She whispered. "Can I ask you a question?"

            "Sure," I picked up my slice of pizza and bite into it.

            "Do you think I'm weird?" She asked me, bluntly. I looked at her, hoping to see a smile, anything that indicated this was a joke. But there was nothing. A frown was plastered on her face.

            "Why would you ask that?"

            "I was just wondering...most people say it to me a lot. But you never do. I just wanted to know if you thought I was weird or not."

            "No, Chloe," I muttered. "You're not weird. You're different...it's a good thing."

            "Melanie, why are you so nice to me?" She asked innocently.

            I shrugged. "Why wouldn't I be nice to you?"

            She looked down at my fingers. I was twiddling them idly. "Well," She started. "You're usually not very nice to people. You're usually really mean to them. But you're not mean to me. Well, you're not as mean to me as most people are."

            That was true. I wouldn't say I was mean out in public. But I was bitterly sarcastic and careless. But with Chloe...I saw how fragile she was. How she could crack easily. She didn't need me making her life even worse.

            "Chloe, I've got no reason to be mad at you. I don't hate you," I grinned.

            "I wish you wouldn't do that." She whispered to me. Her voice was raspy, making me flinch and look at her with a little concern.

            "Do what?"

            "Make me want to be around you so much. You make it so easy to forget�"" She didn't finish the rest of her sentence. I just stared at her, but her eyes stayed my hands.

            "Chloe?"

            "It...it stopped raining," She jumped up.

            "Chloe, wait."

            "I need to leave," She walked towards the hallway. "Thank you for keeping me; I'll see you later, Melanie."

            "We need to talk, Chloe," I stood up.

            "There's nothing to talk about," She said right before I heard the door open and slam shut.

            She left me looking dumbfounded.

            I guess I should've run out there after her. And I was going to. Right after I put on my shoes. After all, she couldn't get very far in the forty seconds I would take to put my converse on, could she? Actually, yes, yes she could.

            When I got outside, she was completely out of sight. She must've ran. I wouldn't be able to catch up with her.

            "Fine, I give up," I said aloud. I was never one to put this much effort into the wellbeing of anyone other than Cooper or Xavier, anyway.

Author's Note

I got lazy with this one.