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Chapter Text

"Look, when this is over, you'll cry worse than this little crybaby. So let us be and get out of our sight."

Before Lilly had a chance to speak, the other boy in the back, shorter and bigger, spoke up.

"Let her talk, she'll get scared and run away anyway."

Lilly burried her fear behind her anger. Without realizing it, she clenched her fist and replied in a voice as menacing as ever.

"I am the next master of earth, do you think I am scared of you!"

She could see that both boys were slightly shaken and frightened by this newfound truth, especially the one in the back. But not a second later the mocking smile of the tall boy in front of her returned. This time it was more overbearing, as it had been when he had spoken to the boy they had manhandled earlier.

He grabbed Lilly's arm and pulled her forward. She tried to steady herself with her feet, but the boy's strength was too much for her and she couldn't stop her heels from slipping on the dirt.

"You should find better things to be proud of, little girl. Saying you are the daughter of a traitor makes you more ridiculous than frightening."

She was scared, but she tried not to show it. She was careful to keep her eyes on the long one as she tried to free her arm.

"For people like you, everything is a reason to be a bully."

The boy let out a fake laugh, mixed with a small breath, and released Lilly's arm with great force. The little girl stumbled, yet didn't fall. When she lifted her eyes from the floor, she continued to stare at the boy angrily.

"I'm giving you a second chance to leave, I didn't plan on beating up a second brat today, so save me the trouble and get out of here, come on."

"No, I'm not going anywhere!"

Before she knew what was happening, the big one appeared behind her with a speed she hadn't expected, pulling her back by her hair in a bun. Lilly let out a small scream of both fear and pain, desperately trying to free her hair from his rough grip.

"He told you to get lost, in case you didn't hear."

Unfortunately, even her anger could no longer cover her fear. She struggled until the boy grabbed her and pushed her hard to the ground.

"Is that enough? Are you done? Now will you do as he says and flee?"

She used her hands to keep her face from hitting the ground as best she could. They were still standing close to her. If she flared up again, they could pull her hair or hit her again. She was more scared than she wanted to admit.

She couldn't answer. Which must have made the boys even angrier because they were coming closer to her. Lilly could hear her heart in her ears with fear. She closed her eyes and hid her face in her arms, as if not looking would make them disappear.

While she was curled up, trying to figure out what to do, something else happened. The ground began to shake, preventing the two teens from walking any further.

The shaking was not too violent, but it was still enough to throw the boys off balance, and enough for Lilly to notice and suddenly forget her thoughts. She looked up in surprise. She was the one who did that?

As she was lost in her thoughts, she vaguely heard the boys talking.

"Dammit, she's telling the truth, she really is the traitor's daughter!"

"Did she?"

"I don't know, this is beyond us, let's get out of here!"

They looked at her for a second before running away. The sight of Lilly looking at them, her fear replaced by confusion and a slight dizziness, triggered them to start running.

As they ran, a more familiar figure approached her.

"Hey! What's going on! Come back here, now!"

'My dad!' Lilly's eyes filled with relief. She took a sitting position on the floor so she could look at her father.

He soon accepted that the boys had already ran away, he stopped a step ahead of her. His hands were resting on his waist and he looked angry. But when he locked eyes with his daughter, his expression became more concerned.

"Are you okay, what happened?"

Lilly nodded her head yes and stood up. As she tried to brush the dirt off of her clothes, she tried to explain shortly what had happened.

"There was a boy about my age and those two were bullying him and pushing him around and I couldn't keep quiet and... wait, where did he go?"

She looked around curiously only to find no trace of him. She stomped her foot in anger.

"You coward!"

Chapter Text

People were... not so kind. Especially to him, they never had been. Maybe it was because he got used to it, but loneliness had become something he preferred. He couldn't be bullied by someone who wasn't there, right?

He grabbed his guitar by the string and lifted it a little, trying to help his shoulder. It wasn't too heavy, but after walking through so many obstacles to get to the waterfall, it was starting to feel heavier than it actually was. At least it was hurting not because someone else had beaten him, but because he had traveled a long way with a load. It was fine.

Once he got closer to sound of water, he slowed down and stretched. If the path had not been blocked by many fallen trees and some overgrown thorny plants, it would have made a nice walk. Unfortunately, the tension of reaching the waterfall in one piece took all the fun out of the hike. That's why people didn't come to the waterfall so often anymore.

"Aah that's enough! You always show up when I don't want you to, but not when I try to move a simple stone? What kind of magic is this?"

At least... he thought they didn't. Lou took a step back and grabbed the strap of his guitar by reflex. The voice sounded like it belonged to someone around his age. It also didn't sound very calm, maybe he should've gone back. Maybe it was also a reflex of sorts, but the fear of getting a share of that anger was settling within him.

He stood there in silence for a while, cowering where he was. Even though the voice was much quieter, he could still hear the murmuring. He was confused what to do. He wanted to sit by the water and try to come up with some new sounds, but he would pretty much preferred to be alone while doing so. Still, he didn't feel like going all the way back. Maybe they wouldn't even see each other, maybe the owner of the voice was far enough. Or maybe whoever it was, would just leave him alone. 

Hesitantly, he continued down the path. Maybe it was because he was drowning in his own thoughts, but he no longer heard voices. But as he climbed onto a rock and sat down, he realized that this was a suspicious silence, that the silence was too quiet. Looking around, he realized that he was under the curious gaze of the owner of the previous angry voice. 

Standing right ahead was a girl about her own age. She wasn't necessarily tall, Lou could tell he was taller than her even though he was sitting, but she was a little thin and that made her look taller than she actually was. She wasn't dressed like the other kids their age in his town, and her clothes were very dusty. Her black wavy hair was put it in a bun but it was very obviously loosened. Her face was unfamiliar, he was sure he had not seen her in town before.

When he saw the not-so-friendly expression on the girl's flushed face, he realized he was just staring at her and panicked, jumping down from the rock he had just climbed onto. He didn't like talking to people, but now he probably should have. 

"I uh... I thought I was the only one who came here..."

He was maybe scared of her gaze, but he was more scared of her getting angry with him that he couldn't take his eyes off hers. She looked at him for a moment, then she rolled her eyes and walked few steps away to wash her hands in the water. He was glad that she didn't explode at him. He realized he was holding his breath and sighed in relief.

Actually, now that he thought about it, it would have been ridiculous for her to do that anyway. After all, the waterfall belonged to no one. But it wasn't like people had any reason to be rude to him, he never knew what they would use as a reason to attack him.

"As if I hadn't failed enough on my own, now there is him. I can't move a simple stone even on my own, how can I do it with him here!"

He was too preoccupied to realize that she wasn't talking to him, and when he heard her say something he didn't understand, he muttered as if to say 'sorry?' without thinking. This made her look up at him with a weary expression. That's when he realized that she wasn't talking to him, and that he looked like he was putting his nose in her business. 

"Sorry, I... I thought you were talking to me."

She turned back to washing her hands.

"No, I wasn't, I'd appreciate it if you didn't listen."

He wasn't sure how he thought a girl his age would sound like, but her voice was much less scary than he had expected. Maybe even endearing. Yes, maybe sweet if she wasn't being so hostile. 

"Uhm... alright?.."

A few hours passed without anything noteworthy. Lou was so focused on his work that he forgot she was there and didn't even hear her occasional curses or the sound of falling rocks. Until he hit a dead end himself. 

He put his pencil and guitar down on the big rock he was still sitting on to lay under the sky. He realised that some time ago. If he stubbornly pushes something and still can't do it, that means he needs to take a break to clear his mind. It proved to be much more productive than pushing himself endlessly. And... it was also nice to just rest for some of the time he was alone, rather than working through all of that.

"Oof!"

He remembered he wasn't alone when a small rock passed almost directly in front of him with a flash of light. The girl shouted angrily, stomping her feet hard on the ground as if it was going to split the earth, she circled a few steps. Lou hasn't been able to understand what she was trying to do or why she was so angry since he'd been here. 

And... maybe it was best not to ask, but he couldn't suppress the urge to ask her if she was allright. For some reason, something made him feel sorry and worried for her rather than frightened.

"Uh... hey, are you okay?" 

She must have forgotten him too, only realised Lou when he spoke to her. Perhaps due to her surprise, she wasn't as defensive and angry as she had been the first time they had spoken, instead her eyes looked wet as if she was about to cry. Seeing this completely stopped Lou from being afraid of her, filled his heart with compassion for this girl he doesn't even know.

After looking at him for a while, she wiped the tears from her eyes, sniffled and sat on the edge of the water. Unlike before, this time she was silent, which made it even sadder to watch. 

Without much thinking, he jumped off the rock and found himself walking to her. The possibility that she might not want him didn't occur to him until he was standing a step ahead of her. So for a moment he didn't know what to say and struggled to speak, but finally he gathered his courage.

"May I sit down?"

Before she spoke, she looked at him up and down, again not very friendly, but less aggressive. Now she seemed almost shy than anything else.

"Do whatever you want..."

Lou sighed. Did she have to look so intolerant? At least she didn't shoo him away. 

He sat down, careful not to fall in the water. 

"I... I don't know what's going on, but... I just... wanted to see if you were okay."

"I'm fine. I guess. Whatever..."

She didn't seem to care about what he said, or him trying to talk to her pissed her off further. She rose a little on her knees, struck the water with her hand rather harshly, then got locked to her reflection on the shaky surface of the water. Lou watched her every move with curiosity, wanting to understand what was going on. As she looked at herself, she seemed to get more frustrated, putting her hand under the water to wash her face, she started to cry. 

He was about to ask her what happened, but then she bent down and dipped her face in the water. At first he was worried and couldn't make sense of it, but for some reason he found himself doing the same. He adjusted to the water and opened his eyes, to find her looking at him. She seemed as surprised as he was that he was imitating her. After a few seconds of staring at each other, the girl suddenly started laughing in shocking contrast to her earlier troubled state. Lou then realized that what he was doing was actually very silly and funny. He couldn't contain his own laughter. As soon as they both started laughing, they had to pull their heads out of the water, coughing a little between their giggles.

It was a pointless moment, but somehow it managed to break the tension between the two. 

"Why did you even follow me?"

"I don't know! I didn't understand what you were doing! Speaking of it, seriously why did you do it?"

"I don't know! I just got angry and did it."

"Well, it's nice to know you weren't trying to drown yourself."

She pushed him lightly on the shoulder.

"Don't be silly."

They laughed some more. Suddenly they were relaxed around each other, as if things had never been tense between them earlier in the day.

"Well you looked very troubled there. I think you should sit down and rest for a while. It's better that way."

This time she smiled shyly. When she wasn't angry, she didn't look scary at all. 

Lou hoped it was a sign that the conversation had finally turned friendly. He gestured to his own things, both to keep the conversation going and to show that he had done what he had suggested to her to prove it works.

"I took a break too. If you're tired, let it go."

The girl spoke, looking at the notebooks and the guitar he had left on the giant rock.

"Yes, you were playing. I couldn't stop to listen, but I heard a little bit."

"Oh, really? I hope I didn't disturb you."

"No, no, it was good. You play good."

It was a surprising development that she was reserved and a little quiet when she spoke. Lou thought that this was her true personality.

"Thank you... I couldn't write much though." 

Her eyes lit up with excitement.

"You were playing your own songs?"

Her excitement kind of embarrassed Lou. He laughed nervously and tensed a little where he sat.

"Well, yeah... it's not that big of a deal."

"Why not? I think it's cool."

"You do?"

"Yeah? Why?"

"I don't... hear that very often."

"Oh..."

For some reason Lou got the feeling that she too had clear experience of what it was like to be outcasted. He didn't have to explain, she understood exactly what he was talking about.

But he didn't want to talk about that now. There was no point, and it wasn't a fun topic anyway.

"Do you also like music?"

"Actually... yes. I don't know many songs, though. My father doesn't like me going to festivals and stuff..."

"If I asked why... would that be too personal?"

The girl laughed, put her hands on the ground and leaned her weight back.

"Well, actually, no. It's just... people don't really like my father, so I don't usually talk about him much. I don't talk to many people though, I don't come to town very often, but you know, when I do."

"Oh... If you want to talk about it, I don't judge. It would be dumb to judge something like that."

They smiled at each other. At first they were wishing to be alone at the waterfall, but now both kids were happy with each other's presence.

"Don't announce it, but... my father is the former master of earth."

Not that he judged, but the revelation caught him off guard. He could not hide his astonishment, it was all over his face. Was the previous master of earth referring to the master of earth who had been declared a traitor for siding with Chen in the Serpentine War?

Despite his reaction, it was so obvious that there was no malicious intent behind this surprise, so she laughed instead of taking offense.

"You know... we live far from the town, because the townspeople don't like us very much. That's why my father sometimes feels uncomfortable even when I talk to people, he thinks they hate me too, that they might hurt me."

If her father is the Traitor...

"Wait, so you are... the current master of earth then?"

The girl blushed a little, her smile turning nervous.

"Well... technically yes... but..."

Lou got lost in his thoughts for a moment, realizing this, she also fell silent. He didn't see her, but his silence was making her worry that he got uncomfortable with her.

"What?.."

"I am the next master of earth, do you think I am scared of you!"

He looked at her face more carefully as if pushing deeper into his memory.

"You... you are the girl from that day! You saved me from the older kids!" 

Her eyes darted around, not understanding, then focused back to him. 

"When?"

"We were much younger, two older boys started to push me to the ground and beat me up while I was walking out of the theater building, then you stepped in!"

She murmured thoughtfully, something seemed to be replaying in her head. 

"It was during fall, I think, just at the entrance of the town."

She must have remembered too, her eyes widened in surprise, her questioning gaze lingering on Lou's face. After a few seconds, in contrast to Lou's joyful mood, she became a little angry.

"I remember-! So you were the boy who ran away!"

"I didn't run away! I swear I didn't mean to leave you and run away!"

She looked at him with a slightly reproachful expression, waiting for him to explain himself.

'Oh no!' 

He froze in worry as they grabbed her by her arm. They were going to beat her up too and it was all his fault. He almost didn't mind getting beaten up but now he was putting others in danger too because he just couldn't protect himself. He had to intervene, he hated the idea of her being beaten because of him. But what could he do? The reason this whole thing happening was because he couldn't fight them in the first place, if he tried to intervene, both of them would surely get beaten up pretty bad. 

He looked at the older boys from where he sat awkwardly. Their attention was completely shifted from him to her. Maybe if he could attack one of them without them seeing him..? No, that wouldn't work. He would still get beaten the moment they noticed him. If only there was someone else, someone bigger than those two boys, someone who could scare them away.

Why wasn't anyone doing anything? They were not in the center of town, but there were houses nearby, yet no one was doing anything. Didn't anyone hear them?

It suddenly occurred to him that if he managed to escape before the boys saw him, he could quickly go to the center of town and ask for help from someone older. It didn't sound like the best plan, but it was better than having no plan at all. 

He stood up, trying very hard not to show himself. Deciding not to waste time watching them, he ran towards the houses. 

He arrived at the square in moments, he ran into a store whose owner he recognized. The woman at the checkout counter was alarmed to see him.

"Lou? Honey, what's going on, what's the hurry, is there a problem?"

"There are two boys over by the theater and... and they keep pushing this girl... and actually she was trying to protect me but-!"

"Lou, there you are! You went to the theater again, didn't you!"

One more 'oh no'. The voice belonged to his mother. The truth was the way he left was almost a break out and he planned to come back much earlier, none of which resulted the way he wanted. So he was definitely in trouble. 

"Mom! I..."

"I didn't give you permission to leave, and now you're coming back at this hour, looking like this! Look at your clothes, were you fighting!"

"Mom, no, listen!"

His mother didn't listen.

"No, I don't want to hear it! You're going home right now and you're not coming out of your room until I tell you to!"

"But mom-!"

"I don't want to hear any buts, go home right now."

"Mom-"

"Now!"

Lou was frightened when his mother raised her voice, he fell silent, despite knowing it was wrong. But he was unable to resist her. He looked to the old woman standing behind the counter for help, but there was nothing she could do. Her eyes said sorry.

"I'm sorry... I wanted to get help, but I was too scared of my mom and when I protested, she basically dragged me home..."

It was actually cruel to blame him for not coming back, given that they were still little kids at the time. So she sighed, trying not to soften too quickly, but his story, which he told embarrassed, was obviously true. She was convinced he was telling the truth. She rolled her eyes and leaned back comfortably again.

"Okay, okay! Don't apologize, it wasn't your fault."

"I felt so guilty. Leaving was probably wrong for whatever reason, but I couldn't think of anything else. I always wondered what happened to you after I left..."

"Well... after you left, my useless powers decided to protect me."

Lou couldn't help but get a little excited when she mentioned her earth powers.

"How so?"

"I caused a small earthquake and the boys ran away. Then my dad came around." 

"Oh... well, at least you saved yourself, that's a bit of a relief..."

She smiled again. He was glad they were able to end this on a sweet note. For a moment they were both tense again, but the conversation was returning to it's relaxed status.

"Oh... I completely forgot, my name is Lou by the way."

Suddenly it dawned on her too that they didn't introduce themselves formally, she sat up straight with a shy excitement.

"Right! We didn't even introduce ourselves... Lilly." 

A flower name. Surprisingly appropriate for someone who is, in fact, the master of the earth element. He thought it was sweet and laughed. 

"So, Lilly, how often you come here?"

"I don't know, quite often I guess? It's a nice place to work on my powers. Although... I haven't made much progress so far..."

"Don't be sad, I haven't written a proper song yet either. I'm sure you'll be able to control your powers eventually, they're yours after all. And besides, you've used them before! You just need to learn how to. Maybe... next time we can come over together? That way we'll both have someone to tell us to take a break when we go too hard on ourselves."

Lilly smiled. 

"Okay, let's do that."

Chapter Text

"What's bothering you? Something's troubling you that's for sure, but you won't talk about it nor will you talk about anything else."

Lou drew his hands away from his face, straitening his posture then leaned his head back. He seemed tired. He was also overly tense.

"The drama committee is expecting me to have a song for their last play ready by the festival, but... it's like the words are stuck in my throat. Every time I pick up the pen, I struggle to put two words together. My head is all over the place."

"Of course it is!" Lilly was about to say, but she decided against it at the last moment. Because the truth was, she was as responsible for it as he was.

They had been friends for quite a long time, but for some reason, just as they were getting fully comfortable with each other, a tension began to build between them, forcing them both to be their old shy selves from time to time. Especially lately, they had become too shy to look at each other for long, and sometimes they even stopped talking when their hands and feet got tangled, and then they would go home early. 

Lilly didn't know how to deal with the situation. She had never been this close to anyone before. She was desperately afraid of doing something wrong and losing her best friend, but at the same time this strange anxious state was making her very uneasy.

"It's absurd that a whole theater has you writing their song. That's such a big responsibility!"

Lou'd visit the theater building any time he could. He would secretly watch the drama committee and try to memorize their routines. Then he would come to their hiding spot and tell her what he had learned. Sometimes they would spend hours trying to imitate them, but when their work didn't look as professional as theirs, they would give up.

On one of those days, he kept Lilly waiting long enough for her to build a stone tower without using her hands fully out of boredom. He came running in at dusk, out of breath, telling her that the president of the committee had offered to pay for his education if he could write a song for their new play by the festival. Now he was struggling to fulfill his part of that deal.

Although he had been bullied and outcasted his entire life for being more of an artist than a fighter, it had never stopped Lou from doing what he loved. Lilly had to admit that she was very fascinated by this side of him. Maybe he didn't even realize it, but it made him much stronger than he realized, and it also inspired her.

"Well... maybe. But I happily accepted the challenge, and I think I am a little late in realizing that it might maybe be beyond me... Besides... My mom would go mad if I tried to back out now."

The mention of his mother making him sigh and play with his hands did not go unnoticed by Lilly. For some reason his parents, or rather his mother, were very disturbed by his passion for music. Lilly didn't understand why it bothered her so much, him going to the theater or his crappy guitar that he had to fix all the time. For her it was very cool. And it wasn't because she loved him, or because he was the only musician among the few she knew, he really was talented. His parents should have been so proud of him! 

Actually, Lou didn't talk much about his family at all. It was ironic because it was Lilly's father that was hated by everyone, not his parents. All Lilly knew about his family was that he was often scolded by his mother and that he was rather afraid of her. She hardly knew even that much about his father. Other than that, she learned that they were a well-known and respected family in the village. She had never met them in person, but one day when she was chatting with the sweet woman who owned one of the markets in town, whose name is Yureka, she gestured to Lou's mother, and Lilly gazed at her as intently as she could. 

She felt as if she wouldn't have been able to make the connection if she hadn't known it was his mother. Compared to Lou's quiet and reserved personality, his mother was very confident and sociable, almost like a politician. That's how Lilly felt in the brief few minutes she watched her through the shop's window.

Sometimes Lilly wanted to ask him about it, but she wasn't sure if it was appropriate. She never had such a close friendship for such a long time, and she wasn't sure what would be crossing the boundaries. She was very terrified of the idea of pushing him away by insisting on something he didn't want to talk about. 

Besides, she already knew that him not talking wasn't because he didn't trust her. And yet, sometimes she couldn't help wondering why he didn't say anything. Maybe he was really waiting for her to ask. Maybe he would have answered if she actucally asked questions.

"Do you really need to ditch the song for your mom to go crazy?"

It was perhaps the boldest comment she had ever made about his family. Even worse, she said it all without any actual knowledge, and just went off of her feelings. But the sincerity of her question and the obvious panic on her face right after the words came out of her mouth made Lou laugh as if he wasn't stressed at all. He leaned back, putting his weight on his hands.

"You know... you're right. But it would be even worse if I chickened out and quit. She already didn't like that I took the deal, and I don't want to give her any cards by backing away..."

Although Lilly was relieved that he answered smiling, she was left puzzled by what he said. She couldn't put her finger on it, but what he had said, especially about 'giving her any cards', put a weight on her heart.

Would Lilly feel this way about her father if they disagreed and he ended up being right? Lilly doubted it...

"I can't enjoy writing anything else until I finish this project either. All I can think is the deadline, I can't feel any emotion to inspire me except this... anxiety."

Lou must not have noticed Lilly's thoughtful manner. Or maybe he acted like he didn't. Either way Lilly decided it was for the best. 

After dipping her hands in the water, she sat opposite him on the rock where he had been sitting.

"Me? Maybe write about me?"

She may not have said all like how it was on her mind, but even the amount she said was enough to make her blush and look away as soon as the words were out of her mouth. Lou, who was just as embarrassed, if not more, was impressed by Lilly's sudden bluntness however. And found her shyness just as funny. It made him feel less awkward. Perhaps because he knew she was as nervous as he was, he found the courage to answer with the same bluntness. 

"You may or may not believe me, but honestly, that's way harder than the commission. You'd be surprised how many times I've tried, and how many songs I couldn't end."

Shocked by what she heard, Lilly was absolutely sure that this time she was indeed red.

°•°•°•°•

Lilly's hand lazily reached for the sky. Very slowly and unsteady, few small pebbles floated around her hand. Although she still hadn't reached her full potential, she could do little things like this a lot easier now. She felt more and more connected to her element. It was hard to explain, but throughout her life she always felt a connection to the earth. But now, for the first time in her life it felt like it was a two-sided bond.

At first it felt impossible to get along with the earth, as if it was always resisting her. But then she realized that it was her who was resisting and being hostile, and when she let things go and relaxed, she realized that the earth was cooperating with her rather than fighting her. Although initially she didn't believe it, she was now sure that Lou's theory of letting go when things get too overwhelming was indeed correct.

And finally she had the courage to talk to her father about her powers and other things. Despite him not even telling his own daughter about his past, Lilly knew her father was a ninja. It's not exactly easy to hide such thing when the whole world hated him for it. Lilly was sure he wouldn't accept, but to her surprise her father agreed to teach her about her powers. He even offered to teach her how to use a sword the other day.

In fact, that was what Lilly eagerly came to tell him that day as well. But after waiting for several hours, Lou was still nowhere to be seen. Lilly was so bored that she was starting to feel really sleepy under the winter sun.

Sometimes Lou wouldn't come to their meetings. Lilly worried about him a lot when he didn't show up, but the next time she would see him he would be so gloomy and upset that she couldn't bring herself to ask anything, just try to make him smile. 

When he didn't come, she wouldn't be able to sleep, thinking how she was going to find him the next time they meet. How sad was he going to be, was he going to play with her? Will they walk on the stones by the water and talk, or will Lou just watch beyond the mountains sadly? Lilly hated to see him like that. Whenever he didn't show up, she at least hoped to find him happy when he returned.

The waterfall used to be fun even when she was on her own. But now none of the games she played, none of the tricks she did with her powers, none of the sights she watched, were fun when she was alone. It wasn't all that difficult to be lonely when she wasn't close to anyone, but now the days without Lou were so boring. Even the news of her training didn't bring the same excitement as before. 

Maybe she should stop waiting and go back to her father. Even watching him spend hours carefully tending to the lilies in their garden was way more entertaining than lying here alone. At least her father could talk to her about what he was doing, ask her to pass him stuff or something.

Involuntarily she straightened up. It was time to accept that he wasn't coming. She wondered where Lou really was. In town? Or was he at home? She didn't know his house. It was going to get dark soon, maybe if she went to town, they could run into each other? But did Lou even want to see her? If he did, wouldn't he just show up?

Or maybe he was just too shy to tell her, for some reason, or maybe he didn't think she cared. 

Lilly paused and pondered. If he was really afraid to bring it up, she should have asked him herself. But what if there was another reason why he didn't want to talk, what if he didn't want to tell Lilly? She was afraid of that, that's why she never asked. 

But if she kept on not asking, she was doomed to lose sleep thinking about him every time he didn't show up. 

She stood up abruptly, the pebblesthat were floating around her hand fell to the ground where she had just been sitting. She'd rather try to talk to him than to cause a rift between them because they could not communicate. She needed to know.

°•°•°•°•

Lou was curled up almost motionless in his bed, doing nothing but staring outside his window. He didn't really do much else throughout the rest of the day either. He should have gone to the waterfall, and he wanted to. But he couldn't. He was grounded. 

Actually, at times like this his mother wasn't explicitly telling him he was grounded. But when he left his room she would get angry, and if he wanted to leave the house she would ask him where he was going. Which was more of a way of saying "you can't go anywhere" than a question. 

Besides, even if he did meet her, all he was going to do would be ruining Lilly's day along with his. It was best to stay in his room until he felt better. He would hide from his mother for a few days like he always does, try to forget everything, and when everything was back to normal, he would be ready to go to the waterfall again. That's what he had been doing when his mother got angry for as long as he could remember. 

If he was beginning to foresee the routine, he wasn't even close to getting used to it. Didn't one get used to what they were constantly exposed to? Clearly he wasn't getting used to it at all. Because every time his mother suddenly got angry about something, he was scared to death. He wasn't even that much of a child anymore. He wasn't as scared as he used to be when picked on by other kids, but when his mother hit him... 

His hand traced the scratch on his face. It didn't really hurt, it wasn't too bad. It wouldn't always leave a mark, and this time it was just this scratch. It would be gone in a few days, the sooner it was gone the sooner he could go see Lilly. He didn't want her to see it, she'd be worried. And he'd have to explain. Everything, from the beginning. Lilly liked playing with him, she was happy when they were together. He wanted to keep it that way. The thought of upsetting her, making her live with the same worries all the time was very unpleasant. 

He never had a friend like her. And he never told anyone things that happened between him and his mother. Yureka knew, or rather guessed, but Lou never told her anything himself. Yureka always told him that problems were solved by sharing. Would he really feel better if he told someone? If there was anyone he wanted to talk to about this, it was Lilly. But what if she didn't want to listen? What if she just wants him to stay as her playmate?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of something hitting the exterior wall of the house. He raised his head, there was nothing in sight. Someone must have tried to throw something at the window but hit the wall.

He hesitated about heading to the window, but he got up from where he was lying regardless. Why would anyone throw things at his window?

It happened again. Something was thrown against the wall for sure. Perhaps he should have looked outside?

He took a few steps between the window and his bed and stood there for a while. For a moment there was no new noise. Maybe there wasn't anyone outside, maybe it was just an animal, or something had blown down from the trees. It was winter anyway, it was quite windy and his room faced a tree. It was dark, too, and it was hard to see outside.

If there really was really someone under there, what did they want? It wasn't one of the kids who bullied him all the time, was it? It was a terrifying thought, and Lou even felt himself panicking for a second. 

Something flew quickly towards the window. Because he was watching intently, he put his hands up to his face as if it was really coming towards him, but then he realised it didn't hit the glass hard as he expected it to. It was indeed a rock. But it hovered in the air in a faint orange mist, tapping quietly instead of hitting the glass violently. How was this happening...

"Lilly..."

Only her powers could hold a rock in the air like that and make it hit the glass so gently. For a while he stood where he was, unable to make sense of what was happening. Then a lot of confusion flooded his mind. Why was she here, how had she found his house? 

Lilly's eyes kept on the window of his room, but every now and then she glanced downstairs out of the fear of being caught by his parents. Looking to see if anyone was really inside, she didn't notice the upstairs window quietly open until the rock she was controlling was met with a counter force and she lost control of it. She looked up in surprise when the rock began to resist her. Lou, confused, was holding the rock, looking directly at her.

"What are you doing here!"

If he wasn't trying to whisper, he would definitely be shouting. Lilly opened her mouth to reply, but then decided it was risky to talk out loud down there. It would be much less dangerous if she climbed up to his window.

The tree next to her was leaning towards the window where the boy was standing. If she could climb up...

Lou didn't need to listen to her plan, that look was enough for him to guess she had trouble on her mind.

"No no no no, what are you doing!" 

Lilly put her finger to her lips in a scolding gesture. 

"Shh! I'm going to climb there! We can talk then."

"Lilly, no! You'll get in trouble!"

"I'll be fine!"

He looked back at the door, listening outside. No one seemed to be coming. By the time he looked out again, Lilly was already halfway up the tree. She was being quiet too, maybe she could actually get in and out unnoticed. 

Even though it was shocking, and maybe even terrifying that she was here, he would be lying if he said he wasn't glad at the same time. So he didn't stop her. 

Soon Lilly actually climbed up to the window level. A couple of times she tried to reach for the edge of the window, but she was not tall enough. Lou came closer to the window and held out his hand for her to hold. With his support, though Lilly hit her foot to the frame, she managed to get inside without any other problems.

Once she was inside, she looked around and smiled, as if she hadn't sneaked into someone's house and everything was normal. When she finally finished meeting the room, she turned to the boy standing just beyond her with the same joy. He looked almost frightened to tears, Lilly couldn't make sense of it.

"You... why did you come here, how did you find the house..."

Lilly shrugged. She wasn't yet fully aware of the not so playful part of it.

"I asked Yureka."

The boy, unlike her, was stressed, frightened of something. Was he angry that she was here? It didn't seem like it, though. There was something else. Lilly's smile turned to worry. With the adrenaline of sneaking into the house wearing off, some things were starting to catch her attention.

"What happened to your face?"

Lou covered the wound on his face with his hand, as if hiding it would make her forget what she was asking. As if his reddened, swollen eyes didn't give away enough that something was going on.

"It's... it's nothing important."

"How is it not important, who did this to you?"

Her voice was now raised in concern. Lou was going to say something, something to cover it up, but nothing came out of his mouth. Unable to speak, he looked away, he looked scared. 

Lilly had no idea why he was so scared, but when he was suddenly silent, she immediately regretted her behavior and lowered her voice.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shout, I just..."

She approached calmly, placing her hand on that of Lou's, hiding his face, as if asking permission. He pulled his hand away, letting her take a look. 

"Does it hurt?"

He shook his head in refusal. Lilly usually had a clumsy and sometimes rough body language, but now, as she touched the scratch on his face, her fingers were so light that it really didn't hurt at all. 

"Was it one of the kids in town or something? When did this happen?"

He felt more comfortable with her changing her approach, but he still didn't respond. He looked like he was eager to tell her something, she could tell by the way his eyes first looked directly at her and then darted around the room, but there was something holding him back. She didn't think he wasn't talking on purpose. In fact, she was sure he wanted to talk.

It was a little strange not to get any answers. But if she was going to be the only one talking for a while, maybe it was time to talk about some things.

"I... I'm sorry for coming like this. I was worried, actually... I get so worried every time you don't show up, but you never tell me anything. I was afraid to ask you, what if you didn't want to tell me, and I thought maybe if I followed you this time instead of waiting... I would get some answers."

There was a small silence after she was done. She didn't want to scare him again like before. So she waited without speaking, even though she was frantically waiting for an answer. 

"I was afraid you didn't want to listen..."

"What... why?"

"What if you don't want to listen, what if you can't tell me... what if you get bored with me because I talk? I was terrified that you just wanted me to be your playmate..."

Lilly was deeply hurt by what he just said. Not because she was offended or resentful, but because she let him feel this way all this time. Now she regretted waiting so long to ask him even more. 

She couldn't think of anything to say, but her fingers brushing his face and her sad expression said more than words. It almost made all Lou's fear fade away, he closed his eyes and took her hands in his. After savoring the touch for a while, he sighed heavily and spoke quietly.

"My mother..."

"What..."

It took Lilly a few seconds to realize the connection. The scratch... he was talking about the scratch on his face.

"Did your mother do this to you?.."

Again Lou didn't speak, just nodded, still holding her hands. 

"Did she do anything else?"

He avoided her eyes, did not answer. Lilly was afraid of raising her voice, but she spoke in a firm tone.

"Lou, please."

The boy answered quietly, his eyes roaming the floor.

"No."

"Tell me the truth."

He squeezed her hand lightly in reassurance, this time looking into her eyes.

"Really." 

And then the door opened.

It felt like an eternity had passed as they exchanged glances with the woman at the door, followed her downstairs in silence, and the disapproving gaze of Lou's family hovering over them. 

"As if it's not enough that you're always sneaking off to this girl, and now she's in our house! Do you even realize who she is!"

Her words so fueled Lilly's anger. What gave her the right to insult her like that? She glared at the woman with her head low. She couldn't help it, she would have started a real fight if she could. But there were too many things she couldn't risk. The boy standing next to her was one of those things. 

She glanced at Lou out of the corner of her eye. He was quiet again. Just like when Lilly raised her voice at him upstairs. Not that he preferred not to speak, he just couldn't speak when he was feeling unsafe. If even Lilly realized it in such a short time, there was no way his mother hadn't. She just couldn't care less.

"How dare you let that man's daughter into my house!"

She was waiting for an answer from her son. Even though she knew she had made him afraid to speak. Lou was so afraid of her, even though he was not a little child anymore, and even much taller than her. It was as if he saw something Lilly couldn't see, some strength she couldn't understand. Lilly couldn't bear to watch him standing there like that, his head lowered, terrified. 

It was so disturbing, so wrong, Lilly had never been afraid of her own father. She may not have known many parents, but she still recognized the ugliness of what was happening.

"He didn't!" 

Lilly's raised voice suddenly silenced everyone. If she argued with her own father, which was uncommon, the silence would have felt to her like the conflict was finally over. Now it felt more like the calm before the storm.

And she was probably right, because Lou was looking at her so helplessly, as if he could predict what was going to happen next. 

Despite that, she lowered her voice and finished.

"I came on my own."

"Is that so?" 

The confidence and anger in her voice was so strong that Lilly soon realized that she made a mistake. 

She knew there was no one to answer her once Lilly was gone, no one who would dare to fight with her, even now Lilly was a nobody compared to her position in this house. She was not a part of their family, she could not prevent anything. She was just a child who would soon be kicked out of this house, unable to interfere what was going to happen the moment she walked out the door.

Lou was already aware of this. He had his eyes closed, as if wishing that this night was already over. 

For the first time during the night Lilly was truly scared. She just wanted to protect him, not make things worse.

"Answer me!"

It wasn't Lilly in the target of her words, it never had been. She wasn't her daughter, she wasn't her problem. All she wanted was to come out on top using everything she could. She took pleasure from the fact that Lou couldn't answer, that she scared him this much. 

And Lilly gave her even more cards to play...

Although forced to answer, Lou couldn't say a word. Every second that passed without him speaking, the way he looked around as if calculating what might happen, the way he seemed to get smaller and smaller, was devastating to Lilly. She didn't want this to happen... 

On top of that, this was just what Lilly had witnessed, who knows what happened when she wasn't there. He must have gone through this over and over again throughout the whole time they had been friends, without ever telling her. All this time, maybe Lou had thought it was at least normal enough for him to accept, just as she saw her own father normal. Maybe that was why he never told her. 

She didn't know how long it had lasted, but Lilly had remained silent for the rest of the scolding, absorbed in her own thoughts. She could handle her peers, she could even beat up older kids, but protecting someone from their own family was not as easy as she thought. 

As she walked out of the house, Lou hesitantly took her hand

"Let's meet tomorrow..."

He said it so quietly that Lilly partially had to read his lips. Trying her best not to let on that they were up to something, she nodded.

°•°•°•°•

Lilly didn't tell her father what had happened. But as soon as she got home, she started crying, went to hug the confused and worried man. In the morning she explained briefly that she had to go to the waterfall and left. 

They didn't talk about the time, in fact it was surprising that he even had the courage to ask her to meet him tomorrow. 

Just like the day before, she sat on the cold, damp grass under the winter sun. But today her waiting was not boring, this time she was nervous. At one point she was even afraid that he wouldn't come. She almost cried thinking what if his mother had done something worse.

Fortunately, this time Lou showed up not even a couple of hours later. He didn't have his guitar with him nor the bag he carried his notebooks in. Like getting there was a heavy enough load.

As soon as Lilly heard his footsteps, she jumped to her feet.

Seeing each other did not feel magical for the first time. There was none of the usual joy, the day was not instantly brighter. 

This time Lilly knew why he was so sad after every meeting he didn't attend, it was even more painful to see him like this now. 

But this time Lou wasn't trying to hide it either, he wasn't trying to look better. Lilly already saw him at worst, she knew he wasn't well. And it was far more comforting than he'd imagined. 

After standing a few meters apart for a moment, staring at each other, not knowing what to do, Lilly finally walked up to him. Her eyes anxiously searched for any new visible injuries. 

This did not escape Lou's attention, he seemed to know what she was thinking. But he didn't make any comment, maybe he thought she had a right to be afraid. Maybe he had been afraid of the same thing.

Sometimes, when certain boundaries were broken, the first step had to be taken suddenly, overriding the hesitation, so that things could be talked about. That step was Lilly opening her arms for a hug and Lou starting to cry, hugging her tightly, as if he had been wishing for exactly that. Maybe all this time, all it'd take was Lilly's first step for him to let his guard down. 

She let him cry as much as he wanted, his quiet sobs being the only thing that broke the silence. Somehow this moment felt so much better than it looked. 

It was like they had finally met for real.