The ways we lost him(completed)

23

I met Karma in the diner after school, we hadn't met for the project yet. I was suppose to choose a topic for him to write about and him, for me. The idea seemed unnerving, at the very least. To let a complete stranger into your head on the basis of writing a school essay. 'One you've to read aloud to your class,' her conscience reminded her as she briskly shushed it, she had pushed that fact to the back of her mind so far, she'd find a way out of it.

She pushed open the diner doors, immediately at ease by the familiar retro setting. Red and blue booths lined the small diner, the owner winked at her as she made her way past him, to Karma who had gotten here before her.

"I never knew there was a diner here, it's a nice spot." He said, glancing around him in awe. It seemed he was just as taken with it as she had initially been.

"Yeah, I come here a lot." She said gingerly, sitting across from him in the booth.

He grinned, leaning across the table in a very relaxed manner.

"You ready to spill all your secrets?"

She let out a laugh. "You realize this is a school assignment, not an interrogation, put your detective skills to rest buddy."

He smirked cooly, his cherry red hair falling over his eyes in loose curls. It contrasted with his eyes, a mossy green that glanced at her with an intensity that set her at ill-ease and greatly contrasted with his seemingly easygoing persona. But he always seemed to have that intensity about him.

"You're done with this school in what, a month. You won't see these people again, you could go to college across the country , you could end up anywhere. You have a chance to say anything you want, to make the impact you want, can you think of anything?" His eyes shone with something that resembled curiosity, as he picking up the menu, letting his eyes fall over it.

"Nothing comes to mind."

He looked up. "Search elsewhere." He jumped forward and I flinched back, frowning.

"What's the biggest thing you've ever experienced? You're greatest fear, something you lost or gained?" A face flashed in my mind and he grimaced, realizing his mistake.

"Sorry, that was insensitive." I knew he was speaking of Sebastian.

I shook my head. "It's something that's prominent in my life, something I deal with everyday, but to write it down is to fully face it and I don't know if I'm prepared to do that."

He nodded thoughtfully and I gave him a cunning glance. "You've been asking all the questions, aren't you going to give me anything to work with about you?"

He froze, resting his chin on his arms. His eyes met mine, wide and vulnerable.

"The reason I moved to this school."

I raised my eye. "It's because your dad took on the case, isn't it."

His green eyes glossed over and for the first time I could see a glimpse of the things he concealed behind them, almost like an ocean raging vigorously but breaking out in even waves along the edge of his iris. He was in pain, I could see it coming.

"The school I left, I was running away because my best friend shot himself in the head."

My eyes held his gaze calmly, trying to assure him of something in some way, of what, I wasn't sure.

"What are you running from?"

He smiled sadly. "Myself."

I raised myself up, my hands tapping on the marble countertop.