There was a girl at school. She was beautiful; this was something everyone could agree on. There was only one thing that kept people on their toes about this girl: her eyes.

At this point, I'd like to say she had no physical deterioration, no obscene irregularities. Not to mention that what had enticed people, what really made her stand out and shine, was her eyes.

This girl, Anna, was closed off, and tried her best to stay out of the limelight. She was not a sports player, and she didn't do modeling. She was quiet and reserved. And. . . her eyes, well, they were the prettiest blue that you could imagine. It really was amazing how all eyes met her own when she entered a room.

I had tried to get to know her during my senior year, the year I had transferred into the school. It wasn't easy. She was a stickler for keeping to herself, and because of this, people admired her from afar, not even trying to be her friend.

The day I had arrived, I was warned not to talk to her. "Why not? She seems like she'd make a good friend."

"Nobody talks to her," my wonderful "adviser" stated, "that's just how the school works."

Well, I'm not really what you would call a "follower". Plus, I am extremely stubborn. So, when lunch came, I approached "Anna".

"Hello! I'm new here, and I was wonder-" a harsh glare was sent my way, "-ing if you. . ." My right eye twitched with annoyance as she turned away from me, "Hey, I'm Alyssa." She put her earphones in her ears paying little to no attention to me.

By now, I am totally fuming. My face has to be a deep red - Only because "little miss priss" was ignoring me and there was quite a bit of staring going on in he lunchroom.

My annoying adviser came forward and tried to get me to stop, "I told you," she pulled my arm, but I didn't budge, "C'mon, you can sit over here with us." I stared at Anna as I allowed myself to be pulled from her. There was one thought that looped through my mind as I sat and began to eat my lunch, How could someone be so annoyed with me, yet have little to no emotion showing in their eyes?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the day advanced, I watched Anna from a distance. I was going to talk to her again. It wasn't possible for her to be happy with no one to confide in, so I was determined to befriend her.

It turns out, that she is a painting enthusiast. She paints the most beautiful pictures. Me? Yeah, not so much. I did love it though - painting, I mean. I'd really like to know how to do so correctly, as I had rarely been able to touch a paintbrush before. Why? Well, let's just say my financial status isn't the best, and with my mom in and out of the hospital constantly, I have to support my brother and I on my little salary.

But anyway, this isn't a story about me, but the struggle for a friendship with Anna.

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I stopped her at the gate to the school on the way out, "Hey! Anna!" She looked at me as she approached, "I really loved your painting today!" She tilted her head, with less hostility than earlier, "Y'know, the one you did in art. I sit behind you so. . ." She nodded, but did not say anything.

We stood in silence until the sound of a car approaching appeared.

I felt a depressing aura from beside me. When I turned to look, it turned out that it was Anna. I bit my lip, "Is that. . . uh . . . your ride?"

A nod was her only response. I was unsure if my next question would be too intruding, but I decided to ask anyway, "Is everything alright? I mean, don't you want to go home?"

A sigh left her lips, but nothing more. She gave me a sad smile, and shook her head no before approaching her ride.

"Uh, ah!" I exclaimed realizing I hadn't said goodbye yet, "Anna!" She turned to me slightly, "See you tomorrow!" She turned away, but in consolation, she raised her hand in a half-wave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had made steady progress in the weeks after, but she had yet to speak to me. That was okay, though. Her eyes were a little brighter.

Well, they were for a time.

It had been a month since we met when she had missed school. I had gone through the day assuming it was because she was sick. Getting sick is common. My mind was only changed when I had to take my mother to the hospital after her disease flared up.

I wasn't expecting to see her, Anna I mean.

I was sitting in the waiting room of the radiology department (my mom needed an MRI) when she came in with a bruised face and a slightly distraught, slightly blank countenance. It surprised me so much that I jumped up, "Anna? Are you okay?!"

What I wasn't expecting, was her hardened, dull eyes set on me as she shook her head in a pitiful, painful gesture of denial.

"Well, is there anything I can do?"

"No."

"C'mon, there's got to be something that I can do."

Another no. "What abou-?"

She had pushed me-literally-away from her as another had entered the room. I tried to say something else, but she silenced me with a pleading look.

Our intruder looked to me, "Did this-" a glare was sent to Anna, "-thing," he was disgusted with her for some reason, "do anything to annoy you?"

"No, sir," I muttered as he looked into my soul.

"Good."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not too long after, my mom was finished, and we left.

"Was that a friend of yours?" My mom said after we arrived home.

I bit my lip, "Yeah, I think so." There was silence between us, but I needed to speak, "I hope she's okay."

My mom nodded and softly whispered, "She seemed scared."

". . .Yeah. . ."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was back at school the next day, not looking any better than before. I had taken it upon myself to sit with her, some weeks before now, whether she liked it or not. There was silence, what was I supposed to talk about? Everyone was curious as to how the prettiest girl was injured.

As we sat, a piece of paper was passed to me. It read, Please don't speak of last night.

I met Anna's eyes and nodded. So, painting. "Hey, do you think you can give me some pointers on painting? I'm terrible, all I do is draw random lines-"

I ranted for a few minutes on my bad painting skills before another note was passed across the table, I like your paintings! They really give off your emotions for the day!

The unexpected praise caused me to flush. I sheepishly laughed, "Really? Your paintings are so much better than mine."

I guess beauty really is in the eye of the beholder, huh? I chuckled as I read the note.

"I guess so."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am sad to say that Anna did not show up to school for about a month after our painting conversation, if that's what you want to call it. It wasn't as bright those four weeks.

When she did show up, she wasn't in very good shape. My first clue was when she ran into my arms when she saw me. She wasn't usually one for physical contact, but that day, she held onto me like I was her lifeline.

Come to think of it, at the time, I probably was her only lifeline.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had found out not too long after that her dad (who had happened to be the man who was with her in the radiology department) had put her into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for weeks. I was quiet and comforting as she wrote this out for me.

She had wrote that after her first week in the ICU, Child Protective Services had come to interview her, and turns out, this wasn't her father's first offense.

He was then carted off to jail. She had recently been released (obviously), and was now looking for a place to stay.

"You can stay with me if you want," I offered. "We don't have much to offer, but. . ."

A note was slid quickly to me with only one word written, Really?!

I nodded, "We live off of my minuscule salary, but if you can deal with that, then I see no reason for me to turn you down. We'd have to share a room though. My little brother's a pain, so. . ." I spoke on and on, and failed to notice, for once, that she had tear-filled eyes.

I was attacked into a hug. I say attacked mainly because I was not expecting it.

She had pulled away first, and then began to scribble in her script-like writing. I patiently waited for whatever she had wanted to tell me. Her eyes, set upon her paper, were now a shining azure. When I got the note, I had laughed. She had offered to get a job and help out with the expenses as well. "Yeah, I'd really appreciate that."

We had laughed throughout the day. She was becoming slightly more approachable to those around her, but she was unwilling to completely leave my side.

She held my hand through our classes, and as I went to grab my things out of my locker, I failed to notice, once again, that Anna was preoccupied with something else. I shut the door to my locker and turned to her.

She had a concentrating look in her face as she began to move her mouth. I stood there confused as she became frustrated. "Um, Anna?" Ignoring me, Anna tried again to do-uh-whatever she was trying to do before.

"T. . ." My eyes widened, but I stayed silent, trying not to break her concentration. "Th. . .a. . . nk . . ." I smiled. "Y. . .you."

She looked up to me for approval, for some reason looking scared. She relaxed only when I slung my arm around her and said, "Well, of course! What kind of friend would I be if I couldn't help you?"