It was end of July. July 28th to be exact. It was scorching outside, the heat was contrasting the dull look in her blue eyes. She had blonde hair and the tips were pink, the color fading from a dark red. She was skinny, but not too small for anyone to question her health. She would frequently look around to see if anyone noticed her. Unlike myself, she was invisible. My eyes weren’t dull; they shined a bright brown that conveyed all of my emotions. They radiated with curiosity, especially when looking in the direction of the petite, white-haired girl. It was 1:13 in the afternoon when I had my first interaction with the blue-eyed beast. If I would have known that she was a devil in disguise, I would have paid more attention to where I was walking. If I had known that the only good thing about her was her acting skills, I would have stepped around her instead of helping her pick up her books. I wouldn’t have looked up and saw the way her mouth curled into a smile and I wouldn't have let myself smile back. Since I didn’t know, I introduced myself.

“Oh my gosh!! I'm so sorry about that!”

“It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean to. I’m Allison.”

“I’m Antwynette. It’s nice to meet you.”

She became my best friend within the span of a week. I told her all of my secrets and in exchange, she would smile that sinister smile--one that had fooled me so many times--and would say that she was “there for me” and that I could “trust” her with anything. If I had known that her definition of trust was to temporarily hold all of my secrets until they could be used to benefit her, I wouldn’t have looked at her pearly white teeth when they would push together behind two thin lips and I wouldn’t have stayed long enough to learn her eight letter name. Since I didn’t know, I smiled back and I continued to tell her everything.

“Why are you upset?”

“I’m not. It’s just that I like this guy, his name’s Jackson, and I think he likes me back.”

“I can definitely find out for you!”

“That’s alright...you really don’t have to.”

“I’m going to find out!”

Two weeks. That’s the time it took for me to realize that she wasn’t my friend at all. That’s the time it took for me to realize that she was never looking out for me, but only for herself. That’s how long it took me to realize that she only used me for all of my light, giving me all of her dark. That’s how long it took for me to find them, together, in the dark room, surrounded by pictures that continued to develop, while my world came to a sudden stop.

“Alli, do you think that we should tell her?”

“Uh...Anty...Jackson and I have been dating for a week now…”

“That’s great Alli. I’m happy for you guys.” Even as I said this, I could feel the dullness fading into my eyes. Even as we stood awkwardly in this dark room, I could see her blue eyes gleaming. Now, it's August. August 25th to be exact. It’s dark outside, the clouds beginning to slowly drizzle rain. We have marching band practice and as I watch Allison hang off of Jackson, I know that my eyes look like the sky. We don’t talk anymore, but I still observe her from time to time. She now has light, auburn-colored hair and she recently got her nose pierced. Her eyes still shine like mine did the day that I met her. I don’t like to look at her because she represents everything that I had before and everything that I don’t have now: happiness, light, Jackson. Peering at her always reminds me that she never truly let me in. It reminds me that I don’t know and I never knew a single thing about Allison. I told her about my ill father, my crush on Jackson and my horrible eating disorder for that one week in March. I don’t even know her favorite color.

It was 5:04 pm when I had my last interaction with the thief. We had just finished band practice and were dismissed to go home with instructions to be at the high school at tomorrow night at six o'clock. I turned around and started walking to the band room to put my instrument away so that I could drive home. As I began to walk down the stairs, the set that led to the senior lot, the blue-eyed girl began to walk up them. We made eye contact for three seconds, but you can notice a lot about a person in three seconds. You can notice that when they smile at you, it doesn’t quite reach their eyes. You can notice the dark circles under their eyes that they say are there because they are “tired” but really means that they cry themselves to sleep every night. You can see that her eyes aren’t shining with happiness, but with unleashed tears. You can see that she started to wear bracelets on her right wrist and that she flinches when someone touches her. You could see anything that you wanted to because she was made up of so many elements. I chose to see the fake smile that took over her face, looking more like a grimace. I chose to see that when she looked at me, her eyes watered a little more. I chose not to comment on the fact that even after she took my happiness, she still wasn’t happy. I chose to smile back, even though I knew it looked fake, and I chose to keep walking down the stairs, finally getting further and further away from her.