Baylie

Who was that? Why was he in the studio after it was closed? He did say that he was there for his sister's recital, but recitals had ended nearly an hour before he showed up.

What if he had come in when I didn't have a mask on? He would have laughed, just like the others. He would have given away my hiding spot and my life would have been ruined again.

I set my jaw as I slipped the mask off my face. I would make sure this never happened again. And whatever possessed me to tell that stranger my name wouldn't come up, either. What on earth was I thinking?

I slipped out of the beautiful costume into my nightgown. Wiping off my makeup I thought about the stranger carefully, so I knew if he came around here again to be on high alert. History would not be repeated. The little self-esteem I had left was going to continue on in my heart. Nobody would take that away from me.

He had longer black hair, the back reaching his shoulders. But he didn't look like a weirdo or anything. Quite the contrary, actually. His green eyes were so full of life and vigor, yet they held something else. He was tall and lean and his clothes hung on his body just right…

No.

I could not afford to think like this. It must be because he was the first guy I've seen in a while who was not Mason. Nothing could happen.

No man would want a scarred girl. Especially one as handsome as him. That is nothing but a distant dream, if a dream at all. He probably had a beach blonde, tan, curvy girlfriend and-

Why was I thinking like this? Why did I feel… jealousy? What was this? I didn't even know him!

Stupid hormones.

But before he showed up, the dance was coming along perfectly. Almost all of the motions were simple enough for the intermediate class to do, yet at the same time it looked smooth and perfect. Miss Clara would be so pleased.

I smiled in satisfaction at the thought of her face. It had been five years since she adopted me, four since she spent a ton of money on renovating my basement. I loved her so much, she had shown me nothing but kindness. But, I still missed Mama.

Bitterness tweaked at my heart, making my chest tight. I didn't cry, though. I stopped crying a long time ago. Crying got me nowhere no matter how much I wanted to burst into tears. The world was just cruel like that, nothing could be done.

I flopped heavily onto my mattress and snuggled between the fluffy multi-colored pillows. The television screen flicked on and a political commercial played out.

"Wall Street has crashed, we all know that. But why isn't Washington doing anything about it? John Williams will…" I mindlessly blocked out the lies of the governor and let my mind wander.

What if Mama was still alive? What if Daddy hadn't thrown those bottles at me? Would I be here by myself? Probably not. I wouldn't be such a freak show if I didn't have these stupid scars.

I bit back the anger that threatened to make an appearance. What I needed was control, a nice poker face. And poker heart. If I felt nothing, life would be so incredibly much easier.

Sighing I checked the clock. 9:00 PM. The stars would be out tonight. I wanted see them so badly, I really been outside much since before winter. It gets so chilly out there. But it's warmer now, so if I wore a light jacket…

I slipped on my robe, standing up, and made my way towards the door. I soundlessly climbed up the cement steps and glided through the back hallway to the metal door that led to the roof.

As I placed my hand on the doorknob, an arm came around my waist. I froze in complete shock and terror.

"Freeze," I familiar voice whispered in my ear. I let out a pent up sigh of relief. It was just Mason. I swirled around and smacked his chest, grinning.

"Jerk."

"Afraid so, dear. Hey! You're not wearing a mask!" My face turned beet red at his surprise. I rarely ever went anywhere without a mask, and this was his first time seeing my face in a while. I was so grateful to him and Jenna for not running away from me and always standing by my side.

"I was going to go look at the stars. Are they out tonight?"

"Oh, yeah. They're really pretty, the sky is so clear. Can I go with you?"

"Of course, come on." I took his hand and pushed the door open. A gust of cool, fresh air hit my face as we stepped outside. It felt so good, so refreshing.

A smile ticked the corners of my lips as I looked up at the amazing light show above me. The little suns twinkled and shined down on us, purifying the night sky.

"I wonder how far space reaches?" I wondered out loud as we sat down.

"I don't know. Just the distance between us and our sun is almost incomprehensible, I don't think we will ever be able to answer that."

"That's what makes the universe so mystifying. If I had a choice, I'd sort of like to be an astronomer. See things we didn't even know existed."

"You do have a choice, Bay. Your scars have faded so much, you can't even see them from a distance. You should give the outside a chance again."

"I can't, I'm too afraid. What if people-"

"If people hurt you again, I'll kill them."

"Now that's reassuring, Mason."

"Yeah, they will fall under the power of my awesomeness."

"Aren't we self-assured?"

"Oh yeah." I laughed and leaned back against the rough brick wall. Having friends was so great, they could really take your mind off of things. But then the things would come back anyways.

"Hey, something happened today." Mason's big blue eyes went from the sky to my face. They were curious. Nothing really ever happened to me.

"Hmm? What?"

"A guy saw me today." Shock registered in his expression.

"A guy saw you today," he repeated slowly. He grabbed his glasses from the pocket of his gray hoodie and placed them on this face so he could see me better.

"Yeah, after everyone had left I went downstairs to come up with that dance Miss Clara wanted help with and a man came in with a bouquet of lilies. He asked for my name"

"What did you say?"

"You need to get out of here. Then," my voice started to get quieter, "I said Baylie."

"You told him your name?"

"I don't know what I was thinking, but it's not like I told him my last name as well. It's not like he can research me or anything. I disappeared from the world."

"That's true. But why was he there? You always wait at least a half hour after everyone's left to go upstairs. The building was closed."

"I think he was late for his sister's recital or something." His green eyes popped into my head, they looked so sad.

I shook me head and put it between my knees.

"I'm sorry, that must've scared the life out of you. Are you okay?" Mason wrapped a long arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him. He really did give great hugs.

"Yeah, I was just a little shocked. I'm fine though, thanks for worrying about me."

"If I don't, who else will?"

"Jenna, Miss Clara…"

"That's besides the point." I giggled then shivered as a cold breeze hit us head on. He pulled me closer until his heat enveloped me.

"Mason."

"Hm?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For being my friend."

"Bay, I've known you since you were born. I've been through thick and thin with you, and you with me. I'm not going to let you be by yourself. You're my best friend and I love you."

"I love you, too. You're like a great older brother." I snuggled into him, but he stiffened a little bit. I didn't mind, though.

I fell asleep like that. Sometime later he must have carried me to bed.

I'm not entirely sure if this was real or a dream. But for a split second, it felt like he kissed me gently on the lips.

Nope. Had to of been a dream.

…

Hey guys! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. To be honest, I am having a more difficult time writing as Baylie than as Joel. That's weird for me, though, because usually I struggle with the male perspective. Hm. Interesting. Sorry it took so long, lots of homework and testing and such. Bleh, can't wait for summer.

I hope you enjoyed it, sorry it's a bit shorter than what I would've preferred. Thanks to you guys who favorited this, it really keeps me going. So do comments, so make sure you voice your opinions. I take others ideas all the time and I try to fix whatever people criticize. So make sure to comment!

Thanks! Hopefully I'll have more up soon!

~JaseCD:)