Mis'o'chi stared at the painting as if it were the only object in the room. The art itself wasn't the most impressive nor the most expensive piece, but it caught her attention like a lighthouse to a ship in the darkest night. Her silvery blue eyes seemed to light up in ways most people never see in her expression and her lips turned up into a slight cynical smile.

It was an image of a boy and a girl reaching out to one another, their fingers only airs breath away but unable to touch. The winds were drawn with a reddish hue and the sky a deep and sad blue but the ground was as black as the night. It seemed to Mis'o'chi that the painting was probably backwards, but what did she know? She was thirteen and most interested in the one piece that even the director skipped over due to time.

The boy's green eyes looked desperate in the piece and his hand almost seemed to be afraid of what may happen if the girl and him never reached. The girl, though, her eyes were full of tears and shocked but at the same time, she seemed to want the same thing as him. Mis'o'chi felt like one of those cool characters in a drama that could understand an art piece.

She always tended to think way too deep about art and the artists who drew them. It was like a spell was put into each piece that would entice her to want to understand every detail that she couldn't ask the artist personally. It was the same with music for her, honestly... though if she were to tell the truth, it would be hard for her to interview an artist and ask the questions even if she had the chance.

For a moment, she appeared to almost be approachable as the cynical expression was replaced with something that appeared more forgiving than normal. A young male walked over to her, braver than most. While she wasn't the most popular girl, she was the most infamous person in the room.

"Is this your first time seeing this painting?" The boy used a deeper voice than his own natural tone. It was clearly forced. He kind of looked like the boy in the painting.

She lifted an eyebrow and moved her rebellious wavy blue hair out of her tan face and stared at him for a moment without speaking. Silence. She put her hair into a high bun, leaving out a section of hair in the front of her face, tossed over carelessly like side bangs. "Mm."

"So this is your first time?" The words came out with less impressive courage than the first time.

Still staring, she frowned slightly then pointed at him without her expression changing at all. "Who are you?"

The boy shuddered at the question. How did he even respond to that? They'd been in the same school for almost two years and he sat next to her in three out of their six classes they took this year.

She looked around then her eyes softened. It all seemed to make sense. Shaking her head almost apologetically, she looked back at the painting then at the boy, her eyes softened. "I think you're confused." Mis'o'chi had this knowing smile that never quite reached her eyes, this sad and soft expression that seemed to be trying to keep from crying.

Mis'o'chi walked forward to the boy, taking in his clothing in which she hadn't even noticed before. He appeared wealthy, well manicured and his posture was straighter than most males her age. He was speaking, but she wasn't listening to what he was saying but more to the dialect and tone of his accent.

Most of the kids in her class were from France and then other hailed from various parts of the United Kingdom. His accent though was clearly Scottish, a deep alto. She would've recognized his tone even if in passing, she heard him speak.

He was wearing a school uniform which she did recognize from the school however it wasn't quite right. If she remembered correctly, the uniform hadn't been worn in over a decade, long before she transferred to the school.

Mis'o'chi frowned slightly then touched his hand softly. "Did you make that painting?"

"How did you know?" He smiled, his face turning a slight shade of red over his fair skin. He looked at his feet then walked towards the painting, a shy smile painted on his face, his green eyes lit up with a joy that she could only wish she had. "I've only recently got the museum to agree to put it up for all to see. It was..." his voice trailed off.

The painting had been there for over a hundred years. Mis'o'chi looked down as he spoke, knowing that he either was a liar or he was stuck in an eternal dream just like many before him that came to her. Time passed differently for them.

For them, they always recognized her even if she had never met them. Mis'o'chi was like a magnet to them; they weren't exactly ghosts, but they weren't quite human either. She couldn't explain what they were. The ones like him were kind and lost, always waiting for someone to come to them, to recognize their presence and unfortunately, it was almost always her who came. Stuck in a trance, she would somehow find them.

"Princess, I created this art for you."

His gentle voice brushed through the air and she smiled. He was in love with whoever he made the art for. His thoughts were coming to her, and she could suddenly feel his nervousness, the sweat in his palms, and his reluctance of telling her this information.

The room around them became a pure white color, nothing more and nothing less. "Lucas," she said with a smile, "you've been lost in an eternal dream. That painting was created for the one you love but also to seal a great darkness away..."

His eyes widened with fear. "H-how did you know?"

Mis'o'chi wasn't sure how to answer that question. She wasn't psychic but something inside him told her everything. She touched his forehead and wiped some of his sweat off with her handkerchief. "I was trying to read your art and I felt some of your thoughts that you put into it as you were creating it."

"Purity, you've come for me then." She heard him say but he never opened his mouth.

Purity, why do they always call me that?

"Purity, I must say before you release me from my dream. This world will soon need you to awaken from your own dream."

Mis'o'chi's eyes widened as she pressed two fingers to his forehead and watched as light overtook him and the painting then suddenly she was standing back in the museum and next to her was best friend who kept poking her.

"Are you there, silly?" Melanie beamed her straight white teeth. She bounced up and down, her noticeably larger breast bouncing with her and her two long braids hanging at her sides. She had her Nike hat hanging backwards and looked more like she was about to go to a gaming event rather than one of the largest, most sophisticated exhibits in the world. She tapped Mis'o'chi on the head with her fist.

Coming out of her trance, the shorter girl gutted her best friend in the stomach. "Are you serious?" Mis'o'chi asked through gritted teeth. "That freaking hurts!"

The tall blonde girl laughed while dramatically holding her stomach; it clearly didn't hurt. "You're so mean... but man, you're a serious space case... what were you zoning about this time?"

Mis'o'chi wondered how long she'd been out this time. She couldn't tell her friend that she released something from a dream... that didn't even sound remotely sane. "How long was I out for?"

Melanie looked at her watch then frowned. "Only seven minutes this time." She looked up and stared at the ceiling and turned herself around like a child looking at the sky for the first time. "Catsy is the one who noticed."

"Wildfire did?" Mis'o'chi never called that girl by her first name. There was always something off about that girl. Everyone loved her, and she seemed nice to just about anyone who talked her, but still...

"Yeah, she totally did. I didn't even know others knew you zoned out like that... she said that you may be having an 'episode' or something... said that some people have seizures without looking like it. Do you think she's right about you?" Melanie stopped her turning and worriedly grabbed Mis'o'chi's shoulders though Mis'o'chi wasn't sure if it was to balance herself or to look her straight in the eyes.

She said nothing in response but instead looked to see where little miss Wildfire was standing. Sure enough, she was handing out some papers while Ken Sun walked beside her laughing and probably telling her a story while the violet eyed red-headed beauty stopped what she was doing, handed him the rest of the papers then headed over to them.

Catsy and Mis'o'chi couldn't be anymore different. The redhead was as popular as the sun was hot; the teachers appreciated her being there and no one ever claimed she was a rebel despite the fact that she wore cat ears everyday to school that were the same color as her hair. She was a year older than Mis'o'chi and Melanie, but had a mature, beautiful face that even models probably hated her for having.

She was also one of the few people that Ken Sun hung around. He, himself, was quite the looker and most girls in the school could only dream of him giving them a chance. He was tall, rich, and with green eyes that seemed to enchant those who came in contact with him. His family came from entertainers; he was the latest musical prodigy who also owned his own movie studio and was in charge of his own line of clothing.

He had more Instagram followers than Mis'o'chi was sure was even possible. She wasn't sure what his net worth was but it sure it wasn't normal for a ninth grader.

Catsy walked over to the two girls, smiling that annoyingly glamorous smile. "Did you wake from your dream yet?" She giggled.

Something about how she said that made Mis'o'chi's entire body freeze.