5

A loud crash rang through the silent night air as if someone had thrown their fist into a wooden table. In all honesty it was just the sound of a child's laughter filled the night air, however it sounded more malicious than innocent when compared to the giggles of teenagers, the giggles that came when the students were on their way home from a party or playing a video game, the giggles that came from girls flirting with boys or guys looking down at the ground, the giggles that came when a boy said something and someone laughed, the sounds of people being happy in a world where nothing was ever wrong.

The sound of laughter stopped abruptly with a sharp gasp, a sob breaking off into a sob that quickly turned to full blown tears.

"I-I didn't do anything, please! I was just having fun!" A young girl's voice cried out before the door to her house slammed shut. The woman ran back inside and closed the door as if she could make her escape by closing it tight enough, even though there was a perfectly good hole in her door, she would still pretend as if it wasn't there.

She couldn't let them see her. They wouldn't understand. She wasn't supposed to be there anymore; they weren't allowed to bring her in anymore, it made her feel dirty to have been accepted into the 'club' that they called a 'community center'. No one understood what happened to her except herself, the man in charge of this 'club', an older gentleman named Gabriel, always called him 'Father', which made it sound like he cared about the girl as if she mattered to him.

But Father cared nothing for her. He only wanted her to be strong because he knew that if he did care about her then he would have kept her there until her parents found her body somewhere far away, and no one wanted that. So now, she was alone again, without a roof over her head or food in her stomach, without shelter from the rain and cold that she lived through every day, without warmth and comfort from the love she felt every time someone smiled at her, no matter how much they tried to hide it or how many times they laughed at her.

Gabriel, the man in charge of the whole facility that housed those who needed help, would never understand, and he never would.

In the dark streets of the city, a small girl sat alone, crying quietly while holding onto one of the few things she owned. Her backpack. The girl looked up as a car sped past her, she sighed and shook her head, getting to her feet and brushing the dirt off her clothes as best she could. She picked up her bag and carried it with her as she walked into the street and headed back towards the apartment she lived in.

The apartment building seemed to stretch upwards forever as she walked around the side of it. On the sidewalk beside her, she saw someone hunched over, seemingly waiting for someone, so she stepped forward and tapped their shoulder gently, causing them to jump slightly. They spun around in response and froze upon seeing the girl standing next to them.

The girl stared back at them silently, confused, until she remembered where she had seen them before.

"Hello! You must be new here, right?" She asked.

The girl nodded slowly, taking a cautious step closer to the stranger. "I am. Do you know where the apartments are, um…" she trailed off awkwardly.

"Oh yeah! Here. Follow me." She gestured behind her with her thumb. As they started walking, the girl noticed that the stranger wore some sort of black hoodie underneath a red jacket and a pair of jeans. It was kind of hard to tell with the black mask covering their face, but it seemed like they were wearing the same type of shoes as well as gloves and socks.

As they continued walking, the girl realized the stranger was walking very fast, and she struggled to keep up with the pace. However, she held her tongue as she followed them, trying not to get caught up in her curiosity and the fact that her feet hurt a lot from carrying her backpack the entire night long.

After almost a half hour, the two arrived at another apartment building. This one also had stairs, however the girl was able to reach the second floor with relative ease, especially with the help of the stranger. After a short pause, the two continued moving, heading towards the last apartment on the left, the one closest to the staircase. The stranger knocked three times on the door and waited for a reply.

"I'm coming!" An excited voice replied moments later.

The door swung open, revealing a young woman in her twenties, with long brown hair that reached her waist, light brown eyes, a pink sweater tied tightly around her chest, and a bright smile that lit up her features.

"Hey, hey! You must be my new neighbor!"

"Ah, yes! My name is Marinette Dupain Cheng. It's nice to meet you."

The girl stuck out her hand for the woman to shake, but Marinette hesitated