Fated To Mate

Saying Goodbye

"Seriously, though, give people a chance after I'm gone. Not everyone's a jerk," Mia advised, knocking her fist on Ava's head to emphasize her point. "I want you to have at least one new friend when I come back in a year, okay?"

"Easy for you to say," Ava retorted. "You'd be surprised at how many jerks there are out there."

Mia chuckled. "No arguments there. Alright, I gotta run. Don't spend all your time online, drive safely, don't eat just ramen, and try to get some decent sleep."

Ava raised an eyebrow. "What about no boys over?"

Mia grinned mischievously. "A boy might do you some good, sis." Ava coughed and blushed, trying to hide her embarrassment. "Don't you have a flight to catch or something."

Mia clapped her hands, almost forgetting that she was about to embark on a new adventure. Ava followed her older sister to the entrance of the terminal, marveling at how different they were despite being related by blood.

As they stood at the cutoff point, Mia looked at Ava with a sad smile. "This is it," she said, lifting her carry-on bag onto her shoulder.

Ava rolled her eyes. "I'll never see you again," she said, trying to hide her emotions.

Mia shook her head. "Shut up kiddo . I'm trying to have a moment with you here," she teased, pulling Ava into a tight hug.

"Alright, have a blast and take tons of pics! Don't worry about me, sis," Ava said with a hint of reluctance in her voice.

Mia's tone turned serious, "I'll video chat and call you, and I'll send you money so you can focus on school without worrying about a job."

Ava felt guilty for not being truthful about already having a job, but decided to break the news later.

"Remember what I said about making friends and kissing boys."

"You said nothing about kissing boys."

"Oh, I didn't? Okay, well make sure you do it a lot."

Ava's eyes widened in shock, "What?!" she exclaimed.

The announcement for Mia's flight interrupted their conversation. "Flight 532 for Toronto departing in 15 minutes."

After sharing a tight hug, Mia left for her plane, leaving Ava with a few tears in her eyes. She wiped them away and headed home, feeling the emptiness without her sister.

As she walked into the now quiet house, Ava realized that Mia was the source of most of the energy in their home. Without her, the house reflected Ava's own personality - cold and empty.

Ava sighed and decided to forgo dinner, but as the rain cleared up and night fell, she found herself in the kitchen. She didn't have much of an appetite,

Ava felt like she needed a break from reality, and what better way to do that than with a good book?

She slipped into something more comfortable and opened her curtains, letting the moonlight flood her room. After scanning her bookshelf, she found her trusty old favourite: The Little Wolf's Book of Badness. It wasn't a literary masterpiece, but it always struck a chord with her.

She read the back snippet before diving in, and before she knew it, she had finished the book in record time. As she lay there staring at the sky, she couldn't help but feel the drowsiness creeping in. But before she drifted off to sleep, she remembered that tomorrow was Monday and she had to go back to school.

The thought of facing the burning gazes and far-fetched rumors from people who just wanted to exclude her at every chance they got made her stomach churn. She sat up to get a better view out her window, hoping that the stars could provide some solace.

What the...

Was it just her or were the stars appearing quicker than usual in the sky?

Usually she wouldn't even notice when the stars came out because they were so gradual. If anything they would already be out by this time of night.

And because she lived in a wooden cabin away from the main city, she always got a clear view of the stars on clear nights like tonight.

But that night they were appearing rapidly right in front of her eyes, as if they came from nowhere.

It was almost as if someone was pulling them out from beneath the sky.



Head up, shoulders back.

Ava took a deep breath before stepping into her university building. Almost on cue, people looked at her.

She was almost infamous.

Everyone had heard rumours about her but no one really knew her. So all they could do was stare.

It never made sense why people would act that childish even after they left grade school. She had never done anything to anyone.

When she first started school she tried to be nice, she was polite and quiet.

She never rubbed anyone the wrong way. But then the rumours started to float.

People thought she slept around.

People thought she had plastic surgery.

People thought she got pregnant.

She had no ideas where these rumours started from or why they were about her. But she knew there was nothing she could do by the time she heard of them.

Denying them would only make her look more 'guilty'.

And she wasn't going to claim she did something she didn't just to make them happy.

So she just kept her lips shut and learned to block it out. It was like drinking alcohol, soon, you'd

become so numb that nothing feels like it hurts.

But then you'd wake up the next morning with a hangover that left you feeling shittier.

Things have admittedly gotten better.

Not by a lot.

But she noticed that people didn't stare at her as blatantly as they first did. But that didn't mean that unsolicited gazes would land on her when she walked the halls.

"Ava!"

The girl cringed at the voice when she heard footsteps speeding towards her.

Michelle Parker.

Were they friends? No.

Were they enemies? No.

They were...well, they were nothing.