Alrighty! Here's Chapter 3 like I promised! Again, I own nothing. I'm going to have to stop saying these disclaimers. -.-;; They're already getting on my nerves.

Chapter 3: Unique

That very same day B, determined to make Avril his friend, sat inside the noisy common area. It was raining hard outside, so no one could go outside and play. Instead, everyone was gathered in the common area, playing board games, hide and seek, doing homework, or just talking. Instead of watching the others play, B had his eyes trained on Avril. She was leaning out the opened window, watching the rain fall with a distant expression on her face. He approached her cautiously, watching and waiting to see how she would react to his presence twice in one day. To his surprise, she just sighed to herself and kept her eyes on the myriad of water droplets falling from the dark grey clouds.

"My parents died during a thunderstorm." She said to no one in particular. B nearly jumped. The only time he had really heard her speak was when she was angry, so he wasn't expecting the quietness and softness of her voice. "Even though it brings back terrible memories of that night, I still love the rain." She turned her head and smiled a small, meek smile at him. "What do you love watching?"

"People." He blurted, not really thinking of his answer before he spoke it. He instantly clapped a hand over his mouth; what would she think about that? Would she call him a weirdo and run away? Would she stare at him in disgust? He could only guess and stand there like an idiot and await her response. To his surprise, she laughed.

"That's interesting, honestly." She turned away from the rain and leaned her back against the windowsill. "People watching is kind of fun if you do it for long periods of time."

"You can learn a lot about someone by just watching them." He agreed, mirroring her position. She laughed lightly again.

"True enough. I suppose you do enough of it to know from experience?" B looked sadly at the floor. It was really all he could do; no one would talk to him and everyone seemed to be creeped out by his staring habits.

"Yeah." He sighed, drawing on the marble floor with his bare toe. This didn't escape Avril.

"How come you don't wear any shoes?" She asked curiously, self-consciously staring at her pink Greek-styled sandals.

"I feel suffocated when I wear them." He answered immediately. She wasn't freaking out, so of course, he was more than willing to talk to her about anything so long as she didn't run away. "And they stink." She laughed at that.

"Only if you don't wash them and wear them a lot without socks." She traced the pattern of the marble with the edge of her shoe. "You're different from all the other kids." She said thoughtfully, "Is that why you're all alone?" B nodded silently. Feeling bad for him, Avril placed a small hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, I don't think you're weird or creepy or anything like that. If there's anything I've learned from people watching, it's that everyone is different, no matter how many similar interests one shares with another. We have different habits, mannerisms, facial expressions, little quirks, etcetera. You're not weird, you're just different like everyone else." B laughed this time.

"That sounds like a cheesy inspirational quote someone wrote on the bathroom walls." Avril raised an eyebrow.

"Boys write inspirational stuff on bathroom walls?" B nodded, grinning.

"I don't, but I've seen a couple of people here do it, and kids at my old school did it, too."

"Wow. Just wow." She retorted, pushing off the wall. "Anyway, I think I'm going to go to my room and draw for a little bit. You can come with me if you want." He would have more than loved to have accepted her invitation, but he had to shake his head.

"Boys aren't allowed in the girls' rooms." Avril thought for a moment, then ruffled his already messy black hair.

"I think with your hair and voice you can be mistaken for a boyishly dressed girl." B laughed and playfully shoved her, following her to her room. He may get in trouble for being in a girls' bedroom, even if they were just talking while she drew, but he didn't care. At that moment and time, any trouble he got into, any heart break he'd feel the moment she died, would all be worth the fact that for a few moments in time, he felt normal.

Awe. How adorable. X3 Anyway, that's all for chapter 3! It's a bit longer than chapter 2 was, but it's still short, I know. Anyway, until next time, I look forward to reading your reviews!