" Adius and Corrina had both done everything in their power to actively ignore each other, and in doing this, they had ripped open the smallest of wounds in their chests. As each day passed on, the tear grew larger and larger.

But it was Hope's gaping abyss that confused everyone around her, except Sinthea of course. Her dancing became lack luster and her voice no longer filled rooms. Her art became dark, and her journals were filled with page upon page of one word: Forget.

She didn't smile as she walked down the halls, and she didn't speak with anyone outside of her circle. Her face, once the very definition of joy and peace, grew to resemble something cold. It wasn't until Adius, in a fit of forgetfulness, ran into her, that he realized he had done more damage to her than she had to him.

She had fallen backwards, her two notebooks and her one textbook had fallen out of her arms with a silencing thud. If it wasn't for the fact that it wasn't a passing period, Adius was sure all eyes would have been on them.

He had offered her a hand to help her up, but she had looked through it. With moves that mimicked those of every zombie ever seen in the film industry, she began to collect her things. She didn't seem completely there. "Hope?" Adius had called out.

Not even her blinking pattern was disrupted by the sound of his voice. "Hope, are you feeling okay?" He could tell that she wasn't alright. Bags hung under her eyes, her hair was thrown into an offensive bun with her normal crown of flowers missing. She wore black sweatpants with a hoodie that swallowed her whole.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

She had risen and tried to continue on her way.

With a growl that anyone would have called inhuman, Adius had spun after her and put a hand on her arm to keep her from moving. "What the hell is this? You get to humiliate me for months on end then make me feel bad for not wanting to be your little play thing, how is that fair?"

That was when she finally looked up. There was a moment where he thought he saw the sparkles return to her eye, but she turned away before he could further investigate it. "Is this not what you wanted Adius?"

No Adonis, no smile, no flower crown.

Maybe at the time that he was angry that entire picture would have satisfied him, but seeing her look so wilted because of him put an ache in his chest. The wound widened. Without letting his rational mind control his body, he had pulled the girl into his arms. "You know exactly what I wanted, and this isn't it."

Seeming to not know what else to do, Corrina gently placed her things on the floor, taking Adius with her, then rose back up to fully embrace him. "If you could just give me a real chance, I could make everything right. I don't like to see you like this Hope."

At the sound of her name, Hope had stilled. She had pressed her ear to his chest and had pleaded with him to, "Say my name again." And he had complied.

"Hope. I'm sorry for what I said-" She had cut him off with a vigorous nod of her head. "Huh?" Adius had responded to the movement. Hope simply nodded again, her grasp around him tightening.

"You forgive me?" She nodded into his chest again. "And you'll try to be my monogamist girlfriend?" She nodded a little more hesitantly that time, and that had pulled a laugh from him.

Adius hadn't known it at the time, but that was the moment that solidified his destiny.

That was the moment that truly marked him as Corrina Hope's Adonis. Her saving grace."