My mind is at war with itself. After that conversation, I wanted to never talk to her again because I knew something was off. On the other side, I thought, maybe having friends to rely on is nice. I get back home and go to my bathroom. I sit there and then vomit after reminding myself of what happened to my last best friends. It hurt to even think about friends at that point. My father knew best, and I should've listened to him. I screamed into my toilet and then I collapsed on the floor. I felt someone poking me and freaked out.

"Who in the world?!"

"Oh, sorry, did I scare you?"

"Oh. Hey mom."

"I went ahead and cleaned up your room. Are you alright now? It seems like a lot happened while I was out."

"Yeah, just had a stomach bug."

"Oh, good to see that you're doing better now, especially since you were crying on the floor when I got back."

I froze where I lay, embarrassed.

"Yeah... It hurt a lot."

I hear my phone vibrate. It was Forres. I pick it up, and he sounds hyped as all hell, ready to explode with the power of a million suns.

"DUDE!"

"YEA?!"

"GUESS WHAT?"

"WHAT?!"

"I'M WORKING WITH A FAMOUS GIRL NOW!"

"Nice."

"Damn, could you be any colder?"

"Sorry, man, I've been feeling like shit. I'm not really in the mood today."

"Oh, sorry."

"Thank you. So, what were you saying about this famous girl?"

"Well, she's this awesome singer known all throughout our area!"

"Question, why?"

"I'm actually unsure... but what the hell dude, this is gonna be great! I'm free from being a gaming loser! Reality here I come!"

"What a sad creature you are."

"It can always be worse :)"

"So, who's the artist?"

"She calls herself Rozalin!"

"Oh, her, yeah, she's pretty alright, no one I would listen to, but she's good at what she does."

"Yeah, dude, I'm so excited and since summer is around the corner, we're going on a road trip!"

"Damn, it sounds like you're getting that luxury experience. Have fun."

"Yeah! It's gonna be awesome! Did you hear that the old factory outside the town that made all those stuffed animals is being torn down soon?

"Oh, yeah, I heard about that. That's where my plushie was made. Well, I'll see you at school. I still feel kind of shitty, so I'll be a bit late."

"Alright, see you, Pierre."

He ends the phone call, and I lie in bed. Thinking about how the hell he got in touch with such a popular person. My phone rings again. It's Elis somehow, she got my phone number and even put herself in my contacts as "Your Neighborhood Cat". That gave me a chuckle and then I paused and thought about how she gets my phone. Something didn't match up. Once again, I tried to just brush it off as a coincidence. Looking at my phone ringing again, I was scared. I didn't want to see her nor Forres. I felt like I was going to kill them. I wanted to run away, even after all this time I wanted to run. I decided to ignore them for the rest of the day just to make sure I don't hurt them. So, I do just that. For the entire day I didn't talk to anyone or say a word. Luckily, I rarely saw either of them that day, so it made it all the better. I sit there in my bed at the end of the night wondering if I'm happy with being this lonely or do I even deserve any friends. I have two people I care for, and yet I couldn't protect my only friends in the past. So why would I be able to protect these two? I go deeper and deeper into my thoughts, cutting out any sounds that aren't my own brain and sit there.

"You must really be tired today."

"WJA"

"Nya~?"

"Oh, what the hell?! Where do you keep coming from?"

"The window, you left it unlocked."

"Oh, fair enough."

"Now it's my turn to ask a question! Want to go to the park today?"

"Why?"

"It will be fun!"

"Actually, I need to get out more anyway, but I have some stuff I want to talk about while we're there."

"Yahoo! We'll meet there in about 3 hours, is that good?"

"Sure."

I'm not sure why I was only doing that then; maybe I was interested in learning about Elis. She's kind of just been there, and I was caught up in her chaos. After laying back in my bed, I start to go back into my thoughts and all the questions I want to ask her. I think I was just doing all of that to take my mind off the fact that I'm scared. It sure as hell was working because once I looked at the time again, it was almost time to meet up with her.

"Oh, shit not again!"

I rush to get my clothes on and prepare for the nice walk at the park. I run as if my life is in danger and just right as I get there, I'm just in time. I look around for her and see her sitting on a bench swinging her legs, waiting for me. I walk over to her, and she looks up to me.

"You're lucky you caught me! I just got back from my concert!"

"Concert...? I thought you already did that a while ago?"

"I just got off today, silly. What do you mean?"

She giggles and gestures for me to sit down.

"So, what did you want to ask me?"

"Too many damn things."

"Then I guess we'll be here a while."

"Well, first off, why the hell do you have cat ears and a tail."

"Oh, I'm one of the biggest cosplayers."

"You cosplay?"

"Nope, they're 100% real."

"How is that possible?"

"You're asking a musician this? I'm no scientist, I just know I've had them ever since I was born."

"Do your parents have them?"

"No, but my little sister does."

"Interesting... Why are you fine with me knowing this?"

"If you're not using me for science, then I don't care."

"You should be more careful about that. Some jerk could use you and then ruin you. And that's not gonna be any types of fun!"

"I'm not 5. I know how to handle myself, but thanks for the advice."

"You're welcome."

"So, can you just tuck them in whenever you want to?"

"Yep! It's pretty easy as long as I'm relaxed."

"Wanna walk for a bit?"

"Sure."

We walk around and look at the pretty scenery. There's a bed of flowers that's managed by our town and as the years have gone on it has kept getting bigger and bigger because more people have wanted to contribute. It's nice to see especially since I rarely ever leave this place. The grass is greener than ever. The sun is beaming down on us and the big pond with ducks and fish and all types of animals. It's very nice, especially since we don't have much else here. It's nice to take in the scenery for a second. I open my mouth again, thinking of another question.

"Do you have any other friends? Thinking about it now, I've honestly never seen you outside of school talking to others."

She stops walking.

"I said this already, but I can tell when people are not honest. Everyone at school whenever they're talking to me tries to become my friend, but they don't care. They don't care about me; they only want to be with me because I am new and pretty. It's frustrating to feel so liked and yet feel so alone."

I've never heard her talk with such a serious tone before.

"Damn, so why am I any different?"

"You don't care."

"What? But wasn't that the problem?"

"You don't care about what I look like, or who I seem to be."

"Stop, you're making me sound like a jerk."

She giggles again.

"You are one, but you aren't."

I try to understand it, but I don't get it, so I just roll my eyes and we both laugh. And thinking to myself again, even if she is a bit weird, maybe it isn't all that bad. I hear something ruffling in the bushes. I turn around to see something moving away, but it's too fast to tell anything. So, I just continue with my conversation with Elis.

"Hey, did you ever tell me about your name in the world of music?"

"Nasthopper. If you've ever played FFM, then you probably heard at least one of my songs before."

"Oh, cool."

I felt like I was going to pass out at that moment. She was the one. The music I heard before all of this began. Was it just a coincidence? Or am I a part of something bigger than myself? I tried to play it off for a bit, but my brain is a mess again.

"Do you have any other questions?"

"Uh... Give me a moment, let's sit by the pond."

"Sure."

We go over to a nearby bench and sit over there, staring into the large pond with all the fish and ducks. As I finally regain my composure, I brush it off as a coincidence.

"Why is Mr. Shitz your manager? He doesn't seem to be the most likable guy?"

"Good question, Mr. Pierre! Before I became decently popular, he was very liked among my older family members. He used to work alongside my dad and uncle. After I told my parents I wanted to become a musician, they were supportive. And they knew that he was a trustworthy guy. He was a great guy, super nice, super understanding, and super cool! But what you saw the other day was a shell of his former self. I'm not sure when, but slowly he became greedy. He's been trying to make all the stupid marketable items under my name and using it to bring in more cash. That doesn't sound all that bad, but the items were stuff I owned like my toothbrush, a piece of candy I hadn't eaten yet, some hair that I left around one day, and so on. I tried to tell him that he needs to get help, but he wouldn't listen. Fame ruins even the best of people, no matter how hard they try, sadly. I don't fire him out of respect and pity."

"It sounds like you have it rough."

"As much as he uses me, he treats me like a god."

Just then, I remembered that Forres works for an idol now. It sent shivers down my spine to think about what that poor girl must deal with.

"Scary..."

"It's pretty nice."

"Hey, can I ask you one more thing?"

"Sure!"

"Why did you steal that guy's catnip the other day?"

"Huh...?"

"Never mind."

She yawns and stretches out.

"Well, if you're done, I'm tired now."

It had been 2 hours since we got here, and now it's 5.

"Wow, we didn't even do all that much today."

"You know a bit more about me now. Talking that much takes a lot of work! If we ever do this again, I'll be asking the questions."

She says with a smirk on her face.

"Yeah, this was definitely nicer than I thought it would've gone."

She gets up from the bench and starts to walk off. I sit there for a bit, staring at the pond. Until I hear Forres from the other side of it. I look up and see he's talking to someone and laughing too. I decide to walk over to him to see what he is up to. I start to hear him and someone else as I get closer.

"And after that, there are so many people and places we can visit! It's gonna be awesome! I'm so grateful-"

"Hey dude, who are you talking to?"

"Yo Pierre, I'm just over here talking to... Where did she go?"

"Don't tell me you were just talking to one of your characters from a game."

"Nah, man, I'm not insane. I was talking to Rozalin."

"Here? Of all the places?"

"Yeah, nothing wrong with that right?"

"I guess."

We chat a bit more but mostly about school and video games. By then, before I realized it, it was 10. I went back home and went to sleep. The next day I woke up, it was silent. No one breaking into my home, sneaking up on me, trying to brag about their new job, just the birds cawing from outside. I went to school with Forres, got scolded by my teacher as usual. Elis was absent, but I thought nothing of it. School ends, Forres is still running his mouth about the new games and hot girls. I go

back home and go to sleep.

The next few weeks were relatively quiet. Elis would occasionally pop in and out of my life, always with a smile and a story to tell. We'd talk and laugh, and sometimes, we'd sit in silence, just enjoying each other's company. It was a weird kind of friendship, but it was ours.

Forres, on the other hand, was busier than ever. His excitement about working with Rozalin didn't wane even a little bit. He'd call me up in the middle of the night, babbling about some new song they were working on, or some new place they were planning to visit. It was exhausting, but I was glad he was happy.

And then, one day, everything changed.

I was sitting at home, reading a book, when my phone rang. It was a number I didn't recognize, but I answered it anyway.

"Hello?"

"Pierre? It's Forres."

"Forres, it's two in the morning, what's up?"

"There's something wrong with Rozalin."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know how to explain it, but she's acting really weird. She's been locked in her dressing room for hours, and she won't come out."

"And you're calling me because...?"

"Because I don't know what to do. I'm scared for her, Pierre. She's not like this."

I sighed and rubbed my eyes.

"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can."

I got dressed and drove to the concert hall where Forres and Rozalin were. When I arrived, I found Forres pacing outside Rozalin's dressing room, wringing his hands anxiously.

"Pierre, thank god you're here. I don't know what to do."

"Have you tried talking to her?"

"Yes, but she won't answer. I'm really worried, Pierre."

I nodded and approached the dressing room door. I knocked gently.

"Rozalin? It's Pierre. Can you open the door?"

There was a long silence, and then the door creaked open. Rozalin was standing there, her eyes red and puffy, her makeup smeared. She looked like she had been crying for hours.

"Pierre..." she whispered, and then she collapsed into my arms, sobbing.

I held her tight, glancing at Forres, who looked like he was about to cry too. After a few minutes, Rozalin calmed down enough to speak.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I just... I couldn't take it anymore."

"What happened?" I asked gently.

"The fame, the pressure, the expectations... It's all too much. I just want to be normal again. I just want to make music and be happy."

I nodded, understanding her pain all too well. I glanced at Forres, who was looking at Rozalin with a mixture of concern and guilt.

"Come on," I said softly. "Let's get out of here."

We left the concert hall, Forres driving Rozalin's car and me following behind. We drove to a quiet park, where we sat on a bench and talked for hours. Rozalin poured her heart out, telling us about the pressures of the music industry, the loneliness, the constant scrutiny. Forres listened, his guilt evident on his face.

"I'm sorry," he said finally. "I had no idea it was this bad. I just thought... I just thought it was all so exciting and glamorous."

Rozalin shook her head.

"It is exciting, and it is glamorous. But it's also exhausting and isolating. I just need a break, you know?"

Forres nodded, his eyes filled with tears.

"I'm so sorry, Rozalin. I never meant to push you into this. I just wanted to help."

Rozalin smiled weakly.

"I know, Forres. I know."

We sat in silence for a while, each lost in our thoughts. Finally, Rozalin stood up.

"I need to go home," she said quietly. "I need to think about what I'm going to do next."

Forres and I walked her to her car, and we said our goodbyes. As she drove away, I turned to Forres.

"You should go home too," I said gently. "Get some rest. We'll figure this out together."

Forres nodded, tears streaming down his face.

"Thanks, Pierre. I'm really glad you're here."

I smiled and patted him on the back.

"I'm glad too, buddy. I'm glad too."

And with that, we went our separate ways, each lost in our thoughts, each wondering what the future would hold.