and we bury the dead in our souls...

Sighing to himself, Noah stood outside the ominous gates of black, shuffling the flowers he held in his hand from one to another. It was a Saturday, and as much as he hated the ritual, he initiated it anyways. Iris's favorite day always was Saturday...he chuckled to himself, remembering the countless arguments they had over the best day in the week. For him, it was and forever would be Friday, for reasons, of course, that were highly obvious. For for Iris, it was Saturdays. No school, she didn't have kindergarten, she could stay with her big brother Noah for the whole day. Feeling a tear begin to accumulate in his left eye, he wiped it before it could fall down and hit the damp grass. Iris wouldn't want him to cry. She didn't like to see anyone crying-especially over her...

Okay Noah. You can do this...just enter the cemetery... Just like every week, he gave himself this mental pep talk. The amount of strength it took for him to enter the yards was astounding-he hated being surrounded by dead bodies, like most people were. Especially when he knew and loved one of the people that lied inside. Haltingly, he stepped forward, one foot after another, muttering encouragements to himself. This was the only way to make sure she would be remembered in his family-he was the only one, Noah believed, that ever visited her grave. His parents, it seemed, moved on already from their short lived grief, their minds too preoccupied with money, and how much they had to mourn the lost of their youngest daughter. And Roxanne...she never mentioned anything about Iris to Noah, so he assumed that she put her in the farthest reaches of her mind. Out of sight, out of place, right?

Glancing around the cemetary, Noah headed straight to the big monument that was dedicated to Iris. It was so flamboyant, so flashy. She would've hated it. It was, frankly, an eyesore on the place-got great publicity though. The headlines in Colquitt all that week-LOOK HOW MUCH THE MCKENNY'S LOVED THEIR DAUGHTER. So fake. It literally brought Noah to tears, how obvious it was that their parents didn't know Iris. If only they'd left Noah in charge of it. He would've made sure that everything was perfect, in perfect memory of the girl that his little sister was, instead of this warped vision his parents assumed she was.

But it was still her in there. Her grave. This is where the tears began to freely flow. No one knew about this ritual-not even Friday, it was too embarrassing. To see him cry like this. But it was Iris, and he'd loved her so much. Stroking the marble of the grave, Noah placed the flowers down on top. Lilies, her favorite. "I miss you little bug. You were right. Saturdays are good days." Silence. How much he wanted her to answer...

and we bury the dead in our souls...

Done mourning Iris-Noah never liked taking too long with that, being sad around her, even if it wasn't her really, just her body. She had hated seeing him sad-it really wasn't the best way to remember her, to mourn her...death. He had to stay happy, joyful. Even if it killed him to laugh with his little sister gone from this world. It was at this moment when he sorely needed Friday-maybe he'd tell her about his weekly ritual, even if it did embarrass him. Hers was the only comfort that made him even slightly happy-that girl had, would always have that effect on him. One of the reasons that he still loved her, to this day. Well, that, and the plain fact that Noah just couldn't seem to get his heart to let go of the girl, even though it did seem it was futile. She would never love him back. Iris-the only person that ever knew about how he felt-had told him to give it up, as only a five year old could-but he didn't listen. There was still some hope...right?

"Hey...are you okay?" There was someone else in the cemetery with him? Glancing behind him, Noah met the eyes, the dark, dark eyes of a girl. Noticing her eyes glisten-with tears, he assumed-Noah shrugged. Physically, he was okay. Healthy as a horse, the doctors said-he just needed more time outdoors, or something. Never did pay close attention to the docs when they talked to him. But maybe the girl meant mentally? Noah wasn't very good at interpreting what people said to him...especially girls. "Uh, you mean mentally?" Because Noah wasn't sure he was all well in the brain right now, he was talking to the grave of his dead sister. That might mean he wasn't all there in the old noggin...he made a mental note to ask Friday about this later. She could play therapist for a while for Noah.

Leaning back against the monument that was meant for his sister, Noah hummed. Was that girl okay? Cause...to be honest, she kinda looked like shit. Well, he probably did too, but he was just going to assume that she looked worst off than he did. Her eyes were...swollen, kind of. Probably too much crying. And her hair was wet. What was she doing that made her hair wet? Looking up, he noticed, finally, that it was actually raining at the very moment. Oh. Yes...now that he thought about it, he was kind of wet, too. His hoodie was soaked through, and his hair. Running his hand through the short patch of hair that lied on his head, it realized that it was fully damp. How did he not notice this before? "Hey. It's raining." This was weird-he must've zoned out more than normal...

and we bury the dead in our souls...

Oh, that made more sense. All around? He was fine, all in all. Better than the homeless people out on the streets around this time, that was for sure. Better mentally than the other spoiled rich kids. Definitely better off, it looked, than the stranger standing in front of him. But, if Noah was to compare himself to Friday...he would have to say no to that question. Oh well, it wasn't as if he hadn't lied to a stranger before. Shrugging, he replied with a solitary statement. "I'm fine. All around." That question really did make him feel just a bit uncomfortable-this girl was poking around tender lining, and Noah had no idea who she was. For all he knew, she could be a serial rapist, or a mass murderer, or something. That's why the school system told them never to talk to strangers, yet here Noah was, talking to one. What a rebel he was.

Oh. Damn, she just ruined his dream. Now, he couldn't use the 'I'm not allowed to talked to strangers' excuse to get away. Indiana Kain...weird name. Rhen? Noah couldn't see in the slightest where that nickname fit in... And the name was not familiar at all. How did she know his name? It wasn't as if Noah was a popular kid around town, the one name rolling off everyone's tongue. That was his sister...ohh. She was a girl. Probably, she was friends with his sister. Or enemies. Roxanne seemed to have a lot of both of those, probably because of the sole fact that she was a highly competitive girl. Something like that. Humming to himself, he felt the air grow a bit awkward between them, then realized that she expected an answer. "Oh, right. Yes. I'm Noah Mckenny. So, uh...how did you know that?" It really would be just his luck to meet a stalker on the same day that he came to visit Iris. Iris probably even made this happen-thought it was funny or something. She was always doing crap like this...