I stare at the ceiling of my bedroom. Wow. Ashley really is something. Taking the basketball off of the floor, I lay on my back while continuously throw the ball into the air and catching it when it comes back down. I never even thought that she would talk back to Bethany like that.

I start laughing as I remember the priceless look on Beth's face. Nobody would have the guts to talk to her like that, except Ash. Ashley's going to wish that she didn't say that. Beth's the type of person that would take revenge on those kinds of actions taken against her.

Last year, she took revenge on an innocent girl for dropping her ice cream on the ground. And it wasn't even intentional. That girl apologized many times but Beth just had to teach her a lesson. I tried talking her out of it, but she was determined. Later on, the girl was being bullied nonstop and I had to tell the principal about this situation.

But I remained anonymous the whole time, not wanting Beth to know that I was the one who turned her in. I then confronted the girl and helped her through the rest of the year. However, she ended up moving away because she still couldn't take it anymore.

I sigh as the ball is in my hands again. If Beth is going to do that, then I will have to stay by Ash's side at all times. I don't want Ashley to suffer because of my business with Beth. After all, the reason why Beth came to the library today was that she wanted to see me.

She didn't want to be tutored. She could care less about her grades. All she wants is to get back together with me. I don't know how many times I have rejected and ignored her on this subject. I even had to block her number because Beth got so annoying and continuously spamming me.

I'm not getting back together with her. Period. She already made up her mind when she cheated on me. I gulp as I think of this. It's time to stop thinking about Beth. I've had her on my mind for too long to the point where I was on borderline depression.

My parents didn't understand what depression was so I had to rely on Jason to get me out of it. I am still thankful for him to this day. But, what about Ashley? The ball accidentally slips from my hands and hits me square in the face. There's a sharp pain spreading throughout my face and I use my hand to rub it out.

"Ouch," I mutter under my breath. The basketball rolls off of the bed and away from me. I sigh as I lay back down with my hands at my side. This girl. Why am I so intrigued by everything she does and says?

I close my eyes and shake my head to throw these thoughts out of my head. I can't, not again. My heart has just barely started to heal. But who's starting to heal it for you? Sitting up on my bed, I rub my face in frustration. It's only been about two weeks. That's too quick.

Maybe I spent too much time with Ash. But I need her so I can improve my grade. My thoughts are going haywire as I think about her smile. Then, small knocks on my door shatter my thoughts as I turn my head towards it. "Big Brother, it's me," I hear a small squeaky voice behind the door.

I smile as the door opens slowly. "Marie. What's wrong?" I ask as I stand up from my bed and walk over to the small figure standing at my door. She's clutching her teddy bear in fear.

"A-Another nightmare," she says as she walks toward me and hugs my legs. I close the door behind her and then bend down to look at her. Her green eyes are emitting fear as they are wide.

"Everything's going to be alright. They're not real, believe me," I reassure as I take her into my arms and carry her towards my bed.

"They felt so real though," she whispers as she puts her little arms around my neck.

I sit on the foot of my bed and she takes her arms off of my neck. "Tell me, what was it about?"

At first, Marie is silent. But then she says, "There were so many angry teddy bears coming at me and hitting me. I told them to stop but they wouldn't. It was so scary." Grabbing my arm, she buries her face in my chest.

"Shhhh, it's going to be alright. If you have another dream like that, do you know what you should do?" I ask.

"What?" Her voice is muffled because of my chest.

"Smile at them and take in all those punches."

She lifts her head up, giving me a confused look. "W-Why? They're hurting me."

I smile at her as I smooth out her messy dirty-blonde hair. "Because that's the most that these bad teddy bears can do to you. But they can never shatter your goals and dreams because you're strong, am I right?" I ask as I raise an eyebrow.

She blinks rapidly a couple of times. "Yes, I am strong."

"So can you promise me that you won't throw a single punch at those teddy bears when they hit you?" Marie nods quickly as she smiles. "You have better things to do instead of throwing punches at useless things. All you're destined to do is achieve your goals, do you understand?" She nods some more and I notice her eyes are drooping.

She must be tired. I take her into my arms and stand up, opening the door to walk towards her room. After walking through the long corridor of the second floor, I finally reach her room and slowly open the door to her room. The room is painted a soft shade of pink. Marie is starting to breathe softly against my neck, a sign that she's asleep.

I spot her bed and walk toward it. Putting the blankets to the side with only one hand, I slowly place Marie onto her bed with her back touching it first. I then bring the blankets up to her chin, covering her whole body with it. She doesn't seem to be fazed by all of this and I smile.

Leaning in towards her, I leave a small kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, Marie. Stay strong in there," I whisper as I start to walk towards her door. Then, I walk out of her room, closing the door behind me. I smile. Dreams are already teaching my little sister the perils of life.

How peculiar.