Aeris kicked at the leaves on the sidewalk, rage and desolation thudding through him. He could still feel the taunts ringing in his ears, the way they had stared. He could stand that, muffle the pain of the blows. But he never figured the staff would join in. Teachers may ignore the way they treated him, but never before had any of them joined in. He could still hear Mr. Elroy's words burning in his ears, the snide comments about the way he dressed, about the eyeliner, how quiet he was, about how he was "the resident Goth". It had been the final straw when he had in been late to class, after finding someone had splashed red paint in through the slats of his lockers. Mr. Elroy had taken one look at his still stained books and binder, and announced,

"So, the Satan Worshiper is late to class again. Did the sacrificial goat take too long to burn?"

He had left the classroom, caught the city bus, and now was here, angry and waiting for school to end so he could go home.

" Hallo! You! Oh Honestly, stop looking so darned mopey and look up!"

Aeris jumped as a high pitched voice assaulted his ears. He searched for speaker, wondering if they were referring to him. Probably not. People on the street didn't approach him, much. In fact, they downright avoided him.

" You'll have to look up a little higher than that, you goose!" the voice giggled.

Bewildered, Aeris tipped his head up farther, into the trees, and nearly died from shock.

A tiny girl was hovering in the air, dressed in a pale, gauzy outfit, and had a pair of iridescent butterfly wings. She was a faery.

" That's better! What on earth is wrong? You're just broadcasting these totally negative vibes, boy. "

" I'm having a bad day, all right? And now I'm hearing voices and seeing things." Aeris said.

" Now I'm even speaking to them. And I still am. Stop it!" aeris yelled the last bit, causing several passersby to glance quickly at them, and cross the road.

" They can't see me, angst boy, only you can."

"I'm delusional. This isn't real. You aren't real." Aeris said.

The faerie narrowed her eyes.

"I'm very, very real. I'll prove it." She zoomed low, alighting on his shoulder. Suddenly, she leaned forward, and bit him on the ear, very, very hard.

" Holy mother of-" aeris yelped. The faery gave a high, trilling laugh, and zoomed out of his reach.

" the pain is real, so I am real. Or do you need another demonstration?" She smiled, baring a pair of miniscule fangs. No wonder it had hurt so much, he now had a double piercing, thanks to her.

Aeris glared at her.

" No, I don't. Keep away from me. " Aeris said. She giggled.

" I don’t show myself to just anyone, you know. You're one of the lucky ones. You have to be nice to me." She folded her arms.

" And if I'm not nice to you?" Aeris asked

" I'll have to demonstrate how real I am again. And next time, I might not be so nice."

Aeris shook his head. This faery was a total nutter. Then again, he was seeing faeries, and that didn't exactly qualify him for the sane human award.

" What's your name, anyway, faery girl?" aeris asked.

The faery giggled again.

" No names now, or you'll be able to control me. Don't think I'm stupid, just because I'm beautiful. You may call me Glitterflit. Now whats your name, angst boy?"

" I'm Aeris. And I didn't know about the whole name control thing."

" She stared at him for a moment, her eyes bugging slightly, giving her a crazed, slightly maniacal look that seemed to suit her.

" I believe you. Now then, tell me, why are you so upset?"

"I'm not, ok? Just leave me alone."

She narrowed her eyes.

" Not an option, Aeris. Tell me why, I'm getting bored, and when I'm bored, I tend to bite."

Aeris rolled his eyes.

" Fine. You want to know why I'm upset? Here's why.'" Aeris launched into a full explanation, starting with the day he had moved to Waldville, all the way up to taking the bus here.

" That's not all. You left something out." Glitterflit was perched on his shoulder now, and they were sitting in the park.

" How would you know? That's what happened, you weren't there." Aeris said, getting angry. The faery's undying perkiness was starting to grate on his nerves.

" I would know, it’s who I am. Now, Aeris, human boy, we are going to do something fun. I am feeling bored here, in this gloomy old park. Take me to your dwelling, that will be interesting."

Aeris glanced at his watch. School had let out twenty minutes ago.

" I'm heading that way, anyway. But I won't talk to you on the bus. Or when anyone else is around, mind. I'm not going to look like a loony."

Glitterflit giggled.

"But that was so much fun before! Did you see those people look at you, the funny boy yelling at the air? Oh, they had the best expressions!"

Aeris shook his head. She was absolutely incorrigible.

"No, that's enough for one day. Come on, we've got a bus to catch." Glitter was quiet the entire bus ride, surprising Aeris. He had expected her to taunt him into talking to her again, to get people to stare.

As soon as they got off the bus, however, she immediately started up her perky banter again.

He ignored it, trudging up the steps to his house, and unlocking the door.

Aeris' parents were hardly around, too busy flying around the world to make business deals to care whether or not their son was staying with friends like he was supposed to, not staying home alone. To busy to notice their son didn't have any friends to say with.

" Hello? Aeris, stop being all alone and pouty with your thoughts and listen, please! You have to invite me in!" As he had crossed inside, she had stepped off his shoulder and was hovering in the air.

" what?" Aeris said.

" It’s a faery custom. Please invite me in." Aeris thought for a moment. He could shut the door, and finally have some peace and quiet. And Glitterflit wouldn't be able to get inside.

" If you shut that door Aeris, I will make sure you never have any peace and quiet ever again." Glitterflit said, snarling. Aeris silently swore.

" Come on inside, Glitterflit, I uh, invite you in." Aeris made a sweeping gesture with his hand, and she flitted inside. He had a funny, sinking feeling in his stomach, and wondered if perhaps he had just made a terrible mistake.