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When Marella was four, he watched her mother fall from the balcony. Saw the look of shock and horror on her face as she toppled over the edge and suddenly realised what was happening. He heard the thud of her mom falling onto the cold, hard ground below. Silence, followed by screaming.
And that was what shaped her life. Marella didn't have a photographic memory, but from how clearly she remembered that night, the way the world seemed to move in slow motion, he might as well have. The fear and shock she felt was something that he could never escape, no matter how hard she tried.
She was tormented by nightmares about what happened. He had been over that day too many times, more than she could count. But something always felt off. Marella swore that there was another person there, hiding in the shadows. Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on her, but it felt too real. No one would listen when she tried to tell them what he'd seen, always blaming it on trauma. That didn't change her mind though. Because Marella knew what she saw. The problem was the way none of the adults took him seriously. And if they wouldn't listen, maybe she wouldn't either.
—
Biana was nothing like Marella. Ae was smart, popular and holy shit ae was pretty. But most importantly, ae had a family who loved aer, a proper one. Not a family that had splintered apart, the only thing connecting them the echo of the sound of a body falling from way too high up. At least that's how it seemed to Marella.
In reality, Biana was not even close to that. Ae was the one who didn't fit in, the one who could never live up to aer family's impossibly high standards. The one with scars across aer face and arms, cracking the illusion of the perfect daughter Biana had painstakingly curated over the course of aer life.
But there are two sides to every story, and that was not the side Marella saw. To her, Biana was effortlessly beautiful and radiated confidence. Standing next to aer, Marella felt like nothing- an insignificant speck of dust to Biana’s air of regality. She didn't understand why Biana liked him. Maybe it was out of pity. Who knew?
Biana knew, and ae was drawn to Marella's carefree attitude. The way he didn't seem to let things affect her, whether it was school drama, her pyrokinesis, or the series of family catastrophes he had endured. Biana didn't see how much she struggled. Of course ae didnt. Marella made a point of not dragging other people into her problems. He knew from experience that it only made things worse.
—
Perhaps that was where it all went wrong, why they were doomed to fail from the start. They were different and yet so similar at the same time, both of them hiding behind masks out of fear. As time went on, things worsened and they started to drift apart, the arguments becoming more frequent. But none of them were as bad as that day. The day that would forever be burned into Marella's memory.
It shouldn't have happened. But that didn't matter, what did was that it had happened. That nothing would ever be the same again.
—
“Biana, I'm fine.”
No, you’re not. You barely talk to me anymore. I'm worried about you, that's all.”
Marella stared at Biana, trying to figure out what to say. She started to say something, but Biana cut him off.
“I should have noticed earlier, I'm sorry. I should have been there for you the whole time."
“Well maybe you would have if you weren’t busy being so fucking perfect all the time!” The words left Marella's mouth before he could stop them.
“I'm not as perfect as you think.” Biana’s voice shook. “Do you ever notice how hard I try? How much I struggle? How nothing I do is ever good enough?"
The moonlight hit Biana in just the right way that aer scars seemed to glow, emphasising aer point.
“At least you have a real family," Marella said, her words bitter, laced with longing and jealousy. He knew he was overreacting, but couldn't bring herself to care anymore. Why did it matter when her life was already turning to ash?
"Stop trying to act like you know me!” Biana snapped, the perfect girl ae always tried to be suddenly gone. The tears in aer eyes spilled over, falling down aer face.
“Fine. Maybe I don't know you at all. But neither do you!” Marella was aware now that she was screaming.
There was a time when she would have tried to stop herself, but that time was long gone. She had spent far too long fighting against her power. That didnt mean she wanted to stop trying. No, what she wanted was to be able to live her life without fear of hurting the people she loved. But it was all too much. Years of anger and resentment bubbled to the surface, taking over as Marella fell apart.
What happened next was a blur. One second they were arguing, the next, fire spreading through the grass, the smell of smoke filling her nose. It didn't seem real until he heard the scream, dragging her back to reality.
Tears clouded her vision as he fought her way through the flames. Her ability meant that it didn't hurt him, at least not physically. But when Marella saw Biana lying there, saw the blistered, red burns across Biana’s already scarred face, saw how ae laid just a little bit too still, she sank to the floor and truly let himself cry for the first time in far too long. Quiet tears turned to ugly sobbing, as Marella cracked apart, her heart shards of glass that could never be put together again. She didn't move, just sat there watching as it all went up in flames.
—-
But life went on. Marella attended Biana's planting, and tried to keep going. He couldn't escape what she had done though, was forever trapped in the fire.
When there were other people around, she tried to act as if she was okay. But as soon as they were out of earshot, he cried his heart out, sobbing for the pretty girl with scars across aer arms and face. Who was the sun in Marella's life, the person who helped her remember that life was worth living. Crying for the death which wouldn't have happened if Marella wasn't so fucking stubborn. If she hadn't always pushed people away when they were just trying to help.
Her friends were always there, supporting her. Linh helped him to deal with her ability. Dex made him gadgets to keep it under control. Keefe cracked jokes to help take her mind off of things. And Sophie was always there for him.
But none of it helped. Nothing would ever be the same. Because the night Biana died, Marella died with aer.