Scars

[Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford]

The scar on Madeleine's upper right arm was still red against her skin. It was perfectly straight, a vertical line down her arm, violent scarlet.
Sighing, she stopped focusing on it. It was awful, but it was her own fault for cutting carelessly, and it was a reminder of what had happened, and what was still to happen.
At least it had healed over properly, and she could now wear t-shirts again. And it looked a sight better than the half-healed scab that she'd managed to produce when she was healing it.
Picking up her guitar, she sat on her bed, her back to the door, and started playing a classical piece by Segovia that her mum had taught her.
While she was playing, Kira came in, but Madeleine was so absorbed in the piece that she didn't even notice.
When she'd finished on a gentle arpeggio, she sighed, then realised that Kira was sitting on her bed, watching her.
She blushed. "Sorry, I didn't realise you came in."

[Kira & Lee Norris]

Kira felt her feet bringing her towards the gentle, almost familiar music she could hear echoing down the stairs that led to her dorm. For a moment, she felt like resisting, and turning back towards the Common Room to finish the homework she'd left sprawled so carelessly across a desk... but the notes hung in the air; gently pulling her forward. Sighing, Kira began to walk upstairs... hearing, but not really listening...
Why did Deron dwell within her mind so?
After her friends had returned from battle, she'd expected a fierce joy to explode in the pit of her stomach. She'd yearned for relief, for happiness... but the hollow look battle left in people had drawn her from the celebrations; from Madeleine, Macy... and even Lee. And as it drew her from her fellows, it brought her down to Cardsdale.
It'd become a routine. Every day, as the final bell rang, she found herself running down to the village square, where she met with Deron and they... well... they didn't really do much. Just... talked. And chased pigeons. And then talked some more.
He was her outlet. Her escape from the school, and the harsh environment that still gripped it. He made her laugh. He made her step light; her eyes sparkle.
And he was more and more frequently a visitor in her head...
Why?
Too many whys. She pushed them backwards, and suddenly realised she'd been sitting on the bed, gazing at the source of the noise for some time. Madeleine was truly a wonderful musician. Kira should've tried to appreciate the music more. She couldn't play anything.
She wished she could.
Madeline looked a little pink. "Sorry, I didn't realise you came in."
Kira laughed. "That's alright. It's... it's pretty music. Did you make it up?"

[Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford]

Madeleine laughed gently. "I wish. It's a classical piece, by Segovia. I love it."
She looked at Kira. She hadn't seen much of Kira since she came home from the rescue operation, because she kept disappearing. Lee was starting to worry about it now - he thought that she might be going down to Cardsdale, but he had no idea why.
"Haven't seen much of you recently," Madeleine remarked, setting her guitar down on the bed.

[Kira & Lee Norris]

Kira shrugged, but already her heart was pounding. Pigeons were flitting around her head, accompanied by the occasional swoop her heart was beginning to give whenever Deron entered sharply into her mind. It was annoying.
Exhilarating.
Annoying, though.
"I've just been a bit off," smiled Kira. "I've been down Cardsdale a few times, that's all."

[Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford]

"That's what Lee thought," Madeleine said, looking at Kira strangely. "So what do you when you disappear?"

[Kira & Lee Norris]

Another swoop.
Annoying.
Kira didn't miss the strange expression on Madeleine's face. The battle broke out anew within her breast, her heart thumping back and forth wildly, as though it was richocheting around her rib-cage. The question?
Should I tell, or should I not?
Deron was hers for now... but all secrets came out eventually. What secret? She'd made a friend, that was all! So why keep it secret? What was the point?
Why bother?
Why?
She shook herself. Too many whys.
"Alright," she sighed. "I've been... meeting someone."

[Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford]

Aha!
Madeleine was so tempted to say "ooooh!" just to annoy Kira, but she didn't. Instead, she sat forward eagerly, and said. "Oh, who?"

[Kira & Lee Norris]

Kira felt her cheeks flush pink and cursed herself silently.
"It's a... guy from the village," she mumbled, feeling her cheeks darken. "Deron. Deron Miles. But it's not what you think," she added quickly.
Or was it?

[Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford]

Madeleine laughed - she couldn't help it.
"I didn't think anything! Who said I was thinking? I don't think," she said, grinning mischievously at Kira. "I don't recognise the name, I take it he doesn't go here? What's he like?"

[Kira & Lee Norris]

"I..." Kira's face worked furiously. Madeleine's laugh had thrown her. "He's... em... nice? He chases pigeons. And... is kind of sarcastic but.. yeah.. oh no..."

[Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford]

"Well, sarcastic people are nice," Madeleine smiled, thinking of Lee. "And 'oh no' what?"

[Kira & Lee Norris]

"Sorry, I'm being silly," Kira half-laughed. "You probably think... what do I think?"
Her mind was a mess, and her tongue kept twisting around itself.

[Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford]

Madeleine frowned. "I'm not getting you, sorry."
Whoever this 'Deron' was... well, he seemed to have Kira in a bit of a state...

[Kira & Lee Norris]

Kira pursed her lips, then gave a sigh.
"How d'you know if you like someone? Like... really like someone?"

[Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford]

Madeleine smiled. "Hmm, I'm not sure if I should answer that or not, seeing as I'm talking about Lee... it's... you get this feeling, in your stomach. It kind of... jolts, I guess, when you see the guy. It's ... weird," she finished. "I can't really describe it. But your stomach jolts and you feel all... warm when he smiles at you."
She made a strangled noise and laughed. "I don't know, it's weird! Do you think that you might like Deron?"