All was silent now except for her light breathing as she sat cross-legged on her bed. Her radio had long been turned off now; this was not the time to be listening to her favorite songs. Her dagger, her favorite ceremonial dagger, lay across the bed, bright, red blood covering the tip of the blade. She stared down at her wrists, covered with light, long slits. She slowly ran her finger across one of the scars, wincing a little at the pain. She knew her friends hated that... but she didn't care. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. To her, all that existed was pain. She was the cause of all that pain; pain to her friends, to her boyfriend, to everyone around her. And now because of this, she caused just as much pain to herself. And in a dark, morbid way, she loved it.

She picked up her dagger again with a shaky hand, her vision blurring slightly. She angrily blinked away her tears, and brought the blade directly under her wrist. She put slight pressure on it, and nearly jumped out of her skin when another hand placed itself upon her own. She dropped her dagger and jerked her head up, and stared into the eyes of the most beautiful young man she'd ever seen. His bright green eyes smiled sadly down at her, almost hidden under tufts of red hair.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, picking up the blood-stained dagger. The girl's eyes widened in shock, but she didn't move an inch.

"Who are you?" she said in a meek voice. The pain of her wrists flooded back to her, and she bit down on her lower lip to suppress her cry. The young man merely shook his head, gently grasping the girl's wrists.

"My name is Daniel, but that really doesn't matter right now." His faint smile never touched his eyes. "What I'm worried about right now is you." The girl stared up at the one who called himself Daniel, her lips trembling lightly as she spoke.

"Why do you need to worry about me?" she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "You don't even know me. How can you expect to feel what I'm feeling?"

"You're quite wrong. I've known you longer than you think." He winked, and bright, beautiful wings sprang from his back, extending a few feet from his body. The girl gasped, trying to comprehend what it all meant. Daniel's eyes suddenly became sad, and he gently reached to touch the girl's chest. When he removed his hand, she stared in awe to see her shirt covered in blood.

"Your heart is bleeding," he said slowly, his wings lowering a little. "All the pain you're causing yourself is slowly killing you. And everyone else around you." He winced, and his shirt began to soak with blood as well. "Whatever you do to yourself hurts us just as much as it hurts you," he said, his eyes brimming with tears. "Did you realize that?"

The girl's lower lip quivered, and she stared down at the bed, angrily blinking away her tears. "D-do I really cause that much pain to everyone?" she asked after awhile, finally looking up into his eyes. Daniel nodded slowly, and the girl rushed into his arms, sobbing. "Why didn't they tell me?" she asked between breaths. "If I had known it hurt them so much...."

"But they did tell you." Daniel closed his eyes as his wings wrapped around her. "They've been telling you this entire time. You just chose not to listen." He kissed the top of her head, and slowly unwrapped his wings from around her. "I came on behalf of all of your friends. They thought I could help you." He gently touched her chest again, and the blood disappeared, as well as his own. He placed his hand on her cheek, smiling, and slowly began to fade away. "If you ever need me, Heather, all you have to do is call my name, and I'll be here." And with that, he was gone.

The girl named Heather sat trembling on her bed for quite some time. Finally, she looked down at her wrists, and started when she realized the scars were gone. The pain had long since disappeared. She quickly jumped off the bed, and threw her dagger in the closet. There was no need to use that any longer. She then threw herself back on the bed, burying her head in her pillow. Grabbing the phone that sat next to her, she finally decided it was time to heal some bleeding hearts.