Please Don't Hit Zero ~ IwaOi

~2~

Today is over six years later. My ability to see timers has never gone away. Neither has the unnerving feeling that comes with it.

Let me first go over the remainder of the thirteenth year of my life. A few weeks after my birthday, my mom started having longer days at work. It didn't take us long to find out why: she was cheating on my dad with a coworker.

My home situation started crumbling down after that. The air was always heavy and awkward. In the beginning, we barely talked to each other. That slowly started to change, though.

Angry screams started to fill our house more and more often, until there wasn't a second of silence left. My parents filed for a divorce not long after their timers ended, shattered, and disappeared.

My mom tried to fight for custody for a while. She almost won, since my dad started having a heavy drinking problem. But about a month before my thirteenth birthday, she ran off with her new lover, leaving me behind.

Luckily, my dad was able to find the strength to battle his addiction not long after that. He worked hard for me, making sure I could get all the care, love and attention I needed. I appreciate it, and I am proud of him.

It wasn't a easy time, though. I would have ended up with major mental issues if it wasn't for my very best friend.

We met under the cherry blossoms on the first day after summer vacation. My mom had just left and my dad was not fine at all. I was eating my lunch alone, crying, until he showed up.

Iwaizumi Hajime. He has always been there for me. He gave me the strength to pull through all of it. He was able to make me smile, and he comforted me when I was crying.

There is just one problem, though. Something that scares me more than anything.

I open my phone, using the front camera to once again confirm my timer, even though I know exactly what it says. Twenty-four days. Almost the exact same as Iwa's and Lana's. Just a few seconds off.

Yes, that's right. Me, my cousin, and my best friend all share a timer. It is something I have not seen anywhere else. And I still don't know what it means... I just know that it will most likely ruin us.

My parents had a hateful divorce after their timers finished. A teacher killed her sister just two days after hers ended. My aunt tried to end herself right after hers hit zero.

Or, well, that's what I'm guessing. I've never seen anyone's timer end. I simply remember when the timers of those around me should be done.

Some people get a new one. Some don't. It is relieving to see an empty chest. Makes it easier to breathe. But that barely ever happens.

I just wish I knew what it does. It isn't just a bad luck timer, as some people seem to barely suffer from any consequences. Maybe if I knew what it meant, I could stop it...

"Hey, Shittykawa. Stop dreaming." The voice of someone precious to me breaks through my nervous thoughts.

A fake smile immediately shows on my face. It is something that I have mastered in the last few years. Though he can see right through it... "Hi there, Iwa-chan~"

I quickly take a look at his timer, even though I know what it says. It is a habit. I hope to one day find that it is gone, or extended, or something. Twenty-four days is very little time to find out what's going on.

And if that isn't bad enough, I have a wedding to prepare for in the next ten days. My cousin Tama is getting married. The sweet woman always calms me down. She has no timer. It's refreshing.

Once again, Iwa pulls me out of my thoughts, this time with a burning gaze. I know what it means. He sees me faking a smile, he feels my nervosity, and he is worried. But we both know that I won't admit it, nor will I answer any questions about it. So he just... stares.

"Let's go," my best friend says suddenly. "I'm hungry."

I get up and follow him. School has just ended, so there's lots of noise. People talking and laughing, birds calling out to each other, the wind blowing through the trees, cars zooming by... Yet it brings me peace.

The man next to me, however, has a huge frown on his face. "Iwa-chan, you'll get wrinkles if you keep that up," I tell him as I poke his forehead.

He glares at me, but doesn't answer. Ah, he used to be such a cute, shy boy when we were kids... He can be so mean now! Which is a shame, because many people would kill to look as handsome as him. Though that stupid frown is ruining it!

"Really, Iwa-chan, what's wrong?" I sigh. "You won't get a girlfriend anytime soon like this."

"What's wrong with you?" He returns my question. "You've been more anxious lately. I can also see that you're losing sleep. But you won't talk to me."

"I'm just nervous for Tama's wedding," I lie. He knows. His gaze is burning a hole in my skull. But he doesn't fight it.

"Right. Just know that you can tell me anything."

"I know, I know~" I assure him. Anything but this. Even if he would believe me, he can't do anything. It would just be a burden that he would want to carry with me. I don't want to do that to him.

Within the next twenty-four days, I will have to find a solution. How to soften the blow, how to extend the timers, anything. If I can, I even want to know how to make them so long, they can never hit zero.

Don't worry, Iwa-chan. I'll save us.

~Some more clues to what it might mean! Your guesses amuse me (not in a mean way), so keep them coming :) Also, this story WILL be different from WTTHZ, because it has to fit, y'know? So yeah. Be prepared, or something. I make no sense. Whatever. -J~