(COMPLETED) [His Stolen Innocence] (Shu x Lui)

Part 3

I remember the days after his death. They were the hardest to deal with. I hated every second of them. The abuse we received was astronomical. It's not like I asked this to happen. I didn't want this. But no one seemed to understand that. No one wanted to accept that I did the best I could to keep him alive. I didn't know any better. I did all I could. But they needed to pin the blame on someone, and we were all prime targets because of that little stunt he pulled. And so I continued to suffer for something that was once again out of my control. I've learned to accept that as best I can. But it's still hard.

'Did you like it when you heard him screaming out in pain? I bet the thought of it was driving him insane.' The words rang around my head, and I just sat in my room, silent, staring at the wall. We did this to him. We killed him. And I would give anything to go back and change his fate. One of the worst crimes that we could commit. And for what? Just for our own selfish benefit. Soon, he started thinking 'do I even deserve to live?' cause there's no way he could forgive. He was so innocent, until that event. We made an indent on his present.

"Hey, Shu, do you think soulmates exist?" Valt asked, and I glanced at him. He was cleaning Valtryek and hadn't bothered to even look in my direction.

"I don't know. I've never really thought about it." I replied, laying back on my bed to give it some thought. "Not really. Someone you're fated to be with sounds ridiculous."

"You think?" His response piqued my interest, and I looked over at him. He had always been one to ask weird questions and half-assed responses, especially when he wasn't paying full attention to what was going on. But you could tell when he thought differently. When he had something he wanted to input that was out of character for him. It was strange. But he had always been a strange one, hadn't he?

"Do you think different?" I've never really had a conversation like this with him. He was one to keep thoughts like these to himself for the most part, if he ever actually thought like this.

"Yes and no. It's hard to explain. I think some people are fated to be together. They're just built for one another. But, at the same time, the concept of soulmates seems crazy." He explained, putting Valtryek on my desk and smiling at me. "But what do I know?"

"Where did this come from?" I asked. This wasn't normal for him. There was some underlying problem that he was trying to find a solution for without directly telling me what the problem was. It was strange.

"I thought you two were built for one another, y'know? You had such a good dynamic, and when he died one thing that crossed my mind was if you were soulmates, what would happen to you now?" His eyes turned to me, and he seemed genuinely upset by the thought. "Would you just not have a soulmate or would you be assigned a new one?"

I smiled at him, appreciating his concern. "You worry about your own soulmate and problems and I'll handle mine. I always work things out in the end, remember."

He nodded as my door swung open. Lui just stood in the doorway, an annoyed look on is face, holding a packet of something or other. "Why is half your food out of date and the other half fucking pasta?"

I shrugged "I eat out a lot, and pasta is great."

"Define 'eat out', Shu." He narrowed his eyes at me, like I was a small child up to no good. I'm not that bad, geez.

"I'm at his house most days." I looked at Valt, who only nodded in agreement. His mum has been keeping a careful eye on me. She makes it hard to be as destructive as I was. She reminds me that I'm human and need to be taken care of accordingly.

"Alright. I'll let you off the hook." He said, going to walk out before stopping and glancing back at us. "And about that soulmate crap, I think it's crazy. Fate can't decide who you're supposed to love. The choice is yours and yours alone."

He walked away, and I couldn't help but give a small laugh. Of course he would think that. He always struck me as the kind of guy who believed in making his own future rather than letting other factors control it. It was a commendable way to live. It was very much like him, in that sense. It was such an uncanny resemblance. Maybe the world was trying to tell me something. Maybe we were meant to be together.

"Hey, Valt?" I glanced at my best friend, who hummed in response. "You're good at handling your emotions. Can you help with me with mine?"