"Why are you so weird?"
(Y/n) felt rather taken aback by that question. He stared blankly at the girl. She was around twelve and the two sat beside one another in class. "What do you mean?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows. He was just trying to be her friend. Light made it look so easy to be friends with people and there he was, somehow messing it up.
"You're always alone and you stare at people like they're some weird creature you're not sure of" She explained. "Well, maybe you are a weird creature and I'm not always alone" He reasoned. His face burned red with embarrassment as she looked him over with an uncomfortable look. "Really? Then why are you alone right now? Don't you have any friends?" She asked.
"I-I do have a friend!" (Y/n) stood his ground with a frown, "He just doesn't go here, that's all". The girl said nothing else and simply shot him a pitying glance before returning to her group of friends. The rest of the year, people avoided (Y/n) and that same girl would give him strange looks when they were near each other.
That was the last time (Y/n) tried to be someone's friend.
~~~~~
(Y/n) hated being touched. He put on a nice face, apologized when someone bumped into him, and even stamped down the urge to break that arm they just brushed him with. Because polite people did not resort to violence from a single touch and (Y/n) was playing nice.
He walked alongside Light, who somehow turned a blind eye to the people fawning over him. (Y/n) just couldn't. Their gazes felt like slugs trailing across his back and neck and if one more person bumped into him he swore he would—
"Are you free this weekend?" Light's voice cut through (Y/n)'s annoyance and the distracted expression he wore changed into an attentive one as he turned to Light with a hum. "I think so. Mom wants to throw this family dinner thing with my cousins Sunday night but I'm good any other time" he answered.
A small smile crossed Light's features. "In that case, would you be up for a trip to Spaceland Saturday?" He asked. (Y/n) tilted his head. "Spaceland? Haven't been there in forever" (Y/n) mused, "I'm down".
"Good. Then why don't we meet at the bus stop? Does eleven work?" Light asked. "I would love to!" He chirped.
I hate the bus.
~~~~~
Admittedly (Y/n) might have lost track of time. Saturday morning rolled around and all at once, (Y/n) absolutely hated how his room was laid out and decorated. He then spent that morning making trips to and from the main house, dodging run-ins with his parents, and hauling trash bags full of things he no longer liked (and perhaps the final fragments of destroyed evidence) and tossing it into the trash can.
By the time he got done rearranging his bed and dresser, it was 10:30 and he had some rushing to do. He thew on an outfit he deemed presentable and added a light blue sweater on top just in case Light really thought this was a date. He personally did not care much what the other thought would be the outcome of their trip, but he figured he would look nice anyway.
The last time the two went to Spaceland was for his fourteenth birthday. While (Y/n) himself was not too keen on friends, his mother had invited some of her coworkers who had kids his age, along with Light, of course.
It was around then that he realized Light's feelings for him were more so romantic than anything and (Y/n) ended up kissing a girl from their group just to see his reaction. Her perfume was far too sweet to be enjoyable however the look on Light's face as he tried to hide his jealousy made it worth it.
~~~~~
(Y/n) somehow arrived at the bus stop with a few minutes to spare. He used this time to people watch. A man in a suit barked complaints at the person he was on the phone with as he speed walked past the boy. Two women chatted idly with some sort of sugary, iced something in a clear coffee cup.
Two and a half minutes later, and (Y/n) finally spotted Light. (Y/n) made a mental note to "borrow" the cozy looking jacket his friend was wearing and slapped a childish smile on his face. "Hey, Light!" He called, over exaggerating his wave as he caught the brunette's attention.
Light took his spot beside (Y/n) and retired the smile. "You seem excited" he laughed, "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long".
You did. "Of course not. I just got here anyway" he replied as the bus screeched to a stop beside them, "and looks like we won't be waiting for too long either".
Light followed him on the bus, as well as a few others. Among them was a taller man who took the seat behind them.
Bet he'd be fun to kill. Despite this, (Y/n) would not actually do anything— not this time, at least. Believe it or not, (Y/n) had standards and this man had done nothing to make him think he deserved the death penalty. However, the man's calculating impression mixed with (Y/n)'s lack of violence in the past week left him secretly wishing the man would snap and give him a reason to act. Arsonist, mob boss, hell, I'd take general scumbag at this point. Give me something, man!
Light, as if sensing something caught (Y/n)'s attention, glanced at him with a questioning look. (Y/n) looked back at him with a hum. "Sorry, I'm just a bit excited. We never get to do anything anymore!" He said, excitement evident in his voice. Light's look fell away as the bus lurched forward and began making its way to the next stop. "It has, hasn't it?" Light asked, earning a nod from (Y/n).
Most of the ride was rather mundane. They made a few stops, people got on, people left, and the bus remained full of chatter. The two boys were talking about anything that came to mind. (Y/n) laughed at something Light said, but got a bit distracted when he noticed a certain man step onto the bus. He was a short, rough looking man who lingered by the door and seemed to study every person on the bus. (Y/n) seemed to be one of the few to notice, aside from the man behind them ((Y/n) made sure to make a mental note of that little tidbit). "What is it?" Light asked, giving a questioning look at (Y/n)'s sudden silence.
Before the (h/c)ette could answer, the man pulled out a gun and aimed it at the bus driver's head. He yelled something at the passengers, but (Y/n) tuned it out. He was already zeroed in on the man, staring at him in the same fashion a predator would at a newfound prey. But by the time Light looked back over at him, (Y/n) had covered that expression with a startled look. He pulled the brunette closer to him as he stared ahead with wide eyes. Finally! (Y/n) had behaving so well since his last victims and if he killed this man, it could easily be seen as self defense!
He looked up at Light, his hands shaking in what he hoped the other boy would read as fear instead of the sheer excitement he was actually feeling. Light pulled him closer to his body. He held a small piece of paper out for (Y/n) to read.
'(Y/n), don't be scared.
As soon as he turns around, I'll grab
the gun from his hands'
(Y/n) turned that wide eyed stare to the brunette as he read that. Was Light seriously going to try and fight the man? Light? The book smart twig? He had to be joking. As it turned out, any opinion (Y/n) had was shared with the man behind them as well. "Don't be stupid" the man whispered, grabbing both of their attention, "That's too risky. If it comes to that, I'll take care of it".
(Y/n)'s first thought was that the man was just as full of shit as Light was, but at a second glance, the man was far calmer than even (Y/n) himself in the situation (admittedly his inability to remain calm stemmed from something far darker than the rest of the passengers). Perhaps he actually knew what he was doing? (Y/n) was a bit too preoccupied staring blankly at the black haired man to listen to what they were talking about.
That predatory gaze snapped back to the armed man as he yelled at an elderly couple. (Y/n) knew the moment the man turned his back on him that it was his time to strike. All he had to do was get past Light and--
(Y/n) felt like the world was moving in slow motion as he watched Light lean down to grab a piece of paper he had dropped. The armed man unfortunately saw it too. With a lot more force than he intended, (Y/n) grabbed Light's shoulder and yanked him back out of the isle. "Light--" (Y/n)'s whisper was cut off by a gun pointed at the two of them.
"What the hell is that?!" The bus jacker barked. Shit... "Smartass! You better listen to your little boyfriend" He said motioning towards (Y/n) with his gun as he picked up the paper. (Y/n) once again found himself zeroed in on the man, but before he could move even an inch, Light grabbed hold of his hand and pulled it into his lap. (Y/n) looked over at Light.
Did he... know something? This whole situation felt oddly staged, but (Y/n) was not expecting the other boy to stop his actions. A part of him wanted to rip his hand out of Light's grip. How dare he stop him? Despite his thoughts diving into violence, (Y/n) held himself together and simply settled back into his seat.
"Who the hell are you?!" The armed man barked, holding up his gun. (Y/n) glanced behind him, but there was no one there. He watched as this man shouted at the back of the bus, gun pointed to nothing. It's a shame that some people lose their minds so easily. (Y/n) could not help but wonder exactly what the other man was seeing. He hoped that when he got his hands on the man that he would look that scared of him.
Just like everyone else, (Y/n) too ducked his head when the black haired man behind him shouted for people to. He jumped and wrapped himself around Light's arm, holding the other boy close as gunshots rang through the bus. The noise was loud and hurt (Y/n)'s ears, but eventually stopped when the man ran out of bullets.
(Y/n) kept his eyes shut even as the bus came to a screeching halt. He held onto Light even as the sound of the bus doors opening broke through the tense silence. He only opened his eyes when he heard the man leave and had turned his head to see what was happening when Light brought his head to his chest.
Another crash echoed through the world around the two as (Y/n) allowed himself to be held against Light. "W-what happened? Are we okay?!" He asked in a panicked and hushed voice. "Yeah, I think we're okay" Was Light's answer and the two slowly got off the bus.
Despite Light's best efforts, (Y/n) still caught a glimpse of the bloodied corpse of the armed man. He frowned as the brunette pulled him closer.
So.... I guess we're not going to Spaceland, huh?