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⠀⠀Yuichiro laid eyes closed on his stone-hard mattress, blanket sprawled out under his body. Sweat drenched his tee shirt, tiny droplets trickling down his neck and to the clothing creating a darker spot where it had soaked into. The window was open; he was hotter than the depths of Hell and he barely had any money to keep the air conditioning to his advantage. He huffed out a few times heavily, tongue hanging out as his desire for a cold glass of water drifted amongst his mind.
⠀⠀Summer was slowly coming and the dark-haired male was more than ready for it, but now that he's going to have to go through it like this— he now has different thoughts. He'd have to get a job sooner or later just so he could pay off the whole apartment, and maybe get a second or third one, too, for the extra things he needed. A sigh left Yuichiro's lips. He was holding back the tears.
⠀⠀Yuichiro knows that Shinoa and Yoichi would be the first to offer assistance at collecting money for him, but he didn't want any of that. Pity, that's what they all felt toward him, and he hated it with a burning passion. "To Hell with that," he growled beneath his own breath to no one in particular. He vowed to himself that he could; would do it all independently without the others.
⠀⠀Suddenly, his phone flashed twice with a loud tweet, indicating he had received a message. Yuichiro grunted, knowing by heart what and who it was, but continued to open up the device and read whatever was typed for him.
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Shinoa, 10:38 a.m
Good morning, Yuu-san!
Are you doing okay? If you want, we can pick some food up for you from your favorite restaurant. We can get you some curry and maybe shortcake! XOXO
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⠀⠀At that moment, his stomach began to growl, howling for the imaginary plate of curry and shortcake that popped up inside his head. Yuichiro gulped down the urge to agree, instead hissing at the screen before shutting the phone off. "Shinoa's not your mother, so she shouldn't be acting like her. No one can be like mother." He told himself in a whisper, plopping back upon the bed with a grunt, laying his arm over his forehead at an attempt to block out the blinding rays of sunshine that invited its way into his room.
⠀⠀Yuichiro knew that all Shinoa was trying to do was help the poor child that was himself, but he couldn't bring himself to be thankful or appreciative toward any of the things. It felt as if they were telling him, unintentionally and indirectly, that he was weak. He clenched the sheets beneath him tightly at the word, gritting his teeth whilst holding back the desire to scream.
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Yoichi, 10:48 a.m
Morning, Yuu-kun. Do you need some company? Kimizuki and I could come over and play some video games or go out to eat or something. We'll bring over some tea and fruit for you, too!
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⠀⠀The raven didn't know why he kept on checking whatever they had to say; it was not like he cared. He could care less. But at the same time, Yuichiro knew he needed the things they were offering him— food, company, maybe even a little money, and definitely some advice. He couldn't do it all on his own and he knew it like the back of his hand. What job was the best for him? Would it be good for his schedule with his school hours and work hours? Could he do two jobs and still have time for other things?
⠀⠀God, he didn't know, and just from all the thinking; he couldn't breathe.
⠀⠀Yuichiro's life depended on his actions then and there and without the assistance from his friends, he wouldn't know where to go. His mind, his life, his heart was all tangled up like a stand of yarn that would. He was stuck amongst a maze that he'd never find his way out from, walls as tall as the eye can(not) see blocked out the sunlight— he was met with darkness, alone and fearful.
⠀⠀As much as Yuichiro hated being weak and small from the others, he was frightened. He couldn't help but feel that way. In the path that he was in— he was alone no matter which way he looked; his friends would not be with him every step of the way.
⠀⠀Lips quivering, he brought his knees up to meet in the crook of his chin, teeth gritting tightly-impacted together as he fought the urge to sob. He was fighting a battle alone. "Momma," The fragile call from the raven spoke out quietly, voice cracking as his arm outstretched toward the ceiling of his room as if reaching out for the arms of a seraph. "Why did you leave me alone here? Why are you not here for me when I need it the most? I'm so scared..."
⠀⠀Then the tears came. "So... scared..."
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⠀⠀Monday came by quicker than Yuichiro thought possible, eyes blinking up lifeless at the filthy, crusty white walls in front of his very sight. He grunted in disgust. He was slowly growing resentment for the everyday-sight he's been waking up to, but there wasn't much he could do, and so he shook off the crawling irritation that caught near his neck and climbed out of bed. The dark-haired male got ready for another average day of school.
⠀⠀Yuichiro did the usual; patting uselessly at his raging bed head, brushed his teeth, changed into his rather unpleasant excuse of a uniform... etcetera, etcetera. But one of the other things he did ( one of the things he didn't do everyday, but most of the days ) was take a reluctant glance at the cabinet stuck on the wall. Mountains of bottles were what laid behind that very door, some other things as well, but he wouldn't mention it.
⠀⠀The raven knew that what he thought at that moment was wrong; an extremely stupid thing to do, and so he ignored the nagging feeling and moved on.
⠀⠀Having no desire to eat whatever Yoichi or Shinoa decided to drop by for him and left the apartment complex without a single thought.
⠀⠀The skies are gorgeous as always, the raven thought to himself each and every day. He would let his mind clear as the cool breeze engulf him whole, maybe even letting a smile climb onto his lips in mere content. Colors of all types; red, orange, blue, violet painted the ocean of clouds above him, and all Yuichiro would do was stare— stare just so he could witness it all for himself and admire it for as long as he could.
⠀⠀Yuichiro envied the way the skies seemed to look more beautiful than he did, and he wished he could look like the dawn that rose amongst him. Not quite, though, he knew he'd never compare to how the sky was.
⠀⠀And in an instant, he was crushed.
⠀⠀Reality smacked him in the face quite harder than he thought possible. Sighing in pure defeat, he shook his head free of the idiotic thoughts and paced forward into the building of his school, knocking into the other students carelessly and plunging into his desk. Yuichiro threw his head back with an enormous 'oof' and shut his eyes. He knew that soon enough, his friends would be arriving soon and he'd be bombarded with the words and scolding the spoke of.
⠀⠀Suddenly, as the bell echoed amongst the school sounded, a loud clashing came from outside of the classroom door that caught the attention of every student. Two voices; one hollering for the other to stop, the other laughing and refusing with a cheerful tone. It took a few minutes before the people that owned the voices appeared inside the classroom, both stumbling as if they'd own two left feet.
⠀⠀Yuichiro had no time to avoid what was coming, watching as a body slammed into him with a force so strong he choked on his own saliva. "The Hell?" He muttered with gritted teeth, jaws clenching as his chest became suppressed by another weight. Viridescent irises appeared from behind his eyelids, nose scrunching up as he felt the irritation building up inside him. A blond male was sprawled upon him, groaning in what looked like pain from the fall. His head laid barely on the further edge of his shoulders, hands grasping at his arms, and his knees upon his legs— the position they were stuck in was more than just embarrassing.
⠀⠀The blond breathed heavily, not having any intention to move off of the other dark-haired boy whom was, too, dying of air. In front of Yuichiro and the stranger upon him stood another boy a little taller than he was, cheeks formed upwards in a smug smile along with a laugh escaping and erupting from his throat. He pointed his finger at the two, not resisting to pull out his phone to snap a quick picture of the two. Yuichiro wasn't at all happy about any of what was going on.
⠀⠀"Hey, hey, you!" Yuichiro growled at the weak body atop of him. He prodded the other's side roughly. "Get off of me, will you? I can't breathe, dumbass! And what the Hell do you think you're doing with that picture you just took, huh!"
⠀⠀The blond grasped tighter upon his arms, pushing his head off of him slowly. It took a few seconds before he snarled at his friend, "Ferid, you bastard."
⠀⠀"Oh, Mika, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to land on someone in that position! I didn't even shove you that hard." Ferid defended himself, though anyone with eyes could tell he was enjoying what he had done.
⠀⠀Mikaela hissed in pain as he tried to get up and off of Yuichiro, letting his legs and knees ache from the impact— anything to end the humiliation that was he. Sighing in what looked like an attempt at calming his raging flustered-self, the blond cracked the fake at smile to his ability in hopes to make the atmosphere tension soften. "I'm really sorry about this," he apologized with a chuckle, "that dumbass standing there thought it would be funny if he could shove me into someone." The cerulean-eyed man awkwardly swung his leg over and off of Yuichiro's lap, quite aware of how much more embarrassing it became from where he was ( in the lap of another male's ).
⠀⠀Quickly, as the professor came walking into the room, Mikaela and Ferid hopped their way into their seats as if nothing had happened— nope, not a thing.
⠀⠀Placing the overly large binder upon the desk, Mr. Ichinose, the professor, cleared his throat and plopped himself on the seat, propping his feet up on the wooden table. Yuichiro grunted at the sight of his teacher, whom he knew personally, and rolled his eyes. He wondered how in Hell he got the job of becoming a high school teacher, the careless Guren had no real experience with teenagers ( or children in general ); not to mention he barely taught the class, only resulting in forty-five minutes of sarcastic comments and sickening laziness.
⠀⠀But, nonetheless, the girls only cared for his handsomely looks and entrancing voice.
⠀⠀"Hey, Yuu." Guren's irritated voice intersected through his own thoughts, eyes focused on him in agitation. "Are you listening, you idiot?"
⠀⠀"Yeah, yeah." Yuichiro replied.
⠀⠀The older male let out an airy laugh as if entertained by the raven's lies, but chose to let it slip. "Anyway— you all have this project and it's due by the end of the month when break starts, okay? Don't care how you do it, just do it." Guren huffed as he looked through another pile of papers on his desk. "In partners," he added when his eyes trailed over the exact words printed in bolted letter. With a smirk, a smug one if Yuichiro would say, Guren laughed as he pointed at the rest of the classroom. "Oh, this is gonna be good."
"Partners; Ferid and Crowley."
"Rika and Kagiyama."
"Yuichiro and Mikaela."
"Lacus and Rene."
On and on, Guren began to name out the pairs of partners that would be sharing the final project; and Yuichiro couldn't be any more frustrated with the male, eyes dilating as his lips parted, jaws dropping. He, Yuichiro Amane, was paired up with him for the next month? He sent a glare toward Guren in which he received a wink, hand upon his hip whilst mouthing an overly sarcastic, "You're welcome."
⠀⠀Indefinitely unpleased, Yuichiro rolled his eyes and wasn't surprised when the boy from before came strolling his way up to meet him, a smile plastered upon his pale cheeks tinted in a small blush. Mikaela had on his best fake smile he could create with just the few confidence he held, wanting to not, for once, make things awkward and humiliating for his new partner for the month. And so, the blond shyly waved his fingers with one hand, using the other to scratch the back of his neck nervously. "H-hello again. It's a pleasure to be working with y-you."
⠀⠀"Yeah, whatever you say." Yuichiro said blankly.
⠀⠀The raven honestly wasn't fond of the so-called Mikaela Hyakuya, whom was very known for having many relationship problems and somewhat almost flawless scores on schoolwork. Some could say he was very liked throughout the school, minus the part about breaking hearts every week or two. But now that the cerulean-eyed male was his newly appointed partner ( by no other than the Guren ), he'd have to find some way to befriend him no matter how much of an annoyance he seemed to be.
⠀⠀Yuichiro sighed. A nagging feeling from behind his head caught his attention, and he found himself glancing up to eye the still nervous Mikaela, eyebrows furrowing as he began to stare--- thinking hard for who knows why. He couldn't exactly mark his finger why he felt so oddly about this one person he hasn't met before, but the itching feeling he had never left his mind and it was becoming more and more bizarre. Mikaela felt the stone-like glare he seemed to be getting from the other, his nervousness now being replaced by concern and he crossed his arms, cocking his head to the side. "What? Is there something on my face or...?"
⠀⠀Blinking his eyes away from Mikaela, he shook his head slightly. "No, you just somewhat remind me of someone, that's all."
⠀⠀"Ah," Mikaela purred, dropping the subject. "So, my place later after school?"
⠀⠀Without a reason to really decline the offer since, well, all he does is lay around all day in his sickening and polluted apartment, the dark-haired male nodded with a hum. Mikaela beamed at this, yipping contently to himself. With his shoulders loosening from all the tense that Yuichiro gave him, the blond ruffled Yuichiro's black tresses in a friendly manner whilst beginning to walk away. "See you later then, Yuu-chan!"
⠀⠀He hadn't realized it, but as the blush began to collect slowly upon his cheeks, Yuichiro could feel his chest become warm. His heartbeat pace quickened drastically, breathing getting caught at the new nickname he'd just received. It felt good, Yuichiro thought to himself as he watched his partner meet up with the former tall male. But . . . 'Yuu-chan?', he wondered.
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Hey guys, sorry for the two [three¿] week wait on this useless chapter. . .
I had a lot of studying to do since finals were just around the corner, but now I'm on Christmas Break; yay!
I'll probably be posting a chapter earlier this week to make up for these past few, so keep an eye out ;)
Sorry for how this chapter turned out, I know it's a little weak and seems undone ( at least to me, it does ) and I'll make up for it, promise.
Feel free to comment thoughts and opinions <3
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See you soon,
— Scarlet
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