As any normal quiet kid would do. Alexander minded his own business in his classroom. He was quite content with his morning. He had his headphones in, and he had one of his favorite novels opened up on his phone to read, everything was great. Or so he thought.
Something soft, yet pokey, hit the side of his head, ruining the calm that he has set himself into. He glances down at the white ball of crumpled paper that landed on his desk with a blank look, before ignoring it and going back to reading. The crumpled paper ball gets thrown at him almost every day, so he has become desensitized to it hitting him. He has gotten so used to it that he has just stopped caring about what's gonna happen next.
Unsurprisingly, someone roughly grabs his shoulder, turning him around in his seat and forcefully making him look at an ugly scrunched-up face, It was so bad that he had to hold back from barfing onto the guy, again.
The ugly red-haired guy starts shouting nonsense, but Alexander can't hear him because he has his headphones in. It was quite amusing to watch the guy yell at you and try to tell you something but you just sitting there with your headphones in, waiting for them to notice.
The guy continues yelling and spitting which overly disgusts the MC but he doesn't do anything but look away from the guy, deciding that looking at his face has proven that he is at his limit of how nauseous he can get.
The guy gets angry at him and starts shoving him which in the process makes his headphones fall out. Making him internally cringe at how high-pitched the guy is.
"AY, Are you even listening to me!?"
"...."
"Hey! I'm talking to you so you better answer or you're getting a broken nose again!" The guy spoke again, having a very angry and threatening aura surrounding him, but in all honesty, Alexander didn't really care, he guessed that he didn't want another broken nose just after he finally healed the last one he only recently got, so he decided to answer him.
"...Could you repeat that?"
The guy looked confused before schooling it with an angry expression,
"HUH!? So you weren't listening to me then!"
"...." Alexander shook his head.
The ugly guy shakes in anger before smirking, "Fine, I'll spell it out for you elementary schooler, You, Hurt, My, Girlfriend."
The guy looked smug, but Alexander only looked confused and blank. He had no idea who or what he was talking about. He didn't even know this guy could get a girlfriend, let alone any friends. Alexander could only stare at the guy with a blank expression, making the person in front of him even angrier, if he hadn't gotten angry already.
"Do you want to die!?" He spoke loudly, and everyone around who was watching the whole TV drama go down was gasping and whispering to each other in amusement.
He hated this class. You know what, matter of fact, he has just the thing. Alexander turns his eyes towards his bag that is sitting right beside him and contemplates how he can get it out without them noticing he pulled it out.
But sadly, that doesn't seem to have done much because he was forcefully lifted out of his seat and thrown to the ground harshly. of course, he had to get thrown around today. Alexander wanted to sigh but wasn't able to as he was picked up yet again and shoved into the wooden cabinet door.
Everyone watching was laughing and gasping and cheering the guy on, and it made Alexander annoyed. Gosh, if he was just close enough to get to his backpack, everyone's lives would be over.
Alexander felt a hand grab the back of his head, clutching a fist full of hair painfully. 'Oh god not again', Alexander's head was brought back and was roughly plunged forward and into the small lockers that were lined up across the back wall of the classroom. He felt excruciating pain and his vision went white.
Sadly, his vision comes back and he finds out that he wasn't even out for a minute because he was thrown to the ground, stepped on, and kicked in the stomach which will surely leave bruises, again.
As he was getting angrily hit and kicked at, he heard people laughing and mocking his grunts or just mocking him entirely. He felt angry, but sadly, he couldn't quench the thirst of bubbling revenge that soured through him when his backpack was too far away from him.
He sighed internally and continued to take the hits he was given until one of those kicks was aimed at his face, which inevitably knocked him out, thankfully.
Once he painfully woke up, he had to unsurprisingly steady himself on the small lockers and agonizingly gather his belongings before limping out of the school and towards his home.
Once he made it into his safe, lonely, home, he dropped all of his stuff on the ground and went up to his room, his domain where he could cry and not be judged and where he could talk to himself without being told to shut up. His room was like his own personal hiding spot to go to and get away from everything.
Once he made it into his room, he immediately flopped onto his bed and cuddled himself up into the covers. He felt overly exhausted, and he knew exactly why, and it wasn't a good thing. Having gotten comfortable, he immediately started dozing off which he didn't quite notice.
He jolted at hearing a familiar ringtone and quickly flinched right after having moved the wrong way with his sore and beat-up body. He slowly lifted himself, careful to not jostle anything else, and picked up the phone.
"Alex! Are you alright? I didn't hear from you at the time you usually call, so I was wondering if you were alright?"
At hearing his older brother's voice, his lips trembled and his hands shook. He calmed himself enough to speak, but it seemed he wasn't fast enough because his brother soon cut him off.
"I-"
"Nvm! I'm coming over! You stay right there!"
*Click*
Alexander stared at his phone with a stunned face before smiling with a hint of a frown. He felt slight melancholy {Feeling sad and pensive}. He remembered when his brother used to always speak to him in that voice. A voice that gave him calm and a rush of warm air. He always felt better whenever he spoke to him in that voice, one of soothingness and just pure kindness behind it. It was sweet and brought up memories of when he was still living with his parents, he used to get sick easily, so he was usually bedridden. But, whenever he was, his brother was always right by his side, ready to take care of his every need, and, he always used that voice he reserved only for him.
Having memories wash up, he smiled, but it was sad. He, in the end, was the one who left—forcefully kicked out of his parents' house which housed his older brother. His brother was forced to stay there, as he wasn't even of adult age yet, and yet, he was the one kicked out, the one who was barely even 16 at the time. He felt anger, but, despite his efforts, he couldn't do anything about it. And the people who 'tried' to help, only made the situation worse.
Alexander clenched his fists tightly around his covers. Anger clearly being showcased in his hands, but it did not show on his expressionless face. He hated his parents with a burning passion because he had a hunch that they were the reason. That they were always the reason...
He was so lost in his thoughts that he never noticed the figure that walked into his room and sat down right beside him, or how he called his name in a soothing voice that gave him very pleasant memories.
"Alexander..?"
Once his name was said once again, he was finally able to leave his thoughts. With an expressionless gaze but soft and fond eyes, he looked at his older brother, seeing changes in his appearance. His light brown hair, now dyed black, was curled in certain areas and his eyes had that tired look you would get after continuously dealing with things you wish you could have changed, and his lips were upturned into a soft smile, showcasing a few wrinkles one should not be getting at his age.
"Alexander, are you alright?"
Alexander merely nodded his head, but he knew it wasn't true. He lied, and his brother could tell he lied, because of the slowly downturned smile he now sported. He loathed ruining his brothers' mood with his own problems, and whenever he tried to hide it, his brother always seemed to know when he was lying. It's like he knew everything about him, even the parts he had yet to find out himself.
His older brother stared at him with eyes that held many emotions he couldn't figure out. He always tried to figure him out, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't. It was like he had stuff to hide from him, things he didn't want him to see. A side of him, that was meant to be locked away and never to be released again.
He was slightly stunned at the feeling of arms tightly wrapped around his small body. The warmth of the arms that held him, and the warmth he felt on his head brought so many memories back, that he wanted to cry right then and there because of all the overwhelming emotions he felt from them. And, that's what he did.
He trembled and wrapped his shaking arms and hands around his brother's back and he snuggled into his chest. He felt his brother tighten his hold on him, but he couldn't do anything but cry silently while gasping out hot air. He couldn't do anything but cry.
After a moment of him being soothed by his brother and being held in a warm hug, it all eventually had to end.
"Alexander, I'm sorry, but I have to leave now before...you know..."
His older brother said it in a sad tone, but despite that, he knew that he had to let him leave. If he didn't then his parents would come looking for him and the last time they did, they hurt him enough to almost put him in the hospital...almost.
After taking a few breaths and breathing in the comforting scent his older brother gave off, he reluctantly let go of him. His eyes were sporting red corners and his lips trembled slightly.
His older brother looked at him with sad and guilty eyes before running his fingers through his little brother's hair. Alex relaxed at the soothing gesture and instantly missed the intimate contact when his brother took his hand away and quickly left.
He stared at the door his brother left behind with a sad gaze before he quickly shook his head and rid himself of unnecessary thoughts. He plugged in his phone, turned off his lights, and quickly plunged himself into horrid nightmares.
The next day, after doing nothing but being depressed, he was a little happy to be getting dressed into comfortable clothes and heading out. Today was Saturday, the day the new anime movie comes out in theaters which he is super excited about. The smile he adorned never once fell away as he got ready and finally left the house around 8.
The movie he would be watching made him feel giddy with excitement curiosity and anticipation because he wouldn't know what would happen in the anime or what would happen to the characters. It made him nervous and anxious because his mind brought up way too many possible routes the characters could possibly take in the movie, especially when he watched the trailer.
He wonders what will happen to the fire guy. 'He totally didn't forget the guy's name'. After walking for a while, he made it to the theater, and thankfully, since he bought his ticket in advance and online, he was let in quite easily. He bought some snacks and went to his coordinated seat.Â
After a while, everyone was in and the movie started.
After finishing the movie and crying a bit because of what happened to Rengoku, the fire guy that was previously mentioned, he slipped out of the crowd, threw his trash away, and started to make his journey home.
After a few minutes, he started to feel an eery chill even though it was close to being summer. He looked around the deserted paths and streets. Upon seeing no one in sight, he breathed out a sigh before resuming his walk.
*Tap*
Suddenly, he heard a tap behind him which was followed with more taps. He felt the eery chill in the air harden and become denser. His heart raced and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. Feeling like he was in danger, he quickly sped up.
But that seemed to only worsen the tapping, which quickly turned into heavy footsteps. He breathed out quickly before taking a risk. He turned around and expected to be met with a person wearing all black, but he wasn't expecting this.
There was nothing. There was no human or an animal that could be caught with his eyes. Just pure nothingness. His beating heart only raced quicker, because, despite the movies he had watched, it was better to run now while he still could. And that's exactly what he did. He ran. He swerved through alleys to try and lose whatever was following him. It felt like forever when he had deemed it safe to go home.
Panting, he closed his door and locked it. He continued to do the same thing to the windows and the other doors. Once he had deemed everything locked, he shut off any light and grabbed a knife.
He hid under the compartment under the stairs, It was huge enough that it could fit two people and hidden enough that it wouldn't be seen really easily, so he felt just fine. Once he had settled himself, he heard his front door open. He knew he locked it because it was the first one he locked, so whoever it could be seemed to have used the old method. Picklocking a lock. A classic.
Alexander felt annoyed that the guy knew how to pick a lock, but he didn't dwell on it any longer because the heavy footsteps resounded in every inch of the house. He heard things being opened and rummaged through.
Soon enough, the guy got to the stairs. He felt his heart quicken as the footsteps seemed to have stopped in front of the secret compartment he was in. He heard a faint creak as if indicating the guy shifting his weight or moving. But his legs stood still. After a long while of breathing heavily and feeling nauseous and dizzy, the guy suddenly left and went upstairs, as indicated by the heavy footfalls on the top floor.
He waited a minute or two before taking the risk of leaving the compartment to leave the house. He needed to leave. He couldn't use his phone because it wouldn't get any signal at all before suddenly shutting down as if it died. He tried turning it back on but it only showed a white screen that did nothing for him.
After quietly coming out of the compartment, he closed it to make it look less suspicious that someone might have been in there before quietly tip-toeing to the front door. He tried opening it, but it for some reason, didn't budge whatsoever. It was confusing because his door never used to do this.
Finding that it was completely useless to try pulling the door again, he went for one of the windows in the kitchen but to his dismay, those ones wouldn't open either. He quietly groaned in frustration and anxiousness, because he somehow felt like he was being watched, but whenever he turned around to look, no one was there.
He felt scared. Frightened even. He hurriedly tried opening the back door, but that one wouldn't budge either. He felt his breath quicken and his heart beat wildly. He felt dizzy and anxiety swelled like a mountain inside him. He felt overwhelmed with the sense of fear that he couldn't do anything but hide next to a cabinet and clutch his chest in pain. The pain that is caused by feeling scared. Cold sweat dripped down his back uncomfortably, and his hands shook that if he ever were to hold a glass he would inevitably make it fall out of his hands.Â
He was pretty sure he could barely feel anything in his hands. And, it was at that moment of trying to reign himself back in, that he finally noticed the black boots that stood in front of him.
Stunned, he looked up and was met with grey eyes. Ones he knows very well and could spot the details of, no matter how far away. He felt disbelief and betrayal. He followed the eyes that crouched down in front of him at eye level. He could do nothing but stare at the eyes that held so much love for him and kindness that it was laughable because of those same eyes. They stared back at him with a cold and disgusted gaze, but he also felt like there was something else behind those grey orbs.
But suddenly, a hand gripped his throat harshly making him cough and gasp. He struggled as he was lifted off the floor and onto the tips of his shoes. He tried to mutter out his brother's name, but the hand only gripped harder making him struggle and grip his wrists. His mind was blurring and it hurt. Black dots spotted his vision.
And just before everything went black, he could have sworn there were two other people there with him, but seeing that he couldn't think let alone see or breathe, he soon passed out in the tight grip that held him.
...