PLEASE DON'T HURT ME. Anyway... I'm really sorry! It's been a while since I updated and yeah... School, you know? Anyway... I hope I can get back on track with these stories.

WARNINGS: Angst. :D Eventual RusAme

Disclaimer: blah blah blah

It happened in the dark. The tears, the pain. An ego that never really existed was shattered in the black, as a young boy cried himself to sleep. They never realize that they can either make or break a person. In this case, a young boy was broken, perhaps beyond repair. A family, a place to belong, all he ever wanted, and all that he thought he had. Three words, four syllables, paralyzing him, licking at the edges and always pushed away.

"Nobody likes you."

The words were never said, never spoken aloud by anyone, but they existed. He had always been a more vulnerable boy than he'd like to lead on. His little brother Matthew was the one he had to look out for, protect. He was the Hero, and Heroes couldn't cry or feel. They had to be strong, and so he was. But deep down, behind all the smiles, behind all the laughter, there was pain and there was fear.

"Nobody likes you."

There was nothing wrong with his life. He had two fathers, but that never really bothered him. He was even openly gay in a small southern town. But that didn't matter. He had a caring brother and caring fathers and caring uncles and caring friends. But they didn't matter when it came to it. Deep down, he felt unloved. Like every thing they said that held love, was a fake sentiment. And…

"Nobody likes you."

It was in their exasperated smiles, the annoyed frowns, the sighs of resentment. He always had the creeping feeling that he wasn't wanted. That he didn't belong. That… nobody liked him. So he tried his damnedest to make them like him. Every little thing, trying out for football when he really loved science, joining the Theater when he found he couldn't play, smiling despite the pain day in and day out, laughing at jokes when no one else would, it was all for them. Not for him. For a small time, he was mister popular, just a little sophomore in drama club and everyone loved him. But then, it all came crashing down.

"Nobody likes you."

He had made a fool of himself. Or so he saw through his perspective. At the time, he hadn't come out of the closet. His brother knew, but his brother knew everything. What was he supposed to say to a pretty girl? She genuinely liked him and all he could do was stare in shock, stuttered protests already falling about. He couldn't like her back, and a Hero never leads a lady on. "I'm sorry. I can't. I'm gay." He walked away, and that was when they shunned him.

"Nobody likes you."

"Alfred's a..."

"…broke her heart."

"...making excuses."

"The jerk…"

"…had to lie to her…"

"…not even really gay…"

He never let it show. The words got to him. The stuck with him. Torturing him, deep down. Words whispered on the edge, tainting him. "Nobody likes you. Nobody likes you. Nobody likes you." Now, on his own and looking for a place in this big wide world, the words have never seemed so potent. They were constantly snapping at him, at the forefront of his mind. He was from a friendly town, and the icy stares he earned from the city-goers were sending him over the edge. He had no brother to comfort him, no friends to laugh the pain away. No family to run to. Alone. In the city. Just a regular, down on his luck college student, looking for a place to be.

"Nobody likes you."

Alone.

Kinda short, but it's just the Prelude~!

Song for this chapter: Mad World by Gary Jules

Tell me watcha think!

~Gilly B.