Small feet hit the pavement, one foot after the other. There's no bounce in these steps taken; they're just barely lifted off the ground so he's not shuffling his feet. He can already hear the nagging voices of adults telling him to lift his feet up more and walk properly. But, non are actually here to tell him to stop, so he doesn't. It's not like he would in the first place.

What does make his feet come to a halt is the sound of a ball being kicked around, followed by the laughter of children. Haizaki lifts his gaze off the ground, now trying to find the source of that annoying sound.

It's not difficult to find, all he has to do is turn his head. He hadn't realized he was passing by the playground as he was trying to drown out the world around him on his way home. But now, his gaze had been captured by this group of kids playing with each other. Playing soccer. Or what seemed like a kiddy version of it.

The kids playing would just kick the ball back and forth. He couldn't tell if they were playing within a certain part of the playground and trying to play by the actual rules or not. Whatever. It's not like he cared for the sport or knew the rules. As for the latter, Haizaki doubts they did to.

And yet, it didn't stop them from wearing smiles on their faces, laughing together, praising each other over this silly game. The sight of it all is foreign to him. While he'd seen it hundreds of times before, it never felt right with him. Maybe it was because he had never been apart of it before, never taken a step into that bright and (too) happy world.

He didn't want to.

Didn't see the point in it.

A small part of him wanted to get a taste of it, but that feeling was always pushed down. It would never be able to surface, he wouldn't allow it. Why get involved with others in the first place? It was a waste of time.

The young boy huffs, head turning away so he can continue his walk back home. Just as he begins to move, he hears-

"Oh no, the ball!"

"I'll get it!"

That manages to catch his attention and he found himself watching a dirty soccer ball bouncing and rolling towards him. He stared; eyes glued to it as it inched closer and closer. Never once looking away, even as it came to a stop right beside him.

"Sorry about that!"

Haizaki's gaze is finally lifted off the ball and onto the kid who had come to take the ball back. The boy was his height, wearing slightly dirty clothes. He had short, wavy blue hair and beautiful blue eyes. He's panting, trying to wipe off some sweat before picking up the ball.

The other boy stands straight with the ball in hand. His lips curl upward, offering the gray haired boy a warm smile. The boy's bright eyes were already beginning to sparkle with a curious thought.

"Hey, do you like soccer? You can come play with us if you want to."

"No thanks," Haizaki snaps back instantly.

It causes the blue haired boy's face to fall slightly. How could he be expecting a 'yes' from him when they didn't even know each other?

"But, it's fun."

Haizaki narrows his eyes.

"What's so fun about soccer?"

"Hmm…" The boy goes quiet, eyes going to the ball in hand for a moment. His face scrunches up and Haizaki couldn't believe that he was seriously thinking about this question. "Well, you get to play with your friends. You can do cool moves if you practice really, really hard! And you get to meet new people because of it! And, its just fun to!"

He was left to stare at the boy with his stupidly happy grin on his face. It was easy for him to say that. This boy had friends, enjoyed their company. Meanwhile, he couldn't understand others, didn't have anyone to really call a friend. People didn't bother with him and he didn't bother with people. That's just how things were.

That's just how things should be.

So, why was this kid bothering to reach out to him? Others got annoyed of his responses, lack of them, his snappish comments, harsh looks. He did what he could to get them away. But, this one wasn't leaving. He wasn't sure if this was a good sign or not.

"Hey! What's taking you so long?"

"Hurry! It's almost time to go!"

"Ah, sorry!" The boy turns to apologize to the others who he'd kept waiting. Oh. Right. He'd forgotten about the other kids here. It wasn't just them two here on their own.

"I know we just met," the boy starts as he turns back to face Haizaki, "but if you want to play with us, you can come tomorrow! We'll be here a little earlier and then we can play together! How does that sound?"

Stupid.

Silly.

Annoying.

"Fine, I guess-"

The words leave his mouth before realizing it, but he knows it's too late to try and fight to take that back. Even as he covers his mouth upon realizing that mistake, the other boy's shining smile simply shines brighter.

"Okay! I'll tell the others that you'll join. You can be on my team! I'll see you tomorrow!"

"H-Hey! Wait a sec!"

Haizaki shouts in hopes to get him to stop, to reconsider this sudden agreement. But, there's no stopping the other boy once he shouted another apology to his group of friends. He's already explaining to telling them about their new 'friend' and he doubts the others are as interested in him as that kid is. They give him a wavering, uncertain glance and he instinctively glares back.

Not wanting to stay any longer, he turns and makes himself resume walking home, picking up his pace. Maybe he wouldn't come tomorrow.

~…~

The moment he enters the playground, he heads toward the swings. They're open, free for him to sit on while he waits. He takes the one furthest to the left, an attempt to remain slightly hidden from view as others come and go. Feet dig in and push against the ground to rock him back and forth.

Haizaki lifts his head, eyes scanning the area for any sign of those kids from yesterday. He hates the fact that he's here, waiting fo them while he can barely remember their faces. They seemed blurry, aside from the one that actually spoke to him. His face was clear in his mind, a real surprise to him. Although, he lacked a name. Not like he really cared though.

Small fingers clutch at the metal rings of the chain keeping him up. He lets his head fall back down, looking at the dirt and the marks he had left from forcing himself to swing back and forth.

Maybe those kids weren't coming. Maybe they were only toying with him- lying. They didn't want to meet him. It didn't seem like it. Maybe that blue haired kid was only teasing him and this was all some big dumb joke.

People were dumb.

And he's dumb enough to wait.

He's not sure how long he waits. The sun hadn't gone down too much but he knows that he's been here for a while. Playing on the swing was beginning to become too boring. Being out here wasn't his thing. But being at home wasn't any better.

It might be better than just being out here and simply waiting for nothing. For once, he wanted to go home.

The feeling growing his gut was unpleasant, even managed to leave a nasty taste in his mouth. He had to let go of the chain or else they'd leave a mark on his hand. He wouldn't let himself look hurt, seem hurt by this. He wasn't.

The only thing he could do was force himself to his feet and ignore this heavy feeling in his chest. It's not like he was actually looking forward to this, was he? No. He'd be stupid if he was.

As he begins to trudge out of the playground, he pays no mind to the sound of an ambulance that drives past him. He ignores the crowded street, hates the inconvenience of having to take the long way home. An accident is reported on television later that night, but it's nothing he was concerned about.

a/n: I've been wanting to write this out forever but I've never been happy with the second part of this fic? I keep having to rewrite it but thats all going to be the second chapter. I just wanted this half to be out tho