It was a cold, dark Friday night. A bit cliche, but it was still an accurate description. Chinatsu Yoshikawa was in the living room of her small apartment, watching the news on TV. Well, listening to it, anyway; it was hard to see with her black eye.
"And in other news, police say that methamphetamine is flooding into the city at an alarming rate. Crime has increased in the past few months, and they are advising people to stay inside at night, with their doors locked."
Chinatsu laughed. "Months. More like since last fuckin' year." She opened a bottle of vodka and drank some of it. "Whole city's gone to shit."
Her older sister, Tomoko, walked in through the front door. She had just finished her shift at her job as a cashier at the local grocery store. "I got a call from your school today. Apparently, you got in a fight. Again."
"Yeah, so what?"
"China, how many times have I told you to stay out of trouble?"
"She started it."
"I don't care who started it! You've already been suspended twice, and the principal said if you get into another fight, you'll be expelled!"
"Good, I fuckin' hate school."
"Goddammit, China! I work ten hours a day, I can't spend every minute worrying about you!"
"Then don't! You're not my mother, Tomoko!"
"WELL, I'M THE CLOSEST THING YOU HAVE!"
Both girls became silent. Tomoko sighed. "You know what, I can't do this tonight. I'm going to bed."
"Whatever."
About an hour after Tomoko fell asleep, Chinatsu put on her black hoodie and went outside. She thought about bringing her gun, but then decided she wouldn't need it. She put her hands in her pockets and walked to the train tracks downtown. Chinatsu noticed a blonde girl, maybe a year older than her, standing a few feet away from her.
"Hey."
The girl seemed surprised. "O-oh, um, hi."
"Pretty dark out tonight, huh?"
"Y-yeah, I guess. S-so, um, w-what are you doing out here so late?"
"First of all, you don't have to be so nervous."
"Sorry."
"And second of all, I'm here for the same reason you probably are. I'm gonna jump on the tracks and end up as roadkill. Well, track-kill."
"Oh. Yeah, that's why I'm here, too."
"Before we both die, you mind tellin' me why you're killin' yourself?"
"Well, I've been pretty depressed for the past few...well, years. Most of my life, really. See, I've always kinda awkward socially, and I've never had a lot of friends. Or any friends. I get bullied a lot. But last month, I met this girl, Yui."
"Yui Funami?"
"Yeah. Did you know her?"
"A little. We hung out a few times. Nice girl."
"Really nice. She always knew how to make me smile. Anyway, one night, we were taking a walk together, and...well, you probably know what happened next. It was all over the news."
"Yeah, the hit-and-run. I heard about it. Drunk bastard was driving an eighteen-wheeler, right?"
"He was. I don't think the police ever caught him, either. After Yui died, the bullying got worse, a-and..." She started to cry. "I just can't take it anymore."
"Sorry to hear that."
"It's fine. So why are you killing yourself?"
"Well, a year ago, my parents got killed in a carjacking by some junkie. I think he got stabbed in prison and died. After that, my older sister had to start lookin' after me. She got a shitty job just to feed both of us, and I honestly don't know if she can even pay the rent for this month. And I'm not exactly the best sister in the world. I'm just barely passin' eighth grade, and I'm always gettin' into fights. Just today, some rich cunt was pickin' on this kid, and...well, it kinda escalated from there. If I'm dead, my sister has one less thing to worry about."
"But if she cares about you enough to worry about you, won't she be devastated when she learns you're dead?"
"...I guess I never thought about that. What about your family? Won't they miss you?"
"I didn't think about that, either."
"So, we can't keep livin' this way...but we also can't kill ourselves. Damn." Chinatsu paused. "Alright, I have an idea. For lack of a better term, you and me are both alone. Neither of us have any friends. Maybe we can be alone...together? I'll look out for you, and you look out for me."
"You mean like a relationship?"
"Sure, if you wanna call it that."
"That...does sound nice."
"Then it's settled. From this moment on, we're now girlfriends."
"We don't even know each others names."
"Well, that's easy to fix. I'm Chinatsu Yoshikawa. Some call me 'China'. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Kyouko Toshinou. Some call me...well, 'Kyouko'. It was nice meeting you, too."
A train ran past the two girls.
"I guess we missed our stop."
Kyouko laughed. "Thanks, I needed that."
"Want me to walk you home?"
"I'd like that."
Half an hour later, Chinatsu finally got home. Tomoko was in the living room waiting for her.
"CHINA! I woke up and you weren't here! Where were you?! I was worried sick-"
Chinatsu hugged Tomoko. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything."
"It's okay, China. I love you."
"I love you, too."
Note: Questions and reviews are always appreciated!~