There I stood, staring at four marble pillars, with a backpack slung over my shoulder. My motorcycle idled on the street behind me. I fiddled with the clasp on my helmet as I tried to find the right words to say.
All these years, I'd been dragged down by their absence. Looking back at it now, I realize I only took so long to recover because I'd refused to let my friends help me. I never said a word to Goat-face, Yuzu, Karin, or my mother that day. I'd left the graveyard, feeling more at peace with myself than I had in a while. I didn't notice the blue hair waiting for me by my motorcycle until the man under it said my name in a way only he could say it.
"Where ya goin', Strawberry?"
"I'm getting out, Grimm. Being here… It's just not what I'm made for."
"…You weren't gonna tell me… Were you?"
"No."
I'm glad he found me that day. If he hadn't, who knows how I'd have ended up living. His sleeping form was warm at my side, strong arms wrapped around me. I've never felt safer…
"At least let me go with you."
"And why would you wanna do that?"
"Because a certain orange-haired punk once told me to follow the one I love to the end of time, even if they didn't love me back."