Lucia stood at the gates, glancing up shyly. It was the first day of high school and he was not excited. Father had been gone for who knows how long and Mother was her usual self; controlling, angry, partially drunk. He had to walk to school as well, which took forever, as well as make him late. /Great./ He thought, shaking his head, /Great first impression. The teachers will /love/ me./
He stepped through the gates into the new school grounds, his eyes darting back and forth nervously, pushing open the doors and was immediately taken by the arm.
"What do you think you're doing, Miss?" the teacher insisted, narrowing her eyes.
"I-I am a-a male.." the boy stuttered, wincing as he tried pulling away from her grasp, "I was.. I was just running late, Miss, I am sorry.." he gives a small bow of his head as the teacher released her grasp on his arm.
"Well, get to class." she scolded, crossing her arms, "And I'd suggest wearing appropriate clothes next time, /Mister/." she exclaimed, gazing down at his attire in distaste.
Lucia nodded, running off down the corridor. Though, instead of heading into his first hour class - algebra - he ran into the bathroom and stormed into a stall, shutting and locking the door. /Just like the first school... And the second school.../ He thought, taking a seat on the toilet and put his head into his hands.
It was easy for him to be mistaken as a female... First off, his Mother wanted a daughter. There was no doubt about that. Which is exactly why his name was Lucia. Everyone laughed at him when he introduced himself, which is why he stopped making friends.
Another extremely visible feature was, well, he was put into a dress. Not something coloured pink or purple, just a plain out dress. It was beautifully white; a corset top laced with silver thread; the sleeves puffed out at the cuffs in similar silver lace; the skirt - thankfully - wasn't extremely puffy. It was closer to his legs than regular girl's dresses. Against his lower back, a huge silver bow was placed.
/One day... One day I won't be put into a dress. One day, I will actually get to be a boy. One day, I will get to be me./ He thought, silent tears spilling down over his cheeks without having realized it.
He heard the bell for second period. /I should head to class./ He thought, sighing and wiped away the tears, heading out of the bathroom. His pinkish-red eyes wided at the sight of so many students. It was true he moved to a larger district, but he didn't know just how large. Not until he saw the number of students rushing about.
For a couple moments, no one seemed to bother him. They chatted with friends, getting in their bags for books, or simply walked to class. Thinking he was in the clear, he hugged his bag closer and began off, but it wasn't long until laughter erupted in the hallway.
"Is that a boy or girl?!" he heard a strong male voice call out through laughter and suddenly, he was surrounded by the students. It was so silent, you could hear a pin drop. He gazes around slowly, his cheeks bright red. As the students erupted with laughter, he quickly pushed through the crowd and stumbled down the hallway blindly, pushing into a room. He leaned against the door to catch his breath, closing his eyes tightly.
"Are you in art?" he heard a voice call softly. He raises his head, looking up to the small group.
"Uh.. Uh, sure." he said slowly, pushing off the door. They all looked up at Lucia, some offering smiles, others remaining silent, "Who are you?"
"I'm William." the black haired replied with a huge grin, standing from the table and stepped towards Lucia, holding out his hand, "Yourself?"
"L-Lucia." he winces, taking his hand slowly and shakes it, swallowing. He takes another look around as the black haired boy - William - took a step back and gestured to the others.
"This is Ronald." he begins, gesturing to the dirty-blonde haired boy sitting the farthest away from him. He was dressed in a simple black suit, his hair brushed back neatly, leaning over a sketch pad. He gave an aura of sophistication. With a nod from Lucia, William moved to the next person, "Eric." the next was placed in the middle of the table, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest, brushing a hand through his light brown messy hair, "And Alan." the darker brown haired boy sat across from Eric, seemingly engaged in a one sided conversation, a wide grin on his face, using hand gestures to emphasize what he talked about, "We're part of the art club." William, himself, seemed to be rather cheerful and out going. He wore simple black trousers and a deep purple button up; he ran a hand through his messy black hair, his circular glasses hanging off the end of his nose, exposing his bright green eyes.
Lucia stared at the group, his eyes still completely wide, shaking slightly, "Pleasure t-to meet you." he gave a small smile - the first one in years - and nodded, making his way into the room. He took a seat on the end, across from William and picked up a pencil as he was handed a sketch book. He taps the end against the paper, blinking and rests his head against his hand. After a few moments, he begins to draw as the others fall silent and follow the action.
"Come on. It's third period." he heard William then felt a hand against his shoulder beginning to shake him. He snapped out of his daze, looking up.
"O-oh.. Okay." he pulls back, setting his pencil down and finally looks down at his works. His cheeks brightened, biting his lip.
"You're really good." William commented, smiling and gazed down at the portrait as well. It was a beautiful black and white drawing of himself- save for the fact the eyes were coloured green, the same as his own.
Lucia covered his face, offering a nervous chuckle, "I-I'm sorry..." he squeaks, looking up finally as he felt a soft pat on his back.
"See ya tomorrow." William smiles, sending a wave afterwards and exits the room. Lucia was alone once more.
Lucia laid on his bed, laughing happily. He not only had one friend, he had four! FOUR! Turning over, he rests his head against his hand and gazed down at the sketchpad he left open on the floor, finishing up what he started earlier that day. William wasn't freaked out by it... There had to be something wrong with him.
Lucia smiles softly, his eyes gazing into the picture's eyes. /William./ He thought with a soft sigh, smiling then blinked, his eyes widening as he sat up, "William." he states out loud. His cheeks brightened, "Maybe Mother will have a girl after all..." he mumbles sarcastically, laying down and closed his eyes. Before he fell asleep, a small smile curled on his lips.
The attacks kept coming. One by one, day after day, but he wasn't alone. The group that had adopted him, he found out, were bullied a bunch as well, but they stuck up for him. He saw, though, that William was there for him most of all.
"Hey, William?" he asks softly, looking up at the dark haired boy.
William looks over, raising an eyebrow and nods, "Yeah?"
Lucia gestured him into the art room, away from the crowd of other students and shifted nervously, "I-I just.. I w-wanted.." he began, closing his eyes, "I l-like you." he whispers, covering his face as a soft blush covering his cheeks.
William smiles, stepping forward, "That's sweet of you.. But.. But I don't like boys." he states sadly, "But hey, don't cover your face." he pulls his hands away, tilting his head and leans in, pressing a kiss to his cheek, "You're beautiful." he steps back, bowing his head and gives a soft grin, "See you later today." he steps out, waving at him.
Lucia stood in his spot, eyes wide and stared at the place William was at. Slowly, he raised a hand to his cheek and smiled softly. /You're beautiful./ The words rolled through his head the rest of the day.
"Hey, hey! Let him go!" William's voice rang out over the courtyard, the desperation and sadness evident in his tone.
Lucia felt his vision go in and out, his voice hoarse from crying out. /Blood./ He thought to himself, gazing down at his arms. The light crimson liquid ran down his arms like the tears down his cheeks, struggling uselessly from the boy's grasps. Several of the boy's that picked on him and the group held him down as their 'leader' raised a hand over his arms, running a blade along along the untainted skin. Crimson droplets formed, leading to streams, which fell off of his arms at his fingertips.
"Lucia!" William's voice cried out, though much closer now. Opening his eyes slowly, he realized he was now in William's arms, far away from the courtyard, "Lucia, stay with me." he whispers, trying desperately to wipe away and bandage the wounds.
"Will." he gives a soft grin, weakly pushing out of his grip, "Hey.. I'll be okay." he whispers, his face lightening up as he stood shakily. As William stood as well, he dashed off and pushed into a bathroom, "I'll be okay." he repeated, his voice cracking as he moved into a stall. He could hear William's cries of detest in the distant as he pulled out a blade from his bag. With William in sight, he ran the blade lengthwise over his throat, falling back as he gasped for breath.
"Lucia." he faintly heard, strong arms gathering him close and pressed into his chest as everything around him faded. And it was black.
And red.
"Grell!" he faintly heard, a strong grip on his arm pulling him away. Snapping out of his daze, he looked up to notice a fire raging on, "You are a complete moron." he heard the familiar monotone voice of his 'boss'.
Looking over, he grinned widely towards the male, "Oh, you think so." he rolled his sour apple eyes, taking off onto the buildings.
William pushes his glasses up, watching the red-headed a moment. He was far enough back from the fire now that it would not bother him... Not for a little anyways.
A flitter in the air caught his attention, reaching out and caught it before it could land, "What?" he mumbles, looking over to photograph. The picture was of two boys- one dark haired with bright green eyes and the other a soft shade of pink with light eyes. At the bottom, three words were scribbled in sloppy handwriting, "Lucia and-" he lets out a soft yelp, bright orange flames flicking at his hands. In the brief moment of weakness, he dropped the picture which was soon consumed by the flames.
With a soft shrug, William moved to follow Grell, closing his book.