~Len's Bacterial Contamination~
~POV of Calne Len~
"Kill yourself."
They think I can't hear them? I can. All too well. In the canteen, in class, after school...everywhere. I know what they're really thinking though...they're scared of me. I can see the plain fear in their eyes. Even the worst kids, like Sakine Meiko and Honne Dell...even them. I don't react, though, even when they think I will. Sure, I could snap at any time...but it's much more fun to see them practically tremble.
"Eww! Quick, someone step on it!" Meiko comments as I pass, causing Dell and a bunch of other kids to burst out laughing. I just carry on walking, flashing Meiko a glance as I go. She actually steps back, but the smirk isn't wiped off her face. Another boy, Kaito Shion, sticks out his foot and I go down, my books scattered around me. The kids start to laugh again, the pure evil sound of it bouncing around my head like beats on a drum. It hurts...it hurts so much! Damn it, why do they keep doing this? What did I ever do to them?
You're different, and they don't like it, a tiny voice in the corner of my mind whispers. Suddenly, there is silence among the kids, and a slight shadow falls over me. I slowly look up, and there's a girl looking back at me, her hand outstretched towards me. I know her. She's Kagamine Rin...actually, come to think of it, she's the only person in this school (including teachers) who doesn't treat me like crap.
"Are you okay?" she says gently. I stare up at her with my good eye, wondering why she doesn't laugh, or sneer, or just walk away, disgusted, frightened. She just kneels in front of me, offering her hand, her soft blue eyes honest and kind. I ignore her, gathering my books up and getting to my feet, slinging my satchel over my shoulder. I step around Rin, and carry on walking down the corridor. As I turn the corner, I hear Meiko's evil little voice.
"Honestly, Rin-chan, why do you even bother with Insect Boy? He's a freak. I'd stay away from him if I were you," she says.
~Time and Location Skip~
After school, I grab my things from my locker and stumble out of the door. Leaning against a tree, I let out a breath. This infection's getting worse...I can feel it. Sense it. Already, my left eye has completely fallen victim to this contamination, this bacterial contamination.
"Look who it is," Meiko purrs from behind me. "Little Calne Len...tell me, Len-kun, how are your family? Oh, wait.." she smirks. "You don't have one. My mistake." My hands ball into fists, my entire body burning. "Poor little Lenny-kun...all alone."
"You don't know...anything about me!" I yell at her, trembling with anger. She doesn't know when to stop, though...silly girl. Although...I have to admit, I expect it even less than she does. Suddenly, she's lying on the floor, a deep gash across one side of her face.
"Meiko-chan!" Kaito gasps, staring at me. Meiko's friends gasp and back away from where I stand. I growl at them, and Kaito grabs up Meiko and runs after the others. Suddenly, a burning sensation ripples through my entire body, and I grip the sides of my head, jaw clenched. It hurts...why does it hurt so damn much? My left eye sizzles and I yell out in agony, but there's no one there to hear me. I look down at my hands, which...well, aren't really hands anymore...they're more like claws, and one still has a smudge of Meiko's blood. In a crazy moment of insanity, I lift the talon to my lips, slowly licking off the blood and savouring the taste. I close my eyes in the satisfaction of tasting fresh blood for a second. When I reopen them, looking around, a movement catches my eye. My talons click menacingly, threateningly, dangerously. Suddenly, my eyes rest on the small figure of Kagamine Rin, watching me with enormous blue eyes. Those eyes...why do they haunt me?
"L-Len...k-kun..." she whispers softly, stepping towards me.
"Stay away," I warn. "I could snap you like a twig at any moment."
"But you won't," she murmurs gently. "You're not a monster, Len-kun."
"You don't know anything!" I yell.
"I know more than you think," Rin whispers. "I know that, behind all this..." She reaches out towards me again, but I slink away, hissing. "I know...on the inside, you're beautiful...you don't want any of this, I know that too...I know all you want is for someone to love you...someone to care."
"You're wrong," I lie fiercely. Of course she's right. Of course that's all I want. Is it too much to ask for? "I'm a freak. I'm different. There's no happy ending, okay? Just leave me alone, Rin. It's not gonna work."
"How do you know?" she asks calmly, gently. Her hand moves towards my cheek, and I resist the urge to slap it away. Instead, I just turn my body away from her.
"Don't touch me," I hiss. "Don't ever touch me."
"But wh-"
"Just go away...or I'll break your neck for you!" I yell fiercely. Rin looks shocked, and rightly so. Cue the cussing, running, screaming, etc...3...2...1...
"I know you don't mean that...but I'll leave...if that's what you really want." Wait, what? I look into her eyes, into those deep blue eyes, for just a second, before she turns and begins to walk away. "I'm sorry for bothering you, Len-kun.." I stare after her as she disappears around the corner. What just happened? I notice the absence of sound around me, the absence of voices, both around me and in my mind. I also notice the absence of pain...instead of burning, sizzling, agonising pain...nothing...just what has this girl done to me?
~Time Skip: The Next Day~
All that morning, I catch Rin watching me, smiling when our eyes meet. Just what is her problem? At lunch, when I'm tripped up yet again, she's there once again to help me up. I push past her like yesterday, but today, there's less will, less energy behind it...there's two explanations. Either this infection is weakening me...or there's something with that girl. I'd like to go with the first, honestly, but now...I'm not so sure.
After school, Meiko actually stays quiet as I pass, which, against my better instincts, makes me smile, just a little. I walk alone, like I usually do, but suddenly... "Hey, Len-kun!" a bright, chirpy voice...well, chirps, and suddenly, Kagamine Rin is skipping beside me. Oh, brother.. I ignore her again. "Hey, Len-kun, didn't you hear me?" She suddenly steps into my path. "Hey, Len-kun!" she grins, waving in front of my face. "Earth to Len-kun~!" Oh, God..
"What?" I say irritably, rolling my eyes.
"I was wondering if you'd maybe like to hang out?" she asks brightly.
"Pass," I say coldly. Rin's smile falters.
"Are you sure? We could get a fruit smoothie or something...I know this great place-"
"No, I'm good," I mutter.
"But-"
"I said no! Just go away and stay away!" I yell. She stares at me. I start to walk, but she stands in front of me.
"Len-kun...why can't we just be friends?" she asks.
"I don't need friends! I certainly don't need ones that just feel sorry for me!" Rin doesn't budge, so I give her a sharp shove, careful to touch her clothes rather than her skin. She lands on her back, sniffling. I watch her fiercely. Suddenly, though, she starts to cry, and my heart, or what's left of it, just shatters. My head pounds, and my knees buckle beneath me. I collapse in a heap, breathing rapidly. Never has the pain been this intense...because of her. At school, she's always smiling, always happy. She had no need to cry...but now...I've made her cry...I've stopped her smiling. I look up at her, weakly. "Rin-chan..."
She jolts away from me, scared, and in her eyes I see myself...the monster that I've become.
"Rin-chan..." I whisper. "Please..." She shakes her head, getting to her feet. I try to reach out to her, but she's running before I can even speak. All I can do is watch as she leave me here.
Well, you got what you wanted. She's gone.
~Time Skip~
The next day at school is hel. Rin doesn't talk to me. It's my turn to watch her today. Not once does she look back. At the end of the day, I'm miserable. I don't even have the energy to flip Kaito & Co. off.
When Rin passes me, she doesn't turn around. I walk alongside her, but she turns her head away.
"Rin chan, I-"
"Save it. Just tell me one thing." I glance at her. "Why on earth would you think I felt sorry for you?"
I stare at her, bewildered. "What?"
"You heard me, Calne Len."
"Well...I thought...I assumed-"
"Exactly! You assume too much!"
"What?"
"You think that just cos a few people tease you, that everyone's like that. Well, you're wrong. And I don't feel sorry for you, actually. So you're wrong again."
"Oh, yeah? You think you know how I feel?"
"I'm trying to-"
"So stop trying! You will never understand how I feel, okay?" I growl fiercely. Rin watches me angrily.
"Well, how can I, if you won't even talk to me?!"
"You wanna know what if feels like?" I snarl, grabbing the sleeve of her hoodie. "Fine!" And with that, I sink the pincers at my mouth into her neck. She freezes, her eyes going white. She grips my shirt. "L-Len-kun..." she chokes. Her beautiful blue eyes roll back into her head and she goes limp, her head falling back. I pull back, staring. Oh, God. What have I done?! I lower Rin to the floor. "Rin-chan, wake up! Please! I'm sorry! I was kidding! Please, wake up!" I shake her shoulders, and about a minute later, she comes to.
"Len-kun.." she murmurs weakly.
"I'm right here. Don't leave me, Rin-chan."
"What's happening?" Suddenly she screams.
"Rin-chan...I'm sorry...so sorry...I bit you...you're gonna become like me...I'm sorry!"
"Len-kun, what's...what's happening to you?" As soon as she speaks my heartbeat becomes very loud. My head spins. "Len-kun!" Suddenly, I collapse, and Rin calls my name over and over. I can barely hear her. "Len-kun..." She kneels beside me, staring helplessly. "Why isn't it w-working?" she asks. "I should be like you now..." I take in a hoarse breath.
"The only way this could have happened...is if..." My good eye widens. Oh, my God. But that means... "...is if..." my voice trails off, my vision blurring.
"Stay with me, Len-kun...please..."
"The only way the person that gets bitten wouldn't become infected...is if the person that bit them...loved them..." Suddenly, it all sinks in. For both of us. Rin gasps. "T-That's right, Rin-chan...I love you...but since I'm probably not gonna be here f-"
"Stop it! Stop talking like that! You're not leaving me, okay?" Rin yells. I smile at her.
"Rin-chan...could you do something for me?" I ask. She hesitates, but nods. I reach up to touch her face. "Smile for me," I whisper. A single tear falls down on her cheek, and her beautiful blue eyes become watery.
"Len-kun..."
"Rin-chan, listen to me. I want you to smile. I want you to be happy, even if I'm not here...smile, because you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen when you smile, okay?" Another tear slips down her face. "Keep smiling...I love you, Rin-chan..."
"Len-kun.." Her voice is distant, far away, and her face is hazy and blurred. "L-Len-kun?" I want to speak to her, to tell her I love her, I'll always love her...but I don't have the time, strength, or breath to say all that...so I just take one last breath.
"Keep smiling, baby," I whisper, allowing my eyes to close. I can hear Rin screaming my name. Crying. But it's all too late now. It's all over.
Darkness. Darkness, everywhere.
~POV of Kagamine Rin~
"LEN-KUN! DAMN IT, WAKE UP!" I scream. Len's face looks angelic, peaceful, still. But no...this can't be it! "Len-kun..." I sniff, wiping the tears from my eyes. He wanted me to smile...but how can I smile, when he's not here? Though...I guess I have to smile, if that's what he really wanted...and...I have something to smile for, I guess. After all, just before he...died...he told me he loved me. Calne Len told me he loved me...but it was all too late. Too late to tell him that I loved him too...so much...he died for me, didn't he? He died because he loved me, and the infection wouldn't pass to me...because...because he loved me...damn it, why did this have to happen? Why did I have to be so stupid? If I'd just listened to him and left him alone when he told me to, then none of this would have happened! Damn it, I'm such an idiot...
I touch Len's face gently, my gaze skimming from his closed eyes, to the pincers that stick out from his mouth, that for some reason, have never creeped me out at all, to his legs, which stick out awkwardly from his shorts. No wonder he tripped up so easily...his legs are more like that of an insect's, although they're of a similar length. Why were Meiko and the others so mean to him? He never did anything to them...
"Len-kun...you're such an idiot," I sigh, stroking his soft hair. "Such a fool...but you never have been one for thinking...you just do what your instincts tell you to do, even if it gets you into trouble. That's...that's the thing I love most about you. Yeah, you heard me. I love you too, idiot. You're such a...damn it, Len-kun, you're such an idiot!" I can't hold it in anymore, and suddenly I burst into floods of helpless, devestated tears. I collapse in a crying heap, my head on his chest, my entire body shaking. "Please...please don't leave me...I need you, Len-kun!" Of course he doesn't move, but I can almost imagine his arms around me, his soft voice whispering into my ear.
Suddenly, a soft glow emits from him, and I look up, eyes blurred with tears. Slowly, starting at his feet and slowly moving up towards his angelic face, he begins to change. I hold my breath as his insect-like legs become normal human ones, as the pincers at his mouth retract and disappear completely. The contamination around his left eye slowly fades, like it was never there to start with. He looks like a normal human boy.
This just makes me cry even more, because I know it's too late. Everything he wanted, to be normal, accepted...he's got it now...just a moment too late. I sit up and hug Len's lifeless body to me, rocking it back and forth. I can't bear to let it go, let him go...I can't. I won't. I don't care if I die right here, right now. I just want to be with him. I continue to sob helplessly, howling in despair and devestation. Endless torrents of tears flood down my cheeks, some of which fall onto his face, that soft, angelic face that I fell in love with the first moment I saw him. Those soft blue eyes will never open again, that gently voice will never again call my name. His heart will never beat again, and it's all my fault. I crush my eyes closed, and everything is silent for a second.
More silence, except for the sounds of my sobs. Suddenly, a cool, soft hand touches my face, and my eyes fly open.
"I thought I told you to keep smiling," a voice whispers. My eyes snap to Len's face, and I see that he's staring right back at me. Both of his eyes are wide and blue, and I fall in love with them all over again. His lips are curved into a small smile, and I start crying all over again. This time, though, it's because I'm happy. So happy. I fling my arms around his neck, burying my face in his chest. He hugs me close to him, murmuring soothing words into my ear. "Did you miss me?" he asks.
"What do you think?" I reply. "Idiot."
"I know," he whispers, and suddenly his lips find mine. I kiss him back softly.
"God, I missed you," I murmur against his lips.
"I missed you too...I love you, Rin-chan."
"I love you too," I whisper gently. "Always."