My well-worn sneakers scuffed against the concrete, making no sound as I carefully studied the piece of paper that I held so close to my face, attempting to read the small, fine print that was Watari's handwriting. Around me, autumn was ending, the once brightly clad trees now swaying naked branches in the chilly air that carried the heavy scent of decaying leaves upon itself. It was somewhat sad, watching the leaves that had once been so grand and colorful lie so limply on the sidewalk, trodden brown from many a foot that stepped so carelessly among them. It almost looked like a battlefield after a war, the red leaves were the only ones that held their color so far into the season and it looked like the ground was strewn with the bloody bodies of the dead. I shuddered at the thought, shaking it out of my mind, as I looked up, my almost startling- they were so very bright blue- eyes gazing at my destination with a sort of sad curiosity.
The sadness wasn't as hidden as I'd wished, but I hoped that others would just mistake it for homesickness or something silly like that. A sigh escaped my lips as I looked at the grandness that had begun closing in on me. Surrounded by large gardens, courtyards, and being so huge and impressive, Ouran High School looked more like a giant cathedral than a school. Another sigh snuck out from my lungs, filling the cool air with a small cloud of warmth. I was sure my melancholy was just screaming out to every person in passing, it seemed too obvious to me, my guilty conscience and depression that is. I'm sure it was beautiful, but now a days, I didn't really think of things in that sense. In fact, I hardly thought about anything else but the reason why an aura of sadness and isolation seemed to follow me around everywhere. Never giving me rest even when I slept, it would be an understatement to say that I wasn't doing so great these days. Had I actually cared about how I was doing or had anyone that cared as well, I might have been spilling my whole life story to him or her right now, but no, I had no one and I wasn't caring about that now.
As I came even closer to the school that would be my home for who-knows-how-long, a torrent of whispers followed in my wake. Most of the said whispers seemed to be coming from small clumps of girls in their yellow, poofy, and hideous school uniforms, when I glanced at the nearest gaggle of girls, they blushed and began giggling and whispering in hushed excitement. With a shrug, I remembered that there was no way they could tell I was, in fact, female. With my somewhat too-short charcoal-black hair, baggy jeans, dark sweatshirt, worn-out sneakers and overall casually uncaring appearance, I looked exactly like a male version of me would look like. Although most people usually made the mistake of taking me for a guy, I did use a boyish sounding nickname after all; For some reason unbeknownst to me, my shoulders hunched up slightly and my hands found refuge in my pockets. Something about their stares, giggles and whispers made me feel like a animal in the zoo, constantly being prodded and poked by the little children as I was locked so unfairly in a much-too-small cage.
Suddenly, I found the area around me turn dark with an absence of sunshine and I looked up to find myself within the shadow of the towering cathedral-like building. I had walked faster than I thought, but I hadn't been really paying attention as to how far I had gotten, I was too preoccupied with my thoughts and the annoying girls that giggled and whispered even more so excitedly as I walked into the school. I caught snippets of their conversations, trying to appear uncaring and oblivious to their words as I shuffled, my feet scuffing against the ground softly.
"A new guy coming in the middle of the year?"
"How weird!"
"There was another guy that came only a few days ago. . ."
"Oh yeah, I think his name was Faylie or . . . something. . ."
"Faylin Fallen."
I stopped for a second, wanting to walk up to them and ask them the zillions of questions that bounced around my head. As I halted, their excited whispers did as well and they watched me intensely, wondering what had caused me to stop my forward movement. With a slight smirk I continued walking, leaving them behind as I returned to my thoughts. Faylin was still Faylin, no matter what happened. Looked like everyone thought the same that they thought about me, we were both just some strange new people that had, for some reason, come in the middle of the school year. My thoughts trailed off as I made sure the slip of paper with Watari's note on it was tucked safely in my pocket, which reminded me, I had to thank him when I got back, without him I wouldn't have been able to come here in the first place.
Stopping in front of a large window I watched a flock of birds take off, trilling sweetly, into the air. My thoughts returned to what I had heard from the girls that had almost made me go up and ask them as many questions as I could think of about the other new person they had been talking about.
/ Don't worry Faylin, I'm here and if you don't want to remember what happened in the past, I'll make sure to protect you. I'll be a good best friend even if you don't want to remember me, just see if I won't . . . /
Determination shone on my face and I clenched my hands so hard that my knuckles grew white around the edges. I wasn't going to run away anymore, I had been afraid at first, but now I had nothing to lose, she may not remember our friendship or the actions that lead up to her breakdown, but all the same, I was going to protect her. That's what best friends are for, and I was never going to leave her unprotected again. I'd spent too long wallowing in my own misery the last time and I'd left her alone with her own depression, it was my fault she was like this and I'd never forgive myself for that. I just hoped that I'd be able to find something to make her happy. I had to do something to help the situation, maybe someday I'd forgive myself, but I doubted it, I was an idiot and there was no way to take it all back. Even though I would do so in a heart-beat. There would be no running away, no retreating or being scared, I was here for my friend. And that was all.
