Bonjour hoomans!

I have returned with yet another chapter.
Things are happening and the ending nears and I'm looking forward to it. I hope you are too!
I think I said that I'd make it 20 chapters, but that isn't really going to work xD
I'm not a very skilled writer, and I don't want to add random fluff chapters for the sole purpose of fluff, so making it longer is not an option, sawry.
But I kinda gave up on this a few chapters ago but fecided to continue it anwyay, I'm glad I did!

Enjoy!

I don't own any of these characters

\-=_=moo=_=-/

The next day it was raining heavily, pouring as to say. At school Oz was thinking of a way to ruin Echo's life.

He couldn't really think of something, so he started off with "don't talk to me."

She must've been sad that a close friend suddenly turned his back at her. Oz also decided to write "UGLY WHORE" on her locker when nobody was around.

"Should be enough for today…"

Echo looked worried the entire day, occasionally peeking a glance at Oz, who just stared uninterestedly in front of him, ignoring her.

At the end of the day Echo approached him and asked if he was OK. Oz just repeated the same thing he said before.

"Don't talk to me."

Back home Gil got a worried call from Vincent, who had to comfort a crying Echo after school.

Apparently Oz had been ignoring her and she thought she had done something to hurt Oz. To make it worse someone wrote ugly whore on her locker.

"Oz, do you have anything to do with this?" Gil frowns at him.

"Of course not!"

"Who else could've done it?"

"Well.. I don't know… but why should I?"

"I don't know, why would you?"

"I didn't!"

"Oz, you shouldn't do such things to her just because she rejected you.'

"But I didn't do anything!"

"Oz." Gil glares at him.

Oz just stares back in surprise.

Then he furrows his eyes. "Fine! Don't believe me then!" he rushes off to his room."

"Oz wait!"

He locks the door and lays down on his bed.

He puts the back of his hand over his eyes to block the light.

It is still pouring outside. The heavy raindrops smash against the windows, filling his room with the sound of splattering and a hammering impact.

Oz opens his eyes and moves his hand. He bends his head to his right and looks at the window. The raindrops gather into streams of water, flowing down the glass. Oz starts to smile, unsure why. He isn't happy, at least he doesn't think he is, but he smiles, and then he laughs. He laughs as if he's about to suffocate. He sways from side to side due to laughter. He doesn't know what is so funny. What could ever make him laugh so much? When he starts to think about it he realizes there isn't anything funny at all, besides Echo's depressed expression perhaps.

Ah, could that be it? Was that what made him laugh so uncontrollably?

No, but Oz decides that that's the reason why, because what other reason could there be?

Gil knocks on the door. Oz starts to cry in preparation.

"Oz, please open this door, I'm not mad at you."

"No, go away!"

"Oz, you should stop denying it, they have cameras at school. They have already contacted me and confirmed that it was you, but I'm not mad at you, I promise, I just want to talk."

"crap."

Oz thought he had it, but apparently he made a miscalculation: the fact that this is a very expensive school, and that things such as cameras are only natural for such high-class schools. He only dug his own grave deeper.

"I didn't do anything…"

Gil hears the bed creak from the weight being lifted.

"Oz.."

He walks towards the door.

"I didn't do anything!"

He puts his fingers on the key to the lock.

"Yes you did, Oz."

He gasps, "B-but, I-I didn't want t-to." he starts stuttering. He unlocks the door with a shaky hand.

Gil opens the door and Oz suddenly falls into his arms.

"I didn't want to!"

"Then why did you?"

"B-because they told me to."

Gil furrows his eyes, "they? Who is they?"

Oz keeps silent.

"Come on Oz, you need to tell me."

"Elliot and Leo."

"Who?"

"T-they are classmates." Oz sniffles.

"Why would they tell you to do something like that, and why did you listen to them?"

"B-because… they would p-punch me a-and kick me if I-if I didn't…"

Gil is taken aback.

"W.. what? You're getting bullied?! Oz! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"eh, I.."

"Oh Oz.." Gil gets down on one knee and hugs him. "How long has this been going on for?"

"A-a month?"

"That's since you started school."

"Yeah.."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"Every day, after school, t-they'd beat me.."

"every day?! Oz, why have you been enduring this all this time."

"It's not like I'm not used to it…"

"What are you talking about Oz! You shouldn't have to go through all that! Nobody should.

"W-what do you m-mean?" Oz looks at him with wide eyes.

"You shouldn't be used to it, you should just live your life, make friends and be happy! So I'm gonna make sure that they won't hurt you again, so that you can go to school without worry."

Oz stopped crying. "What are you talking about Gil? How am I supposed to be happy?"

"how? Just like how you were so happy when you went to Echo's, and your first day of school."

Oz mumbled.

"Weren't you always happy when you were eating pancakes too?"

"Yeah.."

"You've been so depressed lately, I was so worried. I guess this is the reason why.."

"No it's not." Oz quickly puts his hand over his mouth, shocked that he actually said that."

"Hmm?"

It's too late, he heard it.

"You really worry too much Gil.."

"But I was right to worry, just look at yourself."

Even though it is just an act. Oz isn't keen on looking sad. He bets he looks disgusting now, with dried tears on his face, hunched over Gil's shoulders, like he has someone to comfort him, as if he has someone who cares about him. He must look like such filth right now.

"They won't hurt you again. Nobody will hurt you any more."

Oz wants to protest but has to do anything he can to keep it in. If Gil knew that his father would come back..

"Just like with Zai, Elliot and Leo will never hurt you again."

"w-what?"

"What do you mean? Just like Zai?"

"Well of course we can't have two kids sent to prison like your father.. But-"

Oz can't hear anything else that Gil says.

Zai? In prison? What? Why? What is he doing there?

"W-why is father in prison?" he looked Gil in the eyes.

"What? Because he hurt you of course! He treated you very badly."

Oz starts tearing up inside. What does he mean? Hurt him? Treated him badly? He never did such thing! He gave him a purpose, so why is he in prison. For bringing him something to do with his useless life?

Another thunderbolt strikes, this time close to home. A flash of light comes through the window and the sound startles Oz, he jumps back over Gil's shoulders. He starts crying, but this time it wasn't an act. It's like his heart is being stomped on, his soul being ripped out of his body and shattering into a million irreparable pieces.

He tries to, but he can't hold back his tears. He starts to shake, he starts to shriek. Gil didn't expect such a strong reaction, but he tries to comfort him as well as he can, which isn't much. Oz continues to screech. Twisting, turning, flinging around, trying to get loose from Gil's grip, a grip that only remembers him that he lost his purpose. He wants to escape from this. From the realization, from the truth, from Gil, from Gil's sympathising frown which is practically asking for a punch.

He wants to go hide in a corner, with a knife, preferably a dull one, so that he could make some ugly cuts, but obviously Gil wouldn't allow this.

"LET GO OF ME!" Oz shout.

In a short daze Gil actually lets go and allows Oz to run to the bathroom.

Gil wonders about what he did that could cause Oz to be this angry at him so suddenly.

In the bathroom, after locking the door, Oz looks at himself in the mirror again.

Disgusting!

Quit crying!

But what am I supposed to do?!

That doesn't matter, just stop being so sad.

How can I just stop being sad?

I did it before, just do it again…

\-=_=moo=_=-/