Chapter 14: Move with memories

I ran through the hallways blindly. I didn't care where I was going as long as it was away from Yuki and Miki. I needed time to get my ducks in a row before facing them. I would be of no use in explaining everything if I was an emotional wreck.

I soon found myself climbing the stairs to the roof. It was an old habit of mine to head to high ground when I wanted to be alone. Yuki had discovered this quickly along with the truth about my parents. The roof of my apartment building was no longer safe after that. I would usually find a tree in a park to climb but eventually Yuki would find that too. She just knew me too well. I didn't expect her to take long to find me up here either.

The roof was a flat area with a few benches. There was a low concrete wall that rose up to meet a wire fence. The fence was probably there to discourage potential suicides. I headed for the low wall. I looked out at the skyline while grabbing onto the wire fence. It was such a pretty skyline. It was the skyline I had grown up seeing. I could even tell what most of the buildings were.

The words were coming to my head. The lyrics and melody were coming to me. They often did this in my head. Usually I would be rushing to write them down before I forgot. Right now I was comfortable just singing them out loud. They needed to be in the air in that moment. My feelings, anger, and frustrations were coming out in the beautiful melody.

No, you don't know what it's like

When nothing feels all right

You don't know what it's like

To be like me

To be hurt

To feel lost

To be left out in the dark

To be kicked when you're down

To feel like you've been pushed around

To be on the edge of breaking down

And no one's there to save you

No you don't know what it's like

Welcome to my life

No one ever lied straight to your face

And no one ever stabbed you in the back

You might think I'm happy but I'm not gonna be okay

Everybody always gave you what you wanted

You never had to work it was always there

You don't know what it's like, what it's like

"You're right, I don't know," I turned to find my favorite STARISH boy standing in the doorway. I quickly wiped the tears that had fallen off my face. I didn't want him to see me crying. I didn't want anyone to see. Crying was something I did at night when I was alone. No one else should shoulder my pain and sadness. It was only for me.

Syo moved towards me. He was looking at me concerned. I turned back to looking at the skyline. I knew the tear tracks were obvious on my face. He was going to think me weak for crying over such a thing.

"Mia," he whispered as he wrapped his arms around my shoulders. He leaned his head against the top of mine as he hugged me from behind. I couldn't hold the tears when he did that. No one had ever hugged me like that, not even Yuki. I let the tears fall silently, dripping on his arm. We stayed like that for a long time or what felt like a long time. I didn't want him to stop hugging me. My mind also registered that fact that he hadn't used anything after my name.

Syo slowly moved his hand to where mine was still clutching the fence. He slowly pried my hand away from the fence and turned me around to face him. He kept his hand on mine and took his other hand and brushed away my tears. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked quietly.

I hesitated. I had never told anyone all of my problems. It had been a complete accident when Yuki found out about my parents. The rest of the time I lied about it. Could I trust him? Would he understand why I had never told? There was only one way to find out, but I was scared.

"My parents beat me," I whispered. It was the first time I had ever voiced the truth. I slowly sunk down to the sit on the low concrete wall. Syo followed and sat next to me. He still had my hand in his. Did he think I was going to run away again or did he forget about our hands? "I do everything I can to hide it. I lie and cover it up. I stay away from home as much as I can," the words were rushing out of me. There was no stopping me now. "They beat me and there is nothing I can do to stop it. They've always beat me. The beat me when they're drunk and high."

Syo let go of my hand to put his arm around my shoulders. He took his other hand and brushed the new tears away. "No one was to find out. It was my battle to fight, no one else's." I almost wanted to push him away for his kindness. Yuki had been the only other one kind to me, but she was also mad at me for not telling anyone.

"You don't have to fight alone," Syo whispered. We were both being quiet.

"I don't want anyone else to get hurt," I answered.

"What about Yuki?" he asked.

"She wasn't supposed to know. She found out on accident. Since then, I won't let her near my parents. I don't let anyone near them," I trailed off.

"That's not what I meant," Syo said.

I looked at him questioningly. "Hm?"

"Why do you push Yuki away? Whenever she gets too close you move away from her," Syo elaborated.

I was getting nervous now. This was a subject I never talked about either. This was something not even Yuki knew. "When we were in middle school, everyone though Yuki was a guy," I started. "She never argued about it. She let them think what they wanted to think. The only ones that knew Yuki was a girl were the kids going to our school. The neighborhood kids always thought me and Yuki were a couple though, because they'd always see us together. Yuki would often joke and pretend it was true. She'd grab my hand and put her arms around me. Back then, I knew it was just her having fun. On our way home one day some older kids started picking on us. They wanted Yuki to prove we were dating. I was hoping she'd just drop it and get us out of there, but instead she kissed me. After the older kids left us alone, I confronted her about it. She said it was no big deal and that she had been meaning to do it. That had shocked me. Apparently she'd had the hugest crush on me. I told her I wasn't interested, but I've kept my guard up ever since."

"So…," Syo hesitated. He wasn't sure how to respond to my story. "Yuki's bi?" he questioned.

"Yeah," I answered.

"And she hasn't figured out that you are not okay with her flirting with you?" he asked.

"Yup," I sighed. "It's not that I don't like her, I just don't like her like that. She's my best friend and was my only friend for the longest time."

Syo nodded his head. "That explains a lot." We sat there quiet for what felt like the longest time. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence though. We were just in our own thoughts.

"Can I ask you a question?" I finally broke the silence.

Syo nodded. "How do you know Miki and Maya?" I asked.

He sighed and took his arm back from around my shoulders. "When I was in elementary school I participated in a lot of music competitions. Your grandmother liked to enter them in the competitions. That's where I met them, but our families eventually got along. I found myself spending more and more time with them, up until two years ago when I got into Saotome Academy. Why?"

"I heard somewhere that Miki confessed to you and I wanted to know how you felt about it," I answered.

Syo gave a small smiled. "I brushed her off. I think of her like an annoying little sister. She bugs me and I deal with it." He shrugged.

His answer confused me. Because of her would he see me the same way? I wanted him to see me differently.

He could read my emotions as they crossed my face. "Mia," he put his hand on my shoulder. "It doesn't matter what I think about Miki. Right now we were talking about you."

"Is there anything more about me that you want to know?" I asked back.

"How did you get into dancing?" Syo asked. He stood up and turned to look at the skyline.

I stood up next to him. "I've always been dancing. But when I met Yuki when we were ten she took me to my first dance class. I found that I could use the dance moves to earn money on the street. People enjoyed watching me. I earned a lot that way. After a while I figured out a deal with the dance teacher. I could have free dance classes if I helped with the younger kids' dance classes. It worked out good," I answered.

"So it was just a talent you have?" Syo asked. "What about singing?"

I smiled at the memories. "Yuki found us a place to work when we turned 14. She knew I needed the money, but the only place that would hire us was a performance diner. They made us sing for the job interview. That's when I found out that I had a talent for singing. Yuki and I started off in the kitchen and made our way to performing in front of the customers. They were sad to see us go."

"I'm sure," Syo commented. "You have a beautiful voice."

"What do you think you're doing?" We both turned around to see Miki barging through the door. She was clearly pissed off. Her whole body was shaking. "I turned my back on you for two minutes and you start flirting with my guy! How dare you!" Miki was voice was rising in level. Soon the whole school would be able to hear her.

"I'm not your guy, Miki-chan," Syo interrupted. "I've told you that several times."

"But you will be," Miki whined back.

"A person is not a possession. You can't just buy his heart," I commented. "Love doesn't work that way."

"Then how are you doing it? We look exactly the same!" Miki cried in outrage.

I looked at her confused. What would our looks have to do with love. "It's her personality, not her looks," Syo answered.

Miki let out a sob as tears ran down her face. She turned around and pushed Maya out of her way as she rushed down the stairs. There was nothing for us to do. Miki needed to learn these things. We decided it'd be better to just let her be alone. I had other things to do.

Yay for heartwarming scene with Mia and Syo! Yay for pissing off Miki! Yay for back stories! Now onto the next chapter.

Song: Welcome to my life by Simple Plan

If you haven't already, please check out my tumblr: .com

BTW I might have another deleted scene between Yuki and Ren again, but this time after class. I'm almost thinking of just making a story for just Yuki and Ren. They keep showing up. Maybe…

Thank you for the reviews rinpup14, mysterious guest, and guest. Thank you for the faves eleonedark01 and lilly321. Thank you for following the story eleonedark01, Mercerlindsey, and lilly321. You are all the reasons that this story is still going.

R&R Please

ID