Manorexic
By: Holly Rose E.
Rating: T
Thank You's:
A/N: Any hurtful or stereotypical things mentioned in this fic are not meant to be so, I myself have dealt with many of the issues presented in this story, so please take no offense to them. I am merely expressing opinions of which I've encountered many times.

Chapter Four: ThePerfect Fit
Hello, I'm good for nothing
Will you love me just the same
--- Dresden Dolls
 Taichi walked down the hallways, breathing with forced, ragged gasps as he struggled not to stagger all over the place. He placed a hand along the way, trailing his fingers slightly behind him. His eyes scanned all that he saw, but never was able to take in anything.

When he closed them, and really thought about it, some days he could still feel the wind on his face from that last game he played in. The last game that he had done well in, and had scored that point...he helped them win. He was a winner.

But as soon as the darkest brown opened up to the unsightly hellish nightmare, he knew he couldn't escape reality, no matter how insane he drove himself to be. He was in a decades old manor that wasn't well-kept, and desperately needed refurbishing but all the money was going to the head-doctors. There were bars on the windows, steel doors leading to the outside world. He never was able to earn enough merit points to wander outside the walls, only to the garden in the center of the circular building.

(Hey, pretty-boy, wanna have some fun with my hot rod?)

(Damn it, Yagami, try harder!)

He turned the corner for the last stretch to his room, hand gripping onto the stolen object, if he held it a certain way, there was a pleasant pinch from the metal. He licked his lips nervously, although no one in the activity room was really paying attention to him, they all were too busy freaking out on their own.

"Taichi!" Akira startled from his seat, but Taichi paid him no mind. He just continued to walk and at first it seemed like Akira was going to follow. But another boy bashed him atop the head and so Akira had to beat him with Pooh Bear.

Three more doors, then... paradise. His eyelids drooped in anticipation for a moment as his pace slowed, breathing deeper now. When he opened his eyes again, he was staring into those of Daisuke.

The younger boy grinned, hand behind his head, "Didn't mean to startle you, Taichi-sempai. I was just waiting so I could tell you that I thought Yamato should eat with us, today."

"Yamato?" His voice was like that of a slow, turbulent landslide, it cracked and hissed behind chapped lips.

"You're new roommate," eyebrows fitted together neatly, "You okay?"

Taichi nodded distractedly, before grinning brightly. "Lemme just get my things all cleared up so we can head down for food!" He feigned excitability well, he had been doing it for so long. Daisuke gave him a very quick hug around his waist before dashing off.

When Taichi entered his room

(their room)

he paid no mind to the prone figure lying limply on the opposite bed, still without the sheets made. He tried to be as quiet as possible as he practically tiptoed towards his bed.The day was stilland he wished it was nighttime, for the sun filtering in through the barred windows only made him further feel like a prisoner.

He wished more than ever that he had shoes on when he stepped down painfully one a sharp-edged Leggo. He bit his lip harshly, and once the unwanted pain became wanted, he sighed deeply, and dropped his head tiredly. He took another step or twobefore gingerly sitting on his bed – it had a tendency to creak more often than not.

As he sat, his fist unclenched for the first time in nearly ten minutes and his hand screamed out at him as he did so. He picked the safety pin up, staring in an almost quizzical way at the imprint in his palm as he did so. Unlatching it became an almost religious procedure, in the way he moved languidly, slowly, as if that if he were too move too fast or not savor the moment, all would be lost and there would be no point doing what he was about to do.

He held the safety pin in a caressing manner, as he tap-tap-tapped his finger against the point, tapping it harsher and faster as blood beads began to bubble at each tap.

Taichi glanced up, making sure that Yamato was still lying prone on his bed

(wasn't his arm tucked beneath him, before?)

before he turned around so that he was facing the wall. He'd never done this before with another person in the room. Didn't know if the experience would be any different... he wondered if maybe perhaps it would be more exciting – like when those couples would have sex in public places because there was always that worry about being caught.

He rolled up his shirt to expose his stomach, and did his best to make as little noise as possible

&&&

Yamato opened an eye to stare again as the boy across from him shifted his position. Now he wouldn't be caught – blue eyes wide, face drawn of color – looking at the brunette. What was his name? Taichi?

Hair-boy's head fell backwards suddenly, and he thrust his torso forward violently; Yamato could see the boy's entire body shaking with effort. He considered just watching, but as Taichi began to rock back and forth, simpering, he couldn't help himself.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Taichi stiffened, every muscle in his back seemingly twitching as he held himself back from just running out of the room or at the very least panicking. He turned his head parallel with his shoulders, glaring at Yamato from the corner of his eyes, "Same thing as you. Making myself pretty."

Yamato glared, standing up, fists clenched as he began to baby step towards the other boy. The nerve of this insipid boy, this child, this...this... idiot. How dare he judge Yamato, how dare he assume anything, how dare he talk down to him.

"It's nearly lunch time, don't you think Daisuke won't come back here to get us?" Taichi said, breath coming out low and uneven.

"What did you do?"

"Anorexic or bulimic? Probably anorexic, bulimics are usually still kind of chunky when they get in here. That, and you most definitely have the attitude."

Taichi stood up, crossing his arms tightly against his chest. Yamato quirked an eyebrow at what he

(thought he)

saw.

"Disgusting cutter," Yamato hissed, arms shaking as he clenched his fists impossibly harder. "Weak. Cut yourself open to make the pain go away, fucking brilliant."

Taichi took another step closer, so that they were nearly nose to nose, and Yamato only pushed back so that their foreheads were pressed together.

"Begging for attention, aren't you? You're not a real self-destructor, oh no, you only pretend that you hate yourself. It's all the rage now, isn't it? Cutting yourself. Oh so sad, my life is horrible, see, see? Pity. Me." Yamato's eyes burned with every word, breath constricting horribly tight.

Taichi moved, and Yamato flinched expecting a pummeling to the side of his face. His arm came up to block the impending blow, his eyes closed in a grimace. He had merely accepted it.

Accepted getting his ass beat once again.

Instead, he got a soft kiss on the lips.

It lasted only a second, but that was all it took for Yamato's mind to shut down. Eyes wide, he watched in a somewhat fascinated state of horror as Taichi drew back and smiled a giga-watt grin. "Like I said before, you're not as beautiful as you think you are."

Yamato blinked, "What?" he managed to bite out, although his voice cracked like it did when he was prepubescent and woke up in the middle of the night with achingly blue balls.

"Daisuke's scary when he's mad, so we'd better go. C'mon!" Taichi ran past Yamato and out the door, leaving him standing in the middle of a ruined Leggo empire.

A/N: sorry for such the long wait, I got caught up in school work and (surprisingly) a life! But, I'll try to not make the wait so long for next time. Please leave comments, they make me all warm and fuzzy inside!