[NOTE]

Hi! Author here. As you can see, the title of the chapter has a warning, meaning that this chapter will contain some sensitive scenes that may be triggering to some readers. So, since you can't really skip this chapter as this is when it rises to a climax or rising action I guess, I will tell you when to stop and when to start.

Just a lil warning, anyways, have fun reading!

10:15 PM

"Confessing your true feelings to someone...is so terrifying."

"I like you."

Miku's eyes widened, and her face reddened the shade of beautiful rose petals. She slowly shrugged her hands away from Len's gentle grip, and faced him with hesitant turquoise eyes that shimmered elegantly in the rays of the showering moon. He could see her hesitation, and her expression made him lightly smile. He only walked up to her, and gently patted her head.

"...Pfft." Len stifled a laugh as he then chuckled softly. "You're so cute." He muttered quietly under his breath, Miku reddened in response. "...Hey, it's alright if you don't like me in that way. If you need to think about it, go ahead. Take all the time you need. Don't overthink it, okay?"

Miku opened her mouth to speak, but she was hesitant. She really didn't know what to say, of course, she liked him...but...

"Ah..um.." She says in a quiet tone, "Yeah. I'll...think about it. Thanks, Len." She smiles warmly in which he smiles brightly in return, blushing slightly. "Okay, well...we should get going now. Want me to walk you home? Will you be alright by yourself?" Len says gently, reassuring her. "O-oh, n-no. I'm fine walking on my own." The tealette says, tucking her hair behind her ear shyly.

Why was she stuttering? She didn't know why she felt this way. Has she always felt this way when she was around him?

"Alright. Cool. Text me when you get home, okay? See ya at school." Len says as he begins to leave, but before he could, the tealette unexpectedly grasps his slender wrist, her manicured warm fingers tracing his slope valley. "W-wait!" She says, her sweet voice filling in his ears.

He smiled a little, and chuckled as he turned to face her, her soft grip still on his wrist. "Miku, don't overthink it. It's fine." He reassured her with a smile, the contrast of the moon's rays elegantly tracing all his beautiful face features. "...R-right. Sorry." Miku laughed nervously, biting her lip as she let go of the blond male's wrist.
"...I'll...also be going now. Walk home safe, okay?" She says, smiling ever so softly.

Len forces a smile, a smile that hides his burning pain.

"You too."

11:00 PM [Nakajima Residence]

"Hey, mom! I'm back." Gumi says as Rin entered the household, placing her shoes on the mat and setting her feet on the tatami floor.

It was dark and quiet.

"Oh shoot," Gumi quietly curses, "They're asleep," She snickers quietly. Rin stifled a laugh, her face red as she tried to hold back giggles. "Let's go to my room, come on." Gumi quietly goes upstairs and leads Rin into her bedroom, the two crawled onto her bed and laid against the pillows.

"Ah, I'm tired. Oh, where did Len say he was going to go?" Gumi whispered as Rin quietly winced. "The park. Miku is also there." She sighed in frustration, wincing again and biting her bottom lip. "Rin..." Gumi patted her shoulder, "Come on, you. Don't be like that. You gotta face it, your brother likes her a lot and you can't do anything about it. Why do you want him to stay away from Miku-chan?" Gumi asked, worried.

Rin hesitated, then sighed again in exhaustion as she tried to hold back her tears.

"I don't want to lose him. I'm scared to end up alone."

Gumi froze, hesitant on what to say. Out of all the things Rin had told her what she went through, sometimes she said something, other times she didn't say a word at all. Sometimes, the situations Rin was in left Gumi speechless. And she hated that. Because she felt helpless.

"RinRin.." Gumi sighed. "Look, I know you don't want to lose your brother, but he won't leave you. I know he won't. He cares about you a lot, even if it doesn't seem like it." She stated, staring into Rin's electric blue eyes sternly. "Okay? Plus, you have me. Your best friend." She smiled warmly, nudging Rin's shoulder playfully.

Rin giggled quietly, "Yeah. Okay." She says, but she wasn't convinced by Gumi's wise words, even if they seemed legit. "You're not going to end up alone, okay? You have me, Len-kun, Meiko-san, Lily-chan, and Fukase. Even Miku-chan." Gumi smiles, making Rin's lips smile as well. "Yeah, okay," Rin responded. "Anyways, I'm tired..." Gumi whispered sleepily as her sentence trailed off, she yawned before she shut her eyes.

...

"Gumi?" Rin says quietly, poking her cheek.

No response.

Rin poked it again.

No response.

"Oh, goodnight." She whispered soothingly as she patted her friend's head before quietly crawling off the bed. Rin slowly headed downstairs, before she caught the shadow of a small silhouette.

"Sister?" A small, childish voice spoke.

Rin quietly cursed, "Crap, is that you, Ryuto?" She squinted her eyeballs but she could hardly see anything until the green-haired boy came out of the shadows. "Hi, Nee-chan." Ryuto quietly says, yawning as he holds his teddy bear. "Is Big Sister Gumi asleep?" Rin nodded in reply. "Yes, what's up?" Rin asked quietly. "Nothing, I just wanted to use the bathroom. Goodnight, Nee-chan." Ryuto smiles softly as he patted her upper hip and headed to his room.

"Goodnight." She whispers in response, before leaving the household and taking out her cellphone.

Len

Yo, wya?
Delivered.

Rin sighed as she walked on the illuminated sidewalk, the glow of the streetlights washed over the concrete platform like ocean waves. She continued walking before she sat down on a bench and sighed in frustration and resentment.

[Stop]

Ah, screw it.

Rin stuffed her hand inside her pocket before taking out a container of pills, before placing it inside her mouth. She swallowed it, the bitter taste of it began melting in her tongue, she then sighed in frustration as she rolled her head back dramatically, shutting her eyes.

Jeez...How long am I gonna have to deal with this bullshit?

My life is such a buzzkill. I have to deal with my own shit by myself and I don't even have anyone to talk to about it.

But does it even matter?

I'm practically at my end at this point, so what's the whole point of talking to someone who won't even understand whatever the hell I'm saying?

Rin swallowed another pill, then sneered at her own thoughts as she fidgeted with her pocket knife huddled inside her jacket.

Whatever. No one would care anyway. If I'm gone, I won't have to deal with this stupid pain.

She shuffled around in her pockets, then took out her pocket knife, adjusting it near her wrist.

Screw my life.

But before Rin could even get a scrape of skin, an old lady stopped by.

"Excuse me? Do you mind if I sit here?" She says gently and warmly, a wrinkly smile forming on her lips. "Ah um.." Rin hesitated, looking around the empty park, but there was no one. "Yeah, sure." She peeped as the old lady with a knitted sweater sat down beside her.

She looked...oddly familiar.

"How old are you?" She asked curiously, her tender voice speaking in the dense cloud of quietness. "Oh, um...I'm fourteen. I go to Kurohana Academy." Rin responded quietly, her voice small and clear. The old lady chuckled, "You remind me of my grandchildren, you look just like them. Ah, how I would like to see them again." She sighs, smiling warmly as she stares at the sky, her beady dark eyes barely gleaming.

She looked as if she was about to cry any minute now, yet her eyes looked dry almost as if they didn't have the energy to cry. Her black oceanic eyes were filled with regret. "What were your grandchildren's names?" Rin asked, facing the old lady. "Ah...I have completely forgotten."

It was deadly quiet for a while.

"I see," Rin responded with a gentle tone, then sighed, frustrated as she stared at her wrist, her small pocket knife on the other hand. "Are you planning to kill yourself?" The old lady suddenly bursts the question, making Rin flinch. "H-how...how did you.."

The grandmother chuckles. "Mother instincts." She says quietly.

It was quiet again, Rin was speechless.

"Please..don't kill yourself, dear. You're going to regret it. You're going to miss out on a lot of things, your friends are going to be depressed that you're dead, and you won't be able to pass on with regret in your heart." The wise grandmother says, facing Rin with a smile that made her soul ache.

Rin couldn't say anything to that.

"...Anyway, I'm off now dear. Keep living your life, even if it is horrible."

"Things will be okay, trust me."

[Start]

"...What did you just say?-" Her sentence cut off once she realized the old woman was gone, she just vanished. Turned into nothingness. Almost as if she wasn't there.

Am I seeing things..?

Rin shook her head, before standing up and throwing away her empty container in the nearby trash can. She stared at her knife, then sighed in frustration as she stuffed it inside her pockets.

Not yet.

She sighed as she continued walking, tired and out of her mind.