[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!
4:00 PM [Sakuma Park]
"..."
Rin and Miku stood quiet as they sat in awkwardness at the vanilla-colored bench, the rain silently pattered on the concrete surface of the floor and dripped from the edges of the leaves.
"What did you want to talk about?" Miku says suddenly, smiling gently and softly as she lands her turquoise calm eyes on the other girl beside her. "Why do...why do you.." Rin grumbled under her breath, "How do you act so warm and gentle yet the next minute act like some sort of violent person!?" She exclaimed sternly at the tealette, in which Miku's eyes widened. "Ah."
Rin raised an eyebrow skeptically, "I don't know. You could say I have two sides I guess, if that makes sense." Miku says in a stern tone, her eyes scanning the gray concrete ground.
It was quiet again, the only sound that could be heard was the gentle strokes of rain pattering on the surface of the bench and vibrant green leaves from the trees.
"I know how you feel." Miku muffles suddenly.
Rin froze.
"...You what?" Rin faces Miku beside her on the vanilla-colored bench drizzled with tiny drops of rain. "You heard me," Miku replies in response with a bored and cold tone. "I know how you feel." Rin's blue eyes grew wide with shock and resentment. Yet, there was a tiny hint of pulsing anger in her eyes. "Yeah, right." She scoffs abruptly, in which Miku suddenly grasps her wrist and pulls down her black sleeve to reveal her scarred arm.
"HEY-"
[Stop]
"You think I don't know that you cut yourself?" Miku says in a stern tone while keeping her gaze locked with Rin's fuming one as her grip tightens. Rin stiffens, her heart throbbing in her eardrums uncontrollably with so much hatred and resentment. "You think I'm dumb enough to believe that you don't take pills either?" Miku stuffs her hands inside her pocket, taking out a newly bought packet of anti-depression pills.
"Wh-wha-" Rin breathes intensely, her breath shaking and shattering like glass that was broken apart into nothingness. Was she going to tell her brother? "That's...How did- How did you..Wh-where did you get that..?" she stammers, speechless. "I know you do, Rin." Miku says. "I saw your scars back in August when we first met. I'm not blind." She scoffs, her voice low and a bit raspy. "I also caught your pill container in your pocket once you went to the bathroom one time and left your hoodie hanging in your chair." The tealette says sternly, her eyes narrowed.
Rin sulks down in her seat, pearls of tears filling up in the corners of her bright blue eyes. Miku could see the sadness and resentment through them like glass that was shattered and broken into nothingness.
"Why are you doing this?" Miku smiles weakly, holding back her tears. "Is it because I'm dating your brother?" She says suddenly, making the smaller female freeze. Rin swallows a lump of embarrassment, her whole face reddening. "No." She was able to muster, but Miku doesn't seem to buy it.
Miku sighs, but then clears her throat. "You like Hatsune, don't you?" She curiously asks, in which Rin reddens at her question. "N-no. We're just friends, and why are you asking me that? Why do you care anyway?" Miku stood quiet for a second, her smile forming into a thin line.
"We're...siblings, but we're pretty much unknown to each other at this point. I left the classroom earlier this morning because I didn't want to talk to him." Rin opened her mouth to speak, but she could only gawk dumbly at the tealette. "I don't want anything to do with him ever again."
"Why?" The blonde said, "Aren't you guys...close or something?" Rin grumbled, crossing her arms as she leaned against the bench. "No, we aren't, and I don't plan to be," Miku replies with a stern tone, her gaze meets the ground, and her eyes look like they are upset.
The rain pattering in the background gave her a more dramatic and distant look, it was scary how she could bloom like a flower, then look cold and dry and dead.
"Honestly, I don't care if you like him," Miku muttered under her breath, her tone cold and distant. "It's not my problem anyway." She forces a smile as she faces the blonde sitting beside her.
Rin felt confused about how she could look so sweet and innocent yet deadly and cold the next second. It was scary. "He seems to like you a lot anyway, so...There's nothing I can do about it." Rin sniffles, "You don't care that I have a crush on your..brother?" Miku shakes her head. "Nah. Like I said, I don't care and it's not my problem." Miku muffles sternly, picking at a piece of lint from her nails.
Rin bites her lip with hesitation, she so badly yearned to have that confidence of Miku, but compared to her she was nothing.
"...Why do you hate me?"
Miku asks abruptly, the desire to know the answer just kept cowering over her. Rin flinches at her sudden question, unable to answer.
Does she really hate this girl? Miku could understand her so well, and she was good enough for her brother.
Yet, she was scared to lose him. All the emotions she had felt towards the girl were just pure envy and fear. Rin was scared to tell her that. She's scared to end up alone in the darkness, trapped and lost like a weeping puppy. Her emotions all bottled up into nothingness as she fades away into the deep tremendous ocean that pulls her into its black hole.
"...I don't hate you...It's just..." Rin fidgeted with her fingers, gripping the edge of her black skirt as she finally let the waterworks go off. "Stupid," Rin mumbles underneath her breath, wiping her eyes and nose with her black-colored sleeve. Her eyes met Miku's sympathetic ones, and the looks of it made her angry.
"Don't look at me," She hisses, wiping her blue empty eyes. "I hate it when people see me cry."
"It's okay, Rin," Miku whispers soothingly. Rin growls, before forcing herself to stand up from the vanilla-colored bench. Her teary eyes locked onto Miku's worried ones, which made her feel uncomfortable and upset. "You wanna know that damn badly?" Rin snarls, her voice hoarse and strong as she stares down at the female with turquoise eyes. "So be it." She growls.
"I'm jealous of you!"
She yells as she dramatically points a finger towards the ecstatic girl, "I want what you have. Good grades, a supportive sibling, parents that actually care, money, a boyfriend, confidence, friends, popularity..." Miku's eyes turquoise widened in surprise and shock, yet...
She looked hurt.
"You're perfect!" Rin sobs, her voice cracking in the frail atmosphere.
"You have EVERYTHING!"
Miku slams her fist against the wooden surface of the bench, fuming anger coursing through her veins and her heart throbbing in her eardrums as it washed over the white noise of the soothing rain.
The impact of Miku's fist against the bench made Rin jump and fade into dead silence. The dense cloud in the air quickly shifted to anger and fuming hatred. Miku wipes her eyes, and a tiny drop of salty tears drips down onto the surface of the cement.
Perfect? Perfect, my ass. The tealette thought in her head, her nails digging into the beige border of the bench drizzled with beads of rain.
She was anything but perfect. Just because she had a good education, a supportive sister, and a perfect relationship that seemed so unreal doesn't mean she was happy on the inside.
In fact, she's broken just like Rin.
Rin wasn't expecting to see her cry, especially in front of someone who she used to hate. "I don't have everything." She muttered under her breath, "I didn't know you would be stupid enough to believe that."
Rin stiffens at her comment.
"You think a perfect girl would have scars on her neck?" Miku slightly pulls down her collar to reveal wounds and fresh scars cut over her milky skin. "On her arms either?" She slowly pulled down her sleeve, her flesh effortlessly cut down by the harsh impact of a knife.
"You think I wouldn't want…" Miku breathes heavily, holding back her fuming anger. "TO KILL MYSELF?!" She yelled over Rin's quiet sobs, the tension in the atmosphere grew even larger than expected. Rin's eyes widened with fear and worry as her eyes traced the bruised skin. "...Miku.." Rin breathes, her voice shaking and tears welling in her bright blue eyes that shifted to concern and worry.
Miku scoffs, "You think a perfect girl wouldn't go through shit?" Her voice is breaking up, almost as if she's about to lose it and scream and cry her broken heart out. "No. Everyone goes through bullshit, Rin. No one is perfect."
Rin's broken eyes met with Miku's fuming eyes, which quickly shifted to sadness and resentment once pearls of small tears lined up against her waterline. "You think I'm perfect? No. You're wrong. You're absolutely wrong." The girl snarls violently between sobs, tears rolling down her rosy cheeks. "Don't start shit, Rin." Miku sobs uncontrollably, wiping her teal eyes with her sleeve.
Rin sulked beside her, huddling closer towards her sad expression. "...I'm sorry." Rin whispers, sighing in frustration as she stays quiet. The small female hugged her knees, laying her chin against them. "...But..You're always so happy...And...nothing seems to bother you. Why?"
Miku sniffles, "I don't want anyone to worry about me."
She forces a weak smile. "It's better off like this, Rin." Rin slumped down in response, whimpering frantically and trembling with so much fear.
She could picture it perfectly, the way Len is pissed at Miku for not saying anything about self-harm or stuff she's going through. The way Luka and Meiko are concerned because of her scars and fresh wounds, beads of blood trailing over her slope valley, and milky skin drizzled with searing red liquid. The way Kaito would try to cheer her up with some ice cream, the way Gumi is crying with sorrow because the thought of losing her friend haunts her.
[Start]
"But...Miku.." Rin sniffles as Miku smiles through broken sad eyes, "It's okay. I'm sure everything will be alright." She says before finally sobbing uncontrollably and tiny hiccups filling the tension-coated air.
Rin forces herself to embrace the weeping girl in her arms as tightly as she could. Her warm breath seeped through the thin cloth of her dark blazer. Rin tightens her grip around the sobbing girl before she finally cries as well. "I'm sorry..." Rin whispered shakily between weeps. "I'm sorry..." The blonde female speaks with a soothing tone as tears trailed down her rosy cheeks and chin.
She felt terrible, and the guilt just kept churning in her stomach like a wave washing over a helpless person, dragging them into nowhere and nothingness. Rin had remembered what Gumi had told her, that a person even with an extreme amount of happiness and wealth was nowhere near perfect.
They could look happy on the inside, but you don't know how they feel on the inside or about themselves.
They could be broken just like you.
And everyone would be clueless about it.
