She skips forward, carefree. Footsteps are heard beside her, but only a sense of calm encompasses her.
She drags her fingers across the rough brick wall before she spins around, grinning at the person beside her. Anxiety stirs in her gut, a slight coil of fear twisting tight. She ignores it, merely lacing her fingers through theirs.
The person says something, but she doesn't hear it, almost like she's underwater. Her head moves automatically, nodding and she feels cold hands untangle themselves from hers.
The next few moments seem almost too fast, as though the universe had loosened its control. Sharp pain explodes in her back, making her hunch over, coughing. The knife is pulled out. She collapses onto the pavement. In her line of sight appears a teenager. He looks to be about seventeen and is wide-eyed, desperation and fear tainting his young face. He stumbles back as his quivering hands drop the bloodied knife.
He opens his mouth, but no words come out. Through her slowly dimming vision, she notices his eyes flick to her fallen wallet.
'Oh,' is the only thought that comes to mind through the excruciating pain before she closes her eyes, only regretting-
Sayu wakes up, panting. Her stomach turns and she lurches out of bed, stumbling over her fallen covers. Her dinner is emptied out into the toilet bowl.
She rests her forehead against the cold porcelain, temples throbbing. Sayu breathes in deeply and decides to do what she's best at. Pretending nothing's wrong.
She gets up and pads down the stairs. She reaches the kitchen and gulps down a glass of water. The ache in her head lessens slightly. She leans against the wall and tilts her head back, closing her eyes.
Clear grey eyes-
Sayu draws in a shuddering breath. An unknown emotion grasps her heart and she hates it. Hates these foreign emotions and memories that aren't even hers. Memories that make her long for- for something.
She fists a hand in her shirt right over the tug, right over the heart. Silent tears trickle down her cheeks and she slides down the wall, feeling defeated.
...
The next morning, she bounces around the house, dismissing her mother's concerns over the dark bags under her eyes with a few grins and sheepish replies of 'reading manga.'
Her brother narrows his eyes at her as she leaves the house, a bag slung over her shoulder. She merely gives him the same fake grin, but it doesn't fool him. Sayu doesn't bother gracing him with a reply.
They're both liars, after all.
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