"Aster?"
The silver-haired Pro Duelist was watching him with great intent from a nearby bench half-hidden by bushes.
"Syrus." He answered politely.
"What are you doing out here?" Syrus was genuinely curious.
Aster grinned wolfishly. "I could ask the same of you. Playing hooky, are we?"
"So are you!" Syrus countered defensively. At Aster's suddenly drooping expression, he quickly toned himself down. "Sorry," he squeaked. "I'll leave."
"No, stay. I could use the company. Besides, it looks like you need some too."
"More than you realize," Syrus remarked under his breath.
That got his attention. "Oh?" Aster raised an eyebrow. "Care to talk about it?"
Syrus jammed his hands in his pockets. "You wouldn't want to hear my problems."
Yeah. You might need therapy even more so than me.
Aster shrugged. "All right, but they must be pretty bad to be wandering around out here."
"Is that why you're out here too? To…escape?" Syrus wasn't trying to be smart. He was genuinely curious about this Pro Duelist who kept to himself and fiercely decided he didn't need to belong anywhere on campus.
Out of the blue, Aster's eyes connected with Syrus' own. "I like to be alone sometimes."
Right.
Syrus eyed the bench, wanting desperately to sit down next to someone who he didn't have an emotional connection with while mooching off the presence of a living, breathing body regardless. Odd how he neither wanted to be around people nor wished to be completely alone.
Still, Aster expressed his desire to be alone. Solitary. In other words, screw you, Syrus.
"Do you…have somewhere to be?" Aster asked. "You can stay here if you feel the need to talk."
Aster's rather serene face was utterly genuine. The brash Pro Duelist was serious. However, beneath that cool glassy surface that betrayed no emotions, Syrus was sure there was a hidden crack or two that was just waiting to materialize. Aster wanted to hear the dirt about the abused shell-shocked kid that was just on the verge of bitter angst-ridden tears at the drop of the proverbial hat. Why else would he want to listen to his problems?
God, I'm starting to freak myself out more and more. He doesn't know. How could he?
But, the real issue is, should I tell him anything at all? Once the secret's out; it's out. And, Syrus old buddy, you'll be the one to deal with the consequences.
Syrus' brain must have been coming unhinged in several places. Why else did he so promptly decide to take Aster's advice and chose to seat himself right beside him on that surprisingly smooth wooden bench?
"I…have a problem," Syrus confided weakly in a ghost of a voice that sounded thirty years too old for him—something that stemmed from too many years of pain. Too many years of silence.
Gosh, by now, I could give my brother a run for his money in the 'I'm so tortured' department.
"Let me guess," Aster began in an overconfident tone, "it's Jaden. You and Jaden got into a fight and you're now intentionally avoiding each other, right?"
"No!" Syrus cried almost out of frustration, surprising himself more than Aster. "No," he repeated more evenly. "No, that's not it at all. Not even Jaden actually knows."
Aster frowned as his eyes simultaneously narrowed in undisguised interest. "Then, what is it, Syrus?"
Syrus sighed so deeply that he could literally feel the air exhale right out of his toes. His eyes began to burn, blurring his vision, as he focused his gaze towards the grass. He couldn't seem to gaze into Aster's face at the moment.
"Syrus, what on earth is it?" Alarm was entering Aster's voice.
I've gotten this far. Why not go the whole way? Why not?
"It's my brother," Syrus choked out in a rush. "Zane..." His throat locked on that name.
"Zane?" Aster leaned down closer to where Syrus was debating on the advantages of hugging his knees for support. "Zane's done something? What is it? Did he threaten you?" The questions came rapid-fire.
"Something like that," Syrus admitted weakly while feeling about the size of a mud puddle.
In avid fascination, the world itself seemed to stand still. The birds damned near shut their beaks as the blades of grass tried their best to wave innocently in the breeze. This wasn't how Syrus envisioned telling his greatest secret—on a beautiful day sitting next to duelist royalty—breaking down emotionally in front of a guy he barely knew. Hell, he had never envisioned telling his secret at all.
"Syrus!" Aster shouted sharply. "What is Zane threatening you with? Did he hurt you? You know, you're not doing yourself a lot of good keeping it in."
Why is Aster making such a huge deal? Oh, right. The hero complex.
But, right now, Syrus was in a devil-may-care mood. Who cared at this point? At this rate, he'd probably just end up committing suicide by his eighteenth birthday.
Yeah, if it wasn't such a huge deal, why didn't you spit it out by now, Sy?
"Zane abuses me, okay?" Syrus yelled right into Aster's stunned face. "Sexually, to be exact."
There. I did it. Are you happy now?
Aster was struck silent as his eyes probed searchingly for any trace of a lie while Syrus glared back with a blazing challenge in his eyes—daring Aster to contradict him. But, somewhere between his confession and false bravado, the world became awash with tears as his emotions literally exploded. For the first time in his life, Syrus completely broke down. Hard.
"You're not kidding," Aster commented quietly as Syrus was openly bawling into his open hands like one of those women in the movies that had been stood up by the object of their affections. (Before promptly hanging themselves in the attic.)
Syrus found himself incapable of speech as the sobs kept coming. Even in his precariously wounded state, he now understood that a dam had been broken. Right here and right now was the resulting flood. If or could the dam should ever be rebuilt would be a pressing matter that would dictate quite possibly the rest of Syrus' life.
At the moment, Aster stared on dumbfounded while possibly asking: why the hell did I ask you tell me?
Author's Note: I type one of these at the end of every chapter, don't I? I'd expect this fic to be over ten chapters. Yup, I realize the nature of this fic, and it wasn't a picnic to write this chapter. (The emotional quotient, not the technical.) Also, thanks to all reviewers! I have almost 1,000 hits on this fic. (Which I found mildly surprising…)