Hey, everyone, I've left a lot of fics hanging because well, I've sort of gotten older and when I look back on work like this one, it makes me eyes hurt. Not the story itself but how I've written it, I get that itching feeling stabbing me and telling me that I could have done so much better iiiiiif only, you know THAT feeling. So to eventually move on with stories like "Love you to Death" and "Sex Games" I've decided to slowly Export chapter by chapter and clean through them, not an actual rewrite or anything, but, some fixing is needed, and let us be honest. You guys know it too. It is time for me to complete some of these fics! No added content just fixing and minor rephrasing - Wish me luck.
*disappears*

Summary: Daisuke, a lonely teenager who has been home schooled for the major part of his childhood, finally joins a class at a local school. Despite how much he wants to make friends though, one particular Mauve-haired classmate of his has blacklisted him, for no apparent reason. Dark/Daisuke.

Warning: Unbeta'd, Keep them anti-depressants near you!
Disclaimer: I own nothing in the D.N. Angel Universe.

Love you to death
Chapter two
Exhibition

"How was school then?" Emiko asked, smiling at her beloved son, who at the time being seemed more silent than usually.

"It was good." He just said to not to worry his mother too much.

He grabbed a smaller aquarelle brush as he began to give the painting shadows and depth with light fluid movements.

There was almost no trace of clouds in his picture. He didn't know why, but when he painted something it always ended up looking like something too perfect and peaceful to be real. Like a world only to be seen in you wildest fantasies.

Daisuke had painted for as long as he could remember. Painting was his way to relieve himself of some of the ugly and negative feelings that weighed heavily on his mind. The feelings no one would even know he felt. People always called him ugly…he didn't protest. He had heard that so often that it simply didn't hurt anymore. He had become immune against it. His only problem was his physical condition something that would never change.

He hadn't been sick since he was five and back then he almost died because of infection. It had taken him weeks to recover after he'd been sent home from the hospital. That's why his mother was so overprotective of him. She feared him, being around all those other kids, where he could very easily become sick again.

He was a dreamer, living in his own world, leaving the rest of the world be, to destroy itself. All he wanted was to create beautiful things. His paintings often resembled something that had happened in his life. They had feelings to them, his feelings to be exact.

But today his picture wasn't perfect. It had a strong feeling called loneliness to it. Not that loneliness was a new feeling to Daisuke, but today he was suddenly becoming painfully aware of how alone he was. Being locked inside a house most of your life made you ponder on the workings of the outer world, but having now experienced the world where he did not belong, it had become more profound. No emerald green landscapes, no birds, no colorful sunset. But there weren't any clouds. The sky was deep, with millions of stars, glinting dimly. It was there. It seemed real, imperfect like him but still beautiful in a saddening way.

"Dai-chan it's beautiful!" Emiko smiled nuzzling his shoulder, causing him to flinch at the pain. After he had gotten home the two spots on his shoulder where Dark had grabbed him, had become bluish purple bruises. He tried his best to cover it and apparently it worked, since his mother hadn't freaked out yet.

"Thanks mom." He mumbled politely at the comment. "But it's not that good."

"Aww, Dai-chan. I think it is!" Emiko said cheerfully. "There's something different about this one. Your other paintings are…well how should I say it. Too perfect. But this one is better because it's more than just a black sky, you have really added a lot of nuances to this one. It seems more real."

"Oh…I thought so too myself. It's okay, but it'll never be good." Daisuke said dropping the brush on the table. "It's like me, acceptable but never more than that."

"Don't say that. It's not your fault that you're…well you know what." His mother tried to comfort him, but it never worked. Well, it wasn't her it was him.

He was too deep down, for people to reach him. He kept himself alive for his family's sake, nothing more. Nothing could help him; he would probably die in the end.

With silent tears running freely from his eyes, he tried to let out all the pain and frustration out, but it didn't help. He was stuck with the knowledge that he would never be able to live as a normal kid. And after today's ostracization in the class it had become more clear to him.

He woke up, feeling the salt from his tears still on his skin. He tried to dry it away with the sleeve of the pajamas as he opened his ruby eyes, focusing on nothing in particular.

A new day, and yet it was like all the others, just another uneventful day…

He looked at the alarm clock by his table. Oh no! He was late. He jumped out of his bed, pacing around in his search for his school books, pencils and notebook.

He chose a pair of white khakis and a red tank top in his hurry, not really thinking whether it looked good or not. Besides, did it really matter? It's not like anyone would even look his way.

He rushed through the empty hallways, stopping at least three times because he had lost his breath. He finally reached the classroom, where he politely, knocked on the door.

He apologized to the teacher, who just sends him an evil stare. She grabbed a black note book from her drawer where she scribbled down his name, before returning it to the drawer.

He heard laughs and whispers from the other students, including Dark, who sat by the window mimicking Daisuke running around in the schoolyard panting every five meters he got, everyone seemed to laugh even more at this.

Apparently Dark had seen him through the window as he had been desperately trying to find an entrance that wasn't locked. When the bell rang most of the doors was locked so that students wouldn't sneak out, pretending to go to the toilet.

The blond guy at least tried to hide his laugh, by looking down when Daisuke caught his eyes, but after some time he too exploded, after seeing Dark's little performance.

The teacher just sat by her desk not doing anything about it, or maybe she just didn't care. Daisuke felt his cheeks redden at all the stares he got. He tried to ignore the humiliation as he found his seat, sitting down calmly. He fished for his textbook in the black bag, his mother had bought him as gift for starting in school.

All eyes were still more or less directed at him a couple of minutes after, hoping he would do something to entertain them again.

He cried inwardly, he had never expected school to be like this. Maybe he should have listened to his mother when she told him, how depraved people could be to each other, but he'd never thought it would be like this. He had to make it through this year, he couldn't let anyone know how frail he really was.

The day went by slowly, every minute making it harder for him to not just break down in front of everyone. In the lunchtime, he had lost his appetite, maybe because someone hat called him ugly and fat during athletics. He grabbed his sketchbook and found a peaceful spot under the cherry tree, small petals of cherry blossoms falling down over him.

He didn't bother to brush them off and just grabbed his pencil, and began to draw. It was something that made him feel free, to draw, not knowing what he wanted to draw, but it always ended up becoming something.

He looked at his left hand, his pale skin was caressed by the small warm rays of sun escaping through the tree's close crown. The light dancing over his skin, as well as in the light green grass he sat in, actually everywhere under the tree. He tried to memorize every detail about it, hoping he could bring the exact same light into one of his paintings. It seemed so full of life, something both him and his paintings were in lack of.

"What are you drawing?" A curious voice asked. Daisuke once again ripped away from his dream world and into the cruel reality. He looked up at the shadow. It was a tall blue haired boy. It was Satoshi.

"Nothing." Daisuke mumbled, putting the sketchbook back into his bag pack. He grabbed his bag and stood up as he began to walk away, looking for a new place to sit where people would just leave him alone. Right now all he needed was peace.

"Niwa wait…where are you going?" Satoshi asked, looking a little concerned. "Are you all right?"

Daisuke put on a mask, as he turned around facing Satoshi. "I don't know somewhere I guess…and I'm just fine." He said with a fake optimism.

"No, you're not; I know you might not want to talk to me because I'm Dark's friend. But I just want you to know that he doesn't mean anything by it. He's always like that and well…you're new, so that's why he's picking on you."

"It's alright. That's the way life is, right?" Daisuke said, as he turned to leave. He didn't want apologies from Dark's friend for something Dark did. As he was aware of, it hadn't been Satoshi who had been sitting in class laughing his ass off at him. Satoshi as the only one had actually ignored it all, while he sat in the back reading a book.

"Niwa? Are you just accepting the things he is doing to you?" Satoshi asked with strong disbelief.

He stopped but didn't turn to look at the boy. "Yes, like I said that's the way life is, so there's really nothing I can do about it other than hold out and wait, until he gets a new student to pick on. Dark will eventually grow tired of me."

Satoshi was confused. The smaller boy, who had been smiling nervously, with a naïve look of hope and cheerfulness on his face just one day ago, was now accepting everything that had happened to him. He carried a burden that he had no idea of.

Satoshi sighed, wishing the boy, had chosen another school. He felt sorry for him, but obviously the redhead didn't like being pitied.

"Mom, I'm home!" Daisuke yelled, like he used to with his fake optimism.

"Dai-chan! I have good news for you. I know you don't want anyone to see your paintings, but I happened to have this friend over, who works on an exhibition for tomorrow, all the art is done by young artists as yourself, so she kind of burrowed your painting it for the show!"

"Mom, please tell me this is a joke?" Daisuke said, with a look of horror all over his face.

"Come on Dai-chan, you should be happy with your work, she said you were really talented." Emiko assured him. "Maybe you will meet someone there with the same interest as you."

"I seriously doubt I will, mom."