It Starts, It Ends

Chapter 4

Hey everyone. I have most of the poems for the remaining chapters written. So, that means I just have to write the actual chapters.

Anyway, I have school next week, so I'm gonna try to write as much as I can. Every summer, I get a strong urge to write in the last week of vacation… well, I guess that's good for anyone who likes to read my stories. (Thanks to those people!) Not sure how much of this story I'll get done though cuz I have a bunch of things I'm trying to write. Sorry for the rant…

XXX

My biggest secret had been revealed,

Though I continued telling lies.

I locked away how I feel,

And kept my thoughts buried deep inside.~

When Rin walked into the classroom with Yuki-chan, my heart froze for a moment. Rin looked like a complete mess, and Yuki-chan didn't look much better. Rin wasn't even trying to act like he was alright. Before he went to his desk, Yuki-chan whispered something into his ear.

Rin… Did something happen? Or… Has he finally cracked under everything…? Rin, please be okay!

As he walked to his seat, Rin tripped. Suguro smirked. My heart sank.

~ But they don't know my new secret,

That isn't really new.

I won't ever tell it to them,

So they can't judge me for that too.~

As soon as the prep-school ended, Rin left as fast as he could. I heard Suguro click his tongue. Worried, I ran after Rin. I followed him until we ended up in front of his dorm. When he finally stopped running, I saw that tears were falling from his eyes. I walked over to him and touched his arm.

"Rin, are you okay?" I asked softly.

He jumped and spun toward me quickly.

"…Shiemi…?" he sobbed.

This was when I saw red. There were bleeding slashes on one of his arms. His fingernails on the opposite hand were bright red. My eyes widened.

"Rin! You need to get that treated!" I yelled.

"It's okay, Shiemi. It'll heal pretty fast…," Rin replied while avoiding my eyes.

"Why did you do that…?" I questioned.

"…Sorry….," Rin apologized, barely above a whisper.

I didn't understand. I looked closer at his arm and saw thin white lines crisscrossing all over his arms. Then, I knew exactly what had happened. I threw my arms around him.

"Rin… E-Everything's going to wor-work out, okay? The others j-just ha-haven't realized that y-you're still our f-friend," I told him, starting to cry myself. "It's g-going to be o-okay…"

~My brother's already seen my scars,

And I realized he didn't hate me.

But still, life is way too hard,

Because I'm hated by almost everybody.~

A few minutes later, Yuki-chan arrived. As soon as he saw us, he clearly knew what happened. He sighed sadly as he led us inside

~Can I keep going on,

If I have a few people on my side?

But when so many always think I'm wrong,

Hope is stolen from my mind.~

As Yuki-chan slowly made tea, I looked at Rin. He looked back at me with a sad smile on his face. For what seemed like the hundredth time today, my heart sank. Rin looked… resigned.

He… He hasn't given up, right…? He… He can't…