Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Thunder and Silence

The rain poured relentlessly, drenching everything in its path, but Y/N hardly noticed. She clutched her bag tightly to her chest as she walked down the empty road, her school uniform clinging to her skin. The steady rhythm of raindrops pounding against the pavement mixed with the low rumble of thunder overhead. The weather seemed to mirror her emotions, as if the storm was crying for her, screaming with the pain she had buried deep inside.

She flinched as lightning cracked across the sky, illuminating her path for a brief second before plunging it back into gray. Her steps faltered, but she kept moving. She couldn't stop. Not now. Not when her chest felt this heavy.

"Y/N, you're too nice. It's no wonder people use you."

The words of her so-called "friend" replayed in her mind, louder than the storm around her. Those words weren't meant to comfort her. No, they were a mockery—a bitter reminder of her place in everyone's life. A stepping stone. A tool.

Her so-called "friendship" had been nothing more than a facade. They didn't care about her, not really. They only kept her around because her mediocrity made them shine brighter. When people saw her beside them, they admired them more—the "average" girl's presence made their own light seem blinding. And when Y/N was no longer useful? They discarded her without hesitation, leaving her to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart.

She stopped walking, her shoes sinking into a puddle as tears mingled with the rain on her face. "Why?" she whispered, her voice trembling. Her hands clenched her bag tighter as a sob wracked her body.

But this wasn't new. No, this was her life.

Y/N had always been the one people overlooked, the one people used, the one people left. She thought back to her childhood, growing up in a house filled with broken promises and louder-than-life arguments. Her parents had split when she was only seven, each too busy blaming the other to notice the little girl sitting in the corner, trying to understand why her family was falling apart.

Her father left first, taking with him any sense of stability. Her mother stayed, but only in body. Her mind and heart seemed to be elsewhere, leaving Y/N to fend for herself. She grew up learning not to expect too much from anyone because disappointment was inevitable.

And yet, she had hoped. She had hoped her friends would be different. That maybe, just maybe, someone would truly see her, value her for who she was, and not for what they could gain from her.

But they were all the same.

The storm intensified, the thunder roaring as if it, too, was angry for her. Y/N's breath hitched as another memory flashed in her mind—a moment from just hours ago when her friend had said it so nonchalantly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"You didn't actually think we were close, did you? I mean, come on, Y/N. Look at you and look at me. Be real."

The words sliced through her again, and she felt the tears fall harder. She couldn't understand it. What had she done wrong? Why did everyone seem to think she was nothing more than a convenience?

As she stood there in the rain, her body shaking with the weight of her sadness, she suddenly felt a small glimmer of resolve. Maybe the world wouldn't ever see her as enough. Maybe she would always be overlooked, underestimated, and used. But she was tired—tired of letting the storm of others' opinions define her.

The thunder rumbled again, and she lifted her face to the sky, rain cascading down her cheeks. For now, she let herself cry. For now, she let herself feel the weight of her heartache.

But deep down, the weight of everything threatened to crush her. She didn't feel strong—she felt hollow, broken, and tired. Tired of the constant betrayals, the loneliness, the feeling that no matter what she did, she was never enough.

Her thoughts grew darker with every step. Why is it always me? she wondered. The rain poured harder, soaking her to the bone, as if even the sky wanted to drown her. A lump formed in her throat, and her chest ached as the question she'd always been too scared to ask echoed in her mind. What's the point?

Y/N stopped walking, her knees nearly buckling as a wave of despair washed over her. She felt the urge to let the rain take her, to just close her eyes and stop fighting. It would be easier, wouldn't it? To let go of all the pain and finally rest?

But even as the thought crossed her mind, another part of her clung to the faintest glimmer of hope. A quiet voice inside whispered, Just hold on. It's going to be okay.

Her breath hitched, and she hugged her arms around herself as though trying to hold the pieces of her broken heart together. "It's going to be okay," she whispered shakily, even though she didn't fully believe it. "It has to be."

The rain fell harder, but she forced herself to take another step, and then another. Her life had been nothing but hurt, but giving up meant letting the pain win. She didn't want to give the world that satisfaction.

So she kept moving, tears blending with the rain as she silently repeated the words to herself: It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay.

Even if she didn't know how. Even if she didn't know when. Even if the ache in her chest refused to fade. For now, she would keep walking, because it was all she could do.