30 My First Real Experience

With my arms wrapped around, even through the thin fabric of the curtain, I could feel how uncomfortable he was.

But, I wasn't letting go.

"H-Haruka-kun?" Ryuu stuttered before placing his hands on mine and starting to push them off.

"Ryuu-kun, yesterday you refused to face me, but I want to talk to you!" I squeezed even harder in resistance.

Damn, he's rock solid! Those muscles, man!

Ryuu sighed.

Right. Not the time to be distracted. Get yourself together, hoe!

"About what you saw?" He asked knowingly as I felt his hands drop.

"Yes. And about your behavior overall yesterday." Hearing his defeated tone, I slowly let go, careful in case he was gonna make a run for it.

"What about Sato-sensei?" Ryuu asked as I saw his shadow turn around.

Shit, I forgot about her.

"Uhm, I'm sure if I explain that we were patching things up, she'll let it go." I said with little confidence.

I mean, considering how she reacted when I told her we were friends, I definitely think she would. Right?

Ryuu's hand grabbed the end of the curtain.

...

He didn't make any move to pull it open.

I sighed.

His hand flinched.

"I won't force you to look at me if you don't want to, but we can at least chat, right?" I tried speaking nonchalantly.

Obviously, it's gonna hurt when someone you consider a friend so blatantly avoids you.

Why doesn't he want to see me? Is he still too ashamed to face me? Or is it something else?

"Sorry." Ryuu softly mumbled as I saw his hand disappear from the edge of the curtain.

"We're lucky no one's here right now." I laughed a little to lighten the mood. "They'd probably be weirded out."

...

Alright, guess I'll be doing most of the talking.

"Let's start with today. Why are you so late?" I asked as I crossed my legs on the bed. "Were you skipping?"

"...I had some things to take care of." He murmured.

Vague answer, huh.

"Okay, then. Next, yesterday you were a bit, uhm, defensive during lunch. You didn't really acknowledge Akira or Yuu-kun. I can understand you not getting along with them, but you didn't even try getting to know them." I absentmindedly played with my fingers on my lap. "I know you're not use to being friendly with people, but yesterday was another level, I feel."

His hands were clenched. I could tell by his shadow.

"Like I said before, I don't need anyone else." He sounded... annoyed? Upset? Frustrated?

I frowned.

"That's not good, Ryuu-kun! What'll you do if I'm not here? I can't always be there—"

I was cut off by the sound of the curtain loudly ripping open.

I jumped back when the light suddenly hit me, but it was only for a second before darkness blocked it again. Then, all of a sudden, pain blossomed from my shoulders as I was pushed down onto the bed.

After wincing, I looked up to see silver burning me as golden locks hung down. His brows were scrunched together, and a frown marred his lips. His fingers were harshly digging into my shoulders as he hovered over me, his knees resting on the bed on either side of my thighs.

I gulped.

If this was in the game, this would definitely be a CG moment.

"I won't let you leave me." Ryuu growled.

My eyes widened.

Shit.

I didn't want to fucking deal with yandere Ryuu!!! He's second in line for the scariest!

"I-I never—fuck." I grimaced.

I couldn't help it. His fingers felt like they were gonna fucking pierce through my uniform and skin at any second! My shoulders might even get dislocated at this rate!

"L-Let go." I weakly mumbled as I squinted at him through the pain and feebly put my hands on his arms.

He didn't budge at all.

"Ryuu—"

He leaned down until his face was an inch away from mine.

Even through my tear-filled vision, I could make out his deranged eyes.

My body went cold.

It was scary.

He was scary.

"I'm going to say this one more time, Haruka. I don't need anyone else but you. I don't know what'll happen to me if you leave me, so I won't ever let that happen. Never." He spoke with such finality that there was no room to argue.

My chest hurt.

This was totally foreshadowing Ryuu's bad ending.

A reminder.

"I-I got it, so l-let go already." My voice was trembling, and my throat was feeling close to closing up on me.

I was so close to crying, and not from the pain of my shoulders.

"..." Ryuu silently stared for a moment. I could only do my best to not burst out into sobs as I looked off the the side.

I couldn't bear looking at this terrifying person.

It made me feel sick.

Suddenly, his grip tightened.

"Urgh!" I cried out in pain as more tears started flooding out. My breathing started becoming uneven.

A-Am I panicking right now?

As I focused everything I had on calming down, Ryuu leaned down even further until he was right next to my ear.

"Mine." He breathed against my ear and released of my shoulders. Instead, he laid on top of me and nuzzled his face against my neck.

My blood turned to ice.

Any crying was stopped by the pure, intense fear I felt.

I wanted to throw up.

Then, the bell rang.

"Tch." I heard Ryuu click his tongue before getting up.

I didn't feel any better after he wasn't touching me anymore.

When our eyes met, I know my face was twisted in fear, but Ryuu either refused to notice or didn't care.

He smiled a smile I once thought to be adorable.

...I'll never be able to look at it the same way.

"Let's go. I'll bring you to class." He kindly spoke as he wiped away the tears still on my cheeks.

When he went to pull me up, I cringed.

"Oh." Realization dawned on his face. "Let me see." He reached out for one of my shoulders.

I scooted away from his reach.

"N-no need! Let's go." I quickly said while avoiding eye contact.

I can't bear to look at him anymore right now.

I rushed to stand up and brushed past Ryuu.

Without ever looking back, I made it to the classroom. I silently sat at my desk and stared blankly down at the surface.

My heart was still pounding.

"Did you sleep well?" I heard Akira ask after some time. He must've just got back.

"..." My fingers were still shaking.

"Haru?"

"I... I didn't." I softly answered before putting my head in my hands. "I didn't."

"Hey, what happened?" Akira tenderly placed a hand on my shoulder.

I shifted away in pain.

"Haru?" Akira sounded really concerned now.

The teacher walked in.

Akira backed up to his seat, and I put my head into my arms on the desk.

I don't think I can pay attention even if I wanted to.

"Sensei!" I heard Akira suddenly call out.

"What is it, Miyazaki-kun?"

"Haru has a really bad headache. Can I take him to the nurse's office?" I quivered at the mention of the nurse's office.

"Is that true, Suzuki-kun?" Sensei directed towards me.

I didn't raise my head.

"See, Sensei! He can't even bear to move." Akira exclaimed as he stood up. "So, can I?"

"Hm." Sensei was hesitant. "It doesn't seem like he's okay at the very least. Fine, but don't dilly dally!"

"Of course not, sir!" Akira reached out to my hand this time. "Hey, lets go."

I slowly looked up from my arms.

Akira was visibly anxious. He bit his lip when he saw my face.

I've never seen such a face from him before.

Wait!

I abruptly sat up and looked back to see if Ryuu was watching. When I noticed the empty seat, I calmed down a little.

"Haru." Akira called worriedly as he tugged my hand.

I slowly stood up. He didn't let go of my hand as we left the classroom and walked to the infirmary.

"Haru, something happened with Yamamoto, right?" Akira asked with a frown.

He undoubtably knew the answer from his tone, so why bother asking?

"..." I only squeezed his hand in return, not wanting to talk about it.

He went silent as our footsteps became the only thing echoing in the empty hallway.

...

"Ahhh, shit." Akira cursed, sounding vexed.

Abruptly, he stopped walking and turned around to face me. I looked up in confusion. I couldn't help but notice his face was scrunched up in grief as he got closer to me.

I jumped when he slid his hands under my arms and around my back in a hug.

"It's okay to cry, you know?" Akira gently spoke as he rested his chin on top of my head. "No one will hear you here."

"Urk." My throat clenched as tears started flooding my vision again.

"It's okay. I'm here." Akira whispered as he rubbed my back comfortingly.

"Uww—!" I clenched his shirt and buried my face into his chest.

And I cried.

I cried the hardest I ever had.

I never felt such severe fear like that before.

I panicked. I went into shock.

Nothing felt real. Or rather, I didn't want it to be real.

This wasn't suppose to be real.

This was suppose to just be a game.