Y/N took hold of the boy's tough hand, pulling him up. He struggled, much more than her, to get into the large tree residing in their park. "I hope you aren't still being mopey," she joked, having him shove her hand as he lifted the rest of his body onto the large branch. "I'm not." Y/N smiled, digging into her deep pockets.
"I've got a surprise." "Oh no," he tried to hide his growing grin behind his hand, venturing his gaze onto the blank sky. Holding out two thin sticks, her feet tapped together, "they're sparklers!" "Oh...cool?" "I know!" Her face turned pink, dropping it only his palm, "they reminded me of you." He grumbled as his own face warmed up. "How the hell are we gonna light them?"
Y/N bit her lip. "Well...I thought you would?" "I'm not your personal night-light. Don't treat me like one!" She sighed, bowing her head with a small apology sounding off. "Damn you." He grabbed both their sparklers, lighting them carefully himself. "There you go, you big fucking baby." They held their sparklers across from each other, watching the sparks go off in different directions. Each of them, without the others' knowledge, observed the light bouncing off their eyes.
Y/N loved his soft features as he observed, his calm face and hands that looked easy to hold. She hadn't been able to sleep the other night after his strange confession. His deep voice echoing around them in that box was all her ears heard in the dead silence of her bedroom. Throughout the day she could ignore the insults because his words meant more.
So distracted by the features of his face and the way her pulse quickened at his words, the voices she heard on loops throughout her day went deafened. She only noticed they were there when the boy she was unintentionally crushing on looked below. Y/N shook her head, following where he looked. "Isn't she usually here?" Y/N's eyes widened at the sight of the two teenagers below.
She tried to quietly blow out her sparkler, causing the boy sharing the branch with her to do the same. "Cry-" Before he could whisper and question, her hand placed itself on his nose and mouth. He was quite annoyed at her way of quieting him. He lowered her hand so he could breathe, scooting closer so they could hide within the confines of the leaves. "Have you checked over there? I know she comes here all the time."
Y/N squeezed her hand tightly in his, her fear of the faces searching for her making her do it without noticing. Her lip quivered, embarrassed with herself for still not being able to face them. Y/N knew she fought Ground Zero, she knew she could do at least that! Why did these people scare her so? "Y/N!" Her nose scrunched up, her name reaching them in the trees and finding their way to lips. "Y/N?" The boy beside her whispered. "Quiet," she insisted, "they'll kill me if they find you here with me."
Feeling her lungs suffocating her, collapsing within her chest, Y/N knew they'd only leave if she showed herself. It'd be so much worse the following morning if she hid. "I'm going down." "What? Why? I thought-" His voice was raspy in her ear, filled with concern and determination to keep her in place. "Don't come after me." She lowered her leg before he pulled her back up. "No!" His crackling voice fiery with a worry and growing rage. "Don't be stupid." "I'll be okay. I know them."
As much as he wanted to object, he knew Y/N wasn't going to let him hold her back. He worried that all his commotion would get them both caught and as she stated before, that'd be worse. Lowering her legs again, Y/N climbed down, gaining their attention. It was a girl and boy the same age as her, their sickening smirks chuckling as they watched her appear. "There she is, damn crybaby." The boy still up in the tree flinched at the nickname he so easily threw around himself.
Y/N hesitantly stayed where she was, hands trembling as she used the trunk as stability to not fall to her feet. "You had a lot of nerve today." The unknown boy walked towards her, his knuckles cracking as the girl behind him lurked closer. "Saying what you did and then not expecting a punishment." Her back hit the tree and he laughed. "Nowhere to go, Y/N. You're going to learn." The observer above had boiling blood with every step the male took towards Y/N. His hands tensed as they held onto the branch, his chest pounding.
The boy grabbed Y/N by the collar of her hoodie, lurching her towards him. In a quick movement, his fingers gently landed on her neck. The pads of his fingertips tickled her skin as his teeth glared and were licked over by his tongue. Y/N tried to retain eye contact, a stiff glare, and a tightened jaw. His hand ran up her neck, touching her jawbone until her face was trapped between his thumb and pointer with a sharp grip. "Say you're sorry, Y/N." Her throat considered, before remembering the viewer in the sky and then swallowing the spit building up in her mouth.
"Say it," the unknown girl repeated, arms crossed as she stood away. "Say it." He squeezed her cheeks, his fingernails digging into her face. "Say it you fucking disgrace!" Her eyes flinched at his loud voice, begging not to cry but ultimately defying her. Her unheard tears fell down her face, landing on his hands. "What a little baby you are." The boy spit upon her, "there's some more tears for you." Her lungs squeezed within her, eyes red and itching as more cold tears fell in desperation.
"Say you're sorry," he whispered into her ear, his other hand drifting down further to the hem of her sweatshirt. "Don't make me." Knowing the pain she'd feel and the eventual reaction of the spectator she had abandoned, Y/N spit out the words, "I—I'm s-I'm sorry." "That's right," he cooed, retreating his hand, "good girl." He let go of her face, taking his thumb and wiping the spit and tears from her cheeks. "What you said were lies and I hate liars. Telling me the truth would make me happy."
His wet thumb was pressed against her lips. "Make me happy, Y/N." Y/N kept her eyes to the ground, wanting so badly to run away. She decided the only viable option was to comply. "You were right," she said, "I'm poison." "And?" "A waste." "And?" "And...I..uh..I." "Y/N, the truth." "I'm—below—you and—and—I'm not stronger than you."
"Thank you," he cheered, patting her face and backing away. "See you tomorrow," the girl waved, skipping off. "Goodnight, Y/N." They exited the park and Y/N fell to her knees as she heard the boy in the tree climb down to join her. "Crybaby?" He asked, getting on his knees beside her, "are you hurt?"
She lifted her face, her tears still flowing. "It's not true," she said, "I know the truth!" He blushed hard as she grasped his face, "You're words mean everything to me! Fuck them!" He laughed, "fuck them! You're cool as fuck!" She laughed with him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hiding her tears in his shoulder. "Fuck them."
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Sorry for such a late update! Although I don't technically have update schedules, I still like to hold up at least every two weeks or so... I'm still technically on hiatus, but this chapter has gone through some shit and is a big reason for my breakdown. Anyway, the next one won't be very soon, but I'll update when I'm back from my break. Thanks for the support! -May
