Bittersweet | ON HOLD

| chapter one |

-"1-800-273-8255" - Logic ft. Alessia Cara & Khalid

The town of Summerset was crisp with the autumn air, the breeze carrying the secrets and sorrows of the strangers walking the cracked sidewalks, hands shoved deep into their pockets. The vast night sky stretched over them glittering with stars, the wind whistling through swaying trees.

On one side of town, Noria was fumbling with his phone, trying to get his broken earbuds positioned properly in his ears so that he could continue his music playlist, fresh with new compiled songs, while cycling through empty roads. The trees zipped past him,  the bitter cold wind hitting his face. 

"Finally," he said to himself, as music started playing into his ears, and gently let go of the wire, careful not to move it.

Just miles away, a boy stood on the edge of a red, iron bridge, contemplating his life choices, fleeting bad memories resurfacing as the waves softly crashed underneath him. 

He looked down, the moon's reflection staring brightly back him, as if waiting for his decision. He closed his eyes, the wind numbing his exposed arms and face. Maybe he should've jumped earlier, he thought to himself, relishing an odd sense of tranquility wash over him. It hurt, oh it really hurt, but it would be over soon. He opened his eyes, and searched the sky, and landed on the constellation of Pegasus, his mother's favorite one. Are you disappointed in me, mom? 

He took a deep breath, and breathed in the smell of the fall leaves one last time, tears burning in his eyes, and lifted a foot off the edge. Freedom, he thought, is just a step away.

"Fuck!" A loud crash followed, and the boy stumbled off the edge, his heart hammering at the sudden noise. He whipped around to see a boy around his age on his knees, rubbing his elbows, his face pulled into a scowl as he muttered a string of words under his breath.

Maybe he shouldn't have turned around. Maybe he should've just ignored the crash and have jumped. But he didn't. Instead, he found himself blankly watched the boy from a small distance as he struggled to pick up his bike with shaky hands, and when it finally fell at his feet, he kicked the handle. He picked up his phone and made his way toward the bridge, and the boy stilled, realizing that he had stepped back on the edge of the bridge, the wind still howling in his ears.

"What the fuck, man." The boy had to blink a couple of times to make out the shape of the stranger's body approaching in his direction. "Can't fucking believe I had to fall in the middle of the night. "

Between the flicker of the overhead lamplights, he could finally make out the boy's face. He was thin, with round, brown, eyes, earbuds dangling out of his pocket, dressed in jeans and a fancy shirt, and he wondered why someone would be dressed like this at five in the morning.

The boy froze when he spotted him standing on the edge, and his scowl melted away into a confused look. "Uh. Am I interrupting something?" He frowned at himself. "Wait, that's a shitty way to start a conversation. My name is Noria," he said, holding out a hand in front of him.

He stared at Noria's veiny, slender fingers and blinked. And then he decided to say what was on his mind. "Leave me alone."

Noria didn't look fazed. "Now, now is that how you introduce yourself? That came off as a bit rude, don't you think? What's your name?"

The boy fought a strong urge to roll his eyes. His lips twitched in irritation. "Can you just go and do whatever the fuck you're supposed to do?"

"Only after you tell me your name." 

He found himself answering his question. "Adam." He regretted it the moment his name left his lips, and decided to sneer to get his point across. "Now, leave."