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Yangyang woke up in a hospital bed, his body ached but no sharp pains made it obvious he'd hurt himself bad. He sat up with a groan, the only sound in the dull room was the beeping heart monitor next to him. He glanced beside him, to the visitor's chair and saw his mother. Relief flushed through his body as he saw her, but why were they here anyway? His mum slowly raises her head and meets his gaze.
"Yangyang! Oh my god, you're okay!" She rushes over and wraps him in a huge hug. "How do you feel? Okay?"
"Yeah, bit sore. What happened?" Yangyang rubs his eyes. His mum falls pointedly quiet, her face darkening.
"What happened?" Yangyang pushes again.
"Well... there was... a car crash," His mother chokes up a little.
"Wha-"
A nurse walks in and smiles reassuringly at him.
"I see you're up, that's good. How're you feeling?" She does a quick check-up on him and obviously satisfied that he's okay, permits them to leave the hospital. His mum quickly darts off with the nurse, having to sign some papers before they leave. She's avoiding telling him something, that much was very clear.
Yangyang drags himself out of the bed and groans a little as his feet hit the floor. He walks to the bathroom and gazes in the mirror. Other than a few small cuts on his face, he seemed fine. He hears the door open and he walks back into the room, ready to confront his mum for answers.
Instead... Hendery stands in the room, staring at him with dull eyes.
"Oh... hey," Yangyang feels awkward, he wasn't sure how to react. Was Hendery still mad at him? He looked so... ruined. He had a bruise welled on the side of his face and cuts all down his arms.
"Did you do it on purpose?" He spat.
"What?" Of all things, he didn't expect to hear that.
"Did you crash into our car on purpose, you dickhead," Hendery's words weren't aggressive, if anything, they were just laced with sadness.
"No, what?! Why would I? I wasn't even driving, how the hell would I crash into your car!?"
Hendery simply stared downwards, and Yangyang realised he was crying. They stood like this for a while, until Hendery's dead-cold eyes met his.
"You fucking liar."
And he was gone, the door slammed. Yangyang stood on the spot, his blood chilled. A pit welled in his stomach. Guilt.
His mum walks back into the room, Yangyang never noticed how tired she looks.
"Let's get out of here," she gives a pained smile.
"Mum," Yangyang was still frozen on the spot, "What happened? Did- Did I do something?"
His mother's panicked look makes tears well up in his eyes.
"No, honey. It's just-," She stumbles for words, "Hendery's mother was killed."
Hendery's mother was killed.
Memories rush back to him, that voice triggering things that lay deep in his mind.
"How?" Yangyang's voice was cold, did his mum know?
"I- I lost control of the car, I guess. We accidentally swerved onto their side of the road... and well..." She lost control of her voice, her eyes looked so haunted. So, she didn't know or didn't remember.
But Hendery does.
Yangyang held his head in pain. What was going on?! His mum rushes over.
"Are you alright? Should I get the nurse to check it out?"
"No... Nah it's alright. I'm fine, just got a bit of a headache." That's one way to put it.
They left the hospital without a sight of Hendery. Yangyang imagined that he wouldn't want to talk to him anyway.
Yangyang went to school the next day, hopping on the bus felt like a curse. Much to his surprise, the pretty girl that sat in front of him and Hendery on their first day comes to the back seat and slides in next to him.
"You haven't been here for ages," she says by way of greeting. Her voice is straightforward but still kind.
"Yeah, a lot of stuff has happened," Yangyang didn't exactly feel like having this conversation.
"Well, that sucks. Where's your friend?" She chews on a piece of gum, making Yangyang slightly pissed.
"Does it matter? Who even are you anyway?" He snaps at her. She looks slightly taken back but not hurt.
"My name's Lina if that's what you mean. Sorry if that was a touchy subject."
They sit in silence for the rest of the bus ride. At school, Yangyang finds Xiaojun sitting in their usual spot for homeroom, he slinks into the seat next to him.
"Morning, how're you feeling?"
"Shit, let's move on," Yangyang huffs.
The day goes fast, Yangyang has a lot of work to catch up on. Lucas and Winwin both avoided him like the plague. They barely said anything to Ten and Xiaojun too, obviously upset that they sided with Yangyang.
Leaving campus, Yangyang gets a glimpse of them walking together down the road, heading the same way they once did to go to the arcade. Thinking better of it, Yangyang didn't follow them. He really didn't want to cause trouble, he just wanted this whole mess to end.
End, it will.
-~-~-
Under the cover of night, he softly dropped onto the grass outside. He knew where he was going, even if he'd never been. He stopped in front of a bus sign, the bus arriving soon after. His blood flowed through his veins, his heart beating softly but assuringly.
He hopped on the bus, perching on a back seat. He wouldn't need to wait long, not long at all. A girl hopped on the bus and the engine started once more. She made her way down until she reached his seat and sat. She looked familiar enough, not that he cared.
"Guess we meet again, huh?" He only levelled cold eyes at her and she shifted uncomfortably.
"That's... kind of hot," She laughed to herself. He gazed forward again, no point wasting energy. The bus rounded to the second stop and he pushed past to the aisle. The girl fell onto the floor with a yelp, he just kept walking.
"Hey!" She yelled from behind him.
He landed on the smooth pavement, the crisp night air feeling awkward. After walking a few blocks, he stopped in front of his destination. A modern two-storey house. He walked around to the back gate and climbed over, circling until he looked up to the back balcony on the second storey.
There was a lattice propped against the wall, which he scaled easily. Jumping over the railing, he stared into a boy's bedroom. The owner of the bedroom was slumped over a desk, books piled high. He smiled as the boy darted awake at the sound of the sliding door opening. Stepping into the room, the boy jumped up to meet him.
"What are you doing here?" He growled in a hushed tone, perhaps not to wake the others in the house. He could only smile at the pure panic in the boy's eyes as he slid a hand into his pocket.
