Agape (Under Editing)

Chapter 1: The Return

Present Day

*Crymson*

In the years following Storm leaving, I progressively became more and more closed off from my friends and family. Not only did I begin talking less and less, but I also locked myself in my room for days at a time. And at the beginning of this year, in a moment's decision, I cut my hair and got it lightened. It wasn't just the fact that he had left that upset me so much, It was the coldness in his goodbye. How mad I knew he had been with me when he left.

I knew that it was my fault that he left while we were on such bad terms. I owned up to that, I wished that he hadn't left then, though. I knew that it was unchangeable. Everyone tried to get me to leave my room and have fun, but I just wasn't up for it.

Now, six years later, I still stay in my room, avoiding everyone. I haven't spoken more than a few sentences in the past week or two, and I most definitely haven't gone to school in the past 5 years. I am homeschooled and I don't plan on going to college.

The summer ends in one month, and my mom has been trying to convince me to go to public school for my senior year, but I cannot and will not do it. I know that Storm is three grades ahead of me, but I wanted to graduate from the same school as him.

It sounds like an obsession, I know, but we had been friends for our whole lives. I looked up to him. When he got a cavity, I ate enough sweets and refused to brush my teeth for almost two months so that I could have a cavity too.

I wanted to be just like him. He was the best thing in the world in my eyes. Anyway, amidst all the sadness, I was happy for my last year of school. I kept it all on the inside, and I told no one.

I had been going downstairs for breakfast when I noticed something was different. No one would say anything to me, and they all avoided making eye contact. I wasn't complaining, though. I often got sick and tired of the looks of pity and the countless questions.

This was weird, though. I ignored my family's weird ways and got a bowl of cereal. I wasn't particularly hungry, but I wasn't allowed to go without eating at least 2 meals and a fruit every day.

I looked at my older sister and gave her a questioning look, but she just looked away and went back to typing on her phone. I rolled my eyes to myself and went back upstairs. Before I even sat down to eat, there was a knock on the door, and I was being called back downstairs.

I groaned internally and went back down. As soon as I turned the corner into the kitchen, I saw a face that I hadn't seen for the longest time. I felt my eyes tear up and my mouth open. Standing there was none other than Storm Canter.

"Hi," he said to me. I couldn't speak. He looked so different. He had let his hair grow out to his shoulders and he had gained a whole lot of muscle. He was 21... or at least he would be in 2 months.

I thought about just running back to my room, but what right did I have to run away like that. As I said, I was the one who had made him want to go to Elliot. He wanted to be away from me, and now he was back and talking to me.

I tried to speak. I did. The words wouldn't come out, though. I was so in shock, my voice decided to leave me. I simply waved and tried my best at a happy smile. I had never noticed how handsome he was.

Wait, no, Crymson Alessiana. He is 21. That's a whole lot of illegal. He looked at my mom confused as to why I didn't say anything and she just shook her head. "She doesn't talk much anymore." She explained.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she has forgotten how to speak." Ivory, my sister, said with a slight scoff. I knew she wasn't being serious, though. She would say pretty much anything to get some kind of reaction from me.

Storm looked back at me and asked, "can I talk to you... somewhere private?" I nodded and led him to the sunroom. We both took a seat and he cleared his throat. "I just want to apologize. For everything. I know that what I said all those years ago hurt you.

"While I was gone, I did a lot of self-evaluation. I had hours on end to think and try to decipher everything going on inside my head." He told me. I went to say something, but he held up a hand and continued speaking.

"I had so much trouble at first. At Elliot, I mean. From the day that I snapped at you forward my anger only got worse. I would get so mad where..." He took a deep, shaky breath, "I would... hurt people. Nothing too bad though.

"The weird thing was... The anger only lasted maybe an hour before I was back to normal. A lot of other weird stuff happened too. I had no choice, but I got so down that I didn't want to leave the room that I slept in.

"And sometimes, I was too overly excited about everything. So... they made me see a psychiatrist. Within the first week or so, he knew exactly what was wrong with me." Storm paused once again and inhaled slowly.

"He started me on three different medications, but I didn't get better. I got worse. My mood swings became more consistent. After about six months, I was taking 2 different antidepressants, and 4 other types of meds.

"At first, I didn't think that anything was working and I wanted to just take all of the pills and put an end to my own misery. But, slowly, I started to get better. My moods stabilized and I got better at controlling them."

All of his words confused me. He was saying things, but I didn't understand. Why did he have to take all of those medicines? I tried my voice again, and thankfully, it worked. "W-what were all the meds for? Are you sick or something?" I asked

"I guess you could say that..." He trailed off. He was being vague. No matter how much I missed him, I hated when people avoided answering my questions. I gave him a pointed look and he finally sighed.

"I didn't want to say it because it just makes me even more aware that something is going on in my own head that I have little to no control over." He said sadly. Then, his next words shocked me more than I had ever been shocked before. "Crymson... I'm bipolar."

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Word Count: 1187