Sunlight In the Darkness

Never Be Ok

The moment John stepped off that bus, Rei knew something was wrong.

It had been three months since the ravenette had been expelled from New Bostin High School and sentenced to get help at a readjustment facility, and now he was finally returning home.

Rei had taken some time off from university to be able to welcome his little brother home with the rest of the family, but upon getting his first glance of the younger male, he started to seriously doubt that any help or support was provided to the boy.

Of course, it wouldn't be surprising if that were the case. He had been in the custody of the authorities after all, and no one in the family trusted them. It was an unspoken theory that they were the ones who had slaughtered John's biological family that even John himself seemed to believe. They weren't completely sure, though. They didn't have anything to prove it.

The greenette's parents were the first to move as John trudged towards them with the strap of a dark blue bag slung over his shoulder, their younger son's disheveled appearance immediately sending red flags through their heads.

The ravenette looked as if he hadn't seen the light of day in a while, his skin paler than normal, and his unruly black hair overgrown in the back and matted together in thick knots and tangles. Dark eyebags stuck out like a sore thumb beneath his eyes, and he looked as though he had lost some weight, a haunted but guarded expression adorning his features.

"John!" Celeste, his mint green-haired mom, and Alan, his pink-haired dad, rushed forward at the same time, running to engulf the teen in a hug only to stop abruptly in their tracks as John flinched and stepped backwards, golden eyes glued to their hands.

Now that definitely wasn't right. John was never one for being touched after all the bullying he had to endure, but he had never once shied away from his family. On top of that, he was watching their hands extremely carefully, almost as if he was afraid they'd hit him, which was something the couple would never do. They were probably the gentlest high-tiers Rei knew.

They had never cared about ability levels or the hierarchy, believing that people should all be treated the same regardless of their tier. It was cruel to treat someone so horribly because of something they couldn't help, and the whole family believed this wholeheartedly.

Rei knew that, deep down, John still held onto these beliefs. He knew that the previous tyrant of New Bostin High School was not who his little brother was. Years of abuse and pain would cause anyone to snap as soon as they were given the chance to fight back. He wasn't justifying his actions, mind you, but he knew that many others would've done similar things if they were in the ravenette's position.

Crouching down in front of John so that she was eye level, Celeste brought a hand up slowly, concern filling her amber eyes as the boy stiffened and leaned away from her approaching hand while still tracking its movements.

The greenette paused in her movements, biting her lip and slowly dropping her hand back down to her side as she decided she didn't want to frighten her son any further.

But the overwhelming concern was quickly replaced with a fiery anger, the kind of anger that only a mother gets when someone dared to lay a hand on her child. Celeste knew. She knew that the authorities weren't kind to him.

They hurt him. She knew they should've fought harder to keep him away from them. She knew they would only cause him harm.

The woman could tell that Alan felt the same way as he placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze while a certain anger of his own burned in his yellow eyes. However, now was not the time for these emotions, and both adults knew this. They had to stay calm while their youngest son was right in front of them. They could process this all later when John was settled back in and out of ear shot.