Comet

The new you'll never see

Prince's eye twitched uncontrollably. He decided to walk to some place new. His friends didn't know where he was.

"Lately, I've been tempting for things to reverse. To old childish me, and how I never bothered to open them. I didn't want that. It seemed so enticing, to finally be free from this godforsaken hellscape of feeding off of plain ordinary food and having the putrid smell of garbage make its way to my brain. Even if the gates were open, that option is impossible."

Prince leaned forward as he walked.

"Ivy, I'm so sorry. There are no words that can fix something physical and permanent as death. I looked up to you, I loved you with all my heart, but... I could go blame Harry and my family for forcing this mission on me, but I am the one who pulled the trigger."

Prince ran down a hill at a fair pace.

"I can't fix things back to the way they were, I can't magically make everyone happy. The regret and grief is enough to kill me. That's the sinful burden I have to carry until the day I die."

Prince ran through the forest, recognizing the area and knowing where to go.

"You wanted to be better. You used to be such a harsh woman, your only sweet spot was family. I guess Valerie and I broke that sweet spot, anyway. You took care of my bullies in the harshest way, and you wanted to change. I remember when you asked if you wanted to run away with me. Not anyone else, me. I told you that I'd stay with our family, that was my first mistake."

Prince saw the wreckage of bricks and wood planks, crushed in one pile of the house interior, surrounded by trees.

"Change for the better? You achieved it. I should have said how happy I was to see you not have a stink eye all the time. Your pink hair is beautiful, and it matches you perfectly. Not the stupid golden crystal hair that directly linked you to this horrible family."

Prince crossed the road.

"I'll change, too. You won't see me change, neither will Marcus. He'll never accept me again. And you know what? That's fine."

Prince surveyed the area, noticing a man-made pile of dirt and pebbles. He walked closer to it. Tears dropped on the pebbles.

"If this is your grave, then I hope your eternal rest isn't too bad. Thank you for being my sister, thank you for loving and caring for me. I'm sorry for being the worst brother in the history of humanity."

Prince walked home later. Home as in a trash-filled alleyway. Krogue was dancing as a car with loud music passed by as Henry was dozing off.

"Hey, guys," Prince waved.

Krogue stopped dancing, running to Prince.

"Where did you go?! I was worried!" Krogue cried.

"I had to do something. I'm back now," Prince said.

Henry woke up. After he yawned, he said, "Prince, glad to see you're back. Did it work?"

"No, it didn't. That's okay," Prince grinned, "I got you guys anyway!"

Prince hugged them both in their dirty clothes.

"Well, darn that Marcus! I think you're perfect and amazing!" Krogue beamed.

"Aw, really?" Prince chuckled, "I'm far from that."

"For once, I agree with Krogue," Henry said, "We love you, Prince."

Prince blushed, rubbing his black eye, "If you guys love me, well, I guess I'm doing something right for once. You guys have incredible minds, I gotta trust you. But, I'm still a shithead."

Prince and his friends had fun for the rest of the day, running around the city, helping each other and having a great time.

"I may not forgive myself for killing you, Ivy, but I will look at myself and criticize him like a teacher. I'll be able to improve, maybe. I want to see myself in a position that makes me happy. Makes me say, 'I did it!' with a wide smile. I don't want be the dumb kid I was. Not anymore."

The next day, Prince stared at himself in a broken mirror at a junkyard. Messy, dirty hair with a fly rubbing its hands on his bangs. His white shirt was stained with his yellow sweat and had grease on it. His 'new' ripped jeans had a giant hole in the side of it. He could feel the nice drift there. He wore pink shoes because his expensive shoes were stolen at night. He liked these pink shoes more anyway. Their shoelaces were untied because he never taught himself to tie his shoes. That wasn't his job back then. He's been learning, though. With no one's help. Krogue insisted, but Prince said no. Henry insisted, but Prince said no. From a storm a few days ago, his shoes got flooded with water, making his socks all sticky and wet. He tossed them out to dry. His shoes have been damp for days. 

"But that's fine," Prince said.