Cherry Red Water

2. Other People

"Where the hell are we meant to go then?" Chuuya almost screamed as the rain poured down, heavier and heavier,
"Can't we go to your place?" Dazai asked.
No. They couldn't.
"Fuck no, you think your parents 'll be pissed, my dads gonna go insane."
Dazai looked at him for a moment, staring with those dark eyes that took all light out of the world, "Is there anywhere we can go or are we just going to get soaked?"
"There is somewhere but I wouldn't want anyone like you knowing 'bout it." Chuuya muttered, the rain drowning out his voice,
"Well, sadly for you, we have no choice. Unless you want to stay here and get sick with no home to go back to?" Dazai teased, smiling as he lowered his head to look at chuuya.
"Shit." Chuuya groaned, he had no choice.
"Just follow me, dammit!"

That place had always been special to Chuuya. When he had nowhere else to go, he would go there, his own little place.
No one would find him, they couldn't laugh at him, he had nothing to fear there, he could be calm.
Now, the one person he hated the most in his school was going to see it, he could only imagine the amount of people who would show up there after.
He would go back to that time, when he had no safe place to hide, he had to just accept what was happening because he couldn't stop it. He would sit in that old house with his father, he would stay silent, comply, do his best.
But the nerves, he felt like he was being watched, like all it took was him breathing, he was walking on eggshells. He was scared, going down the steps quietly, hoping he was quiet enough.
He was suffocating in that house, that old house with the old, ripped wallpaper and the stained carpet. The entire building was underwater and he had no more oxygen, he couldn't breathe, and there were sharks; they were the worst of it.
Waiting for the blood to sleep, one sent and they would pray on him, or rather, one giant shark, terrifying, making its way closer at the sound of the silent sobs in the ocean.

The spot looked abandoned, and that was the point, it was broken and rusting and it was trespassing. It was all Chuuya had and he was bringing Dazai there, the thought was strange.
It was such an intimate part of his life, something he didn't tell anyone because he went there to be alone, so he could take a break from the mess that was people.
Sometimes, he didn't know if he wanted to be human. If being like that, like a machine, like a broken shell of something, was human, it didn't seem worth it.
That's all they were. The people. They went around, talking with each other, getting close to each other. Then they would turn their backs on one another and talk shit, say they were there for the money.
People weren't loyal. Humans weren't loyal.
They were mean, cruel, and selfish.
If that was what a human was, it wasn't Chuuya. He wasn't normal, he wasn't. There was no way. He was an outcast, even if he was trying to be a good person he couldn't bring himself to be like that.

"Hey, Chuuya, what is this place?" At that, Chuuya looked over to Dazai,
"You know my name? I never told you."
"Well, we have every class together." Dazai scoffed,
"Whatever you say, weirdo." Chuuya muttered to himself.

The place really looked a mess but Chuuya walked up the steps and Dazai quietly followed.
Once they got to the door, Chuuya swung it open and revealed his hideout.
There were a few poetry books stacked on an old dust covered shelf, tilted to one side, the floor was covered in blankets and rugs to hide the nails sticking out the old wooden floor, there was a light sitting in the corner of the room, packs of batteries stacked next to it.
It wasn't the best but it was home.

"What is this?" Dazai deadpanned,
"The place we're gonna be sleeping." Chuuya looked back at Dazai who was staring blankly at the place. Chuuya could feel the laughs, he could tell Dazai found it funny.
"Why would you come here?" He asked, voice quiet, a silent mutter against the loud rain as it battered the old roof.
"Huh?" Chuuya couldn't tell what Dazai was thinking, he thought that he was just like everyone else, uncaring but there was something else he saw when he was so close to the taller boy.
"Why on earth would you come to a place like this? I get you don't have much money but what's the point when you have a house?" Dazai clarified.
Chuuya had to think for a moment. He knew why. Was he going to tell Dazai?
No.
He would never tell anyone besides Shirase and Yuan.
"Does it matter, we can stay here?"
"Next to you? God, this is going to be hard." Dazai sighed,
"How do you think I feel?! I've never told anyone 'bout-" he stopped there,
"Oh~? Chuuya, taking me to some secret place in the middle of nowhere. How scandalous!" Dazai sang,
"Shut the fuck up, it's not!" Chuuya kicked Dazai in the leg.
He watched happily as Dazai bent over and placed his hand over where Chuuya had kicked, "Wow, chibi can even reach further than my-" Chuuya cut Dazai off by punching him in the face.
"What the fuck did you just call me?!" He muttered as he dragged Dazai's face closer to his, "I swear, if you ever use that name again I'm gonna rip each of you fingernails off before taking out your eyes with a rusted spoon." His voice was low, raspy as he spoke, staring into Dazai's eyes.
Even then, they looked dead. Yet, Dazai put a smile on and chirped, "Chuuya would be a good torturer!"
"Damn right I would be. Wanna be my first victim?" He smiled,
"Getting kinky?"
"Go fuck yourself."
Chuuya let go of Dazai and moved to go get the blankets, they were all placed in a pile in the middle of the room, some had seen better days and were stained while others were only recently stolen.
"Do we have to share?" Dazai whined.