Kind Crimson Eyes

Hypothermia

     "You're gonna catch a cold out here, Shinji." The reflection spoke.

     "I don't care." I mumble. I'm soaked and frozen to the core, but I feel nothing.

     "Running from your problems won't do you any good." It replies.

     "And how would you know." I sneer.

     The reflection doesn't say anything.

     "I don't want to be alive anymore." I tell it.
"The thought repeats over, and over, and over, and over. I'm useless and there's no point in me taking up space on this planet when I'm not needed, and when nobody wants me around in the first place. I just...don't want to exist anymore."
     My reflection becomes blurry as tears well up in my eyes. I clench them shut and messily wipe the tears with the back of my hand.
     "I'm so tired." I whimper.

     Suddenly, a warmth wraps around my icy shoulders, startling me a little.
     I read in a book once that those who are hypothermic long enough, despite literally freezing, will experience a sudden wave of warmth right before they die...

     "Shinji." A soft voice speaks in my ear.
     The figure in the reflection is no longer above me. Slowly, I reach a stiff hand to my ear and it's met with something soft.

     "Kaworu..? I-is that?"
     Kaworu's arms move from my shoulders. He grabs me under the arms to get me standing. I feel like dead weight. I have no strength in my legs.
     "Can you walk?" He asks me.
       I attempt to take a step but my legs give out from under me. Before I can hit the ground, Kaworu catches me.
     "That's ok." He says. "I've got you."
     Once he stands me back up, he crouches in front of me and pulls me onto his back.
     "No! No, I can't. I'm too heavy." I start to protest.
     Kaworu turns his head slightly to look back at me. "I'm a lot stronger than I look, you know?" He says with a solemn smile.
     Before I can attempt to back away, he grabs my legs and abruptly stands up, forcing me to lean into him so I don't fall backwards.
     My cheeks warm in embarrassment and I loosen my death grip on his shoulders when I decide he really isn't going to drop me.
-

    Before I realize it, we're out of the tree cover and back onto the main streets. The storm had finally passed. All that remained was the distant flashes of lightning in the sky and the cool breeze that blew Kawou's hair against my face.

     I feel my consciousness beginning to fade. The rhythmic swaying of Kaworu's steps with the warmth of his body is putting me to sleep.
     The constant nagging thoughts have all but stopped now, but they've been replaced with complete silence. My eyes focus on nothing and my ears start to ring. The sound of Kaworu's footsteps on the wet cement is the only thing I can focus on.