(FLIRT!) Romano x Reader

Chapter 16.5~ Side Story

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At the end of the day, I'm not a bad person. I don't hurt anyone.
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Cars rushed through the crowded street, filling the air with revving car engines and clouded gray smoke. Chatter hung in air as a constant reminder of the amount of people that walked among the streets of the small town. At the time, I had covered myself in rather large clothing- big sweaters, jackets, hoodies, anything to cover myself from the public. On the stairs that lead to my front door, I ran a finger on the dirt covered cement feeling the rough texture underneath my finger tips -ensuring myself I was indeed still alive. The sun had been too bright that day, it burned my weary eyes as I looked up to the sky, taking a deep breath. Not long after the choppy breath, a small yellow bird landed beside me, rubbing its small body against my side. With all my strength, I moved my hand to the bright yellow bird and brushed a finger gently under his beak. Somehow it always seemed as if time had healed me in this very moment. Just me, my bird, and this somewhat clear sky. For some reason, a sharp pain rooting from the back of my head blacked my vision-leaving the feeling of my broken body getting dragged along that same dirty, cement floor, and the slight sound of Gilbird screeching not far behind.

Anyone can be a father, but it takes a real man to be a dad-my father was anything but. Since my mother passed away, my father's non stop punches and stabs soon became a daily activity for me. Although it wasn't hard to adjust to. As long as he didn't touch Ludwig-everything would be alright. I don't blame my father for thinking I was such a failure in life. I wasn't doing housework at the age of 14, I got into fights at school, and not to mention my piercing red eyes that set me apart from any normal kid. I was broken and lost, and that's what fueled my anger most of the time. Kids in school either pushed me around and talked down to me or they kept their head down when I passed in the hall. Soon enough I was labeled as a loner, no friends, no mother, no one; and since I could no longer bring my pet bird to school things just got worse. At lunch, things were noticeably lonely- I would get constant stares that drilled in the back of my head and food thrown my way as I quietly rummaged through my bag to find any sign of money to buy perhaps a quick snack. Surprisingly, this wasn't all to bad; in fact, this was nothing compared to home-anything at this point was better then there. Just one more year and Ludwig could accompany me here in this wretched middle school. One didn't seem too long right? After all, I had already been in  hell for 4 years straight.

"Excuse me?"

That voice was the voice of an angel-my saving grace. I remember lifting my bruised face from the cold table, and into the persons big, green eyes which were right across from me. He had pretty long hair for a guy, thick and brown, stopping at about his shoulders. He wasn't too much like other guys, he had pretty raggedy clothes and dirt smudged all over his face. I furrowed my eyebrows, confused as to why on earth he was sitting at my table. "Hey." His voice came out booming as I flinched at the loud voice coming from the shockingly small and skinny body. "Hi?" I answered back , now straightening my spine to make sure this guy didn't think he was intimidating me one bit. "I'm not scared of you." I narrowed my eyes on the other as I spoke. "I've taken a beating every day, you think I cant handle you?" The other boy at first looked a bit disturbed by my words, looking for something to say. However, his slightly confused face turned into a smile as he bursted into laughter. "Are you kidding me?! I'm not here to fight! You're sitting alone idiot...I wanted to see if we could be friends."

The first two following weeks, I tried to escape any contact with this boy, but he was very persistent. He followed me everywhere I went, and somehow, I began to notice that the bullying had stopped too. Sometimes I would even sense his harsh glare towards some of the guys that used to beat me up, but perhaps that was just me. However, my father didn't stop with his annual beatings-actually, it got worse when he saw the lack of extra bruises on my body. But, somehow...I was still somewhat happy. This boy had somehow took one menacing factor out of my life, and because of that, I allowed him to sit with me-just this once.