One Bad Thing After Another

• e i g h t •

• B u d o •

I held Shin tight as he cried. Seeing him so upset was so difficult. He looked so helpless and hearing him say how much he hated himself was torture.
I don't know why Shin blamed himself for so much or why he didn't at least talk to somebody before he came to me. I didn't have...well...any experience with this stuff! I'm not some all-knowing-powerful god.
I guess I was the only person Shin really had to talk to. It scared me a little bit actually. I mean, what if I said something and Shin takes it the wrong way? Or what if he misinterprets me? Anything could happen in this type of situation. Anything.
I wasn't a little scared.
I was terrified.
What would I do if Shin actually managed to kill himself or what if I did something that made him hate himself more than he already does?
Shin ended up falling asleep at my house. I was grateful for that, though. I didn't want Shin going home when he was in the state he was in. If he went home, I was worried he'd try to hurt himself. I didn't want that.
I slept on the couch downstairs while Shin slept upstairs in my bed. I didn't want to wake him up and force him downstairs. I didn't really mind sleeping on the couch, anyways.
Once I woke up I saw the time. 6:45. We had time to get to school. The first class of the day didn't start until 8:30. I figured that Shin and I should at least try to be early for school.
I got up from off the couch and went upstairs to my room to see Shin still asleep. I sighed. I didn't want to go to school and I was most certain that Shin didn't either.
An idea struck me. I grinned and went over to Shin. I shook him awake.
"Hm?" Shin rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
All I said was, "Wanna ditch school today?"
"Huh?" was his reaction to me along with a confused look.

• t i m e s k i p •

Shin and I were sitting on the couch together. Shin was twiddling with thumbs. "So...you actually want to ditch today?" He asked, avoiding eye contact.
"Well..." I started. "I kind of figured you wouldn't want to go to school today because of what happened yesterday..."
Shin shrugged and finally looked up from his thumbs. "I guess you're right about that."
"And there's no doubt that 'Info-chan' chick is going to find out about this and have the information spread."
"You're definitely right about that..."
I shrugged. "I don't know why everyone in school eats up her shit. Like how dumb does somebody need to be to believe the rumors she spreads?"
"I mean...sometimes they're the truth..."
"They may be, but she ruins people's lives."
"Yeah...you're right about that."
There was an awkward pause between the two of us. Shin had his head down. His hair was falling in his face, causing him to push it away in annoyance.
I noticed that his choker was off, though. All Occult members wore them. Maybe he forgot to put it on. I decided not to ask.
Shin looked up at me. "Are you going to keep staring at me?" He asked, sounding slightly creeped out.
I blinked in confusion then realized I'd been staring at Shin while he was facing down. I didn't think he'd see that. Heck, I didn't even realize I'd been staring. I cleared my throat. "Sorry, I zoned out for a sec..."
Shin nodded slowly. "Okay..."
I suddenly felt my face get warm.
"Do you feel okay?" Shin asked. "Your face is red."
I put a hand on my cheek. I was warm. Was there something wrong going on with me? "Uh...I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
I nodded, shaking off the feeling. "Yeah, don't worry."
Shin nodded in understanding. "Okay." There was a short pause then he asked, "Before I forgot, can I ask you something?"
"Oh, yeah, of course."
"Why did you want me to stay here?"
I gulped. "I didn't want you to be alone when you weren't in the best mental state. You were pretty out of it."
"Yeah, I remember that... But are you saying you didn't trust me?"
I sighed. "I guess so, but–"
"I don't need to hear the rest."
"Yes, you do."
"Let me rephrase. I don't want to hear the rest."
"Why?"
"I just...I don't to be let down again."
"Again?"
"There's always a problem with people I meet, okay? I usually don't need to hear anymore of what they have to say because whenever I do...I'm let down and..."
"And...?"
"I want to enjoy having a friend. Just this once, please."
I froze. It was powerful. Every conversation we had just struck me. I didn't know what it was. It was intriguing. There was more that met the eye. And I wasn't going to use Shin for entertainment like others would. I was going to treat him like a person. "Okay, Shin-kun."
Shin looked surprised at first, but then that look faded into a smile. A real one.

(A/N FINALLLLYYYYYY DONE WITH THIS CHAPTER. So yeah, I know, I'm taking so long getting this done, but school is over I'm a month so just bare with me please. I'll be free soon. I'm just very active with a lot on my plate! Don't worry, the next chapter will be up soon.)