Bet ~Jean x Reader AU~

Chapter 28: Bitterly Shrill

The campus buzzed with gossip the following day. The humming of chatter filled the air, a dismal feeling lingering all around. The sun casted its gleam down, its rays gentle and warm, though the bitter air was still cruel. It was a strange day. It was a day that would mark a shift on campus -a shift in so many ways. At 5:36 that morning, the girl who had been attacked by the unknown man succumbed to her injuries.

She died.

Though the sun continued to shine, and the birds sang their songs, an innocent soul left our world. I still didn't know her name, but I knew that the flowers which sat in the center of campus were for her. She fought to live -she fought that man, she fought to wake up, but in the end, she wasn't strong enough. Her body was too frail and broken to keep her spirit housed in it, so she left it.

I could only imagine how her family was handling it all. I pictured a mother sobbing, screaming that her little girl was gone, crying in the arms of the girl's father. I imagined him silently crying, whimpering under his breath so no one could hear as a means to remain strong for his wife. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, and so on...I pictured them all there...all venting in one way or another. And it was all heart wrenching. A young life snuffed out before the chance of truly living was ever presented to her.

I tightened my hold on my bag's strap and continued walking, the soles of my boots scuffing the pavement with each step. I passed several groups of students, each quietly talking amongst themselves, though I could still hear them. They were all talking about the girl. Most were saying how sad the whole ordeal was while a sparse few noted she should have been more careful. Honestly, none of us had seen what went down. Careful or not, I know no woman would go down without a fight. I was certain of that. So, I threw daggers with my eyes at those who dared to say her death was partly her fault, though none saw. Still, it was all infuriating.

It was stupid. I didn't know the girl. I most likely never had any classes with her. But...but it made my blood boil to hear the few place any blame on her. I was certain no woman would ever willingly let some man they didn't know beat her to a pulp. Scratch that -I couldn't see anyone allow anyone else beat them to a bloody mess. That was twisted...that was insanity...that was wrong.

And for the fraction of a second, I almost wished to trade places with her.

I shook my head, pushing that thought out of my mind. No. Don't say that. I told myself. It sucks, it really does, but nothing can be done. I tightened my fists. Besides...what would it have mattered? YM/N wouldn't give a shit and YF/N...doesn't matter. None of it does. I pressed on, still making my way to...to where? I didn't feel like going to class and I had no desire to stay in my dorm room all day. So, I was aimlessly walking on campus, no destination in mind.

I glimpsed around, watching my peers drifting, each on their way to wherever it was they were going. None seemed to pay me any mind, which was nothing new. I was just a blank face amongst many faces. If anyone did notice me, it was doubtful they'd even remember what I looked like. In the same respect, I doubted I could remember their faces as well. To me, they too were just a handful of faces amongst many, many faces, each of us just meandering down the path known as life on our own trails.

I pushed any of those observations away and returned once again to my thoughts. That was a dangerous thing for me to do at that moment. Besides my sense of security being ripped to shreds by the girl's death, my mentality was also shaky due to my meeting with YM/N. Well, that was only the tip of the iceberg. There was a pit filled with memories that YM/N stirred up and I had no desire to revisit any of them. If anything, I wished I could delete them...every little one. I longed to remember nothing -nothing at all. However, it the end, I couldn't do that.