Take your time or I'll take your Heart

Chapter 2

"That happened to him?" my mother asked.

"Yeah," I said. I told my mother and father what happened to Ren. I explained the situation and told her what the cops did to Ren.

"It seems like the police these days want to punish anyone they can. No matter what their stories are, they punish the people who are caught in the act," my father replied. "It was nice of him to try to help that woman out, but he should have stayed where he was. He shouldn't have stuck his nose where it doesn't belong. Look, I understand you want to help him, but things like this can't be helped."

"I was going to ask you one thing," I said at the dinner table.

"That is?" my mother asked.

"A few things before I ask you the question, do you think Ren is a good person?"

"Yes," my mother and father said.

"What he did, do you think it was him who did that?"

"No," my mother said. "We've known Ren since you two met in middle school. He would never do something like this."

"Boys tend to get horny, hun, but I don't think he would go to this length," my father said. "I don't think he would do such a thing."

"Ok, here's the real question: Will you allow me to transfer to Shujin Academy?"

"Why?" my father asked.

"That's where Ren is going."

My mother and father exchanged glances with each other. They looked at me and then back at each other. They opened their mouths a few times, as if they were going to speak. But they never did.

"I know it sounds a lot, but I know he's going to get bullied there because of what he 'did.' If word gets around that school, no one will want to be his friend. Everyone will think he's a bad person."

"Look, we're not against it, Y/N, but give it time. If he is struggling to make friends or is getting picked on, he can just talk to the school about it. I'm sure Shujin has a no tolerance to bullying of any kind. Besides, you can still talk to him by messaging. It's not like you're going to lose contact with him," my father said.

"I know."

"We want you to follow your heart, but I think you should give it time. Let him adjust. When is he going?"

"In a few weeks."

"Then after he transfers, we should give him a few weeks to adjust. If he's having a hard time adjusting, then we can make a decision," my mother said.

"Ok."

~Few Weeks Later~

"So you're really going?" I asked.

"Yeah. I can't change it," Ren said.

"I'm going to miss you when you leave."

"Same here."

"It's not going to be the same without you here. I won't have anyone to go on walks with."

"Same here," Ren said.

"What do you think it'll be like?" I asked.

"I imagine there might be some kids there who might know what happened," Ren said. "Nothing I'm not used to."

"If you need anything, you know where to find me," I said.

He looked over at me and smiled, "I won't forget about you, Y/N. How can I?"

I smiled to myself, my face feeling warm, "Right. I can't forget about you, Ren."

He looked down at his watch and sighed, "I need to be heading back. My train is leaving in thirty minutes."

"Can I at least walk you down to the train station?"

"Sure," he said.

I followed him back to his house, since he had to grab his bookbag. He said goodbye to his parents and we walked to the train station.

"I hope you have a good time at Shujin," I told him once we got to the station.

"I'll come visit when I can, Y/N."

"Don't worry about visiting me. I'll come visit you."

"We'll visit each other," he smiled.

"Yeah. Oh, I wanted to give you this before you leave," I said reaching into my pocket. I pulled out a keychain that had a mask that had a hat above it. There was this cloud of smoke coming from the left eye hole of the mask. "I made this for you."

I gave it to Ren and he took it. He looked at it before looking back up at me, "I love it, Y/N. Thank you. I got something for you, too."

He reached into his bag and pulled out a card. It had these red and black circles on them and it said, 'Take your Time.' I smiled at it, "Thank you, Ren."

We hugged each other goodbye and I waved to him as he walked into the station. I stood there for a few moments, wanting him to come back, but he never did. I checked my phone for the time and headed back towards my house. I held the card close to me as I walked back home. My mother, father, and sister were in the kitchen waiting for me.

"He's off to Shujin," I said.

"We're sorry to hear he left," my mother said.

"He was a good friend," I said, staring at the ground as my vision got blurry. I wiped my eyes and headed upstairs. While I was walking up, I looked at the photos my mom took of us. I didn't really want to look at them right now, but they were all I had left of him. Maybe there was something between us that was more than just friends. What am I thinking about? There was nothing like that between us. We were just really good friends. I walked into my room and put the card on my dresser. There was another small gift he had gotten me before we entered high school. It was a small dog figure since he knew how much I liked dogs. I closed my door and sat on my bed. My dog came in and rested her head on my knee. I rubbed her head as tears threatened to slid down my cheek.

"Stay strong. Stay strong for Ren's sake. That's what he'd want. That's what he'd tell me."

My phone went off and I pulled it out from my pocket. It was a message from Ren. I opened it up and read it.

"Hey, Y/N. I made it to where I need to be safely. The ride here was a bit of a long one. There were some weird things happening."

"What do you mean by weird?"

"I was probably a bit disoriented from the train ride. I did fall asleep. I guess I was just seeing things."

"Are you alright, Ren?"

"Yeah. I had lack of sleep last night. I was probably just seeing things due to it."

"Ok. Make sure you get some sleep. You've got a big week coming up."

"Yeah. Hope to see you soon."

"Same."