pure petals || k. tsukishima

03 | 🌙

Run

ーーー

The sound of chairs and classmates shuffling woke you. School was at its end, and all the students were eager to leave the classroom. You weren't exactly asleep, you were just zoned out. Thinking, busy, pondering about.. The courtyard. You let your books fall into your bag and quickly left the classroom, still in thought. Your mind was busy wondering about what he had said. You were too far away to hear what Tsukishima had to say about your strange question. He just left, almost like he was reluctant to respond directly. You contemplated what to do. Why do you care so much though? Did you think that you could maybe befriend someone for a change? Or maybe you had wanted to change his mind, show him that they weren't just pathetic petals. They weren't just flowers, well to you at least. In truth, you were probably just being silly, but those delicate blooms still always managed to leave you in awe. You held them close to your heart.

It's not like you were friends, you barely knew him or anybody else for that matter. Regardless, that didn't change the fact that you still wanted to talk to him. Although you didn't know a single thing about him, he seemed to open a lot of doors for your unanswered questions. He was lonely, distant and aloof. You knew that feeling all too well, and just thinking about it made you dizzy. Neglected, uncared for and abandoned. Like a wilting flower, leaves that were too dry for their own good, stems that were on the verge of collapsing. Where was his water, where was his sunlight? If we all deserve these things, then why doesn't he have any? It all felt too wrong to you, nobody deserves to feel that way, to feel ostracized. Nobody should ever go through that. So, you decided you wanted to change that. You were going to give him his water and sunlight, something everybody should have.

Your bag spilled out it's contents as you bumped into a wall, unaware of your surroundings. As you kneeled down to pick up your belongings, you realized that your folders weren't in the pile. Panicking, you searched the inside of your bag, and to your surprise the folders weren't there either. You sighed and headed back to the classroom, but not before picking everything back up. The hallways were dim and narrow, now empty of all the students and their loud chatter.

It was silent and spacious, despite the small space between you and the walls. The only thing that now filled the hallways was you and the empty silence. You stopped in front of a door and sighed as you slid the classroom door open and successfully retrieved your belongings, quickly leaving. You just wanted to head home. As you left the room and turned a corner, you heard voices yelling. You abruptly stopped and turned an ear to observe the sound. It was aggressive, like berserk dogs barking. Where was it coming from? You turned to the sound and peeked around the hallway corners, narrowing your eyes at the sight.

A group of boys crowded around another boy, a shadow casting over the light. "What do you want?" A voice barely let out. The boy that was backed up against the wall was ironically taller than the rest of them. "Don't act dumb with me, you know what I'm here for." Another voice boomed, it came from the big bulky guy. You peered over a bit more and narrowed your eyes, trying to figure out what was going on. There was silence for a moment. "Well, are you going to answer?" The same voice boomed once more.

"Nope, zero idea." He simply said, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Oi, Tsukki, don't you know what happens when you don't comply?" The bulky guy spat in his face. One guy chuckled and the rest joined in. Tsukki? Tsukishima?

"You should know better, Kei."

Immediately, the group of boys had him pinned to the wall like a helpless butterfly on a corkboard. The bulky guy threw his fists, and a few others kicked at him like he was some sort of trash left on the floor. A punch or two echoed in the hallways, and you slightly winced. Squeaky sneakers and snickering hinted at the fact that, Tsukki was indeed getting humiliated. You heard coughing that sounded like a broken engine sputtering, and it rang through your ears. Everytime they kicked, everytime they laughed, it was like they were pouring lemon into an open wound. Being ridiculed, humilated and tossed around like you meant nothing. You hated it, you despised it. Everything about this was just so wrong. Why is he being so mistreated? What did he do wrong to deserve this?