BAREFACED

Chapter 8

You slowly turn around to look at the boy who's still kneeling on the ground. His eyes are full of tears and he's slightly shivering. You slowly walk over to him, still staggering a bit.

"Are you okay?" You ask. The boy looks up at you and frowns.

"You are bleeding..." He sniffled. You touch your head. It hurts. You look at your hand thats now covered in blood.

"It's okay..." You quietly respond. "Are you okay?" You ask again. The boy nods and stands up, brushing the dirt off his clothes. "Why were they bothering you?" You ask. The boy looks at you and rubs his arm, looking away.

"They bother me because they found me cross dressing one time at a karaoke lounge with my... old friends." He sniffles. "They said I looked like one of those fem boys and started calling me gay." Tears fill his eyes.

"Are you gay?" You question. The boy shakes his head.

"No... I just wanted to wear one of my favorite characters outfits while I sang... but they came across me and touched me and..." Tears start to fall from his eyes. You frown and hug him.

"I'm sorry they did that to you..." He starts to cry into your shoulder. "Let's leave... before they wake up." You quietly say. You lost a lot of energy after being hit in the head. Your head is throbbing and you're exhausted.

The two of you walk out the alley and onto the sidewalk.

"Thank you for helping me out of that situation." The boy says bowing at you.

"You're welcome..." You respond. The boy looks up and smiles.

"Your name is V? C...can we be friends...?" The boy asks. You smile at him and nod.

"Yeah... What's your name?" You ask him. He smiles.

"Jun'ya..." He chirped.

"Can I walk you home, Jun'ya?... I want to make sure you get home safe." You smile. He nods.

You walk him home; he asks you questions and talks to you about the things he likes to do or watch. You enjoy your peaceful walk with him... but your head still aches.

After walking him home, he bows and says thank you again. Once he walks into his house you go home.

You sit inside your bathroom, sitting on a stool, washing the wound on your head and watching the blood wash in with the water. Your eyes burn and your head hurts a lot. You question whether you should sleep or not. You don't think it's a good idea since you got hit in the head... but you're so tired. You open the shampoo bottle and start to scrub your hair again. It burns, making your eyes water a lot. After washing up you wrap your head in a towel and you lay down on the couch, slowly falling asleep.

You wake up early the next morning to a knot on your head by your ear. That's where you got hit in the head. You don't know whether you should worry about it or not. When you press it, it hurts. You take some ice and you hold it against the wound. A couple hours later you start putting your clothes and shoes on. When doing your hair, you notice the bump isn't noticeable unless you touch the spot you got hit at, so you weren't too bothered by it... but if it gets worse you promised yourself that you will go to the hospital. You left the house to head to school. Your grandma gives you a small box filled with Daifuku mochi. You take a bite out of one, curious to what your grandmother put inside them. It was filled with Anko; red bean paste. You slowly walk to school, holding the box in your hands.

As you approach the school you see Ren in the distance. He waves at you and walks up to you.

"Hey... can I go to your grandparent's again today?" He asks. You nod. He raises an eyebrow and squints his eyes at you. "Are you okay?" He asks. You nod. "Okay then..." The two of you walk into the school, changing into your school shoes. Ren says bye and goes towards the art room. You walk up the stairs to your homeroom class. As you walk in you see Aimi clicking her pen constantly at her desk. You sit down at your desk and tap her shoulder.