Immortal (boy x boy)

Part 19

Things had gone back to normal, more or less. We went to school and did our work. Both of us had a lot of stuff to make up. But, after the scene the scientists pulled, the principal was sympathetic. Of course, Haruki was a little sad that his parents hadn't noticed or cared about his disappearance. My parents hadn't cared, either. I still hadn't gone home, though.

I'd been staying at Haruki's. His parents hadn't even noticed me. Then again, I'd only seen them once in an entire week. I felt so bad for him. I wasn't sure what was worse, knowing your parents didn't care about your existence or them not even noticing you when you were around. It didn't matter that much to us. Haruki might not have his parents, but he got me instead. Sometimes, I'd see him staring at the door with a pained expression. But, I could always pull him back and make him smile.

It was nice, those weeks together. We'd only gotten closer the more time we spend around each other. Neither of us felt alone anymore. It was such a nice feeling. Being ignored or beaten our entire lives, it was amazing to have someone to hold. We were probably a strange combination. One kid who no one ever noticed and the other who was noticed too much. One kid with hair as bright as the sun and eyes like the clear sky that were always smiling. Then, the other with hair like tree bark and caramel eyes that were always on the verge of tears. Maybe we did look strange together, but we didn't care.

Nothing mattered but the little world we'd created together. Maybe we should've paid more attention. We should've known that reality would break our little bubble eventually. But, once we'd locked ourselves away, we didn't notice anything else. Maybe that was stupid of us. I didn't know if things would've been different if we would've realized what would happen. Maybe it would've turned out the same way. There was no way to tell. But, I wished that things would've gone differently. I was finally happy, but I should've known it couldn't last. After all, the world had always taken away any kind of hope I'd ever had.

I should've known I'd never be allowed to be happy. I just wanted so bad to be loved by someone, even if Haruki didn't really love me. I just wanted to feel like I wasn't a waste of space. I wanted to feel like I didn't exist just to be everyone's toy. But, I guessed that was all I was alive for. I guessed that I had no other reason. I should've known there was no happiness in my script. Maybe I should've read it more thoroughly. Maybe, if I wasn't so willingly blind, it would've turned out differently. So many ifs and maybes. Honestly, there was no telling if anything would've changed if we'd made other choices. After all, that was life, wasn't it? You got one chance to make things right and one only.

This wasn't like a video game. There were no do overs. You couldn't just do the mission over to fix your mistakes. I'd been too confident. I'd believed that I was like a video game. I'd believed that I could restart the game and continue from where I left off. I couldn't die, so I'd gotten cocky. I'd taken life for granted, something I should've known I should never have done. You should always cherish what you have, because it could be taken from you at any moment. Cherish the little things, because they were what mattered in the end. But, I'd never cherished anything. I though I had cherished Haruki, but I'd taken him for granted as well.

I shouldn't have become so selfish. I should've just appreciated what I had. But, now that I had something, I wanted more. Naturally, just like a human, I craved more. I couldn't just be happy with what I had. Sure, my life hadn't been the best, but at least I had someone to make it better. At least I'd had Haruki. But I never thought about that. I'd forgotten what was important. It had been a normal day. I was walking back to Haruki's house after visiting the grocery store. I'd wanted ice cream, so I went to get some. Haruki asked to come along, but I wanted some time to think. He was worried, considering it was late and the sun was down, but I brushed his concerns off. I couldn't die after all and I reminded him of that.

When I heard a car behind me, I thought nothing of it. It might have been late, but people would still be driving. But, when I heard it slam on its brakes next to me, I glanced up. That definitely wasn't normal. I saw a creepy looking van and I stepped back. Its side doors flew open and three people poured out. It was too dark to see clearly. Two of them grabbed my arms as I struggled to get away. The third came towards me. I felt a pain in my neck. Somehow, I managed to wrestle out of their grip. Abandoning my ice cream, I took off. I heard them following, but I finally managed to lose them. 

I leaned on the wall, trying to catch my breath. I looked around, realizing I had no idea where I was. I listened closely as I tried to remember what turns I'd taken as I was running. However, I was lightheaded and my vision was all messed up. It was hard to see and I was stumbling. I nearly tripped and placed a hand on the wall to steady myself. My breath was still coming out in pants and my legs were numb. My neck was burning where I'd felt the pain earlier. What was going on? I could barely think anymore. I thought of Haruki as my body dropped and the darkness swallowed me whole.