Facing the past

It was yet another day of school and boring lessons. Aki was dreadfully present, despite all the bullying and hardships it was causing him, and also, he can't afford to be kicked out of school due to being absent. But he wasn't paying attention to anything the teacher was saying, instead, he was thinking of what had occurred the previous night, while trying his best to not glance to the side where a certain guy was seated.

  'This prank they're pulling is quite an expensive one...buying me medicine? Driving me home, then treating my wounds? Anyway, they're all rich unlike me. They can do whatever they like. How I wish I could know what it feels like to be rich for just one day.' He thought while sighing to himself.

 But unluckily for him, the bell rang and the teacher left, leaving him wide open for the angry beasts, aka, his classmates. They immediately dumped the trash can full of trash onto his head, while laughing and calling him awful names, while all he could do was silently sit there and wait for it to be over. This only aggravated them even more, to the point that one of the bullies brought out a heavy looking belt and was about to hit the living hell out of the poor boy. Aki braced himself for the impact, but he never felt it. Looking up, he saw Natsuo holding the belt, stopping it from touching him.

 "Huh? What do you think you're doing? Don't tell me you're trying to protect that piece of shit!" The big bully snarled.

 "Of course not, why would I do that?" Natsuo responded with a cool smile on his face.

 "Then what are you doing?!"

 "If a teacher happens to hear all the noise and walk in, what are you going to say? You could get expelled and that'll be bad news for you, so it's better to take him somewhere more private and teach him to respect his elders." Natsuo said firmly, with that smile never leaving his lips.

 "But we want to watch him get punished, you..."

 "Are you trying to say that I can't give sluts the punishment they deserve?" Natsuo growled, the smile still on, but mixed with a dark expression that even scared the others, including Aki.

 "D..don't worry, you can do onto him however you please."

  Natsuo dragged Aki to the bathroom, and locked the door behind him. Aki was obviously trying his best to stop his body from trembling.

 "You don't really think I'm going to hurt you, right?" Natsuo asked seriously as he saw Aki breaking into cold sweat.

 "Y...yeah I do,you're going to do something bad to me!"

 "So you didn't trust me afterwards. Believe me, I don't want to hurt you, just let me help you..." Natsuo grabbed Aki by the arm, but he got harshly pushed away.

  "I don't need your fake ass help! If you really want to help someone, then go help the children in the orphanage and leave me alone!" He whisper-yelled as he was about to open the door and leave, but Natsuo immediately hugged him from behind.

 "What are you..."

 "I don't know what you've been through, but I can tell it's a lot for you to handle. You need someone to be by your side, to tell you that it's alright. Please Aki, let me be that person. Let me be the person to give you a shoulder to stand on, don't let all these..."

 "Shut up! Just shut up! What the hell do you know? You have money, you have friends, you have family, you have everything! How can someone like you give a shoulder to someone? Maybe if I killed the people you hold dear...If I took everything away from you...maybe then you'll understand how I feel!!" Natsuo's grip only became stronger.

  "I know. I know I don't get it, that's why I'm begging you to make me get it. Just give me a chance, I'll do anything you want, I'll give you everything you need, please, just put your faith in me. I know after all the difficult times, it's hard to trust someone, so it's okay if you don’t trust me, just let me in." Natsuo said as he gently wiped off the tears streaming down Aki's face.

 The hand nearly felt familiar, as if....yes, the sensation he got was nearly the same as that. It was just like ten years ago, when he first got bullied, and his brother gently wiped off his tears when he came crying to him.

 He couldn't take it anymore. All the memories he tried his best to push to his subconscious came rushing into his brain like women during a Hot sales promo. His body fell limp to the floor, but he got caught in time.

  "Aki!" Natsuo cried as he knelt in front him. He was crying so hard to the point that he wasn't making any sound and his body was trembling badly. He made him lean into his chest and he instead gripped Natsuo's shirt so tight that his knuckles turned whiter than his already white skin.

"It's alright, please just try to calm down." Natsuo said as he tried to calm him down.

"I'm scared, I'm so scared! You'll make empty promises, and make me feel safe, then you'll join the others and strike me and tear me apart!"

"I promise you, I won't. I'll be right here with you, no matter what."

"N...no matter what?"

"Yeah. Do you trust me now?'

"I... I don't know." Aki mumbled out as he pushed himself more into Natsuo's chest.

"It's fine. If there's anything troubling you, feel free to tell me. Now, let's go to class before the teacher comes for the next period."

"Huh? B...but my eyes are..."

"Anyone who sees you would think I did something bad to you, isn't that a good excuse to give those freeloaders?"

"Well, I guess..." Aki said while looking down at the floor.

"So let's go then."

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***