I was pretty sure that the person lying against the wall was Kaito. Slowly, I inched close to his unmoving body and crouched down by his head. His face was turned towards the wall. At first, I was scared. What if he was dead? That's how still he was. Then, I saw his side rise and fall slightly, slowly, as though he were asleep. Quickly, I glanced around to make sure nobody was there, then I sat down on my bum and crossed my legs, smiling a little as I admired his handsome figure.

"Kaito?" I called softly. He reacted quickly, shifting so that he was lying on his back. He looked at me. His eyes were bloodshot and I started to worry again.

"Gumi," he whispered. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head. "Nothing, I just saw you lying here and I got scared...because..."

He sat up straight, a soft groan escaping his lips. He stretched his arms like a cat and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, looking up at his face.

"I'm just tired...of my life," he mumbled. "That's what's wrong."

"You're not acting like yourself," I said a bit too quickly.

"I hate myself," he spat out the words scornfully. "I hate myself, I..."

"Stop!" I hissed, suddenly, impulsively, leaning forwards and clasping his left hand, which lay in his lap. He stared at me. My gaze softened and I felt a lump in my throat as I questioned my actions. Still, I pushed on. "This isn't like you, Kaito. Tell me why you hate yourself because I want to prove that you're wrong!"

"Huh," a sad smile traced Kaito's lips. It was quickly overtaken by a frown. "I can't do anything. I just...I feel expended. Done. Over."

I watched as he did something on his phone. He pressed it to his ears, hope daubing his brilliant blue eyes with dark clouds. His jaw was taut. He gritted his teeth and slammed the phone down on his knee. My right hand, which was previously clasping Kaito's left and now lay in my lap, was shaking.

"Kaito, who are you calling?" I whispered.

"Nobody," he answered. He was frustrated, I could tell, but I still didn't know why. "I'm so exhausted...I'm thinking of skipping the afternoon. What's your say on that?"

"Huh?" I frowned. "Skip school?"

He nodded. "I want to leave."

"You're not going to...commit suicide or something, are you?" I asked in a small voice.

"Not yet."

"Why are you scaring me?" I asked, desperation crawling along my insides like bugs. I was starting to panic. "Kaito, you can tell me what's wrong..."

"I'm sorry, Gumi, I don't know..." He took a breath and closed his eyes. "I don't want to be like this..."

"Kaito..." I whispered.

He looked at me sadly but his eyes looked different. I leaned forward, terrified of what could potentially happen in a few seconds. Gently, I pressed my palms down onto the floor and exhaled softly. I was moving by instinct, coming closer. He seemed to understand that, though he didn't react. All he did was watch me.

He looked so forlorn. My heart was throbbing. My chest ached. I couldn't stop looking at his face. I wondered, really, I did, if a kiss would comfort him. I had never kissed anyone on the lips before - I had never even fallen in love before.

But right then, I wanted to kiss Kaito. I just wanted to put my lips against his, as though the physical contact could somehow transfer some of my hope and energy into him.

"Gumi?" I gasped at the sound of the voice I heard. If it weren't for that voice calling my name, I would've probably kissed Kaito. To this day, I'm not sure if that would've been a good thing or a bad thing.

"Len?" I gaped as the blonde came into view. He looked horribly disheveled, almost like he had been hit by a truck, as much of an exaggeration that may seem. In fact, he barely looked like Len at all.

"Gumi, what're you..." He glanced at me and then at Kaito. I was definitely closer to Kaito than I should've been. It obviously didn't take long for Len to get the hint and I scrambled to my feet as he approached us. Kaito got up as well.

"You," Len whispered, staring at Kaito. Len's eyes were wet and redder than the blue haired boy's. Len grabbed my forearm and I yelped at the harshness of his touch. His grip was tight and he was glaring at Kaito, who responded with a cool yet sorrowful gaze.

"Len, what the hell?" I tried pulling my arm away and gasped as he grabbed the collar of Kaito's shirt and slammed his body against the wall. Kaito cried out slightly, biting his lip.

"Don't touch her," Len growled. "Don't you freaking dare! Stay the hell away from Gumi, you asshole!"

Kaito didn't answer. My breathing was shallow and uneven as the scene unfolded before my eyes. It wasn't something I'd ever imagine could happen. It was like a dream.

No. It was like a nightmare.

"Did you hear me?" Len whispered, his voice rough.

Kaito nodded slowly, leaning against the wall, his head stopping in a downwards position, making his hair fall over his face. Len's hand slipped away from his collar and he looked down at me. I was crying.

"G-Gumi, I..." His eyes widened and his grip on my arm loosened. I sniffled and bit my lip pushing him away and taking a step back.

"Len, what...what the hell happened to you?" I cried, shaking my head. My vision was blurry. "How could you...how could you do this?!"

"Gumi!"

I turned and ran away, stifling my sobs as I sprinted. I heard footsteps chasing after me.

"Gumi, wait!"

I didn't reply. I didn't understand. First Kaito was acting unlike himself, then Len showed up looking like an absolute mess. And then he hurt Kaito.

He hurt Kaito...

I kept running down the halls, one after another, running out of breath. I ran up the stairs, to the third floor of the school. Panting, I trudged down an empty hall, arriving at a dead end. It was a dark corner.

Huffing, I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall, my right shoulder digging into the stone. Two hands grabbed me and my eyes shot open. I nearly screamed. Len pressed a hand over my mouth and shushed me. I shook my head and glared at him, fighting back. He held my wrists with his other hand and slowly sat me down, sitting in front of me.

"Gumi, I'm sorry, I'm...I'm so sorry," he whispered. I looked at him. He was crying. It made no sense; I was supposed to be the one who was crying. "I shouldn't have done that!"

I pulled his hand away from my mouth. "Then why did you?" I sobbed, demanding an answer. "What were you thinking, Len? He's your friend, isn't he? I'm your friend, aren't I?"

"I'm sorry!" He screamed, holding his head in his hands. "Gumi, my sister...this is...my dad was yelling at her and she fell from the stairs!"

I stopped breathing for a second. I couldn't breathe. Len grabbed my shoulders and pulled my body close, hugging me, his breathing laboured.

"She's in the hospital, Gumi...b-barely alive," he continued. My eyes were wide, my cheek pressed against his chest. His heart was pounding. "I'm so sorry, Gumi, I swear. I was looking for you, I didn't mean to take my anger out on him..."

I nodded slowly, reaching back and coiling my arms around him. He squeezed me tighter and continued.

"S-She's...Rin's been sleeping in the hospital, she's really badly beat up, but...she doesn't know it. My mom's decided. She's leaving my dad. Divorcing," he choked on the last word. "When Rin wakes up, she'll break all over again..."

"Len, I..." I pulled back and looked up at him, starting to understand. "It's okay. Everyone makes mistakes, right?"

"No, Gumi, I...," he groaned. "I apologized to him, and you know what? He told me to shut up and go after you."

I didn't believe it, or rather, I didn't know what to make of it.

"Why did you say that, though?" I asked softly. "Why did you tell him to stay away from me?"

"I was...I wasn't thinking," he answered quickly. He broke away and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

I rubbed my arms, remembering how tightly, how roughly he had held me only a few minutes ago. Everything was going too fast. We both leaned against the wall, sitting next to each other. Len was staring at the ceiling. I inched closer to him. Guilt was starting to take over me. I didn't know what Len was going through. Sure, he had vented out on Kaito and me but something so horrible had happened to him.

"I've lost myself," Len mumbled. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Gumi, I swear. You're so special to me."

I closed my eyes and put my head on Len's shoulder, taking slow, deep breaths. I couldn't just start yelling at him again. That would ruin our friendship. So, I took his left hand in my hands and ran my index finger along his knuckles slowly, trying to comfort him.

"Will Rin be okay?" I asked.

"She'll live, they said. But when she finds out about mom and dad getting a divorce...and worse, getting a divorce because of her injury..."

"I'm coming with you after school," I said. "To visit her?"

"Gumi, you don't have to."

"I want to," I said.

He sighed. "You're always trying to help...I feel like such a jerk right now."

"Why'd you hurt him?" I asked, thinking about Kaito again. I felt my anger beginning to bubbled up inside of me. "You didn't have to do that."

"It's complicated," Len muttered.

"You hide things from me, don't you?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I didn't want to see you there," Len went on. I sensed the words becoming hard for him to say. The corner of my mouth twitched and I curled my lips into a frown. We rarely fought. There was fury inside me.

"Why not?" I hissed, biting my tongue right after. "Can't I comfort someone? Is that such a bad thing?"

"You weren't doing just that, Gumi," Len stared at me. There was a hurricane in his normally cloudless blue eyes. "There was already anger scorching my insides but when I saw you there, with him, it became something more. I was jealous. I want you to talk to me like that, to slowly inch closer to me in that way. You're the sweetest girl I've known and I've known you for years and I've loved you. I love you, I love you, I love you."