Highschool. A 'lovely' time. Especially when your biggest crush happens to be one of the most popular guys in the school and would never pay any attention to the shy emo kid with anxiety. That sucks, right? Well, that's the case for our favorite Shadow Bae, Rogue Cheney.

Rogue sat at the back left corner of the class, reading a book about dragons. The subject interested him, as he was raised by a dragon. He also liked the back of the class, as no one really talked to him, and the teacher never called on him while he was hidden behind everyone else. As class got closer to beginning, all the seats except for the one next to Rogue began filling up, leaving the last unlucky person to enter the class with the 'punishment' of sitting next to the kid no one liked.

As if on cue, Sting Eucliffe walked in seconds before the final bell had rung, signaling that class was now starting. He quickly scanned the class for a spot before seeing the open one next to the red eyed boy in the corner, and walked over.

Rogue cursed under his breath as the one he suspected hated him the most approached. It's a shame he had that assumption as well, as Sting happened to be his crush. The black haired male sighed, continuing to read his book and praying Sting would just ignore him, like some of the kind souls here did.

But, Sting just flashed the boy one of his smiles and sat down. He sort of gave up the vibe that he woke up later than expected and sprinted to school. His hair was unkempt more than it'd usually be and he looked like he just threw on whatever was laying around on the floor of his room.

Rogue flinched slightly as the blonde sat down. He was trying to ignore Sting as well as he could, as he didn't want to make a mistake then suddenly one of the most popular kids in the school sent him and his army of supporters to drive Rogue to suicide. Lots of people had already done that, to the point where basically the whole school was leaving awful notes in his locker, and doing things then blaming them on Rogue, just to have the satisfaction of seeing him in trouble.

Sting took out the things he'd need for class before just slumping in his seat, he looked like he was tired but he tried to hide it. Though it failed miserably; probably because his sleeping schedule is way too off.

Rogue quickly glanced at the blonde, before sighing and shaking his head, returning his focus back to the book. There's no way he'd actually like me back, Rogue thought, frowning to himself a bit. Who'd possibly like the shy emo who doesn't talk?

Sting took his own quick glance at the boy beside him, then back to the front of the class. He's heard pretty bad things about Rogue, but being the genuinely nice guy he is, he believes none of it. Especially since he's had people tell him that they purposely got the boy in trouble or said hurtful things.

Rogue tied his shoulder length hair up into a ponytail, as the room was hot. He sighed, putting in a bookmark then closing the book, going to put it into his bag. As he wasn't really paying much attention, he missed the pocket, and the book fell to the floor, skidding a few inches, causing the red eyed mage to curse under his breath.

Sting's eyes trailed to the book Rogue had dropped, and he bent down to grab it. Handing it to the pale boy next to him and giving him a warm smile.

"Thanks," Rogue said, to the point where it was barely audible to normal human ears. He quickly swiped the book, stuffing it into his back and turning away from Sting and looking out the window, avoiding any kind of eye contact at all.

"No problem." Sting replied, turning back to the front of the class.

Rogue sighed, putting his head down on the desk and hiding his face in his arms. He's gotten no sleep at all the night before, as he usually never does. Every time he manages to fall asleep, he's awoken just moments later due to nightmares haunting.

Sting yawned slightly before staring off into space, thinking about probably everything that came to his mind. He picked up his pen and started jotting some of them down, since he couldn't focus on class at the moment.

Rogue closed his eyes, falling asleep in seconds. However, he suddenly shot up, a quick scream coming from his mouth while his heart rate and breathing were extremely quick and uneven.

Sting almost immediately stopped what he was doing and looked at Rogue, as to where the rest of the class just ignored it. Which upset him a bit but didn't let it get to him. "Hey, are you okay?" He whispered. Rogue shook his head slightly, hiding his face in his hands.

"Just leave 'im alone, Sting," Someone in the class said, looking at the blonde. "The freak's just insane. Let him wallow in his stupid depression alone." The second comment earned multiple snickers from the class, and a wide array of cruel remarks.

Rogue began shaking slightly, tears forming in his eyes. His wrists and forearms grew itchy, and the boy shifted in his seat a lot more than usual.

Sting glared at the guy who had said that, and everyone else who was joining in. "Fuck off, you don't know what the hell he goes through. He didn't do anything wrong, so why the hell are you all so damn cruel to him? You people make me fucking sick." He growled, basically giving everyone but Rogue a death glare.

"Well I mean his existence is bad enough!" Someone laughed. "I mean, look at him! His hair is ridiculous for one! Boys are supposed to have short hair! And what's with the side bangs? They basically scream 'make fun of me'! And his fashion sense is awful! Who wears all black!? It's stupid and ugly! He makes me sick! I don't understand why he won't just die already!"

Rogue scratched at his wrists. The movement caused his sleeve to roll down slightly, revealing countless overlapping scars in that one small area.

Sting's eyes narrowed on the person, standing up from his seat and immediately going into his Dragon Force.

"People like you make me sick! How the hell can you fucking live with the damn knowledge knowing you could fucking end someone's life? You know what that fucking makes you? A fucking killer you bitch! How would you like it if someone made fun of your appearance and choice of clothing? Every fucking day!? Just fuck off already!" Sting yelled, in pure anger.

Rogue began tugging at his hair a bit, his sleeves falling down a bit more, revealing even more scars. Many of those scars were bleeding a lot, as they had happened either that morning or the night before, and Rogue's scratching has caused them to just open up again. The red eyed boy put his head on his desk, many tears falling onto the desk, creating small puddles.

"–and to everyone else in here that I know who has done something bad to him, stay the fuck away from me. I don't need people like you in my life who're constantly hurting other people. Especially when they did nothing to you in any fucking way. And if any of you say some sarcastic ass comment about him I'll fucking send you all to the nurses office one by one because at least I'm fucking helping someone rather than fucking killing them." Sting huffed, sitting back down and crossing his arms. Staying in dragon force since no one would take him seriously otherwise.

"But just look at him!" The same person said, motioning to Rogue. "You haven't actually looked at him this entire argument! You're defending someone who can barely keep his shit together! Just look at him!"

At this point Rogue's sleeves were stained with blood, and that was accompanied by small puddles of blood as well.

"And guess who's fucking fault it is for making him like this you fucking self centered bitch." Sting snapped, turning his attention from the person to Rogue. Frowning at how broken he looked and stood back up.

Rogue glanced at Sting, questioning why the blonde was defending him in the first place. Everything that guy's saying is true. Why would Sting be defending me?

The blue eyed mage picked up his own backpack, then grabbing Rogue's and crouching down next to his desk. Speaking in a low voice, "c'mon we're getting out of here, before I snap one of these bitches necks."

Rogue looked at him, tears still streaming down his face. "Wh-Why are you even b-bothering to defend me?" He questioned, his voice barely above a whisper. "E-Everything they're saying i-is true... There's no reason for you to d-defend me."

"I have my own opinions, I've been hearing bullshit lies about you from my ex friends. It's been driving me insane that they've been hurting someone that's fucking innocent, you never fucking did anything to deserve this hell. I don't fucking care if you can't 'keep your shit together' because they're all slowly fucking breaking you. I'm not going to expect you to act like it's perfectly fucking fine because it's not fucking fine. I'm just sick of everyone being stuck up asses to people who they don't even know."

Rogue stared at the blonde, unable to find words. Sting was the first person to ever be nice to him. Sting stood up again, still carrying Rogue's backpack as everyone curiously watched what they were even doing. Rogue stood up, looking down at the desk, which was covered in a variety of blood, tears, and death threats.

Sting grabbed one of his hands and immediately went to the door of the classroom, giving a cold glare to everyone he walked passed. Rogue squeaked slightly, keeping his head down and avoiding eye contact. He did not need to be the center of attention.

The blonde exited the class and first went to the bathrooms, dropping their bags on the floor and turning on one of the sinks since Rogue's arms were still bleeding.

"S-Sorry..." Rogue muttered, continuing to stare at the ground.

"Don't apologize, you don't need to. It's their faults, anyway." Sting sighed, "you can uh, wash your arms."

Rogue just nodded slightly, walking over the sink. He rolled up his sleeves a bit, flinching at his scars before running his arms under the water, the liquid immediately turning red.

Sting noticed his blood stained sleeves and grabbed his bag, unzipping it and finding a jacket. He pulled it out and held it, waiting for Rogue to finish.

Once the raven haired mage finished, he dried his arms and hands off with paper towels, before turning back to Sting. "Wh-What's with the j-jacket?"

"Well technically it's a hoodie, but I saw that your sleeves were stained so you can wear this instead since you don't want to have bloody sleeves yeah?"

Rogue nodded slightly. "Th-Thanks."

"Mhm." Sting handed Rogue his hoodie, smiling a bit at him. Rogue scowled a bit, realizing the stalls were too small to change shirts. "Er, I could turn around if you need me to?"

"N-No, it's fine. I-I don't want to t-trouble you a-anymore," Rogue said, quickly changing.

"You're not troubling me, actually."

Rogue nodded, smiling slightly. It made him happy knowing his crush was like the only nice person in this school. Sting smiled back, finally getting out of Dragon Force.

"Th-Thanks..."

"No problem, want to just ditch the rest of the school day? Since I'm literally going to snap at everyone." Rogue nodded, adjusting his sidebangs a bit. Sting grabbed both their bags again and fixed the front part of his hair a bit. "Where to?"

Rogue shrugged. "I-I dunno..."

"We could go to the public library? It's only like, 10 minutes walking distance from here. Don't ask how I know that."

"Wh-Why a l-library?"

"Well, it's quiet, it's pretty calming, no one would ever guess where to find me since I literally go there to get away from the bitches here at school who have no life and pick on people who've done nothing-fucking-wrong."

"Wh-Why'd you d-defend me, a-anyways? Y-You d-didn't know if I d-did anything wrong or not..."

"My ex friends would tell me shit they've done to you, they did it for no fucking reason I think I knew what I was doing. Plus, you actually seem really nice. Nicer than those sons of bitches anyway."

"B-But why m-me? Th-They've done th-that to plenty of o-other people, too..."

"Well, you were the main victim first off; and I was already ticked at everyone from the minute I stepped foot in class because I fucking build up the fucking courage to tell these motherfuckers I'm homosexual and I'm immediately treated like trash."

Rogue frowned. "Th-that's another reason people m-make fun of me, t-too..."

"I'm sorry." Rogue just nodded, looking down again. Sting stepped toward the black haired mage and pulled him into a hug. Rogue squeaked slightly, tensing up. There are first things for everything, and this happened to be Rogue's first hug.

Sting hugged him tightly, pulling him a bit closer as well. Rogue finally returned the hug, hiding his face in the blonde's shoulder, as well.

"You don't deserve any of that shit." Sting sighed, hugging him even closer, like that simple action would be able to fix all his broken pieces. And it sort of did. It fixed some of them anyway. The first person to be nice to Rogue happened to be the one he fell in love with. "Hey, let's go now yeah? Don't want anymore asshats getting in the way." Rogue nodded, smiling up at the blonde.

Sting grinned slightly and kissed his nose, pulling back from the hug and ruffling Rogue's hair slightly before letting out a gasp.

"It's soft~"

Rogue squeaked slightly, his cheeks turning a bright red, though most of his face was covered by sidebangs.

"Why would someone make fun of you for your hair it's literally hair goals what the shit!" Rogue turned a brighter red, hiding his face in his hands. "Like, please teach me your ways. My hair is literal shit." Rogue giggled slightly, smiling a bit. "Like how..." Sting awed, continuing to play with Rogue's hair.

"I-It isn't that big o-of a deal..." Rogue laughed slightly.

"Well I mean for me it is, like look at my hair I barely even brush it anymore it's just gotten to the point I don't even try to tame this thing."

"I-I don't really t-take care of my hair e-either."

"So you're not human."

"Y-Yeah I am!" Rogue giggled slightly. He was surprising himself by his giggly and social behavior at the moment, though he was still getting over the fact that his crush was nice to him, which made him happy.

"You are not, how does one not take care of their hair yet have it still be majestic and shit?"

"I-It's not that g-good."

"Yeah it is~"

"N-Nuh uh."

"Mhm, says the only one who can't see their hair."

"Th-There's something c-called a mirror."

"Sometimes mirrors tell you lies."

"N-Not to me."

"I know."

"Wha?"

"You believe the lies the mirror tells you because of the lies people in real life tell you."

Rogue frowned slightly. "Th-They aren't really l-lies..."

"I see them as lies."

"I-I don't..."

"I know you don't." Rogue stayed silent, unsure of how to respond. Sting kissed Rogue's forehead, smiling at him. "I think if I try I can fix that though."

Rogue looked up at the blonde. "I-I don't know..."

"Don't know what?"

"I-If you can..."

"I think I can."

"Y-You'd have a better ch-chance at turning a rock to l-liquid without melting i-it..."

"....I'm not smart enough for that sciencey shit."

"You'd have better luck turning a rock into water."

"That makes no sense."

"Exactly."

"Well, I don't care. Imma fix you and you can't stop me."

"Y-You're gonna have a h-hell of a time trying. Wh-What's your first attempt?"

"Keeping that smile on your face is my first priority."

Rogue nodded. "A-And how're you gonna do that?" Sting suddenly gave him a smug look. "S-Sting what're you p-planning..." the blonde suddenly had his hands at Rogue's sides, then started tickling him. Rogue squeaked slightly, squealing, laughing, and squirming while trying to get away from the blonde.

Sting continued to tickle him, grinning in accomplishment as he did so.

"S-Stop!" Rogue cried, continuing to laugh, squeal, and squirm to the point of tears.

"Nope~" Sting laughed, tickling the smaller male even more.

"S-Sting!" The black haired boy shrieked, turning bright red from laughing so much. Sting went under the jacket a bit, tickling his bare waist for more access.

Rogue squealed, laughing and squirming more. "P-Please!"

"What was that? More?"

"N-No!" Rogue shrieked. He began coughing from lack of oxygen, and asthma was a thing that wasn't helping.

"Oh alright fine," Sting giggled a bit, stopping and kissing Rogue's temple. Rogue continued coughing, unable to breathe a large enough breath to calm down. Sting frowned slightly and rubbed his back, hoping that would calm him down a bit.

Rogue quickly grabbed his bag, pulling out an inhaler and using it a few times to calm his breathing so he wouldn't suffocate.

"O-Oh shit I'm so sorry I didn't know you had... God dammit I'm sorry." Sting panicked slightly.

Rogue smiled a bit, shaking his head. "I-It's fine." Sting just nodded, still feeling bad. "S-Stop being sad. I-It's fine," Rogue said, putting the inhaler back in his bag.

"Okay, sorry." Sting apologized again, "let's go now yeah?" Rogue nodded. Sting grabbed Rogue's hand and started walking out of the bathrooms. Rogue smiled, walking beside Sting. The blonde lead them out of the school, then started walking in the direction of the public library.

"A-Are we gonna get in t-trouble for skipping class?" Rogue questioned, a bit nervous.

"I think the teacher would understand why we left and probably told the principal or whatever. I've ditched a few times before, wasn't that bad."

"B-But what if everyone else doesn't tell the truth?"

"Well they have effing security cameras in schools, in every class. Plus, I think the blood and tears on your desk will further prove them wrong. Cause those stuck up asses wouldn't dare clean up that blood if it risked getting it on their clothes."

"I-I guess..."

"Ooo look at me I buy 400 dollar fucking shoes." Sting mimicked, doing an awful white girl voice. Rogue giggled a bit, turning slightly pink. Sting smiled, mentally dying over how cute this boy was. Definitely the best day ever, Rogue thought, smiling to himself.

"Like where do these rich ass hoe's get their money from, a fucking tree? Cause like, I'd give up some shit to get one. I can't even afford to get a new effing skateboard."

"Y-You skateboard?"

"Yeah, surprisingly. But the wheels are broken and not to mention, being the clumsy shit I am, I completely broke my board in half." Rogue laughed a bit, shaking his head. "–with my face. It's a long, long story."

"I don't think I want to know."

"Good because it's humiliating."

"Hey, c-can I ask you something?"

"Mhm, what is it?"

Rogue hesitated for a second, but spoke again. "D-Do you like a-anyone?"

"Well, considering every guy in this school is a complete douchebag, not at the moment. But I could."

Rogue frowned slightly. "I-If every guy a.. Then that means you think I'm..."

"No! Definitely not you, every guy but you. You're adorable, no douche." Rogue just nodded, looking down again. "Don't be sad! Please don't be sad I didn't mean you were! You're literally the only nice person here!"

Rogue looked up at him and smiled lightly. "A-And what do you mean y-you could like someone?"

"I- I wa- shit you're going to make me blush shut up." Sting whined, covering his face with his hands.

"Wha...?"

"Maybe I like just one person okay."

Rogue nodded, looking down and frowned slightly. He had high doubts that crush was him.

Sting, being the klutzy shit he is, ran into a pole since he still had his face covered. Which caused him to shriek and fall backwards onto Rogue. Rogue also shrieked, falling backwards onto the ground.

"O-Oh sh-shit s-sorry!" Sting squeaked, realizing the current situation.

"It's fine," Rogue laughed, looking at the back of the blonde's head. Sting turned around to look at the black haired boy, making sure his skull didn't possibly crack open or anything until he realized the current position and instantly went a dark red color. Rogue also turned a bright red, staring up at the blue eyed male.

"I-I-... u-uh..." Rogue stayed silent, unsure of what to do. Sting awkwardly stayed in the position, not really sure why he couldn't move his fucking limbs. Rogue's face slowly faded back to it's normal color, but his heart beat remained fast and rather loud, to the point where Sting could hear it.

Sting was blinded by his own heartbeat to hear Rogue's though, he felt like the weight of it was just going to bring him fully on top of the boy and crush him or something. Rogue closed his eyes, trying to relax as much as possible, yet failing.

The blonde subconsciously leant down, not even realizing he was until his face was fucking centimeters apart from Rogue's. Rogue opened his eyes, a bit surprised to see Sting's blue eyes right in front of him.

Sting let his gay ass self take over, closing the space between them and connecting their lips. Rogue turned a bright red and his eyes widened for a moment, before closing as he returned the kiss. Sting went impossibly more red than he was before, his chest felt like there were butterflies and all that cheesy crap.

Rogue smiled slightly into the kiss. This was definitely the best day ever for him. Sting pulled back, giggling slightly. Rogue smiled up at him, slightly pink.

"S-So.." Sting giggled again.

"S-So?"

"Soso."

"P-Please don't."

"Wh-Why?" Rogue shrugged, laughing a bit. Sting giggled a bit more and finally managed to move off of Rogue, getting up and helping the black haired boy up as well.

"Th-Thanks."

"Mhm." Sting smiled, his face still a reddish pink color. Rogue seemingly couldn't stop smiling, which is a very happy first. "I-I think that w-was the first time I-I've enjoyed running into something."

"Mhm,"

Sting giggled again, grabbing Rogue's hand and starting to walk to the library again. Never once letting go. Rogue continued to smile, hugging Sting's arm as they walked.

Sting bit his lip, leading Rogue inside the library and to the very back of it. They passed a few book shelves before finding a little closed off area with a few bean bags and chairs.

"This place looks nice," Rogue smiled.

"Mhm, I found this little area the first time I came here, and I got lost."

"You got lost!?" Rogue giggled slightly.

"Yeah, I was trying to find a book for ELA and I just kinda wandered around until I had no idea where I was."

"Great job," Rogue laughed, smiling.