It's been at least five days since Red joined this school, and two weeks since he and his mother came to the city to live and start over.
He wasn't really expecting to ever say this, but everything was going perfectly so far, and that was because his idiot and abusive father wasn't in his life no more. He slept with peace of mind without fear of being dragged out of bed or yelled at for not being awake for to serve his lazy butt, and he felt comfortable and an overwhelming sense of security in his own home, not terrified of having a bottle of wine thrown at him when all he do is just ask for food to fill his empty stomach or even asking him to play and spend some time with him.

And in the other hand, he noticed that his mother was brighter and more glowing than what he usually see her before. Her bright smile and charming laugh echoed in his ear every morning, and she would look up at him with her eyes full of love and happiness that was directed to him and only him. He felt wonderful, as if he could finally breathe the fresh air freely and fill his lungs with it without worrying about disturbing his father or making him notice his presence near him, because now he wanted to make people notice him, he wanted to make them see that he wasn't just an annoying sound to them.

"So, I was thinking-". Blue started, his voice a little too loud as usual since they were in the schoolyard, "-What if we all went to the arcade after school? They have that new fighting game, right?".

"Yeah, totally". Chimed in Yellow, "We could even stay until it gets dark. I don't know about you guys, but I'll stay at Blue's place after that".

Red, lost in his daydream about finally going to the arcade with actually friends, nodded absentmindedly. Of course he won't stay until it actually gets dark, but wouldn't it be fun to have a sleepover with one of his new friends? It's not like his mom would mind but he just didn't want to leave her all by herself, she was all he had and he was all she had, they had each other's backs and he wasn't about to leave her bored and feeling alone in that big house.

He was about to respond by saying that he'll probably go home before any of them, but then heared the sound of his phone buzzing and, shattering the moment and drawing everyone's attention. Red then took his phone out of his pocket, then saw the name 'Mom' flashing on the screen. He politely excused himself, walking to a more quiet place and hearing his friends voice's fading away as he got far enough.

"Hey, Mom!". He answered, tone bright and cheerful for hearing his mom's angelic voice.

"Hey, sweetie". His mom's voice chirped from the other side of the phone. "How's school?".

"It's okay". Red exclaimed, trying to ignore the feeling that something wasn't right, because why would she called him to ask about school, when he already know that they talked about their day at lunch every single day.

"We were just talking about going to the arcade after school".

"Oh, that sounds fun!". She said excitedly, but suddenly, and after a long silent that made Red not dare say anything, his mom spoke again, her voice crackled with a hint of weariness, "Listen, sweetie. I've got some... Important business to take care of today, so I won't be able to pick you up after school. Don't worry, I left some money under your pillow. I'll be home late, too".

Oh, it's today already? Wow, how time flies by. He completely forgot that today is the day of the trial for who will get custody of him, who the law will throw him to live the rest of his years with. Though, and for the sake of his mom, he forced a smile on his face and tried as much as possible to fake the sweetest and less scared voice he have.

"No problem, Mom. Good luck!".

"Thank you, honey. Love you, bye". His mom replied, a quick flurry of kisses echoing through the phone before finally she hung up.

Red stared blankly at the phone's black screen, his trembling smile dissolving. After his mom's soothing voice he could now feel the wight of the situation pressing down on him. He knew his mother was capable of doing this, she would do anything to make him feel safe and keep him away from anything that could hurt him, and that included his so-called-useless father.
But he couldn't deny that he knew who his father was, he knew what he was capable of doing just to ruin their lives for the sake of his disgusting desires. He's a monster, he might pull up something that could destroy everything his mother was working on this whole time.

He didn't even realize how his eyes were already shedding quiet tears, hiccups hitting his chest and a slight shivers ran through his fingertips and toes like an earthquake that no one knew had hit than the ground itself. He didn't want to go back to that hellhole, he didn't want to go back to that monster or even feel his hands all over his body like a poisonous snake slowly destroying him with its venom. He can't do it, he just can't.

"Hey, Red... you okay there?". Red didn't dare to look behind him with those waterfalls of tears rolling down his cheeks as he heared Green's soft and concerned question. "You've been staring at the ground for a while now".

"Y- yeah, why wouldn't I be?". He whipped back, masking his distress with a laugh.

Unfortunately, his voice cracked, betraying his Shaky composure. Green in the other hand, knew something was wrong immediately and was about to press on him further. He noticed how happy, cheerful and affectionate his personality was with all creatures. He loved helping others and had a lot to talk about with them, and he was even a good listener when it came to them talking about what they liked, and always made them feel special and kind of great. But sometimes, he could turn to be extremely quiet, as if his enthusiasm and smile have been wiped from his face and replaced with either a really noticeable frown or a face with an unreadable expression.

Green knew that Red was aware that they had all noticed that about him, especially when he was alone spacing out or thinking about something that all of them wondered what it was about. But despite their many attempts to find out what was bothering him, with light questions without putting pressure on him, he would just brush it away and show the best, most believable smile any of them could pull up, and then assure them that everything was fine. He was lying. Everyone knew that.

"Y'know, you can tell me anything, right?". But Red obviously didn't have the time or strength to have this conversation right now.

"Sorry, Green, gotta go. See ya!!". He bolted, then sprinted away and leaving Green looking bewildered, his eyes following Red's retreating figure.

"What's up with Red?". Green said then looked back at Purple, who was sitting nearby this whole time, obvious to the drama unfolding. But of course, Purple shrugged, having no clue about why he was acting so out of his usual character. So Green sigh hopelessly for being left without an answer, and could only watch as Red disappeared into the bustling school, carrying the weight of his mom's battle for him.

All the sounds around him seemed distorted and blurry for Red to hear, he wasn't thinking well at that moment and all he could feel was how he was losing control of his feelings and his trembling body and how his feet were dragging him forward without even knowing where he was going. He then burst through the bathroom door, his chest heaving. He couldn't let anyone see him like this, but for his relief there was no one around to see how pathetic he was now. He stumbled back against the wall, his hands clenching and unclenching, trying to quell the storm raging within him. The image of his mom, pale and might be trembling, facing his dad in court, replayed over and over in his mind.

"It's going to be okay". He whispered to himself, but the words felt hollow and mostly pointless. His breath came in ragged gasps, and his heart pounded in his ears like drums. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to shut out the world. Then, the sobs came. He couldn't stop them.

Great. He was starting to have a panic attack, all his medications were kept safely in his room out of his reach now. He couldn't catch his breath, feeling his chest tightening and his head was spinning with a bad headache, a feeling he thought he had already forgotten but it just came to be back worse than ever.

And although the fear and panic that quickly crept into his heart was distracting enough from what was around him, he could somehow feel a presence in were he was. Mostly because he was able to hear the door being opened. A tall shadow looming over him, and the realization that hit Red about someone being with him in this bad and pathetic state made his condition even worse than he thought, and he couldn't stop himself from opening his now puffy red eyes and turning to whoever had been standing silently behind him all this time. And how shocked was he when he saw the last person he thought he would never see today, standing there with a serious and yet hiding within it a lot of worry and confusion, something that Red wasn't so surprised about.

"I'm fine,". Red choked out, his voice thick with tears, as he saw how Second didn't move or change his expression. He just watched Red, his brow furrowed, and Red could see the concern growing in his eyes.

"No. You're not fine," Second finally said, his voice firm but gentle. "Let me help you".

"N- no!" Red whimpered, trying to push past Second.

"Leave. Me. Alone". But it seems like Second wasn't having it today and then unexpectedly grabbed Red's arm, his grip strong but not hurting. Red didn't have time to yell at him to let him go because he was quickly pulled closer to Second.

"You're hurting. And you're not going to get better by pretending you're not".

Red tried to pull away with all his strength, but Second's grip tightened even more to stop him from escaping. He wanted to argue, to say he didn't need help and lie to Second and himself, but the words died in his throat as soon as he realized that it won't work. He was exhausted, his body trembling like a leaf. He slumped against the wall with his head hanging low.

Suddenly, Second was in front of him with his arms wrapping around him in a tight, but still comfort embrace. Red flinched at first, trying his luck again to push away, but Second held him firm. His hand cupped Red's back, the warmth of his touch a strange reassurance, and his other hand rested gently on Red's head. He stroked Red's messy hair, whispering soft words of comfort close to his ears, his voice a soothing balm on Red's raw nerves. Slowly, Red's sobs subsided, breathing evened out, the hiccups that followed a testament to the emotional rollercoaster he'd just been on. He leaned into Second's embrace, a beautiful feeling, yet a strange calmness that kicked the anxiety and fear from his chest and took its place, a warmth that spread throughout his body and made his head relax and feel a bit dizzy.

He was still a little shaky, but the panic had receded so that was something unexpected. Red was now immersed in the comfortable silence of his heart, his hands deliberately tightening in need on the other's jacket to bring his cheek closer to his chest which gave him the warmth he was looking for, the beating of Second's heart close to his ear making him calm down. But then, Red opened his eyes widely at the realization and pulled back slightly, his face burning like flames. He was clinging to Second like a baby as if he were a lifeline.

"I...". He stammered, his voice barely a whisper as he felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him. "T- Thank you".

Second just stared at him, his expression unreadable, but Red never caught his look as he was busy looking down to hid his rossy cheeks. Then, Second chuckled, a low, rumbling sound that made Red's heart skip a beat. He brushed his fingers over Red's cheek, wiping away a stray tear.

"No problem". He said in a low and guttural tone, his eyes twinkling. "What's your name, by the way? Didn't catch it the last time".

"M- my name?". Red wondered with a little surprise and confusion in his hoarse voice, again, not expecting that Second would actually want to know his name. But that didn't prevent him from shaking his head, taking a deep breath to remove what remained of his panic and trembling, then answering,

"Red... My name's Red".

"Well, Red. It's nice to finally have the chance to talk to you". He chuckled softly as he took Red's hand with a gentle grip that made him feel like he was made of glass. But still, Red, now that the he calmed down, thought again about Second's words, did he want to talk to him before? Wait a minute, this now gave him a more confusing question and he looked at the taller one with a raised eyebrow while his head tilted.

"Is that why you're here? You followed me?".

"Not really... I just wanted to apologized to you. Y'know, for what my friend did".

"What are you talking ab- Ohh". His memories of what happened on his first day when Second and his friend made him feel embarrassed in front of the entire class began to flash back to him, with Second, when he realized that Red had remembered what he was talking about, laughed lightly under his breath in slight awkwardness as he looked away.

"But, I guess I came at the wrong time. You... Feel any better?".

"Yeah. Thanks again for the help, I really appreciate it".

"Don't be, it was the least I could do. But would you mind me asking... why you got into a panic attack?".

(Finally!! We brought them together at last🥳. Not really sure in the best situation but y'know me. And I don't know if you guys ever experienced a panic attack but I sure did!! It's SUCKS!! Fortunately, I don't need any med for it so that's a good thing🥲

Anyway, thx for reading!)