Notes:

“Text”= Japanese talking

“/Text/”= English talking

“+Text+”= American talking

“#Text#”= Australian talking

Dreary. Nick, Shawn, and Simon sat in a car in the middle of an abandoned field. The boys all didn’t say a word. They all got out of the car and locked it up. They had walked about a few steps before there was a knock behind them. They paused for a second. The knocking got louder on the trunk. The boys turned back to the car. Simon glanced at his mates.

“/Should we go and get him?/” he asked. Nick and Shawn didn’t answer. They didn’t even move on. The knocking grew even louder. They still didn’t talk. The knocking grew even louder again. Shawn, Nick, and Simon all walked back to the car. There was not kicking with the knocking. Simon and Shawn turned to Nick.

“/Yeah, yeah,/” he mumbled. The man pulled out his key and unlocked the trunk. He pushed it wide open. Sid looked up at them, huddled up.

“/Cheers guys,/” he whimpered. Now, what the hell is he doing in the trunk? Let’s back up shall we?

Subject: Sid

Earlier this afternoon. Sid lied awake Arisu’s bed. Arisu lied cuddled up close next to him. That girl could be confused for a corpse. Her boyfriend sighed unhappily. What’s going on here? Sid was supposed to be happy. He and Arisu were finally on good terms. She was taking her medication again. Plus, Jin was starting to fake niceness to him. So, what’s the big problem?

Sid glanced over at his girlfriend. Arisu looked so harmless asleep. Crazy was taking a breather in her dreams at the moment. Her arm laid limply across his chest. Sid leaned down a gave her wrist a little lick. Arisu… he thought. Sid’s eyes moved to the ceiling. The room was pitch black despite it being high noon in Tokyo. The blinds were always heavily closed in her room. Arisu never wanted light. Darkness was her other man. Sid had to wonder if she liked the darkness more than him at times.

Arisu moved around a bit in her sleep. “Sid-kun,” she mumbled. Her boyfriend gave her sleeping form a little smile. A sad smile to be exact. He loved Arisu, that much is true. But…

Sid happened to look over and see a pair of brown eyes looking at him. He lifted his head a little bit.

“/Oh, hello,/” he whispered. Arisu giggled at him.

“Hey,” she whispered back at him. Her fingers tickled along his chest. Her boyfriend giggled a bit.

“/Arisu,/” he mumbled to himself. The crazy girl looked up at him with big doe eyes.

“I love you, Sid-kun,” she said. There it was again. Sid felt another twinge of sadness coil up in his heart. It is true that he loved Arisu, but…

Arisu frowned as she noticed his face. “You don’t love me, do you Sid-kun?”

Her boyfriend looked at her, startled. “/That’s not true. I do love you./”

“Then, say it.”

Sid blinked at her. “/Say it what?/”

Arisu began to look hurt. “You don’t get it, do it?”

“Get what?” he asked. The girl hit him on the chest and walked out of bed. Sid sat up and watched her leave. He lowered his head and shook it.

“/Bollocks,/” he cursed himself. He did it again.

It was only going to get worse. Arisu wouldn’t talk to him for the rest of the day. She even ignored him when she bumped into him. There was not much for him to do. Sid didn’t understand what the point of this relationship was anymore. He couldn’t remember a moment of sanity with this girl. Yes, he did love her. But was it worth it?

Jin’s cold looks told him that he had her. Speaking of which, he was the older brother to him. Sid didn’t know how to deal with him. He seems to hate me, he thought. I’m not the problem. This was another reason that the boy questioned his relationship. Jin made things much harder. He didn’t seem to think that Sid was good enough for his baby sister.

“She’s too unstable for a relationship,” Jin told him repeatedly. “Can you handle her?”

“/Yes,/” Sid answered repeatedly. In the beginning, the answer was strong. But over time, it began to wane. The English boy didn’t even know the answer anymore. Can I handle her?, he began to ask himself. The battle would be confusing from there. Jin was glaring at him again this afternoon. Sid gave him an uncomfortable smile.

“/Hi…/” he mumbled. Jin only gave him a cold look in the kitchen again. The boy let off a little nervous laugh. He lowered his head afterwards. Between Jin and Arisu, was the relationship really worth it?

Sid left the Ozawa house for lunch. He couldn’t stand to stay in that house any longer. There was enough crazy in that house at it was. He didn’t need to have more added to his own crazy. Yes, he had his own problems to deal with.

The boy made it all the way home. Just like Arisu’s room, the house looked pitch black. Sid stood in the driveway and shook his head. His dad still hadn’t recovered from his mom leaving them. He seemed like a more mellow Arisu. Sid couldn’t understand it.

Why am I surrounded be depressed people?, he thought. Still, better than look at Arisu glaring and pouting at him. From one dark person to another, it didn’t make any difference to him. Sid walked up to front door and unlocked the door.

Quiet inside. Sid peeked through to open crack.

“/Hello?/” he whispered. “/Dad?/” No answer. Sid felt a lump form in his throat. This wasn’t looking good. Maybe he’s asleep, Sid thought. The boy slowly walked into the house.

“/Hello?/” he asked. “/Dad, are you asleep?/” He heard a low groan down the hall. Sid sighed and shook his head. The boy went over to tend to his father.

Norman was huddled on the bathroom floor, puking. Sid shook his head again as he saw all of the empty bottles of sake all over the floor. Drinking became Norman’s brand new hobby. It had started to get worse this year. Norman looked up and saw his son standing before him.

“/Sidney!/” he cheered. “/Come give your dad a hug./” The old man staggered over to his son. He paused with sickness in his eyes.

“/I’m going to be sick!/” he complained. Norman raced back over to the toilet and threw up again. Sid lowered his shoulders in defeat.

“/Oh dad,/” he mumbled. Then, he heard the doorbell ring. Sid looked up, confused. Who’s at the door?, the boy thought. He walked over to the front door and peeked through the peek hole. Arisu peeked in with a little wave. Sid forced himself to smile. His girlfriend came back to him. Just as he predicted too. Sid opened the door wide.

“/What is it?/” he asked. Arisu rushed forward and kissed him on the lips. Sid felt his lips twitch into a little smile. This part of the relationship was his favorite. But yet, he knew that he was going to be dragged back into their cycle. Sid lightly pushed her off. Arisu looked up at him.

“What’s wrong, Sid?” she asked. He shook his head at her.

“/I can’t,/” he murmured. Arisu gave him a blank look.

“What do you mean?” she asked. Sid clenched his fists at his sides.

“/This is all we do,/” he said. “/You keep wasting away and going off your meds. I don’t know if I can handle it anymore./” His girlfriend frowned at him.

“Jin talked to you again, didn’t he?” she asked. Sid shook his head. Arisu’s eyes began to well up with angry tears. Her boyfriend became nervous.

“/Please don’t cry,/” he pleaded. Too late. But then, Sid noticed that she wasn’t crying out of sorrow. She was rather pissed off at him. The girl reached forward and slapped him in face. Sid rubbed his cheek.

“/Ow,/” he whimpered. “/What the hell?!?/”

“Why do you act so stupid?!?” she cried.

“/Because I love you!/” Sid shouted.

“You don’t act like it!” Arisu shot back. Sid stared at her in silence.

“/What do you expect from me?!?/” he shouted. “/You act too reckless for me to kind up!/” Arisu’s lower lip began to quiver. This time, Sid didn’t buy it. He tightly shut his eyes.

“/No!/” he snapped. “/You’re not doing this to me again!/” The sound of Norman puking in the toilet again trying pierced the tense air. The couple looked down the hall.

“Who is that?” his girlfriend. Sid’s fists gave way to heavy trembling. A scream got caught in his throat. This circus was starting to get stupid. Never had he felt like hurting something or someone before in his life. Something needed to give.

He stormed out of the house. Arisu’s eyes followed him.

“Sid-kun?” she asked. “Where are you going?”

“/Piss off you stupid, cow!/” he shouted. The door slammed shut behind him. Arisu looked on, blinking.

Sid made it out to his front yard and finally screamed. “/F**K THIS SHITE!!!/” he yelled. “/WHY THE HELL DO I GET STUCK WITH THE CRAZY ONES IN MY LIFE?!? IT’S NOT FAIR! IT’S JUST NOT FAIR!!!”

Shawn, Nick, and Simon happened to be walking by when they heard their mate screaming out like a madman. Nick shook his head in pity.

“/Uh-oh,/” he said. “/Sid’s finally lost it./”

“/So what do we do?/” Simon asked.

“/Give me a minute,/” his snarky friend replied. Shawn suddenly came up with a great idea.

“/Anyone got a car handy?/” he asked. The other two looked up at him.

“/Why?/” Simon asked. The Goth artist smirked at them.

“/Oh, we need to go on a little field trip,/” he replied. The boys could already guess. To make a long story short, the boys got a car, kidnapped Sid, stuffed him in the trunk, and drove to an abandoned field.

So now…

Sid sat up in the trunk. He looked all around him.

“/Where are we?/” he asked.

“/Where do you think we are?/” Nick asked. Sid blinked at him.

“/I don’t get it,/” he said.

“/Get what?/” Shawn asked. The other boy shrugged at him.

“/Why are we out here?/” he asked. The three boys were quiet at first. Simon stepped forward.

“/You looked stressed in your yard,/” he explained calmly. “/So, Nick, Shawn, and I kidnapped you./” There was a pause of a flock of crows flew overhead. Sid blinked at his mates.

“/Is this true?/” he asked. Shawn and Nick nodded. Sid looked at his hands in his lap.

“/Oh,/” he said. Then, he looked at his friends again.

“/So now what?/” he asked. His mates went silent for the longest time. Nick threw up his hands.

“/Up to you,/” he said. Sid blinked at him.

“/Huh?/” he asked. Shawn shook his head at him.

“/You’re hopeless, mate,/” he complained.

“/Maybe we should leave him alone,/” Simon cut in. The other two took a moment to think about it.

“/That could work,/” Nick concluded. The boy turned back to their mate.

“/You gonna be okay here?/” Shawn asked Sid.

“/Uh…/” the dullard said.

“/Good enough,/” Nick said. Then, the mates walked off. Sid sat there and watched them, silently.

“/Okay…/” he said.

Sid ended up wandering around the city. It didn’t seem like a good idea to go home or back to Arisu at the moment. Too much crazy people for him to endure at the moment. But, where could he go? The man didn’t feel like being around people. No, he just wanted to be alone. Sid paused and looked out at the street. This city always looks the same, he thought. If Tokyo was racing towards the future, Sid couldn’t see it. Guess that what happens when you’re surrounded by nutters all of the time, he thought. The man shook his head and put his last fresh cigarette in his mouth. Once he lit up, another thought crossed his head. What the hell am I doing?, he thought. The man shut his eyes for a moment.

A soft pounding danced into his ears. Sid pulled open his eyes and looked over to his right. Where is that coming from?, he thought. It was then, he noticed the time.

“/Midnight already?/” Sid asked. “/Has it really been that long?/” He started to go home when he heard the music again. He turned to the direction the sound was coming from. “Follow me! Follow me!” it sang out to him. Seemed rather tempting…

Sid dropped his shoulders. Wouldn’t hurt to look, he thought. The man walked down the street to follow the sound.

Sid came to a run-down bar. He made a puzzled face as he raised an eyebrow at the set-up. This is where the music was coming from?, the man thought. What a letdown. Still, it was better than going back to face Arisu or Norman again. I just want to look, the dullard thought. Sid made his way into the building.

Smoke floated through the air inside. Sid had to squint in order to get a better look. The music had just changed into something much softer. Not many people were around tonight. Just two old men and the bar tender. Sid dropped his shoulders again. Might as well stay for a while. He walked over to the bar. The old men and the bar tender looked up at him. Sid paused in his tracks.

“/Uh… hi…/” he mumbled. The bar tender narrowed his eyes at him.

“What’s a kid like you doing here?” he questioned. *Sweat drop on Sid’s head* Kid?, he thought. Am I really that young to them?

“Come!” one of the old men said. “Take a seat, have a drink!” Sid’s feet were planted to the ground. A little sweat started to form on his back. This would make him look desperate. But, what choice did he have? He couldn’t go home or back to his girlfriend. Not just yet, anyway. Sid breathed out and sat down at the bar with the Old Crowd. The bar tender tried to smile at him.

“Now, what would you like?” he asked. Sid shrugged at him.

“/Anything,/” he said.

“Oh! English, huh?” the bar tender asked.

“/Yeah,/” Sid replied. The old men watched on, intrigued. Their bar tender gave the younger man a little nod.

“Okay then,” the old guy said. The bar tender got right to work on his drink. The old men looked closely at Sid’s face.

“What’s the matter with you, boy?” one of the old men asked. Sid glanced up at him and gave him and his friend a little shrug. The old men automatically understood.

“Ah, girlfriend troubles?” the second one guessed.

“Or is it family problems?” the first one guessed.

“/Both,/” Sid replied.

“Oh,” both old men said. There was a moment of silence. The first old man shrugged at him.

“Forget about them!” he said. Sid’s eyes shot wide open.

“/E-Excuse me?/” he asked.

“Love and family!” the other old man said. “Who needs them?” Sid blinked at them.

“/What? Why?/” he asked.

“I left my wife fifteen years ago,” the first old man told him.

“/That’s terrible!/” Sid remarked. The old man shook his head.

“Not at all, my boy,” he said. “She was an evil shrew. Even the devil himself couldn’t handle her. Good riddance!”

“I know!” his friend said. “I haven’t seen my son and his wife in five years. Good for me. He was a good-for-nothing and she was just lazy slut! I can’t believe my wife died and left me with those idiots!” Sid blinked in disgust.

“/But aren’t you guys lonely?/” he asked. The old men went quiet for the longest time. They ended up having to force smiles on their faces.

“It’s okay!” the first man lied. “We all have each to bitch to and plenty of sake!” Sid’s face dropped at those words. They were just like him… No, these guys were even worse. I’d rather die than to end up like them, Sid thought in shock. It was then he realized what he had to do. When the bar tender handed the younger man his sake, the Brit rose to his feet and walked out the door.

“Wait! Your drink!” the bar tender yelled.

“Leave him,” the first old man said. “He still has a chance.”

Sid rushed all the way back to Arisu’s house and knocked on the door. The thin white cotton curtain in the glass was pushed aside to reveal the girlfriend’s pale face. She opened the door a crack.

“Yes?” she asked. Sid drew in a deep breath.

“/I love you!/” he shouted. “/I love you and want to help you. I don’t want to end up alone./” Arisu didn’t say anything; she just opened the door wider and moved aside to let him in. A small victory, for now at least.

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