Taeyong hopped out the car the moment Doyoung parked it. "Thanks," he called out as he rushed towards the school. Doyoung offered a wave of his hand as he remained in the car, staring intently at the brunette.

Mark had stopped answering him when he was in the car, but he thought nothing of it. He could have just arrived at school and forgot to say goodbye. If that was the case, maybe he would see him right now.

Taeyong quickly thought about what to do, and ended up decided that he should hide in the bathroom as soon as he could. He could find Mark during lunch or in between classes. There were occasional groups of friends huddled together discussing their interests, or whatever it was they talked about. Taeyong wasn't really one to know. He and Mark mostly talked about memes and music.

While he passed them they shot curious glances at him, but then quickly diverted their gazes when he shot them a silent plead with his eyes.

His eyes drooped to the floor as he tredded towards the bathroom. Not seeing where he was going, he bumped shoulders with Jaehyun, who dropped his phone.

"I'm sorry," he quickly mumbled as he bent down to pick up the junior's phone. As he handed it to him, his eyes met Jaehyun's, and he could sense a look of pity. "It's okay," Jaehyun replied with a nod as he offered Taeyong a shy smile.

Taeyong hastily returned a fake grin as he sped off without a word in return. He swore he felt Jaehyun's eyes on him, not once leaving his figure until he rounded the corner.

Taeyong looked across his shoulder before going into the bathroom. He slipped off his backpack and tossed it to the corner of the room. In the mirror, he saw his tired eyes and ultimately, exhausted face. Even his lips were too worn out to keep putting on a smile. He ran cold water and splashed it across his face.

Before, doing that used to wake his senses up a little. Now, Taeyong still felt as numb and as dead as ever. Is it still considered living when your body can't tell the difference between cold, fridgid water and the warm, tense air? Is it still considered living when you lose all sense of purpose; when you're lost in the world? Would anyone actually care if he left? He thought he knew the answer to that the day when he tried to kill himself. If it wasn't for the spam he received that day, would he still be here? Would he have experienced the pity from Doyoung and Jaehyun? Would he be here in the bathroom, trying to contain his tears as he stared at his worthless face?

No, he wouldn't. If he was lucky, he would've already been buried in a casket underground, surrounded by countless of deceased people all around him, all due to different reasons, but ultimately, the same faith.

He owed his life to whoever this urmomgay guy was. How pathetic was that? He wouldn't be alive right now to tell himself how worthless he was if it wasn't for a random ass person who just happened to like his memes at the worst, or right time, depending on how you look at the situation.

The water was still running. If you strained your ears enough, you could manage to hear Taeyong muffling his sobs over the running water. By the time it stopped, Taeyong hoped he would have gathered enough strenght to keep quiet, since no one wants to hear someone's cries for help when they know they're not willing to lift a single finger for a lost soul.

No one would help him. Ever.

Taeyong wiped away his tears and stared at his bloodshot eyes. Pathethic. Worthless. No one will ever care about you. Just die.

What was once Ten's words resignating through his head now became his own. Ten's words now became what Taeyong thought of himself. That's why he was so worthless. At least now, when he would be asked how people described him compared to how he would describe himself, he could answer the same thing.

Taeyong pressed his palms against the sink as he waited for the red tint in his eyes to fade. He holded back on blinking, already knowing it would only cause more tears to erupt.

He resisted rubbing his eyes. If he could push his eyes full of sorrow deep into his sockets, he would. Until then, he would resist the urge to redden his eyes even more. He didn't want to look at his pained expression anymore no more than he wanted to be alive.

He turned to leave once he decided no one will look into his eyes long enough to notice his suffering. He grabbed and his backpack and was about to put it on as his hand reached for the door handle, only for the door to be opened from the other side. He stepped back in alarm, avoiding to look at the person who just walked in. Taeyong wanted to scurry along to the side, but he felt firm hands pushing him back.

Right away, Taeyong realized he wasn't safe. He barely managed to avoid himself from tripping as he saw Ten standing next to the doorway, his backpack dropped a couple of inches away. Ten closed the door behind him as he stared at the terrified boy. What alarmed Taeyong wasn't the fact he knew his body would be adorned with newer, fresher bruises, but the fact that Ten's face was jagged with purple marks as will. The sensitive skin around his right eye was hosting an uneven black circle, and his arms had dried gushes of blood that had come out from small scratches.

"What are you doing here?" Ten spat. Although Taeyong was taller than him, he felt small and overpowered.

"I-I needed to piss," Taeyong whispered.

"Hmm? What you'd say?" Ten asked, reaching out for Taeyong's arm, but the latter took a step back out of instinct. The younger male looked confused. It was as if he wasn't sure of what to do anymore.

"Nothing," Taeyong murmured, looking at the disheveled boy in front of him. "What happened to you?"

Ten looked at the floor. How was he in a position to act big and strong when here he was, standing in front of the male whose life he made miserable, when he himself owned a face that gave of a vibe of absolute worry.

"Nothing," Ten replied. "I just crossed paths with someone irritating. Like I am right now."

Taeyong took another step back. "You should wash your arms," he noted as he stared at the dark, dried out fluid in Ten's arms.

"I will in a bit," Ten said. "So, Lee..." He walked towards him with an uncomfortable limp in his leg.

"Don't touch me," Taeyong muttered, leaning against the wall.

"Lee, listen to me."

"No! Get out of here!" Taeyong screamed, afraid of the bloodied arms reaching towards him.

Before he could blink, Ten jumped on top of him. Taeyong felt the familiar pain rush through his face as Ten's fists slammed against him.

He tried to pry him off, but his body felt weak. He didn't even let out any more screams as he watched the fists fly towards his face. Ten let out a wail as he looked at what he had done. "Im sorry," he mumbled through choked sobs as he laid his face against the older's chest. He banged his fist against the floor, letting out shouts of agony.

"Why didn't you just listen to me?!" Ten shouted, his voice cracking as he shut his eyes. Taeyong was startled, to say the least. He heaved himself from underneath Ten's body, and wiped the blood from his nose. He felt the penetrating rush of fear running through his veins as he sat against the wall. He dragged his legs against his chest and hugged his knees, lowering his head.

He could hear as Ten sniffled and kept muttering, "I'm sorry," quietly to himself. Did bullying him hurt him just as much? During the whole time he was suffering, was Ten feeling the same way? Why? Taeyong never truly understood why he had been picked on in the first place. He had such a normal life; no reason for him to have become a target, yet here he was.

Simply, why?

The door banged open.

Right away, both Taeyong and Ten looked startled towards the new person standing at the door. Jaehyun looked panicked as he rushed in, running around Ten and straight towards Taeyong.

"I heard screaming," Jaehyun quickly explained as he reached out for Taeyong. Perplexed, Taeyong rejected his gesture and stood up on his own.

"He beat me up," Taeyong whispered, voice cracking as he looked down at Ten.

"No, you don't have to say anything," Jaehyun said, wrapping an arm around Taeyong, not letting the senior decide whether he accepted the gesture or not. Taeyong winced at the touch, but didn't prevent it. For some reason, he felt safe. Even with Ten in the same room, he actually felt a sense of secureness. Speaking of him, Ten stared baffled at the scene in front of him. Normally, he would yell at both of them, calling them a handful of homophobic slurs, but now he wiped away the tears from his eyes, cringing from the pain his limbs brought him.

He looked at the two boys as they quietly left the bathroom, and the last thing he heard before the door closed was Jaehyun whispering to Taeyong, "It's going to be alright. Don't worry."

If only he could have someone tell him the same thing.

You're probably like wtf, but trust me, I'll elaborate more onto this chapter soon lmao.