"Tae... See... Okay?"

Taeyong heard a soft voice coming from his door, but he couldn't interpret all the words. He squinted at his wall, trying to decipher what time it was. It was still dark outside, but the lights inside his room had been turned on. It was still the same shit day.

"Honey," he heard a female voice whisper.

He blinked repeatedly until he got used to the light, then shoved his head underneath his pillow and groaned.

"Taeyong," he heard the same voice say in a more demanding tone. He groaned again in response. He felt something soft hit his body in a harsh manner, making him wince.

"Don't make me get the spray," he heard his mother's voice say clearly now.

"My God, Mom, I'm awake, I'm awake!" Taeyong shouted, dragging himself upwards and pulling his blanket towards his chin.

He saw as his mother's smile turned into a gasp as her expression became worried. "Taeyong? What happened to you?" He was confused. He didn't know what she was talking about, so he just stared at her.

"Your eye, baby! What happened?" She tried touching it, but Taeyong pushed it away as a mean of reflexes.

"No, nothing, Mom!" Taeyong replied hurriedly as he tried to quickly think of an excuse of why his face was bruised. "It doesn't hurt, I promise."

"I didn't ask you if it hurt! I asked what happened!" His mother demanded, Taeyong taking it as a sign of anger.

He smiled. "Today was not my day," he said as he let out a small laugh. She glared at him.

"For P.E. today, we were playing soccer and I was goalie. I fell once and scratched my face pretty bad." He winced as he pretended to remember. "Then, the ball hit me in the face." He laughed. "Nothing too bad, but I felt a bit disorianted. Afterwards I ran into the metal pole from the goal as I tried to stop another ball."

His mother stared at him in disbelief. "And you didn't go to the infirmary?"

Taeyong shook his head. "It hurt a bit at first, but I wanted to see how the game played out. I know it's just a dumb game, but I also didn't want to spend the rest of the day in the nurse's office. Don't worry, Mom, I sat down for a bit and drank some water. It doesn't even hurt at all now."

"You sure, baby?" She stroked his hair as he nodded. He felt like she was staring into his soul, but he knew she was only observing the purple mark around his right eye and the deep gash near his eyebrow. "What about this cut?"

"I told you, Mom, I fell pretty bad."

She shook her head. "Sports weren't really ever your thing, huh?" She let out a small sigh. "Then you go and decide to be goalie." She got up, still dazed as to what she just heard. "How do you get an A in P.E.?" She mumbled as she left the room.

"Thanks for closing the goddamn door," Taeyong whispered as he got up and closed it himself. He was more baffled than annoyed, though. He truly wouldn't have thought she would've believed him. C'mon, Mom. You see your son with a fucked up face, and don't question it a little bit more? You believe a sports incident? Taeyong was stuck in deciding whether he should feel mad that his mother let it go too easily, or relieved that she didn't overreact. She didn't even try to call the school to confirm what he was saying... She didn't even offer to get him a napkin with ice... Not even close the door.

Taeyong pursed his lips as he tried to ignore the stinging in his eyes. He hated how he pitied himself when he knew full well that he would have denied everything. He told himself, 'It's the fucking thought that counts, though,' and he hated himself even more for thinking that way.

He felt even worse when his mother came back into his room saying that she had came in before to ask if he was hungry, but it had slipped her mind. He judged her too early. He tried making himself better by thinking, 'She still didn't bring any ice,' but he only ended up telling himself he was stupid and ungrateful. He despised himself.

---

Taeyong tried confronting Mark at school. He only managed to find him after fourth period in the hallways, but Mark scurried away towards the opposite direction once he noticed who saw him. Taeyong tried running after him, calling out his name, but a hand was placed against his chest.

He looked up to find Chitapphon, who offered him a small smile. "How are you doing?" he asked.

Taeyong wanted to retort with, 'My only fucking friend hates me now, and you have something to do with it! Not only that, but I fucking hate myself too! Isn't that fucking great? But, you know what's even better? I'm selfish, a fucking ungrateful piece of shit, all because I want someone to help me! But does anyone help? No! Why can't no one help me? Why am I alone?'

He snapped out of it.

He mumbled, "No-nothing. Sorry." He tried to go around Ten, but he stepped in front of him.

Taeyong glared at him. He had thought Ten might of wanted to do something malicious, but the redness in his eyes showed that he too was going through something shitty. He waited for Ten to say something, but nothing came out of the Thailand guy's throat. Taeyong shook his head and brushed past Ten, fighting the urge to tell him to fuck off.

He looked for any signs of Mark. He was no where to be found. Taeyong felt a stab of anger, and regret. A hint of sorrow, and anguish. He felt like he already lost his only friend forever. He was forever fucking alone.

Taeyong glanced back at Ten, who had his back against his locker and his head drooped towards the ground. What was wrong with him? Why's he acting so strange all of a sudden? Why is he not insulting him; hurting him? Taeyong was conflicted with a lot of emotions at the moment, one of them being confusion. He was left to figure everything out with the person he hated the most; himself.