CHAPTER SIX:

↳ SLEEPINESS

"I was wondering if you would want to go to the school dance together?" Zach asked.

"Sure, Zach." Rin shouldered her backpack with a blush coating her cheeks. She stared up at his tall figure with a sheepish grin. She wasn't sure how to act but the butterflies inside her stomach made her blush become a deeper red.

"Really?" Zach sounded so shocked over her agreement to going to the dance with him. "You wanna go, with me?"

"Of course I do, silly." Rin replied shyly, bumping her shoulder against his arm. "I like you."

Zach sent a smirk that made her feel like she was having heart palpitations. "Oh so you like me then?"

"Zach," Rin moaned, burying her head into her hands in embarrassment. "Don't make me regret this."

Gentle fingers pried her hands away from her eyes and she stared up at Zach. His face was genuine and his eyes fond of the girl who was embarrassed. 

"No, I definitely won't."

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RIN WAS IN THE BATHROOM WHEN between her classes when she heard whispers outside her bathroom stall. She had sat on the seat with her clothes still on, wishing she was at home trying to sleep. Last night definitely was one of Rin's worst nights where she didn't sleep a wink. All Rin wanted to do was stay in the safety of the stall where it was quiet instead of the loud hallways but she knew that the whispers on the other side of the metal door where menacing. 

"C'mon," one girl told the other as Rin slammed her stall door open. Her eyes were narrowed as the two teenage girls stared at the girl beside them. Rin's eyes landed on the figure of Hannah Baker and she smiled widely at the brunette girl.

"Do you want me to eat lunch with you?" Rin asked suddenly to Hannah, noting the whispers sent around her.

"No," Hannah forced a grin as the young girl stood beside her to wash her hands. The concerned look that was sent towards Hannah was genuine and Hannah appreciated Rin. "I think I'll be fine.

Maybe if Rin did sit with Hannah, things could have turned out differently.

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     LATER ON IN THE DAY RIN noticed Courtney Crimsen pay attention to Hannah Baker during class. Rin hated Courtney, she was a backstabbing bitch. When they were in middle school Rin and Courtney were forced to be friends– their Asian parents just wanted them to stay close to their culture and people who they could associate better with. But Courtney had ditched Rin when she met the popular girls. Rin didn't really care, she liked being alone for the most part– that's when she began to be best friends with Zach.

"Hey you're gonna get in trouble." Courtney told Hannah watching her sleep. "Watch and learn." She positioned her head away from the teacher before smirking at the brown haired girl beside her.

"You sleep in class?" Hannah asked the girl in disbelief. Rin rolled her eyes as she slouched over her homework assignment. Courtney Crimson wasn't the perfect girl everyone thought she was. 

"Are you kidding? With my schedule, power naps are essential." Courtney whispered back and Rin wanted to cringe at the peppiness her whisper even had. 

"I just couldn't sleep last night." Hannah replied vaguely and Rin held back a snort. She was talking about sleeping problems? She had no idea. 

"Obsessing over the history exam?" Courtney was all about school and that made Rin mad, Courtney was her rival in academics. 

"Uh, no." Hannah told her. 

"About who're you're taking to the winter formal? I heard that Zach Dempsey asked Rin." Her eyes narrowed at the gossip taking place about her but she bit her tongue as she focused back onto the teacher.

"People take people to that?" Hannah asked Courtney in disbelief.

"Quiet study please." The teacher announced, her eyes on the two whispering teenagers. 

"What else has you up at nights?" Rin ignored the rest of the conversation, standing up from her seat and walking up to the teacher to get help on her assignment.

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     IT WAS THE END OF THE SCHOOL DAY and Rin was wishing she didn't have to go to work. Her eyelids felt heavy as she trudged across the street to Monet's for a coffee to go. It was routine for her, yet today felt different. The young girl had felt irritable all day and now, she felt foggy, as if there was clouds surrounding her. She dug into her backpack, pulling out her apples and peanut butter, ready to eat. She needed to eat in able to take her medication. She took a bit of apple and dipped it into the small container of peanut butter. Rin munched away but her mood and fogginess did not improve. She needed to take her medication.

Rin's eyelids felt heavy as she stood waiting for her coffee, why was it taking so long? Last night Rin didn't sleep much, she was jealous of people who had regular sleeping schedules. 

Her body felt weak. 

"Rin?" A voice spoke up and Rin saw a blurred blonde in the distance with her coffee in hand. She craved the taste of coffee to try to wake herself up after the long day. 

"Uh, sorry," Rin mumbled as she accidentally bumped into someone, trying to navigate her way towards the girl with her coffee. She rubbed a hand over her face, trying to wake herself up, but her eyelids felt so heavy and her words began to blur together. 

"Are you Rin?" Skye asked her, her voice sounding far away. "Don't you want your coffee?"

Rin knew in that moment as voices blurred together that she needed to fight her own self to stay away but she couldn't– the sudden need to lie down and close her eyes was greater. She couldn't seem to snap herself out of it and as Skye's hand grabbed onto Rin's falling body she knew that her brain was shutting down. 

"Rin? Oh my God, Rin!"

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back with more chapters since university ended woohoo!