HITS WERE ONE thing. Words were another.

"Really, Will—those suspenders again?"

Wilford frowned at Dark, shrugging on his backpack. "Well, screw you. These suspenders are nice!"

Dark chuckled. "Don't come crying to me when you get bullied."

Wilford frowned. "I don't take shit from nobody," he stated airily, pushing past Dark. His older friend chuckled and followed after.

"Bye, Ana!" he bid before he closed the door to that special house. The house that held all their childhood memories of happiness.

..

"Tch—looka that loser, Dark," one of Dark's friends said. Dark turned his eyes to the "loser" they were speaking of.

Dark's eyes narrowed as he saw his friend Wilford grabbing a few books from his locker. His blood began to boil.

The one who had called Wilford a loser was new to their group. Dark's other two friends made faces of horror, making gestures of slitting their throats to signal 'cut it out.'

"A loser, huh?" Dark said. He had learned to stand up for his friend. Not give in to peer pressure.

The new friend, Michael, smirked and rose a brow as he looked off at Wilford in the distance. "Yeah, I mean, lookat 'im! Wearing those stupid suspenders and—"

He couldn't even finish his sentence when Dark punched him square in the jaw. Michael squawked in pain, stumbling back.

"What the h—?!"

"No one," Dark hissed, "calls Wilford a loser." He pressed himself close to Michael, his eyes gleaming. "Friend or not—I'll beat the shit out of you if you make fun of him again."

.flashback.

「It was in fourth grade that Dark learned to stand up for his friend...」

"Hey hey, Dark—it's that stupid Wilford nerd!"

Dark's brows furrowed as he looked at his friends. "A stupid nerd?"

These friends were the two that stayed with Dark until high school. The ones that warned Michael.

One of his friends snickered. "Go beat him up, Dark!"

"Why? He's not doing anything."

When Dark saw the looks on his friend's faces, he hesitated.

"If you don't do it, we won't be your friends anymore."

And so Dark hurt his friend. Once the other two were gone, he knelt by his true friend, guilt holding him down.

"Hey, I di—"

"You're weak, you know that?" Wilford spat, blood dripping to the school floor. He glared up at his friend, betrayed. "You're weak if you give in to peer pressure."

And from then on, Dark didn't give in to what his friends would say. He would always stand up for Wilford if he could.

.end flashback.

Michael held his jaw, not stepping on any lines. "Fine, fine—sorry, I won't do it again."

Michael was a good kid. He kept his promise, unlike others—who would say they wouldn't hurt someone, but do it anyway when no one was looking.

"Good," Dark said.

Those two would stay friends for a while.

..

THE TOPIC OF girlfriends came up during lunch time one day.

Dark and Wilford sat across from each other, while Michael sat next to Dark and across from another friend, whose name was Ron.

"So," Ron said. "I asked Becky out today."

Michael snickered. "So she finally gave in to your weird antics, huh."

Ron pouted. "Nah, she just finally admitted she loved me back."

Dark smiled, playfully hitting the side of Willford's shoulder from across the table.

"Maybe she just got so annoyed she decided to give in and go out with him," Dark joked.

Wilford laughed, earning a whine from Ron. "You're probably right, Darkimoo," he said.

Dark's face heated up at the nickname. The nickname that would always make him smile as a little kid.

"Darkimoo?" Michael laughed, raising a brow. "You guys have pet names for each other or somethin'?"

Dark fought away his blush, glaring at the fellow high schooler beside him. "Shut up."

"Hey, I did notice this," Ron said. "Michael and I have girlfriends, but you two—" He smirked.

"Maybe you two roll the other way... for each other," Ron sang, obviously joking. Except those words hit a sort of truth to Dark.

Wilford laughed, himself lightly blushing as well. "Oh, nonsense!" he partially lied. "There just aren't any girls worthy for this body."

The table broke into a short burst of shared laughter, but it quickly died down.

"Seriously, though." Michael now said. "Don't you guys have crushes on anyone?"

The answer was no. But when the two friends looked at each other... they began to question things.

"Nah," Dark said, shrugging to the side. "I don't really want a relationship anyway. I'd rather focus on school work."

Ron laughed. "School work? Man. You know, I wouldn't be surprised seeing you as some damn millionaire in the future."

Dark smirked. "We all wish that, don't we."

"To be rich?" Michael chimed. "Hell yeah."

Wilford stayed silent. He was questioning things now, unlike Dark, who was pushing those questions aside for later.

..

THE TEENS WERE queer, unknowing of their sexuality thanks to that talk at the table. Dark sat at the table with Ana, whose hair was now sprouting a few grey stands.

"I... think I like someone, Ana," he had said, looking at his twined hands upon the table.

Their care-taker smiled; she was sitting beside Dark, a small plate of her famous cookies sitting by them. The teen took one to try and distract himself, lightly humming at that signature sweetness of the treat.

"It's about time you do," she said, smiling. "Who's the lucky lady?"

Dark hummed, swallowing his small bite of the cookie.

"That's... just it..." he said, voice trailing off.

Something glimmered in Ana's eyes. Dark sighed as he shrugged to the side.

"I think I like a boy, Ana. But... I'm not sure..."

Ana smiled, placing a gentle hand upon Dark's. Dark put the treat down, looking into Ana's brown eyes.

"Dark," she said slowly. "Whether you love a boy or not... there's nothing wrong with that. Love is love."

Dark rose a brow. "You're not... weirded out or anything?"

Ana smiled, her fingers lightly brushing a stand of Dark's ebony hair away from his eyes.

"Why would I be?" She leaned in close, smiling. "I liked my own sex too. I see nothing wrong."

Dark's heart swelled at this. He admired how she was so understanding and kind. But one little question remained.

"Liked?" he said.

Ana sighed, and her eyes grew darker, looking upon memories.

"Yeah... I lost my future love to a deadly disease." She shook her head. "But I still love her with all my heart. I still remember her."

If only she said an extra phrase.

If only she had said a simple phrase. It would have saved so much heartbreak. So many tears.

Dark slightly smiled. "Thank you, Ana," he muttered, pulling her into a soft hug. He then sighed.

"I just..." They kept their embrace. "How would I know if he... he's gay or not?"

The word was weird on his tongue. Like you were trying a foreign food and you didn't know if it tasted good or not.

Ana had a smile on her face as they pulled away from the hug. 

"Be flirtatious," she said, lightening the mood. "Pick up any hints and all that. The main thing is patience. Don't rush things."

Dark smiled, pulling her into another, yet shorter, hug. "Thank you, Ana. Thank you."

Wilford had walked into the house at that moment once they pulled away from the light embrace. Ana smiled, standing up. "Well-—I'll leave you two to hang out. Make sure you share those cookies!"

Dark smiled, watching her head off. Wilford sat where she had previously sat and took a cookie. "You should really smile more often, Darki," he said.

Dark chuckled, looking into Wilford's eyes. "Nah," he said.

"Awe, come on," the teen whined.

Dark then smirked. "I'd rather save my smile for you."

Thanks for reading and have a fantastic day/night!

-aya

P.S. This story might only be five-ish chapters long, just sayin' º3º