I cowered in the mud, my eyes wide with fear. The tallest boy with the beanie spit on the ground next to me. "You think you're cool enough to not let anyone touch you? Well, newsflash dumbass. You are not cool at all," he snapped kicking my side. I yelped in pain and tried to crawl away when he kicked me again. One of his friends, a boy named Rai, spoke up. "You better apologize to Seifer before he hurts you more, ya know?" he said putting his hands on his hips. I spit blood from my mouth on the ground next to him. "Never will I apologize to anyone for saving their life," I said. Seifer snarled and heaved another kick at me. I caught his pant leg before he could. "I warned you," I said softly regretting already my decision. I reached into his jeans and lightly touched his leg. His face twisted with sudden agony. Seifer screamed as blood poured from everywhere. His pores, his ears, his eyes, his mouth, and, judging from the dark stains seeping onto his pants, other things bled heavily as well. Rai and Fuu, the only girl in the group, stared in horror as Seifer fell to the ground, every ounce of his blood pooling on the ground. They screamed as I stood up to face them. "I can't let you tell anyone about me so I'm sorry in advance," I said. Before either of them could react, I ran forward and grabbed both their faces in my hands. Fuu screamed as her face was slowly burnt to a crisp while Rai just stared straight ahead in utter shock as his facial features fell off one by one. They fell to the ground with a thud as I released them. I sighed and put my hands in my hoodie pockets. "I hate this. I hate my body," I whispered as I stared emotionally at the bodies around me. I swallowed my self hatred and turned in the direction of home. Seifer moaned suddenly his hand twitching. "Ah that's right his heart must have replenished some of his blood," I said. With a sharp thrust, I dug my hand into his chest cavity and ripped his heart from it. Seifer fell limp once again. I tossed his heart in the sewer on my way to my house.

"Hello, Ventus. Would you like some dinner, sweetie?" said my older sister sarcastically as she stumbled through the kitchen holding a beer. I shook my head at her and rushed up the stairs to wash my hands of the blood. "Suit yourself. Hey where ya goin', bro?" she slurred laughing drunkenly. I ignored her and washed my hands furiously. I could hear her stumbling her way up the stairs, giggling dumbly as she tripped up them. "Heh heh, oopsie," she drawled continuing up the stairs. I frantically dried my hands on the towel before she burst through the door. "Hay, lil brother. Whatcha doin' in the bathroom? Having a party or what?" she said putting her face close to mine. I took a step away and frowned at the strong scent of alcohol seeping off her breath. "Namine, you're drunk. Go take a shower," I said sternly, making sure not to touch her directly as I pushed her to her bedroom. She laughed and took a swig from the bottle. "But I gots a beer ta finish," she said. I snatched the beer from her fingers and pointed to the shower. She grumbled and stumbled into the bathroom. I waited until the water turned on to take the beer to the kitchen. A knock at the door startled me. I opened the huge metal door to see a small boy with a Teddy bear clutched in his hand. "May I help you?" I asked my eyes wary. He sniffled and rubbed his puffy red eyes. "My big brudder n-never came home. Have you seen him?" he said holding up a picture. My face blanched pale as I gazed into the eyes of Seifer, the man I had just recently killed. I shook my head frantically. "N-no I haven't seen him," I said closing the door halfway. The small boy put his foot in the door. "Are you sure?" he said desperately. I opened the door a bit wider and nodded quickly. He peered at me in disbelief. "I didn't see him now leave me alone, kid," I said unthinkingly snatching his wrist to shove him from the door frame. The boy stared at me in terror. "H-help me," he said before his skin began to peal off his body. I tried to help him by putting his skin back on but my touch made it worse. His muscles and bones shriveled to nothing leaving only a dusty pile of the little innocent boy who had only come over out of grief for his brother. I picked up his Teddy and held it close to my chest. "I'm sorry," I said closing my door.

The next morning I woke to Namine groaning in pain. "Ugh, damn hangover. Ruining my entire morning already," she said before opening my door. She looked terrible. Her long straight blond hair was messy and tangled. Her blue eyes had dark circles under them. She had no makeup on and had a cigarette between her still amazingly white teeth. "Hey, Ven. When did you get home?" she said sitting down on my bed. I coughed from the smoke which made her quickly snuff out the cigarette. "Sorry," she said placing it in the ashtray beside my bed. I narrowed my eyes at her and slipped on my black leather gloves. I gripped her arms and tugged her until she sat cross legged in the center of my bed. I grabbed from her room a hairbrush, some makeup, a change of clothing, and an energy drink I found under her bed. I dropped the items with a clatter and sat down behind her. "Say, why do you wear so much clothes to bed?" she said pointing to my sock feet, long pants, and long sleeved shirt. I shrugged and began to brush her knotted hair. Namine winced several times but never complained or pulled away. I handed her the drink and parted her hair. "Drink that then go put on some freaking makeup and this dress," I ordered handing her the small white dress. She smiled gently and patted my gloved hand. "Thanks for being here, Ven," she said softly. I felt like I had just been punched in the stomach. I nodded and pulled some of her hair to rest on the side of her neck.

My older sister got up and went to the mirror on my dresser with the makeup in hand. "Uh Namine? I have to get dressed. Would you mind getting out for a minute?" I said trying not to sound rude. She looked at me through the mirror and smiled. "Sure thing, lil brother," she said grabbing the makeup and walked into the bathroom. When she shut the door, I leaped from my bed. I scooped up my black T-shirt, jeans, and hoodie and slipped them on. "Sis, I'm off to school. See you later," I shouted. Namine came out of the bathroom looking much better than she had earlier. "Bye, Ven, have a great day," she said wrapping me in a hug. I hugged her back gently. She put a hand on my spikes and ruffled them affectionately. I waved goodbye to her and opened the door to start the dreaded walk to the school. I turned the corner and spotted a guy in all black clothing and chains walking slowly in front of me. His hair was extremely spiky and was an onyx black. I was about to call out to him when a hyperactive boy glomped him. "HI, VANITAS!" the boy shouted cheerfully. The other guy pulled himself from the boy's grasp and brushed himself off. "What do you want, Sora?" he asked his annoyance lacing his voice, which was a deeper version of the younger one's. Sora jumped up and down excitedly as they walked. "Guess what, Twin? I'm finally gonna talk to Roxas today," he said. My eyes widened as I noticed the similar hair styles and clothing. Vanitas however had onyx hair and wore black and blood red clothing with chains and zippers everywhere. Sora, on the other hand, had chocolate hair and had a variety of colors for his clothes. He had zippers and wore gloves on his hands. I lowered my gaze to the ground as Vanitas glanced behind him. "Hey who's that? He looks like Roxas," he commented. Sora turned and looked at me indifferently. "Oh that's Ventus. He is like the biggest freak of the school and screams at people if they try to touch him. It's like he is scared he's gonna hurt them or something," he said turning his back to me. I felt sorrow fill my heart at his words. 'So that is how people see me as,' I thought.

"Hey, how's it goin, Ventus?" Vanitas said close to my ear. I looked up in surprise and leaped away from him. "D-Don't touch me," I said putting out my hands. Vanitas frowned and distanced himself from me. "Is that better?" he asked. I nodded and continued on my way. He walked beside me and glanced at me. "I'm Vanitas. So why can't people touch you?" he asked curiously. I looked over at him and then towards Sora. "Don't you want to walk with your friend?" I said. Vanitas glanced towards Sora and scoffed. "That idiot? Hah, he's just my twin brother. We are so not friends," he said laughing. I smiled at his laugh and peeked a look at his eyes. They were a honey gold and projected everything he was feeling in them. I was staring at them when he glanced over at me. "What? Something on my face?" he said in amusement. I shook my head frantically. "N-No I was just looking at your eyes and thinking about how beautiful they look," I said without thinking. Realizing what I had said, I clamped my hands over my mouth. "A-ah I'm so sorry. I didn't mean what I said, I mean I did, just not in a weird way. Wait a minute," I said flustered. I heard laughing and looked over at Vanitas. He was scratching behind his head in embarrassment and had a faint red blush on his pale cheeks. "You don't have to get so embarrassed. Its fine. Thanks for liking them, I guess," he said smiling. I blushed a bright red and turned my face away to hide it. "So you gonna answer my question or what?" he asked. I racked my brain for the question and once I remembered it, I shook my head. "It's...complicated," I said sighing. He moved slightly closer. I looked over at him in surprise. "How about later? Can we hang out after school?" he asked his eyes pleading. I gulped and smiled shyly. "Sure, my house is the only white one on my street," I said. Vanitas nodded and gripped my hand. I was about to panic when I realized I still had my gloves on. Then I registered that he was holding my hand. I blushed fire engine red. "Why are you all red? Do you have a fever?" he said concerned. I shook my head and looked down at our hands. He followed my gaze and blushed in embarrassment. "Ah, sorry! Guess its just a habit," he said taking his hand from mine. I almost immediately wished for the warmth his hand again. "It's okay. I don't mind," I said quietly. Vanitas looked over at me in surprise. "Really? Are you sure?" he said. I nodded. Before he could reach for my hand, I moved away. "Not at school though," I said sadly. He nodded in understanding and waved at me as we went through the school doors.