Henry and Noel sped through the city streets, the tires of the borrowed car screeching with every sharp turn. The thick air of anxiety weighed heavily inside the vehicle, their clammy hands gripping the steering wheel and door handle.
They had wanted to give Sky space after what happened earlier, but then the call had co—frantic and breathless—from an acquaintance. "Is Sato okay? I saw him speeding like a madman on Palrs Road," the guy had said.
Henry’s face went pale. They both knew where that road led—i’s apartnt.
Without wasting a second, they headed there, the knot of dread tightening with every mile. When they arrived, the street was eerily quiet, i’s studio dark. Sky’s truck was parked haphazardly by the curb, a clear sign that sothing was wrong.
They rushed to the door, ringing the bell repeatedly, panic mounting with every unanswered buzz.
"He’s in there," Henry muttered, jaw clenched.
"Sky! Open the damn door!" Noel shouted, pounding his fist against it.
Silence.
Their eyes t, wide with rising fear. If he didn’t answer soon, they’d have to break the door down. But first, i.
Noel didn’t waste ti with pleasantries when she picked up. "i, it’s an ergency. We need your apartnt passcode now."
There was a stunned pause on the other end before i spoke, her voice taut with concern. "It’s 4210. Please, what’s going on—"
Noel cut the call, keyed in the code, and the lock clicked open. They pushed inside.
The sight that greeted them froze them in place.
Sky was huddled on the floor, shoulders shaking violently as he fumbled with a pill bottle in his trembling hands. His fingers were so unsteady he could barely grasp the pills. He managed to free one, but it was a monuntal struggle to swallow it as his hand was shaking.
He also didn’t have any water.
"Shit," Noel whispered, moving swiftly to grab a glass of water from the kitchen.
Sky didn’t acknowledge their presence. His face was buried in his knees, his body shuddering.
"Sky!" Henry’s voice was raw as he rushed to him. "What the hell—"
Sky’s head snapped up, his bloodshot eyes wild. He turned to the pill bottle beside him, his voice cracking with rage. "These fucking pills aren’t working!" he shouted, his frustration boiling over. He grabbed the bottle and hurled it against the wall. The plastic bounced off and clattered to the floor.
"Hey... hey... easy," Noel said, forcing calm into his voice as he knelt beside Sky and set the water on the table. It felt like a bad idea to shove a glass in his face right now. "You just took it. It takes ti to kick in. You’re going to be fine, okay? Just breathe."
Henry sat on Sky’s other side, his hand hovering awkwardly before resting firmly on Sky’s back. "We’re here, man. Whatever it is, just talk to us."
Sky’s breath ca in ragged gasps, his fingers clenching into fists. His burning eyes flicked between his trembling hands and his friends. "I... I don’t even know what the hell I’m doing anymore," he croaked. His voice was raw, barely holding together. "Everything’s a fucking ss, and... and I can’t fix it."
They sat in heavy silence, neither of them pushing, just waiting, offering quiet reassurance.
The silence dragged for a long ti.
"I... wish I were a girl," Sky whispered, his voice cracked and filled with pain. The words cut through the room, heavy and raw, as if they carried the weight of everything he couldn’t say before.
Henry and Noel froze. The silence that followed was suffocating, their hearts pounding in the quiet tension.
"What... are you talking about?" Henry asked, his voice cautious but filled with concern.
Sky sniffled, wiping his face with the back of his hand, but it didn’t stop the tears. "If I were a girl... maybe this wouldn’t be so fucking hard," he muttered bitterly. "None of this would have happened. Maybe I... I would’ve been happy. Like Rain." His voice was almost lost, as if the words were a confession to himself more than anyone else.
"Is this about Chris?" Noel asked, his tone soft but probing.
Sky stiffened, his lips curling into a tight line. He glared at the floor, anger rising in his chest. "It’s about everything," he spat. He flung his arm around the room. "These fucking pills that never work. People expecting to have my shit together when I can barely keep it together. And yeah—Chris." His voice cracked, breaking like glass. "I hate him."
Henry’s voice was steady, but it carried an edge of worry. "You don’t hate him."
"I hate him!" Sky snapped, his anger flaring. "He probably hates too now. I’m a freak who can’t even say the right thing without ruining everything." His hands clenched into fists at his sides. "And he’s right to hate . I’m a ss." His voice broke. "I can’t be anything he wants to be."
Noel’s heart twisted at the rawness of Sky’s words, the unfiltered truth spilling out like a dam breaking. "Sky..." he said quietly, reaching out but not sure how to bridge the gap. "Nobody thinks you’re a freak. Chris doesn’t either."
Sky let out a hollow laugh, bitter and sharp. "Yeah? Could’ve fooled . I stord out like a goddamn lunatic. Banging the door like an uncultured brat. He probably thinks I’m insane by now." His shoulders sagged, his face contorting in pain. "And honestly... maybe I deserve it."
Henry’s hand gripped his shoulder, firm but gentle, trying to ground him. "No one is done with you, Sky. Least of all Chris. You know it!"
Sky shook his head, his body trembling with frustration and exhaustion. "He says he’ll find a girl." His voice cracked. "I knew it. I knew he was ssing with . He could never like soone like ." His eyes welled up, and he blinked furiously to push back the tears. "I’m so fucking tired. I hate my life so much. I hate him so much."
The silence that followed was thick with all the things they couldn’t say. They knew. They had always known. But they kept pretending, pretending it would get better, hoping it would.
Noel felt a tightness in his chest, his throat constricting as the realization hit harder than he wanted to admit. Sky had been struggling with self-hate for years now, his deep dissatisfaction gnawing at him from the inside out. They had thought, hoped, that as the attention and affection ca from people who cared about him and those who didn’t even know him, it would lift him out of this spiral. But they had been wrong.
Henry’s face twisted, his fists clenched tighter. He could see that the pain inside Sky was too much. And there was only one person who could make it worse—Chris. He was the reason Sky felt like this. His actions, his presence, his existence, had pushed Sky into this dark place.
Sky didn’t want to be vulnerable. He hated needing anyone. His friends also knew how much he didn’t like being all chummy with. But in that mont, as his self-hatred overwheld him, Henry wrapped his arms around him, risking being used as Sky’s punching bag.
But Sky didn’t push him away.
Sky broke.
Tears, hot and bitter, spilled down his face as he collapsed into Henry’s arms. His voice ca out broken, full of despair. "I just... want to die." The words fell out like poison, each syllable tainted with suffocating pain. "I hate everything so much."
Noel felt a lump form in his throat, his eyes stinging with the weight of everything they hadn’t seen, everything they had ignored. They had known Sky was struggling with himself for years. They had seen it in the hollow laugh, the forced smiles, the way he pushed people away, trying to hold it all together. But they had kept pretending it would pass, that he would get better, that maybe love and friendship would be enough.
But it wasn’t.
And as they watched Sky break, they knew—Chris had played a big part in this. Sky’s current mood swings— the anger, his self-doubt, his desperation... it all stemd from Chris.
Chris was so in trouble right now.
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