I ran up to the door but stopped myself from opening it. The thought came to mind that if he were to see me, he may scurry away like a mouse caught in a hole. I waited a few moments and didn't hear anything so I opened the door to walk out. My heartbeat quickened at the thought of Tao actually eating my food. Just the simple thought made my day. I slowly walked down the hall, making sure my footsteps were as quiet as possible so as not to disturb the sleepers. As I walked into the kitchen, my heart nearly thudded into my throat.

There on the table was a plate with nothing but crumbs on it. A used pair of chopsticks lay on top, resting on the brim of the deep plate. I walked up to it, looking for the note, but couldn't find it. Instead, what I found nearly made me faint. Drawn in the leftover crumbs was a heart.  It was a poorly drawn heart, but it sure as hell was a heart. Tao... You... I don't even know what to say. 

Wait a minute... Does he...

like me?

A slow confusion washed over me, more questions swimming through my head than I had answers to. 

Could he...

like me?

I stood there in utter amazement as a slight thud caught my attention. Woken from my trance, I decided to head down the hall to see where it was coming from. Walking down the hall of rooms, I heard nothing. Yet, as I turned my head to the left, the sound made its way to my ear once more.  Who's door was I standing in front of?

Tao's.

My heartbeat quickened for the third time tonight as my fingertips reached the doorknob.

Wanting,

Hoping,

Wishing,

that he forgotten to lock it just this once. Twisting the knob as slowly as possible, I breathed a sigh of relief as it turned fully, allowing me entrance into the cavern. It was pitch black in his room. Because the lights weren't on in the house either, no light shone to show me what was going on.

THUD.

I turned my head to the sound (my eyes still betraying me), and felt my way to it.

THUD.

This time I didn't only hear it; I felt it as well. A slight vibration coursed through the floor. I stopped once I felt I had gotten near the sound-maker and looked into the corner of the room. My eyes had adjusted, so I could see what was in front of me. 

It made my heart drop.

Tao was in he corner of the room, surrounded by shattered glass. He sat with his legs crossed right in the middle of the pile. He brought his fist up and promptly let it fall onto the shards.

THUD.

Tao rose the other fist now and mimicked the motion. He slammed his fist into the broken glass. 

THUD.

No sign of pain shone on his face.

No sign of worry.

No sign of sadness.

No sign of life.

What I had just witnessed had only taken up five seconds, and didn't take much longer for me to react. I ran over to Tao, feet carelessly crashing into the shards, and grabbed his hand just in time to prevent it from landing on the glass once more.

"Tao! What the hell are you doing?!" I yelled in a whisper as I kneeled down on both knees before the distraught being. I held up the captured hand and saw flickers of crimson dying the pale skin of his forearm and wrist. Looking at the other hand, it was identical.

"Tao! Answer me!" I shook him to wake him up, but all he did was slam his free hand into the glass. I looked into those lifeless orbs of his, trying to see if I could reach him. Irritated by his irrational movements, I seized his other hand so that I now held both of his. I could feel the razor sharp edges of glass imbedded in his skin as he tried to resist my hold.  Verbal attempts were obviously not working to wake the young boy. I had an idea, but had no clue as to whether or not it would work.

it. Now isn't the time to worry about what would happen.

I need to do this, for Tao's sake regardless.

Still holding onto his wrists, one of his in each of my own, I rose my right hand to hold up his chin. Looking into his eyes did no good; there was no life in this now cadaver-like being. I brought my face closer to his, stopping exactly an inch away. This boy would not stop fidgeting. I snapped my wrist to bring his empty gaze towards me again, and closed the remaining gap between our lips.