Zelo awoke, bolting upright and staring wildly around him. A cold mist fell lightly into his messy hair, his foggy eyes burning in the frigid air. Where was he? How long had he been... asleep. Asleep. Oh, God, he'd been asleep. He leapt to his feet and took off running through the city. He weaved in and out of the street, his insomnia rimmed eyes wide.

Run, run, run, what does it change? Can you outrun yourself you filthy little monster?

He skidded to the side, his feet sliding out from under him on the wet pavement. He hit the ground and realized, surprisingly calm, that he had accidently stabbed himself. He felt the warm blood soaking the front of his shirt and the voices fell into an appreciative silence. He shivered slightly at the visage on his front.

The white stripes were blurring into the black as red began to fill in the space, like a putrid red fungus overtaking a wet lawn.

His eyes flicked upward, straining to see into the window of his apartment. He began to take the stairs, two at a time, his mouth moving in silent prayers to a God he didn't even believe in.

He stopped at the door listening intently. Did he hear anything? He heard... the television. Silently, cat like, the term made him shudder. He peered into the window, seeing Daehyun hunched over in the living room, fingers digging into his scalp. Somewhere else, Himchan was talking. He assumed he was speaking on the phone.

Relief flooded his body and slid slowly down the wall, until he finally settled at the base, his heart returning to its standard pace.

"They're okay..." he whispered. "They're okay." His abdomen throbbed, but he dug his fingers into the hole. He deserved it after all.

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The next day at school, Rayne marched down the hallway and into the art class. She stared around, her eyes narrowed. There he was, the little rat. She stormed into the room, the door clattering shut behind her.

Kai looked up at her through his hair, a pleasant smile playing around his pierced lips.

"Good mor-" Rayne slugged him in the mouth, watching with satisfaction as he toppled out of his chair between his backpack and her own. She had dropped it in anticipation of what she had come in here to do.

He blinked in mild surprise, his blithe mask still in place. This was a far cry from the normal Rayne, who was generally just a step above that spineless girl Sulli. "My, if this is about your sister's phone, I have it right here." He reached into his bag and extended his arm as he lifted himself back to his feet, the purple rectangle dangling awkwardly from his hand.

"Haha. You're funny." she slammed the newspaper onto the desk. "What do you know about this?" He looked at the paper, his eyes settled on the red letters at the top.

"What? You're gay? Somebody alert the presses." The cold drawl in his voice was maddening, she was certain that he was going to be missing a few teeth by the end of the day.

"Where are they?" she snarled, one of her stumpy pigtails had come loose and she looked a tad bit unhinged.

"What?" He reached into his bag and pulled out an orange cylinder. "This?" She snatched the bottle, realizing with horror that the bottle was empty.

"Kai, why are you doing this?" she asked, her eyes empty as the bottle in her hands. What were they going to be able to prove with this? For all anybody else knew, Zelo had dumped the pills. He was too smart. He read her thoughts and smiled. Pleasantly, maddeningly. He leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands.

"Because I can, my dear." the bell rang. "Better get to class. Wouldn't want to be late, would you?"

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Serenity was sitting rather promiscuously on her desk, talking to the boy in front of her and watching him stutter and blush with obvious pleasure. Rayne slammed her sister's phone into her hand and leaned in close.

"What happened?" she murmered, one hand lightly gripping her sister's.

Rayne shook her head, tears leaking out of one eye and causing her to flush and rush from the room.

The acidic coil of anger flared up, lit, and began to explode. It was moving up her stomach, through her chest, to the base of her esophogus.

She received a detention from the teacher for the string of explicitives that had buzzed angrily through the air for the next few moments, not to mention the chair that left a dent in the chalkboard. She vowed to curse in english from now on.

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Zelo stood quietly at the door to the highschool. He wondered how far behind he was in his assignments.

Oh, yes. Why not insert yourself into that hive of insignificant, disgusting people? Honestly, you little fool. Do you want to be tormented? Perhaps you have a tendency towards masochism...

Zelo's fingers twitched, his eyes narrowing slightly. Just open the door and go in. He could check the nurse's office one more time for his medicine. Maybe he'd see Sulyeon. He could apologize and...

Apologize? Too late for that... She won't ever want to see you again after what you did to her.

He remembered the black splotches that had appeared where he'd touched her, remembered the strained gasps and the violent shivering of her body beneath him...

He opened the door and walked slowly into the nurse's office.

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Kai watched with a bemused smile as Serenity, his favorite little , marched determinedly down the hallway. He was half tempted to come out of his safe haven AKA the classroom, just to see what she had in mind. It was clear that he was going to be in for a sound beating should she catch him, however, he was content to watch the two little fools run around in circles. Well, three if you counted Sulyeon and four if Zelo was even able to comprehend what was happening. He might be off mutilating cats in a dark alley for all he knew.

Serenity rounded the corner and saw, much to her surprise, the hunched figure of Zelo in the nurse's office. He was searching through the medicine cabinet, stopping every now and again to check his surroundings. He didn't seem to catch sight of her. His panic must have been distracting. She decided to send her sister a message.

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Kai's pocket buzzed and he discreetly checked the red phone he had "borrowed" this morning. "Zelos in the building" His eyes flicking upward for a moment as he checked the teacher's location. He typed a casual reply. "where?" "The nurse's office. Hurry." He smiled lightly to himself, raising his hand and asking if he could show another random teacher something important.

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Zelo could hear people rushing into the nurse's office, and the panic that seized him was enough to send him reeling out the door. He could not be here. That meant police, which meant the hospital, which meant Himchan and Daehyun and sterile white rooms and injections and sleep. He couldn't sleep. Oh, God, let him out of here!

He sprinted from the room, losing his balance and sprawling across the floor... right at the councelor's feet. It was the doctor who had sent him to the hospital... Kim Tae-song? Tae-song...

"Zelo?" he asked slowly, not making sudden movements, attempting to keep the unbalanced young man in a rational state of mind. "What are you doing here?'

Zelo could feel blood oozing out of the reopened wound on his body, the red tacky fluid cementing his shirt to the floor. He wondered if he'd be able to move.

"What are you doing here?" He stood slowly, keeping one hand furled against the red stain.

"I'm... just... dropping something off." he lied, his hands shifting to the grungy plastic bag he had carried with him since escaping Sulyeons' apartment. He had intended to give them back right away, but the clothes she had washed for him had still been wet.

"To who?"

Zelo twitched nervously, his head buzzing. Yongguk leaned casually against the wall, blue tipped fingers tracing a venomous vernacular in the air.

K-i-l-l  h-i-m  a-n-d  r-u-n

"No..." he whispered. "They're for Sulyeon... I haven't..." he coughed. It was a real cough, from several days spent in the cold rain that had been falling for the past few days. "Been feeling well. I'll have her come by..." he saw the school nurse coming now. A police officer was just behind her. "I have to go..." he darted underneath the snatching arms of the guidance councelor and out into the cold air. He coughed, something rattling around in the back of his throat.

Coward, Coward, Coward, Should have killed them while you had the chance...

"Will you shut up?!" He shrieked, not watching where he was going. Boom, right into somebody. He stared up in horror at... at...

"Zelo?" Daehyun stared down at him in disbelief. No, this was not happening. The pain on his brother's face was tangible, and he didn't want to be part of this. He didn't want to the the cause of it. He was tired of the dull ache in his chest...

He pulled the knife from his pocket. "Move." he pleaded, realizing to late that the bloodsoaked front of his shirt was undoubtedly visible.

"Zelo, do you know how worried I've been?" he asked, softly. He wasn't even paying attention to the red tinted blade.

"Move..." he hissed, his body shaking with effort.

"Please, come home." he stepped forward, kneeling to Zelo's level and pulling him close.

"Let go, please. I have to go!" Anxiety tore through him like a knife, it hurt, oh, God it hurt. His head was pounding, and his throat was constricting. He attempted to push his brother away, all but forgetting the knife in his hand.

Daehyun gave a little grunt of pain and Zelo felt the warm sticky fluid dropping in a small stream onto his hand. Something in him snapped, and he pulled away completely, watching the blankness seep into Daehyun's features. He slashed at him wildly, somewhere between sorrow and rage. Red welts opened on Daehyun's arms, and his teeth were bared in a grimace of pain. His eyes were screwed up tight, fighting against the need to scream.

Just a little longer until the cops came and took Zelo, and they could fix this. Whatever was left to fix.

The voices screamed in delight, ing words of harsh enouragement and wrapping their clawed hands over Zelo's and giving one more brutal stab that hit Daehyun square in the shoulder.

Zelo leapt to his feet, only to be grabbed by a police officer, his face completely devoid of emotion as he began to drag Zelo off to God knows where.

He kicked and screamed. He thrashed and finally he freed one arm and, with a sickening rip, he heard the knife slam into the man's thigh.

The grip loosened and he raced away, not noticing the gaunt boy in the window, brushing a strand of technicolor out of his face to watch his handiwork, or the world crumbling away in the eyes of his bleeding brother.

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Serenity raced over to Rayne after school. "What were you thinking? Why did you tell them he was here?"

"What are you talking about? I would never have done that?"

Rayne's face said it all, and they both sank to the floor in despair. Serenity screamed into her hands and ripped at her hair.

"Why is this happening?!"

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Sulyeon paced the floor of her apartment. Her father had called right as she was about to go and force all of the stress relieving calories from . She felt heavy, so heavy...she had kept the panic from the voice as she explained that she was fine. No need to worry. Take your time getting home, everybody is peachy ing keen.

She happened to glance up and hear the light tapping at her window. She hurriedly ended the conversation and raced over to the window, opening the blinds slowly. Zelo stood there, the plastic bag from earlier in his hands. She opened it quickly, peering at him in the darkness.

"I brought your dad's clothes back." he said simply. There were noticable red stains on the bag. "I... I..." he was silenced as she grabbed him and held him.

"What are you doing?" he snarled, anger grasping him in the strangest of ways. "Do you realize what I've done today?" she nodded, burrowing her face deeper into his shirt, smelling the blood. "I stabbed my own brother!" He jerked violently, attempting to make her let go.

"I feel so bad for you..." she whispered, her voice breaking and he broke and they both collapsed into each other.

"I can't do this anymore." he sobbed. "I don't want to do this anymore."

"Shhh," she murmured, pulling him to her and closing the window. They stayed huddled together on the floor, her running boney fingers along his face and through his hair, singing softly to him while he wept.

"Daehyun is okay." said Sulyeon after a minute. Zelo tensed and relaxed, his face buried in the crook of her neck. "Himchan told me."

"I'm sure he hates me." Sulyeon didn't know what to say to that.

Rage bubbled up under the surface and he pushed Sulyeon away. He was going to end this, he was done. It was over, and he was going to wipe himself from the face of humanity. He didn't deserve to live. Enough.

Sulyeon grabbed him watched as he turned his intense gaze on her.

"Let go." he said, his tone dangerous. Not the same Zelo that had just been trembling in her arms. She stood up and pressed herself to him, ignoring the way he twitched in aversion and smashing their lips together. He staggered backwards, fighting with her to keep her away, and to pull her closer all at the same time.

He was not easily distracted tonight. He growled somewhere in his chest and grabbed her shoulders, fully intending to throw her to the ground and leave, find a dark secluded alley, bleed out while the voices sang and danced around him.

She pulled back and stared at him.

"Don't you dare let them win." his back stiffened and he pulled the knife from his pocket. He stared at her, seemingly disassociating with everything around him. "I could kill you right here." He saw how her eyes flicked to it, how twitched slightly in a moment of fear. She closed her eyes and tilted her head up, just slightly. She had offered her neck to a razor's edge: Her life to the teetering brink of his sanity.

He let it fall to the ground with a clatter and lay his head onto her shoulder. "I'm tired." he sounded so young, his face full of sorrow that he shouldn't have to face. She led him to her room and sat with him while he fell asleep, singing to him.

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A soft knock at the door roused her, and he nestled a little deeper into her arms at her slight movement. Her phone buzzed.

"It's me, Rayne."

"Come in, the door's open." she slowly disentangled herself from her sleeping charge, kissing him and smoothing his hair before she made her way into the living room.

Kai was sitting quite comfortably on her couch, his legs furled over one arm and his hand cradling the back of his head.

"Evenin', Sulyeon." he waved the red phone in his hand. "It's been a while."

There it is again~ I really don't have a clue where I was going with my story now... GRRRRR. *pouts and cries dramatically*

-Serenity