Chapter Text
It started when he first met her.
She was the new student in his class, and right from the start he could tell there was something off about her. She kept to herself, never spoke to anyone, never raised her hand, she didn't even try to socialize herself with the other students. It wasn't long until she got the title of "the weird girl."
No one wanted to talk to her. She was weird, and different. And that was bad. But she didn't seem to care. She seemed to enjoy having a whole table to herself. With no one to talk to, no one to bother her. Especially during lunch.
She sat by herself at the back, eating her lunch like a starved animal. No wonder no one wanted to sit near her, it was quite the sight to see from such a petite looking girl. She'd often go back for seconds, even thirds if she could. Mono wondered if maybe she didn't have enough food at home that she tried to eat as much as possible when she was at school. For crying out loud he'd even once caught her stealing a half eaten apple from the trash cans before sneaking it in her backpack.
He wasn't all that well liked around school either. All the past friends he had left him, or simply stopped talking to him. He knew why though. He had the tendency of being overbearing. Suffocating even. He didn't blame them for leaving him over his clingy behavior.
It was a bit ironic. He acted like that due to his fear of being alone. But that was also the reason why he was friendless.
That's why he wanted to try again. Make a new friend.
He took a deep breath as he looked towards the table she sat at. There she was, sinking her teeth into a chicken leg, ripping a huge chunk of it off. He carried his tray over to her table now, He felt like his heart would leap out of his chest at any given moment. Why was he so nervous? Was it just the thought of forming a new friendship that made him feel like this? He took a seat in front of her, and placed his tray in front of him.
This caused the girl to look up from her food and look at the person who had disturbed her peaceful silence. She looked at Mono skeptically before looking down at his food. She stood up from her chair now, picking up her tray before scanning the cafeteria for another table to finish eating at.
Mono's eyes widened. "W-wait! I... do you want my food?" He asked, desperately hoping she wouldn't leave.
She looked at him for a moment before her eyes traveled down to his food. She sat back down now, reaching out towards his tray and taking his apple and milk, then using her spoon, transferred his food over to her tray. Once she was done she pushed his tray away and began to eat her food.
Mono looked down at his empty plate. He didn't mind going hungry this once, it was for a good reason. Besides he had food in his backpack. He opened his backpack, searching through the pockets until he found a granola bar, sealed away neatly in it's package. As he began to open it he felt curious eyes look at him.
He looked over at Six, then back down at his only food. "Do you want some?" He asked, receiving a nod. He ripped open the package now before taking out the granola bar and breaking it in half. He offered her the bigger piece, she grabbed it before putting it up to her nose to smell it. She took a small bite from it at first. A pleased look was drawn over her face as she took a bigger bite, finishing it rather quickly.
"Did you like it?" Mono asked as he took a bite out of his half. She nodded.
"I'll bring some tomorrow then." He said, smiling a bit.
Six looked at him, longer than usual before nodding.
"I'm Mono by the way. I'm in your class." He said. He wasn't sure if she was already aware of this or not. But if she wasn't, she knew now.
"Six." She said quietly.
Once the bell rang she quickly got up, grabbing her bag and walked off. Mono watched her leave. She wore her school uniform, which was just a white button up shirt with a grey skirt. But she wore an oversized faded blue cardigan over it all.
Mono let out a sigh as he grabbed his backpack before heading to class. His thoughts drowned out the sound of the teacher's lesson. He couldn't help but glance over at Six, who sat near the back of the class, pencil in hand as she stared blankly at her notebook. Maybe she didn't understand the lesson. Or maybe she zoned out too, like he was.
Mono had regretted not paying more attention because now he had been assigned homework. And he wasn't sure if he would be able to complete it correctly.
Once the bell rang everyone packed their things to go home. They either took the bus, got picked up, or in his case, walked home. He wasn't the only one though. He knew Six walked home as well.
He walked over to her desk, seeing her take her time packing her things. She didn't seem to be in a hurry. "Six, do you want to walk together?" Mono asked.
She looked up at him before zipping up her bag and throwing it over her shoulder. "I live far." She said quietly.
"That's okay, I don't mind." He said.
She didn't respond, which he hoped was a sign that she didn't mind walking.
She stood up from her chair now and walked out of the classroom, Mono following close behind.
He noticed she didn't pay much attention to the road, which concerned him a bit since she didn't even look left or right before crossing.
Starting a conversation with her wasn't easy either. She either nodded, shrugged, or gave very vague and short answers.
"Six, do you have a favorite candy?" Mono asked now.
Six shrugged. "I've never tried it." She said, looking down at the ground as she spoke. She kicked a small pebble along the sidewalk now, it landed a few feet in front of her, so she kicked it forward again.
"What? That can't be true. Everyone's tried candy." Mono said, not entirely believing her answer.
She thought for a moment. "I did once. It was a bar of chocolate." She explained. "It was very good."
"What kind of chocolate?" He asked.
She shrugged. "Don't remember. It was in a bright blue wrapper."
Mono nodded, thinking back on all the different chocolates he's had, trying to match her description with any of them.
"Do you remember the texture? Did it have anything inside?"
"Crunchy." She replied.
She stopped walking now and pointed down a street. "I have to go." She said.
"Oh, do you live down that street?" He asked.
She nodded.
"I can walk you-"
She shook her head. "Bad idea."
"Oh okay..." He said, confused but accepted it. Maybe she thought it was weird for him to know where she lived.
"Bye," He said, giving a small wave as she walked away.
He got up early the next day, taking some of his saved up money and went to the convenience store. He bought a chocolate bar that was wrapped securely in a bright blue wrapper. He was excited to give it to Six once he got to school.
But to his disappointment, she didn't show up. It wasn't anything new. She had a lot of unexcused absences already. He wasn't sure why she missed school, but he was really hoping to see her the next day. But she didn't show. Or the next. Or the day after. It wasn't until after the weekend, on Monday that he had finally seen her again.
She seemed quieter than usual, her bangs covering her eyes and face as if she was trying to hiding something. She made her way over to her desk, dropping her bag beside it before slumping in her chair.
There were still a few minutes left before class started, so he decided to go over to her. He hid something behind his back. "Hey Six, I brought you something." He said, fighting back the smile that wanted to form on his lips but he failed miserably.
She looked up at him, seeming tired and not really caring.
He then showed the chocolate bar he had been saving for her. "I got it for you." He said, offering it to her.
She reached out for it now, and as she did Mono was able to notice a dark purple, blotch over her wrist. She grabbed the chocolate bar now, pulling her sleeve downward. "Thank you." She said quietly before stuffing the candy bar into her bag.
"Is that a-"
"Go away." Six said harshly. Mono hesitated. He wasn't sure what to do in this situation.
"Okay- sorry I didn't mean-"
"Everyone in your assigned seats." The teacher yelled, cutting Mono off from his sentence.
He unwillingly went back to his chair, glancing over at Six every once in a while. She had her head focused on her paper, scribbling who knows what on the pages with her worn out pencil. He looked down at his blank paper, he was unable to focus on the task at hand.
When the bell rang he saw Six quickly pack her backpack before rushing out the door. Mono quickly grabbed his backpack and ran after her. He looked down the hallway, seeing her make her way out through the patio doors. He bumped shoulders with the other people in the hallway, earning a lot of glares.
"Hey, watch where you're going dude."
He ignored them though and went through the same doors she had gone through earlier. He saw her sitting by herself on a bench under the shade, hugging her bag towards her chest.
She looked up, frowning when she saw him.
He hesitated but decided to go talk to her anyways.
"What do you want?" She snapped.
He furrowed his eyebrows now as he looked at her. "I... I wanted to see if you were okay." He explained.
"Well then go away." She said.
"But why?" He asked.
"Just go away! What do you even want from me? Go bother someone else." She hissed.
Mono took a step back now. "I..." He looked at the floor. His one chance of making a friend and he had already screwed up that opportunity. "I want to be your friend."
She knit her eyebrows together in confusion. "You're weird."
He nodded. "Yeah... I know."
She sighed. "Can you do me a favor?" She asked quietly.
The gleam in his eyes grew brighter now as he looked at her. "Yeah, of course." He said with a smile.
"Don't tell anyone what you saw." She said seriously. "Please..."
He sat down beside her now. "I won't, promise." He reassured. "But uh, can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Did someone hurt you?" He asked, worriedly. He couldn't imagine anyone laying their hands on her, he didn't want to.
"No, I tripped. That's all." She replied, looking away.
He wasn't convinced. But he was sure she'd only get more defensive if he tried to pry in. "Okay," He replied.
She stood up now, looking back at him. "Come on, lets get lunch." She said, walking towards the doors, he got up and quickly followed behind her.
After a few more days of having lunch together he was sure he had finally befriended her. Everything came at a price though. And that price was his food. She didn't take it every day, sometimes she'd be satisfied with just her share, along with an extra snack Mono would bring for her.
He liked talking to her too. She listened to him, which was more than he could ask for. She never silenced him either. He loved hearing her opinion too, and learning more about her whenever he could. The days she missed school were awfully lonely for him. He had gotten easily attached to having her around. And the weekends were even worse. He had suggested exchanging phone numbers to stay in contact but she said she couldn't since she didn't have a phone.
"Do you think we could hang out on the weekend?" He asked curiously.
"I don't know." She replied.
"Well maybe you can ask your parents if you can come over to my house on the weekend, or I can go to yours," he suggested.
She shook her head. "I'm not aloud." She said simply.
That was another thing, she didn't talk about her home life at all. Whenever he tried asking her about it, she would change the subject or just outright ignore the question. So he stopped asking.
"Why do you miss school so much?" He asked her one time during lunch. She stopped eating her sandwich now, and stayed silent for a few seconds, as if contemplating what to say next.
"I get sick easily." She answered. "So I have to stay home."
"Do you feel okay now?" He asked. She gave a small nod.
He smiled. "Good, try to stay healthy. I miss you when you're gone." He said.
She nodded now. Surprisingly she missed fewer days after that, but the downside was that seemed more tired than usual.
Once the final bell rang, Mono gathered his things before going over to Six's desk. She had her head buried in her arms.
"Six," Mono whispered, placing his hand on her shoulder and nudging her.
Her heard a small gasp escape her lips before she lifted her head, looking around, before her eyes landed on him. She relaxed now.
He furrowed his eyebrows. He didn't like that reaction. Why did she look scared?
"Tired?" He asked.
She gave a small nod before picking up her bag. "Let me carry your bag for you." He offered. She hesitated before finally giving in, handing over her bag to him.
They walked in silence for a while before he finally spoke up. "Have you been getting enough sleep?" He asked.
"Not really." She said, looking down at the ground.
"Maybe you should go to the doctor. They can prescribe you some medicine..."
She shook her head. "I don't like doctors."
He nodded. He looked down at her hand now as they walked. He wanted to help her. More than anything. But barely knew what exactly could be wrong. So what could he really do besides offer her support.
"Mono..." She spoke up, making him look back at her. "Yeah?"
"Do you have any snacks?" She asked, her eyes tired and empty as she looked at him.
"No not right now. But there's a convenience store nearby, I have some money. Do you want to go with me?" He asked.
She stopped walking, contemplating whether or not she should. "Let's be quick." She said.
He nodded. He looked down at her hand once again now. He had by now gathered up the courage to ask her the question on his mind. "Do you want to hold hands?" He asked, his voice cracked in mid sentence, embarrassing enough as it was he managed to keep a straight face.
He saw her eyes travel over to his hand, before shrugging. "Okay." She didn't seem to mind. So he finally took her hand in his now. He carried her bag in his other hand as they walked to the store.
She was the first to let go when they went inside. She went into an aisle that had a lot of cute and small plushies. They were all around three dollars, which he didn't have. He only had enough to buy a one dollar chocolate bar. He swore to himself he'd save up enough to buy her one of those.
She knelt down, looking at the plush ducks on the bottom shelf, picking one up and turning it over to observe it.
"I'll be back Six, I'm gonna go to the candy section, okay?" He said, earning a nod from her as she kept looking at the ducks.
Mono left her there, going to the candy aisle of the store before picking out the usual chocolate bar he would get her. He looked around for a bit longer, making notes of what he should get Six next time.
He heard the familiar chime that the front doors made every time someone entered the store but ignored it.
He was contemplating whether or not he should get Six something different instead, like maybe a bag of chips. He sighed before turning back around. Six was here with him this time. He might as well get her opinion.
He began to walk back where he left Six when he began to hear an unfamiliar voice.
"You go to my high school right?" The person said, their voice was deeper, and sounded much older.
"Hey, are you ignoring me?"
Mono was able to get a better look of the guy. They were tall, much taller than Six and even him. They looked to be at least a junior in highschool, which only made him angrier at the situation. Six on the other hand just stared blankly at the plushie in her hand, as if the guy next to her wasn't even there. She looked so small and fragile compared to the boy who was harassing her. What about her made this guy think she was even in high school?
"I'm talking to you, bitch!" The guy yelled now, before shoving her forward.
Six stumbled back, landing on her bum. She looked up at the guy, a glare forming on her face. She looked visually annoyed.
"Listen when someone's speaking to you." The guy crossed his arms now, eyes widening when he was suddenly pushed to the side.
"Leave her alone." Mono hissed, stepping in front of Six protectively.
"And who the hell are you?" The guy retorted, stepping closer to Mono.
"I'm her friend. Now leave." Mono spat.
"You want trouble kid, because I'll give you trouble." He threatened.
Mono glared up at them before shoving them back. He didn't even have time to react to what happened next. He remembered the guy looking angry before they threw their fist at Mono. He felt something trickle down his nose. He raised his hand up to touch it, and when he looked down at it, realizing it was blood.
"Alright, all of you! Out!" The cashier yelled at them now. Where was he earlier when Six was being harrassed?
He felt Six grab him by the arm now as they were kicked out of the store. Luckily the guy had someone waiting for him in a car so he didn't stay to bother them any longer. Once he was gone, Mono checked on Six. "Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.
She gave a nod before pointing to him. "Yeah, I'm fine-"
"No, you're not." She said with a sigh. She knelt down on the ground now with her bag before unzipping it and looking through it. She pulled out an old handkerchief before standing up, gently patting it against his nose. "That was stupid, you know." She said.
"Ow- no it wasn't." He complained.
"You shouldn't have gotten involved."
"Owwww..."
"Shut it." She muttered.
She sounded annoyed, but even so she did look worried, which put Mono's mind at ease. At least she wasn't angry at him. Then again, he felt bad for making her worry.
"I'm sorry I didn't get you your snack." He said quietly.
"Its okay." She reassured before pulling away. "Here, the bleedings not stopping." She said, handing him the handkerchief. "Hold it up to your nose. Try not to get any more blood on your uniform." She warned. He nodded, holding it up to his nose.
"I need to get home." She said before picking up her bag.
"Let me walk you, its the least I can do." He offered.
She shook her head.
"Please?" Mono said pleadingly. "I wanna make sure you get home safe,"
She sighed, looking down at the ground. "Why?"
He looked confused. "Why what?"
"Why do you care?" She asked, looking at him now. Her eyes looked sad as she waited for his answer.
"Because you're my friend," He said seriously. "And friends protect each other." He grabbed her hand now, holding it securely in both of his.
"Then... I guess you're a good friend." She said quietly.
Mono wasn't expecting to hear that, and to be frank he wasn't expecting to ever be told that by anyone.
"I... thanks... thank you..."
"Come on, I need to get home."
Mono gave a nod, letting her lead the way.
They walked in silence the rest of the way, hand in hand until they came across a small little house. It was kinda cute, with it's wooden walls and small windows. He noticed plants growing around it too. There was also an older looking car parked in front of the house.
"Your house is really nice." Mono said with a smile.
"Thanks-"
The front door swung open now, there was an older man there, clearly upset. Mono could only assume it was Six's father. "Six! Get inside!" They yelled. Mono flinched at the loudness of his voice. There was no reason to yell.
"Bye," Six whispered before running towards the door, her father slamming the door behind them both, leaving Mono alone.
He walked home alone like every other day, except this time his head was filled with a lot more thoughts than usual. He avoided his own father that day, not that his father paid much attention to him anyways, but he didn't feel like answering any questions about his nose bleed. He went straight to his room before collapsing onto his bed.
He didn't sleep much that night as he thought of what kind of man Six's father was. He would ask her tomorrow, hopefully.
He thought back to what Six said to him. "A good friend..." He whispered quietly to himself. He looked towards the clock in his room now, his eyes widened as he realized he only had three hours until he had to start to get ready for school.
He turned to his side now, and closed his eyes. He tried to get some sleep, but a certain dark haired girl wouldn't leave his mind.