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"Happy 1 year Gary! I love you." I exclaimed happily, handing him a small, white box. "I hope you like it."
Gary responds with a weak smile and opens the box. "Woah." He beams at the sight of the silver necklace and lifts it up for a closer look. The infinity pendant with our names engraved on each side sparkled against the crisp sunlight. "H-how much was this?" He asks nervously, as if he felt bad about his girlfriend spending too much on him than what he deserved. "That's not important right now, just put it on!" He turned around and permitted me to clip the necklace around his neck. Gary faces me and raises his eyebrows for my opinion. I granted him with a sensual peck on the cheek. "It looks so good on you." His glistening brown eyes pierced through mine with shots of tenderness.
The dismissal bell rang, indicating the end of the last class for the day. Gary told me he had two surprises for our 1 year anniversary. That being said, I was aching to hear the bell finally go off. I speed walked out of the main building towards the Boys dorm. Maybe I was too frantic, since Gary is nowhere to be seen and his class is much closer to the doors. A minute passed and I finally see him walking sluggishly towards the dorm. He looked at the sky with a lifeless expression which transformed into what seemed to be a forced smile after realizing my presence, but I didn't think much of it.
"Hey babe. Ready to go?" He asked. I slightly turn my head in confusion. "Go where?"
"It's a surprise moron. Just come with me." Gary suddenly grabs my hand and leads me out of the Academy. After a long march pass Bullworth Town, we go up some cobblestone stairs and into a secluded grassy area. In front of me was a checkered picnic blanket with a basket full of fruits and other delicious foods, along with two art canvases.
"Oh my god." I stared in amazement. "A picnic plus painting date?" Gary nods proudly and urges me to sit down with him. He opens the basket and pulls out a bundle of strawberries in a plastic container. Feeding one to me, he asks what I think about the first surprise. I pulled him in a deep kiss as my answer. "I absolutely adore it. Thank you." He gently pats my head and fiddles with my hair as we continue munching on the fruits.
After an hour of casual conversations and a delighted feasting, Gary picks up the paintbrushes and painting palettes. I follow his lead and he gives me the other set. "So, what are you planning for us to paint? You know I have no skills for this whatsoever." He chuckled at my comment and dips his brush into the black paint. "Well, I was thinking we could paint whatever our heart desires, then we can swap and keep the other person's board as a memoir or something." I liked the idea. It's been a whole year and I never would've thought Gary was this romantic. It was definitely out of character for him, but I appreciated it nonetheless.
Despite my horrendous art skills, I decided to go with a wolf wearing a crown howling at the top of a mountain. Gary's favorite animal is a wolf, and the crown represents his crazy imagination of running an empire someday. It was perfect.
My "masterpiece" was complete. Although it looked like a little kid's artwork, I feel like he'd be satisfied with the theme. It's the thought that counts after all!
"Alright babe, I'm done. You ready?" I replied with a nod and admired my canvas once again before the big reveal.
We counted down together. "3... 2... 1..." We turned our boards around at the same time and studied each other's artwork. He portrayed me in angel wings levitating from the ground. He drew himself sitting down in a troubled manner and I was watching over him. It was a shockingly well-made piece. It would definitely be an exhibit in prestigious art museums. I never knew Gary has such tremendous art skills. Or maybe it just looks nice compared to my shitty painting. "Wow, yours looks... beautiful. I'm kind of embarrassed." He laughed viciously. "I know, I'm that amazing. But yours isn't too bad as well. Care to explain what it is?"
"You're just saying that, aren't you?"
"Yup."
I scoffed. "Ok whatever! But anyways, I remember you told me wolves are your favorite animal and he has his own crown because he's a king. He's also on top of a mountain to signify some sort of power. I'd say it's an accurate representation of whatever goes on in that wild mind of yours." Gary snatches my canvas and observes it for a while. He looks back up at me and beams widely. "Interesting. Crappy depiction but the scheme is perfect." I pushed him playfully. "Yeah yeah, glad you like it. Your turn to talk about yours."
Gary pauses for a second before taking a deep breath. "Well, mine is more... deep. But, you've basically been my guardian angel since day 1, you know? You protected me, you saved me from going insane, it's like fear is nonexistent when I'm with you. I'm... extremely grateful that we met and I'm sorry you have to deal with an unstable loser like me. And I know, it sounds kind of stupid but this is my token to you. I love you."
At that point, I was incapable of preventing myself from crying. Tears slid down my cheeks as I reeled him in for a tight hug. He returned the action and I caressed the back of his head, embracing his warm touch. I admit, our relationship isn't perfect. No relationship is. His mood would change drastically once in a while, from a happy-go-lucky man without a care in the world to a malfunctional robot with no control over himself in a snap of a finger. He wasn't abusive or anything, but there were times where he would be... off. Literally. Like he forgets he's an actual human being with an active pulse. I was always worried for him but he reassured me that everything's fine. And so I believed him.
He muttered something along the lines of "not having to deal with me anymore" under his breath, which I couldn't make out the rest due to my loud sniffling.
"What?" I asked. He quickly pulled me away and stared at me blankly. "N-nothing. We should probably go now, I have some things to take care of." Huh, weird. I thought. But I pushed it aside. He helped me up and we left immediately, leaving the picnic blanket and other items besides our canvases since Gary said he'll pick them up later.
Arriving back at Bullworth Academy, he dropped me off in front of the Girl's dorm and exchanged our canvases. He kissed me goodbye, thanking me for the wonderful anniversary date, and that's when I remembered something. "Hey, hold up!" Gary stopped in his tracks and curiously glanced back at me. "You said you had two surprises. What's the second one?" He scratched the back of his head and sighed. "Babe, it's not a surprise if I tell you. You'll find out soon enough." He waved as a final goodbye and rushed to the Boy's dorm. Okay, that was odd but as always, I didn't think much of it.
Entering my room, I changed into comfortable clothes. I placed Gary's canvas on my bedside table and examined it carefully, causing a toothy grin to plaster on my face. "Wow, what a day." I thought to myself. I plopped down on my bed and pulled up my phone to text him.
Me: "Hey, loved our little anniversary date. I enjoyed it a lot. :)"
Gary: "I know you did. See, I can be romantic sometimes."
Me: "Yeah, okay! Anyways, what important matters are you taking care of?"
Gary: "All part of the surprise, babe."
Me: "Wow, can't wait to see what's in store for me. :P"
Gary didn't reply back. I got up to study for the upcoming huge math exam, which really took me 3 hours to fully understand the material. "Ugh, fuck you Mr. Hattrick." I complained to myself while vigorously flipping through pages and pages of my textbook. Gary still didn't text back. It's nearing 10 PM and he would usually text me goodnight at this hour, but I'm probably overthinking it. I rubbed my temples in order to relieve my migraine from the intense studying session and closed the textbook, letting out a tiring sigh. I organized my backpack for tomorrow and laid down on my bed, dazing off into a relaxing sleep.
First thing in the morning, I check my phone, hoping to see a message notification from Gary on the lock screen. Nothing. Normally, he's up earlier than me and I would always wake up with a good morning text from him. I don't know, maybe I'm just overthinking again. Following my daily routine, I showered, threw on my uniform, and strolled to the Boy's dorm to wait for Gary, since we always hang out for a bit before class begins. As per usual, I message him that I'm outside waiting.
Me: "Hey baby! I'm outside btw."
5 minutes pass and no response. I stared intensely at the word "Delivered" under my message, but it doesn't change. I hear the doors open and darted my head back, hoping it was Gary, but Jimmy appears instead.
"Oh, hey (Y/N)!" Jimmy greeted. "Waiting for Gary?"
"Oh uh, yeah. Have you seen him around inside? I haven't heard anything from him yet."
"Hmm, no. Last time I saw him was last night when he went into his room holding a painting or something. He looked kind of upset. Did something happen?" He explained. Upset? Why would he be upset?
"No... as far as I know, nothing major happened. Can you go check on him?" I asked kindly.
"I would but I got some stuff to do in Town. You can go inside if ya want."
"What? Wouldn't I get in trouble?"
Jimmy laughs lightly. "Nope. It's Bullworth, no one would care if you pissed in your locker. Left hallway, third door on the right, by the way."
He pats me on the shoulder as a way of saying good luck. I shrugged and hesitantly entered the Boy's dorm. Thankfully, not a boy in sight. Standing in front of his room door, I knocked and waited for a response. Nothing. I brought my ear to the rough wood of the door. Silence. This is pointless. After what seemed like forever, I finally gathered up the courage to go inside. Turning the knob ever so slowly, I peeked inside. "G-Gary?" I opened the creaky door a bit farther, and once I recognized the scene, my heart practically ripped out from my chest and dropped to the ragged carpet.
Pills splattered across the floor, my boyfriend laying peacefully along with it. The pill bottle rolled side to side as the bitter wind entered through the open window and blustered through the entire room. His messy, brunette hair swayed elegantly against the fresh breeze. The draft blew the paper that was next to his stomach and landed on my foot. My trembling hand picked it up and reading the one word in the middle of the note brought me weak to my knees.
"Surprise."
Gary killed himself.