Chapter Text
It was just another normal school day for Toya Aoyagi, at least it was so far. He went to all his classes, did his work, accordingly, ate lunch, and then went to his next classes. The blue haired teen didn't bother making friends or talking to anyone. He only had time to focus on his studies, get home, eat very little for dinner and then practice piano and violin. That had been his schedule since he was just a boy, as his father yearned for Toya to be the perfect son. Toya, not wanting to disappoint his “beloved” father, had granted this wish of his. However, all these years of being lectured whenever he simply messed up a note or got a 98% instead of a 100% on a hard math quiz, it began to take a toll on the poor boy. A toll that caused him to wander to the top of the school and stare down even though he was deathly afraid of heights, a toll that caused him to eat less each day. He was too busy thinking about what a failure he must have been to be able to eat.
Days would feel like they were endless and waking up in the morning felt like a chore. Until one day he decided he had enough with classical music, constantly being nagged about every, Last, thing, that he had ever done “wrong”. He wrote a note expressing these feelings of despair to his mother, his father didn't deserve his last written words. He left the note on top of the counter for his mom, and then exited the house. He first walked for a bit, his eyes wandering around the buildings and structures around him. His five senses were stronger than they have ever been, wanting to take in all the sights, smells (etc..) before he ended it all.
He started approaching a bridge, but God forbid there had to be someone there. Oh well... he thought, and decided to walk the opposite way, not wanting to interrupt the other with a gruesome sight like that. He walked to a nearby park, not wanting to go back “home”. He sat down and started humming, it surprised him, he had never sounded like that before, it wasn't a classical piece he was forced to play or listen to, it was something else. The humming stopped on his end, but he still heard a similar melody. He turned around and saw the stranger that had been at the bridge, surprising to him, it was a boy from his same grade.
He had orange hair, and a street style outfit. Toya looked away as fast as he could, but he had already made eye contact. Shit, shit, shit. “Hey, what's up?” the ginger asked. Toya, dreading to have a conversation, replied with a dry “please let me be.” However, the other did not respect his one wish. “I just wanna know why you were going to that bridge at this time of night. It's known for people taking their lives there y’know.”
“I'm sorry”
“What?”
“I'm saying I apologize that I looked pitiful. you had to take time out of your schedule to personally ask me about it.”
The ginger stood there for a moment, staring at the blue haired, taking in more of his features before replying. He had this expression on his face, as if he was dreading everything. “Listen man, I may not know what's going on in your life, but don't apologize for something like this. All I'm doing is a kind gesture to make sure you don't go off doing unreasonable things. By the way, names’ Akito Shinonome. What's yours?” Toya stared at him blankly. He was actually having a conversation with someone, and it wasn't just some old small talk. “Toya Aoyagi…” Aktio put his hand out for him to shake. “Nice to meet you Aoyagi.”
School days were just a little bit better being able to talk to someone. They were able to become closer to each other, and Akito had invited Toya to their band, Vivid Bad Squad. Yes, he still had to study hard, go home, and now deal with his parents being extra strict because of the note, but he was able to talk to Akito, (and of course his other bandmates) which made him feel this certain type of happiness that he couldn't describe. One of these new routines had included texting Akito after school, and today, he had invited Toya to walk down Vivid Street to meet up with him and his other friends for band practice. He quickly agreed and left the house. He was lucky that his parents were out right now. He walked down the street, and saw Akito, An, and Kohane. “Hello Shinonome-kun, shiraishi-San, Azusawa-San.” He said, giving a little bow. “You don’t have to be so formal Toya-San~! We aren’t just your bandmates y’know. Were your friends!” An said. Toya’s eyes widened just for a second and then he nodded his head. He actually had friends in his life now, people he could count on and trust.
During practice, they were all having fun singing their hearts away. Once they finished up, An invited them to her dad's cafe to chill for a bit. Toya debated on it, he knew his parents would be home soon and if they saw he wasn't in his room, he wouldn't hear the end of it when he did get back. Even with the thought of his dad yelling in his ear and his mother disappointingly shaking her head, he still went to the cafe with them, not letting his worry show. He was glad he went to that cafe. He had fun, for the first time in so long. However, that fun he had with the others didn't last forever.
He heard a buzzing noise from his phone… and he froze up. “My apologies… but I gotta get going now...” Toya said, quickly leaving the cafe and answering the call. An and Kohane were left questioning what had happened. Only Akito knew about his struggles with his parents, but even he didn't know the full extent.
“Aoyagi Toya, where the fuck are you? Why did you leave without telling us? Are you having another one of those stupid episodes again? You're scaring your mother half to death with these dumbass “feelings”. If anything, you're just doing it for attention, Damit!” Toya’s father yelled over the phone. He started speed walking home, not responding but just listening to his father, knowing that he would probably just hear the same things in person. Once he got home, his suspicions were right, and he heard the same things that he had been yelling over the call. He walked up to his room without his phone, which had been the only source to talk to anyone, but it was something he was used to.