Chapter Text
The spiteful feel of pounding rain on the empty streets complimented the mood of the young male making his way across the murky grass to reach his destination. Who knew the first day of school could get any more miserable? The weather was not helping in the slightest; it only added to the anxiety and stress the boy already felt.
Ever since Rogue Cheney's old school, Phantom Lord High, was torn down and abandoned, his feelings of previous sadness only deepened. Rogue loved Phantom Lord; it was the best school he'd ever attended, not to mention the only one. Every day, he spent time with people who appreciated him for who he was, even if it wasn't complete acceptance. It made Rogue feel at home and forget about the death of his father who left him when he was only a child. Phantom Lord had taken him in and given him a place to call home, along with a few companions and a fairly well education. Rogue had so many dreams and future plans that he wanted to accomplish with Phantom Lord, but all of that was crushed and had withered away after the school had been lost and forgotten.
Rogue dragged his feet as his inner self kept pushing him backwards, telling him to turn around and not move forward. Rogue just shook his head forcefully and continued to fight against his own internal feelings. The only reason he was doing this was because his former friend and role model, Gajeel Redfox, told him to seek out a new school by the name of Sabertooth Academy. Gajeel had told Rogue that he would find people there that would accept him as much as Phantom Lord did. Rogue did have his wave of doubts; however, he had no choice but to trust Gajeel. The Iron Dragon Slayer was the only one who knew about Rogue's... problems.
Rogue really wasn't your average every day teen. He was diagnosed with a heavy case of depression, and he had trouble with not self-harming, among many other things.
After a few more dreadful minutes, Rogue arrived at the main doors of Sabertooth Academy. He had to admit it was really nice-looking and pretty large.
Before he entered, he adjusted his clothes to make sure none of his cuts were showing. He was wearing an excess amount of clothing as usual, and today it proved to be sufficient in shielding him from the heavy rain.
Rogue quickly rushed inside, stepping onto the clean, linoleum floor. His footsteps made click-clack sounds as he tried to find the principal's office. He was so astonished by the inside of the school that he didn't notice when he bumped into someone.
"Watch it, loser," the teen growled in an annoyed tone. So much for nice people, Rogue thought. The Shadow Dragon Slayer hurriedly apologized as he watched the teen walk away.
Alright, no more distractions. He had to find the main office so he could get settled in and get started. The office should've been in a reasonable place, right? It was the main office for a reason, so finding it shouldn't have been that difficult...
After some scurrying around, Rogue was finally able to locate the principal's office. He slowly creaked the door open and squeaked out a small, "Excuse me?"
Principal Jiemma, the principal of the famous Sabertooth Academy, looked up from his paperwork. Rogue expected the principal to be kind and caring, but he just shot Rogue a dirty look. "Oh, it's the new brat. Come in, and make it quick. I don't have all day."
Rogue hesitated at first but slowly stepped inside the room. Jiemma signaled him to take a seat on the chair in front of him, and Rogue obeyed.
"Alright. Here's your schedule." Principal Jiemma handed Rogue a fresh printed sheet of paper, listing all his courses for the semester. "Since it's your first day, I won't punish you for being late. There's only one period left for today, so you may go there as soon as the bell rings which will be in about five minutes. I expect full excellency in this school. Any grade under an A and I will have you kicked out. Understand?"
Rogue nodded, biting his lip from nervousness. He clutched his backpack with sweaty palms. Man, this school was tough already, and it was only his first day. Hell, he hadn't even been here for more than ten minutes.
How was he ever going to fit in? It was Rogue's first day, but not anybody else's. He was a month late into the school year and he didn't know anybody here. Someone already disliked him and the principal was no ray of sunshine either. Rogue came to Sabertooth seeking light and hope but it seemed to bring only more darkness.
The sound of the bell interrupted Rogue's trail of thoughts. Jiemma's cold stare made Rogue immediately sit up and rush out of the office. Once he emerged out of it, he breathed a sigh of relief. The Shadow Dragon Slayer began walking to his assigned classroom, making sure not to bump into anybody. Nobody even noticed as he slipped past them. Rogue was used to feeling invisible; he always mixed in with the shadows and simply observed people from the background without ever getting involved. All of that changed after joining Phantom Lord, but now he was back to square one.
Rogue entered his classroom, and turns out he ended up being the first one there. He took a seat in the far back, avoiding eye contact with his teacher. He couldn't help but notice his pink hair though. Weird how someone could make pink hair look so badass.
Rogue put his bag down on the floor and sunk into his seat. He pulled out one of his novels and slipped on his reading glasses as he began to read the fine print with careful precision. Soon, the crowd started rolling in and the silence quickly faded as an eruption of laughter and loud talking emerged.
The entire class ended up being just free time. Their teacher, Natsu Dragneel, didn't feel like doing anything today so he let them have the entire class period off. Apparently there was some rumor going around that Natsu just wanted some peace and quiet so he could text his husband, Gray Fullbuster. They rarely got to see each other during the day despite working at the same school.
Rogue ignored everything happening around him; he simply smiled to himself as he continued to read his novel. Books were the only things that saved him from reality as of right now.
Another reason he preferred his book over any social interaction was that he didn't feel like doing any work today. He just wanted to explore the school and get to know where all his classes were so he wouldn't get his ass handed to him by the principal. Only if somebody showed him around, things would've been a bit easier, but that itself wasn't as easy as it sounded. Rogue had major social anxiety; just talking to someone took so much effort. In addition, nobody seemed to notice him at all, so the chances of them helping him were very low.
There were only a few minutes of class left, so Rogue decided to finish the chapter until the chime of the bell rang through the classroom.
Soon, the dismissal bell rang, and after it had, Rogue could've sworn that he felt someone's eyes on him. He also felt the same eeriness a few minutes ago but he believed his mind was just playing tricks on him. The dark-haired mage shivered, not liking the feeling of being stared at or watched. He grabbed his things and began to pack up as the other students filed out of the room. Even their teacher had left, and the only two people in the room were him and another young male. Rogue looked up and noticed his features. He had spiky blonde hair and deep, sapphire eyes.
"Whatchya lookin' at, newbie?" the male asked.
Rogue blushed in embarrassment and looked away quickly. "Nothing. S-Sorry."
The blonde sighed and walked over to Rogue, making the shadow mage's whole body tense up. He didn't like when people came near him, or stood so close to him for the matter. This person could sense the uneasiness coming from Rogue, but he stood close to him anyway. "Hey, you. What's your name? I haven't seen you around here before. You new?"
"R-Rogue. Rogue Cheney. A-And y-yes, I'm new..." Rogue responded shakily.
"Cool. My name is Sting Eucliffe. I feel like you should know who I am," Sting introduced with a grin.
Rogue forced a small smile, thinking that this was a nice gesture. He realized he was wrong the second he felt a sharp, stinging pain in his back as the blonde boy shoved him into the back wall.
"Remember me and remember me well. Don't think you are the star of this school just because you're new and different," Sting grimaced with a devilish smirk.
Rogue had no idea what the hell he was talking about, but he immediately began shuddering. He never knew he'd be bullied on his very first day.
"I-I wasn't trying to..." Rogue stuttered with a pleading tone as Sting gripped his throat.
"Save it for someone who cares," Sting spat, keeping the smirk on his face. He reached for the cloak draped around Rogue and ripped it off, receiving a small cry from his victim in response.
Rogue couldn't believe his luck today. He tried to leave, but Sting grabbed his arm and held it in a death grip. Tears brimmed in his eyes. The world was so, so cruel to him. Every time he tried to look for hope, he only ran into more darkness. Was this what the world really was to him? Just an endless path of darkness and nightmares? Was there no light to be found?
"I don't like people like you. You make me sick." Those words hit Rogue like a bullet. How many more people would treat him like this? Rogue just wanted to leave. He used all of his efforts to pull away, but they failed miserably. Sting continued to harass him to the point where he felt completely helpless. At least an hour had passed, and Rogue tried one final time to escape Sting's death grip.
"Don't try to escape, little punk," Sting warned through gritted teeth. "Haven't you learned your lesson? This is a school, after all." He pulled harder and tore the fabric of Rogue's long-sleeved shirt.
At that very moment, Sting's grip loosened. His eyes widened in shock from the sight before him. Numerous cuts covered Rogue's pale arm, now clearly visible, and Rogue's own crimson eyes gleamed with frustration, embarrassment, and fear. The second Sting let go, Rogue grabbed his cloak and backpack and raced out of the room, not leaving a second to spare.
Sting was left completely speechless, his mouth agape. He stood there, staring off into space until all the lights turned off in the school and the sound of the door shutting echoed in the distance. The torn fabric from Rogue's shirt was clutched firmly in his gloved hands. Sting cursed at himself under his breath, calling himself an idiot numerous times for what he just did.
"Why the hell am I such a jerk...?!" he shouted at himself.
It was an unforeseen realization. Sting felt a sudden wave of past events flooding into him as he remembered all the times he treated someone like shit. In total, it went way over one hundred. He had no idea why he did such things; it was like he didn't know right from wrong. Maybe it was because he'd practically lived in fear of Principal Jiemma's strict rules which drove him to go insane. He felt that he needed to test people's strengths to see if they were really capable of surviving here.
Sting Eucliffe clenched his fists in anger and gritted his teeth together. Normally, he wouldn't care if someone thought he was a jerk or called him an asshole. But this time, it was different. Way different. He actually felt bad. He felt so horrible. Something he hadn't felt in years. The feeling was new again, and he didn't know how to deal with it, but he knew one thing he had to do. Apologize.
It was no wonder this new kid didn't fight back. He was self-harming! Which could only mean one thing: he is depressed, Sting concluded. This really hurt him on the inside. Memories flooded through his mind again and he shook his head violently, trying to push them away. Now was not the time for a walk through memory lane.
Sting's dad had died from depression, so despite Sting being a complete jerk on the outside, he had a soft spot for depressed people. He was just so frustrated at himself at this point. He was so stupid for not knowing that Rogue was suffering from such a terrible condition. He punched the wall, creating a big dent as a result. Starting tomorrow, he was going to treat him better. Rogue was probably going to be terrified of him and everything else, but it didn't matter.
This wouldn't be easy for sure. But he had to try.