Chapter Text
"You're it!" Rumi's yellow jacket fluttered behind her in the wind. It was unbearably hot wearing long sleeves in the summer, but Celine never let her leave the house without them. She sprinted away from Zoe, giggling when both of her friends were nearly out of sight.
"Rumi!" Mira yelled, "No fair! You're too far!" Rumi smiled and kept running, aiming for a tree surrounded by bushes.
"Come and get me!" She hollered over her shoulder, checking to see that her friends were following her. They ran madly after her, trying to catch her before she climbed the tree.
Out of the corner of her eye, Rumi spotted a boy sitting alone on a bench in the park. He had shaggy black hair and was wearing a green t-shirt and black jacket. He was just sitting there, reading a book. A sharp pain caught Rumi's arm. She looked down as she sprinted straight into the bushes. She hadn't been paying enough attention and her jacket kept snagging on branches. Twigs scratched her face and left sharp stinging pain everywhere. Competitiveness and fear drove her up the tall tree where she clung to the trunk.
"Come down!" Zoe pleaded, "It's really dangerous! Celine wouldn't like it!" Mira yelled an agreement.
Rumi kept her face turned away, "I like it up here! I win and it everything looks so small! I'm done with tag, ok?" Really, she'd like to keep playing, but her scratches hurt and her patterns were burning until her jacket. She'd take it off except she was only wearing a white crop top underneath. Mira and Zoe would see her patterns and hate her.
"Celine texted!" Mira announced, "Zoe it's our turn to help with dinner. Are you coming too Rumi?" Rumi shook her head, then realized Mira probably couldn't see that.
"I'll come down later!" She cried down, "Text me when it's dinner time?" Zoe and Mira ran back to their apartment. It was just across the street so Rumi was completely safe. She climbed down from the tree once they were gone. The trees caught her sleeves as she crawled out of the bramble.
Her jacket was completely torn up, and cuts tore up her arms and face. Everything hurt, and Celine would kill her if she thought that someone had seen her patterns. Rumi started to cry, hard.
"Hey." A small voice spoke, "Are you ok? Those cuts look pretty awful." It was the boy who'd been sitting on the bench. Up close he was kind of cute, in a silly way. His hair was a little too long and his smile was kind of crooked, but he was nice.
Rumi brushed tears away, wincing as the saltiness stung her cuts. All of them were very shallow, almost none were even bleeding, it just hurt. No, her patterns hurt, so all of her did. And Celine...
"She's going to be so mad at me." Rumi whispered, tears flowing down her face.
"Hey, don't cry." They boy panicked, "We can fix it. Just... tell me what's wrong? Why will she be mad?" Rumi breathed as she tried to stop crying, hiccupping breaths escaping in fits.
"I ruined my jacket... and-and I'll get in trouble because people will see." Rumi stammered. The boy looked around at the park. They were completely alone.
"Here..." The boy shrugged off his jacket. "You can have mine, and I'll take yours." Rumi gratefully accepted the gift, setting it on her lap as she took of her yellow jacket. Her shoulders were exposed, along with dark purple zigzags across them.
"Woah." The boy murmured, reaching out to trace them. Instantly, coolness swept over the pain. Rumi gasped, realizing that a strange boy had seen. She flinched, and the boy dropped his hand.
"No one is supposed to know. It's a secret." Rumi explained, looking deep into his brown eyes.
"What are they? They look so cool!" The boy's eyes were alight with curiosity. He watched Rumi put on his jacket while waiting for an answer.
"They're markings..." Rumi offered, "I was born with them. When I was really little." She zipped up the hoodie, noting how soft it was.
"And it's a secret." The boy repeated, half smiling at her. Rumi laughed a little. Maybe Celine was wrong, this boy didn't even know her and he didn't seem to hate her.
"Yes..." She grew serious again, "Top secret."
"Well I guess if it's TOP secret." The boy agreed, "You can trust me. I won't tell anyone." Rumi bit her lip. She really did want to trust him. He could be her friend. One friend in the world who she wouldn't have to lie to.
"I don't know your name?" Rumi noted, "Celine says not to trust strangers."
"That's true." The boy nodded, pretending to sound like an adult. "I don't know your name either, and I just gave you my jacket."
Rumi laughed, "I'm Rumi...I'm eight and a half..." she added, trying to sound older and match his humor.
"I'm Jinu." The boy smirked, "I'm almost nine." He added quickly, "And I'll keep your cool patterns a complete secret forever." Relief swept through Rumi at his honesty and kindness.
"You promise?" Rumi stuck out her hand, prompting him to shake it.
"I promise forever." Jinu agreed, shaking her hand. From that moment, Jinu was that one person for Rumi, her best friend.