2023. At the start of our time in senior high, everything went well.
Kyle kept his spot as the top student of the class, same as always since highschool.
He could be kind of an ass sometimes, sure, but he was cool about it. Especially when he'd help out someone who was struggling or asked him for advice.
I think I looked up to him a little at some point, but that was back then.
It's a bit of a stretch to call myself his childhood friend, but we did grow up together since we were eleven. Not sure if that still counts though.
We stayed pretty close since our first year in highschool up until our last year in senior high, so I know a lot about him more or less. Same goes for him, I guess.
In essence, he was the kind of guy you'd be torn between wanting to slug him in the face or just be amazed at how profound he sounds when giving advice or being a plain smartass. He was insufferable at some point, but he toned down gradually when we reached senior year.
He opened up to me at some point about his struggles, about how he hates people always expecting more from him, them asking him to do the impossible and get disappointed in him when he fails, and the like.
Truth to be told, I did feel the same way as everyone, but after hearing his struggles, I stopped doing it altogether and stayed with him instead, brushing off the people who kept nagging him about results here and there.
Throughout our time in highschool, we were basically inseparable. Like two peas in a pod. Except, I could never be as smart as him. Not by a long shot.
While I did stop putting any expectations on him like everyone else did, I still knew that he was capable no matter which field he was thrown in.
Academics? He handled it easily.
Sports? He trained alongside the school's athletics club despite not being a member, guiding and teaching them things I couldn't even begin to understand.
He was fairly popular among girls back then too, though he probably didn't notice. Or maybe he did and just didn't care. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter.
And while he excelled at almost anything, I somehow managed to keep up, barely at least.
But I never held it against him, not with how much of a challenge it gave me, having him always one step ahead.
Instead of jealousy, I felt compelled to improve myself alongside him, wanting to stand on the same stage as he did, walking the path we'd carved through highschool together.
All was well, until our senior high midterms.
It started out as usual. Students scrambling to finish their requirements, chasing teachers for their signatures, others studying in advance, like what we both did.
Nothing out of the ordinary. Just that familiar tension in the air, a mix of anticipation and dread as we waited for the exams to begin.
That's right. It should've been like that.
A week after our exams, strange rumors started to spread. About a guy who supposedly turned down the confession of some popular rich girl from another class.
I didn't really know who the girl was, or who the guy might've been, so I brushed it off as nothing more than typical school gossip.
Knowing Kyle, there was no way he'd get himself involved in something that troublesome, especially if it had something to do about romance. Or so I thought.
But the rumors didn't fade. They only got worse, until it was all anyone at school could talk about.
It didn't make sense. No rumor would spread this badly unless someone was feeding it on purpose.
Heck, even if the girl was that popular, it shouldn't have blown up like this.
It seemed like someone out there wanted to burn the guy down. As if it was personal.
The rumors were turning into outright fabrications. Like stories about how the guy was seen flirting with girls downtown, how he only had his grades to save himself, and that he was supposedly rotten inside as a person.
Somehow, everyone kept believing it, even making up their own twists, painting him as the worst guy imaginable.
Still, as annoying as it was, I tried my best to ignore all of them.
One afternoon, while Kyle and I were hanging out in the library, I noticed a group of girls whispering among themselves, stealing glances at him every now and then.
Some even gave him that kind of side eye, one that almost made me lash out. But he stopped me before I could say anything.
My hands balled into fists at my inability to shut those girls up, at the looks they kept throwing his way.
But Kyle, he only smiled at me, calm as ever, like nothing around us mattered. That calmness felt... wrong. Still, I didn't push it further.
After that day though, I started to notice it. The distance.
He was becoming harder to reach, like he was deliberately avoiding me. Everytime I'd try to bring it up, he'd brush it off with the same excuse: someone's waiting for me.
The next few weeks were like that, me trying to talk, him slipping away behind another reason, another half-smile.
Then I heard it.
A group of classmates were talking about that same rumor, about the boy who rejected the popular girl.
That was when I heard his name:
"Y'know, I'm surprised that bastard Kyle still shows up even after everything."
Laughter followed.
How... fucking dare they.
"You don't even know shit about him,"
The words slipped out before I realized it. By the time I did, I was already standing in front of them.
"So what gives you the right to say crap like that, huh?"
My heart was pounding, but I didn't care. They were talking trash about someone that was important to me, no way I was letting that slide.
"Y'all haven't done half of what he's done for everyone."
Silence. A few of them exchanged looks, smirking like I was the crazy one.
If anything, they're the ones who were crazy, eating up rumors, jumping on bandwagons like NPCs chasing the next shitty trend for clout.
And now they were dragging my best friend's name through the mud, making his life into some kind of drama for them to laugh at.
"Who the hell are you?" one of them asked, stepping up to me.
"Why do you care? Think you're some kind of hero?" He leaned close, acting high and mighty like some wannabe thug.
Then, a flicker of recognition crossed his face. He pulled back, scanning me from head to toe.
"Wait-ain't you that bastard's best friend? That guy who follows him around like a duckling?"
Laughter, loud, ugly. They doubled over, holding their stomachs, wiping tears from their eyes.
"I get it now..."
Their laughter died down. His smirk returned as he looked back at them.
"Yo, guys-Kyle's little bitch is here."
And at that moment, I couldn't feel anything. Couldn't hear anything.
Only one thought crossed my mind:
This guy deserves to die. They all do.
Before I knew it, everything I'd learned, every word from my Muay Thai instructor spiralled into nothing.
The world went white.
Everything cut to a crawl as my fist cut through the air.
My mind blanked.
I only snapped out minutes later when a teacher grabbed me and pulled me away.
My hands were numb. Wet.
The students around us stared wide-eyed. The classmates who laughed at me earlier now looked at me like I was some kind of monster.
Then I looked down.
Oh...
The guy who stepped up to me was lying on the floor. His face was bloodied-almost unrecognizable. His nose, broken. His teeth... only some remained. His arm was bruised, his eyes white.
I glanced down at my hands.
So that's why...
They were bloodied. Probably his.
I didn't remember much after that. Just that my parents were called in and I got suspended for two weeks.
Even while they talked in the office, I couldn't hear anything. Just faint voices, muffled and distant, like echoes through water.
Those two weeks came and went. I couldn't remember most of it. Days blurred together.
When I went back to school, everyone avoided me. Their eyes said everything. Fear, disgust, maybe pity. I don't blame them.
I did send someone to the hospital after all.
My family had to cover the medical bills.
As expected.
The next school year came and went. Everything stayed the same.
Except for one thing.
The popular girl, the one who Kyle supposedly rejected, approached me near graduation.
"Uhm... You're Kyle's best friend, right?"
I didn't answer. Just stared at her, flat faced.
Then she continued:
"I... I'm really sorry about what happened..." she hesitated, but pushed on.
"I just wanted him to like me back," Her voice trembled, like she was forcing the words out.
"I never wanted things to go this way. I told them to stop but they never did. Even after I tried to explain or defend him... they wouldn't listen.."
"So? What are you trying to get by telling me this?" I murmured. What did she expect?
"Everything already happened. There's no point in apologizing if that's what you came here for." I added.
With a scoff, I turned away. "If you're here just to apologize for your own self-satisfaction, then forget it. I'm not the one who needs your apology in the first place."
Just as I moved to walk, I felt someone grab my arm. Small and delicate, something I could've easily broken. Then, she said the thing that stopped me cold:
"I want to help him... I don't just like him... I love him...."
Love him? Then why did you let it all happen?
I turned around, facing her, to lash out. But the conviction in her eyes made me freeze.
"Please... I need your help..." she practically begged, which, strangely enough, tugged at something deep inside of me that made me not want to refuse.
"Please-I don't care if you're not doing it to help me, but think of it as a way to help him..."
That wouldn't have normally convinced me, but something about her made me take her side from there.
"Ah-my apologies for the late introduction," she took a step back, then pinched the hem of her skirt and lowered her head. A polite, practiced gesture, almost like a princess.
"I'm Marianne. Marianne Auclait."
And from then on, I've started working under her-not for her, but because I believed she could help Kyle from the shadows, even if through unconventional methods.
That was what I believed. Unaware of the darker side she hid behind her innocent smile. The deranged methods she would take to carry out her promises.
And it seemed like she was just starting.