Chapter 3

He didn't get a wink of sleep that night. The only answer to his prayer of sleep was the unsettling buzzing of his alarm.

Another day of school.

Another day of waking up at the asscrack of dawn just to be around people he was almost 100% certain didn't want to see him as much as he didn't want to see himself.

He didn't want to get up.

But his feet and his legs betrayed him and forced him to arise and prepare, and before he knew it, he was on the train. And he saw Natsuki standing there, by himself, reading, and he wondered if he should say hello, but then decided against it. Is this what it came down to? Everyone was floating apart, and he knew it was almost all his fault. He curled up and dreaded the moment the train met his stop.

He was in class now. Same seat, same teacher, same head of black hair in front of him, the world moved on like nothing had changed. No one talked about Haru, no one seemed to remember him. Everyday people laughed and every day the trees grew another inch and it seemed so incredibly ironic and cruel that it shattered his heart all over again, and it was wearing lines into his face.

But then, in the corner of his eye, he saw it. He saw the only thing that could possibly save him, even if momentarily, from this nightmare.

A single daisy outside the window.

A single petite, perfect, purple daisy.

And he remembered. He remembered how every day the first thing Haru would do when he woke up was water himself and water his daisies. He had such an odd fascination with them as if they were his life force.

"Without water, they'll die! Just like me."

And it made all the memories of him rush back again. But rather than being overwhelmed with emotions of regret and guilt it brought back the fluttering in his heart and the butterflies in his stomach and it brought back the grin and the giggles he tried desperately to stifle.

Then classroom was no longer a classroom. The classroom blossomed into a faerie's escape and ivy grew in the corners of the room and climbed up the teacher's desk leaving soft droplets of dew from being roused from its slumber.

Petunias and Marigolds and Daffodils bloomed next to every tree that grew tremendously enough to tear apart the walls and the roof. Pale pinks and bright oranges neighbored each other across the room. Inside the trunks of the trees were embedded desks and chairs and all the things he hated to see. The tile floor turned into patches of grass and daises and fruit and petals fell from every leaf in every corner of the room. Vines wrapped tightly amongst the windows and the feet of the tables and from them sprang the most deliciously plump purple grapes. He felt numerous rabbits run past his feet and he saw many brightly colored insects and reptiles slither and skitter on the walls. A lady bug and a rainbow beetle found their ways up his arm and around his shoulders and he laughed. He was happy. The air was foggy and diaphanous and it felt as if he could extend his hand and feel silk among his fingers.

He saw (never directly, only from the corners of his eyes) tiny feet and faeries wings leave glitter in their trails as they played games with his reflexes. He heard their translucent laughs echo and ring in his ears and he felt the honey of their words in the back of his throat. He felt some of them play on the edges of his socks and slowly but steadily he felt his feet being raised off the ground. He was floating. Flying. Free. The faeries helped him on his way; shrouded him with their special dust and he looked like a firefly illuminating the dark nights of winter. From the walls he picked several shades of daises and held them all close to his heart, because they were Haru's favorites.

Haru... He could swear, at that moment, that he saw him. He could swear that that tiny flush of silver hair was his and as his eyes met his momentarily, he smiled.

A simple, signature smile.

But that's when it ended.

It started with him being slowly lowered to the ground as he felt his shoes and socks being soaked with water. The hem of his pants came next and slowly it accelerated at a constant, incontrollable, unsettling pace. Haru's image disappeared in a flurry of a tsunami and all the faeries and bugs drowned with a faint, horrid scream and the fruits tried to bobble for air and Haru's face was swallowed by the water. His silver hair was gone and instead replaced with frothy bubbles. And as Yuki felt his hair waving, light as air, and as his nose and eyes filled with water, a sudden panic struck him all over and his body went entirely stiff. He didn't want to lose him again. All he could think to do was to desperately try and plead and reach out and call his name again and again.

Until he opened his eyes.

And he saw his classmates reading from their textbooks and he saw the feet of their desks unrustled and the window panes as clear as day. He turned his eyes and he saw Natsuki, intently pretending that his focus and worry wasn't directed his way. He no longer heard the throaty giggles of forest fae and most importantly, there were no daisies on the floor or walls. No Haru looking his direction.

And he sighed.

(A/N): Ah... busy busy busy with schoolwork. Anyway, thank you for reading up to this point! Please leave feedback.