I'm Here For You

Dark-colored clouds covered the usual blue sky, the sound of birds chirping was nowhere to be found, and each animal kept hidden trying to stay warm. Heavy rain poured down on a young girl who kept running through, her soaked clothes clinging tightly to her body. Tears spilled down her eyes as the only things that filled her ears were the pitter-patter of the rain and her heavy footsteps. She stopped for a moment reaching a tall tree, leaning against it, and feeling her legs give out. She tried to wipe the waterfall of tears, yet they found no end. Her body shivered from the cold as she attempted to get up again, her limbs completely exhausted from all the running, her eyes heavy from all the crying, and her chest hurting from all the panting. She pushed herself up, however, then began to walk further into the forest and used the trees as support. Once the girl heard quick footsteps beginning to approach her, she pushed her legs to take off in a full sprint, each stride causing her limbs to cry out in pain. The cool wind harshly hit her skin, her breath visible in front of her from the cold, yet she didn’t stop. She didn’t want to stop. She couldn’t stop. If she did, then everything she worked for would just go down the drain. A familiar voice echoed from behind, the beating of her heart increasing as she heard them getting closer and closer. More tears brimmed her eyes, both from the physical and emotional pain she felt, and the frustration she harbored toward herself. 

Stupid 

Idiotic

Burden

Good for nothing

She repeated these words over and over to herself as she forced her body to keep going through the forest to lose her chaser. Suddenly, something grabbed her wrist, which caused her breath to hitch, and made her stop in her tracks. She turned around, her gaze meeting the one that belongs to the one she loved. His usual nicely done hair was soaked with the rain, his clothes completely drenched just like hers were, and his hazel eyes full of worry and pain. He let out huffs of exhaustion as his grip around her wrist began to tightened, afraid that she would slip out of his grasp if he didn’t hold tight enough.

“Ryu…” She breathed out, her heart rate only rising the longer she met his gaze. “Please…. Just let go” 

He grit his teeth then pulled her closer to him and letting out a breath to calm down. “Let go? Are you kidding me? You want me to let you go when you’re like this? Not gonna happen Arstia”

“Why?!” She screamed at him, making him flinch slightly. “Why are you being so difficult?! Just leave me alone!” Ryu narrowed his eyes at her resisting form. She screamed for him to leave her alone, yet her eyes shouted something completely different. Her eyes seemed to beg him not to leave, not to turn his back, not to abandon her. 

“Arstia, why are you even asking this?! You expect me to pretend I didn’t see you with tears in your eyes run out of the school like that?! You expected me to ignore it? I’m worried Arstia! I’m worried about you because I’ve never seen this!” 

“Yes! Yes, I wanted you to ignore it! This has nothing to do with you so just go away!” She continued to squirm from his grip, trying to retract her arm, only for him to pull her tighter. “Ryu please!” She begged him, more tears spilling from her eyes, which made the boy’s heart break. He now knew for sure that she didn’t want him to leave, she was just scared. Scared of how he would look at her now because she finally broke down under all the pressure. Never in all the years he’d known her had he ever seen her in such a state, that’s why she was doing her best to convince him to leave. She was always the one with a smile on her face, willing to do anything for anyone, and never crumpled no matter what was thrown at her, so this sight was unfamiliar. No matter how much she begged, however, he stood firm, not wanting to ignore this, because he loved her. She was his entire world, and what he would have given to stop her tears, to take away her pain, for that bright smile she usually wore to return to her face. 

“No! You can’t push me away! I won’t let you!” It was his turn to beg, but for something different. He was begging her to not run away from him, to open up to him, to let him help her. He was begging her to stay close to him, so he wouldn’t lose the person he cared most about. 

“Why not?!” Her breath was ragged at this point, her body shaking as she desperately searched his eyes for an answer, a reason to keep going, a reason to keep fighting. 

“Because I said so!” Both their eyes widened, Ryu completely caught off guard because he spit out the first thing he could think of, and Arstia not expecting that type of response. 

The two became quiet, concluding the yelling contest they had been having with each other, both letting out huffs of exhaustion as the heavy rain continued to pour on them, their bodies beginning to shiver from the cold. As much as Arstia wanted to keep running, running away from the school, running away from her friends, running away from him, she just couldn’t bring her body to move, not only because she was exhausted, but something about his presence made her feel warm and not wanting to leave. Ryu, worried about his beloved and best friend, also didn’t want to turn and leave despite his body temperature lowering quickly, as he ran out without a jacket, and without a second thought after Arstia fled. He let go of her wrist, shocking her a little as she was already used to his touch, and took a step closer to her. 

“Arstia listen to me” He gently placed his hand on her red, swollen cheek as she continued to let out tears because of his warm touch. “I care about you more than anything. I could care less about everyone and everything else right now. You have always been there for me, for Erina, for Hiro, now let me be here for you….please” 

That was all it took. Arstia’s legs gave out, making her fall to her knees, gripping Ryu’s shirt and making him follow her movements. He pulled her into his chest as she started sobbing into his shirt, the sound of her cries mixing in with the rain, which made his heart sink and a lump to form in his throat. They didn’t move from their position, Arstia in Ryu’s embrace for what seemed like hours, screaming and crying out all of her pain, everything she had been holding in with no way to get out. As Ryu listened and comforted her as best he could, he began to feel guilty for not noticing how she was feeling before but tried his best not to dwell on it for her sake. No matter how much he wanted to go back in time and change his actions, to be more observant toward her, to make himself notice the little things, he couldn’t. Maybe it would have stopped it from getting this bad. Maybe, if he was just a little more attentive, he could have helped her sooner. Arstia finally began to calm down after about 20 minutes of sitting in the rain, her throat sore from all the screaming, cheeks swollen from all the crying, and her eyes growing heavy from the physical strain everything took on her. Shaky breaths escaped her lips, making her hands loosen from his clothing as he stood up, picking up her shivering body bridal style and beginning to walk back toward the school. She wraps her arms around his neck, nuzzling into his shoulder to hide the curious gaze of the students going back into the school. Upon returning to his dorm, Ryu opened the door carefully, being sure not to drop Arstia, then placing her timidly on his bed. 

“Your bed is going to get all wet Ryu” She spoke as she wiped the last of the fallen tears on her cheek with the sleeve of her shirt. Ryu dug into his wardrobe, pulling out a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie before handing them to Arstia without saying a word. She stepped into his bathroom, gazing at herself through the mirror, dozens of thoughts racing through her head. She carefully removed her soaked clothes and put on the dry, warm ones, the change in outfits making her let out a sigh of relief, but quickly began thinking again. 

Am I a burden on him? 

Is he doing this because he feels obliged to? 

A knock at the door snapped her back to reality, and upon opening it, she saw Ryu with a smile and a hairdryer in his hand. He turned it on after plugging it into the outlet, carefully moving his fingers through her hair as he dried it by sections. The two don’t say anything, but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable, in fact, Arstia felt comfort in the silence. She closed her eyes, the way he raked his fingers through her hair softly making her grow tired, and even feel more at ease. 

“I turned on the heater in the room already, let me dry my hair and I’ll be right out.” He reassured the shaken girl, who simply nodded before leaving the bathroom and sitting back on his bed. Not too long after, he returned to her side, pulling her small body back into his embrace.

“I won’t force you to talk about it now, and if you don’t want to tell me anything that’s okay, but please don’t shut me out. Please don’t push me away when all I want is to help you. Maybe it’s selfish of me to ask this of you, but I was so worried when I saw you run out, and as much as I called out to you, I didn’t get a response.” He pulls away for a minute, placing a hand on her head and staring deeply into her chocolate hues. “I’m going to tell you again, and I will continue for as long as you want me to. You are everything to me, and I don’t want to see you sad. That doesn’t mean you can’t be, everyone is sad at some point, but I want to be there for you, and at least be able to make you happy for a while.”

Arstia felt the genuine concern, compassion, and kindness from his simple, yet powerful words, her eyes still finding more tears to shed. He smiled softly, using his thumb to carefully wipe the tears away. 

“Come on, no more tears.” He comforted her, gently caressing her head. “I’m here for you, and I always will be.” 

Sometimes, what you need to hear isn’t I love you.

Sometimes, what you need to hear is I’m here for you.