—This is the end, isn't it?
Sitting in class as a woman tenderly held his arm, Riley blankly looked forward. Hearing murmurs of people around him—men who were envious, women who talked smack about Kara for being with Riley, it did dishearten him.
And yet,
It's the end. I don't need to care anymore.
Clutching at a friendship necklace, Riley held a black cat within his palm.
"We'll attack my brother after school, got it?" Kara asked, and Riley nodded his head.
Though, it feels uncomfortable… plotting on someone's death rather than being forced to kill them.
Up until now, against the cannibal and the vampire, Riley hadn't marched to them with intention to kill. It was his first time planning out a murder he wouldn't feel bad for.
"...Your brother, he does deserve it though, right?" Riley tried to confirm, and Kara nodded her head, her head resting on his shoulder. It was a pleasurable sensation in his body, being held so lovingly.
"He kills without a second thought. Of the two of us, he's the one always telling us to move around, break into people's homes, and kill them."
"...I see. Yet, you still follow him, right?"
"Mhm. Even if it hurts… my body craves to kill. You understand that, don't you?"
"Better than anyone… I think?"
Though, with how much evil I've inadvertently committed, this is probably something I deserve.
Even now, he was a threat to everyone around him. His continued existence, as far as he could tell, was one in which he couldn't see being beneficial at all.
It'll be alright. I know it will.
For everyone else, they have a good life ahead of them. Joey's really young, so he probably won't even care in a few years. Mom and dad didn't see me enough to care. Nina will get over it. She's a kind, strong girl with many friends—yeah, she's fine.
In the end, I'd say it works out perfectly. Nobody needs me anyways. I get to finally put an end to my shameful life.
Smiling. Riley smiled.
I'm glad.
Yet, the smile wavered.
It's for the best.
It has to be.
—
With the school day's close, Riley gave Kara his phone number.
"I'm going home. It's my final day, I want to spend it with my family."
Kara's eyes narrowed, as she seemed weirded out. "Huh? But then who will I spend mine with?"
"Your brother?"
"No way. I'm tagging along with you."
"...Uh, I'd prefer that not to be the case, actually," Riley said, adding in a "sorry."
"What?" She vocalized, her voice raised. "Why not?"
"It's just, y'know. I just met you."
"That's silly. Quit being dumb, I'm coming with you. You're all I have—I won't let you go."
Being reminded of her pitiful circumstances, Riley looked down and softly exhaled. "Alright, that's fine, I guess."
The two walked home together, Riley's smile taking a hit.
—
"Right, here ya go," Riley spoke happily, taking a pizza out of the oven. Cutting it with a pizza cutter, Riley gave his brother and his new "date" a slice, to which Kara sat down at the table and began to eat.
"Mm! It's good, it's super good! I can tell it's got love baked into it!" She excitedly declared, and Riley smiled. Joey looked at her strangely, before shrugging his shoulders.
"Wiley, why awe you dating Kawa and not Nina?" Joey asked, causing Kara to clear her throat, staring daggers at the boy. With a pout, she leaned gently against the table.
"Whaaat? Well—because I'm a better fit for him. Duh, you silly boy."
Joey and her continued to argue some, as Riley washed the dishes. Finishing the dishes, he moved on to the cabinets, cleaning them and making sure everything there was not amiss. He went all around the apartment, doing his best to clean the rooms.
It's the least I can do for mom and dad. They love me, so I ought to repay them for everything they've done. Though, like always… I can only contribute this much.
Even on my final day, I'm pathetic.
Yet, hearing the doorbell rung, Riley got up and placed his hands on the back of his hips, cracking his back. "I'll get it!" He called out, and Kara laughed.
"Nonsense! I'll get it for you!"
Kara opened the door, finding Nina waiting there. The cheerful girl was taken aback, surprised to see her of all people.
"Huh? What are you doing here?" Nina asked, and Kara kept a solid smirk.
"What? Me and Riley are dating—is it not normal to have Riley invite me over?"
"—Hk."
Flinching upon hearing those words, Nina took a step back. "Wait, what!? You two are dating? Since when!? You just met today!"
Kara laughed and covered her mouth, slyly glaring at the other girl. "Yeah. But what can I say? It was love at first sight. Did you know Riley has a thing for pink hair?"
"...What?"
"Sorry, sorry—forget I said anything. Come on in, come on in~!"
Letting Nina enter, she took the opportunity to rush inside. She walked past Joey, seeing Riley standing in the doorway of his parent's room.
"Riley, what the hay?!" She annoyedly said, "She says you two are dating—is that true, or is she just pulling my leg?"
"...Well, I guess it's true," Riley weakly responded, his face turning a slight pink.
"...Un-believable. Riley, I need to talk to you for a sec."
Grabbing Riley by the wrist, Nina led him deeper into his parent's—
"Hey. Don't touch him."
Kara, having arrived behind Nina with speed which defied common sense, had coldly said thus.
"Hk. What?" Nina asked, turning around to see her. "Chill out, we're friends, I'm not going to—"
"How do I know that? Girl-bestfriends are troublesome. You ought to know that."
"...Kara, calm down for a second. I promise, nothing will happen—"
"Riley, I trust you," Kara said, looking at him with a soft smile before glaring at Nina. "I don't trust her, though. If you have anything you want to say, say it here."
"...I just wanted to say that it's weird. I know him better than anyone, and I doubt he's the type to jump at this kind of opportunity. Riley, are you absolutely sure you're dating her?"
Nodding his head, Riley's lightless eyes locked with Nina's. "That's right. Anyways—well, enough fighting over me, y'know? It's making me feel weird."
Nina didn't press the issue, and Riley remained dedicated to preserving a nice day.
—
Eating dinner with the rest of his family, tucking Joey into bed and wishing him a goodnight, Riley held the door open for Nina as she left.
"Why's she staying over, again?" Nina asked, and Riley shrugged his shoulders.
"Y'know… for that, I guess."
"Oh. Ew. Um, that's still awfully darn fast, but whatever… But, before I go."
Taking a deep, solid inhale, Nina met Riley's gaze fully.
"—Be safe, alright?"
Riley, still smiling, nodded his head.
"Got it."
Closing the door behind her, Riley felt a soft, warm hand caress the back of his neck.
"You ready?"
"I am."
Walking over to his bedroom, Riley took off his friendship necklace and set it down on his desk.
It would be bad if it was lost in the sea. I don't think Nina would forgive me if I did that. Well, maybe it's better that way, actually? Ah, whatevs. I don't want to think about it.
Looking over his clean room, Riley plopped out a small note he'd made. It was nothing particularly special; it mostly consisted of him explaining how much he loved everyone, and how he wished for their happiness.
"Alright," he began, turning to see the beautiful woman with pink hair. "Let's go."
Exiting the apartment through the window, the young couple set out towards death.
…
Appearing in an abandoned building where the siblings had stationed themselves for the current situation, Kara distracted Clark whilst Riley snuck up on him and plunged [Bleeding] into the back of his head, instantly killing him.
As the blood splashed onto the floor, Kara looked down with a soft smile and a steady heartbeat.
…
"We're strong. We're fast. We're durable."
Repeating their traits, Kara counted her fingers, her face illuminated by the moonlight. Hearing the crashing waves of the sea before them, the two sat still, sitting over a ledge just by the ocean.
"But one thing we're not… is fish!"
A joyful smile, the woman's eyes reflected the moon within them.
"We'll die if submerged without oxygen. Even my tough body is like that."
Riley nodded his head affirmatively, leaning back and stargazing. With the stars in the night sky being blocked by light pollution, it wasn't even that great of a sight.
Yet, he made do with what he saw.
Kara leaned back, laying down next to him.
"My dad. He was the worst," she began. Riley's heart pounded, faintly reminded of yesterday's incident. "But I'm here now, dying with another servant of Ghira. Better yet, he's someone who really, truly, represents the escape I've longed for for years."
"—?"
"At first, I thought I'd be okay when I was away from him. That the bad thoughts would disappear. But then, even once I became a servant and gained the strength I sought to fight back against him, I realized that the bad thoughts didn't disappear. They got worse."
"...I'm sorry to hear that."
"I didn't have a future. Not a future without just—killing. That's all I had left. I don't care about any of that anymore."
Turning her head, she looked Riley over. Everything about him, from his toes to his head. Yet, she never once glanced at his eyes.
"No one else understood. Not even my brother. But now, I do have someone who understands. Because of that, the end I've longed for is finally upon me. It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Looking up at the midnight sky, seeing the dark clouds slowly pass the moon, Riley nodded his head.
"It is beautiful."
Everything about it was beautiful. The hushed waves, the glowing moonlight as their only light, the anticipation unwavering in their chests—beautiful, it was the beauty of suffering for the teenagers.
Two lovers on a moonlit night, committing a double suicide by throwing themselves into the sea.
It was a guilty pleasure.
Everything is in order. I made sure to smile a lot and do everything mom and dad asked me. I was happy when they thanked me for my work. It was good.
The apartment is clean, Joey's happy, my note explains that I'm going to be happy soon. It's time to descend upon the stage.
"…Failed star," he called me. To think that he was right this whole time.
From the beginning, it was all a mess. I've already been ruined and dirtied beyond salvation.
At the end of the day, once I die, everything will be alright. I'll likely save hundreds of lives, just by dying.
The two "lovers" sat up, descending upon the ocean as they held hands. Further, fighting back against the waves of the cold sea, they continuously moved.
…
Riley was swept off his feet. Entering the sea, pushing forward into depths far too deep to escape, the two swam deeper, exhaling fully.
Ah.
In the darkness of the night, the water's depths were pitch black. Quickly, Riley lost his direction. Up, down, left, right, sideways, vertically, horizontally, diagonally—
Inhale.
Gasping, water filled his lungs for the first time. Pain. Ice, it felt like ice had clogged his passages.
Setting in, Riley exhaled. To get it out, he coughed, trying to get the water out. Having been thrown around by the sea, Riley lost touch of Kara, even as he reached his hand out.
Inhaling, exhaling, he wanted to breathe. Gagging. Vomiting.
His eyes shooting open, Riley looked around—darkness. Strength, gaining strength to move, Riley thrashed around. Screaming at him. His body screamed at him—breathe, breathe, breathe.
Swimming, he picked a direction and guessed that it was upwards, swimming with all his immense strength. Flying through the water, Riley's legs jolted and kicked around. Deeply, he exhaled. Deeply, he inhaled.
Breathe. Breathe.
"—Be safe, alright?"
She had asked one thing of him, yet he had responded with this.
"—Be safe, alright?"
It was too late.
Filling his lungs. The cold plunge of the icy waters filled his lungs, turning them into solid ice as he gagged and pathetically clawed at the water.
"—Be safe, alright?"
Dying, dying, this was unmistakably drowning.
He had been a fool, a lifetime of idiocy surrounding everything he did. Why, then, why did he not—?
It hurts.
"—Be safe, alright?"
His tears and snot entirely masked by the cold blue of the earth, Riley pathetically drowned. His muscles losing the oxygen for their strength, even as he kicked and screamed and begged and struggled,
"—Be safe, alright?"
"—Be safe, alright?"
"—Be safe, alright?"
Losing strength. Everything was dark. Cold, and dark, it was entirely cold and dark. He couldn't breathe. He can't breathe.
Idiot. Idiotidiot.
Someone, help! Help, help me, help, help.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
It's cold. It's so cold. I'm sorry.
Please, forgive me.
I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry about it all. I know I'm horrible.
Someone, please, just save me. Save me.
I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I know it's all my fault.
"—Be safe, alright?"
I'm scared. It hurts.
It hurts.
"—Be safe, alright?"
I'm scared.