Shock.

Shock completely overthrown my control over my mind and movements, immobilizing me right on the spot. It spread through out my blood and nerves like a lightning and affected every single parts of my body in less than a second. Dark, hefty flashbacks chased after me as if it I was its prey, and successfully pounced me on the spot. I found myself affixed to my own seat, so I was incapable of prompting myself out of it.

I tried battling their forces, but seeing that I was immediately overwhelmed, I realized that they were all too powerful. Rena needs to ride out of here... I don't want to see his face again, nor do I want him to notice I'm sitting right here...

They shouldn't be there.

They shouldn't be.

I continued shaking my head, refusing to accept the reality.

It's just my stupid hallucination acting all shitty on me again... It has to be... There's no way they were there... I thought out an excuse. It's just a stupid brain trick...

"Is t-that Florence and R-Raphael?"

Unfortunately, not in this case.

"Wow... how did they m-manage to end up t-together?" Rena took heed of the talking couple as they stepped out of the store. I didn't want to stare at them for so long, but I did manage to see them carrying some sort of goodie bags.

Seemed to me that Rena was giving a rhetorical question, so I didn't answer. Besides, I was too distraught to think about why they were hanging out together. All I care was getting the fuck out of here... but it seems like Rena's curiosity get the best of her.

She didn't bother to pedal on her bike once the green light turned on. She simply moved to the edge of the road, probably wanting to take a good look at them. I instinctively held my breath, cutting off any oxygen from accessing my lungs. Due to my involuntary action, my skull started to throb, as well as my heart. I quickly turned my head away from them, focusing on the cars instead.

...why would I be at the wrong place at the wrong time...?

"Rena, it's time to go." I ultimately have the courage to tell her to leave this area immediately. "The lights had turned green."

However, at this point, I accidentally reverted my gaze back towards the couple, and I couldn't broke my stare anymore. They were getting closer to our spot, and the more they did, the more tense it was for me. I was incessantly begging for them to not look to their side and resume whatever they were talking about. They seemed pretty immersed, thankfully...

...for a short time.

I thought they would walk away without acknowledging our presence, and I was about to let out a deep sigh, until Raphael's attention caught me.

I stopped dead on my tracks, turning into a statue at the same time. My blood began turning drastically cold when as he continued gazing at me as if I was some sort of meat. He was standing still, like he was in a trance, but I knew something more to that. His uncomfortable smile, in a flash, broadened into that one, barbaric grin that never failed to throw me to the depths of hell. 

No... Stop...

Raphael never utter a single word, nor did he threaten me verbally. His hand snaked into the back of his pocket, as if he was about to obtain something, most likely an object of some sort. My breaths went full-blown crazy, and everything started to grow hectic, just like an approaching storm. Out of reflex, my shaky hands grabbed Rena's shoulders, which made her jolt in surprise. While I was pushed to the brink of snapping, I muttered these words to her ears.

"Please, Rena... just go..."

"E-Ed?" Her eyes went wide when she locked her gaze at me. "Wh-"

"Please g-go!" I loudly whispered, stumbling with my words and interrupting her. The storm inside of me had eventually arrived to hit my soft spot, especially when Raphael pulled his scissors out, pointing its sharp edges at me. He seemed chuckling, and began striding at me. The grip I had on Rena's shoulders tightened as I raised my tone. "P-please!!!"

"I-I'm going!" Rena answered. She adjusted her feet on the pedals, and pushed, and off we went. Glancing over my shoulders, I caught a glimpse of Raphael, now distancing away as Rena sped her bike up. If not for her quick actions, I would have been too close to his range and he would be able to pounce at me and... fucking gouge my eye...

I coughed and hacked, and a feeling of nausea washed through me. I clamped my mouth with my hand, and forced myself to swallow the bile I tasted. My heart was soaring to its limits, and I was having a hard time taking breaths. Sweat started to form on my forehead, trickling down my face. 

I have to get through another episode, and I shouldn't be making Rena worried. I should be able to not make it worse than previously. At first, I wanted to deal with this alone, but she was always sensitive towards me.

"Ed?" As expected of her, she called out my name with such concern. Some minutes later, she slowed her bike down, probably hearing all of my gasps and shit. My vision had fogged out of focus, and I almost lost it. I coughed again, forcing myself not to vomit due to the unbearable pain. I tightened my other hand on my chest, trying to restrain the throbbing pain that easily shaken my ribs. I managed to lower my body down.

"Just keep going, Rena..."

I croaked out, but she clearly did the opposite of what I wanted. She abruptly stopped at the edge, and climbed off the bike. Without any communication, she silently wrapped her soft arm around my trembling back, followed by another one. She slowly drew her body closer to me, closing me in a hug. It was like she protected me from something that was trying to harm me.

"...Ed, it's okay. I'm h-here." A gentle, angelic voice filled my ears. "All you need to do is breathe."

After some struggles, I eventually allowed myself to give in to her affection. I shut my eye and buried my head on her shoulder. She didn't seem to push me away, and instead pulled me even closer. I was still unable to catch my breaths, but with Rena carefully telling me what to do, I easily obeyed all of her instructions.

Breathe in... out... in... out... He's gone now, Ed... There's nothing you should be nervous about... 

I tried following Rena's words as she comforted me. The more I did it, the more I could take over my anxiety. Glancing a bit, I noticed some bystanders nearby. They brushed it off, thinking about a possible 'make-out session' between us, and simply walked away. I didn't mind about them, nor do I need their attention.

***

It felt like hours had passed, although it was only for twenty minutes. The storm that inwardly raged eventually ceased, succeeded by a gentle breeze that blew through me, congratulating me for passing through the entire episode without giving up. When I was ready enough, I gave Rena a signal by slightly pushing myself away.

She released her clutch and set her arms off me, although my body craved for more of her touch. When she directly faced me, I expected her to mesmerize me with her bright, ocean eyes and for her to cast a spellbinding smile, which in turn, converted my face into a bright tomato or melted me into a puddle of mess. However, sometimes my expectations of her were always too high.

Her brows somewhat flatten, instead of the softened stare I had been anticipating, it was tight, more like an expression of distress. She bit her lower lips, and while she wringed her hands together. As she blinked, there, I realized that she was far from happy, especially now that she had known about my true condition.

"Honestly, I didn't k-know you're that turned off with Raphael..." Rena commented, still fiddling with her fingers. Everytime his name was mentioned I always stiffened up. "I thought you just dislike him b-because of what h-happened in the past, but I never thought that i-it will send you off that way."

"I... I have to stay clear of him." I mumbled, my voice trailed into the air.  "Seeing him trigger a lot of things I don't want to remember."

Especially that grin...

"I can tell..." Rena went back to her bike. A faint huff escape from her lips, and I could still hear her. "...but why would he be with Florence, though? I thought they didn't know each other that much. Seb w-would usually be the one hanging out with him."

"Probably because he wanted to make new friends." I rolled my eye, while Rena set off to the roads once again.

"Well... t-that seems plausible. Florence told us that she ever m-met  Raphael before, but she seemed to have forgotten when." Rena explained.

Seb had told him to leave me the hell alone. I was hoping that worked, but why do I always have to come across him every single time...? Why do he always appear in unexpected places? I can't even survive hours of being with him, like yesterday, or even days ago...

No. I slapped my temples together. I shouldn't be thinking about him at the first place. He could do whatever he wanted and I won't give a fuck; at least he didn't try to interact or bother the shit out of me.

"...you're okay, now... right?" Rena's voice was what brought me back to reality, rescuing me from being consumed by my own soliloquy. There, we passed through a familiar intersection; the one from an hour earlier.

"Yeah, yeah, I am." I replied right after. "All thanks to you, Rena."

She didn't speak of anything, although as I observed, her ears slightly reddened, and her fingers were tightly wrapped around the bike handles. She seemed to have brought her head down.

"Y-you s-still n-need to r-rest though..." She stammered heavily, which kind of attracted my attention. "I-I shouldn't have brought you o-outside, after all..."

"...Well, if you didn't take me out, I wouldn't have seen that scenery." I breathed. "It's the most beautiful thing I see today, and I'm really glad you showed me."

Rena said nothing, but I was sure she was happy.

Looking around my surroundings, I've noticed that I was back again, at the peaceful neighborhood. The houses soon changed, from small to large ones, exactly like the ones I had seen on the start of our trip. The people that gathered there, were now gone, replaced by an empty whoosh of air and grasses below it.

A few minutes later, Rena arrived in front of my house, specifically stopping at the driveway. I stepped down from the bike, followed by her. Her cheeks were slightly stained pink, and she kept trying to hide them with her hair or her hat. For some reason, I found her to be extremely cute...

Cute?! I immediately ran my hand through my tousled hair and stared up to the skies. I bit my lips, but not too hard as I would draw blood from it. Now I'm turning exactly like her right now... 

"...Well, thanks for today..." I initiated, breaking the awkward silence between us.

"Let's go s-somewhere the next time we meet, okay?" Rena dared to stare at me straight in the eye, even though she seemed to be slightly hesitant to show most of her face. A smile crept upon her lips, as her eyes flashed with hope; the hope that I shouldn't leave it fade or break, but to build it to its maximum.

"Yeah," I agreed, "but... can you do me a favor?" 

"S-Sure. What is it?

"Please don't tell anyone about what happened today, especially about my attack earlier..." I pleaded. "...not even Seb or Alyssa..."

Seb already knew about the attacks; he had witnessed it, but he never commented anything about it. However, I didn't want to make it worse.

"...Of c-course...." Rena nodded, and I breathed a sigh of relief. She then strode towards me, then slightly raised on her tiptoes, as if she was attempting to reach my height. Before I could perceive what was she doing, she suddenly planted her soft, reddish lips on my cheek. It was so brief, that I could only feel a peck. She then stepped back, before placing her arms on her back and giggled quietly.

She... she was kissing me... wasn't she?

My mouth dangled open, while my eye widened. As Rena was setting up her bike, I brushed my hand on the place she had placed her mouth on, and I shit you not, it was seriously hot. My first impression was that I contracted a fever, but when I didn't feel any dizziness nor headaches, I knew that it was just my bodily reaction towards her abrupt action. Never would I thought of her suddenly doing this... shit.

Tomato face? Puddle of mess? More like  turning every parts of me into a fucking big mush...

***

After Rena left to go back home, I was still standing here in front of my house's gate. burning with might. I blinked fast, trying not to get the hotness into my sight. I could still feel the lingering warmness of Rena's lips; the same one that had kissed my forehead back in the Ferris wheel a few months ago. It was that one kiss which bloomed many kinds of feelings inside of me.

The one that started it all.

Going into the house, I was gladly welcomed by Myla, who had been waiting by the door, as normally. She stood on her hind legs, barking as she pawed me excitedly, probably asking me to lift her up. I quickly fulfilled her request by picking her up and cuddling her on my chest. While patting on her forehead, I entered the living room, and Lu quickly popped up from behind a wall.

"For fuck's sake, Ed..." Lu groaned. "...when you were gone, that little furball decided that it was a great idea to shit in the fucking kitchen!"

Myla looked at me, giving me an innocent look with her tiny, black eyes as she wagged her tail; not a slightest inch of guiltiness was seen on her face. I gave the dog shooting daggers, deepening my frown. She immediately shrank back at my expression, letting out a tiny squeal.

"Bad girl." I growled, and she quickly leaped out of my embrace. I loudly sighed at her retreat.

Dogs...

"Mother cleaned the mess, and oh boy, I feel bad for her nostrils..." Her voice trailed off when she looked up at me. Her mouth quickly curled into that annoying smirk which reminded me of Seb, before chuckling behind her hand.

"What the hell are you laughing about?" I questioned, narrowing my eye.

"You know what... I think she really did the right thing... especially after the shit you had been through..." Lu grinned. "Man, she's such a real cutie."

"What do you mean?"

"Just check in the mirror, because the answer is there." She waved her hand, as some sort of a farewell, before she disappeared into the hallway. For some reason, I didn't want to look, as it might be something strange, but simultaneously, I was seeking for the answer. I swallowed my saliva, before looking myself at the mirror that was in front of me.

At first, there was nothing out of ordinary, but at a closer inspection, there was a reddish lipstick smudge on my right cheek. As I tried to trace what shape it looked like, I came into conclusion that it was someone's lips. There, I realized... the stain was on the same exact spot where Rena had kissed me.

There are seriously a lot of things that happened today...

***

After washing my face off, I slumped face-first on the bed, making everything that sat on it jumped. I buried my head on the pillow, feeling both its coldness and softness on my fresh skin. Moments later, I flipped over, staring at the white ceiling above me. At the light, I quickly shielded my vision with my hand, trying to block the light from directly hitting my eye.

Spacing out, recollections of my day with Rena played out through my head; from the time she gave me Gerry's this morning, to the time she comforted me from my mental breakdown and helped me pass through my anxiety attack. I couldn't forget about my time spend with her as we rode around the town, and especially the mountains she had shown me. Of course, the kiss Rena gave... it was really shocking, but it... relieved me.

...but her advice...

"Remembering it might hurt you so much, Ed, but moving forward means you have to l-learn how to accept them."

Her words echoed inside, as if it was permanently stamped there. I rolled over to my side, facing the other areas of my room. On the study table, I noticed Ted, the doll I had been using to release my anger, lying against the wall. I left it somewhere on the floor, so I thought Mother must have placed it there.

I stood up and ambled towards the table, where I took the teddy bear. The next thing I knew, I also grabbed an old picture of my basketball team I used to be on. While I was crouching in the corner of the group with Seb, Lynn was standing behind me, smiling brightly at the camera. Asher was also there, where his hair was still natural brown, and had only piercings. At this time, he despised my guts, and I had no idea why.

I reverted my eye, back and forth, between the teddy bear and the photo. However, I was mostly focused on Lynn, especially when this doll was related with her in such a way.

Memories of me being with her started playing back, especially how she had helped me with the team. After all, Seb and she was the only one who understood me from the rest. Until Rena came into my life.

...but Lynn... I gripped on both of the objects. Even with her advice... I don't even know how to accept my past...

***

A/N: Rena finally got to kiss Ed on the cheek... hehehe and of course, he seemed to like it xD Anyway, I hope that you enjoy the interactions between them, and continue shipping Erena! :) As usual, please do leave a vote, comments and your thoughts about this chapter!

Hope to see you on the new chapter next week!

- Tara