CHAPTER 24

                                    

                                          
"So, is everything ready?" Chuuya asked, watching Dazai as took out an envelope from the drawer, checking what was inside and putting the car keys in there too.
"More or less," the bandaged boy replied, giving Chuuya his coat and hat. "I'll just have to create a distraction."
"Distraction? Like what?" the redhead asked.
Dazai looked at him before a wicked smirk appeared on his face. "I'll just hurt someone enough for the teachers to have to call an ambulance. When everyone is going to be panicking and they won't pay attention, we'll take the car parked in front of the gate and we'll leave," he explained.
Chuuya just nodded, feeling anxious. His heart was racing. He thought about what they would do once they escaped, but he never came up with an answer. He only knew one thing: as long as he had Dazai by his side, everything would be alright.
The two boys snuck out of their room at midnight, quietly heading towards the main gate of the school. Besides the car parked there, there was also a small booth where the guard was sleeping right now. Dazai and Chuuya crouched down, hiding behind a bush, trying not to make any noise.
"You wait right here until you hear the teachers panicking. I'll go create a distraction, alright?" Dazai softly whispered, gently grabbing Chuuya's face and giving him a kiss, the redhead feeling Dazai's smile against his lips. "I love you, Chuuya," he said once their lips parted, getting up and leaving before the redhead could say anything.
"Love me?" Chuuya breathed under his breath, only now processing his words. His heart began beating faster and he could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks. Dazai loved him? Then, was this thing he felt also love? Is this what love felt like?
He was so deep in thoughts that he was startled by the sudden scream that came from inside the school. Chuuya nervously looked around, noticing that the guard also got up, rushing inside. More screams and shouts followed, the lights turning back on inside the school.
"So his plan worked," Chuuya smiled, waiting for Dazai to come back.
More time passed, but the bandaged boy still didn't come out. That's when Chuuya began to panic. He walked closer to the entrance, trying his best to listen to what the panicked teachers were shouting.
"...an Ambulance! Call an Ambulance!"
"He isn't breathing!"
"...so much blood!"
"...slit his wrists! Is he dead?"
Chuuya only heard pieces of their conversations, but the bad feeling he had kept growing.
"There's a dead boy in room 189!"
When Chuuya heard that, his heart dropped to his stomach. That was their room. That was their fucking room.
"It's Dazai Osamu! He slit his wrists," another teacher shouted.
"No. No, no, no. This isn't possible," Chuuya whispered under his breath, his heart beating faster and faster. "Please, God, no," he pleaded, tears forming in his eyes. "He can't be dead, please."
He sat there, feeling like he couldn't breathe, crying, continuing to murmur under his breath that this wasn't possible. His entire body was screaming at him to move, but he simply couldn't. It was like he was stuck in place, unable to leave. He was shaking and he felt like throwing up.
"Is this what he meant when he said he'll create a distraction? Did he plan this all along? Why didn't I notice? God, why... Why didn't I help him?" Chuuya cried, feeling guilty and helpless.
He didn't even notice when the Ambulance arrived. When he looked up, he saw a group of doctors carrying a body, one bloody arm hanging from under a white sheet. Dazai's hand. The hand that gently touched his face just a few minutes ago. The hand that he loved to hold. The hand that saved him from the darkness he was drowning in when he first came here.