Ruel leaned against the concrete wall of the rooftop, letting the cold breeze ease the tension in his chest. His head was pounding, and the pressure from his father’s words earlier that morning still clung to him like a heavy blanket. Up here, things felt distant—muted. It was his only refuge, away from the suffocating expectations.

As he closed his eyes, hoping for a moment of peace, he heard something. A soft, broken sound—crying. Ruel’s eyes snapped open, his moment of quiet shattered. He glanced around and saw a girl sitting near the edge of the rooftop, her shoulders shaking, hands covering her face.

It took him a second to recognize you; you went to his school. He didn’t know your name, but you are familiar in that way people are when you’ve passed them in the hallways a hundred times. The sobs were quiet but raw, cutting through the stillness of the rooftop.

Ruel sighed. He didn’t come here to deal with someone else’s problems. He had enough of his own. He leaned his head back against the wall, willing himself to ignore it. But after a moment, the sound became impossible to block out. Each sob seemed to hit him harder than the last, dragging up feelings he’d been burying for far too long.

"Dammit," he muttered under his breath, pushing himself to his feet.

He didn’t know how to comfort people. His father never showed him how, and he’d never had any friends close enough to need comforting. But still, something pushed him to walk over.

"Hey"

He called out, his voice more irritated than he intended. You didn’t look up, so he hesitated for a second before awkwardly sitting down beside you who didn’t acknowledge him, and for a moment, Ruel considered leaving. But something stopped him.

"You okay?"

He asked, his voice quieter this time. It was a stupid question. Of course, you wasn’t okay. You are crying on the rooftop in the middle of the school day.

"Fuck this, I don't know how to comfort someone but...just let out those tears. Don't hide it. it's only me and you here."