The rain that day was heavy, as its pitter patter, splashed upon the clean windows in merciless intent, each droplet falling down the glass in earnest as it combined with other droplets to quickly slide towards the ground. Brown eyes stared lazily out of the lone window placed within the room, and the boy drew circles on the weathered down wood of his bed post so that he could entertain himself in some way. He was alone in the dull room, as he always was with the way his parents worked, and yet he didn't seem to really care as the child was accustomed to being left alone, and his parents did not have enough forethought or money to send him anywhere with other children, despite the fact that it seemed as though they were surrounded by riches and greed.

In an instant, he moved his eyes away from the bed and placed his attention towards the cracked ceiling, scowling somewhat as his gaze reached the wallpaper that was slowly but surely peeling off of the surface with each passing day that he took the time to stare at it. He was not permitted to go outside, although it wasn't like he'd have a reason to go out to begin with, as he was not the best in social situations and his house was on top of a secluded hill. It was a spectacle for all to see and stare at with its intimidating exterior that started with a large closed gate, riddled with spikes upon the top , and ended with another gate; its entirety seeming to resemble nothing but a jail of sorts for the boy who was lost within the boredom of the day.

The clock ticked, again and again, and with each passing moment the boy's eyes grew heavy as sleep inched into his nerves, causing his head to droop to the point where his brown hair covered the brown palette of his iris and the deep black of his pupils, but just when he found that the world was fading to black, there was a distinct noise that came from his window.

 It was a tap too loud to be accidental and too distinct to ignore, and just like that, his head shot up and goosebumps arose upon his skin like fire in a dry forest. He knew who it was before he even got up from his pitiful state, and the excitement that the boy felt was that of the same comparison as receiving a present or going on that special roller coaster ride that could be ridden a million times and would never get boring. It was him.

The blond haired beauty that reeked of elegance and status, of self-centered wants and yet the fierceness of an animal who knew how to survive in the jungle that was life without a scratch. He was the only one that he could talk to and not feel, well--alone. The boy jumped out of his bed, universal features wincing as he limped to the window with a quickness that he should not have exercised due to his condition. He peered out of the window and opened it, small frame having to rely on the bars that riddled the window as a form of barrier for support so that he could peer from the opening to stare down from his second floor status. He smiled at the sight, and the sight smiled back almost instantaneously, before plump lips opened up to yell from the world below.

"Come down, I have a surprise for you!"

"You know I cannot do that..." As opposed to the blond whom was loud and without a care in the world, the boy on the second floor was quiet and shy, skin an unhealthy color and strength never enough to seem desirable to anyone except for the people within the air that whispered sweet nothings to him at night. "Besides, he locked my door.... I can't get out..."

The blond shook his head from side to side, his long hair shaking with him as a frown appeared on his features that made him look older than what he really was. He began to tap his foot along the stone of the ground and with a tone that could only be practiced, he cleared his throat and began again. "Jump out of the window then! I can catch you."

"Oh, bother! Like how you caught me last time?!" His voice had raised slightly due to the suggestion as Nikolai had been the reason for the bars to be placed in the first place, and it was not an uncommon thing to hear of his own supposed madness in the hallways of his home due to the fact that Nikolai had abandoned him shortly after jumping, his own screams being the only thing to have helped him from an ankle that had broken into tiny pieces from the fall.

"I don't recall that event..."

"Well, I do recall that event! Do you know what they tell me? They tell me that I'm mad! That there is no such thing as someone named Nikolai, that I need to go to a sanatorium!"

"A sanatorium?"

The boys voice had become rather breathy and desperate, as if he were trying to get everything out before the inevitable came, but it was too late as the tears came, erupting from his eyes like a waterfall newly unleashed into a dried river of confusion. "Yes.. a sanatorium..."

Nikolai's green eyes grew wide with shock, tears forming in his eyes as if he were nothing but a mirror image of the boy on the second floor. "How could they say that to you?! We've known each other since we were little kids, why is my existence ignored? Why... why do they ignore me?"

The boy sobbed, choosing to stare at a cat that was peering up at him with animal-like curiosity. "I.. I don't know... I just know that I can't take much more of this... they lock me in here hours on end, I feel as though I am a prisoner... I feel as though I could claw my way out with the walls..I'm..." There was a change within his despair, but it was not one to celebrate over, as it marked only the beginning of a long delusion. "... Niki..."

The boy radiating beauty and selfish desire looked up, eyes wet but no longer pouring down the tears that sadness made, as he heard the other call him by such a fond nickname that it made the corner of his lips inch upwards into a sad smile. "Yes..?"

"Let's run away.... help me undo the top hinge to the bars...I will not be in a prison such as this any longer."

"But wait!.." But it was too late, as the madness swept the boy on the second floor up like a plague, and soon enough the careful grip on the bars turned into violent shaking as the boy tried desperately to undo the hinges of the makeshift bars. He wanted to be free, and this sudden change in behavior was all but normal when he had not been sedated within the time span that he was suppose to. He shook and shook and upon pushing hard enough on the bars, the hinge unlocked and fell backwards, making the heavy steel ring upon making contact with the brick and cement exterior of the house.

The sound signified many things; one was the panic of his caretaker, who had been too busy flirting with the materialistic things in his house to pay attention to him until that moment, and the other factor was doubt. He had opened the bars, but should he run away? Should he face the darkness that the world had to offer, or should he accept the consequences of his current actions before they got worse?

There was a cool breeze that shifted through his brown hair before he heard a banging on the door and the desperate jingle of key's.

"Young master!"

There were maggots and flies seeping through whatever crack in the door that he had, and this was something of the regular. If that man was around then flies and maggots came with him, and every time that his grimy claws reached over to stroke the boys hair, or touch his shoulder, the brown haired boy's skin felt as though it had broken out into hives. He could hear Nikolai screaming for him to jump before the Lord of the Flies came in, but for some reason he couldn't move, as fear was overtaking him. The door shook from the impact, he didn't know what to do, but when the door swung open with a loud bang, the man walked in, eyes blacker than his night as the flies began to swarm in. They riddled themselves within the boys hair, flying every which way in a mass as the man stepped closer and closer. He was saying something but each time he opened his foul mouth more flies flew out and surrounded the room.

"Jump! Please, Jump! He's going to get you!"

It was Nikolai's voice that he heard throughout the buzzing of the millions of flies, and it seemed as though throughout the fear, the boy found his strength, and he found his speed, and with a few desperate strides he pulled himself up on the window sill and fell backwards into the night, right before a claw could grab onto his ankle. There was a roar from his window as the man spread more flies out into the air, and as the boy fell, he felt at ease as the wind whipped past him. The flies were dissipating into the air and there was Nikolai down below, arms awaiting for his friend to fall into his embrace, but that warm feeling never came. All it took was a blink, and then Nikolai was gone, and upon making contact with the ground there was an awful crack as the boy's head became one with not a gentle embrace, but more so the cold solid stone. His arms were not held by his friend, but instead lay sprawled out and disconnected from within as his body experienced a numbness far more painful than death. His head felt warm, but he blinked twice before color turned into monochrome, and monochrome to blur, the last object in his line of vision being the small cat staring at him in worry.