Prologue

"Trees table teacher case computer sound bite speaker window book dollar bag camera can soda chair box sex game wall door room rape..." A boy of about sixteen carelessly scribbled random words onto his paper, attempting to make it look as if he were doing something productive. But he could not focus. He had really only just woken up, and on the sidewalk no less. He wasn't sure what had happened to him the previous night, but his breath smelled of alcohol and mascara was trailing down his cheek accompanied by some blush which he was sure was not his.

His short, but messy jet black hair was going every which way, not brushed or combed as it usually was. His eyes, blue as cascading waters beneath the sapphire sky, were half shut and had purple rings beneath them. His ears were filled with the headphones of his mp3 player, which he never lost sight of. A carelessly constructed playlist was looping through for its third time already, having been going for almost an hour now.

There was an unexpected tapping at his shoulder. He removed the right speaker, and then looked to his right to see his English teacher, her blond hair pulled into a tight bun and her thick-rimmed glasses hiding her youthful face.

"Madoka, what are you doing?" Madoka blinked a few times, but did not answer the teacher. Instead, he backed his chair away a few centimeters, as if gesturing to her to read the paper.

The teacher snatched away the sheet, and looked it over. And then, before the young boy's eyes, she crumpled it into a ball, and dropped it on the floor. Before she could assign a detention or punishment, however, the bell rang. Maoka immediately rose and moved quickly towards the exit. It was only first period, and he was already completely exhausted. Deciding that there was nothing more for him here, he carefully managed to slip out of his hallway and past the crowds, and then through an empty classroom (to avoid the north wing hall monitor) and out that door, finally to the foyer. Checking to make sure that there was no one watching, he made a dash for the front entrance and gently lifted the door open before running out and into the morning rain.

Outside, Madoka took a deep breath, and then exhaled in relief. Gazing mindlessly into space, he stood still for about a minute, collecting his thoughts and deciding what to do or where to go now that he was out of the prison called school.

The only thing he could think of at the moment was to just go for a walk. The boy began his small journey, the makeup on his face running off as he did. Without a hat, his dark hair was quickly soaked, but he didn't mind. He preferred it that way. His black sweater and jeans were also quite wet within a few minutes, and he began to shiver.

And still, despite the fact that he was now very cold, he was enjoying himself. He always felt most calm, most serene, most inspired, most happy...in this sort of weather. There was just something about it, a quiet beauty or something that he loved.

The boy continued his walk, and soon a half hour had passed. He hadn't noticed though, he'd been completely zoned out, happy in his own little world. However, that peace was shattered when he suddenly heard a voice calling his name.

"Madoka! Madoka!" Madoka turned to the direction of the voice, and saw another boy slightly older than him across the street. Before Madoka could respond, the other boy was already crossing and had arrived at the other side.

"Do I know you?" Madoka asked in his calm, soothing voice.

"Don't you remember me?"

"Remember you? I've...never even met you." The other boy shook his head, however. Grabbing Madoka by the arm, he rolled up the boy's left sleeve and pointed to a scratch on his skin, still fresh and red. "W-what the hell!? What did you do!?"

"I didn't do that. You did."

"W-what?"

"Don't you remember? I put my hand there last night...to comfort you...and you tried to scratch me, but you missed, and only hurt yourself. Don't tell me that-"

"What the hell are you talking about!? Stay away from me!" Madoka did not hear another word, immediately breaking into a run down the wet sidewalk. He did not turn back to see if the man was following, instead only focusing on eluding him.

But before he knew it, he felt himself falling. His own feet slipping out from beneath him, and he could see himself about to land face first into the rocky pavement, and nothing could stop him.

But as quickly as it had happened, he felt two strong arms wrapped around his chest and pulling him up. Regaining his balance, Madoka closed his eyes. He suddenly had a blaring headache, and was unaware of his surroundings.

"What's...happening to me?" The teenaged boy grabbed onto the person who had saved him, now facing him, and opened his eyes to once again see the stranger from before. And then, unable to object, Madoka felt his lips pressed against those of the stranger.

"The only way you can remember...is if you want to."