(A/N: Content Warning: This chapter contains depictions of bullying, emotional trauma, and a sudden death involving a young character.
Just like the last Zafkiel chapter, I'll post a synopsis at the end. Most of it isn't as heavy as the first Zafkiel chapter, but the last bit is. When Mikayla starts the race with David, you can just skip to the end.
Thanks...)
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The black-haired girl continued watching David's life in silence, her heart finding new ways to break every time she witnessed what David had to go through.
When David was 10 years old, he started to find interest in girls outside of his family.
He figured they must be different from the people at home and might offer some type of comfort.
One day in class, he noticed the girl next to him was struggling with her homework which was due that day.
"Um... Dionne, do you want some help with your homework?" David asked sheepishly.
The cute blonde girl, Dionne, looked over and noticed who was talking to her.
She smiled a sweet smile and asked, "Are you sure? You must be busy with your own work, right?"
David just smiled and shook his head, "No, it's alright. I can do it fast after I help you."
He moved his desk up against Dionne's and helped her with her homework.
Well, 'helped' would be the incorrect word here. He ended up doing it all for her.
He made some jokes during the time he was doing her homework to try and make himself seem like a friendly person.
Dionne laughed at his jokes and would occasionally call him 'sweet' or 'hilarious'.
For two months, David found solace in Dionne's presence as he did all of her homework for her and made her laugh.
It wasn't until he was late to class one day that he overheard Dionne and her two friends talking with each other outside of the classroom.
"Where's your dog? He doesn't seem to be coming today, haha! Who are you going to get to do your homework, now, Dionne?"
Dionne clicked her tongue in response, "Tch. That loser picked the worst day to miss class. Ew, I can't believe he actually thinks I like him. Whatever. As long as he keeps doing my homework, I don't care."
"Hahaha! How long do you think it'll be before he says to your face that he likes you?"
"Who cares? I'll just tell him that we're too young for things like that and keep making him do my homework. It's so damn annoying seeing those stupid puppy dog eyes all the time. The only use he has is doing my homework."
When David heard that, he felt his face get hot and his heart felt heavy.
"Ah... I see..."
That was all David mumbled to himself before hiding and waiting for the girls to leave, afraid they would see him and say those things to his face.
When David was 12, he somewhat forgot about Dionne and what she had said about him.
He was in a new school and while he was still being bullied daily, he was used to it so it didn't really bother him that much anymore.
There was one girl, however, who would stick up for him and take him to the nurse's office whenever he would get beaten too badly.
"You need to learn to stand up for yourself, David."
David laughed at the brown-haired girl's remark, "Haha, thank you, Emily. I'm fine though, this is normal for me wherever I go."
The girl, Emily, just shook her head.
"It's not normal. It's cruel and you shouldn't have to deal with it."
David felt a genuine warmth in his heart he hadn't felt before.
He wondered if this feeling was love and if it was alright for such a pretty girl to like someone like him.
"David, I've wanted to say something for a long time, but I could never find the courage to do it, so I'll say it now. I'm in love with you and want you to be my boyfriend. Please?"
Emily looked at David with a sweet expression and sounded very genuine when she asked him out.
David's face blushed and he froze, completely lost in his own happiness.
"Yes! I will be your boyfriend, Emily!"
Emily jumped in joy and clapped her hands. "Yay! We should walk home together after school so we can talk more!"
David nodded and agreed, excited to walk home with someone for the first time in his life--a girl at that.
After school, David and Emily met in front of the entrance of the building and started walking to Emily's house.
Halfway there, a boy and a few of his friends stepped in front of David and Emily and glared at David.
"Emily, who the hell is this guy?" The boy asked.
"Dalton, this is my boyfriend, David. I don't want to be your girlfriend so leave me alone!"
David, sensing the familiar hostile aura radiating off of Dalton and his friends, prepared himself for a fight.
"Boyfriend? You chose this guy over me?!"
Emily hid behind David, looking scared.
"Hiiieee! Leave me alone! David is a much nicer person than you!"
David started feeling angry at Dalton for scaring his new girlfriend.
"She told you to leave her alone, Dalton. Take your friends and leave, then don't talk to her ever again. She's my girlfriend now," David said with a trembling voice.
David swallowed his fear and tried to act tough, but he knew better than anyone that he was just a weak boy with a limp in his right leg and a slightly disfigured face.
Dalton stepped up to David with his friends behind him, forming a semi-circle around David and Emily.
"What will you do if I don't wanna leave, huh?"
David clenched his fist and didn't say anything else, getting ready for what was about to come.
After a few seconds of staring, they all rushed toward David.
Dalton's friends grabbed David by the arms and legs, holding him down on the ground, while Dalton mounted on top of him and started beating David's face in.
After two minutes of getting beaten, Emily finally screamed and threatened to call the police.
"Dalton! I don't want to see you ever again! The next time I see you, I'm calling the cops on you for what you just did!"
"Tch..."
Dalton got up off of David's beaten and bloody figure before kicking him in the head for good measure and leaving with his friends.
David was still conscious, but he was in severe pain.
He slowly dragged his body up and when he was standing again, he hobbled over to Emily.
"I'm sorry, Emily. I couldn't fight back... At least with this, Dalton won't bother you again."
Emily looked at David with a weird look that he couldn't register and nodded her head.
"Yeah, you've served your purpose. Don't bother talking to me at school again, thanks."
David was confused and couldn't comprehend what he was hearing.
"Huh? What do you mean, Emily? Why wouldn't I talk to you at school? Aren't you my girlfriend?"
Emily's face changed to one of disgust. "Girlfriend?! Don't you dare call me that! It makes me sick just thinking about it! Who would want to date a creep like you? I just needed you to deal with Dalton and get him out of my hair, that's it! To think you actually believed me, how pathetic."
She spat on the ground in disdain before continuing on her walk home.
David didn't move. His heart felt heavier than ever.
Yet still, David never learned his lesson.
At age 14, David had started working for the neighborhood gangs, acting as a lookout and a mule.
He didn't earn much money from it, but it was enough when added on to the money that he'd steal from some of the rich-looking people that passed through the nearby area.
No matter which school he went to, he tried to find solace in the cruel concept called a relationship.
He tried to act more confident, yet his kind side always pierced through his façade.
There were a few girls who accepted his request to be in a relationship, but they all ended up in similar ways.
One girl allowed him to hold her hand, but only after he bought her the makeup she wanted. David happily complied and spent over $1,000 on her.
He was going to her house to give her another present, but he ended up walking in on her having sex with a member of his gang.
Another girl was the same way, she only allowed David to hug her if he bought her clothes she wanted. Instead of being secretive about things, she was making out with David's lab partner in the middle of school.
Whenever David would confront the girls about it, the guys they were cheating with would always beat the shit out of David and leave words that stabbed his heart like, "Thanks for the presents, cripple." or "You thought you would get anywhere acting like a bitch? I'm being kind enough to teach you a lesson here, shouldn't you pay me a private tutoring fee?"
But no matter how many times this repeated itself, David would continue trying to find someone to give him the love that he so desperately desires.
"Haha... It seems my luck isn't so great with girls. Oh well, I'm sure things will turn out eventually..."
The black-haired girl watching between the fabrics of reality was making herself crazy.
"Those bitches! Those absolute bitches!!! AHHH!!! I'LL REMEMBER EACH OF YOU!"
And she did, she remembered where each girl lived at what time and had plans for all of them.
It wasn't until David was 16 years old that he found a girl that was truly good.
Her name was Mikayla and she lived in a group home that was near David's apartment at that time.
David was walking home from school one day and came across a girl that looked the same age as him who was digging through the trash, looking for something to eat.
He walked up to her and gave her a smile. "Hello. Do you want to come to my place and eat some noodles before my parents get home?"
The girl looked at David warily for a few seconds before realizing that he had no ill intentions.
"Yes," she said, excited to eat food that wouldn't be stolen by the other kids.
David brought her into his apartment and started cooking instant noodles.
They didn't talk the entire time and just ate noodles in silence.
It was strange, but it was a peaceful silence. They weren't being abused and were just eating food with someone without ulterior motives.
After eating, the girl said a simple, "Thank you," before leaving David's apartment and going back to where she came from.
This continued every day for two months, eating in serene silence before David finally broke the silence one day.
"My name is David Star, what's your name?"
The girl smiled. "My name is Mikayla, no last name."
David tilted his head, "Oh. I didn't know people could have no last names?"
Mikayla just shook her head, "I don't have a family or any record of my birth. The first place I was at just called me Mikayla and that's what I've been going by. People don't care enough about me to give me an identity so I've never really thought too much about it."
David stirred the noodles for the day while they were talking.
"What about taking Star as your last name? I mean, you don't have one anyway and it probably fits you better than it does me, haha. Your bright blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes look as beautiful as the starry night skies."
David didn't mean to say such a cheesy line, but it just came out.
Mikayla blushed and looked down at the table she was sitting at.
"Mm... Okay, I'll be Mikayla Star. I know I say it every day, but thank you for making me noodles all the time, David. This is always my favorite part of the day. It's peaceful; there's no hitting or yelling..."
"Yeah... I know what you mean. I feel the same way. If my parents didn't come home so early, I'd have liked you to stay longer each day, but they're not exactly good people so it would only put you in danger, haha..."
For the next seven months, David and Mikayla Star would spend every day eating instant noodles and making small talk, growing much closer through shared traumas.
On October 31st, 2001, it was David's 17th birthday. Mikayla had saved up some money she had been stealing and wanted to take David to the convenience store to buy him some snacks for his birthday.
"Mikayla, you really don't need to spend your money on me," David tried to persuade her.
"No, it's okay. I've been saving up for this ever since you told me when your birthday was. Let me give you something today as a thanks for everything you've done for me over this past year."
David just smiled wryly, "Haaa, alright. But only this one time, deal?"
Mikayla giggled, "Heheh, we'll see what happens in the future. Let's race to the convenience store and whoever's first gets to pick the snacks."
"Hmm, I like your style, Ms. Star."
Mikayla smiled a sweet smile as she remembered the day that David gave her the last name 'Star'.
"Alright. We'll go in 3... 2... 1... Go!"
Mikayla darted off early before she said 'Go', but David didn't mind. He knew she would win anyway because he couldn't run very well due to his right leg being partially numb.
However, David truly wished he could've stopped Mikayla from leaving when she did.
David was smiling when he saw the happy and excited expression on Mikayla's face. She was clearly looking forward to choosing what snacks to buy for David's birthday.
Unfortunately, that never happened.
A rich young man had been drinking heavily earlier that day and he thought it would be a fun idea to take his dad's car out for a joy ride.
As soon as Mikayla stepped off the sidewalk, the young man ran the red light and plowed straight into Mikayla.
Her body was flung into the sky and she couldn't even let out a scream. After two seconds, her body hit the ground and made a sickening wet and hollow thud.
David reached her side in seconds that felt like hours.
Her limbs and neck were twisted. Her eyes were open but distant. The smile she wore a second ago was gone, replaced by a warped expression he'll never forget.
The drunk young man hadn't bothered to stop for more than a second before he sped off.
David was stunned...
He couldn't process what had just happened.
The only person that had been kind to him from the start, the only girl he even thought about falling in love with, the only friend he ever had...
Dead, just like that, because she wanted to do something for him on his birthday.
David fell to his knees, his mind exploding with various thoughts.
'Is it my fault? Should I just kill myself, too? Should I find the driver and kill him? What if I never told her about my birthday? What if I insisted on not racing? What... should I do?'
David stayed at the scene of Mikayla's murder for the entire night.
When the cops arrived, he just sat there with tears flowing down his face.
When the ambulance arrived, his vision had gone dark and he was trapped in his own mind.
When his father arrived and dragged him back home, the only thought he had was, 'Please beat me so hard that I finally die today.'
Unfortunately, David survived that night and woke up the next morning even more broken than he has ever been before.
To make things worse, the young man who murdered Mikayla got a slap on the wrist due to his rich father hiring an expensive lawyer and Mikayla being an unimportant orphan.
From that point on, he tried his hardest to control himself from falling in love with other women because even if he finds someone who is genuinely good, they'll just get taken from him in the end.
The black-haired girl was on her knees crying her eyes out, just like David.
She quite liked Mikayla. She was the only person who was kind to David and that moved the black-haired girl to tears.
"You, too... I'll save you, too, Mikayla..."
She wanted Mikayla to be her sister in David's family and made another mental note on her time and place of death.
"Thirteen more years... I hope this was the worst of it..." The black-haired girl said, preparing herself for the next chapter in David's story.
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(A/N: Alright, here's the AI-generated synopsis for those that skipped the chapter.
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"Zafkiel II - Roses Have Poisonous Thorns" Synopsis:
Continuing her journey through David's past, the black-haired girl witnesses the slow, painful unraveling of his teenage years. What began as childhood abuse festers into something just as cruel—a cycle of betrayal, heartbreak, and loneliness that never lets up.
David tries again and again to find love and comfort. But every girl he opens up to only uses him, mocks him, and breaks his trust. Dionne sets the pattern: flirt, get what she wants, then vanish. Emily pretends to care, only to leave him humiliated and betrayed. And the worst part? He keeps hoping. He keeps forgiving. He keeps believing someone will stay.
When David meets Mikayla, it finally seems like things might change. She's sweet. She's honest. She's as damaged as he is. And for a while… they're happy. The black-haired girl watching almost dares to believe it's over—that maybe, just maybe, he's going to be okay.
But peace doesn't last. Mikayla dies on David's birthday as they're going to buy snacks to celebrate. And with her death, David is shattered beyond recognition.
The black-haired girl falls to her knees, overwhelmed by helplessness and grief. Watching the boy she loves be broken again and again, all she can do is solidify her resolve:
She has to save him.
Before it's too late.