Narrarator POV

Feliciano never even felt it anymore. He'd been cutting himself since he was 11; he was 18 now. He knew he had to stop, but he just couldn't. It was so normal to him now. He still remembered the first day he cut. It was his 11th birthday…

"Feli, come here! I want to give you your gift!" Francis said. Francis Feliciano's older 'brother'. They weren't really brothers, but Feli still called him that.

"What is it, big brother?" he asked excitedly.

"It's a paint set! I know how much you love art!"

"Thank you! I love it!" 'I wonder if anyone else will give me a gift…' he thought.

He waited all day for someone, anyone to come wish him Happy Birthday, but no one did. Not even nonno or fratello. So, he cried. And cried. And cried. Then, he thought of something that Romano, his biological older brother did to relieve his pain. He had seen Romano do it when Romano was 11 and he was only 7. He hadn't understood why he had a razor in his hand or why he was bleeding, but he did now. So, he cut himself. It stung a little, but he continued until he had 11 cuts on each arm. And he did the same thing every night for 7 years, except it was one cut each night, unless it was his birthday.

On his 12th birthday, he did 12 cuts on each arm. On his 13th, he did 13. And so on, until his 18th birthday.

That was today. He decided to just 9 on each arm, because he was actually starting to feel better. Just a little. On the 9th cut on his last arm, he accidentally hit an important artery, and he passed out from the blood loss.

Ludwig's POV

"Hey, Gilbert, I'm going to Feliciano's house for his birthday! Try not to burn the house down while I'm gone!" he yelled.

He was about to step out the front door when he heard his older brother's voice. "Oh, so you're going to see your boyfriend, huh?"

Ludwig blushed. "He's not my boyfriend!"

He had told Gilbert about his secret crush about a month back. Oh, how he regretted that.

"Kesesese~ At least tell him how you feel today! He probably has a crush on you, too! I've seen how he clings to you!"

He didn't even respond this time. He knew there was no point. So, he left.

0OoOoOoOoOoOoO0

When he got to Feliciano's house, he just went in, knowing his friend left the door unlocked and was probably taking his daily siesta. So, he went in, and went straight up to his room. When he entered the room, he noticed he wasn't there. 'Odd' he thought. 'He's normally asleep right now. Maybe he woke up early or something.'

"Feliciano? It's Ludwig! Where are you?" He suddenly heard a crash coming from the bathroom. Abandoning all logic, he busted in. What he saw was unexpected; a pool of blood coming from his friend's arm, and said friend unconscious, razor in hand. He stood there shocked for a moment, before the sound of knocking jolted him into reality. He located where the knocking was coming from, and raced to the front door.

"Hey, Ludwig, I guess Feli's home since you're he-"

"Elizaveta, no time to explain, but I need you to call an ambulance! Feli is in the bathroom laying in a pool of his own blood! Hurry!"

She widened her eyes in shock, and pulled out her cell. Ludwig raced up the stairs and picked Feliciano up, taking him into the living room.

"I called the ambulance, they will be here any minute now. What happened?"

Ludwig explained what happened, very rapidly, but still understandable. "I think he's been cutting himself." He added. "I wonder for how long. We could have helped him!"

"I know. See those cuts on the tops of his arms? 11 on each arm; it symbolizes his 11th birthday. He first cut himself that day. I came over soon after it happened to wish him Happy Birthday, and I saw them and made him promise to stop. I don't know if he did or not, but by the looks of it, I don't think he did."

This shocked Ludwig. He had no idea. Then again, he didn't think anyone else but Elizaveta knew.

"…Does anyone else know?"

"I don't think so. He made me promise not to tell anyone and I did because I honestly thought he would keep up to his promise."

The ambulance pulled up as she said that, and Ludwig brought him out to the ambulance, bridal style.

"Let me come with him." I said. "Please. He's my best friend."

"I can't let you on if you're not family." The medic said with an apologetic look in her eyes.

Elizaveta brought out a frying pan from thin air and said, "Let the two of us on that ambulance or you get to meet my friend here."

The medic gladly let us on after that.