The substantial high school was taller than any buildings in the lively, urban area. It was almost as though the school was located at the center of the world.

Hope's Peak Academy.

It brought in elite students from almost every sort of field imaginable. It was a government-funded school of absolute privilege.

Some people said that if you came to this school and graduated, you'd be set for life. Only the best could work here at this school, so consider yourself lucky if you even got to go inside of it. It was built to raise hope in the nation's future; which made Hope's Peak a suitable name.

In order to attend this refined school, you must have two things. Number one, you had to already be in high school. Number two, you must had been the very best at what you did. Not just any ordinary student could attend Hope's Peak Academy; the only way in was if you were selected by the school itself.

Standing there at the gate of an elite school filled with all sorts of astounding, ultimate students was me.

Here I was, only a step away from walking into the most famous school in the world. I sucked in a breath, running a hand through my pure white hair as I ignored the intimidation I felt from just staring at the school. Everything here felt incorrect. Standing here now felt...wrong.

Of course it was wrong.

When I reached my hand out to cross the other side of the gate, I felt as a searing pain began to eat away at me deep within my chest. It hurt to know that I was not allowed to cross this gate. What separated me from my dream was an invisible wall set up by my lack of talent.

As I retracted my hand, that burning pain was replaced with another pain. Pain caused by sorrow, pain caused by disappointment, a pain caused by I drew in a shaky breath and rested my hand on my chest. My fingers grazed past the black tie that was required by dress code, allowing me to notice it was loose around my neck.

Before I turned my back towards the gate leading to the main building of Hope's Peak Academy, I was sure to tighten my black tie, colour darker than a mysterious forest, and adjust it properly against my neck.

My loafers pounded against the concrete as I began to walk away. Dejection held heavy on my heart and I could feel it weighing me down. All I wanted was to be talented. All I wanted was to be special. I didn't want to be boring like this anymore, I would give anything to be anything other than that.

Everyday, looking into the mirror to see that boring monochrome uniform staring back at me was like a form of mockery. Having to walk past the building filled to the brim like an overflowing bucket of water with talented individuals was a subtle form of torture. Each day I was reminded of how stupid and talentless I was. My status as a reserve course student was like a cycle of abuse each day.

I couldn't bring myself to lift my eyes from the ground below me. It wouldn't make a difference anyway, my confidence was diminishing day by day and faking it was practically useless. It wouldn't make a difference if someone passing by perceived me as pathetic or admirable, I would be a talentless loser either way.

I halted upon noticing a shadow unmoving before me. My eyes slowly trailed up the dark, elongated figure casted onto the concrete, my eyes landing upon the source.

There stood a girl around the same age as I, a large, almost unsettling, smile stretched across her face to greet me. Her fluffy, pinkish-blonde hair was tied back into two large ponytails on each side of her head, little accessories placed neatly in each one. Her striking blue eyes bored into my grey ones and it made me almost uncomfortable. Slightly heavy make-up caked her face, but it wasn't enough to be too obvious. I could only really notice when I stared at her long enough.

Behind her stood another girl around the same height as her. This girl looked underdressed compared to the girl in front of her. This girl had neatly combed black hair with a slightly different shade of eye colour than the other girl. This girl wore no make-up, but had many natural freckles scattered along the bridge of her nose. The two shared strikingly similar features despite their obvious differences, so I had assumed they were both related.

I brushed a few strands of my white hair away from my face as I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Can I help you?"

The flashier girl laughed obnoxiously before answering. "Yeah, of course you can! I need your help, like, big time!! But first of all, I have a question for you."

The flashy girl walked a bit closer to me. Her glare became significantly more intense within a second. It reminded me of how a predator's gaze changes upon setting sights on its prey. I leaned away as the girl leaned in closer to me. Those scary blue eyes were almost as intimidating as the large, mocking building that stood behind us.

The girl noticed the way my expression had changed. She giggled upon seeing my eyes slightly widen and my lips part slightly. My gaze briefly flashed to the other girl behind her, but she had no change in her stoic expression. She simply glared at me.

"Listen, I have a deal for you, m'kay?" The flashy girl captured my attention again. "You're gonna help me out with something I need, and I'll make you into something great. Someone full of talent. Someone people will praise and admire for their amazing capabilities... Don't you, a talentless loser, want to be that someone?"

The flashy girl lifted a finger to her lips, tapping her red acrylic nail against her pouted bottom lip.

"Well, what do you say, ?"

I awoke with a jolt and a chill rushing through my sweaty, trembling body. I felt like I was suffocating from how tight my chest felt; It was as though someone had stacked a ton of bricks on top of my chest. A dizzy rush was pumping through my head as I struggled to gain focus in the complete darkness of the room I was currently in.

Panic coursed through my veins as I was reminded of how worthless and pathetic I used to be. Nothing but a talentless loser. I promised myself I would never, ever be like that again, but even just a reminder of that was enough to scare me. What would (Y/n) think of me if she saw me like that?

(Y/n).

In the state of blind panic, I didn't even notice the girl sleeping beside me. I shuffled closer to (Y/n) and snuggled my face into her neck. Taking a deep breath in, a wave of calmness flooded out the previous panic that felt like it was going to drive me crazier than I already was.

(Y/n), (Y/n), (Y/n), (Y/n). So beautiful, so amazing, so strikingly despairing, yet hopeful. (Y/n), an anchor in the endless sea of despair I was forced to continue sailing. Would that anchor suddenly snap away from its chain if it found out what secrets really lay within the boat? Or would that anchor remain strong as ever, staying by the boat's side no matter what?

Whatever the outcome may be, it was too great of a risk to take.

I reached my hand up to cup (Y/n)'s face, caressing her cheek with my thumb. Her face was like no other creature, more beautiful than anything else I've ever seen in my lifetime. I adored that vulnerability she unmasked whenever she was asleep. It was something you could never truly see when she was awake. For whenever (Y/n) was awake, she acted. She acted as though she wasn't scared deep down. She acted as though she wasn't slowly being eaten away by the despair that used to keep her up at night for hours and hours on end, leaving her yowling at the moon and praying to whatever God would listen, pleading for freedom from the despair deep down within her.

Whenever she was awake, she held a mask to her face, a mask invisible to others. That mask hid the fear, the yearning, the imprisonment, the despair. Whenever she slept, the mask would crack and crumble, revealing the true (Y/n) beneath it all. But whenever she awoke, that mask would rebuilt itself in an instant. Sometimes I feared that the mask would someday mold into her face, trapping her within the same despair she feared and battled every day.

My eyes wandered away from her face and to the watch attached to my wrist. I squinted to read the small, red numbering displaying the time. Perhaps I could spare a few more minutes sleeping beside my beloved, but alas, my heart shattered like clay being dropped to the ground upon seeing what time it was.

Nighttime was coming to an end, and once again, it was time for me to go.