Prologue

The day started, as usual, Aren woke up to greet the morning sun that was peeking through a little slit made by the curtains on the window. He sat up from his bed and started to stretch.

*Stretch* *Stretch* "Another good morning," he said as he then went out of bed and went to the bathroom to relieve himself and brush his teeth.

Then after 10 min in the bathroom, he went back to his room and changed to go out on his usual morning run. He wore a white shirt and black joggers that outlined his well-defined physique. Then Aren went into the kitchen and noticed that his best friend was awake. His best friend was a male Chocolate point Siamese cat, Skylar.

"Good morning Skylar!" he said with an excited tone as Skylar approached him and started to wind around his leg signaling him for food.

He petted him and opened a cabinet where he stored Skylar's food and as he opened the cat food, Skylar stood on his hind legs while his front paws were bent down. Aren saw this and thought, "damn I wish I had a camera, this cat is so cuutttteeeee!"

Once he finished feeding his cat and making himself some breakfast, he went on his run which was 6 miles. He decided to listen to motivational music while he went on his run.

As he came back an hour later to his house, a woman noticed him from the other side of the street through a window of a house.

"That man is so handsome," said a woman as she saw him run by.

"Oh, yeah, that's Aren. He runs every day. He's my neighbor," said an elder woman.

"Do you know if he's single?" asked the woman with a curious tone.

"I believe he is out of your league, Daisy," said the elder woman.

"How would you know grandma!?" yelled Daisy with furrowed eyebrows.

Daisy continued arguing with her grandma saying that she could get Aren to go out with her. However, her grandma told her that she had been with enough men already ever since high school which then started a long argument that lasted an hour. In the meantime, Aren arrived at his home.

Aren went inside his house and took his shirt off covered in sweat and took a shower. After that, he went to his homemade studio to work on some music projects he had to finish and once he was done, an hour had passed.

He went into the kitchen and was about to make something to eat when he received a call...

*Ring* *Ring*

[Mrs. Linda]

*Picks up*

"Hey, Mrs. Linda how are you?"

"Hi Aren, I'm fine, how are you?"

"I'm good, what's up?"

"I would like a favor from you, but I would like to speak face to face is that alright?"

"Sure thing Mrs. Linda, I'll be right over."

"Thank you. Also, you don't have to be so formal just Linda would do."

"Alright...Linda," said Aren with a chuckle.

"Much better. We'll be waiting, bye," said Linda and hung up.

"Wait Lin-" he didn't get to finish when she hung up.

"What did she mean by 'we'll' be waiting and I believe I heard someone in the background, maybe it's just me..." said Aren, as he put his phone in his pocket and headed towards the door and walked outside and started walking towards the other side of the street.

Meanwhile in Linda's house...

"So...what did he say?" asked Daisy as she saw her grandma put her phone down.

"He said he'll be here in a moment. I'm warning you right now you better not be mad if he says no," said Linda in a serious tone while she looked at her with furrowed eyebrows.

"Yeah, yeah," she said as she waved at her grandma.

*Ding Dong*

"Oh, he's here," said Linda as she went to open the door.

When she opened the door she saw a 6"2(188 cm) man standing there with long wavy brown hair and a well-toned physique that could be seen from his shirt. As Linda saw him she was always mesmerized every time she saw him up close. She looked into his blue eyes and told him to come in and have a seat on the sofa.

He sat down and waited for her to come and talk to him, but to his surprise, a young woman came and sat down next to him. She was pretty, but Aren wasn't bothered by her because he didn't know her and he was used to seeing beautiful women. Linda came and took a seat across from them and spoke...

"Ahem...Aren, would you like to go out with my granddaughter? She is the one next to you," Linda said.

"Huh?? Wait, what!" said Aren with a shocked expression.

"Yes, would you do me the favor of going out with my granddaughter?" asked Linda as she chuckled and then put on an innocent smile.

"I don't even know her," he said.

Before Linda could respond the woman beside him said in an eager tone, "Hi, my name is Daisy nice to meet you," and then stuck her hand out.

He turned to his left and responded, "Ummm, yeah...my name is Aren. Nice to meet you, "and shook her hand.

Suddenly, inside Aren, memories he once thought he had left in the past resurfaced, horrific memories of him being bullied over and over again. He then recognized the woman sitting beside him. Someone who tormented him after she rejected him...

"You wouldn't happen to be Daisy Bloom right...also known as the 'Good Daisy...'" he said curiously.

Linda just kept watching their interaction in front of her until the words 'Good Daisy'" hit her.

"Aren, what do you mean by 'Good Daisy?'" she asked.

"Huh?...oh, yeah, there used to be this girl back at my high school where almost every guy called her that because they had slept with her," he said as he looked at her.

Linda then faced daisy and asked in a curious tone, "That wouldn't happen to be you right, Daisy Bloom?"

"So it is you..." said Aren, as he looked back at Daisy.

"I uh-" Daisy was about to answer when he intervened.

"I would've never thought to see you again after all these years, Daisy," said Aren.

Daisy noticed a little frustration in his voice and then asked, "Who are you?"

Aren couldn't believe she didn't recognize him, but he just shook that thought away because it had been 8 years since high school and he wasn't popular at that time.

"It's me, Aren Green. Also known as 'Toothpick, Book worm, Poindexter, Midget, or Trash can'" he said.

Linda's eyes opened and said, "She called you all those horrible names? Why?"

He turned towards her and explained why he was called all those names back in high school and how he felt. First, he started with "toothpick" because it was the easiest to explain to which he said that he was really skinny back then. He followed that with "Book worm" because he liked to read a lot and everyone always saw him reading a book. Everyone called him "Poindexter" because he was a smart kid that wore glasses and looked like a true nerd. Next was "Midget" and as the name suggested he was called that because he was really short back then around 5 feet flat (152 cm). As for "Trash can," almost every day in the morning, he would come to class and set his backpack behind him like all the other students but they would steal it and put their trash in it such as empty chip bags, gum wrappers that would sometimes have the gum stuck to it, and empty milk cartons from morning breakfast.

"That reminds me, Mrs. Linda, your granddaughter here had a special name for me...hmm, what was it...?" he said as he rubbed his beard with his hand. Then he said, "Oh, now I remember, it was 'Virgin boy,'" he said enthusiastically.

Daisy had been listening to every word he said as he explained why he was called those names and how he felt. Her grandma was about to speak but she cut her off and said, "That's all in the past...right? I mean look at you....you overcame those things right? Besides, we were just kids and we didn't know any better-"

She was cut off by Aren, as he turned towards her and said, "Yeah, we were kids, but I'm pretty sure you guys knew what you were doing. Also, don't just say those things like it doesn't matter because it does or it did anyway."

He pointed at her while still starring directly at her eyes and said, "You're nothing more than a slut and a selfish creature. However, I still forgive you and the other guys because you guys helped me push myself to evolve as a person, as a human being overall."

Then he turned to Linda and apologized for calling her granddaughter a slut, but that she deserved it because she had caused him a lot of pain. He also went on to explain how he asked her out one day before she became a slut, but she rejected him for being "The ugliest creature she had met" and because he was short and full of acne.

When he finished Linda said, "No, I do agree with you. She is a slut. However, I am partially guilty for not instructing her the correct way."

She went on to explain that Daisy's mother had died in a car accident when she was a baby and then her dad had remarried to a woman who only wanted his money. She had taught Daisy that the only way to get wealthy was to marry wealthy men. Linda told him that she wasn't around to teach Daisy the correct way. In the end, she shed tears remembering the past which led Aren to comfort her by hugging her.

All Daisy could do was just watch and listen. She felt jealous that Aren hugged her grandma, but couldn't help it. She felt a little sad as her grandma explained the past. Nevertheless, she still wanted to go out with and sleep with Aren at least once, if not, at least receive a hug from the Adonis in front of her.

Linda interrupted her thoughts and teased her as she said, "I can't believe you didn't go out with someone like him back then, even if he was ugly. You really lost an Adonis 'Good Daisy'"

"Doesn't-" Daisy was about to speak but was interrupted by Aren.

"Ahem, ahem....anyways, Linda....was this the favor you were going to ask me?

"Oh no...I was going to ask you to give me another massage like-" Linda was interrupted by Daisy.

"GRANDMA!" yelled Daisy.

"What Daisy? I was going to ask him if he could massage my back like he did last time. His massages are amazing. Can you believe he has soft hands even though he works hard? I sometimes see him workout outside or I see him build or repair something...oh, I even saw him paint portraits," Linda said as she giggled.

"Wha-" Daisy was cut by Aren.

*Cough* *Cough*

"Anyways....yes, Linda, I would give you a massage. Would that be here in the living room or somewhere else?" he asked with a little blush.

"Hold it you two!" yelled Daisy interrupting Linda as she was about to answer.

"What do you mean by massage grandma?" she said with a serious tone.

"I can answer that," said Aren.

"See, one day I saw your grandma collapse as she was holding her back. I rushed towards her and picked her up and then brought her to my house. She told me that her back had been hurting and that she was going to the doctor, but then she fell to the ground because harsh pain struck her. I asked her if I could see her back to which she agreed. Once I was finished, I told her that I could massage the area which could help her, and maybe even take the pain away for good and she agreed."

Daisy then said, "Okay, but her back doesn't seem to be hurting so, why do it?"

"Oh please, didn't I just tell you that his messages were amazing, What? Are you jealous that I'm gonna be massaged by the Adonis instead of you?" she said with a giggle.

*Cough* *Cough*

"Well, then Linda, I should get going. I have things to attend to at my house..." he said as he walked towards the door.

"...Alright...I, uh, will see you later then..." she said as he went to the door.

"Hey! You didn't even answer the first question!" yelled Daisy at Aren.

"I won't go out with a slut..." he said as he opened and walked out the door leaving her stunned.

"I told you didn't I," said Linda.

Daisy was left stunned but couldn't do anything about it. All she did was get mad at her grandma and left heading to the room that her grandma had given her while she was staying over.

---------------

Aren entered his house and memories started to overwhelm him. He fell to his knees and had an anxiety attack because of it. He couldn't handle seeing their faces glare at him over and over again picking at him. They tormented him over and over again every day from high school until he graduated...

"STOOOOOPPPP!!!!! JUST STOOOOPPPPPPP!!!!!!" he screamed and then suddenly it seemed like time stopped as his mind went to the past where his demons had tormented him.

They called him names, dumped food trays on him, stuck his head down a toilet, and did many other horrible things. Aren could not fight back, he didn't know how to. He was raised in an orphanage until a couple adopted him, he was happy until a certain point when his adoptive father cheated on his wife and after that, everything turned to hell. There was nobody he could depend on. He'd come back from school only to find his adoptive mother holding a belt ready to beat him only because he didn't clean the house properly the day before, but the fact was that everything was clean and in order, she just couldn't deal with the pain that her husband had cheated on her.

She would bring a different man home every 4 months just to sleep with him. She completely forgot about Aren. He had to do almost everything around the house from cooking for himself to repairing the house when things broke down, his mother never thanked him. The only important thing that she did was to pay the utility bill. Once he turned 15, he got a part-time job just to stay away from his so-called "mom" and earn enough money to live alone once he turned 18 and graduated from high school. He also had to work because he needed new clothes but would buy cheap clothes to save money.

The school teachers would pity him, but wouldn't do anything else. Nevertheless, he survived on his own. By the time he turned 18 he had graduated and saved enough money to live in a small apartment which he did. He decided then to join the Marines, seeing himself in the mirror disgusted him and brought bad memories to him. Everything would be hard, but at least he had built enough stamina from running away from bullies, his mom, and running to his part-time job that wasn't that far away from his "mom's" house.

He spent 4 years in the Marines which taught him a lot. He had learned how to fight, work out, and develop himself overall. After that, he moved to Virginia where he found a house and adopted a little kitten from the street which he then named Skylar. Later he was informed by one of his "mom's" friends that she had passed away which he really didn't care about, but it did bother him that he didn't have real parents that loved him.

Sometime after that, Aren got interested in music and studied it. A couple of years passed and he became a music producer, it took a short time because he had a really big interest in it and had a lot of motivation. He learned how to play piano, violin, flute, and saxophone which he played in his own style. He remembered that he opened a social media account a few years back because one of his comrades encouraged him to, but he never really used it. He logged in once again but didn't know what to post, and even if he did he didn't have followers to like his stuff so, he made a youtube channel where he posted music and posted his social media account. Slowly but surely, he gained followers and in 5 months he had 1 million followers on both platforms which then prompted him to make other social media accounts. Not too long after that, he had people email him and DM him about working together to make a song to which he agreed to all of them. In 2 months, he had become known to many people. In another 2 years, he became a famous producer but decided to keep it a secret as much as possible.

Along the way, he met Mrs. Linda. In total, 8 years had passed since "that" time. However, he felt lonely all this time. His heart had been scarred and couldn't find love or more like he didn't want to find love. Many girls had asked him out, but he was afraid to follow that path so, he decided to be alone for the rest of his life with only Skylar by his side, even though it would be painful, he would endure it. He was a soldier after all, but he knew better than to fool himself like that.

However, to cope with all that, he had found out about anime a few months back which helped him. One of his favorites was "One Piece." He fell in love with the series because it had everything that he ever wanted. Luffy was one of his favorite characters from the series along with his crew, his brothers, and his friends, things that he wanted not to mention the girls, but he knew they were fictional characters, still, he wanted them to be real because he feels like he could associate with them.

Aren imagined what it would be like to be in "One Piece," to be in Luffy's crew, to be one of his brothers. He wished that happened, but it was nothing more than a dream.

After an hour, Aren woke up on his floor looking up at the ceiling while Skylar was looking at him.

"Meow..." said Skylar.

"What is it, Skylar?" he said as he turned his head towards him.

"Meow..." said Skylar while he started to purr and moved closer to Aren.

"Aww buddy, I'm fine don't worry," he said as Skylar rubbed his head on Aren's cheek.

He got up from the floor and noticed that an hour had passed from looking at the clock on the wall on the opposite side of him. He then made his way away from the door to the kitchen to prepare himself something to eat as well as Skylar.

After that was done, he decided to just relax for the rest of the day with Skylar as they watched anime until the night arrived. He sat down on the couch in front of his tv as his friend laid beside him perked up to watch as well.

He knew Skylar was different from other cats as he almost always listened to him and almost always watched what he watched. He had a deep connection with him seeing as he always came near him when he was down or when something wasn't right.

*1 Month later*

Aren laid on the street road as he saw Skylar beside him covered in blood. A man came out of a truck yelling "oh my god" as he got near him. His vision started to blur and then darken, his only thought was, "why us?"

Ten minutes before the incident, Aren had let Skylar out to feel some fresh air as he didn't want him to always stay inside. He did this once every week, but today was different, he didn't expect him to run in the street to chase a mouse that happened to come out of the sewer. Aren ran after him as he saw a truck come his way, but all he could do was wrap his arms around Skylar in the street and look him in the eyes like telling him that everything was going to be okay then, it all happened in a second, "Crash!"

Neighbors and people that happened to walk by saw what happened, but they couldn't do anything just watch. Linda had run out along with Daisy, both started to cry. Last week he had given Linda another back massage when Daisy had gone out with some friends she had met. Daisy didn't give up that easy on him and chased after him every day after they met again despite him saying all those things.

On the ground, Aren could see them out of the corner of his eye, but could only make a few details as his vision was blurry and started to darken. His thoughts emerged once again, bad thoughts that is. He was flooded with them, no good thoughts, he barely had any. The only good thoughts he had were meeting Skylar and Linda. No parents, almost no friends, and a flat-out virgin. Being born only to suffer and then die were his thoughts as death slowly took him away.

That same day a famous singer emailed him about a project on which he agreed to work on and if he did his part he would receive enough recognition to work with bigger artists. However, he wasn't going to make it.

He thought, "In my next life...I'll try harder to have everything I want...." Aren and Skylar passed away...