The day had come.

Graduation day, the final day that would comple their entire education and finish the possibly most decisive chapter in their lives.

And as much as everyone resented school and everything that came with it: the homework, the assignments, the exams, the stress, peer pressure and filial duties, it seemed that everyone was terrified of fulfilling this grand chapter and start the next one.

As Taehyung scrutinized his appearance in the mirror thoroughly, adjusting his graduation cap every now and then, he felt odd. He had never felt this way before, he felt scared, saddened and giddy at the same time.

He had dreamed of this day for years over years, wearing his cap and gown, receiving his hopefully satisfying diploma and throwing his cap with all his might while laughing and jumping around happily and walking out of school for one last time as a completely new person.

Of course, he had never thought of being forced to face such consequences before.

But even with the crucial circumstances, he wanted to make the best of it and have the nicest graduation, after all, it was a once-in-a-lifetime-thing that could never be replaced.

His gaze fell upon the pretty fairy lights that made his room look a tad more fantasy-like. They made him remember Christmas Eve, the bright smile on his face when he received them...

He then glanced at the picture on the nightstand, Jungkook backhugging Taehyung and teasingly nibbling his earlobe and both of them laughing happily; he couldn't help but smile.

He really did love the younger boy...

So there he was, only a few hours later: standing with his classmates as the procession of the graduation ceremony began, the principal giving an opening speech, his voice firm and proud.

Taehyung's heart beat wildly inside his chest, he didn't expect himself to be this excited but he was. As much as he tried to concentrate on his principal's speech, it was as if every word that he spoke left his head as soon as his ear picked it up.

To his left, there stood Jimin and Chaeyoung, both redheads listening attentively with little smiles on their faces. Giving a closer look, he could see the way Jimin's hands were gripping his robe tightly, something he did when he was nervous.

Chaeyoung's right hand kept brushing through her hair all the time, a sign that she wasn't feeling too relaxed either.

To his right, there stood an also anxious-looking Jungkook, the ravenette holding his hand tightly and squeezing it about every ten seconds. His hand felt clammy and a tad sweaty and taking a closer look, the younger was biting his lower lip in nervousness. Taehyung intertwined their fingers gently, smiling inwardly.

He himself was about to blow up due to overwhelming emotions, today was the day he had always dreamed of and at the same time, dreaded.

But he tried not to think of it. He wouldn't, until it was time for it to ultimately happen.

The principal had finished his speech, signalling that it was now time for them to receive their diplomas. Taehyung felt his hands shake out of excitement, hoping that all the hard work he had absolved for his whole life would have paid off.

Many, many names were called. At every single name, Taehyung's heart seemed to give a little leap. Taking deep breaths, he tried to calm himself, Jungkook noticing his nervousness and snaking an arm around his shoulders to pat his left shoulder, the blonde smiling as he did so.

He recalled the memories from the past day: shopping for new clothes and getting complimented for every single piece of clothing he put on (which did not help at all, by the way), watching an amazing movie at the cinema, luckily not a horror movie but an action movie which he found very entertaining, eating the best strawberry ice cream he had ever eaten and going back home while watching the glorious sunset and reminiscing over old memories; the day had been nothing but perfect.

As Jimin, Chaeyoung and Jungkook got called up stage and received their diplomas, he clapped loudly and cheered them on as if he was their personal cheerleader. Jimin had looked utterly embarrassed and slapped his shoulder as soon as he got back, Chaeyoung had smiled fondly and Jungkook, looking smug and extremely proud, had made sure to give his boyfriend a peck on his cheek as soon as he returned which said boyfriend very much appreciated.

And then, his name finally got called by Mr. Kim, he was the last student.

His legs shaking like the legs of a newborn deer would, he faced his teacher with a hightly nervous smile on his face.

And then, the unbelievable happened.

He was asked to give a valedictory speech. In front of the whole school!

Taehyung couldn't believe his ears. Or his eyes. It seemed that the original valedictorian was sick in bed and they needed to find a replacement. And of course, that replacement had to be him.

"Sir, I didn't even prepare anything!," he panicked, looking at his former English teacher for help.

"Just speak from your heart. What do you want them to know, what do you want them to learn? You received the best diploma out of everyone, if anyone should have the honors, it's you."

I received... what?

So he was the top of his class once again! It seemed that all the hard studying he did paid off after all.

But nothing, nothing could ease up the panic he was feeling for what was about to come.

How was he supposed to make up a valedictory speech in front of hundreds of people who hated him?

He glanced at the audience, seeing Yoongi, his sister and their parents sitting in the front row and looking at him with an expecting look on their faces and he felt a tiny bit more eased.

He knew Yoongi's parents were supportive of him because Yoongi had told him that his aunt had been just like him, apparently she had run away from home and never appeared again but his mother had always supported her, he'd said.

But that was completely besides the point right now.

"Hello everyone, my name is Kim Taehyung and I stand here to give this ceremony's valedictory speech on behalf of Shin Ryujin who is absent today," he spoke into the microphone, trying to keep his voice stable and his hands calm by thinking of Jungkook and thinking of how good his hugs felt.

He saw many disapproving faces for obvious reasons, a part of him felt extremely discouraged at that but the other part wanted to keep going in the most confident way possible to tick them off.

He listened to the second part inside of him, thinking of how proud his friends and his dear boyfriend would be when he was finished.

"Education is an important part of our lives, I'd even say it is the most important one. These few years are the ones deciding over our entire futures, what we do, where we do it, how we do it, what we stand for... All the hardships, all the sleepless nights, the cramming in between the little bits of free time we had, they will now pay off."

He looked into the crowd, giving a little smile. For now, his voice sounded a bit unstable but he tried not to focus on that.

"There will be new hardships, there will be new things to spill our blood, sweat and tears for.

But those things are worth fighting for, you can't take anything in this world for granted. Remember what you are fighting for and always follow the light in front of you because that's what truly leads you away from the darkness."

"We've all reached adolescence. All of us. Adolescence is often described as the most beautiful and decisive moment of life, but is it really? All the terrifying things we had to go through just these few years in high school, is that supposed to be the most beautiful moment of our lives? We all have our own stories to tell, our own stories of light and dark, sorrow and happiness. And now, I am going to tell you mine." Now, his voice sounded much stronger than before.

"I know the majority of you lot disapprove of me and who I am. The first time I walked through these gates, I feared that disapproval more than anything else, so I did what any scared, little teenage boy would do. I tried to hide my true identity and at some point even tried to change it. My goal? Keep myself a secret until I graduate and move far, far away, to a better place. But life had other plans for me."

He took a deep breath.

"You cannot change who you are and how you were born. The more you try to repress yourself, the more you will realize that. I did so too, I felt miserable and locked away. Distractions kept me going but as soon as you left me and my thoughts alone, worries and frustrations kept plaguing me. And there was something else, something that made me reach a new level of emotion, I started feeling things I didn't even know I could feel..."

"I fell in love with my best friend.

It was the most uncontrollable thing that ever happened to me: what started as a little, harmless crush eventually bloomed into something beyond my control. It was like falling into an abyss, an abyss full of temptations, fears and sorrows. The giddiness, sweet, little heart flutters and smiles eventually turned into insecurities, hopelessness and self-hatred. But the more I tried to stop myself, the deeper I fell. I was in despair, I didn't know how much longer I could keep going before cracking and accidentally losing control, spilling everything and ruining my entire life and happiness. But then, the unbelievable happened."

"He loved me back.

He felt the exact same things I felt, the good things as well as the bad ones. He pulled me out of my despair and through him, I found strength. Certain people had already found out about me and the consequences were painful. I was harassed, abused and threatened and eventually, I started asking myself a question."

"Why me? Why do I have to get mistreated for the way I am but others don't? Even today, I am still facing consequences. It doesn't matter how good you are, misfortune will always be one step ahead of you. The only thing you can do is take matters into your own hands and try to turn it around. Sometimes, you get extra lucky and fortune reaches out a helping hand and helps you break free from all the ties binding you to your misery."

"What else I want you to know? Love will always find its way. You may also call it destiny. Love comes in all shapes and forms, how rare it is does not make it less valuable.

Your fate lies in your own hands. Either you make it bloom and grow into something beautiful or you make it wither, and me and him? We chose to make it bloom.

I still remember the day we were forced to make our relationship public. All the fear of disapproval and exposure I ever had, it came true."

"A good three quarters of this school let me know their opinion on Social Media. All the insults, the slurs, the hatred, I can still feel it. The feeling of receiving them. It may not mean much to you but for me? It was torture.

I even got threatened. Death threats, rape threats, people threatening to break into my house and harm me. I didn't feel safe anymore, I could barely check my phone without being afraid of getting threatened again. I couldn't walk a single corridor without turning my head several times to check if anyone was lurking up on me. As much as I moved on from it, what you did left a scar somewhere within."

"There was only few people who made me feel safe in those crucial situations and helped me heal. Above all, him. The love of my life. He knew exactly what I was going through and although he went through the same things himself, he stayed with me and together, we overcame all the shadows."

"What I want you to learn? There's nothing wrong with who I am. But there is something wrong with the way you acted. So please. Think before you act. I am not the only one who isn't attracted to the opposite gender. Your friends may be just like me, your siblings, cousins, maybe even your future children. Make your loved ones feel safe with you and embrace them, don't rule them out. Because I promise you, you will regret it someday."

"That was all, thank you. I hope you can take my words to heart.

This is the last moment we spend in this place. I can still remember freshman year, we were all small, helpless and unable to adjust at this terrifying place called high school.

And even though this place made me go through hell, I'm actually kind of sad when I think of leaving it.

Let's all appreciate this moment and celebrate, we have just opened the door to our future! And please keep in mind what I just said. Thank you for listening."

Taehyung stepped away from the microphone and took a deep breath.

And then, all of a sudden, without a single look back, his legs started carrying him far, far away.

He didn't even see what was going on below the podium anymore, he just ran and ran.

Until he reached the men's bathroom. Why his legs had chosen this place out of all places to run to and why they had chosen to run in the first place he did not know nor did he understand.

But in that moment, reality hit him.

This was the end. Soon, everything would come to a stop.

And that exact realization made a tear slip out of his eye. And another one, and another one, he lost his balance and sank onto the floor.

He hadn't cried in a long time, but now that he did, he finally remembered what it felt like. He felt helpless yet comforted.

He had a sudden déjà vu, remembering the time he had cried on the exact same spot years ago because of Jackson and Chris' malicious comments.

Somehow, the situation wasn't all too different, the main reason why there were tears streaming down his face and dropping onto the floor was fear.

But all of a sudden, there was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Taehyung?"

(A/N: um please keep in mind that i have no idea how an actual graduation ceremony works but i hope it was somewhat similar

also i'm curious, do you have a middle name? i think middle names are super endearing for some reason uwu

i do btw, my middle name is han-na and my mom told me she named me after a korean cellist that she liked and i found that super sweet shdksks

anyways, i'm gonna proceed to my harry potter movie marathon now, hope this chap wasn't too long, thank you for reading and goodbye i love you 💜💜)