Chapter 33: Why Does He Care
1427 Words
Akira's POV
Something was wrong with Kael. I had been thinking about it since yesterday, and the more I thought about it, the less sense it made. He had always been mean to me, that was normal.
He would order me around, make sarcastic comments about my glasses, call me Milky, and somehow find a way to make me feel like the smallest person in the room. But lately… He was different, not completely different.
He still bullied me when people were around. He still acted like I was an inconvenience whenever he wanted to maintain his usual image. But when it was just the two of us, I saw a side of him that didn't match the person everyone else knew. He listened to me, he thanked me, and he smiled at me.
He even worried about me. And yesterday, he had practically warned me to stay away from Justin. I couldn't understand him. I closed my locker and turned around.
Justin was standing a few feet away. “Morning Akira.” I smiled politely. “Morning, Justin.”
“You look tired.”
“I am.”
“Didn't sleep well?”
“Not really.” The anonymous note from a few days ago had been sitting at the back of my mind again. Stay away from Kael... or next time, it won't just be your locker. I had tried convincing myself that it was nothing..Maybe someone was trying to scare me. Maybe Linda had written it. Maybe it was just a stupid prank, all so I thought… maybe.
But every time I remembered those words, my stomach twisted. “You okay?” Justin asked. I blinked. “Yeah.”
“You disappeared for a second.”
“I was just thinking.”
“About?”
“Nothing important.” He studied my face for a moment.
“You know you don't have to tell me if you don't want to.” I smiled faintly. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” He walked beside me as we headed toward class. I noticed people looking at us. Again. I lowered my head. I hated attention. “Don't mind them,” Justin said. “I'm trying not to.”
“You'll get used to it.”
“I hope not.” He laughed. I couldn't help smiling.
Then I heard a familiar voice. “Milky.” My smile disappeared instantly. Kael stood near the classroom door. His eyes moved from me to Justin. There was that look again. I couldn't describe it, It wasn't anger exactly. It was something else. “Come here.” I looked behind me. “Me?”
“Who else am I talking to?” Justin chuckled.
“Go ahead.” I walked toward Kael.
“What?”nHe held out a notebook.
“You forgot this.” I stared at it.
It was my mathematics notebook. I didn't even realize I had left it at his house after our last session.
“Oh.” I reached for it.
“Thank you.” He shrugged. “Don't lose it again.”
“I won't.” He looked at Justin. Then back at me.
“Why were you walking with him?” I blinked. “We were just going to class.”
“You could have gone alone.”
“I know.”
“Then why didn't you?” I frowned.
“Why does it matter?” He opened his mouth, then closed it. For a second, he looked almost caught off guard. “It doesn't.”
“Then why are you asking?”
“Because I can.” I rolled my eyes. “There you go again.”
“Go to class, Milky.” I walked away, but I could feel his eyes following me. I didn't understand that boy, not even a little.
********
During lunch, Camila and I sat beneath the tree near the back of the school. She was telling me about a movie she had watched the previous night, but I wasn't really listening. “Akira.”
“Hmm?” “You're doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Thinking.” I laughed.
“I'm allowed to think.”
“Not when I'm talking.”
“Sorry.” She pointed at me.
“And there goes your favorite word.” I smiled.
“Sorry.” She groaned.
“You really need to stop apologizing for everything.”
“I know.” She leaned closer.
“Is this about Kael?” My heart skipped.
“Why would it be about Kael?”
“Because you've been acting weird.”
“I've been acting normal.”
“No, you haven't.” I looked down at my food. Camila sighed. “Did he say something to you?”
“No.”
“Did he do something?”
“No.”
“Then why do you look like someone stole your favorite book?” I hesitated. “I just don't understand him.”
“Understand who?”
“Kael.” She raised an eyebrow. “What's there to understand?”
“He's changing.”
“Changing how?” I looked around before lowering my voice.
“He's nicer when we're alone.” Camila's eyes widened.
“Nicer?”
“Yes.”
“Kael?”.I nodded. She stared at me for a few seconds..“Are you sure you're talking about the same Kael Blackwood?” I laughed.
“That's what I've been asking myself.”
“So what does he do?”
“He helps me sometimes.”
“That's not normal.”
“I know.”
“And?”
“He worries about me.” Camila stopped chewing.
“That's definitely not normal.” I laughed again.
“Exactly.” She pointed her fork at me.
“Akira, be careful.”
“Why?”
“Because sometimes people change, but sometimes we just start seeing a different side of them.” Her words stayed with me, maybe she was right.
********
After lunch, I returned to my locker, I opened it and froze. Nothing was missing, nothing looked damaged. But there was something inside. A folded piece of paper. My heart dropped.
“Oh my goodness let it not be what I'm thinking.” I said to myself.
I slowly reached for it. My fingers trembled as I unfolded it. There was only one sentence. I told you to stay away from him. My breathing stopped. I looked around the hallway. Students were walking past me. Laughing, talking, going about their day. Nobody seemed to notice me. I quickly folded the paper and shoved it into my pocket.
“Akira?” I jumped, almost had a heart attack.
Justin stood behind me. “You scared me.”
“Sorry.” He frowned.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“You look pale.”
“I'm fine.” He didn't look convinced.
“Did something happen?”
“No.”.He stared at me.
“You're lying.”.My heart pounded harder.
“I just didn't sleep well.” He nodded slowly.
“Okay.” The bell rang. I hurried toward class before he could ask anything else, but I could feel his eyes on my back..And for the first time, I wondered if keeping this to myself was the right thing to do.
>>>>>>>>
That evening, I sat across from Kael with my textbook open between us. He noticed my silence almost immediately, I somehow dislike it when he knows things.
“You're quiet.”
“I'm tired.”
“You're lying.” I looked up.
“Why does everyone keep saying that?”
“Because you're terrible at it.” I forced a smile.
“I'm fine.” He stared at me for a moment. Then his eyes softened.
“Milky.”
“Hmm?”
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Tell me.”
“I said I'm fine.”.He leaned back.
“Okay.”.I expected him to push further.
He didn't..Instead, he picked up his pen and returned to the work in front of him..I stared at him.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You're staring.”
“I was just thinking.”
“About?” I looked down. “Why do you care so much?” His hand stopped moving. Silence filled the room. For a few seconds, he said nothing, then he looked at me.
“I don't know.”
My heart skipped, neither of us spoke.
And somehow, that answer scared me more than anything else.
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