LAUGHTER

Chapter 14 Lights out

Laughter's POV

Once again,we went back to not talking.Not even the usual awkward greetings in school.Just brief nods,quiet tension,and silence so loud it filled every hallway we passed each other in.

Even Jamiel noticed.

"Bro,what happened?"he asked one day."You guys were cool,now it's back to radio silence"

He didn't know what happened after school that day.

And I wasn't ready to explain it.

So,the silence stretched longer.

That was,until Monday.

I walked into the art studio and,to my surprise, Natasha walked in a few seconds later.We both paused.For a moment,neither of us said a word. Just like old times,awkward,silent,charged.

Somehow,we were the only students offering Visual Arts.The teacher wasn't on seat,and the room felt unusually still.So I sat at the far end of the room and picked up a pencil.

Sketching always helped me think.

Natasha opened her sketchpad as well,her brows furrowing in focus.I couldn't help but steal a glance,she was so precise,so clean with her lines. Her hands moved like they were born to draw.

Then something weird happened.

She passed me her sketch to show me what she was working on.I took it gently and just as I did…

The power blinked.

A flicker.

Then total silence.

But we were still in the classroom.

The cleaner,who had been sweeping,paused,glanced at us,and without a word,walked out,probably going to check the control room.

Leaving just me and Natasha… and the growing tension in the air.

We started cleaning the tables,brushing off pencil shavings and rearranging scattered art supplies.But this time,we were talking not forced small talk,but actual conversation.

Natasha told me she liked classical music and hated loud chewing sounds.I told her I liked old cartoons and had a weird obsession with grilled plantains.

She laughed,really laughed and for the first time in weeks,it felt like we were just two normal teenagers,not two people hiding pain and secrets.

When we finished cleaning,the room felt warm, almost peaceful.

"I want to draw you"I said suddenly.Just sit… exactly like that"

She blinked,surprised,then shrugged"Alright.But be nice with the pencil lines"

I smiled and started sketching.

But before I could finish,she reached for her sketchpad which she couldn't show me before because of the lights.

"I want to show you something,she said.

I looked down and froze.

It was a drawing.

Detailed.Intense.Raw.

It was the moment in the alley…the day I fought for her.

She had drawn everything,the fear in her eyes,the anger in mine,the glowing veins in my arms,and the way the boys lay scattered on the ground.

It looked like a scene from a comic book,but I remembered it was real.

"You drew this?"I asked quietly.

She nodded.That day never left me.I kept playing it in my head… and drawing helped me understand it better"

There was silence between us again,not the awkward kind,but the kind that settles in when words aren't enough.

Then I said"Thank you for remembering"

And she replied"Thank you for saving me"