𝚃𝙴𝙴𝙽𝙰𝙶𝙴 𝙳𝙸𝚁𝚃𝙱𝙰𝙶 ,, high&low

chapter eleven | what took you so long

eleven

what took you so long

I didn't get a ton of sleep that night, drifting in and out of consciousness like a piece of driftwood going through the rapids. My mind swam, memories of the best and worst times of my life threatening to invade my last remaining shreds of sanity. A green photo envelope sat on my floor, empty save for a few pictures I'd fallen asleep before I had a chance to look at. The one lying on top was one of my favourites from my Sato days, seven of us gathered together in our little hidey-hole on the fourth floor where we'd spend our spare periods. The picture consisted of me, my then-boyfriend Shuntaro, Odajima Yuken (who I had learned moved out of Oya and joined Housen Academy) and a few other kids whose names I had forgotten but who I still held fond memories of.

I had just fallen back asleep when my phone started vibrating on my nightstand. At first I simply silenced it, rolling over and returning to the awkward purgatory between asleep and awake. The same number rang again, and I gave up any hope of falling asleep again.

Answering, I checked the time on my nightstand. 3:47 in the morning.

"What the hell do you want this early?"

"Midori?" A panicked voice responded on the other end

"Todoroki?" I said, confused "How did you get my number?"

Todoroki chuckled. "Loverboy had it in his phone. He offered us your address as well but I thought that would be kind of creepy."

"Yeah." I agreed "It would. What do you want?"

Todoroki sighed. "Murayama got jumped on his way home. He was passing through the Township and some guys jumped out of an alleyway. I don't know the full story, but he's pretty beat up and he's been asking for you."

"What?" I all but shouted, clambering out of bed and tripping over my Doc Martens. "I'll be there in like, twenty minutes. And for the love of god, don't let him do anything stupid."

Hanging up before Todoroki could say anything else, I threw my phone onto my bed and scrambled to find a decent pair of jeans in the piles of clothes littering my floor. Grabbing a Bad Omens hoodie from my closet, I quickly shoved my feet into my Docs, scribbling a note in purple gel pen for Noboru.

It was hard to quell my panic as I got behind the wheel of the car. What if something really bad had happened to Murayama?

When I got to Oya, I made a mad dash for the door, shoving a frazzled Seki -who looked like he had just come back from a date, and a good one at that, judging by the lipstick on his collar- out of the way. I pushed past a few first years who were crowded around a beer pong table, getting yelled at by an increasingly frustrated Kiyoshi. I was about to run up the stairs when Todoroki grabbed my wrist to stop me.

"Midori, slow down. He's perfectly fine, we managed to get the bleeding to stop." Todoroki chuckled, letting go of my arm

"Oh thank god." I breathed out, running my fingers through my unbrushed hair "why am I acting like this?"