Silence | Book 2

1-1: Return

Biting cold pried its way inside the warm interior of the train the very moment the doors slid open. The chill clawed at any exposed skin, but the discomfort shook Tristan awake after the long journey. Nearly there... He longed for somewhere warm and soft – anywhere, as long as it was not a cheap, shared dorm hall like the one he'd stayed in all weekend during the tournament.

He stepped outside, onto the platform of Oxford station. The muscles in his core tensed up immediately to keep the cold out, to the point of aching. The air was heavy with water, and a low fog drifted across the train tracks in either distance. Behind him, he heard the rest of his group stumble out of the train: not just his own team, but four sets of the less dedicated debaters as well whom he didn't know as closely.

In his very last effort of being responsible that weekend, he straightened out his back to not look exhausted, and lead everyone towards the parking lot. Luckily for him, most of them had bicycles – and hadn't quite managed to damage their brains enough to forget how to ride one. A few sparse others had cars waiting for them; in Sam's case her own, and for Liz her father had come to pick her up.

Sam was the first to go, not wasting any time on frivolous goodbyes. A single wave and a 'bye' was all they got.

"I will see you on Monday." Liz followed up as she gave both Tristan and Killian a tight hug.

"Ta." Tristan responded, managing to raise his hand in some form of a goodbye – Killian didn't even bother, simply grunting as a sign that he was still a living organism.

They both watched as Liz darted up to her father, hugged him and then entered the car, as there was little else to see in the parking lot. A buzz from Tristan's phone in his pocket drew his attention away, and he quickly took it out to check the message.

I'll be at the station soon

I want to pick up a winner (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

The corners of his mouth won against the exhaustion bearing down on them, and a slight smile broke through. But then he realised Killian was still standing beside him.

"Er... Hibiki is picking me up," he admitted quietly. "He could get you home?"

Much to his surprise, Killian scoffed at the idea, shaking his head before answering.

"Nah, I'll be fine on me own."

"Oh, sure..." Tristan stammered back, even if he wasn't sure at all why Killian had responded so intensely.

"I think I'll be heading back, it's too cold to be standing about." A few hops up and down to get some blood flowing to his hands and feet proved that, and Tristan nodded in agreement.

"See you then?"

"Yeah, see ye." Killian nodded, before hoisting his sports bag higher on his shoulder and taking his leave as well.

After this exodus of the group he had been with for nearly three days, Tristan found himself alone with nothing but the frigid gusts speaking to him. He put his arms around his waist while listening how the branches of the surrounding trees hit one another and the wood creaked whenever the winds picked up. It was just him – and his own mind didn't make for good company.

Several worries filled his head; why Killian had responded so negatively, and whether or not it was something he had said or done; he was concerned about the upcoming exams, especially for economics; even Christmas made him anxious, and he didn't look forward to having to bear with his mother's religious fervour.