Outside

Chapter 7

"Yeah. It was... weird... seeing her. Even though it should've felt like old times, it didn't. That time of our lives seems like it was forever ago."

"Nox?" He says after a long pause. "Could you promise me something?"

"What is it?" I ask, feeling his breathing quicken as he continues.

"You're the only thing I have left from my old life. The life I still miss. The life that felt stable and safe. Could you please just...?" He swallows. "Promise me that you'll never leave me... No matter how stupid I get?"

"I think I've already proved how much of your stupidity I can take." I tease, smiling as he laughs.

"I think you think you're being comforting but it took you concerningly fast to--"

"I won't."

We both stay silent, simply appreciating the lack of tension between us. I feel warm and happy. I close my eyes and let the rise and fall of his shoulders calm me.

We eventually decide to go and eat breakfast. We sit down next to each other in the end of the almost empty table.

"No matter how much you hate this place," I begin. "You have to admit that the food is much better here."

"True." He cracks a grin. "You got me there, Noxie."

"Well, cheers to me being right this one time." We clink our muffins together as a toast and dig in. I love everything I try. I strain myself from eating the entire table of breakfast and snack foods.

We wander around the halls for hours, chatting and peeking in different rooms. We eventually come across the emergency ladder to the roof, and I pull Kyan by the hand over to it.

"Are we allowed up there?" He asks me.

"I don't know, and I don't care. Let's go." I say and pull him up. I peek my head over the trapdoor and almost come back down. Drew's there, staring off into the distance. I stop climbing and Kyan taps my shoe.

"What's wrong?" He asks. "Why'd you stop?" I force myself to move up onto the roof and Drew turns around.

"Best friend turn on you already?" He asks, unable to see Kyan yet.

Kyan pushes himself up until he's off the stairwell and glares at Drew. He stays quiet, knowing that snapping back would only make things worse.

"Here to throw him off the roof or-"

"No." I snap.

"Just asking."

Kyan holds my hand. I can tell that he is nervous- especially since the last time he saw Drew he beat him up. We move to the edge of the roof, around five or six feet away from Drew. He turns and stares at me. I feel chills run down my spine and I look away. The memory of him kissing my cheek tears at the back of my mind like a chainsaw. Kyan squeezes my hand and I pull myself out of my daze.

"The Opulent News report today was really interesting." Drew tells me. I'm thrown off guard. The topic seems so casual, even though I can hear the anger in his voice. "Apparently there was a baby girl just born with one brown eye and one blue one. The funny thing is... They love her. She's gone viral. TV shows, magazines, you name it. It's stupid." He looks away from me and stares off at the barren horizon. The three of us sit there, without saying a word. I have no idea whether I should feel pity for him or not. The people threw him out of the Aequa because of his heterochromia. I can just image how hurt he feels to know that someone else with the same problem as him is being praised for it. "You know I really like you, Nox." He breaks the silence. His eyes are filled with so much compassion that I almost forget everything he'd done wrong. I'm speechless. My heart pounds faster and faster and I feel myself blush.