Nyctophilia

19

They'd seen each other the day before yesterday, what could've possibly changed in two days?

Nothing. 

Her mother was still as unresponsive as ever and her father was still gone. 

Of course, unless Nyx wanted to spend another few painfully slow days taking counseling, she kept the truth to herself.

"That's nice," Miss Rose commented, not prying any deeper. 

According to Nyx, she was either really that blind to just believe her easily or she simply didn't take her job seriously. Whatever it was, the girl wasn't complaining.

"So, there happens to be nothing troubling you as we speak? Anything you'd like to share?" the woman inquired in a tone that indicated that even though she was offering her ear, she didn't mind being turned down. 

Nyx sounded very convincing, credit to have gotten used to fooling the counselor, as she nodded in reply and confirmed, "Positive. Everything's at its best."

"Alright then, it appears our little last-minute session has come to an end." Miss Rose announced with a smile, the same one she'd given to her other students who had gotten the good news. 

The only thing that the cinnamon head cared about was how she wouldn't have to come up with fresh lies to tell the new counselor, she could reuse the old ones. 

"Have a safe trip, Miss Rose." Nyx bid goodbye, meaning what she said as she left the room that she hated being in. 

It was a nice office, then what made it hard to be in? 

It was the walls that had heard countless problems of those who were made to come here to support themselves mentally - no matter how much they didn't want to, credits to their dropping grades and distracted attitudes. The air reeked of issues better off unheard. 

It was a sad place, however pretty the room was, it was still sad.

When the door to the counselor's office sounded shut, Nyx tried her best not to look at her right, but she couldn't help herself and hated it. 

She'd been hoping to see a certain raven-haired boy sitting in one of the seats, perhaps with his hazel eyes closed, maybe with a mind wandering into some realm unknown, ready to snap at whatever bothered him. 

To her disappointment, nobody was present.

Although it had been twenty-four hours since that incident, it was all that Nyx could think about.

She hadn't caught even a blink of sleep yesterday night, sitting cross-legged by her window and searching for the moon in the starless sky. 

Her mother had gotten home two hours later than she was supposed to, giving Nyx only the sound of her door closing instead of an explanation or apology for keeping her waiting. 

It seemed like all her parents were doing was leading her on, telling her they'd meet her in places that didn't exist, getting her spirits up, and making her feel stupid for doing so. 

The girl had shown up to school this morning unsure if she and Azriel were on talking terms or not, because if they weren't, she feared that it meant losing Warren, too. 

The boys were no less than brothers, it would make sense for them to avoid the same problem.

However, Nyx had never been happier when Warren had greeted her with the same dimpled simple that brightened her spirits every day, his aureate curls bouncing on his head adorably, the boyish glint in his silver eyes grinning at her per usual. 

She assumed that he had probably heard about what went down yesterday but had chosen to not mention it, or maybe he didn't know at all since he wasn't present in the hallway at the time of it unfolding. 

Either way, she didn't care since it hadn't affected their brewing friendship. 

Nyx didn't see Warren when school ended, just like she hadn't seen Azriel all day. Initially, she thought that latter was doing an amazing job at steering clear of her, but when she'd seen the former walking the halls without his best friend by his side, she knew that Azriel had skipped school.

While she pedaled her way to the diner, not wanting to go back to her house just yet, Nyx thought about Azriel. 

She wondered what he was doing at this moment, she worried if the havoc of his thoughts had pulled him in too deep. 

Nyx knew that he was being bullied by the figments of his mind, that he was too drained to carry on without someone there to hold him up. But, she also knew that he was too scared, too scarred to let someone in. 

It terrified her, how the boy had to unwillingly drag himself to do even the smallest and simplest of things of life. 

It was almost as if he wanted no part of anything that was offered to him.

Little to her knowledge, the raven monster craved someone's hand in his too, he didn't fully know it yet, but he did. 

There had been a person selfish and inconsiderate enough to have turned his world upside down, sucked him dry of all such wishes, snatched his beliefs, left him hollow.

What made the nyctophile feel a little better about the situation was that Azriel had a person as compassionate as Warren. The golden boy would take on the strongest of armies for his best friend, even if it meant losing the battle.

Nyx sadly chuckled at how someone who had given up on all help, had it while the one who was silently screaming for it, didn't.

Nevertheless, she knew that while she could fight her demons with a smile, Azriel always allowed his darker side to take control. While she was barely surfacing from her troubles, the boy was letting himself sink deeper into the bottomless pit of all that he feared.

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