My Feeble Half

27. Tongue-tied

3.9

The grey haired carnivore sat in silence at the top of a deserted staircase, knees against his chest, hands quivering. He let out warm and shaky huffs, strangled sobs escaping from his tightened throat as he cried out, his mind a chaotic palace.

A clutter of emotions, scattered around, untouched, untamed. He couldn't control his feelings, his instincts, and Legoshi couldn't get over how guilty he felt, how his heart ached. He didn't want this, he didn't like it one bit. Being Louis' 'friend' or someone Louis noticed was the one and only thing the wolf wanted, not complex and pandemonium backstories bringing them together, binding them in an agonizingly tight knot.

Legoshi sobbed, thinking back to what Louis had said. Why did he hurt him? It could've all been fixed if he had known why, if he could tell Louis why. He should know. He loves Louis so he should know, he should be aware of the reasoning behind his actions but the words wouldn't come to mind. He didn't know the answer and it pained him.

Legoshi couldn't even bother thinking about the red deer's confession, he was far too ashamed of himself to take it into account, to accept it. It wouldn't matter if Louis reciprocated the feeling, if he couldn't justify his past actions, there would be no point in them being together.

Legoshi brought his hands up to his face, resting his face in his palms as he cried. He muttered profanities under his breath, his voice a trembling whisper as he spoke. He didn't know what to do with himself, how could he ever face Louis after all of that.

Mobaru, the elk walked in deserted hallways, searching for a young wolf. It had been almost an hour since he'd last seen the other, the sun had set and it was dark outside. He didn't like to admit it, but Mobaru was starting to grow worried.

He walked further down the hallway, taking a turn, left, before walking pass the art room. Mobaru was suddenly caught off guard, hearing sobs coming from up the stairs. He heard a quiet voice mutter something he couldn't pick up fully. Mobaru hesitantly looked up the staircase, confused as to why a familiar grey wolf was crying, face in his hands, trembling.

The elk took a step forward, approaching the wolf on the stairs, brows furrowed in puzzlement. He then awkwardly spoke, trying to get the wolf's attention. "Uh... Legoshi..." When the elk had spoken, Legoshi lifted his head from his palms, looking up at the older, eyes bloodshot. "What's happened..?" Seeing Legoshi's state, the older questioned, growing more and more worried. He sat next to the wolf, sympathetic look plastered on his face.

He waited for Legoshi to answer him, trying to discover what had happened to him, but the latter only averted his gaze, sniffing while tears flowed down his cheeks. "Hey, come on," Mobaru tried, "Tell me what's going on... Why are you here? Crying..? Where's Louis..?"

Legoshi sighed, sniffing one last time before responding, "He l-left..." "So you talked to him..?" Mobaru questioned hesitantly, the younger nodding in agreement. "We talked, b-but..." Mobaru let out a huff, connecting the pieces together, "It didn't go well, did it?" Legoshi only groaned, frustrated.

"Alright... What exactly happened then?" The elk asked, as pacific as possible. "Well-- I, begged him nonstop to open up to me, tell me why he wouldn't talk, b-but to no avail. He didn't even want to look m-me in the eye..." Legoshi started, voice hoarse from crying.

"T-then, I found out something-- the reason why he'd been avoiding me..." he added, a stuttering mess.  "Go on." "Do you know Juno? From the acting crew?" "The newbie?" Legoshi nodded in response before continuing.

"W-well she fucking attacked him yesterday a-and it was all because of me... She tried to kill him because she fancied me and-- and she told him to stay away from me and that's why he'd been ignoring me.." The wolf rambled, heart breaking as he spoke. Mobaru, on the other hand, was seeing red, fury painting his features. He wanted to speak, curse Juno out loud, but instead he stayed quiet. Hands clenching in a fist, straightening himself up as he let the wolf speak.

"And L-Louis told me that she scared him to death," Legoshi added, looking over at the elk who's brows furrowed deep at his statement. He noticed the vexation on the other's face and asked, "W-what is it..?" The other looked him in the eye, expression that Legoshi had definitely seen before plastered on his face, concerning Louis. He then sighed, "Louis never admits his fears, he never talks about them. No wonder he wouldn't tell me."

The elk then looked away, taking a serious, menacing tone, "She'll pay for hurting Louis. I won't let her off the hook." A moment of silence settled between the two teenagers as Legoshi studied the herbivore to his right. He admired how the other was so protective and fond of Louis, he looked up to the elk in a way."B-but that's not all actually,"

Mobaru turned his gaze towards Legoshi, waiting for him to speak."H-He brought it up." Mobaru's eyes widened, somewhat shocked, wondering to himself if the carnivore next to him wasn't supposed to talk about it. "So that's why you were crying? What exactly did he say?"

"He just-- he like, snapped at me for not bringing it up sooner--" Legoshi let out a huff, ashamed. "I told him that I could protect him from Juno but he didn't seem to like the idea, seeing how I was also a threat and I feel like absolute shit now."

"God--" The elk sighed, exasperated. "But that's not all..." Mobaru blinked at the wolf, perplexed, "There's more?" He questioned, earning a saddened nod from the other. The latter paused for a second, Louis' words echoing in his mind. "He-- Louis c-confessed..."

"He did what?!" Astonishment plastered on Mobaru's, eyes wide open. "He confessed? Like what-- his feelings?! For you?!" His tone rose a bit, still quite shocked as he tried to comprehend the information he had just received. "Romantic feelings?! I can't believe he did it!" "Well-- He just sort of blurted it out but I don't t-think it's going to get anywhere between the two of us..."

"What do you mean?" Mobaru questioned, "Well he's mad at me, he definitely hates me now..." Legoshi's ears were drooping, visibly upset. The older elk thought for a moment, taking the situation at hand into consideration before speaking, idea coming to mind. "Look," he started, getting the wolf's attention. "Here's how we're going to do this,"

"We're going to talk to that Juno girl tomorrow, the both of us, and we're going to make sure she never gets anywhere near Louis." The elk explained, venom in his tone at the mention of the blue eyed wolf. "Then, you'll set the record straight with Louis. Don't even think about giving up on him."

"I won't,"