Shattered Inside (Yandere!Cheater x Reader)

XXVIII

Arcanum. Arcanum. Arcanum.

James stood like frozen, the pained twist of his eyebrows seemingly forever ingrained into his face. Flashes of colours blinded him for a second as the girl's words still valiantly echoed through his throbbing mind. The pain grew and grew relentlessly, and in a surge of overwhelming agony, his hands rose desperately to clutch his skull.

"James?" the girl asked in worry, waving her hand in front of his tightly closed eyes. "H-Hey, are you alright?" When she received no reaction from him, she gently placed her hand onto his shaking shoulder. Miraculously, that was enough to snap him out of it.

"My head... it hurts..." he croaked out with a hoarse voice. Yet the relief the girl's kind gesture provided made the pain go away, for now. "It's just... I'm not myself today. I'm sorry."

"It's alright." The genuine smile on her lips never ceased to be, even when James cautiously took a step back from her. He was afraid of the unknown and the uncertain, yet so curious of it. It fascinated him that this girl seemed to know more about him and his past than he did.

"Thanks for uhm... everything, but I'm late already for my test!" Before the brunette could reply to his hasty words, James had already turned around and dashed off like a lightning bolt. The pain searing through his right leg was overshadowed by the surging adrenaline. He wouldn't have cared either way; all he wanted was to just get away from the enigmatic girl and have some time to think clearly for himself.

Just as he rounded the corner of the corridor, his clouded eyes set on another girl. Again, he had almost bumped into someone.

"Lily?" he called out in curiosity. His voice snapped her out of her trance, yet the worrying paleness on her face never vanished. She looked just like a ghost — like she had heard something she wasn't supposed to. "What are you still doing here?"

"J-James!" She almost looked like a deer caught in headlights. Luckily for her, she managed to regain her composure after a few awkward seconds of mindless staring. "Shouldn't I ask you the same?"

"I asked first—"

"Fine..." She sighed in compliance and went on to awkwardly scratch the back of her neck. "I was just on my way to my own classroom. Just heard some commotion and came to check."

"I see..." He shot her an apologetic smile, hoping she hadn't witnessed too much of what had happened prior to their encounter. "I should go, Lily. It was nice talking to you—"

And off, he was.

Lily's eyes were glued to his vanishing form. The surprised expression on her face never disappeared as she, too, walked off to her classroom. Just as her face managed to regain some of its colour, a shiver went down her back when she muttered, "James... Arcanum..."

She didn't know what the stranger girl's words meant. She shrugged; perhaps her ears had just heard wrongly.

》I give the fight up. Let there be an end. I want to be forgotten — even by God — for what I did.《

Mr. Morgan hadn't been too happy when James barged into the classroom, late for his test. Yet, he was merciful enough to not lecture the dishevelled-looking boy on the spot; James was instead quietly sent off to his desk next to David's.

Just as the black-haired teen sat down, his best friend shot him a questioning look. James just replied with a confused shrug and tried to settle down on his creaking chair. The whole room was silent; James' frantic breathing and the merciless ticking of the clock were the only sounds that filled the class.