DogBird

Chapter 17: Roe

When Lev and I exited the bathroom, the three were still standing there, their bodies all tense as they waited. Kyrie was the first to come up to us and I watched as he fought to keep his hand off my shoulder. His moss eyes bore into mine, again using that crazy silent language to talk without saying anything at all. I was a little proud to understand this time. Are you alright?

I let the corners of my mouth lift subtly and gave a single nod as my answer. Kyrie released a small huff of relief and his shoulders lost their tenseness. "Do you want to rest in the nurse's office for a while? I'm sure your teachers would understand."

Before he even finished his suggestion, I was shaking my head. "I–It's fine. I'm doing better," I mumbled, avoiding his gaze.

Honestly? Every movement caused a wave of dizziness to sweep over my vision. But if I missed more class than this, Saundra would know. And Saundra couldn't know.

His lips turned down subtly at the corners, but he left it at that, sliding his gaze over to Lev. Before he could say anything, Lev slinked past Kyrie, patting him on the shoulder and giving a single tight squeeze before leaving without another word. I blinked at his retreating frame, worry pairing uncomfortably well with the dizziness still flowing through my system. My eyes caught on Wolfgang and he signed gently to me, "Don't worry, he'll be okay."

Reluctantly, I nodded in understanding, willing myself to be alright. Although I couldn't seem to relieve the worry, I was surprised to find the dizziness forgotten. Kyrie gave a small huff, redirecting all attention to him as he held out my bag, a small smile set on his face. "Let's get to class before you get a tardy." He ushered the small group towards the main hall like a kindergarten teacher with his toddlers.

Once in front of Wolfgang's and my class, Kyrie gave us a small wave and I wondered if this was what it was like being dropped off at school by my dad. Except my dad wasn't an undeniably attractive guy my age that I had the burning urge to be around even if it meant I got into deep shit back at home.

...Yeah, so probably not what it was like to be dropped off by my dad.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. Lev was back by lunch, accompanied by raw and bloody knuckles. The sight sparked worry in my chest, but none of the guys seemed worried. I could tell that they noticed, but they didn't do anything about it and I could feel them working to keep things casual, so I followed suit. They knew better than I did.

It seemed word got around to Mr. Hawkins as well since he was making more than enough eye contact with me during his class, more often than not pairing it with a smirk or a subtle wink when other students were too busy grumbling at their calculus homework.

School ended without any other conniptions and I sauntered with Kyrie, Yonah, Taylen and Lev to the bus. My eyes searched the crowd for Teddy, but he hadn't made an appearance since lunch and was even absent for Chemistry. These guys seemed to have a problem with skipping classes. Ren and Henry were also MIA during Calculus and Study Hall, but when I raised the question to Shiloh during class, he just shushed me and pointed at the board, his eyebrows scrunched in concentration as he jotted down equations. I'd asked about Ren during study hall too, but Yonah started whining at me. "What, am I not enough for you? Why would you need that grumpy potty mouth when I'm right here? You wound me so, Roe."

I turned to Kyrie. "Where's Teddy? He wasn't in chemistry."

Kyrie looked down at me from the corner of his eye and his lips curled up further in the corner, taking on more of a playful smirk rather than the usual soft smile. "What, are we not enough for you now, Roe?" I blinked as déjà vu made my mind stutter. Could these guys do more than just communicate with their eyes? Maybe they were talking to each other this whole time through their minds. Were they aliens? The ridiculousness of it almost explained some of their strange behavior.