Hey Sunshine

We Had Bets Going

THERE WERE TWO EASILY IDENTIFIABLE SCENTS but the strange thing was that there was only one person in the room, and Wylan had already scientifically (tested and tried) concluded that it was impossible to smell yourself and call it abnormal.

After his nose his eyes were up, flickering to consciousness in an uneven pattern. Finally the pounding pain registered and he moaned, clutching the side of his head that wasn't already sunken into his pillows.

"I see you're up."

The voice was dry and gravelly, almost as if the man on the other side of it spent his summers swallowing stones. It wasn't the same voice as the boy he (probably) passed out on and he was beginning to think that his kidnapping theory was pretty spot on.

"Y-y-yeah, I-I'm up," Wylan stuttered as the rest of his body gradually came back to him. "I-I can't get up, my head feels really heavy."
There was a loud sigh from the other side of the room and suddenly a boy appeared right in front of Wylan, eyes peering directly at him.

"Fuck!" Wylan cried out in alarm. "I thought you were in the other side of the room."

The strange boy - man, boy? - nodded calmly. "I was on the other side of the room. I walked."
Wylan began shaking his head. "Firstly, I know for a fact that - hold on are you Kaz Brekker?"

The boy - Kaz - sighed. "I see my reputation proceeds me."

Wylan visibly fought the urge to cringe and try to move away, current paralyzed state ignored. Kaz Brekker was infamous at his - their, he supposed - college. He was head of all the major pools at all times and ran several organizations deep in the college system. It was also very well known that he ran an information trade-off, and had two human pitbulls on him at all times.

And all of this with a cane, limp, and permanently black gloves.

Wylan almost wished he could use his dyslexia the same way Kaz Brekker did but then he realized he would have to sell his soul to Satan and that wasn't a trade he was willing to make just yet.

Kaz Brekker raised an eyebrow. "Done staring?"
Wylan flushed. "Y-yeah, you're just really familiar. Don't you have Inej Ghafa with you all the time though? The entire college is making bets on when you guys are going to make it official."

Coal black eyes narrowed and Wylan instantly tried to retreat. "I-I mean, you guys have made it official enough and really you two are adorable couple I'm not trying to take that away from you-"

"We're not dating."

Wylan stopped, blood rushing to his cheeks. "B-b-but," he stammered helplessly. "Touching? Kisses on cheeks? Resting arms and legs on each other? You guys literally show all the signs."

If possible those coal black eyes got even darker. "We're not dating, I don't like her, and we're not even close to that," he said angrily. "You're wrong."

Wylan shook his head. "I'm definitely not."

Kaz's eyes sharpened to even narrower slits and they held a stare-off for a while, Wylan finally breaking it off. He noted Kaz's shoulders loosening and strained muscles softening with relief.

"So... what happened?" Wylan finally asked into the new silence.

"You hit a stop sign twice and then fainted into Jesper's arms," Kaz told her. "You don't have a concussion."

Wylan nodded in thanks, attempting to lift his head. It was still too heavy and he immediately sank back down. Kaz glared at him angrily for a while before propping the pillows under his head up. An embarrassed flush ran through Wylan and he began internally berating himself.