The Consequences of Falling In Love

17: The Consequences of Helping

I don't like my writing in
this chapter ):

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Royce's bus was long gone by the time Nathan was completely patched up and all his injuries were treated thoroughly. He realised, there was no turning back from this situation. Royce sat on the stool in the far corner, watching intently as the nurse wrapped up the last bits of bandage around Nathan's knuckles, scolding him occasionally for being so reckless. She wasn't fazed by his wounds, unlike him. Nathan was being considerably silent and not acting like the cocky asshole he tends to be which was really concerning. He had a serious expression on his face as if he was just soaking in everything that happened in the last few hours.

Royce was quite honestly very disturbed. His feet were itching to run away, to get away from Nathan's sight and he almost felt sick under his gaze. What was he even doing here?

"It's all done." The nurse announced, smiling at her work and patted Nathan's head. "You're free to leave but I better not see you in this office again." Her tone was friendly with a hint of seriousness and she turned to Royce next. "You're his friend, correct? Look after him. This one's a troublemaker."

Royce wanted to deny the fact that they weren't friends by any means yet his tongue wouldn't move. He imagined himself backfiring a retort with confidence but reality fails him often. He could only nod, not meeting her eyes.

False promises.

"C'mon." Royce grabbed his and Nathan's bag, walking out of the room, assuming Nathan was following him. He stopped when they were outside the school building. "I'm guessing you didn't bring your car today?"

Nathan gave him a puzzled look. "How did you know that?"

Cause it wasn't in the parking lot today. Royce thought but didn't say anything. Instead, he groaned in frustration. "Does it matter? We have to catch the next bus."

"It's okay. I can manage from–"

"Absolutely not." Royce snapped, a firm look on his furious face. "I don't trust you to get home safely. We're riding the bus."

"Fine." Nathan didn't put up a fight. Royce thought it was weird. Together but not really together, they walked to the nearest bus station. The atmosphere around them was heavily awkward and unpleasant, which only made Royce's stomach clench uncomfortably. He ignored the pounding inside his chest, trying to keep a straight face and cursing himself for being so weak-minded.

He also risked a glance at Nathan, who seemed really out of the picture, worse even. Perhaps he was disconnected from reality and lost in the maze of his mind. His strings weren't enough to keep him attached to this world. It was a bit saddening but Royce refused to pity this guy. He refused to do a lot of things but here he was helping Nathan's sorry ass.

Weak, indeed.

Neither of them shared a single word nor did they offer each other half-assed stare. The bus arrived minutes later and it was surprisingly empty yet they sat next to each other, Royce taking the window seat and Nathan following him quietly. Royce certainly did not imagine himself strangling Nathan. Haha.

The bus started moving. Royce pulled their bags on his lap, pretending to not know the guy beside him and peered out of the window. Great now would be a good time to think about why Nathan fought some losers. What could be his reason? He wasn't the type to lose his cool. That was Royce's job.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't curious. Should he ask? Royce looked at him. Nathan's eyes were slowly closing, his head tilted back and he was breathing softly. Royce figured he must be a tired little shit from all the stupid fighting he did. He decided to not ask today.

A bump came on the road. Nathan's head fell on Royce's shoulder, who stiffened at the sudden contact but not long after, he relaxed. Perhaps Royce was tired as well because the second, his head was resting on top of Nathan's and he too was sleeping.

*

Is it just me or is this chapter
really bad? Kay, it's 8 am so I'm gonna
sleep now. Have a good day/night.