Misha hummed a song as he fluttered about in the kitchen, a broad smile plastered on his lips. Pink bubbles floated around him wherever he went, letting everyone know that he had woken up in a good mood this morning. And because Misha was in a good mood, he felt like cooking one hell of a breakfast for his sister and Gabriel. Time went on, but he didn't seem to realize how sumptuous the table looked, with its various dishes and exquisite tablecloth, and instead continued to busy himself, cooking a few more servings.
Today was Friday, and a few days ago, Stephan promised to visit in the evening. Although Misha would have to start cooking supper directly after returning from school, it didn't matter. He couldn't wait to flip through the photo albums, so he couldn't care less about losing a bit of his free time. He could even cook for hours if needed!
In his past life, Misha had never seen any picture of Gabriel as a child. Well, his past self also never thought of asking to see them. But after hearing about their existence, he became curious, and his curiosity only grew stronger as he listened to Stephan describe several photos he had. Now, Misha wanted to see what little Gabriel looked like with his own two eyes, and it was somewhat hard to contain his impatience.
After putting the last plate on the table, Misha swept his eyes over his work of art before nodding approvingly. That should do it. Satisfied, he screamed, "Masha! Gabriel! Breakfast is ready!"
However, there was no answer.
"Masha? Gabriel?"
Again, only silence responded to his queries.
Frowning, Misha untied his apron, putting it on a chair before climbing the stairs and walking to his sister's bedroom. As he knocked on the door, he opened it and peeked inside the room—he had never been the kind to wait for an answer.
"You didn't hear me? I said—"
Misha swallowed back the words he was about to say and instead rushed to his sister's bed. He unceremoniously crawled onto it, softly asking, "What's wrong, sis'?"
A loud sniff resounded as Masha turned her head toward her brother, surprise distorting her beautiful face. She quickly wiped off the tears gathered at the corner of her eyes, but it was too late; Misha had already seen them, and besides, her cheeks were stained from the tears she had shed. It let everyone know she had been crying for quite some time.
After meeting his eyes with her brother's, Masha seemed to panic, not knowing what to do. She wanted to say something, yet nothing came out of her mouth.
Gabriel, who was gently stroking Masha's back as if to comfort her, was the first to speak. "Don't worry, she only had a nightmare."
"Yeah, it's just—" Masha took a deep breath, weakly smiling, "It's just a bad nightmare, a very, very bad nightmare. I'll be fine in no time, so don't worry."
"But—"
"Breakfast is ready, right? We're coming, so you can go back downstairs first. We'll join you soon," Gabriel interrupted, his tone reassuring.
Misha suspiciously eyed the couple and didn't immediately agree. Instead, he scurried over and took his sister in his arms, kissing her forehead. "Even if it's just a bad nightmare, you can talk to me about it, you know?"
Masha seemed to hesitate before hugging her little brother back. "I know. I'll tell you one day, okay?"
"Okay," Misha nodded before reluctantly letting her go. "I'll wait for you downstairs. Don't take too long, or else the food is going to get cold."
That being said, Misha glanced askance at Gabriel, who smiled in response as if to tell him he'd take care of his sister, letting him know that he had nothing to worry about and should prepare to leave for school. After all, didn't he have an important test this morning?
With reluctance writing all over his face, Misha eventually left the two alone, listlessly walking downstairs to take a bite of his breakfast. A dozen minutes later, Gabriel and Masha joined him, but his sister was obviously forcing herself, her smile too stiff and her eyes still red. It made the child's heart ache.
What did she dream about? Misha couldn't help but wonder. Maybe, that tragic night came to haunt her again, or was it the memory of their smiling mother? She probably didn't want to worry him too much, so his sister told him that it was only a nightmare. However, that didn't quell his worries, and Misha still couldn't help but ask if he could skip school for today and stay with them, which Gabriel and Masha rejected in chorus.
Though he felt dejected, Misha nevertheless dragged his feet to the driveway, waiting for the school bus to pass by. Then, he went to school without concealing his crestfallen face, making everyone look at him with a hint of worry in their eyes.
The tragedy he went through on Christmas Eve was known throughout the school, and most teachers now treated him differently. It was as if he had become a porcelain doll overnight. Although it had happened over two months ago, they still all took extra care of him, and Misha didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
This treatment was quite different from his past life, where he had been mostly ignored and left alone after his mother's death. He didn't want to think about why there was such a big disparity between the two timelines, so he let them be. At least, his teacher didn't make things difficult for him anymore, quite the contrary, actually. She was overly attentive to the point where it felt somewhat creepy.
"Is something wrong?" a soft voice asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Glancing at Vanessa, who stood beside him, Misha shook his head. "It's nothing much."
"Really?" the girl asked suspiciously, squinting her eyes as she added, "Does it concern your sister?"
"Yeah..." Misha sighed, rubbing his neck.
After Masha's accident, Vanessa started to pay more attention to his sister, and she even came to visit Masha on her own when she was still hospitalized. Later, Misha learned that it was due to Vanessa's own experience. She herself was in a car accident with her father, and Misha discovered that she had lost her hearing in one ear, which explained why she tended to speak in a loud voice. She couldn't measure the tone of her voice well.
The two shared their suffering, and they soon grew closer as a result. Now, Vanessa would more often than not ask about his sister first thing in the morning, just like today.
"What happened?"
"She had a nightmare, and it seems to have troubled her very much," Misha confessed. "I'm a bit worried."
"Then why not go back home during lunchtime? The test is before noon, and we don't have anything important to do in the afternoon. If you want, I can even take notes for you. Besides, your house is not too far from school, right? It's a 30-minute walk at most!"
"Yeah, it's quite close.... I think I'll do just that, thanks."
"You're welcome!" Vanessa smiled sweetly. "But in exchange, you'll have to help me with my math homework. I don't get a thing."
"Sure, sure," Misha chuckled as he sent her back to her seat.
Honestly, Misha still couldn't tell whether meeting Vanessa ahead of time was a good thing or a bad one, but deep down, he felt glad and grateful to have her by his side. Just like Dereck, she was one of his most important emotional pillars, always knowing what to say or do to keep him in check.
He was fortunate enough to have her as a friend in both timelines, honestly.
***
The boy tucked his hat over his ears a bit more, shivering from head to toes. Even if the temperature was getting warmer lately, it was still below zero, and the icy wind mercilessly whipped his face. It felt like his cheeks had been set ablaze, and his nose was running like a waterfall. His fingers and toes had long turned cold and numb, and moving them became harder as time passed.
"Gosh, I hate winter!" Misha spat out through gritted teeth.
Around fifteen minutes ago, he had sneaked out during lunch break while Vanessa and Dereck distracted the school supervisors. Once at home, he would ask Gabriel to call the school to let them know he hadn't run away and was safe and sound. His goal wasn't to cause panic, but Misha knew his family, and probably the teachers too, would never allow him to walk from his school to his house on his own, especially during wintertime. At any rate, no one would realize he had disappeared until the end of lunch break, and therefore, the director wouldn't have the time to give his father a call asking where he was before Misha did it first.
Of course, he could have asked his teacher to call Gabriel and tell him to pick him up. However, he didn't want Masha to be left alone, not when she appeared mentally weak. The last time he had done so, she had taken her life, and when he came back, he had found her lifeless body floating in a bloody bathtub. Let's say that it had left a psychological shadow.
Even if Yuki could watch over his sister, Misha still didn't feel at ease, and he preferred that someone closer to Masha stay by her side. In the end, Gabriel was her boyfriend, and she seemed to relax whenever he was around. He was the best candidate to keep her company and distract her mind, and this was something Misha had finally started to accept lately, albeit reluctantly.
While his mind was thinking of such things, he sped up his pace. Although his body condition was still not in top shape, he now could walk for a while and even jog a bit without collapsing afterward. It was a great improvement that almost made him shed a few tears of joy.
Before long, Misha reached his house, making him heave a sigh of relief. But despite quivering, he didn't rush in and carefully opened the door instead, quietly entering. As soon as he stepped inside, he heard his sister's voice, which sounded resentful and grumpy.
It said, "You guys are just awful. My girlfriend just broke up with me, and you two insensitive bastards dare to be all touchy-feely before me. You—"
"Masha..."
"What?"
"Look at the door."
Upon hearing Gabriel's words, Masha flinched, her shoulders tensing up. She slowly shifted in her wheelchair, turning her upper body so that she could throw a glance at the front door. Once she saw her little brother standing in the doorway, her eyes grew wide, so much that they seemed about to fall off their sockets.
As for Gabriel, who sat on the sofa, he unceremoniously threw Stephan on the floor. That stupid friend of his had decided to use his thighs as a chair, snuggling against him and whatnot, which made their position looks a little ambiguous. Only Yuki's expression didn't change in the lot, serenely sitting beside Gabriel.
No one moved as if frozen. Time seemed to stand still as a heavy silence fell, shrouding the living room in a solemn atmosphere.
'What the fuck is going on?!' was all Misha could think about.
__________________________
Chapter revised on 2022-05-28
Edited by Clozed! ♥
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