(Y/n) quietly stood in line at the hospital cafeteria, her walking stick being the only thing that supported her. Despite having just awakened from her coma, the stubborn girl insisted the nurses don't micromanage her and let her take care of herself. Now, the hospital was not supposed to do such a thing, but she threatened to sue them legally and could do nothing but comply. It was amazing the lengths the girl went to just to do things her own way.
"Ma'am. You're holding up the line." (Y/n) patted the shoulder of the old lady in front of her.
It was not her intention, but her statement came out rather cold. The old lady looked at her, baffled, moving forwards whilst muttering something along the lines of "what a disrespectful young lady".
(Y/n) sighed. She felt bad for possibly ruining the old lady's mood, but she currently was not in the best mood either. After arguing with her nurse, there was little to no energy left in her.
As soon as it was her turn to buy food, her eyes went over to the dishes of the day. Each dish looked cold and dry- absolutely unappealing.
She sighed again. 'I hate this so much.'
After begrudgingly picking out one dish that looked the most tolerable, she took a seat in the farthest corner. As she ate, she glared at every joyful-looking person in her line of sight.
Why couldn't that be her? She had gone through a ton of crap lately. Yet, somehow, she still woke up from her coma, alone.
'Suddenly, I wish Hu was here to annoy me.' She sulked.
Every bite of her tasteless food simply made her even more bitter. The past week, she had been feeling depressed and miserable. Now, it seemed like anger and irritation were the more dominant emotions.
"(Y/n)?" Her mouth immediately opened, ready to reprimand the person for disturbing her peace.
"Aether?" She was glad her brain was much faster than her mouth. "What happened to you?"
Somehow, every time the (h/c)-haired girl saw him, he looked worse and worse.
Aether laughed sheepishly, looking at his arm that had to be placed in a splint due to how bad his stab wound had become. When he had first seen (Y/n) sitting alone in the cafeteria, he had gone over with the intent of having small talk with her. Now, it seemed his future of getting scolded was much clearer.
"I... Zandik happened." He scratched the back of his neck. "Can I sit?"
"Yeah sure." She nodded, scootching over to make room for him.
It didn't occur to either of them that Aether simply could've sat on the bench across from her, and so, they sat in awkward silence— both eating their insipid food portion.
"Hey... I'm really sorry," Aether muttered, a spoonful of porridge still in his mouth.
"What for?" (Y/n) raised an eyebrow at him, confused.
"For what happened to you."
"It's not your fault." (Y/n) shrugged. "In fact, I should be the one saying sorry to you. You got dragged into something you had no fault in."
"But I chose to get involved in it, so don't be sorry."
"You chose to have coincidentally be there when Kunikuzushi's locker blew up?"
Aether tensed up, growing even more flustered by thr second. "No... I just—"
"I'm kidding, don't worry." (Y/n) smiled a little, rubbing his back comfortingly. "I'm glad that you and Ayaka were there when I needed you."
"No problem..." Aether looked down. "I didn't really do much, honestly. It was all Ayaka."
"Ah, really?" (Y/n) hummed. "Then how do you explain the stab wound?"
"Couldn't get away on time. Kind of pathetic honestly."
(Y/n) looked at him suspiciously. She was a hundred percent sure it was him who pounced on Zandik and not Ayaka. The big question was why he was trying to lie about it.
"Really, now?" She nodded slowly. "How's Ayaka? Did she also get hurt?"
"Thankfully, no."
(Y/n) sighed, leaning back on her chair. "Aether," she said. "Why are you lying?"
Aether's eyes widened in surprise. Perhaps he should not have assumed she would believe his words so easily.
"I-I'm not..."
"Yes, you are. I know what I saw before I blacked out, Aether." (Y/n) crossed her arms. "You were the one that jumped to save me, not Ayaka. That would also explain why you got such a terrible stab wound."
"No—"
"Enough, Aether." (Y/n) grabbed his hand, using her other hand to lift his chin so he would look her in the eye. "Give yourself credit, it's okay."
Aether's breath hitched. How was he supposed to pay attention to keeping up with his lie when she was this close? He felt pathetic being scolded, but the questionable racing of his heart took over his thoughts.
Why did she instinctively grab onto him? Why was she speaking to him like they were close? Why did his tongue feel so tied? Why was she making him feel this way?
'It's so unfair,' he thought. 'How can I respond with dignity when she's holding me like this?'
"Fine." He gave in, letting out the breath he was holding in. He expected her to let go, but she did not.
"Then why?" she said. "Why did you try to lie? Did you not want to be known as someone who helped me?"
"No! Th-that's not it at all!" Aether waved his hands frantically. "I just... Didn't want to cause more trouble for you..."
"And how exactly would you cause trouble for me in that way?" (Y/n) tilted her head to the side. "If anything, I would be the one causing trouble for you."
"Just..." Aether clenched his eyes shut. "It's so unfair." He frowned. "Why do we have to keep walking around eggshells around strangers all because we go to the same school? You're the kindest person I know... You don't deserve to be treated this way!"
"I know I don't." (Y/n) shrugged, pushing her empty plate away. "Unfortunately, all I can do is suck it up for now and let karma do its work."
"But that's not enough, isn't it?" Aether looked at her helplessly. "The more you wait around with nothing happening, the more you get hurt."
"It's okay, Aether—"
"No, it's not!" Aether grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her. "You just came from a coma, (Y/n). That's no small matter!"
(Y/n) sighed, not knowing how to feel about how the tables have turned. "It may not be a small matter, but I'd like to leave it in the past..." She wanted to say more when her eyes caught wind of a familiar color palette.
As Aether continued to go on and on about why she should not invalidate herself, she could not help the dread seeping through her being as she saw two familiar figures go through the cafeteria doors. Her parents.
She immediately got up, bringing Aether— who was still latched onto her hand— along with her.
"...(Y/n)?" Aether called out, finally noticing that she had zoned out.
(Y/n) didn't respond as she picked her plate up in a rush. She quickly dropped her plate in the dirty dishes bin and headed for the exit, the blond boy following closely behind her.
"(Y/n)? What's going on? Did I cross the line? If so, I'm sorry—"
"Aether, shut your pretty mouth before we get caught." She really knew which buttons to press.
He promptly shut his mouth and obeyed, successfully leaving the room alongside the (h/c)-haired girl without catching any attention.
Unbeknownst to them, her mother, all dressed in business casual, spoke to a certain blonde girl that our little sunshine might've liked to meet.
"I was told they were having their meal but I don't seem to see them anywhere," Ms. (L/n) said as her (e/c)-colored eyes scanned the plain, white room.
"Maybe my brother just felt a little shy and dragged your daughter along with him." Lumine smiled cheekily. "He'll come out of his shell once he knows I'm here."