Cough. cough.
cough.
Yao looked bleakly into the darkness, and remained silent.
Hands folded neatly in his lap. Suitcase at his side. Coat folded perfectly at the foot of the bed. Everything was in its place.
So he waited.
Cough. cough.
He looked at his watch, the gold thing slowly ticking, ticking. The drip of the IV line was the only sound in the silence. Smooth and slow- moving to the rhythm of his watch and his heart.
The chinese boy was rigid, sitting straight in his chair as he was taught.
How old was he?
Seventeen?
Never mind that. He could've stayed there forever, frozen in time.
But the pendulum of time would start to swing again, whether he liked it or not. For through the darkness, his phone began to ring.
Alfred. That ringtone, it was a joke. So that every time he called, Yao would know it was him.
" You think I'm pretty, without any make up on, you think I'm funny when I-"
To silence the first few strains of Teenage dream, Yao quickly flipped open his phone. He looked at the blinking screen dully for a minute before bringing it to his ear.
What could Alfred possibly want? He was usually too lazy to call, but instead text.
Before speaking ,Yao rose silently from his chair, and stepped outside the room. Trying to impersonate his best cheerful manner, he spoke.
" Hey Alfred, what's up?"
A reply came over the line, out of breath.
" Hey so Yao- stop that it hurts! "
Yao leaned against the wall, the phone to his ear. " Alfred?"
Alfred spoke again, still out of breath. " Sorry about that. So hey Yao are you available right now?"
" Sorry, I have SATS tomorrow morning. And I'm at SAT prep tonight." Yao looked through the darkness of the hallway sadly.
If only he was available.
Alfred's disappointed voice crackled over the line. " Oh.. I see."
On the other side of the line, the blonde hurried through the street lamp lit streets, puffing white clouds in the cold.
He frowned as he heard Yao's reply. Right turn... Left turn...
" So Yao, what was the name of your prep school again?"
A hand pulled him in the right direction. Alfred looked down, whispering his thanks to the girl besides him. She turned away.
" John Adams Prep School."
As the letters of 'John Adams Prep School' came into view, Alfred stopped, huffing into the phone.
He frowned even more.
" Hey Yao, you mean that one on 71st street?"
Yao laughed.
" Yeah, that's the one"
Alfred looked closer at the sign hanging from the school's front door.
Sorry, We're closed.
After a few seconds of silence, Alfred replied." Ok, thanks Yao. "
" You're welcome, but what did you need? "
Alfred shook his head sadly, looking down in the dirty snow beneath his boots. " Nah, never mind. It's all right."
He hung up the phone slowly, before whipping around.
But, she was already turning around, it was too late. Alfred reached his hand out, grabbing onto the soft cashmere of her coat.
" No." he whispered it into the silence. " Don't go yet. I'll bring him, I promise you!"
Her gray eyes flashed as she swatted his hand off her coat. " You always say that, don't you."
" My brother is dying. He wants to see Yao. Now." she hissed.
Alfred stood straighter, feeling the anger rush to his head. " This is all for Ivan, now is it? What about me? What about me and you? You're always playing games with me, do you know that? I'm not your puppet to order around, Natalia! All of this, I'm always doing it for you, every night now, we're stalking Yao, and he's no place to be found. If he doesn't want to see Ivan, why don't you just leave him alone!"
Alfred breathed hard, the white flakes coming down faster now. He paused, the weight of his words sinking into him.
He braced himself for her words as Natalia started slowly.
" Me and you?" she scoffed into the cold. " There was never such a thing. And there probably never will be seeing that you don't give a damn as to what happens to my brother. Go to hell, Alfred. And stay there. I don't need you to help me find Yao."
He watched her walk slowly away from. Natalia laughed, murmuring into the darkness.
" Me and you?.. There's only me and Ivan.. "
Yao slowly clicked his phone closed, his smile melting away.
He paced quickly back into the room, but stopped when he saw the back of another person in his chair.
" Excuse me?..."
He was hesitant.
Eventually the person in his chair turned around.
It was another boy. His age. Delicate porcelain skin, long lashes, and sympathetic brown eyes.
He smiled at Yao before introducing himself.
" My name is Kiku Honda. Nice to meet you."
Yao stood straighter, his composure returning.
" Nice to meet you, Kiku, I am-"
Kiku, interrupted him, delicately, his words as soft as his eyes.
" I know who you are. You are now the the owner of the largest international shipping corporation."
Yao's blood froze. No it can't be. He hadn't heard anything.
He smiled bashfully at Kiku.
" I'm sorry, that would be my father, he's the one in the bed right now, you see he's very sick and-"
beeeeeeeep
For a second time stopped. The room entered a space where nothing moved and the white fluorescent lights shone hazily down. Yao's smile evaporated. No.
Time restarted as Kiku smiled before speaking, his soft brown eyes crinkling.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
I'm not quite sure what this was actually. I should really start putting up things that actually makes sense some time. Happy 10/10/10! :)