L had never realized how fragile his particular classmate was. His legs were slender and extremely thin, pale and untouched. It was as though they shone in the sunlight, and drew attention to itself, radiating a soft glow of vulnerability… It was like he was some kind of porcelain doll, or a geisha, even. L watched how his classmate's gym pants hung lowly around his tiny waist, almost two sizes too big, accompanied by his oversized gym attire. He just looked…so fragile, and breakable. And prior to today, L had never, not even once, noticed anything about the teen that screamed of such susceptibility; he had never felt that the unspoken classmate was weak, or small.
Sure, he was quiet. But some people are just more of an introvert, you know? They'd just linger in the background and stay in the shadows.
But he never did notice…how destroyed he was. For once, his face was not dashed with his fringe, but exposed. It was the first and only time that L ever did saw his face, as the strong wind swept across the gym.
It was breathtaking. Simply breathtaking.
His eyes were almond-shaped and tinged with a shade of pale crimson amongst the pool of hazel brown, practically drawing L's attention into direct orbit instantly. But there was a certain kind of resignation that flashed in those dark orbs, some sort of sadness that was behind those eyes, those very magnetizing eyes. He had a little nose along with sunken cheeks, distinct cheekbones and a well-defined jawline. His skin seemed so smooth, and glowing. Wow. Just wow.
And just as the wind stopped, his first and final moment of witnessing such a beautiful and broken face ended. His face was once again covered, by his long fringe that blocked out both his eyes from the rest of the world. It was like a moment in time where the entire of eternity froze over, but then reality stepped in, and normalcy resumed. Noises and sounds of murmurings and chattering slowly filled the room again, until it was everywhere, but there was only one thing on L's mind.
Raito.
That image of Raito was stuck in L's mind, as those hazel pools flashed with certain sadness. He was definitely going to find out more about the quiet, unspoken beauty that hid in the corner of the classroom. He was going to find out all about the mysterious Raito. He had to.
/
Sitting at his desk, L thought about the peculiarity of it all. Two years of being in the same classroom as Raito, and he had never noticed the lingering presence of him – not even once. Wasn't that odd? It was like he was there, but yet he wasn't there; present yet absent. He glanced to the corner of the class, and Raito was there, eyes behind his covered fringe, lips thinly pressed together, calm and composed, just like how he normally acted. Was he the one overreacting?
"Hey L…," came a voice in front.
L quickly turned back, missing the only mismatched feature of the calm Raito – a tear that had trickled down his eyes, past his haunting fringe, and drooped down his hollow and gaunt cheeks.
It's all going to end.
/
During lunch, L noticed how Raito just simply disappeared. The bell went, and just as he wanted to turn to take a final glimpse at his mysterious classmate, Raito had already vanished – as though there never was anyone there in the first place. What met his eyes was merely an empty desk by the empty corner of the classroom.
He scanned through each corner of the cafeteria, but there simply weren't any signs of a certain auburn-haired boy.
Usually, L would wander off himself to the rooftop of the school during lunch breaks, but today was one of those rare occasions he decided against it. Instead, he settled in his clique of 'friends' and a couple were going on about how they'd managed to escape detention, with some guys were chatting with exaggerated hand motions and laughter.
It was just the same old boring gigs that would take place during lunches amongst the students. L, being happy-go-lucky by nature, preferred the silent company of the skies and clouds as he gulped down his strawberry milkshake. He never really bothered with this clique but he just stuck to them from time to time. Well, it beats hanging around by yourself all the time, no matter how strong or independent you are, he mused.
Twirling his spaghetti with his fork, his mind flashed once more of the earlier encounter of Raito during gym – of his face, and those eyes…and he just blurted out, "Raito Yagami…", half deep in his own pool of thought. The conversation that was going on came to an abrupt halt.
"Hey L, didcha' say somethin'?" a fellow among his clique questioned, somewhat cautiously. The thick air within the group seemed to have doubled upon the simple mention of a name. Why?
Realizing that he had spoken aloud, and that he was NOT within the privacy of his own rooftop, he gathered his composure, and twisted the situation; his eyes betrayed no sense of emotion whatsoever, as he spoke evenly, "You know, that guy's damn weird. I mean, just look at his face, y'know? Hah!" ending off with his nasty signature smirk, irony stinging on the tip of his tongue. His group of friends burst out in laughter following his snide remark. Relief spread through the bottom of his tummy. The last thing he wanted was to let anyone know about that small little brunette was stuck in his head. Pfft. At least he was saved from that situation.
"Hahahaha!" One of the louder guys in the group, Kei, slammed the table loudly in the midst of his laughter. Was it that funny? L looked at the laughing classmate with question, why was it his actions seemed so over-exaggerated and forced? "Man, Yagami just has bad hair day twenty-four-seven you know?" he roared, before the group resumed their loud laughing again.
When they finally quieted down, some new conversation began, and the episode was quickly forgotten by the group…except L. Why was there some sort of barrier created when he brought up Raito's name? Was there something he was missing out on?
Everything felt really, really odd.