"Ryou, are you feeling alright?"
The young man in question lifted his head off his desk and looked up at me. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"
I frowned at him, my brow furrowing in concern. He had been acting rather off all day. Granted, he was usually quiet and a bit withdrawn but something about the way he was acting this day seemed different. "You just look tired and a bit paler than usual."
Ryou sat up, running a hand through his hair and smiling, "I'm fine, really. You don't need to worry so much, Marik."
My frown only deepened, "You're sure?" I knew that Ryou had a bad habit of not telling people when he wasn't feeling well, even his best friends.
"Positive."
I opened my mouth to say more but the bell suddenly rang and cut me off. "Lunch time," I announced, "Come on, maybe if you eat something you'll feel better."
Ryou pushed his chair back and reached for his backpack, sighing, "I'm fine, really. I'm just tired is all."
I shrugged, not at all convinced, "Whatever you say." Grabbing my messenger bag and slinging it over my shoulder, I headed out of the classroom.
The halls were crowded and cramped. The noise of the crowd was deafening and it was giving me a headache. I hated crowds. I just plain hated people to begin with and especially when they were all crammed together in such a tight space like this. With an irritated sigh, I grabbed Ryou's arm and wordlessly drug him down another hallway that was considerably less crowded. I remembered this route from long ago when Ryou's brother, Bakura, had showed it to me. It wasn't exactly a shortcut, being a much longer hallway, but it was less traveled which was always a plus.
"Where are we going?" Ryou squeaked when it was quiet enough for his voice to be heard.
"Shortcut," I replied simply.
"Oh…um…could you let go of my arm? Or stop walking so fast…" Ryou muttered.
I stopped suddenly, causing Ryou to nearly collide into me. I hadn't even realized that I'd still had the other boy by the arm and was essentially dragging him down the hall. Feeling rather silly, I released Ryou with a muttered apology.
"Thanks," Ryou mumbled softly.
I glanced at him, noticing the way he swayed on the spot with half-closed eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?" I inquired, feeling a bit worried.
Ryou looked up, opened his mouth then suddenly closed it, instead opting to shake his head. "I-I feel…really dizzy…" He managed to mumble before suddenly collapsing on the spot.
In a panic, I scrambled to his side just in time to catch him before he fell to the hard tile floor. Gently, I lowered him to the floor, keeping his head supported on my lap. I brushed his bangs aside and pressed a hand to his forehead. It was burning hot. I sighed in annoyance. Why hadn't he just told me he wasn't feeling well? Or better yet, why hadn't he just stayed home in the first place? Muttering a few curses in Arabic, my native tongue, I did the only thing I could think of and scooped Ryou up into my arms before starting back down the hall toward the front desk.
By now, the halls were practically empty aside from a few stragglers. I received quite a few strange looks, each one met with a glare of my own. They all quickly looked away, allowing me to pass by without any trouble.
We were nearly there when I felt Ryou's weight shift in my arms. A soft moan escaped his lips and his eyes fluttered open, his expression confused. "Marik?" He mumbled.
I didn't even glance down. Maybe I was just a little irritated at him, though I couldn't exactly place my finger on why. "You're really terrible at lying," I stated bluntly. I felt Ryou shifting and saw his mouth open to say something, probably to apologize like always. "You have a fever," I continued, cutting him off, "I'm taking you home."
"You…really don't have to," Ryou muttered, "I can get Bakura to come pick me up."
"Isn't he at work today?"
Ryou hesitated and sighed, "Yes."
"Then I'm taking you home."
He didn't argue any further, opting instead to quietly let me carry him down the hall. I wondered if this was at all awkward for him. I was more or less indifferent, we were best friends after all, and he wasn't feeling well. What other options did I have?
We reached the front office and I set Ryou down on the bench before heading over to the receptionist.
"Hello," She greeted in an overly cheerful voice, "Is there something you need?"
"I'm checking Ryou Touzoku out of school. He's not feeling well and needs to go home," I stated in a flat tone, keeping everything short and to the point. There wasn't any need for idle chit-chat. I'd seen Bakura do this many times before on the days we'd skip school together. It couldn't be too difficult...right?
She peered around me, eyebrow rising skeptically, "Are his parents picking him up or…?"
"I'm taking him home," I stated flatly.
Her lips pursed and I knew I was in for a fight. "I'm very sorry but I can only check him out. He will have to call his parents or a guardian to come pick him up or he can stay in the infirmary until school is over. Unless you have a legitimate reason for leaving school as well?"
Now she was starting to get on my nerves. "Look, lady," I snapped irritably, "His dad is halfway across the world in Egypt and his brother is at work. He needs to go home so I'm taking him."
"What about his mother?"
I glanced back at Ryou. He was looking away, eyes glued to the floor. He wore that same blank look on his face that he always wore whenever they were mentioned. I turned back to the receptionist and sighed, "She's not here," I muttered quietly.
"Then he can stay in the infirmary until after school," She replied stiffly.
I sighed. Why was it that Bakura was so good at manipulating the staff and I wasn't? Maybe I just wasn't as intimidating as him. Nonetheless, I was done. "I'm taking him home. Put me as absent and file a detention slip if you want," I grumbled.
I turned and stalked back to Ryou, scooping him back up in my arms despite his squeaks of protest. Without even looking back, I left the front office and headed out to the parking lot.
