Pharos woke up with an uncomfortable dryness in his mouth. The sensation was new to him—and he loathed it. His tongue was like sandpaper and every time he tried to dry his throat with saliva, it felt like hundreds of knives were being shoved down with an unstoppable force in his throat. Was this how humans wake up every time? If so, he couldn't help but feel pitiful of them.
He sat up and stretched instinctively, as if it was second nature to stretch. It sent a thousand jolts all over his body. He shivered from the tingling feeling. He glanced at his left and found his roommate, sleeping soundly with his head resting on the desk.
"Hmm . . . human life observation number one: Humans do not need the so-called bed to fall asleep; they can fall asleep anywhere they like . . ."
He hopped off the bed and walked to Minato. He slowly patted on the blue-haired teen's head.
"Um . . . what do you call it again . . . oh—Arisato-senpai, it's time to wake up!"
Minato scrunched his forehead angrily and muttered, "Pharos, give me five more minutes."
Pharos rolled his eyes and nudged Minato on the ribs. "Human life observation number two: It takes five minutes for humans to regain one-hundred percent of their condition after their sleep."
"It'll take more than that if you don't leave me in my peace."
Pharos had to find a way to wake Minato up. Maybe if he uses the stuff in Minato's backpack? No . . . His mp3? Pharos eyed his mp3 immensely. He noticed that there were sounds blasting out from those two disk-like things. He grabbed those two. He observed Minato clip them on last night and he copied it. It fit perfectly.
Uh . . . what next?
"Arisato-senpai, how can you do those weird things with this?" Minato just woke up very slightly and death-glared at Pharos. The innocent child just grinned widely. Minato had no choice but to press his little rod-like music player. The song continued from where it left off, near the chorus. Pharos flinched from the loud music. Despite the painful noise, Pharos managed to listen to the song for a while.
"What? Why would anyone want to burn their bread? That's just a waste of food!"
After a few seconds, Pharos removed the clip-ons.
"I do not appreciate your music. It is too boisterous. Do you at least have something that sounds like a Gregorian chant or maybe Renaissance music?"
A song came on Minato's mind but before he could play it for Pharos, he was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Hey," said the voice of Yukari, "Mitsuru-senpai told me (more like commanded me) to bring you to school for today. Whether you like it or not, you're gonna come with me. You have a whole hour." Then she just left, without waiting for an answer.
Minato just stared at the door. Minato's blankness was cut off when little Pharos opened the window of his room. A small zephyr entered and cooled the room. Pharos embraced the heat of the sun.
"The sun . . . it feels nice and warm. And the wind . . . I feel safe . . . Days aren't like nights. Nights are uncomfortably cold . . ."
While Pharos was in the middle of appreciating nature, Minato asked, "Have you ever been around during the day?"
Pharos's heart felt heavy and he looked down. "No, not really. I tend to be at my most powerful when it is night, especially when—" Pharos cut himself before he said another word. The fact that Minato does not know much about the special hour made him do so. "N-never mind what I was about to say. Forget it."
Pharos was keeping something discrete, but Minato wasn't the type who would chime in about what people hide. Pharos just smiled sweetly at Minato, as if he never said anything. Minato secretly loved Pharos's smile. Physically, it looked cold, but Minato knew it had a warm intent.
Minato stood up and reached for something inside his backpack. "I have to go to school, Pharos." He pulled out a Pocky box and threw it at Pharos. The child, lacking hand-eye coordination, juggled the box until it fell on the chair. "Stay here and make yourself at home."
He brought his school uniform and a towel and headed for the bathroom. When he was about ten steps away, he heard a quiet thud in his room and ignored it. Not until a few steps further, Pharos shouted for help. Minato slowly walked back and opened the door. Pharos was lying on the floor. Minato arched a questioning eyebrow at Pharos.
"I uh . . . somehow levitated towards the door when you left . . ."
"I don't have time for your antics."
"Ouch. Isn't that rude?"
Minato walked away and kept the door open. This time, he felt a strange pull towards the direction of his room and almost stumbled back. Pharos was slowly floating towards Minato.
"Uh—it seems that we cannot be separated. It's like we're two opposite poles that attract each other."
Seriously? My god, then do I have to do everything with Pharos?
I can hear you, you know! Pharos scowled at Minato distastefully. A few seconds of contemplation and maybe, just maybe, that it probably won't be bad for them to do everything together. The kid's company was actually . . . enjoyable to Minato.
Minato sighed. "Come with me."
"Like I have choice."
Minato rolled his eyes at Pharos's dry wit and smirked. It wasn't every day that Minato gets to be attached (in a way, literally) with a mysterious boy who can make one of the most expressionless people on the face of the planet smile.
Fortunately for Minato, there was no-one who was going to queue for the bathroom since he was the only boy in the dorm at that day.
Unfortunately for him though, if Pharos were to stay outside, Pharos's face would be planted right at the door, so he was forced to come inside with Minato.
"Personal space," said Minato as he closed the shower curtains to strip. He dumped his dirty clothes on the basket next to Pharos. Pharos eyed them carefully as he listened to the hypnotic downpour of the shower. It sounded almost comforting to him. The water was out of tempo and yet it was music to Pharos.
Pharos's curiosity got the best of him.
"What does it feel like?" he asked.
"Hmm?"
"What's the feeling . . . of letting water hit your body?"
Minato just rolled his eyes and ignored the child's question. Pharos pouted and growled at Minato.
"Well, if you aren't going to answer my question . . ." Minato's eyes widened as he saw Pharos's silhouette take of his pajamas. "I might as well experience it firsthand." Pharos had a malicious expression as he entered the shower.
"Pharos, no, stay outside!" Minato was being violated by a child with overwhelming curiosity. Well, in a way he was violating said child also, because he was also naked. "I'm not wearing any clothes!"
"Me too! Isn't it alright in Japanese culture to take baths with other people exposed to the environment?" Minato's face flushed for the first time in his life.
Minato answered back furiously, "Yes, but we don't show our private parts to each other!"
"Ooooh." Pharos tried his best to look innocent, as if he didn't know what he was doing. "We're stuck with each other anyway, so might as well, right?"
"Fu—"
Outside, Mitsuru Kirijo shut the raging teen off. "Arisato. Is everything alright?" Minato quickly clasped Pharos's mouth shut.
"Y-yes, senpai." He glared at Pharos with the heat of a thousand stars. Pharos just shrugged lightly.
"Who were you speaking with?" she questioned.
Minato gathered himself and spoke in his usual monotone. "Just with my friend from my old school."
Kirijo's bullshit detector was going off the charts, but she decided to ignore it. "Mhmm. Please hurry, Arisato. You do not want to be late on your first day."
Minato sighed. "Yes."
Minato waited until the footsteps of Mitsuru's boots were out of earshot. When it was, he almost screamed at Pharos, but then thought, He's just a kid with a huge curiosity in the world of humans. Just leave him be. Of course, Pharos heard his thought. He pounced on Minato's back and hugged him tightly. Minato suddenly felt sluggish as he felt Pharos's genitalia on his spine.
"Thank you so much."
"For what?"
"Oh, for letting me stay last night. You seem like a harsh person on the outside but inside, you're wonderful." Minato hated being complimented, especially when people tell him that he is a nice person. But he gave Pharos a chance.
"Um . . . okay."
A few minutes later, they finished taking a bath. They dried themselves with towels (Minato had to teach Pharos how to wrap a towel around his waist. Of course, in the first attempts, Pharos wrapped it around loosely and it fell several times. Minato quickly accustomed himself in seeing Pharos's penis. A disturbing sight, yes, but he didn't care anymore). Minato quickly got dressed in his uniform, but then realized:
Oh shit, Pharos doesn't have clean clothes.
Minato cursed at himself. He knew he should've pushed Pharos out when he had the chance!
Keeping his I-don't-care demeanor, he asked "Do you mind wearing the pajamas you wore yesterday?" Pharos knitted his eyebrows at Minato.
"Of course I mind! They're obviously unclean!"
"From what? You're an abstract being. Your clothes can't possibly get dirty."
Pharos blushed in a defeat he didn't want to accept. Also, he was pretty offended and hurt when he was called "abstract."
Anger, hatred, rage welled up inside Pharos. It was like he was a glass bottle and his emotions were his contents and the word "abstract" was the chilling vapor from a freezer. He was about to break and shatter from the freezing temperature.
"Since I'm abstract, my clothes are dirty from abstract dust, abstract dirt, abstract mud, and ABSTRACT EVERYTHING!"
And he shattered.
Pharos's screech rang in Minato's ears. No-one else heard it. Minato gulped in guilt and regret as he saw crystalline tears flow down from Pharos's eyes down to his chin. His hands are balled to a fist, as if he were ready to punch Minato. But physically, Pharos was too weak to do that.
"Whoa, Pharos . . . I didn't mean to—"
"Yes, you did!" He glared at Minato. His eyes were a disturbing combination of red and blue. And his eyes were not the usual bloodshot red. They were as red as wine. The red was conflicting his metallic blue eyes. Minato guessed it was a special trait of Pharos.
Pharos continued. "I'm ABSTRACT! I'm just a person in your mind! I'm just a ghost! I'm just a whisper in the wind that no-one would notice! I do not have the ability to be in your plane of existence, right?! So, really, I deserve to be called abstract!"
"Pharos . . ." Minato looked at himself in the mirror. Who was he to have a right to call someone like that? If he was abstract and he was like that, he knew he would be hurt. He noticed that he couldn't see Pharos in the mirror . . . as if he didn't exist. He suddenly possessed a special interest on the floor. "I'm . . . I'm—"
"Sorry?!" Pharos clenched his fists that his fingernails were cutting through his skin. "Sorry doesn't cut it! Your pathetic excuse for an apology doesn't turn me into a real human being!" Punches were thrown at Minato for every word that escaped Pharos's mouth. Rage took control of Pharos's mind.
In the middle of the unprofessional punching, Minato grabbed hold on both of Pharos's fists. Pharos tried to pull them away, but his hands were like iron. So, he tried to kick Minato with all of his strength and might.
Unfortunately, he stubbed his toe on the toilet.
"OW!"
Excruciating pain shot up from the child's foot and it tingled all over his body, like jolts of electricity. He thought he heard his little toe's bones crack. He quickly crouched and blew on his toe like it's the last thing he'll ever do.
Minato contemplated on what he was about to do.
Will he do it?
Will he not?
It didn't matter. Everything for Pharos.
Minato bent down and kissed Pharos's little toe.
Pharos quickly pulled his foot away in shock. "What do you think you're doing?! That's disgusting!" said the child who took a bath with another person on purpose.
He glared at Minato with fire in his eyes. Minato just shrugged and rubbed on Pharos's toe. To someone from a view, it looked like a butler rubbing the foot of a master.
"My mother always did that when these little accidents happened to me. She said that it was some kind of magic healing ritual."
Still, his toe throbbed in pain. What was this madman saying? Pharos knew there was no kind of "magic healing ritual" in this world . . . or at least the one Minato was referring to. He's familiar with a few healing rituals so he knew this one was fake.
"That's absurd! It still hurts—ah!" He glanced on Minato's eyes. "What are you—"
He stopped himself before saying anything. Minato's worried expression . . . He was sincerely being apologetic to Pharos. Minato's gray eyes sent knives of guilt to Pharos's heart. Silence does say a thousand words especially "Sorry," "It's my fault," and "I care about you too much to hurt you." Pharos started breathing rapidly and then eventually broke down in regret.
He wrapped his hands around the sorry human's shoulders and pulled him in for a wet and cold embrace. Both of them knew that they had pushed each other too far.
"I'm sorry, Pharos . . . I never thought that you want . . ." His words were left to dissolve in the still air. Tears and shower water dampened Minato's uniform. He didn't care though. What was a uniform to his bond with Pharos?
If there was anything Pharos wanted most in the world . . .
"I just want to be a real boy . . ."
AN: A ship will be introduced soon. And by soon, I mean next chapter. I swear, you have never seen or imagined this ship, for I ship weirdly.
Please R&R. Criticism is welcomed. Hope you have a good day!
