Chapter iv

Before the silly little blonde boy reached homebound, he felt as if he were floating on air. Not the thick, smog, air-- the air in which people would worship if they had a chance. No one could rightfully describe its lightness and peaceful nature; it would stay unknown to the public who will or had never experienced the glory we call, "Cloud 9". Bou was too tightly wrapped in reminiscing of Miku's rescue mission to give any attention to his one friend or his brother. Both asked what the blonde was busying himself with, but the entirety of their answer was not what they wanted.

"Oh, nothing." Bou would reply, staring off into a black hole that no one could see except himself.

They would sigh then walk away without another word. What's the use of a daydreaming boy? There weren't any uses for them; they were distracted beyond any help. And that's exactly how Bou's peers reacted to his sudden interest in an imaginary force field called 'puppy love'. Except, by the second week of no direct communication, one of Bou's friends causally leaned against a neighboring locker, pushing up his glasses and timidly spoke.

"Bou, um, who is the person?" He never exactly looked his friend precisely, he kept his gaze to the floor, a light shade of pink creeping from the baseline of his neck.

"What're talking about?" He dodged around the answer, occupying his own eyes with random, unneeded, school supplies.

"Bou, I know there'--"

"Kanon," Bou interrupted, closing his locker and looked right at his friend who was still staring at his uninteresting feet. "Listen, there's no one, I promise." He smiled, patting Kanon's shoulder. And there would be no one. A slim chance was the only chance Bou had of ever seeing Miku again; especially if THE beast had her way.

"Bou, I--" Kanon began his transfixed nature with Bou's hand on his shoulder. HIS shoulder.

DING. DING. DING. The warning bell rang through the school building.

"Oh, I'm sorry Kanon," he bowed, "but mid-terms are here! After Christmas break, we have a new schedule!" He waved a goodbye while continuing to walk away.

"Yeah," Kanon whispered, dragging his body off of the locker only to walk to his next class, alone.

Bou jogged to class, shifting the weight of his shoulder bag to the other shoulder. He did not want to be late to fourth block. Under no circumstance would he be late again and be sent to that woman. Miku helped him out of a very severe penalty. But, what if Miku miraculously showed up again, assisting the situation like a true knight would? The blonde hair jumbled around. No, all of that was a coincidence, nothing more and nothing less. Bou would simply have to wait out seeing Miku again… Maybe fate had other plans.

Bou sighed, walking into English.

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The walk home would not be a pleasant one, or so Bou thought when he stood at the entering glass doors, all ready shivering from the stinging wind. How could he be as stupid as to leave a very important piece of clothing AT HOME, again, when it's below the freezing point. Maybe Bou could have been warmed by the heat of the exams--They were, well, the blonde stared at his math exam while the numbers began blurring and jumbling to create a monster. A monster who frightened Bou enough, by its roars of threats, he just stared blankly at the paper until the last bell of the day rang. He sighed, tearfully watching the numbers rearrange themselves back to their original position. Although the teacher promised Bou could come back during winter break, after a long talk, then retake the test instead of failing--Bou felt more than worthless. He had to receive help from a memorable boy as a substitute for taking charge of his own fate--and now he found himself helpless again, needing the teacher to become his saviour.

In spite of everything, why did he have to be so helpless? Bou considered he might have replicated a newborn and its mother. Him existing as the baby, the world his mother. The mother would feed him, cloth him, bathe him, sing him to sleep, and all short of making sure his surroundings were safe to walk through. Bou was one step ahead of that game. Waiting for everyone to leave belonged in his habit bin. The blonde enjoyed roaming the empty halls, taking each step at its own leisure. Not a soul in sight to stare at him, snarl at him, or to shout ugly names at him while he shoved past every person, eager to disappear. No, he shined, blinding every imaginary person he created who rooted him on. Yet… Standing outside left him hollow inside. No jacket reminded him of how dependent he really was. Without the reminder, he fell behind, left to feel each limb of his body numb. Perhaps counting snowflakes wasn't such a grand idea prior to going to school if it left him cold half of the time. Bou watched his sigh float in the wind as he gestured a foot to land in the inch of snow except a sudden warmth enveloped on his shoulders. Bou's eyebrows furrowed while he turned around and spotted Kanon smiling at him.

"I-I, noticed you don't have a jacket, Bou." Kanon revealed, shyly looking down as he pushed up his glasses with one finger.

Bou beamed, dependent or not, at least one person cared enough to share their personal belongings. And that set of a bell in the blonde's head. There were people out there to lend a helping hand, regardless of the situation. Regardless of how needy the person actually felt within. "Aw, Kanon!" Bou, without a thought, jumped on Kanon, embracing him as a friend.

Kanon blushed furiously, patting Bou's back as he stuttered the sentence, "Y-Y-ou-'re Wel-l-l-come."

The blonde squeezed him tighter, "You're so nice, Kanon."

Although Bou had no feelings to his one friend, although Bou found no attraction to Kanon as Kanon obviously did to him, although Bou did this out of the spur of the moment-- Bou's lips pressed against Kanon's cheek prior to Bou stepping away, asking something about Kanon accompanying him home since he only had a long sleeved shirt. Of course, Kanon had only heard every other word since BOU KISSED his CHEEK. HIS cheek. No one else's. Still, why do moments like these always end in tragedy?

Touching the christened part of his cheek, Kanon stepped down, following Bou down the sidewalk. Small conversation left their lips as they walked home in a hurry. How they did on exams, classes next semester, and excruciating details on pranks they would act out on certain people in the school expanded the "small talk" to a full discussion barely distracting them from the cold. Topic after topic, white exhale after white exhale led them to a stopping point: Bou's apartment.

As they stood in front of the third floor door, Bou suddenly felt the chill around his skirted ankles and Kanon's red nose. He gave a startled, "Oh!" before quickly dropping his bag to the ground then stripping himself of the coat, realizing how selfish he had been. Not only was Kanon shivering, but the regular stutter developed from the cold, not the nerves. "I'm sorry, Kanon!" Bou exclaimed, bowing as a shiver ran down his spine.

"No, n-n-o it's-s okay.." Kanon reassured Bou, draping the coat over his shoulder followed by squeezing the sides to enclose his torso in it. Kanon shook from the sudden warmth.

"No, I mean it. You didn't have to give me your jacket!" Bou bowed again, his insides shivering.

"I said it was okay." Kanon meant to say with authority, but lowered his gave to the dressed feet.

Bou smiled, giving the awkward silence a few more seconds to plague over them ahead of asking, "Would you like to come in? I mean, I have to pay you back, and it is really cold out here." He offered, extending a hand while the other busied itself by holding the schoolbag.

Kanon's expression transformed from droopy to wide eyed. "What?!"

Bou stayed quiet for a moment, recapping the way Kanon cried out a 'what'. The word disguised itself with surprise and jumpiness; yet behind all of that, the 'what' had something Bou couldn't describe, a certain something… If he could only think of the word… "You've been here before. Why act so surprised?" He asked, jingling the keys into the lock until he heard a click. By a turn of the knob, then a kick from a foot, the door creaked open, having hot air blow momentarily on the boys.

The black hair jumbled around insanely, "No! It's not that!" He tried to persuade Bou, except it didn't work. Bou laughed, walked behind Kanon, and pushed the boy who reluctantly went into the apartment building, still shaking his head no.