He actually didn't see anyone at first, when he entered the waiting room. Then there was a shriek like a cat being thrown into a pool, and Lizzie's blonde curls were in his face. Over the top of them, he could see Alois, who seemed just as concerned but only slightly more reserved.
"Mr. Michaelis, thank goodness you were there! Is Ciel gonna be okay? What happened? How is he right now?"
"They wouldn't let us back, and she refuses to leave until we've talked to him." Alois explained, glancing into the hallway behind Sebastian. He seemed very preoccupied. Sebastian calmly stepped back, and Lizzie jumped forward, anxious.
"Well?"
"Elizabeth, please, give me a moment! What was the first question, again?" Sebastian had honestly been so relieved that it was only them that he hadn't paid attention.
"I said, is he going to be okay?" Her hands, which had been clasped under her chin, went to her hips in impatience.
"Ciel should be fine, he's just very sick right now, and he was taking-" Professor Michaelis stopped himself. Ciel wouldn't want other students to know what was going on. Alois crossed his arms, bouncing on his feet as he looked around constantly. What was the matter?
"Lizzie, we aren't going to be able to go and see him. Let's just go, alright?"
"No! We were supposed to meet up today and work on our school stuff!"
"We can work without him, can't we?"
Lizzie turned around to face her classmate and full-on pouted, crossing her arms in a mirror of his body language. Sebastian put a hand to his forehead, exasperated.
Why did he have to have such annoying students, why did he have to give them actual work to do?
Very real guilt hit him as he thought of the countless papers he'd assigned his class, and how Ciel had always done his properly, primly. Now, he had basically dumped him into doing the work of three people, and he was laying in a hospital bed! Before this, he was doing much worse things. Professor Michaelis couldn't bear the thought of aiding the reason Ciel had to take stress medication.
"Hey, don't you go to school with us?"
"Elizabeth, shut up now!"
Lizzie had shouted across the waiting room to a male nurse, and Alois had stiffened like a board, hissing the command at her. He didn't even turn around, but the tall, dark-haired student in scrubs definitely recognized him. Without so much as a nod, he strode up behind Alois.
"Hello, Elizabeth, Alois."
"Hello, Claude." Alois spoke through gritted teeth, angry. Lizzie didn't speak, staring from one to the other in utter bewilderment.
"Hello, Professor Michaelis." He nodded to Sebastian formally. Sebastian didn't respond. The voice sounded familiar, but the face didn't, and he couldn't quite place where his voice might have come from. As a medical student, he could've been the same age as Sebastian yet, but he just couldn't place it. "Why are you all here, may I ask?"
"Ciel had a seizure, and-"'
"-we don't know that for sure yet, but we can't go up and see him, so it's not our problem anyway. Lizzie, let's go."
"What is your deal?!" She cried at Alois. He flushed angrily as other staff began to look at him and Claude shifted his clipboard to the other arm, ignoring Alois.
"Ciel Phantomhive? He's not on my list."
"Then it's none of your business, is it?" Alois growled out suddenly. He grabbed Elizabeth by the wrist and dragged her out of the hospital, never once looking at Claude. He watched them leave with an unreadable expression, and dropped the hand that had been resting on the small of Alois' back. He was walking away before Sebastian finally recognized the voice.
"If I said I wanted your car..."
Sebastian tried to go after Claude, but he had already passed through and closed a magnetically locked door. He couldn't leave Ciel here, not with Claude here too!
He'd been one of the attackers in the alleyway, therefore one of Ciel's rapists. Sebastian nearly collapsed as he recognized Alois' reaction. How many students-or teachers-were just like Ciel, trapped under the thumb of this unnamed fraternity?
It had to end.
No matter what, this would end.