Chapter 14: You
CLANG!
The sound of swords echoes through the gym.
CLANG! CLANG!
"Use your hips in your swing," Damian coaches.
CLANG!
"Like... THIS?" Eron responds putting his whole body into a strike.
CLANG!
It pushes Damian back, but he easily defends. "Yeah."
The two go back and forth ignoring the stares and whispers of passersby. Both were dripping with sweat from 3 straight hours of training.
Finally, Damian raises his hand and sets down his weapon. "Let's stop here," he grabs a bottle of water, and Eron follows suit. The sun shines through a window into his eye, and he puts a hand on his brow. He turns to Eron, watching him gulp down the water. He was surprisingly skinny with golden skin and exotic, dark hair.
Truth be told, he was disappointed when he first met the one who was considered the most skilled fighter in the county in the prestigious Chicago chapter of Mew Academy. But after seeing Eron work so hard every single morning for the last month, Damian found a new respect for the bishounen. Never had he seen so much focus and dedication.
Eron places a towel on his head and rubs hard. Why did I run? He grills himself for the hundredth time. By now, the wound on his arm had healed, but was replaced by an even deeper one in his heart. Every time he looked in the mirror, he saw a filthy coward. Every last person he had passed in the hallway that day died. Eron had made a point of paying respects at every one of their funerals, but this only intensified the guilt.
He stops rubbing the towel and pulls it down around his neck. No one who saw him run was alive, but he knew. He knew that the last time he engaged Hell's Witch, her attack stopped. But I ran... It's my fault they're dead...
His thoughts were interrupted by the first bell. With a start, he remembers where he is and turns to face Damian, who had gathered all their equipment and was folding their practice mat.
He will help me get closer. And once I kill Hell's Witch and the Demon of the Underworld...Eron clenches his fist around the towel.
After a few moments, Eron relaxes his grip and watches Damian as he neatly prepares the mat for packing. His thoughts go back to their kiss. He touches his lips lightly, then shakes his head violently. What am I thinking? I don't have time for this!
"Thanks for the lesson!" Eron yells as he runs toward the showers.
Eron enters one of the stalls of the private Mew and Knight shower suite and lets the steam engulf him. The water runs down his hair and into his eyes.
He takes a deep breath and lets it out in a sigh.
Prior to his first encounter with Hell's Witch, his only thought was proving he was worthy to be adopted by a mew. No one really knew why Mew Minto and the Indigo Knight chose Eron to be their child out of so many other orphans, but he was grateful for the opportunity. Still, even as an adopted member of the prestigious Mew clan, he felt the expectation to excel.
But, after looking into the eyes of the one who killed his friends, those who had come to Mew Academy to pursue their dreams of giving their lives to protecting others, all his thoughts shifted to killing her. Until now.
His thoughts flashed to Damian. He replays the moment where their swords collide, his muscles flexing, and his stance revealing his perfectly-carved abs.
Eron shakes his head violently and kneels down to the floor, bowing his head so the water can pound against it. He looks blankly at the ground.
I can't fall in love... I have a mission... I must...
His heart pounds as he remembers their first encounter. The encounter with the only one in the whole school who could beat him.
I wonder how he feels about me...
He cups his hands to his hot ears, a mixture of anger at the thought and embarrassment.
I can't let this happen...
He stays in that position a while longer before getting up to get ready for class, determined to kill any thoughts of a romance with Damian.
After the final bell of the day, Eron exits criminal psychology class and heads toward his locker, his typical scowl etched deeply on his face. As with every day since he'd started training with Damian, his muscles burned like fire. Still, he willed himself to walk with all the grace the school knew him for.
Just as he rounds the final corner to the locker hall, he collides into someone's chest, dropping his books.
"DO YOU WANNA DIE!" Eron yells angrily, voice echoing through the hall, then looks up to find himself face to face with Damian. Eron steps back, tripping over his books. He braces himself for the fall, but instead feels arms catching him and pulling him up again.
"You okay?" Damian asks.
"I-I…" Eron feels his heart beating rapidly. He looks around and sees stares and mouths agape on every person. Embarrassment grips him, and he feels his face turn hot.
With one quick motion, he punches Damian, sending him reeling back, clutching his stomach.
"I didn't ask for your help!" Eron responds, collecting his books and rushing away, hoping no one could see his blush.
He stops at his locker and mindlessly enters the combination. After three failed attempts, he punches it, leaving a dent. He could hear whispers all around him. He couldn't hear everything they were saying, but the words "Eron" and "Damian" came through loud and clear.
He rests his head on his locker for a couple seconds, trying to slow his heartbeat.
After a few minutes, he opens his locker, packs his bookbag, slams the door, and exits the building.
Mew Mansion
Eron bursts through the Mew Mansion main door, shocking Mew Minto, Mew Ratasu, and the Purple Knight. He quickly bows in apology and heads toward the staircase.
"Sweetie?" Mew Minto calls out, "Is everything ok?"
Eron reaches the staircase and turns around, putting on a fake smile just as tears begin to fall. "Yeah, Mom. I'm fine." Realizing his tears had betrayed him, he turns and races up the stairs.
"Eron! Eron!" Minto calls as he reaches the top and runs down the hall.
Minto turns to the others, "I'm sorry. I-"
"Hurry! Go!" Retasu interjects.
Minto ascends the stairs after Eron and arrives at his closed door. She hears deep sobs coming from inside, and knocks gently. "Eron, darling? May I come in?"
"Why? It's because of you I'm so miserable. What could you possibly want to say to me?"
"Baby…" Minto doesn't continue for several minutes, trying to stifle her own sobs.
After a while she speaks, voice quivering. "I'm so sorry…"
"If you're sorry, why can't I live like a normal person!" Eron yells. "WHY!"
"Oh Eron… I am so sorry!"
"You never tell me anything! You never give me any reasons! I'm dying like this, Minto! I can't take this anymore!"
Minto hears crashing from inside. Worried, she bursts through the door to find Eron, eyes bloodshot red and body quivering with each sob, staring at a broken lamp. She runs over and hugs her child, weeping with him. "I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry…" Eron wraps his arms around her.
At the Gym
"Ah!" Eron exclaims, falling backwards onto the floor.
That morning had been hell. Damian was clearly angry about yesterday's punch. Eron definitely had two times the typical amount of bruises to prove it, and practice wasn't even half over. Part of him wanted to cry out for mercy, but the rest of him knew Damian had saved Eron, and he humiliated him in front of the school… So, he decided to wait out Damian's fury.
Eron stands up and readies himself again, wiping a string of blood from his mouth.
Damian prepares to strike, but stops, throwing the stick. He runs his fingers through his sweaty hair, appearing to be deep in thought.
Eron stares at him, perplexed. It was the first time he had ever seen Damian stumped about anything.
Suddenly, he stops. He turns to Eron and walks toward him. Eron steps back, eventually finding himself pinned against a wall.
"Damian… What are you-"
Eron feels his lips against his own. The sensation was frightening, yet like ecstasy. Suddenly, nothing else mattered.
The kiss went deeper and deeper. More and more passionate until they found themselves sprawled out on the gym floor. No one would even be there for another hour.
Eron wraps his arms around Damian, letting himself get lost in the moment.
Damian's hands start on Eron's waist, moving gently up his ribs.
Panic shoots through Eron, but it is too late.
Damian pulls away, staring down on Eron. He sighs, full of disappointment. "I knew it."
Eron looks up at him, on the verge of tears.
"I knew you were too light to be a man."