Chapter Thirty-Seven: Companionship
"Can I copy your English homework? I didn't get a chance to do it..."
She gave him a testing look but nonetheless handed him her notebook.
"You really need to start doing your own homework," she chastised him, watching him begin to copy her homework. Rather than writing on his own desk however, he decided to do it on her desk instead. "What were you doing last night anyway? Napping?"
He laughed at that but didn't look up from his writing.
"Was busy with some errands," he told her offhandedly, almost evasively.
"Important enough to miss doing your homework?" She pointed at a word he had misspelled. "You spelled this wrong. It's c-o-m-p-a-n-i-o-n-s-h-i-p."
He quickly murmured a grateful "Thanks", immediately correcting his mistake. For a while, she let him focus on copying her homework, correcting him whenever he misspelled something.
"Ah, it was kind of an urgent errand," he explained, picking off from where they left off.
"What kind of errand is it?" She asked, curious.
He didn't specify, only smiling at her as he tapped the side of his head with his finger.
"Curious? Did you finally fall in love with me?"
She rolled her eyes, flicking his forehead.
"In your dreams."
He only laughed, rubbing his now sore forehead but still writing on his own notebook. She watched him silently, worry etched all over her face.
She had noticed the bruises that tainted his arms and the bandage placed on his left cheek. Every time he would miss a few classes, he would come back with new wounds or bruises. Their classmates had asked him what happened to him now but Hitomi had only laughed, giving them a vague answer.
But she knew better. After all, she could smell the scent of blood on him.
"Hey," he suddenly spoke, breaking her out of her thoughts. She blinked, quickly gathering her thoughts.
"What is it?"
"Stop worrying," he told her simply. "I'm fine."
For a moment, she said nothing. He refused to meet her eyes, meaning it was not a topic that he wanted to talk about.
"Mm, 'kay."
Perhaps one day, he would tell her. Right now, she was content waiting for him until he opened up. All she could do was be there whenever he needed support, a silent reminder to him that she was there on his side.