Thanks for everyone who read the first chapter. Special thanks to Danyene for leaving me a review :)
Chapter 2:
Even though Luka's house was not that far from the hospital, Gakupo's journey seemed to last for an eternity. It was his fault for being crazy enough to go out in a weather like that.
Feeling rather uneasy, his mind sprinted from one thought to another without a logical connection.
What would she think of him, as ugly and frail as he looked? What would she think of him for ignoring her calls and never contacting her in a long while, maybe two years by now? Did he even have the right to just confess and die? To mess with her feelings and leave her confused? What an egoistical wreck he was. Nonetheless, he had already crossed the point of no return long ago, and he had only one choice left now, to move forward with his stupid plan.
Finally, arriving at his destination, he let out a deep sigh that was immediately followed by a shiver that distracted his thoughts. A nervous laugh escaped his throat as he wrapped his arms around his torso, watching his foggy breathes scatter into the void. One day, which could be any day, he was going to vanish into oblivion too, as if he had never existed.
Timidly, his arms stretched towards the door and he knocked gently.
His eyed started to get a bit moist, it could have been anguish, or pain, but he persuaded himself that it was just the rain.
"Who's there?" A faint drowsy voice asked; a melodious voice he knew too well and loved. The softness of her voice made his heart skip a beat. His own voice was lost somewhere deep inside of him and he could not reply. The noise her keys made gave him a mini heart attack as she started unlocking the door. Mere seconds felt like years to him as his heartbeat got louder and louder until it sounded as if it was echoing inside his head.
Finally, the door opened, putting an end to his agony. She looked as stunning as ever, her salmon pink hair ,flowing off her shoulders beautifully like waterfalls, was much longer than he remembered. Sleepiness filled her half-open sea-blue eyes, which he adored, and her slow movement gave off the idea that she had been asleep.
Seconds of silence passed before he finally tore it with a husky voice.
"Luka, can I come in?" Luka's eyes widened in surprise.
"Gakupo? Oh my God, I didn't recognize you! It's really dark here…where have you been? Oh please come in, it's penetrating cold out there!"
Luka invited him in shocked, and a bit nervous. She couldn't have expected -not even in her sweetest dreams- that Gakupo would be knocking at her door. Gakupo thanked her and bowed in gratitude, and she could see that his legs were shaking slightly. He followed her as she led the way to the living room.
"I'm sorry for turning up unexpected so late at night, I should have considered-" Gakupo tried to apologize as he realized how inappropriate his visit was, but Luka interrupted him quickly with a joyful voice as she turned the lights on "no no, it's fine, please, I still can't believe my eyes. You showed up after all of this time! This isn't the time to apologize, make yourself at home!"
As the lights turned on and Luka could finally see his face, she noticed that something about him looked different, but at first, she wasn't able to point it out. Perhaps he looked older than the last time she saw him, or maybe he was just cold and tired, she thought. Luka hurried to his side to help him take off his wet coat, and that was when she realized what was off about him. It was the purple halo his beautiful hair used to form around him that was missing. Had he cut his hair short? Was it possible that he had put it in a bun? It was logical, considering the rain and all, but she couldn't tell for sure, not as long as he wore that hat on his head.
Gakupo beamed at her as he handed her his coat cheerfully, but she could tell that his smile was pretty nervous, and less lively then before. Luka stretched out her other arm to take his hat, but Gakupo hesitated to take it off.
"I-If-…if it disturbs you, I'll put it b-back on" he stuttered, looking Luka in the eye, with a dead serious face.
Puzzled, and not knowing what to make out of what he said, Luka nodded silently, her lips curling into an encouraging smile.
As he took his hat off, no purple tresses fell down onto his shoulders. His hair wasn't put into a bun either. He only had a few short purple locks on his head, barely covering his scalp.
Luka's jaw fell open and her eyes widened in shock. She opened her mouth to speak but her voice betrayed her. The pieces finally started to form a full picture in her head. His disappearance, his lost hair, his pale skin and weak-looking bone-thin body…Every piece was falling in its right place.
"I'm sorry, let me put my hat back on."
"Gakupo!" Luka almost yelled in a brittle voice. Her thoughts were a mess, and she couldn't force anything else out of her lips.
Tilting his head to one side, a bittersweet smile crossed the face of the purple-haired one, but his eyes showed great melancholy. Just like her, he was also terrified by the disease that invaded his body, he too was unsure of what to say or how to react, but he couldn't let it show. He was a strong man with good manners, he needed to comfort his beloved lady, not seek comfort in her or make her more worried. His eyes eventually joined his smile, forming two beautiful crescents to show that it was coming from the bottom of his heart.
"Yes, it is what you think. But don't worry about it. It's okay. It isn't contagious." He took a deep breath and finally spoke up. He couldn't say the C word, the disease's name; it sounded too harsh, and Luka had already understood so why bother?
"Nothing is okay about that!" she yelled, then paused for a while.
"I'm sorry. I'm really stupid." Luka spoke with terror, her eyes closed tight, regretting how she had reacted to his sight and all she had said till this point. She honestly needed time to accept what she had seen and to rearrange her thoughts, but that was not an available option.
"Judging by how tired you look you should probably be at the hospital you idiot!" Her shaking voice broke into a whisper.
Boiling hot droplets forged their path out of her eyes and all the way down her face. Her long-awaited friend did not only have a deadly sickness, but she could also tell that it didn't seem like his body was capable of fighting it anymore.
Gakupo leaned in closer to wipe her tears with the sleeve of his white shirt. He would have used a handkerchief, but it happened so fast and spontaneously.
"That's where I came from, idiot." He laughed it off calmly.
The pinkette wrapped her arms around him with all her force, burying her face into his chest, and sobbed loudly like a broken child.
"Tell me it's all a lie!" She could barely voice out the words.
She couldn't believe that Gakupo finally showed up again. Why did he have to be so sick and dying?
No! she cried louder trying to kick the last word out of her head. There were still so many things she wanted to do with her lifetime bestfriend, a thousand places she wanted to visit with him by her side, and a whole lot of things that she wanted to tell him.
She needed to tell him how worried she was when he suddenly disappeared leaving no trace behind for her to hold on to, how miserable she felt as he kept ignoring her calls and how awful he was for doing that, how she truthfully had something else in her heart for him beside their friendship, and how terribly she hoped that he would return her feelings, and perhaps ask her for a dance again but sincerely this time.
She had desperately tried to convey her feelings for him before , but he just kept evading the issue. She even forgave him for making a joke out of her, betting over her, and breaking her heart right before prom, but all she was met with was ignoring, and it seems she was out of chances now that Gakupo was…that sick. Why did fate have to crush all her wishes so cruelly?
This was just one unfair nightmare, wasn't it? This couldn't be happening to Luka in reality. It only happened to other people. It only took place in books and movies. It was just a dream, yet there she was trying dreadfully to wake up from this misery but failing no matter how many times she tries.
It felt a little less awful when Gakupo wrapped his arms around her too, his warmth was comforting. Luka thought she felt some tears that weren't hers slide through her pink messy locks, right where Gakupo's head rested, but she wasn't sure.
Usually, it would have probably felt a little awkward or perhaps inappropriate for Luka to hug so intimately with someone she hasn't seen for so long , but cancer left no time for traditions or formalities.
she continued to rest her head on his body treasuring the moment, taking in as much as she could of his sweet scent ,and trying to form memories about every detail around her, until a weak groan found its way out of Gakupo's throat.
"I'm sorry. Are you in pain?" Luka backed off quickly as her concentration broke. She mentally scolded herself for asking her stupid question. Of course he was in pain. He was sick, tired, and he had endured the crazy weather out there until he reached her place.
"please, have a seat. Don't be so shy." She continued when she realized he wasn't going to answer, rubbing what was left of the salty liquid out of her eyes. "Let me make you a cup of tea."
Beta-read by the very awesome Anne Michaelis 313.
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