Chapter 6

I woke up the next morning and the first thing I noticed was that Gakupo wasn't in his bed. In fact, the dorm was kinda quiet. I looked at my watch groggily and jumped out of the bed, cursing under my breath. I tripped over my feet and pulled the duvet down with me. I heard the door creak open and someone looked in.

"Dude, dude! Get back into the bed!" I looked up to see Gakupo glaring slightly at me. I tried to show him my watch and the time but, being on the floor, that was kind of difficult.

"It's half eight. School started half an hour ago," I croaked, my voice still hoarse from yesterday.

Gakupo picked up the duvet and flung it back onto the bed. He sat across from me and rested his arms on his legs, giving me a stern look. It reminded me of my own father's disappointed look, creepily enough.

"I was walking back from dinner when that blonde girl, Lily, runs up to me. She asks me if I'm Kaito's roommate, to which I reply with 'yes'. She then tells me that you were forced to take a drug to prove your worth to Yuma and past out. She told me a few side effects and said you should probably take today off. So, this morning, I went to the office and told them you had a virus and would be taking the day off. So you are."

He slapped his knees loudly and stood up. Just as he was about to leave, I called him back. He turned and raised an eyebrow in a questioning look.

"Gakupo... D-Do you belive in angels?" I asked hesitently. A smile spread across his face but it faded when he saw how serious I was.

"I don't know. I mean, I think they exist but I've never had the pleasure of meeting one. Why?"

I had to cough to clear my throat before I could continue. "Last night, when I stumbled into the dorm, someone was there. They caught me when I fell and helped me to my room. They also stayed with me when I fell asleep. But," I looked around, trying to find a clue of the angel's presence, "When I woke up they were gone."

Gakupo smiled and shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe you're just special."

"Or maybe I just decide to do drugs," I mumbled under my breath. Gakupo gave me a half-hearted wave and left, leaving me staring up at the ceiling.

I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep. But I couldn't seem to drift off. My mind was plauged with thoughts and random info and I couldn't clear it. I was probably so high on drugs the previous night, I fell asleep quickly. I decided to get up and walk around the campus, see what I could spot.

I got dressed quickly; a blue t-shirt, faded jeans, old trainers and a darker blue hoodie; and walked out. I clicked the tongue piercing off the top of my mouth as I walked down the hallway, my hands in my pockets. But something made me stop in my tracks.

Sitting in the open area was Luka. She was lying on her stomach, sketching something with a pencil. One foot was up in the air and she had her head balanced on her hand. She wasn't dressed in her uniform. Instead, she was wearing a red top, black hoodie and black leggings. On her feet were red doc martens. Seeing her, I realised I hadn't apologised for my behaviour yesterday. I couldn't bring my mouth to move, couldn't force the words to come out. Is this what Luka felt like everytime she tried to speak?

It turns out, I didn't have to say anything because she sensed me first. She whipped around and her eyes landed on me. I didn't know if I expected her to cry or start hitting me like Meiko. I never could have expected what she did do. She smiled. She smiled sweetly at me and stood up, brushing herself off. I was in shock. Did she not remember what happened? Does muteness also cause amnesia? That's not possbile, is it?

I felt like I was about to burst as she stood there, rocking back on her toes and heels. Everything came out in a big long sentence. "Luka I'm so sorry and I didn't know and I didn't mean to and then Meiko came up and she told me and I felt so bad and then I didn't get to apologize and I'm soooo sooorrrryyyy! Please don't kill me or tell Meiko to, she already did enough damage when-"

I was cut off when she gently put her finger to my lips in a gesture of silence. I stopped talking and bit my lip, waiting for her reaction. She better not slap me, I just sacrificed all of my manliness. I mean, I think I squealed a bit when I said sorry.

Luka dropped her sketchbook on the floor. She smiled again before flinging herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me into a hug. She was quite a bit smaller than me so I had to bend down for her so she wouldn't be on her tippy-toes. I felt her nuzzle into my shoulder and tighten her arms. When she let go, she reached for the sketchbook and opened a page. I watched as she wrote something on the page and showed it to me.

'Thanks, Mr. Kaito sir. I have had to apologise for not being able to talk a lot in my life but never has anyone apologised to me. I'm sorry for not being able to talk, Mr. Kaito.'

I stared at the neat cursive writing and looked back up at Luka's face. She was positivly glowing.

"It's not your fault. You can't help it. My sister was very sick but it wasn't her fault either," I told her sternly. The pen began to move again. She turned the page to face me and smiled again.

'Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Kaito but it's okay. I'm used to it. People usually get a bit annoyed when I don't tell them... Or get someone to tell them.'

I nodded again. I remembered when Kaiko first went into school, she didn't tell anyone about her illness. She pretended she was normal. But, when she first went into relapse at eight, she was out for a month. She had to go through chemo and lost all of her hair. She went back in and told everyone she had gone a a wicked holiday to America and shaved her head for Shave or Dye. In fact, she told no one about her disease until middle school. She told me she wanted to start afresh, have people like her despite her illness. But when she told everyone, they avoided her like the black plague. She would hang around with me at lunch and we would climb the tree, eat our lunch and casts curses on everyone who was ever mean to her. Those were the days when I was 'the best brother ever in the whole wide universe!'

I turned my attention back to Luka. "So, why you not in school? You don't seem like the kind to ditch."

'Oh no Mr. Kaito! I get every Wednesdays off! You see, every Wednesday is Social Day and it envolves a lot of talking. Due to my condition, I can't... Why are you not in school? I would return the statement of not looking the part to skip, but that would be lying Mr. Kaito. I hope you take no offence to that!'

Her last sentence made me laugh. A small smile spread across her lips and she giggled silently.

"I take no offence at all! No, I'm sick. Uh, virus," I said, using the same excuse Gakupo gave to the office. I gave a small cough, trying to look convincing (and failing I'm sure).

'Well, would you perhaps like to accompany me to the gardens, Mr. Kaito? I need to finish a sketch and I would enjoy some company.'

I smiled and nodded. We left the dorms and walked out to the gardens together.

Next chapter is a day with Luka. Five reviews to see it! Thank you to reviewers:

-Nerumi H
-Standing Alone Still
-Kegi Springfield
-Ambokiko
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-luthor112