Hard choice (Dark clouds before sunny weather - Book 2)

Chapter 6

A-Yuan could not wait for Mo Xuanyu to change his shoes and put away his jacket. He wanted to run to the classroom first and gather the whole class so he could explain everything to them. He reconsidered however as soon as this idea crossed his mind. He had promised to Mo Xuanyu to be by his side the whole day, he was not about to go back on his word and leave him here, even for a short while.

The other seemed a little calmer than back in the car, but it was still far from what A-Yuan would call normal. He could tell that his friend was fidgety and nervous. And more importantly, why did it look like he was not about to put away his jacket at all? It was only morning but it was already warm enough to go without it, he would for sure be too hot to wear anything more than short-sleeved T-shirt in just an hour or so.

A-Yuan opened his mouth to ask Mo Xuanyu why he did not put his jacket away. But then, he thought better of it. Actually, until this past weekend and by accident at that, he had never seen Mo Xuanyu with short sleeves. It was almost as if he was trying to hide something.

Not something, A-Yuan realized the next moment, he was hiding the bruises on his hands. In that case, he should probably not intervene and let Mo Xuanyu keep the jacket on. On the other hand, though, his friend had fainted during his birthday party exactly because he had been too hot. He was getting worried now. What to do?

In the end, he decided to go for more reassurance, it seemed to do some good in keeping Mo Xuanyu calm: "A-Yu, if you do not want to take off your jacket, you do not have to. But if you feel too hot, promise me you will tell me. We can figure something out. I do not want you to feel uncomfortable or faint again. Alright?"

Mo Xuanyu looked at him with something akin to shock at first, but his expression quickly changed. He was giving him a slight nod and a shy smile. A-Yuan was relieved at once. It seemed like the other was not too uncomfortable with being worried about. That was good, A-Yuan had to keep an eye on him, he had promised that to his parents and to the boy himself this morning.

"Come, I will introduce you to my friends," A-Yuan invited Mo Xuanyu to follow him, taking hold of his hand once again. He could feel how cold and sweaty that hand was and he was happy he could provide support at least in this way.

He could not imagine what Mo Xuanyu must have been feeling or thinking. After all, he had never had any friends at school and whenever A-Yuan had tried to invite him to play with them or have lunch together, he would look nothing short of terrified. At least it was not the case now.

Despite that, Mo Xuanyu did not look like he was completely fine with all of this. Just like always, he was already hunching into himself as they were passing more and more people in the hallways. Some were turning their heads to stare at them. They must have been a strange sight to see, especially because most people knew about A-Yuan. However, Mo Xuanyu was someone with whom he was not see often, they were intrigued.

Luckily, no one stopped them and they were able to make it to their classroom before the start of the lesson. They even still had a little time for the first quick round of introductions.

As soon as A-Yuan came into the classroom, his friends were already standing from their places and coming to him, followed by the rest of their classmates. Their eyes were full of questions, they had probably already heard about A-Yuan going around the school with Mo Xuanyu and wanted to know the reason.

Mo Xuanyu's hand in his was now even colder and he was hiding behind A-Yuan's back, clearly too shy and nervous to talk to anyone. At least for the moment. But it was fine, they only had time for a quick introduction and then, the lesson would start. Mo Xuanyu would be able to digest everything during the first part of the morning. Afterwards, they could go play with their other friends. Or stay in the classroom if the other would not be ready to go outside into the school courtyard with everyone else.

A-Yuan could tell that Mo Xuanyu was not completely comfortable with having so many people flocking around him. Just as right now when all their classmates were curious about him.

He seemed to have started panicking a little more than before. This had also happened at the park, A-Yuan recalled. His friend had become overwhelmed and they had to leave the busiest playing ground to go find a quitter spot with less people. Not that A-Yuan really minded, he had just found it a shame, Mo Xuanyu did not even know what he was missing on.

After all, how could they for example play soccer with just the two of them and A-Yi? For that, it was always better to join other children and run around with them. Then again, it was not that bad either. Since dad had told A-Yuan that Mo Xuanyu could not go running around just yet because of still feeling ill. So, they had just spent their time on the swings and by building a sand castle with A-Yi. Which was a lot of fun as well, A-Yuan was not complaining.

Now though, several days had passed and Mo Xuanyu must have for sure been feeling better. There was no question in A-Yuan's mind his friends could come and play with them during break time. If only he would get over his shyness that was.

As Mo Xuanyu was hiding even deeper behind his back, taking a step away from their curious classmates. They circled the both of them to have a better look, as if Mo Xuanyu was some kind of rarity and needed to be examined and stared at like a piece of collection in an exhibition. Or as if they saw him for the first time, which was definitely not true either. They had been in the same class since the beginning of the school year.

It was just that they had always mostly ignored him until now. It must have been all because Mo Xuanyu had come together with A-Yuan and they were holding hands, clearly showing that they had not met by accident. It seemed like everyone wanted to ask what was the story behind their sudden change of behaviour.

This did not sit well with A-Yuan, he was also starting to get uncomfortable now. This is not how his friends should approach Mo Xuanyu, they would scare him.

He took a step closer to the other and positioned himself between him and the others to show them to back off a little. They seemed surprised but did not protest and stepped back, still shooting Mo Xuanyu a curious glance here and there. Their attention was however mostly focused on A-Yuan now.

Good, he could feel Mo Xuanyu exhaling shakily behind him and clutching his hand tighter. He must have been scared after all. Well, looking back, perhaps A-Yuan had been a little too excited when he had wanted to introduce him to everyone at once – as all his classmates were his friends so it was only fair if they became Mo Xuanyu's as well –, he should probably start small. After all, Mo Xuanyu had not had any friends until now, it must have been overwhelming to be suddenly surrounded by so many people.

Luckily, it was at that exact moment that the ring rang, announcing the lesson would start in just a bit. Although still filled with curiosity, most of their classmates left to go sit down before their teacher would arrive. The only ones who were left standing with them were A-Yuan's best friends.