Highschool Mishap // Valt x Aiger

-Chapter [8]-

[From ??? POV]

Tears were welling in my eyes repeatedly, no matter how hard I tried to wipe them away. I looked in the mirror briefly. My face was aching with redness, with all kinds of fluid's running down my chin. I yanked a paper towel from the dispenser and wiped my face, but that didn't help much; The tears came right back. My hands trembled as I slowly took another inhale from the cigar I was holding. I hoped I wasn't making too much noise, but in the moment, that didn't matter to me. What mattered was the fact that my entire livelihood was about to be twisted, all because of my stupid-

"...Wakiya?"

My heart sank as I heard someone call my name. I quickly dropped the cigar in the sink in an attempt to hide the evidence, and turned to see a familiar bluenette standing in front of me, shocked, and speechless. From his expression, you would've thought he'd seen a ghost. I opened my mouth again and again, but no words came out. I couldn't bring myself to say anything. How was I supposed to explain all of this? I didn't know...and it seemed he didn't know either. But I didn't need him to speak, nor ask what was going on; His face said it all.

"Why..? What are you doing..?"

I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what my parents are doing. I don't know what the "money" is doing or going to do...I don't know anything.

But I'm not going to let him know that.

"Uhm...h-Hey Valt! How is it?! Y-Y'know, I was just on my way to class a second ago, s-so if you don't mind me, I'm just going to-!" "What happened? Are you okay?!" I didn't even finish my sentence when Valt rushed over to me. The look in his eyes changed from shock to concern so fast, I'd hardly noticed. But regardless of how his mood shifted, I knew I'd have to play this off cool somehow.

"There's this...uh...quiz...that I'm stressing over..b-But that's it! Nothin' else!" I shakily put on a big smile, and stuffed my hands into my pockets to stop them from trembling so much. "Well, what class is it for? I could help you! I'm already above grade-level in most of my classes anyway." I gritted my teeth. "Uhhh...unfortunately, I don't think you'd be able to help me with this one, heh. W-well then, I best be going!" I 'cheerfully' brushed past Valt, not caring to look back, even though it hurt.

"Ah, Wakiya, wait! Let me help you! We could-" His voice was cut off when I closed the door. I could tell he was fixated on helping me. He always is. Always trying to be the hero for everybody, even if it's for the wrong people.

Even despite knowing I was lying, he still tried to...agh, forget it.

. . .

[Valt's POV]

I stood, frozen in place in the bathroom. My hand was still outstretched towards the door, yet there was nothing to reach for. I wanted to convince myself that I was hallucinating, and that everything I'd just seen was all fake.

But all of that meaningless convincing crumbled when I looked over at the sink. Stuck in the drain hole was the same crippled cigar Wakiya had been smoking. I looked over to the trash can. Dozens of balled up paper towels shoved into the entrance, just as Wakiya had done when he left in a hurry.

It seemed that no matter how much evidence surrounded me, I just couldn't bring myself to think that Wakiya, of all people, would cry, and in front of me nonetheless...

Still shook, I tried to free the thoughts circulating my head, and took the cigar out the sink. It was mush. I tossed it in the trash can, washed my hands, and walked out the bathroom. So much had happened that I couldn't even remember why I'd gone inside it in the first place. I looked back and forth for Wakiya as I walked down the hall, hoping that I'd see him, even though I knew he was gone by now. But that was the only thing I could do; or think to do. My mind felt too blank for anything else.

As I approached the classroom again, I could hear the buzz of the students, meaning the teacher likely had already given them instructions. I stumbled inside quickly and shut the door, then went looking for the teacher. He was sitting at his desk with his phone in hand as usual. He seemed so occupied, he hadn't noticed me walking up to him. I cleared my throat to get his attention. The teacher looked up, seemingly startled.

"Ah, Valt! I didn't see you there." He chuckled. I forced a smile. "I can tell." The teacher smiled back at me softly. "Well then! Let me get you started on the work we're doing." He put down his phone and grabbed a slip of paper from the side of his desk. He was explaining the instructions to me, but I wasn't listening. I couldn't listen; The scene in the bathroom just wouldn't get out of my head.

[Last period, 3rd Person POV]

Wakiya walked slowly through the halls, trying his best to keep calm. The last class he had to go through was band, which was good. Everyone would be too busy playing their instruments to notice Wakiya's red and swollen eye's, or his fingers constantly trembling. But there was one issue; He would have to face Valt again. Though the rest of the gang had noticed Wakiya's gloominess, Valt was the only one who'd actually seen his breakdown, which meant...he'd be asking questions.

Wakiya's stalling came to an end as he reached the band room. He opened the door slowly, and walked in. Valt always got to band early, so it wasn't a surprise to him when he saw Valt already there, tuning his sax. Wakiya took a deep breath and walked over, already pondering what to say or do. As he sat down in his seat, Valt glanced over. It didn't help much that they were stand partners, right next to each other.

"...hey." He mumbled weakly, before turning his focus back to the Saxophone in his hands. "Uh, hey!" Wakiya squeaked awkwardly, which made Valt look at him again. Wakiya bit his lip tightly in embarrassment, and began to get his instrument out. That went great...The two sat in silence for a long while, before Valt finally spoke up.

"Are you sure you're good, Wakiya? I know I already asked before, but your answer didn't seem truthful," Shit. Wakiya swallowed hard, feeling a rock form in his throat. He didn't know what to say. He did know that Valt knew he was lying, but he hadn't expected him to just blatantly point it out. After a brief pause, Valt continued. "Obviously, you don't have to answer if you're not comfortable, I just-" "I don't want to talk about it!" Wakiya snapped. "I-It was a simple mistake, okay? You weren't supposed to see..." He paused when he saw Valt's expression. It hurt. It hurt a lot, even more than he expected. To have to lie, or snap the way he did to one of his best friends. But the "secret" had to be kept, one way or another.

"I'm sorry. Really. But I don't want you to worry about it...like I said, it was a simple mistake. That's all." Valt looked at Wakiya with uncertainty, but he didn't speak. He simply nodded, and turned away. Thankfully, the band teacher got rehearsal started shortly after, and soon, everything that'd happened between them faded for just a little while.

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Holy cow, this chapter is so late.