"It" Can't Be Helped (Revised) | ✔️ | Blue Exorcist

42

Our first few periods passed by faster than I'd anticipated. Before I knew it, we were almost halfway done with day classes. After my hectic summertime, I'd half expected to forget last years knowledge for my core classes. Especially considering I wasn't planning on being alive at this moment. Maybe I should have paid closer attention to my academics. Not that I could really complain. Obviously I did something right to be placed in the same room as Izumo and Bon.

"You'll walk into a wall if you don't start paying attention to where you're walking." Speak of the devil — not that I could bitch anyway. I shook my head and glanced over at Bon. He gave me an inquisitive look. "You've been distracted today, should I be concerned?" His tone had the lilt of humor, but there wasn't even the slightest hint of a smile on his face. His brown eyes assessed mine and I briefly felt vulnerable under his gaze.

I huffed, but offered a reassuring smirk. "I've been preparing for the worst, but I guess I was overthinking." Ahead of us, the rest of the boys in our classroom pushed open the male changing room. Phy Ed. was our next class activity, and we'd split from Izumo, whose changing room was down another hallway. "I'll probably be mentally exhausted by the time we get to cram, so don't be surprised if I look catatonic."

A low chuckle sounded from beside me and I held the door open for him. We both entered the changing room and I spotted several classmates already disrobing. Abruptly, my chest tightened. I knew I'd have to do this, but no matter how many times I ran through the scenarios, actually facing my fears was a different ballgame. Bon's hand fell on my shoulder and my vision swam as my eyes snapped up to his. "Take a deep breath," he whispered and I noted my stiff ribcage. I drew in a shallow breath before shaking my head. "It's okay, go change in the bathroom. I'll go with you." I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth and chewed on the delicate skin under my fangs as I grabbed my gym uniform and headed for the bathroom. Inside, a classmate was washing his hands. His eyes met mine momentarily in the mirror before I snapped my gaze to the tiles below me.

Fingers lightly touched my shoulder and I glanced behind me, the familiarity of my friend taking the edge off of my heightened state. "Go change in the stall, I can wait out here if you want." I thanked him and stepped toward one of the metal doors. I closed it behind me and latched it shut, the overhead light just outside cast shadows over my surroundings. I turned and leaned against the painted surface, its cooler temperature seeping through my jacket and touching my heated skin. My mind steadied and I drew in a deeper breath than I could before. I pulled my gym clothes away from my body and stared down at the fabric. I was definitely breaking the rules by wearing the long sleeve, but hopefully I could skate by since I was still using the summer uniform for the bottoms.

Stripping off my academy clothes, I let my mind go blank as I pulled the new fabric over my skin. My clothes caught slightly on the bandage wrapped around my left bicep, but I tried not to think about it. Once settled in place, my eyes trailed over my appearance. Honestly, I wouldn't look too out of place. The winter gym uniform consisted of a white long sleeve, purple jacket and matching joggers. My classmates would be wearing a simple white tee and purple shorts. I'd opted out of wearing the jacket and was still wearing the basketball style shorts, so the length of my sleeves shouldn't be too much of a deviation to cause a scene. I took one more moment to ground myself before unlatching the door and pulling the handle.

Bon must've changed in the open bathroom since he was dressed in the correct summer uniform when I saw him. His eyes moved upward and I was reminded of Kuro's actions this morning when he assessed me. A simple nod was all he gave me before turning and walking out of the room. I followed after him, keeping my head low as we passed our classmates and out into the hallway.

"Be confident, dude. If you keep acting like a criminal, don't be surprised if Sensei notices and tells you to change." I hummed in response and the hallway echoed as the exit doors opened out into the field. Walking out into the fresh air, the August sun basked my skin with warmth and i couldn't tell if I could actually feel the Vitamin D in my system, or if it was simply a placebo effect.