(Hockey BxB) Whistle In The Wind

-𝐗𝐕-

╔══《"Thunder only happens》══╗
when it's raining.

       "Those are from skating..." Váli flinched.

       "Hun, you can't expect me to believe that," the nurse responded. "I'm a trained nurse, remember. I know you don't get cuts from falling on flat, smooth ice."

       "The bruises, I mean," Vál tried to clarify, his heartbeat quickening. Not only did scratches cover the entirety of his legs, but bruises did too. "I got the scratches falling on gravel a couple days ago," he lied effortlessly despite his pulse quickening.

       "Okay... I can't really force you to say anything," the nurse obliged, turning her attention back to Váli's ankle. The area was noticeably swollen, already turning black and blue.

       "This looks pretty rough," the nurse prodded at it, causing Váli to wince in reaction. "Pretty tender too..." the nurse furrowed her brows, thinking. "Take your shoe off, I'll wrap it up before sending you off with ice."

       Váli complied, sliding the sneaker off his food in one motion. "It doesn't look broken," the nurse stated, rolling his ankle around. "Still, no strenuous activities for a week," she threatened. Standing up to grab an ankle brace, Váli panicked. That means no skating... I can't not skate! He worried. I'll fall behind. Hell, I'm already falling behind! 

       Fidgeting with his fingers on his lap, he was forced to sit still while the nurse fetched her supplies. Returning a minute later with the compression wrap, the nurse sat down between his legs once more. Strategically, she tightly swathed the throbbing area, the pain subsiding slightly as a result.

       "Here," she handed him a bag of ice, "You can return to class with the gentleman who brought you here. Just take it easy and go see a doctor if it gets worse," she instructed, standing up and walking to her desk. Grabbing a pen, she began scribbling on a slip of paper.

       Váli stood up and wobbled back to the front room where Lucien sat patiently. "What're your names?" the nurse asked, writing the students a pass back to their classes.

       "Lucien and Váli," Luc answered. Váli nodded, his throat being so dry he was unable to talk. He swallowed hard, trying to suppress sobs from slipping past his throat. Váli's whole world was turned upside down, and he was forced to return to class and act unbothered.

       Tearing the bright yellow pass off her passbook, the nurse handed it to them before sitting down in her desk chair. Lucien wished her 'goodbye' before guiding Váli out of the office. By now, the hallways were completely clear--except for stray kids wandering around.

       As Váli and Lucien walked to their class, they heard snippets from teachers' lessons. Some had videos or movies blaring on their classes front boards. Others had teachers giving lectures, or games being played. Each classroom was in their own world, with students who each lived their own lives.

       Váli's brain whizzed. "You're awfully quiet," Lucien's gentle voice interrupted, breaking Váli's trance. Glancing up at him, the blond relaxed.

       "Yeah, sorry."

       "Nothing to be sorry about. I like the quiet, too. I don't get much around Aksel," he joked, his words holding some level of truth. 

       "Tell me about it," Váli humored. As they neared their classroom, Váli slowed his already snail-like pace. In order to match his tempo, Luc had to walk in slow motion. Arriving at the closed door, Váli sighed, not wanting to return to class.

       In the hallway, he and Luc were in their own bubble--where no one's opinions mattered. Not Aksel's, or his mothers, or even his own. He was allowed to dissociate next to someone he felt comfortable with.