Ablaze The Heart

Who are you exactly?

I notice Nico slowly walk by the cafe, looking at the world around him. Almost like he's looking for someone. He looks at me through the window and I quickly look at Clancy and the table. I notice Clancy is slightly shaking. He's scared. I wouldn't think he would be this scared of Nico. I mean, I know he doesn't like him, and neither do I of course, but something seems off about this. Nico looks straight and continues to walk on by until we can't see anymore through the window from the cafe. I slowly and gently put my hand on Clancy's hand. "Hey, it's okay. He's gone." I say, reassuring him. He slowly lifts his head and looks at me in the eyes. I notice there are slight tears in his eyes. He mumbles something that I can't understand. "Did you say something?" I ask. He glances at the window, then back at me. "I...I'm sorry." He looks back down but he grips onto my hands a bit harder. "I shouldn't be here," he looks at me again. "And neither should you," He lets go of my hands and stands up. Adjusting his hoodie, Clancy starts to walk away. I quickly get up and walk towards him. "Wait!" I slightly yell. Everyone turns and looks at me. I turn around, grab my breakfast, and walk out the door with him.

I finally caught up to him and he didn't look back at me. "What do you mean I shouldn't be here?" "I meant what I said. It's simple. You shouldn't be near me." He says while crossing the street. I follow behind him. "I know who you are..and I know you are being wanted, but-" He stops at the crosswalk button. "How do you know who I am?" he asks, his voice becoming deep. He turns around and grabs me by the shoulders, pulling me close to him. "There's no possible chance you know who I am. I don't even know you!" He stares intensely into my eyes. "Given your response to Nico walking by, your face being on the news, and you apologizing to me, it's quite easy to guess who you are." He lets go of me and resumes walking away. I continue to follow him. "Clancy.." I say quietly, but loud enough for him to hear. He stops mid-walk. "What did you just call me?..." He says in a very low tone. "I told you, I know who you are Clancy." I take a slight step back. I'm not intimidated or scared by him, but I don't like the way he's currently acting.

He gradually turns towards me. He grabs my hand and pulls me to the side of an alleyway. He pushes and pins me against the wall. "Look, I don't who you are or what you want with me, but you do not say a word to anyone that you saw me. Do you understand me?!" he fiercely says to my face. "Yes, I understand that of course! I wouldn't do that to you." my voice slightly breaking. "I wouldn't know that. Like I said, I don't know you." He looks me up and down and lets me go. "Now, I have places to be. Go on about your life and do not say a word about my interaction with you." He walks away and disappears into the distance. I fix my composure and walk back to my house. What was that? What was his deal exactly? I did nothing wrong to him? As I walk back to my place, it starts to rain. I start to shiver as the sky grows dark and it starts to come down even more. I notice Clancy is drenched in rainwater, shivering heavily somehow. Should I go over to him? Nah. But, he's going to get sick if he doesn't go inside somewhere... I walk over to him. "H-hey. You need to get dried off, you're going to get sick if you stay out here." "I'm fine. I can handle a little rain," he says, while his shivers grow more intense. "Plus, I told you that you shouldn't be around me." He looks back down at me. "I know, but for goodness sake Clancy, please just come with me to my place. Being sick isn't fun." He looks at me in slight shock then back at rain in the sky. "Fine," he says. "Follow me then, my place isn't far from here."

We both make it back to my house and move inside. "Stay here, I'll go grab some towels." I walk upstairs. He looks around the place. "Hm, this is sure an interesting place. Quite..colorful for a house in Dema." he thinks to himself. I come back down with two towels, one in my hand and one wrapped around my body. "Here, you can take off everything and dry off with this." His eyes widen. "I'm not undressing in front of you!!" He cries. "WHAT?" I back up. " No, no! I meant your coat, mask, and stuff that are all wet," I slightly blush. Sigh, men I swear. "Oh, yeah. Those..right," He takes off his coat and slowly his mask, revealing his face. He rubs his head with the towel, drying off his hair, and then wraps it around his body. "Um..thanks for inviting me here to stay while the storm goes on," he says quietly. "Of course! Want anything to drink?" I ask, walking into the kitchen. He follows behind me. "J-just some water, please," he says, nervously. I open the fridge and grab the pitcher of water. He leans against the counter slightly, observing me. I grab a glass, put ice in it, and pour water in it. I turn and walk over to give it to him. "Thank you," he says as he grabs the glass. "Of course!" I stand next to him. "If you don't mind me asking, what's with th black stuff on your neck and hands..?" He looks at me, then back down at his hands. "Oh, this. It's caused from Nico's doing," "Oh," I say quietly. He looks back at me again, softly this time.  "I'm sorry for asking," I look down. "That's alright. It doesn't really bother me." He says, low but still softly.