Infuriating :: KAVETHAM/HAIKAVEH

24

Kaveh's POV

I was at home, staring at a complicated blueprint for a commission that had been dragging on for days. My head was pounding, not from the design itself, but from the constant stress. I could almost hear Alhaitham's voice in my head, telling me to take a break, to breathe, to stop pushing myself so hard. But I couldn't—not when every detail felt crucial.

The Akademiya had been silent for hours, and I thought Alhaitham was simply busy. It wasn't until my phone rang, breaking the eerie quietness of the room, that I looked away from my work. Alhaitham's name flashed across the screen, and immediately, I could sense something was wrong.

"Kaveh..." His voice was tight, quieter than usual. "I... I ran into someone today. Someone from school."

My heart skipped a beat. "Who?"

"Aziz."

The name hit me like a ton of bricks. Aziz, the boy who had made Alhaitham's life miserable. The boy who had broken him down, day after day, until my usually stoic and confident friend had become a shell of himself, too afraid to be anything but perfect, too afraid to let anyone see his vulnerabilities. Even now, years later, Alhaitham still masked most of his emotions, even from me. He tried so hard to appear unaffected, but I knew better.

"Aziz? What the hell is he doing at the Akademiya?" I could feel anger bubbling up in my chest.

"I don't know," Alhaitham replied, his voice strained. "He... He made a joke, punched me in the arm like it was nothing. But it wasn't nothing."

I could hear the tremor in his voice, the cracks in his usually composed demeanor. Alhaitham was scared—no, terrified. I could picture him standing there, paralyzed, all the memories of those dark days flooding back.

"Where are you now?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm, though my own heart was racing.

"My office," he said. "I... I had to get away from him."

"I'm coming to you," I said immediately. "Stay there. I'll be outside your office."

I grabbed my things, barely remembering to lock the door behind me before I dashed out of the house. The walk to the Akademiya felt like it took forever, my thoughts racing with every step. How dare Aziz show up after all these years? How dare he try to weasel his way back into Alhaitham's life like nothing had happened?

When I reached the Akademiya, I didn't even stop to greet the familiar faces I passed. I headed straight for Alhaitham's office, where I found him standing outside the door, looking like he'd seen a ghost.

"Kaveh..." His voice was barely a whisper.

I pulled him into a hug, but he didn't return it. His arms hung limp at his sides, his breathing shallow and uneven. Something was wrong—something more than just seeing Aziz.

"Come on," I said softly, guiding him into his office. "Let's go inside."

He followed me in without protest, and I locked the door behind us. As soon as the door clicked shut, Alhaitham's composure shattered. He slid down the wall, his hands trembling as he clutched his head. His breathing grew ragged, his body tense and coiled like a spring ready to snap.

"Alhaitham..." I knelt beside him, unsure of what to do. My hands hovered over him, wanting to comfort him but knowing how much he hated being touched when he was like this.

"Don't... don't touch me," he gasped, his voice strained. "Please, Kaveh, don't..."

I froze, my heart aching for him. He had told me before about his meltdowns—how they used to happen often when he was a child, how he had learned to mask them, to hide them from the world. But no matter how much he tried to control it, the fear and anxiety were still there, bubbling beneath the surface, waiting for moments like this to break free.