Beneath the Moonless Sky

The Collapse

The day started like any other for Lan Xichen, who was preparing for his fifth-period class. Wei Wuxian sat in the back, as he usually did, trying to blend into the background, his shoelaces untied and on the wrong feet as always. Lan Xichen had grown used to noticing small details like that, but nothing had prepared him for what was about to happen.

Halfway through the lesson, while Lan Xichen was explaining an assignment to the class, he heard a commotion from the back of the room. He turned just in time to see Wei Wuxian's body tense up violently before he collapsed to the floor, his limbs jerking uncontrollably in a grand mal seizure. The air was filled with gasps, some students pointing, others laughing cruelly.

The sound of Wei Wuxian's body hitting the floor was horrifying, followed by a sickening crunch as he landed hard on his left side, the bones in his arm breaking under the impact. His head struck the tile floor with a loud thud, leaving him motionless as his body continued to seize. The room erupted into chaos, but no one moved to help. The other students, having seen this before, simply watched or whispered among themselves.

Lan Xichen was frozen for a moment, his heart pounding in his chest. He had never known Wei Wuxian suffered from seizures. The sight of his student lying helpless on the floor, broken and bleeding, sent a wave of panic through him. He rushed to Wei Wuxian's side, kneeling next to him and trying to think of what to do. His training as a teacher didn't cover this—he wasn't sure how to help.

"Everyone, stay calm!" Lan Xichen called out, trying to regain control of the classroom. But the students were far from calm, some still making cruel remarks, while others looked away, uncomfortable.

"Wei Wuxian, hold on," Lan Xichen whispered, his voice shaking as he watched the boy's convulsions slow. When the seizure finally stopped, Wei Wuxian lay still, unconscious, his left arm twisted at an unnatural angle, and a gash on his head leaking blood. His breathing was shallow, and Lan Xichen could feel his pulse racing as he carefully checked Wei Wuxian's injuries.

He knew he had to get Wei Wuxian help—immediately. But when he called the school administration, he was told that he wasn't allowed to take Wei Wuxian to the hospital. The protocol, they said, was to send him to the nurse's office and let them handle it.

Frustration burned through Lan Xichen, but his hands were tied. All he could do was follow the rules. With the help of another staff member, they gently lifted Wei Wuxian onto a stretcher and brought him to the nurse's office.

The school nurse, an older woman who had seen her share of injuries, reset Wei Wuxian's broken bones with a cold efficiency that made Lan Xichen's stomach turn. She cleaned the head wound and bandaged it, all while Wei Wuxian remained unconscious.

Lan Xichen stood by helplessly, feeling a deep sense of failure. He couldn't believe this had happened in his class, and that he hadn't even known Wei Wuxian was prone to seizures. Worse yet, the students' reactions had been callous at best, and the fact that this wasn't the first time they had seen it left him shaken.

"How often does this happen?" Lan Xichen asked the nurse as she worked.

The nurse gave him a weary look. "Often enough. Poor kid's had these episodes before. The students... well, they don't make it easy for him. But it's not our place to send him to the hospital unless it's life-threatening."

Lan Xichen swallowed back his anger. "This is life-threatening," he muttered, though he knew there was nothing he could do about it at that moment.

Wei Wuxian began to stir, his face pale and his body trembling. He winced as he tried to move his broken arm, tears slipping down his cheeks as he mumbled incoherently, still disoriented from the seizure.

Lan Xichen crouched down beside him, his voice soft but firm. "Wei Wuxian, it's okay. You're safe now."

Wei Wuxian blinked up at him, his eyes filled with confusion and pain. "Lan... Xichen...?" he whispered, his speech slurred from exhaustion.

"I'm here," Lan Xichen said gently. "We're going to get you through this."

He wanted to do more—he wanted to rush Wei Wuxian to a proper hospital, to demand that the boy receive the care he needed. But instead, all he could do was stand by and watch as the nurse finished her work and told Wei Wuxian to take it easy for the rest of the day.

When it was all over, Lan Xichen stayed with Wei Wuxian as long as he could, walking him to the door of the school when the nurse deemed it safe for him to leave. But the weight of the situation pressed heavily on his shoulders.

As Wei Wuxian limped away, his arm in a sling and his eyes still glazed with pain, Lan Xichen made a silent vow. He wouldn't let this happen again. He couldn't let Wei Wuxian continue to suffer like this, not when he knew how fragile the boy's situation was. Something had to change. And soon.