A Moment Too Soon (Yaoi boyxboy)

Yuuichi

What had I done wrong...? I thought to myself as I drank the water from my bottle. Clearly, it was something I did. There was no way he would have done it so suddenly. Wouldn't I have been able to tell that he was going to turn away and leave? Wouldn't I have seen those tears threatening long before he walked away? Even after an entire night, I still felt guilty. I didn't tell any of his friends what had happened either...I sort of lied, I guess.

Moments after he had left my sight, everyone returned and looked around for Nowaki. They didn't see him anywhere nearby, and of course, turned to me looking for answers. Unfortunately, I didn't really have one, but I didn't want them to worry...plus, he didn't seem like he wanted company very much. It was probably best if they left him alone.

"Where did Nowaki go?" Elisa asked me. Nervously, I shrugged.

"Um...he said he forgot that he had some things to take care of, so he left." I lied to them. They cocked their heads, confused.

"Things to do? Like what?" Aiden asked.

"Oh, he didn't say...but he told me to telly you guys that he'd see you later." I wasn't exactly sure if he would come to class later, but later could also mean tomorrow so...I wasn't wrong either way. They sighed and Cheyenne said,

"He probably went to the rooftop again." 

"The rooftop?" I questioned.

"Yeah. That's where they used to sit together." Elisa said.

It was obvious she meant Kida and him, so I didn't question it further yesterday. Maybe I was just thinking about what happened too much and I should just act like nothing happened. It wasn't that I was mad or anything...I just felt awkward, like I did something wrong. I was worried that he would get upset again, but in front of the others this time and that they'd get mad at me or something. It was a stupid thing to be worried about though...

Elisa told me that he was just having a rough time, and not to think he was bad person. I didn't think that at all though...he was just hurt. He was hurting terribly, and he couldn't help but cope with it like this. He probably didn't really know what to do...I wouldn't know what to do if I lost someone important to me. The only thing I could think to do is try and get through it. I suppose that was what he was doing now...though it didn't seem like things were going very smoothly for him so far.

I sighed sadly as I entered the gates. The others hadn't been standing there, which meant that either they weren't here, or Nowaki had already arrived and they had gone inside. I made my way to the classroom, and sure enough they were all inside together. They were standing in a group by a desk near the left side of the classroom. It was Nowaki's desk, if I could remember correctly. Just as I was about to say something, I was tapped on the shoulder. When I turned around, Nowaki was standing in front of me.

He looked kind of guilty, which made me feel the same. I couldn't tell which one of us was supposed to apologize. I watched as he opened his mouth, but then his eyes glanced over at his group of friends. His mouth closed again and he motioned for me to follow him. He led me over to the spot where he had left me standing yesterday. I couldn't understand why he didn't just talk to me in front of his friends. At least, not until he started to speak to me.

"I...I'm sorry that I ran off yesterday." He looked sad, like he had hurt my feelings. Quickly, I threw my hands up and started to shake my head.

"No, no! You don't have to apologize. I mean, I-" He cut me off, adding to what he was saying.

"Wait...just listen. I don't want you to think that you did anything wrong, alright? I'm...it's just that I have a lot going on, and I started to feel a bit overwhelmed. It wasn't you or anything." He sounded so sincere that I really did believe I hadn't done anything. I looked him in the eyes. He still looked dead tired, but his tone was a little different today. Not as strained.

"Well...thank you. I do have to admit that I was worried about you when you left so suddenly." I let out a soft laugh, and he stared at me with a confused expression.

"Me?" He sounded like he was surprised I wasn't worried for myself, but him instead.

"Yeah...You just looked...hurt, I guess..." I didn't mean to say it so bluntly, but he didn't seem annoyed by it. Instead he still had that surprised look on his face. "But, as long as you're okay, that's what matters." I tried to fix my blurt. I smiled at him reassuringly and he suddenly looked a little sad again, and tore his eyes away.

"Right...well...anyways, that's all I wanted to tell you." He glanced back at me one more time, then he turned away and headed back to class.