Free My Heart (Zero Kiryu x Reader)

Chapter XI - White Lily

Free My Heart Chapter XI

You stood in front of the mirror, tying the red bow around your neck as you prepared for the day class. You could barely open your eyes, for they felt quite heavy and bleary. Last night had been so terrible that you could hardly sleep. For some reason, that nightmare was one of the worst that you had had in a while.

You rubbed your tired eyes then blinked repeatedly in an attempt to wash away the exhaustion. You gazed back at your reflection in the mirror and couldn’t help but frown a little at your image: your eyes were slightly puffy, the skin under them was smeared with dark circles, and your skin looked pale and unhealthy.

You ran your fingers through your tresses in order to fix a few stray strands, hoping that by at least tidying your hair you would look a bit more presentable. You pressed your lips into a tight line… ‘should I tell Zero about the weird noise that I heard last night?’ then you shook your head, ‘maybe I shouldn’t. It was probably nothing. Besides, he must be having enough problems to worry about.’

You broke out from your silent contemplation when you heard a knock at the door of your chamber. Swiftly, you grabbed your textbooks from the study desk then ran to he door and, as you opened it, you were met with the tall figure of your silver-haired friend, Zero, who has been maintaining his routine of escorting you from your room to the class, and vice versa.

Despite your sleepiness, you managed to give Zero a smile, though a small and tired one. “Good morning.” You greeted gently. He only blinked as he continued to stare at you then, without the simplest greeting, he asked: “Rough night?”

“How did you know?”

With the most blank expression on his face, he raised his hand and pointed at your visage: “This.”

‘Jeez… blunt much..?’ Annoyed, you pouted at Zero and pushed his hand away from your face. “Thank you. Very perceptive…” you commented with obvious sarcasm lacing your tone, which prompted a tiny smirk to appear on the young man’s lips. But soon after, a thoughtful look came to settle on his handsome face and he lowered his gaze to the floor; he recalled what had taken place the night before. Unbeknownst to you, he indeed had heard your terrified scream when he had been leaning against your closed door. He had almost felt your labored breathing and uncontrolled trembling… he could sense your troubled state; yet he couldn’t do anything about it, even if he did have the intention to try and help. He was convinced that he wasn’t at all gifted when it came to extending words of comfort to others.

However, he knew that it must have been a terrible dream that had plagued your slumber. He remembered the time when he had the conversation with the older Kain sibling, Akatsuki. The blonde aristocrat had told him about the constant nightmares that you had been having, and Zero couldn’t possibly forget that particular detail about your nightmares being more than simply random thoughts, but rather actual memories.

Memories you didn’t even know existed…

Lifting his gaze back at you, Zero asked: “Nightmares?”

Your eyes widened slightly at his question, but realizing that he had figured out the very cause behind your insomnia, you sighed and nodded reluctantly.

“What was it ab-…” he was still talking when you interrupted him quickly: “We should really go. We wouldn’t want to be late for class.”

Perceiving that you were hesitant to talk about the matter, Zero withdrew his question and started walking along with you through the hallway.

**********

Zero looked up from the pages of the textbook and settled his bored gaze on the black board on which the teacher was writing some kind of an equation. What the teacher was trying to explain, Zero didn’t know, for he wasn't paying attention to anything that was presented to the class. He was too tired, too sleepy to keep up with the teacher’s continuous babbling. He yawned, his eyes getting a little teary as exhaustion weighed on his senses. Propping one elbow on the desk, he rested his cheek against his palm and continued to block out the teacher’s distant voice.
His eyes moved from the uninteresting board and fell on your form that was sitting a few rows down the classroom. He couldn’t see your face, only your back, but he could tell that you were just as tired as he was. The usual attentiveness in your posture was absent that day, replaced by an uncharacteristic laziness. He was aware that you were sleep-deprived, and the steady routine of the academic program was not helping in the least. He knew, for he too had found it difficult to keep his eyes open.