Charming Criminal | Light Yagami ✓

Charming Criminal [26]

You felt like you were carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. So many secrets, so many promises, so many things to keep locked away behind those doors in your head, doors whose keys you had buried beneath your tongue. You decided it was best to avoid Light for the next few days, to let your thoughts simmer and give yourself some time to sift through everything that had happened. But it was hard to focus on college, to keep your mind on the lectures and the books when all you wanted to think about was Light, Kira, this dead secret you were harbouring. You were scared too, scared of slipping up. Every time you even heard the word 'Kira' you flinched, your tongue loosened. What if one day you just said it, for no reason, when you couldn't contain it any longer. What if Light had made a mistake by telling you?

"You seem distracted."

You blinked out of your daze, returning to the present in a blur of green plant fronds and rutted wooden benches. Your body was at college, you had to keep your mind there too. When you saw who had spoken, your face dropped. "What are you still doing here?" You muttered, picking at a piece of loose wood on the table. "Don't you have a killer to catch?"

"Eh, it's nice to take a break sometimes," L answered, crouching on the bench next to you, his hands resting on his knees.

"By coming to college?"

"Mhm. It has nice seating areas," he observed, and you slipped a laugh. Your tongue clenched again. "So, something on your mind?"

You stopped fiddling with the wood and sighed. "Is it really that obvious?"

The ravenet tilted his head to face you, his dark eyes even more shadowed, leeching the colour from the rest of his face. He fixed you with an intense look and you fought the urge to move away. He ignored your question. "Has Light said or done anything suspicious?"

"Of course not," you said, keeping your voice steady. "The only suspicious thing in his life is how the hell he managed to get a model as a girlfriend."

"Hm. Do you think they're plotting something?"

You scoffed. "Of course not," you repeated. Why did your voice sound so strained? "She's pretty and popular, but she's not the smartest girl around," you said, not unkindly.

"Is that all you've got on her?"

You rolled your eyes, wanting to get up and walk away, but you managed to keep yourself grounded. "I told you, I'm not a trained investigator," you replied tartly. "There really isn't anything interesting about her."

"Are you jealous of her?"

"Ha! Of course not," you said honestly, grabbing the water bottle on the table and taking a sip. Your throat was starting to get dry. "Look, I'm not dumb. I would be able to tell if my friend and his girlfriend were mass murderers."

"I never said I suspected his girlfriend of being a mass murderer."

Your gut knotted, struck by a sudden moment of panic. "No, but you implied it," you quickly fixed, but L was looking at you cautiously.

"Maybe," he said, but there was discord in his voice and you knew you'd messed up somehow.

"I have a lecture soon," you lied, already zipping up your bag and lifting it onto your shoulder. L watched you with an odd little smile as you stood up, and then said, rather firmly, "No, you don't." You looked down at him with a smouldering look. "And how would you-"

"I've memorised your timetable."

You threw your hands up, incredulous. "Am I under surveillance now or something?"

L's smile widened, a shadow crossed his face. "No. I just thought it would help me detect when you lie, when you use it as an excuse to get away from me," he started, speaking in a low, fast-paced rumble that left your head spinning. "If you're trying to get away that means you're nervous. Are you nervous because you're hiding something and you're scared that spending more time with me will see that secret slip out and-"

"Stop it," you hissed, clutching the table as your legs started to wobble. "Just stop it." His silence hit you like a bullet. "I don't want to help you anymore. I don't want you to contact me anymore. I want you to leave me alone, do you understand?"

The black-haired male climbed solemnly to his feet, slipping back into the trainers he'd taken off before sitting next to you. "I understand completely. Your help was not obligatory to start with. I will cease contact with you immediately. You won't see me around here again." He was already walking away when he stopped, bent down to scratch his knee, and spoke in a low undertone. "Remember what I said. All roses have thorns. Watch yourself before you're cut too deeply."

It's too late for that, you thought, swallowing hard enough to hear your throat clench as you watched him walk away in his usual hunched manner.

You jumped when your phone started ringing in your bag, and fumbled around for a good few seconds before finding it tucked in between two textbooks. You answered it just before the last ring. "Hello?"

"I'm looking for a [L/N]-San?"

"Speaking. Who is this?" You asked, fiddling with the button of your jacket and glancing up. L was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm a receptionist at Ibaraki Hospital. I'm phoning to let you know that your mother is here. She was attacked earlier today."

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A/N — Sorry for the smol & boring chapter but I promise there's a lot more drama to come in the next few! Also tysm 10k reads & 700 votes >o< This rubbish fic really doesn't deserve it!