Silence | Book 1

2-11: Promise

'How was Berlin?'

Hibiki slid his phone forwards over the table towards Tristan with a wide smile, before using both his hands to take a bite out of the still pristine burger that had just been placed on the table.
"Stressful, but really nice." Tristan said with a smile back while he picked up his sandwich, but not taking a bite from it just yet. Instead he watched Hibiki struggle with the onions on his burger. "Thank you for helping me out. I must look like a real loon to you now..." He mumbled still feeling ashamed over his breakdown the week before.
Hibiki looked up from his burger and shook his head, like he was surprised Tristan would even consider it like that. He held up one finger to signal Tristan should wait for a second, then quickly put his burger down and wiped his hands. Once he had grabbed his phone, he could finally type his response.

'You're not crazy. You should really stop thinking of every vulnerability as a flaw or a mistake. It's only going to make things worse.'

"I know I'm just... sorry..." Tristan mumbled, afraid that his worries were nothing but another bout of overreacting from his side. Yet Hibiki caught on and immediately began typing again.

'Don't be, just tell me what's on your mind. It's better to let it out.'

With a soft sigh, Tristan nodded, then took a bite of his sandwich to think his answer over whole chewing. Hibiki waited patiently for him, leaning on one elbow while eating a few chips.
"I'm worried that I'm going to disappoint everyone? My mum is always angry with me, and my dad pays for tuition so if I fail he's going to be angry as well."
Hibiki let out an audible sigh, and for a moment Tristan shrunk, afraid that it was directed at him.

'Your parents sound like they want the best from you without having to figure out what's best for you'

"Is that not normal?" He asked, not sure anymore if his standard for normalcy had been weird all along.

'It's common. But I don't think it should be normal? Then again my family thinks I'm crazy, so they don't expect anything'

That surprised Tristan slightly, looking up as Hibiki continued to type.

'Maybe I'm not the best for this. I'm not really normal either.'

"Of course you are." Tristan said back, louder than he had meant to be. "You can't speak, that's all. I really don't get why nobody has been your friend before, you've helped me so much."

A soft smile broke through on Hibiki's face, but unlike usual he didn't look up at Tristan. Instead the smile faltered and he chewed on his bottom lip, frowning ever so slightly.
"Is that not it?" Tristan asked, worried that perhaps he had said something wrong. But Hibiki shook his head and then pulled his phone closer to type again.

'Can we promise each other something?'

Finally Hibiki threw a glance up, smiling somewhat uncertain but hopeful. Tristan answered with his own smile and a nod, then handed the phone back.

'I want to tell the truth to you, but you have to tell me too whenever something bothers you.'

For a moment Tristan frowned, unsure why the tone had shifted.
"I think I can, yes? Why? You can tell me anything. I don't believe I'm as good as you with helping, but I will try." He nodded, in his attempt to reassure Hibiki for once. The latter was too preoccupied with his response to give Tristan more than a slight smile, before he let out a soft sigh and set to tell the truth best he could.
Hibiki appeared to be rather frustrated with the topic, his expression dark when he slid the phone in Tristan's direction. He didn't look up or watch his response, instead taking an agitated bite out of his burger. Both curious and nervous, Tristan picked up the phone and read the message.