beaming | keith kogane

V | frantic

☀

—

"A-AH, NO!" I watched her wave her hands frantically, cheeks blemishing a bright red. As happy as she was, she didn't seem to be very social. The girl definitely seemed outgoing, but not a social butterfly. Anyway, it's not like I wanted to see her. I had stayed after school to spend some time in the headmaster's office, Nigel with me as well.

Looking to my left, I watched Jasmine pull her brother towards her car, the two bickering back and forth. I caught sentences of her telling him to stay out of her business and statements of him arguing that he had all the right to kick my ass. I scoffed and rolled my eyes. If anything, I kicked his ass. Snorting, I toted my school bag, adjusting it on my shoulder.

My eyes trailed back to the h/c haired girl as she let out a sigh of relief at the sight of some of our classmates pulling away from the school in their car; the same ones that had pestered her with some invitation of some sort. I couldn't help, but let a cocky statement slip past my lips. "What? Your happiness sprite can't help with basic conversations?"

Her head whipped towards me, finally noticing my presence. Instead of retorting with something else, she warmly smiled. "Not exactly. I don't think I have social anxiety, but I have a lot of signs of it. Haneul told me to get it checked out, but I haven't really had the time." She scratched her cheek sheepishly, mumbling under her breath.

Cool, I didn't ask for your goddamn life story.

I didn't bother, knowing that if I said anything more, she'd want to initiate conversation. Unfortunately, it didn't even rely on me saying anything. As I was trekking down the sidewalk, Y/n had boldly skipped to walk alongside me. "Didn't I make it clear that you're an annoying pest? You're the equivalent to a buzzing fly." I scowled.

She quirked a brow and a playful expression adorned her face, "Really? Well, you don't seem to have a flyswatter." Y/n giggled, watching my off-guard expression. I sighed and stopped in my steps. She stopped as well, blinking at me curiously. "My attitude is enough Raid for an entire generation of flies. Now, beat it." I walked on.

Unsurprisingly, Y/n followed behind me. She didn't say anything at first, but as I waited on a curb to cross the street, she tiptoed up to my ear. Laughing softly, Y/n pushed her tongue to the top of her mouth, making an annoying buzz sound. After a few seconds of tolerating it, I whirled around, nearly knocking her to the ground.

The tips of my ears turned red when I realized the little proximity between our two figures. Brushing it off, my eyes burned holes in her skull. "Don't you have a family to return to or something?" I questioned, the bitter expression refusing to leave my face. Y/n seemed startled for a moment, something familiar flashing in her eyes.

It was evanescent, again. It was there and then it was gone, the spark returning. "My grandmother knows I go astray sometimes, but isn't too concerned." Her soft voice resounded as she brushed her skirt, sending molecules of dirt into the air and off the cloth. I quirked a brow at her, curious to her home life.

However, having the absence of my own parents, I didn't question it. "Well, don't follow me home. I don't want to be your 'astray' plan for today." She was amused at that; I could tell. Her lips pulled up into a pretty smile, eyes twinkling in both curiosity and happiness. "So, you can be my astray plan any other day?"

"No. Not now or ever."

"Aw, why not?"

"Because I said so."

"That's a terrible argument. You're definitely not in debate club, huh?"

"Of course I'm not—" I was cut off by her child-like laughter. I rolled my eyes, scoffing under my breath. Crossing the street, her footsteps resounded behind me. At this point, I was too tired to open my mouth against any of her actions. The closer she walked to me, the farther she most likely walked from home.

Her long trek home wasn't going to be my fault. Not many people took this route home anyways, since it was known as the 'poorer' side of town. It wasn't really; everyone else on the other side were just capitalist pigs, minus my friends of course. Lance lived here, but that was because of cheap housing and his big family.

Everyone else lived on the other side since their parents had better jobs while I was stuck with a corpse and an on-duty soldier. Silence fell upon the both of us as the sky grew darker. I could tell she was getting distracted by the stars, her footsteps not following the usual rhythm as she occasionally tripped over her own feet.

Snorting under my breath, I shook my head and just thanked the stars for the brief silence. I didn't really believe in 'God'. Cars passed by us, air whizzing in my ears as they did so. Bright lights occasionally blinded my vision, but I didn't pay them much attention and kept my eyes on the sidewalk ahead of me.

Suddenly, the rhythm of her shoes on the sidewalk came to a close. I subconsciously halted in my steps to turn and look at her, blinking incredulously. She pulled out a little note in her bag, reading it before looking up at the street sign. Turning her head, the girl gave me a heartwarming smile. "Thank you for accompanying me home, Keith."

I blinked briefly. She lives near my neighborhood? I didn't get to respond as she walked down the sidewalk, heading to her new home. I stared for a few more seconds before shaking my head and starting my way home again. I shouldn't be concerned. She shouldn't be my concern. My sneakers slapped against the cement of the sidewalk, kicking pebbles forward or to the side.

I sighed under my breath, walking towards the apartment complex that I dwelled at, dragging my feet behind me. Oddly enough, without her voice, the rest of the walk home was pretty boring.