detention

twenty six - kai

i walk to elliot's house the next morning for school. knocking on the door, i await patiently.

after ten minutes, dread seems to devour me and i chew on my lip in thought. did something happen?

i take a deep breath, and knock again.

then finally, i hear someone. i wait for the door to open, and when it does, it reveals a worried looking jake.

"he's not here." is all he says, before trying to close the door.

i quickly step in before it closes, "what?"

i gently close the door behind me, pressing my back against it.

"i checked this morning, elliot isn't in his room."

more worry settles over me, and i dart upstairs and into elliot's room. but jake's right; his room is empty.

i curse in my head, and hurry back downstairs. "where would he have gone?"

jake only shrugs at this, watching me make my way down the steps.

i leave his house, and suddenly realisation hits. i stop in my tracks and look around- the blue paint staining the wall around me proves jake didn't manage to scrub it off overnight and my previous attempts made no difference either.

i hurry outside. not knowing where to go, i head to school. if elliot isn't there, he must be in trouble. i sprint all the way there and my legs ache terribly when i arrive.

my lungs are on fire and i gasp, trying to catch my breath. but i don't stop; i break out into a jog as i search through the hallways.

"elliot?" i shout, my voice echoing off the walls.

luckily, there aren't many students here yet, so i can search all i want without the fear of being looked at funny. plus, less students means it should be easier to find him.

key word: should.

i dart about like a madman, peeking into different classrooms as i scour the halls. but i see no sign of him.

i contemplate just leaving, so i turn around and begin to walk towards the exit.

until i hear a distant sniffing.

it's so quiet, i can barely hear it. but i'm sure it's coming from a room behind me, which is odd because i definitely checked all the classrooms in this part of the school.

and then it hits me; the bathrooms!

my body doesn't hesitate to run into the room labelled 'boys washroom.' and i heave the door open, my bones suddenly feeling like jelly.

the sniffing noises quickly stop when i enter, and i call out his name once again.

silence.

but that's all i needed to prove that it was, in fact, elliot behind the stall door.

i knock quietly on the only closed door and sigh, resting my forehead against it.

"elliot, it's me. open the door." but when nothing happens, i knock again, "please."

i hear a shuffle of movement for a while, and my mind suddenly fills with all kinds of bad thoughts. what's he doing?

but then my mind blanks and relief washes over me when the door unlocks.

i push it open, hesitantly.

my heart immediately breaks at the sight in front of me; elliot is sitting on the lid of the toilet, his knees to his chest.

his arms are wrapped around himself tightly, as his tear-stained face looks up at me.

"leo?" i whisper, "what happened?"

he turns his head away slightly, "you."

when he doesn't elaborate, i try to think of anything i could've done to upset elliot. but nothing comes to mind.

"what do you mean?" i ask him, hoping he'll answer.

it takes a while for him to respond, and when he does, i realise just how strained his voice is.

"g-graffiti." he stutters, audibly gulping.

i let my bag slip off my shoulder and i open it, quickly finding my water bottle. i hand it to elliot with concern written on my face.

i watch him carefully as he takes a long drink before handing it back to me. i put it away, and crouch down in front of him.

"graffiti?" i ask, and he nods.

i sit confused for a while before the realisation suddenly hits me. "you think that was me?"

he looks down at me with his eyebrows creased. he nods again, very slowly.

"elliot, that wasn't me." i say quietly, unsure if he believes me.

"b-but the blue paint...and you didn't show up to d-detention." he says, hiccuping slightly in between words.

when i realise his thought process, i understand why he thinks it was me. it makes perfect sense.

"the blue paint, kai! y-you had blue paint."

but how do i prove to him that it wasn't?

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word count: 795
*edited*
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