beaming | keith kogane

VIII | know

☀

—

"YOU TWO KNOW WHY YOU'RE HERE," Alfor quirked a brow, crossing his arms at us. Indeed, we were far from innocent. I sat next to Y/n, the girl beside me stifling her own laughter by distracting herself, fidgeting her finger against the armrest. A flash of light appeared on my far left, a disappointed looking blond boy popping up.

He clicked his tongue, "Maybe, maybe not." Haneul had a boyish smirk glued to his lips, a glimmer of confidence in his eyes. I blinked at his sudden appearance, but didn't bother to back up his claim, looking away silently. Alfor sighed, "You can't just start food fights in the middle of lunch, you two. Not to mention, you two left while everyone else cleaned up."

Alfor clicked away on his computer briefly, "You didn't think we had security cameras, did you?" He turned the computer screen to us. We watched it briefly, snickers escaping my lips unintentionally. Haneul even managed a small grin, shrugging. "Nah, babo knew, but didn't bother to care." He smiled.

Y/n turned around, hissing under her breath and smacking him on the arm. He jumped back with a small yelp, "Aish, woman! I'm not wrong, am I, babo?" He teased her, the girl's cheeks flushing a bright pink out of embarrassment as she huffed and rolled her eyes. I turned my gaze away from the scene, meeting with Alfor's blue ones instead.

He massaged his temple, sighing briefly. "Well, Y/n, your records are clean as far as I'm concerned and you didn't have any ill intention," He paused, tapping his desk for a few minutes. "So, I'll let you go for now." The headmaster turned his attention to me, not seeming angry at all. "You'll be free too. I have enough kids to deal with in detention."

He sounded so tired as he said the last part that I couldn't help, but pity the stressed adult. "Sorry, sir." Y/n bowed politely before meandering out of the office, Haneul following behind her. As I went to leave, Alfor stopped me. "No apology for me, Keith?" I could tell he was joking, a childish look on his face as a smile upturned his lips.

My sneakers scuffed the ground, slightly dirtying the mat underneath my feet. "Do you expect one?" He shook his head with a light laugh, waving his hand dismissively. I grinned back slightly, turning the knob on the door and escaping the room. As I guessed, Haneul hadn't left yet, whispering under his breath to Y/n.

The two seemed to be caught up in a heated argument as I walked past them, grabbing my bag that I left on one of the waiting chairs. I strode to the main entrance, mind racked with ideas of meals for dinner. "Wait up, Keith!" Ignoring her wishes, I quickened my pace to the door. Just as my hand landed on the handle and pushed it open, footsteps caught up with me, followed by a poof of red.

A light huff escaped my lips at the sight of her much smaller sneakers on my left. You've got to be kidding me right now. She caught up with me, her footsteps falling into the same rhythm as mine. However, it soon quickened since my long legs stretched farther than her smaller ones. "I thought I told you to wait up," The girl complained, a pout shaping her lips.

I ignored her whining, "Yeah, I heard you," I shrugged slightly, my bag slipping off my shoulder briefly. She huffed at that, but followed me anyways. It's not like she had another option anyways; her way home was the same as mine. "So," She skipped forwards, her strides attempting to keep up with mine. "So?" I looked over at her, quirking a brow.

She grinned childishly, her bag hitting her legs a few times as she dragged it alongside her, the strap hanging off her right hand's fingers. "Any plans for Halloween? I heard that there's a few interesting festivals, haunted houses, and escape rooms that open around then. Then again, it's all things that my grandmother told me. . . " 

The girl looked away sheepishly, scratching her cheek. I blinked at her once, then twice. "It's the middle of September. We have weeks until we even get to Halloween, stupid." I rolled my eyes, checking the calendar app on my phone to be sure. I hardly kept up with the dates anymore; I just let the days roll past me. 

"Yeah, but," Y/n started up another point as we wandered down the crosswalk. By now, she'd probably given up on attempting to keep up with me since she'd fallen about a foot behind. "It doesn't hurt to get costumes and stuff on sale!" Y/n raced forward, attempting to skid in front of me and make me stop right in front of her.

She failed—of course—tripping forwards instead and nearly planting her face into the sidewalk. I quickly caught her right wrist with my left hand, her foot hitting against the curb. "How about you pay attention to the present for now?" I offered, teasing her before making my way to the other curb that we had to cross at.

Y/n huffed, rubbing her right wrist. For some reason, I suddenly felt concerned as to whether I had grasped her too tightly or not. "I didn't, did I?" I questioned quietly, my eyes going back and forth between her wrist and the busy street. She was twisting it and I'm not sure if it was the lighting, but it seemed to glow the slightest shade of red.

"What?" The annoying girl was confused, blinking up at me with those big e/c doe eyes of hers. I blinked back at her before turning away, pretending to seem bothered. "Nothing." I responded and she sufficed with that, silently nodding and chewing on her bottom lip before she faced forward. As we went down the last crosswalk, it became silent.

Nights seem to grow longer now as the sky turned dark, stars already glimmering in the distance. As she turned straight ahead and I made a left, she called out my name, waving her right hand in the air. I turned around, staring at her. "I get it now!" Y/n grinned widely, still moving her hand like a maniac. "I'm fine!"

I clicked my tongue and continued home, not without hearing another interruption.

"Thanks for your concern!"