Shadowstruck

Chapter 12 Part 1

Noah was quiet. He watched Cooper look down and to the side, shifting his hand so that his fist was pressed against his mouth. 

Silence. No one moved. No one spoke. 

Noah's mind was strangely calm. The first it had been for a couple of weeks now. The only thought running in circles around his mind was 'Are you okay?', but he didn't know whether to speak first or let Cooper talk.

Cooper, on the other hand, was panicking. He could feel his grip on himself, on reality, loosen. He was dizzy. He fought to steady both his body and mind, pulling in on himself and doing his best to ignore the torrent of thoughts screaming through his mind. They were like a river, rushing past him and inches away from dragging him in. 

Cooper dug his nails into his palm, grounding himself. He felt the dizziness fade slightly, enough for him to open his eyes without feeling like he'd crash to the floor at any given moment. He heard his breath catch and he gripped the leather running across his chest, feeling the sword shift against his back. He glanced to wards Noah, who still had yet to say a word. He had a look of concern etched onto his face. 

Cooper broke eye contact, mumbling an apology just loud enough for Noah to hear. 

Noah crossed his arms lightly. "I don't see the necessity of an apology from you." He watched Cooper raise his head a bit. He sighed. "Me, though?" He looked at the ground. "I'm sorry." Noah caught the questioning glance thrown his way and shook his head. "Shouldn't have yelled." He paused, looking back up. "Are you okay?" 

He watched Cooper glance at him for just a moment before gazing at a wall and nodding hesitantly. "Not to be all 'are you sure', but...are you sure?" Cooper looked to the floor, letting his hair fall in front of his eyes. Not a word was spoken.

Noah's heart shattered into a million pieces.

Yes, this all stemmed from Jason getting punched. Yes, he was worried about every single person in the kingdom right now. And yes, he was well aware that every second that passed was a second that someone could be getting hurt because of it.

His heart was arguing with his mind, and he didn't know which to believe.

Cooper had seemed so broken at that moment, like he was tearing at the seams. Noah heard his voice echo in his mind.

I know that not all of us are going to make it out of this okay or - or alive. I don't want to be the cause of that.

Noah glanced at him, his own mind yelling at him from every angle once again. But instead of being about the kingdom, about Jason, about his friends...

I don't trust myself, but I...I think I could try if I knew someone else did.

...they were about Cooper.