A Second Chance

|| Comfort ||

YASHIRO POV ♡

I slowly get out of bed only to get woken up by my cold room. I was already shivering so I went to my wardrobe and grabbed some clothes which I could wear so I can eat my breakfast without freezing to death.

After I put my warm socks on, I turned towards the door of my bedroom and right when I was about to grab it's handle I stopped.

"Should I even go to school today..?"

I stayed there, not moving, looking at the shiny handle. I didn't know if I could see Hanako the same again after what I just witnessed.
I mean, even if it's a dream, who knows? Maybe it actually happened, we have a bond after all, nothing surprises me anymore...

After a while of thinking, I managed to convince myself to go.
I thought that ignoring Hanako would only make it worse.. and in the end, he would've found out by himself. He is really clever and he can read me like an open book, even though I am not even trying to be obvious or anything.

And so I did. I went towards the kitchen and ate some waffles that I just warmed up, after that, I went to take a hot shower so I can warm up myself a little during this cold season, changed my clothes to my usual uniform and of course I took the hoodie Hanako gifted me.

I didn't get to announce my mother that I left, because I was already kind of late since I spent some extra time in that relaxing shower, but I left her a note on the fridge instead.

I started running towards my school and after 10 minutes I arrived, breathing heavily.

I walked faster than usual towards my class and when I arrived, I found out I got there in time happily. I relax, take out my notebooks, my pencil case and wait for the teacher to enter the class.
I looked around me to see if I find any signs of the ghostly boy but it didn't seem like anything stood out in class. I sigh and look down to my desk. I was kinda troubled and stressed by that nightmare. Hanako's screaming and the cuts in his arms affected me the most I think. It was traumatizing to be honest.

I grab bits of my hair and make braids again so I can distract myself but I still can't.
Even if I were to talk to Hanako, I don't think I would be able to... I can't bring myself to do that. It hurts me so much.
A cold shiver went down my spine again and right when I was about to check on Hanako, the teacher had already came in so I returned to my sit quickly.

My eyes kept wondering around the classroom still looking for him. I don't know why I was even doing it since he wasn't here, I just hoped.
I felt so hopeless at that point. I wasn't able to concentrate, I felt nervous, anxious, scared, worried and so I decided to put my hand up.

"Yes, Yashiro?" He noticed me.

"Sensei, may I please go visit the nurse? I am not feeling well"

"Of course!" the teacher replied as he turned back to the chalkboard to continue his lesson.

I get up, leave the classroom and head directly towards the girls bathroom. I don't know why but it felt colder than usual and I couldn't tell if it was because of the weather outside or because of me...
I clenched my teeth and put the warm hood over my head on my way there. After I arrive at the ghost's boundary I call out to him.

"Hanako-kun..?"

No response.

"Please tell me you are here."

The moment I finish my sentence, I see Hanako come out of the last stall. He wore his normal and daily uniform he always wore, but I couldn't see that anymore. Instead, I saw him in his old uniform which he used to wear when he was still alive.

Hanako looks at me concerned about me but I can't tell why.
I feel two salty tears slide down my cold cheeks. Oh. So that's why...

HANAKO POV

I slowly come out of the stall but as I look at Yashiro, ready to greet her, I see her eyes water up very quickly.
Shocked and worried, I approach the girl quickly and grab her by her shoulders.

"Yashiro??? Are you okay? Why are you crying? Is something hurting you?"

"Y-you're u-uni-"

I couldn't understand some of the words she was saying since now she was sobbing.
She reaches out to my face instead and cups my cheeks into her small hands. As she does, she leans in with her head into my chest.
I was so confused. She was shaking. What was happening..?

"Yashiro, I need you to take a deep breath, relax, and tell me what happened . Please"
I say gently.

She suddenly slips out of my grip and falls onto the floor on her knees. I decide to stay with her of course so I lay down next to her on the cold floor. Now that I notice it, the ground was indeed cold, but so was her. I grab her chin, lift her face up, since she was looking down and wipe away her icy tears.
Even her skin felt extremly cold. Something didn't feel right.

More than 5 minutes have passed so I decide to break the silence.

"Please. What is upsetting you this much?"
I hug her tightly in hope that she will calm down a bit and in response she hugs me tighter. I never saw her like this, she was basically digging her fingernails in me at this point.

"I-I had a.."

I feel her shift her weight even more on me. I start brushing her hair slowly...

"Nightmare"

"What was it about?" I whisper into her ear.

She takes a deep breath.

"You"

Silence fills the room.

My eyes widen in fear. What could have been this bad to make her cry like this? I was afraid to find out why. I tighten the hug again and she continues.

"I woke up in an empty classroom. I looked behind and saw you but you were also covered up in tons of cuts on your skin. I approached and tried to help but you backed out and right after I woke up in an empty dark room."

She gulps and continues.

"T-there I, I heard you and... your brother yelling at each other. I couldn't understand what was the conversation about because everything sounded muffled but then you started screaming and I-"

She started coughing agressively and so I backed out, my grip still tight on her and gave her a sad smile.

"I am sorry Yashiro.. you weren't supposed to see and hear that. You can stop here, I already know the rest of the story.
Thank you for telling me"

She looked at me with her watery and shiny eyes which now had a tint of red from all the crying. I approached the girl, pulled her hood down, brushed some hair behind her ear and gave her a kiss on the cheek. My cold lips touched her freezing right cheek and of course in response she started blushing madly. I gave her a short hug once again and helped her get up.

I lent my hand to her but the small shaking figure didn't look up.

"Ya-"

Instead, she jumped on top of me and tackled me down on the hard floor.
She buried her face in my chest and held my shirt tightly in a strong grip.

Author's note:
-
GUYS I KNOW I DIDN'T POST IN LIKE 3-4 DAYS BUT CHAP 71 CAME OUT AND I WAS JUST devastated. Because of that, I posted this really late, so my apologies ;(
Sorry for the grammar issues if you find any, I will check them in the morning because rn it's 4AM and I am really tired..
For this, in return, I will post tomorrow a new part ^^
If you guys have any kind of feeback, it would be highly appreciated💕
See you in the next chapter tomorrow☺️

Kira~