What Are We Searching For, Really?

19.

I silently stared at him, my eyes tracing the dips and bumps from his long nails, through his knobbly fingers and his finely arched knuckles as he brushed his hair away from his face and perched his glasses atop his head, revealing the bright emerald-mixed umber hues of his eyes that reflected a flash of the lightning outside.

"There's still-" A loud clap of thunder sounded again. "-a few students left on campus that have been instructed to the cafe. You should probably go."

My mind immediately rejected the idea of junior students watching me openly cower in fear whenever lightning strikes. I shook my head quickly, staring into his eyes pleadingly and grabbing his jacket sleeve on impulse. "Please no- I don't want to do that."

His eyes flicked to my hand in surprise before softening and placing his warm hand over my cold one. "What's wrong? You might find someone you know there. We need to make sure everyone on campus is safe and not going outside in this dangerous weather."

My eyes watered at his hand's gentle touch and I blinked it away quickly, hiding behind my bangs. The tips of my fingers clutched tightly.

"I'm- I'm actually scared of thunder and lightning." My voice was close to a whisper. "I've been lucky since Tamgu has more snowstorms than thunderstorms. I don't want anyone to see me like this."

Mr. Takashiro cracked a smile. "Well hey, I'm seeing you like this. Is it really that bad?"

Forgetting my lip was pretty shred apart by my anxious gnawing, I bit on it again and the disgusting coppery blood gushed out again. I winced.

"What happened? Your lip's bleeding like mad!" Mr. Takashiro jumped out of his seat and took out a piece of tissue, handing it over to me.

"Thanks," I barely managed to say, with blood dripping down my entire bottom lip. I scrunched up the tissue and roughly flicked it across my lip. Dumb idea. My whole face scrunched up at the scalding pain that felt as hot as fire, with tears pricking at my eyes. When the lightning outside seemed to explode louder than ever before, I yelped in horror, my hands flying into my hair.

"Woah, Won! It's okay, everything's alright! You're alright..." He grabbed a hold of my shoulders firmly and I froze in place, the cold spasms in my body starting to quiet down. "Look at me, Won. Please. Look at me."

After the last of my tears fell onto my lap, I blinked rapidly and slowly lifted my head to look at him. His eyes, which lit with intensity earlier, had softened as he looked into my watery eyes.

"It's ok now, Won. I'm here. Nothing's going to hurt you. You're safe."

I gulped and rubbed my nose with my bloody tissue. "Ok."

"Here." He took another tissue out of the pack and knelt down in front of me, dabbing at my lip gently. I couldn't help just staring at him as he did so, reminded of the time when his face, so close to mine and full of intensity, were unintentionally staring into my eyes through the black-tinted glass of my motorcycle helmet.

After he wiped a small drop of blood that rolled down my chin, he pressed down on my deep wound. I couldn't resist jolting upright and hissing at the sharp pain that spread through my tingling lips. Mr. Takashiro's hand stayed in place and dried the remaining of the liquid before making a satisfied noise and dumping the tissue in the bin.

"You're alright now, Won. Don't worry."

I nodded and suddenly hiccuped, my eyes widening in surprise. I clamped my mouth shut as I felt my face turning hot. "Sorry."

He let out a burst of laughter, shaking his head in amusement. "I can't believe you managed to bite that deep into your lip. What kind of vampire teeth do you have?"