"No, sorry I can't," He sighed as he turned down an invitation to hang out. "Yes I'm serious you idiot! My half-brother is back after all these years and he says he wants to have dinner together so I can't today."
"Oh come on! You can just skip out on him can't you?" The voice on the other end of the phone pleaded.
"No, I can't!" He exclaimed, getting frustrated with the call. "He... get's scary when he's mad. Anyway I just can't. Sorry, another time."
"But we really need you now!" The voice begged again. "We're getting roasted out here!"
"Then burn evenly you cowards-" He was about to finish but got distracted by the smell of smoke and the sight of fire. "Holy shit!... I'll call you back later."
He gawked at the blue flames for a while, wondering what on earth would be burning that would make such a fierce but cold color. It was in the distance and on the other side of a two meter wall but he could tell the flames where violent and dangerous, but he couldn't look away and just kept staring at the hazy blue in the distance, until a figure jumped over the wall in the direction the fire was coming from.
"What the-" He thought as he watched the figure land without much effort, and continued onto the road.
As he stared he noticed that the person looked strangely familiar, too familiar in fact. The build and the grey hair sticking out of the black hood, with eyes that seemed like they glowed.
"Wait, hold on..." He started, recalling the day and the weird looking transfer student that walked through the classroom door, and became his seatmate. Sure he slept through most of the day because he stayed up all night playing games at a PC café, and fighting students from other schools, but there was no way he'd forget someone with such striking features. "Isn't that Lily? Or whatever his name was."
'What is he doing out at this time? Did he see the fire? Was he there? Wait, did he start it?'
Just as those thoughts were racing through his mind, he glanced back to see that the flames and smoke where gone. Completely disappeared.
"Huh?"
'Lily' had also disappeared from his line of sight as well. Now he couldn't chase after him with his questions, but that was fine. Since he could just ask him all he needed to know tomorrow. It was the first time in his life he was even remotely interested in the start of the school day.
~
His eyes traced the steps he had always taken everyday to get to his seat, but it wasn't for the usual boring purpose. This time, he sighted his mark, as intended. 'Lily'.
"Do you live close to Talon station?" He questioned as soon as he sat down, not bothering to care how weird and sudden that sounded, to someone who hardly knew him.
"Huh?" Lily responded with confusion. He was a bit concerned with the way he was gazing at him. Yesterday he slept the day away without a care in the world, especially about how he looked, and now he was staring at him so intently, it almost gave him goosebumps.
"Do. you. live. around. Talon station?" He asked again, this time spacing out the words almost as how one would talk to a foreigner who didn't understand Japanese.
"Uh... yeah," Lily answered, already weary of the conversation. He had hoped to remain comfortable around this sleeping beauty of a classmate but now he was just hoping he would never speak to him again.
"Then did you go out last night?"
'Again another question' Lily thought to himself. He wished he'd get straight to the point and wondered what he was getting at.
"Um..."
"Did you see it?" He asked another, not even letting Lily finish answering the other.
"See what?" Lily pondered, forcing himself not to sigh.
"The blue flames?"
Lily stayed in shock for a bit, less than 1.5 seconds and then regained his composure. He'd almost made a mistake.
"Blue flames?" Lily asked, feigning ignorance. "You mean like the one's caused by electrical appliances and stuff?"
"Eh?" He exclaimed, taken aback. 'Does he really not know what I'm talking about?' He wondered, staring at Lily very intensely again, trying to gauge his honesty. 'Or did I really see someone else?'
"Something wrong?" Lily inquired, pressing the ignorance gambit. Within himself his mind was seriously racing though. He'd made a stupid mistake and was seen.
"No," He sighed, resting his chin on his palm. "Nothing." He chose to buy the ignorance game for now. He was still contemplating whether or not he had really seen someone else, or anybody at all for that matter. Besides, if he was lying to keep it a secret, he must really not want anyone to know. And so, he chose to respect that, for the most part.
"..."
"Ah," He started, suddenly remembering something important. "I'm Inoue Hikaru, and you're Lily right?"
"Ah, yes," Lily answered, accepting his hand to shake. "Hinote Lily. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too."
'Shit'.