Lunchtime shortly came and so far, the day has been nothing but exhausting. Everyone kept staring and following me and Ryu around, wherever we go.
The good thing is, I found his company to be quite comforting. Having someone around me all this time made me feel safer, and more at ease than I usually am in a public setting.
We met with my friend Hina in front of the cafeteria, and as soon as she saw Ryu she gasped and ran toward us.
"Oh my god hi!" She said looking up at him a glow in her eyes. "You're the new student right?"
Hina knows everything and everyone in this school, she's well acquainted with almost everyone, including teachers and staff members. Which makes the fact that I'm her best friend quite unrealistic.
She put out her hand to shake his and he took it, smiling. "My name is Hina, you?"
"Ryu!" He said enthusiastically.
We sat down at a table and everyone's eyes were on us, and it didn't help that Hina the popular girl was sitting next to the new boy in school. "I'll get you your tray Hanako," Ryu said, getting up hurriedly. "No wait I can do it myself!" I said loudly, but he already ran off, leaving me alone with Hina. What is he trying to do?
We talked about random things as he stood in line to get lunch until Hina saw someone, her crush. She quickly got up and ran towards him, leaving me alone to fend for myself. This is one thing I dislike about her, she's boy-crazy. She would do anything and everything just to have a second with her crush, whom I'm not sure even feels anything for her.
I sit by myself, checking my countless pills and making sure I took the right amount of them. My illness not only limits my ability to perform physical activities. But it also makes me look weird in front of everyone for caring an entire medicine bag every time I go to lunch.
As I took my pills, I saw a group of girls walking toward me. I froze and looked down, trying not to make eye contact with them. They all stood over me, surrounding me from all directions.
I gulped loudly, swallowing my last pill. One of them took my inhaler sitting on the table and said in a loud annoying voice "What's this piece of plastic?". One of the other girls picked up my medicine bag and threw it on the flour, it made a loud thud as it hit the surface.
The girl in the middle, who seemed to be their leader motions for me to stand up, which I do to avoid any further trouble. I stand up to face her and she starts laughing at me, she pokes my stomach with her sharp nails and I wince in pain.
She laughs louder "Did your parents feed you this morning? You look frail and empty." She pauses, signaling for her so-called 'friends' to laugh at her unfunny remark.
I frown and look down, trying hard to keep my cool. She took my chin with her hand and lifts my head up, tears started falling from my eyes. She laughs, everyone in the cafeteria was staring at us now. Where's Hina? Where's Ryu, so much for being my guardian.
She let go of my chin and lifts her hand up to slap me. I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for the stinging pain of her slap, but nothing came. I slowly opened my eyes to see someone standing between us, Ryu. He held the mean girl's wrist tight, making her unable to move it.
She stared at him in shock, mouth slightly open. She pulled her wrist back but to no avail, she couldn't move it. Ryu wasn't exactly buff or strong looking, but he had the strongest grip on her wrist, his knuckles turning white as he held it.
I looked at him, he seemed mad. Ever since I met him, I've seen nothing but bright smiles from him. But at that moment, he looked seriously angry. Like he was the one about to get slapped by some no-life chick. He finally let go of her wrist, it was bright red by the time she pulled back from his grip.
She winced and glared at him "What is wrong with you-"
"Leave her alone." He interrupted her. His once shiny red eyes turned into dark cold ones. He stood in front of me, putting his arm out in front of me.
I looked up at him then at her, she gave me a cold unforgiving glare and walked away with her group. I let out a sigh of relief and let my shoulders rest, I didn't realize how tense I was moments ago.
He turned around to face me, placing a hand on my shoulder. His once cold evil stare quickly transformed into a soft and gentle one. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" He said softly. I shake my head, wiping the tears from my eyes.
Hina finally runs back, looking worried and nervous. She hugged me and apologized for leaving me alone, but we both knew it was already too late for that. Ryu glared at her, he probably hates her for this now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After school, Ryu and I walked home. The sun was setting behind us and the weather was nice. I never found the time or motivation to appreciate the weather or nature. My long indigo-colored hair swayed in the calm wind.
I looked at Ryu, his hair somehow looked brighter than usual, and his eyes too. Probably because of the golden lighting of the sunset. He was holding his bag behind him, looking ahead.
I looked down looking at our shadows. None of us talked, from what I've seen from Ryu so far, he tends to be quite the talkative loud type, but this time, he was quiet.
The silence wasn't awkward, it was comfortable. It felt like I'd known him for ages like we were so used to each other, that walking like this in silence isn't a big deal, and you have to be a special kind of close to a person to reach that type of comfort.
He finally broke the silence "Umm, sorry for leaving you alone earlier at lunch, I thought it'd be nice if I grabbed your food for you" He apologized, head held down. I couldn't tell if it was the sunlight or my eyes, but I could see a slight difference between the color of his skin and his cheeks. They somehow looked red and flushed.
I smiled, looking at him "No, it's fine. I actually haven't thanked you for your help yet. Thank you." I said shyly, looking away slightly. No one's ever been this nice and kind to me, I felt quite happy at that moment.
"Do you live nearby?" I asked, I'm still not exactly sure if he's the Ryu from yesterday, That guy was a demon. Do demons have houses? He chuckled and looked at me "Your house is my house, you're stuck with me now."
I looked at him with a look of shock.
What is that supposed to mean? "Wait, w-what? I'm not sure if my parents-".
"Don't worry about that." He said cutting me off. I looked away feeling embarrassed.
We reached my house and as soon as I opened the door, I felt a gust of hot air hit the back of my neck. I looked behind me and Ryu was gone, he had vanished into thin air, again.
I smiled to myself and walked inside closing the door behind me. I finally have a new friend.