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“Pfft, I’m the queen at self injury.” She said proudly. As if that was something to be proud of. She paused for a moment, staring at him before bursting into laughter. She made her way to his side, still trying to choke down her giggles. “S-Sorry! I slipped. Let me… let me see your glasses I’ll dry them off.”
Kyle shook his head with a small smile, "It's fine, no need to apologise. They're clean now anyway." He put them on but they were still foggy and he couldn't see through them. He frowned a little and he sighed dramatically.
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She laughed, gently taking his glasses from his face. She used her scarf to defog them, biting her lip in concentration. “There!” She carefully placed them back on his face, grinning. For a moment she stood readjusting her scarf around her neck.
"Why thank-you." Kyle smiled, glad being able to see again. He pushed them up his nose a little then looked at the melting snow beneath them, "Damn, I'm probably getting in trouble for this."
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Xio looked around, shrugging. “I’ll get in trouble with you.” She grinned, rubbing her frozen hands together. They were starting to warm up already. Snowball fights indoors were the best.
"No, I can't let you-" He was cut off by the bell ringing, causing him to sigh, "Damn, guess we better get to class then. I'll see you after class then."
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“Sure you can.” She flashed him a sweet smile, dusting off what little snow remained on her clothing. “I’ll see you after class!” She waved, taking a cautious step towards her class, laughing at the wet floor. “It’s slick, don’t fall, okay?”
Kyle nodded, smiling and carefully stepping over the water and onto a dry part of the pathway, "I won't. See you after class!" He waved before he headed off in the opposite direction to her.
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Xio was distracted all throughout class, busy focusing on whether or not to take Jeremy something. Soon her thoughts turned to how Jeremy would react to Kai. She shook her head, clearing those thoughts away. The bell rang soon after, causing her to panic slightly. She didn’t get anything from the lesson.
The rest of the day was long a boring for Kai. The lessons were useless and the information was old news and he was more focused on meeting Jeremy then anything but he put his head down and focused for majority of the lessons. Eventually, the bell rang for end of day and he headed to try and find Xio, not without running into Jason and taking whatever 'punishment' the bully was giving him.
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(I’ll be back, I’m having dinner and family night. Might be two or three hours)
Xio trudged through the hallways, her spirit suddenly down. She had no idea what to expect. Would he be in critical condition? Or would he be up and his happy self?
(Okay, have fun!)
Once Jason had left, Kai made his way to his locker, rubbing at his stomach to relieve some of the pain there. He hoped he could hide it from Xio but he doubted that. He stuffed his excess books in his locker with a sigh.
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(Last one before I got to go)
Xio headed not to her own locker, but to Kai’s, putting on a fake grin when she saw him. “Hey, Kai!!” She poked his shoulder, a questioning look flashing across her face. “Are you Alright? You’re slouching more than usual.”
"And you're smile is fake," Kyle said, dancing around the topic, "You're worried about Jeremy, aren't you? I'm sure everything will be okay." He gave her a soft smile and shut his locker.
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//And back we ended early.//
Xio’s smile fell right off her face the second it was called out. A new, more tired looking Xiomara replaced her bubbly self. “I’m worried sick about him. During everything going on in my life I sort of forgot about him… I feel awful about it. I feel awful for not checking on him. What if he doesn’t get better or you two don’t get along?” She leaned her forehead against a locker, groaning loudly. “Or maybe his condition is terminal and he didn’t want to tell me.”
Her eyes stung, tears welling in the corners. She refused to cry, however, it was embarrassing.
(Sorry, was in the pool)
"Hey, look at me," Kyle lifted her head from the locker gently, "You had your own stuff going on and I'm sure he'd want you to not feel bad about it. He will get better and he and I will get along, I know it. If his condition was terminal I'm sure he would tell you, you're friends, right?"
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//You’re fine. Im being a bit too quick at reply’s tbh. I just don’t have anything to do til August//
Xio blinked at him, biting her quivering lip. She pulled him into a tight hug, taking a few deep breaths. “He is my best friend. But he’d keep something from me if it meant I’d be happier.” Her arms tightened around him. “I can’t lose another person in my life. I can’t handle it.”
She had no idea where any of this was coming from. She felt fine until class had started. It was almost as if it were all poured on top of her when the bell rang. Her eyes stung once more. She squeezed them shut. “Sorry, I just need a moment.”
Kyle tried not to wince when the hug tightened, not because he hated it, in fact he enjoyed the hug, but because of the bruises, "Take all the time you need, Xio," He said gently, wrapping his arms are her protectively and rested his chin on her head, "You won't lose another person. Jeremy will pull through I know he will. If he's friends with you then he was to be strong. He'll make it."
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She nodded, relaxing. It would all end up fine. Everything felt fine right there. “Stupid kid, making me worry like this.” Grumbled Xio, huffing. She loosened her grip, not quite wanting to let go. She could hear his heartbeat and feel how warm the rest of him was compared to his hands. It was a nice difference. One that made her head spin and her heart skip a beat.
She pulled away then, blushing. “I’m good now… let’s g-go.” She covered her mouth with her hand, hiding her lower face. “We can call a taxi, the hospital is kinda far. I don’t have a car to drive. My father takes the only one we own.”
"I have a car," Kyle shrugged, "I can always drive us." His car was his pride and joy. He hadn't driven in a while mainly because he walked to school and didn't leave the house a lot unless he was driving and helping Giselle with groceries so it was sitting in the garage waiting for this moment.
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“You do?” Her eyes turned to the ground as she sorted a few things out. “Can we take that? I’ll give you gas money. It’s only if you’re ok with it.” Xio needed time to prepare herself. The walk to his house seemed the best time to do so. Hospitals gave her chills.
Her eyes lifted to gaze at the cliques of students in the hallways. They glared daggers into Xio’s soul. She felt nothing. Her soul was numb to all emotion. She felt strange and murky. For a moment, she was blank. It scared her. She pressed closer to Kai. He felt safe like Jeremy did.
"Yes, we can take that and you don't have to give me gas money. If you do I'll just give it right back." Kyle wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her slightly closer to him as he led them out of the school.
He could tell she wasn't in the best state of mind, it was evident. Void of most emotions but fear. He went and still does go though the same thing. He hated seeing Xio in that state. It reminded him so much of himself and he wasn't okay with that.
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“Meanie, I’m trying to pay you back.” She half heartedly teased, leaning her head against him. “You’re so tall.” She commented, unsure if she had told him that before. She fell silent for the longest of moments. “Distract me, will you? I need to take my mind off of everything.”
It was less of her wanting a distraction and more of her wanting to feel something. Xio was one to bottle up everything until it exploded. She felt close to a mental breakdown. She hadn’t cried since the incident with Marx. Her emotional state pleaded for a good cry and yet she ignored it.
Kyle didn't need to be told twice. He lifted his free hand and a small scene began to play, entirely made out of snow. It was an ice rink in the middle of a park, families having fun, couples too. It took a lot of concentration to form it, but making it move? That was even harder but he did it, he got it moving for Xio to distract her.
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Xio stared, amazed. She bit her lip, watching with a small smile. Maybe winter wasn’t so bad. Everyone in that little world of snow seemed to be so happy, so ready to actually live and breath. she studied the scene, wondering if he had imagined it up himself.
“Thank you…” She murmured, watching a couple move together across the ice. Such a sweet scene. Such a wonderful way to spend time together. She gave the couple names and stories, imagining how they’d talk to each other, how they’d speak and walk. She made up stories and names for each snowy character. Their life became so much more real to her. Like it should be. Through those little people, she could feel something other own numbness.
“It’s pretty.” She commented, pointing to a family. “It’s giving me ideas for characters like these people. Irene and Thomas, struggling to pay rent. Their kids are Grayson, the eldest teen, Marylyn the small girl, and Dean, the smallest boy. They all have ice skates and yet nothing else.” She laughed softly, more at herself. “I’m such a strange person. I’m selfish enough to only think about myself but I use characters to hide from myself. How can you both hide from yourself and only want to look after yourself?”
Kyle let out a slightly strained laugh as one of the characters jumped and landed gracefully, causing all the other people to applaud, "I don't know. People want the best for themselves but don't know how to admit it. So they hide, taking care of other people, putting on a mask, however they do it because they don't want to confess." He shrugged. A headache was starting to form from the strain but he pushed it away and put on a smile.
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“I don’t want to confess.” She said simply. “I want to hide myself away and out on a smile for everyone else. My problems are so small compared to others.” She glanced up at Kai’s face, lettin* out a breath.
Xio caught onto his strain. She placed her hand on his wrist and gently pushed down on his hand. “If it’s hard you don’t have to keep it up. You’ve distracted me enough. I feel better.” A White lie. She did feel better, but not enough. “You’re snow people are amazing. The more I learn about you the less I understand people. You’re funny, amazing, talented, rather attractive, and overall just a good person. I just don’t get it…”
"A-Are you sure? Because I can keep it up if you want me too, I don't mind." He let the scene fade away, but not before letting the characters wave goodbye, small smiles slightly visible before it faded into nothing.
"Thank-you, but I'm really none of those things," He released a breath and rubbed at his forehead, "What don't you get about people? Yeah, they can be crappy but I can be too… not very often but it can happen."
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“I’m sure. Your health is more important than a distraction…” she told him with a kind, fake smile. She meant her words but smiling was hard when she was so worried. She laughed at the small figures, waving at them.
“To me you are.” She stated firmly, poking his side with an angry expression. “So what if you can be crappy? I can be a serial killer if I wanted to but I’m not a serial killer. Just like you arent crappy, Kyle. I might not get people but I do have a good judge of character. Sure yours is a little broken but it’s fixable. You’re not a bad person Kai. You lack self confidence.”
"You don't have to smile if you aren't feeling happy, you know. You don't have to force one out." Kyle sighed and slipped his hand into his pocket.
"I know I lack self confidence and I've tried to work on it but it doesn't get any better then it was one, two or even five years ago. Thank-you, for believing those things but it's going to take a very long time before I believe them myself." He doubted he ever would but he said it anyway because that was the what everyone wanted to hear and it became the automatic response.
