The male backed up a bit, lowering his head. His glasses would then slip off of his nose, hitting the ground with a cracking sound, but he just stood there, clenching his fists slightly while scanning the area. Nobody he knew was around, he was alone, of course. He put himself in this situation because his confidence had risen overnight, but now, he was feeling almost as broken as before. He kneeled down slowly, gazing at his glasses but not moving towards them. I shouldn't have come, I shouldn't have come... He repeated to himself in his head, furious with himself.
He coughed, continuing to taunt the male as if he never left and was always coming to school. He wanted to keep the act of if he was actually here the entire time. "Why weren't you at school, eh? Were you busy with 'someone'?" He sneered at the boy. His voice sounded weak, as if he had just woken up, but he continued to taunt Hiroki, not caring for his emotion anymore. "Eh? Eh? Eh?" He urged, wanting to hear the male break.
"I-I slept in."
He murmured, hardly audible. He never once looked up at the boy that harassed him, just kept his gaze focused on his glasses. One of the lenses had a crack in it, and he reached a trembling hand out towards them, lifting them up to stare blankly at them. He then pulled his hat down to cover his eyes, fighting back the tears that desperately wanted to fill them. His cheeks were flushed with embarrassment before he slowly stood back up.
Yama walked over to the boy, standing in front of him. "Gonna cry?" He growled, shoving the male back. Despite him shoving the male, his touch seemed gentle, as if he didn't want to wound the boy. "Gonna cry, huh!?" He chuckled, moving back. His own glasses were hidden under his hair - They were only thin with a small frame. They shone in the faded light of the moon. "I guess we won't see what you can do, just another day.." He waved his hand lazily.
Hiroki looked fiercely up at the male, his jaw clenched tightly in fury before the tears forced themselves to spill over down his cheek. It was from anger and anger alone, it seemed his pain had disappeared with the touch of the aggressor.
"Hey, why don't you just-"
He froze, his green eyes widening in shock as they finally fell upon his face. His mouth hung open as he stared at him in disbelief. This isn't possible, it can't be possible.
The male grinned evilly, shoving the male back more. "Now, just look at yourself." He spoke calmly. Much to his own disbelief, he wiped the male's tears with thumb. He wasn't usually kind, but this person.. Felt familiar. He couldn't even remember why he was picking on them. He growled at his own friends, mouthing 'Later', getting them to leave the scene quickly. He leaned over the male. "Looks like you're the first person I meet." He closed his eyes and smiled. He felt guilty and he didn't want Hiroki to hate him, so he tried to be as happy as he could.
He blushed faintly, a little sigh of relief escaping his lips before he quickly wrapped his arms around the male, pulling him into a tight hug. Reality felt so much sweeter than the dream, and he wanted to hold desperately onto the boy until he could calm down, but instead, he let go, nodding before turning his head away, embarrassed.
"By the way, I wasn't crying. There was something in my eye."
How could he cry in front of the boy that he was trying to keep from crying just the night before?
"So you were real, then. Interesting how you were right all along.. nobody can doubt you now."
He pet the male's head. "Well. You'd think that. But I'm gonna guess no one to think a dream like that to be real." He leaned down to the boy's height, lightly kissing his cheek, flushing red. Despite him being popular and usually cool, he was honestly very sweet to people he trusted. This boy was trusted in his books as he didn't have a reason not to.
He smiled sheepishly up at the male, shoving one of his hands into his pocket and fumbling around with the keys he held. He wasn't here for class, though he knew that Yama probably was. "A-ah, did you want to go? I'm probably distracting you."
His pink cheeks flushed again to a deeper shade of rose, before he lowered his eyes down to the now broken glasses that he held within the exposed hand, releasing a heavy sigh. He knew he should have gotten them adjusted before they slipped off of his face, but he never seemed to find the time.
"It wouldn't worry me, you're a good distraction. I didn't really want class anyway.." He muttered, petting the boy. He was no bright red as he pushed his glasses up further. "Sorry, Hiroki. I probably look like an idiot now, don't I?" He sighed. He didn't want to move away from him - He wanted to stay by his side for a while, however long it took.
He remained silent, placing his cracked lenses on his nose again before lifting his hat up to allow Yama to pet his hair instead, looking up and him and shyly smiling.
"I am never defending your opinion in a dream again."
He laughed a bit, looking around the area timidly to make sure the other boys hadn't returned. He smoothed his shirt, taking in a slow breath as he calmed himself, his shaking stopping finally before he looked back up at Yama.
"So.. that was only the first part of a series of dreams, wasn't it...?"
"I'd say so.." He spoke, pulling his glasses off his face and handing them to the boy. "Do you want my glasses?" He held them out to the smaller boy. Despite his rude personality at school, he'd still try and help those whom he trusted. "I don't mind, really.." He breathed in silently before speaking. "If it's a series of dreams, it could possibly repeat too.." He sighed.
His gaze widened slightly with curiousity before he gingerly took a hold of the glasses. He was used to big frames, so this would be new to him, but he removed his own pair and replaced him with Yama's. Their vision was close enough, and after a couple of blinks, Hiroki's vision adjusted.
"A-ah, I can see pretty well. But.. don't you need them?"
He pushed the glasses up to rest on the bridge of his nose before pouting slightly with a sudden realization.
"I don't look.. dumb, do I?"
The lion had brushed off the neglect of the male who had run off inside easily. It wasn't unlike for a lot of these kids to be struggling. He figured that boy was one of them.
As Kiernan made his way up to the campus, he took note of a girl making her departure. The sight of her made him stop dead in his tracks, his eyes widening.
He knew her. He'd seen her. Foreign memories came flooding back to him, confusing him beyond belief. A name rang loud and clear in his head. It forced it's way from his lips, and before he could stop himself, he called out;
"Kiyoko!"
The female looked up with a little gasp of surprise, her hood falling back off of her head from the sudden movement. She scanned the area to find where the voice had come from, and froze when she laid eyes on him. With a slight head tilt, she watched him in silence, her shock shifting to a look of curiousity, her eye widening with pure wonder. Kiernan. Gulping slightly in reassurance, she headed over to him, her pace quickening as she closed the distance between the two.
"It's you!" She cried out, almost a little too excited to see the boy.
The lion's grin spread wide over his lips as he bolted forward, his tail lashing excitedly. "And it's you, little Imp!" He chirped, his cheeks tinging a light pink as he stopped in front of her. He was surprisingly relaxed, as if he'd just encountered a long lost friend.
"I... I don't know how," he breathed. "But, I mean, hey," he stumbled, unsure how to speak. He laughed at himself, his cheeks flushing from only slight embarrassment. "I didn't... I didn't know you went here too!"
The memories were overwhelming. They were giving him a slight headache from the adrenaline and the influx of images that were flickering in his mind. How come he hadn't remembered? Why did it only occur now? The questions buzzed in his mind and he took a breath to steady himself.
Kiyoko fidgeted a bit, her fingers twitching with excitement to see Kiernan once more. She instinctively reached up to cup his cheeks with her small hands as if to feel if he were real. She gently pinched his cheeks with a little smirk, closing her eye with a few nods as if assessing the situation.
"Can you believe this? We were real! I mean.. you were real. I was real. Er.." She frowned, confusing herself with her own energy before she shook her head, the gleam returning to her eye.
"I would have been angry if you weren't."
Kiernan hummed, leaning comfortably into her hands with a purr. His own came up to cup around her much smaller ones. He felt comfortable around her, his headache quelling itself.
"Yeah," he breathed, his eyebrows knitting together. "I didn't... I dunno. I didn't remember my dream when I woke up today. But when I saw you... Well, it's like everything came flooding back to me." He grinned a little bit at her. "Weird, huh? But damn am I glad you're real. Otherwise, I'd be sleeping for all eternity."
"Needing them isn't something of my worry. I'll still be able to read - Not like I need to, I don't know whether to wag or not." He sighed, pulling the male into a hug to feel his warmth. Despite being cold, he was usually feeling warm, but still liked more warmth. "You never look dumb, Hiroki.."
Kiyoko's pinch eased up and she rested her hands were they were, adjusting his fingers so his could slip between hers subtly. She looked him over carefully, from his ears, down past his glasses, then his shoulders, and then the rest of him. He was definitely alive and standing in front of her, so she was slightly embarrassed to admit it was almost still dream-like for him to be around.
"W-weird."
She blushed intensely, shyly turning her gaze aside before pursing her lips in thought, having to inhale before she could even convince herself to speak again.
"According to that other boy, there will be more dreams like that.. Let's stick together through them. It makes me feel safer."
~ Hiroki ~
With a playful scoff, he rolled his eyes, hugging Yama back tightly and gripping onto the back of his shirt slightly as if needing to be sure the male wouldn't let go. He lifted a brow slightly before mumbling, "Yeah, that isn't what you were saying five minutes ago, jerk.." and he smiled, enjoying every second of the hug, even if Yama was less than warm. It still made Hiroki feel secure.
