Liam's eyes cracked open once more, and he instinctively moved a hand to wipe away the crust that tickled his eyelashes.
Ow... it hurts...
"Ugh," he grunted as he tried to lift his sticky, aching body off the floor to his knees. He blinked, wiped his eyes once more, then looked at his hand and frowned.
Red?... Dried... blood?
Liam looked down at himself, then the floor.
HUH?!
The floor was moist with sweat, and several dark-red and black crust-like clumps could be seen. His entire body felt gritty and sticky, and the room was filled with the metallic scent of blood.
He gaped at the room and himself, confused and shocked.
What happened to m—ugh!?
Liam grabbed his head as he became aware of his throbbing migraine, and at the same time, the memories of the previous night came back.
Liam's eyes widened, and he put a hand to his chest.
I... almost died...
Liam's breath began to quicken at the realization, but his heart remained calm, pounding along as powerfully as always.
... Feels... better actually, he thought as he looked down at his chest.
He shook his head lightly, then got up to his shaky feet.
I'll go over what happened after I clean up.
Liam briefly contemplated whether to clean his room or himself first, but soon he decided to do his room first. He swept up the clumps, mopped the floor, and took a scent remover out of storage.
What a useful invention, Liam thought as he placed the two-foot-tall, porous machine on the spot he had been lying on.
It should absorb all the air around it and filter it, but since its range is limited, I'll have to open the windows.
Liam rarely opened them, preferring the privacy of keeping them closed, but some matters outweighed privacy, so he walked past his couch and pulled open his curtains, then he found the catch and pulled open the window.
MY EYES!
He hissed in pain as sunlight stabbed his eyes, and he fell to his knees. After a few seconds, he let his hands fall from his eyes, and he dragged his aching body to the shower.
Too bad I can't even sigh in relief, he thought as the cold water splashed over his head. He grabbed a sponge, lathered it with some of the shampoo GAIA had given him, and began to scrub his body.
After three more rounds, Liam stopped scrubbing and just let the water pour over him.
What exactly did Second Break do?... Did the Leaves of Venus do something? No, wait, how did I survive? I don't remember everything properly... And why does my body feel calmer than before?
He paused.
No, that's most definitely my imagination. If anything, my body's still shaking.
Liam pursed his lips and raised his head so the water could splash over it.
I started with First Break, then transitioned into Second Break. Then I experienced... not a stroke... definitely not a heart attack. A seizure, or something similar. Somehow, I saved myself, and then I passed out...
Liam turned off the shower and sighed.
But... my heart feels perfectly fine.
He dried off, then walked to his room to change.
I'm guessing I can still do the Breaks...
He put on a pair of shorts and a tank-top, then turned his room's air regulator setting to cold.
But I'm hungry, and I want to sleep.
Liam walked into his kitchen, heated up rice and beans, picked up another curry puff after several minutes of deliberation, then devoured everything in minutes.
Still hungry, he thought as he licked his lips.
He finished off the remaining curry puffs, deciding that their nutritional content would help him recover (also, they were still pretty good), and he checked the time before crashing onto his bed.
Two-thirty huh, he thought as he drifted off to sleep. Wow...
****
"So, who else is worried?"
Nanami rose his hand immediately, but the others exchanged glances before giving a collective sigh.
"We don't know what's going on, Nanami," Lee said as he pushed his sunglasses up his nose.
Eight people had gathered around a round table filled with two pizzas—one half eaten—soda cans, half-eaten burgers, fries, and tissues. They were sitting inside of one of the fast-food stores in the mall, and they had gathered at noon to celebrate the beginning of the new week.
"He normally picks up on the second ring," Rex muttered as he stared at his CID and took a bite of pizza.
"This booth is pretty big to fit all of us," Hannah mumbled, grabbing a chicken drumstick.
Lee munched on his slice of pizza, while Nanami slurped his soda up with a straw. Po and Jay were chuckling about something, and the last person put a hand to his chin.
"Didn't you say you texted him early this morning?" Raidou asked before popping a fry into his mouth.
"I did. I even banged on his door," Lee replied as he pulled at his black T-shirt.
Hannah giggled. "Hey, Lisa, have you checked up on him? Or did you two fight—mph!"
Lisa slapped a hand over Hannah's mouth and sighed. "I went to his room with Lee earlier. He didn't answer when we knocked, called, or texted. Though he can be a recluse, Liam doesn't shut people out like this."
The others exchanged worried glances, and the mood dropped.
I hope he isn't doing anything reckless, Lisa thought with a frown. I know he promised me, but I don't think I should expect him not to find some sort of loophole—
"I've been wondering, Lisa," Nanami said as he put a slice of pizza in his mouth and chewed it up. After swallowing, he pointed the slice at her.
"How do you and Liam know each other?"
Lisa blinked and pursed her lips as everybody stared at her.
"I've been thinking the same," Lee said.
"Me too." Rex nodded.
"Everyone in class probably does." Raidou waved a chip in the air before throwing it into his mouth.
Lisa closed her eyes, inwardly groaning.
Ugh~ I don't want to deal with this right now... although, it should clear up all the confusion around our relationship.
Lisa cleared her throat. "Alright, alright. Listen up then, 'cause there's no way I'm repeating this. We met each other as kids..."
As she began to explain, the others began showing visible reactions. Nanami would always exclaim at something surprising and ask questions, only to be shut down by the others. Lee's eyebrows became very descriptive, and sometimes he would clench his jaw.
Hannah looked like she wanted to burst out laughing sometimes, and as Lisa became more animated, she and Nanami began to laugh. Rex and Raidou stared at her in surprise, and Po's mouth had fallen open at some point. Jay was still eating, but his attention was fully focused on her.
"So," Lee said, a hand on his chin. "The two of you are childhood friends?"
"Yep," Lisa replied.
"You've known each other since kindergarten." Nanami narrowed his eyes.
"Mmhm."
"You were his only friend," Raidou muttered.
"...Yes."
Rex picked up a fry. "Your families were pretty close too."
"Correct."
"You guys separated when you were twelve," Hannah said as she turned to Lisa.
Lisa frowned. "Yes, but why are you guys listing all these things?"
I've got a bad feeling about this.
Jay sighed. "You recognized him on the first day, and saw him during the entrance exam, yet you said nothing."
Lisa nodded slowly.
Po looked around at everybody, then looked at Lisa.
"W-well, I understand all tha'," he said, "b-but you guys were always hangin' a-around each other, s-so it's hard to believe you aren't, um... dating..."
Lisa blinked repeatedly, then looked around the table. Everybody avoided her eyes.
She put a hand to her face and sighed deeply. "I told you, Liam and I aren't dating. The reason we were so close is that neither of us had friends at the time, and besides..."
Lisa sighed and looked down at the table. "You all know what my power is."
The table fell silent.
"Well, that took a dark turn."
Everyone turned to glare at Nanami.
"W-what?" he stammered. "None of us here care about it, do we?"
The table fell silent again, and it was broken by a laugh from Lisa.
"Relax you guys," she smiled warmly. "I'm not gonna become gloomy out of nowhere by over-thinking it. That's Liam's job."
They chuckled and smiled at her words.
Lee spoke after taking the last sip of his soda. "Let's go see him after we're done here."
"Yeah!" the rest chorused.
"And let's get him some food so he'll feel indebted to us!" Nanami laughed.
"Yeah!" the others laughed with him.
"Then we'll use that to get him to cook for us," Rex said with a mischievous grin.
"Oh, hell yeah!" Nanami laughed as they bumped fists.
"He can cook?!" Raidou exclaimed.
"Is his food good?" Hannah asked.
The other six smirked.
"Definitely," they chorused.
Raidou and Hannah exchanged looks, then nodded.
Then as a collective whole, everybody turned to Lisa.
"So you've eaten his food?" Hannah smirked.
Ugh, Lisa sighed as she rolled her eyes.
****
Liam woke up feeling groggy, and his entire body was sore. His skin was sticky with sweat again, and the bed was damp from it.
Ugh... he thought as he sat up and put a hand to his head. What happened now?
The only thing he could feel was a slight headache, the soreness in his body, and the throbbing in his eyes.
Why are my eyes itchy? he thought as he held himself back from scratching them. The itching persisted while he was changing his bedsheet, in the shower, and even after it. He put on a blue tracksuit with a hooded jacket.
What time is it? Liam thought as he walked into his kitchen and pulled out the same food he'd had earlier. He looked at his CID and frowned.
I only slept two hours?
He noted a flashing red dot on the wristband, and he tapped it.
I probably have a lot of—WOAH!?
Liam stared at the messages and missed calls.
"... Since... morning?!" he exclaimed. Then he winced from the pain.
The messages numbered over a hundred, and he had over fifty missed calls from different people.
Lee, Nanami, Rex, Lisa, Hannah, Po, even Jay.
Liam grabbed his head. "I'm screwed!"
He began pacing around his room in worry. They won't be pissed right? They will be! Argh! What were they even calling me for... a party?! Dammit!... Would I have gone?... Of course you idiot! Why did I have to be asleep? This sucks... wait. These texts... are they worried about me?
Liam paused his pacing as he reached a text from Nanami.
[Hey Liam! Hurry up with whatever you're doing and come join us! Don't leave yourr bros hangin like this!! Hurry UP!!
PS: Lisa's here ;)]
Liam looked up from the texts and sighed.
"Right... I have friends now..."
Liam grabbed his hair.
That doesn't make it better! I—!
His thoughts were cut off as the shrill sound of his doorbell filled the room.
He turned around, eyes wide.
Oh no.