"I do not feel empty, but I am not filled."
FIRST'S / LEONTHAN HORTAIA'S POV
I glanced at my new marking, and it was a planet 'Mercury'.
"Bwahaha! Playing hero, huh?" the guy mocked while grinning at me.
I ignored him. "Run," I whispered to her.
"No-"
"I said run. I'll deal with this one," I insisted with a bit of a strict tone. I have to do this.
"Please, I swear I'll be back. And please come back safe... Heavien."
I saw her eyes light up for a second when I called her name. Maybe that surprised her. I was even surprised by what I did. I didn't really anticipate calling her by her name, but I hope she doesn't mind it. She nodded, and I could see through her eyes that she was worried. I turned my eyes away from hers. I cannot tolerate her face being like that. It's just that ... it kills me.
"Hey, you two, I'm not done with you!" the guy shouted.
I stopped him from chasing them and confronted him. "Kill me first."
He grinned and attacked me with his knife— the biggest knife. He must have thought highly of himself. I smirked at the thought of it. Right from the beginning, I met this guy I know he is brain-dead. Choosing a knife according to its sizes? He doesn't have any idea that the bigger the knife, the blunter it is.
I simply dodged his attacks while pressing my right arm to stop the bleeding. If it's not with this guy, I can simply kill him already. Thanks for the wound that he gave me. The knives are sharper than I thought they would be. This should not be a question because the target body part is the chest, which needs a sharp knife to penetrate the rib and heart. Even if his knife is the bluntest, this guy's drive to kill someone is strong.
"Is that all you can do? You act like a superhero, yet you can't prove your strength!" he can't stop bawling.
He knows nothing. He doesn't know what's going on in this world. He just desperately wants to win this game. I arranged myself and let my arm bleed. He doesn't have any idea that I purposely let myself be wounded, for experimental purposes. An experiment to test how blunt his knife is. I'm not that stupid to let myself be wounded for no reason aside from protecting Heavien.
"I don't understand. Why are you protecting that girl so much?" he questioned with a mocking face.
I stopped for a moment. He got curious. "Because it simply doesn't have to do with you."
He gave me a scornful look. "Hmp, but if you two are the only ones left, who will win?"
I remained silent for a moment, leaving a blank expression. "I will protect her. It doesn't matter who will win. I will protect her."
You know nothing, and you will know nothing.
He burst out laughing. "If that's the case, better take care of your life. After all, y'all will die in my hands, so you don't have to answer my question. Let's end this!" he attacked me again with his knife.
I closed my eyes and accepted the outcome of this fight.
"Please! Mama and I can't sleep if you don't accept it." I secretly hid my smile when I saw her reaching for a lunchbox.
"Okay, if that's what you want." Then she smiled. Stop that, please. "But in one condition ..."
She was about to leave when I called her again. "Mm?"
"You'll eat with me."
That phrase simply came out of my mouth. How bold of me. What a daring move you've got, Leonthan. You're being more of a man. I'm on edge while staring at her expression after I said that. Will she... will she... will she say no?
I broke the moment of silence. She'll turn me down for sure. "I mean-"
"Okay," That gave me a break. Sometimes I'm really glad that she's dense. "Were you about to say something?" I got interrupted when she said 'okay'. I am about to make a joke out of it because I was too shy, but she doesn't even mind.
We ate together in the garden of our school. Some of the students ate at the cafeteria, so I'm glad that we could have a good time chatting without any nuisance that would interfere with us-
"Mr. Hortaia, our adviser, is looking for you at the office," a girl excused, disturbing us.
I looked at Heavien.
"It's okay. I'll eat here." She assured me while holding her lunch box.
"Thanks," I thanked her while packing the food that she gave me. "Pardon. I was the one who invited you, but-"
"I'm okay! The class will start soon, so I'll go back to the room later," And she gave me a heartening smile.
I left her eating alone. I'm no man for her. Stupid me. I'm always busy when it comes to schoolwork. I can manage somehow, but it lessens my and Heavien's time to talk. And I came to hate it. I bought her a painting and displayed it in my room. I took a picture of it and set it as my phone's wallpaper.
Whenever I see that painting, it reminds me of her. The moment I saw her painting, something hit me when I saw her eyes. It's like it is telling me something. Something unfortunate happened to that girl in the painting. The face was calm, but the eyes were full of agony. An agony that we are both experiencing. When she asked me if I knew how to play piano, I thought of her as a bit of a weirdo. And that's when I became interested in her. She often hangs out with her three silly friends. She is an introvert, but one who is approachable. She's average in academics and excels at the arts.
Buying Heavien's painting wasn't solely because I wanted to. No question that it's beautiful, but it has also become my way of helping her and her family. I've known her to be independent and doesn't want to be indebted. That's the way I reached out to her without her knowing.
In short, she was just an example of an 'anybody' to me, not until I saw her one morning. She entered the classroom just as she usually does. Sits, talks, eats, and sometimes studies. But there's something wrong with her eyes, literally. Her eyes were swelling like she hadn't slept for three whole nights. She even got a failing score on a short quiz that day. She seldom talked with her friends and stared into nothingness. Because of that thought, I coincidentally saw her after class. I sneaked outside their gate when she entered her house. And then... I heard a glass breaking, shouting, crying, and arguments. The moment I heard those sounds, I left. I must not have followed her. I'm being disrespectful. I don't even have the right to know her personal life.