we the cursed, nct dream ✔

part forty-four

⇉ the one with another late night.

part forty-four

"You're leaving," he announces, not bothering with a greeting.

"I am." She kicks lightly at the gravel ground as she shoulders her backpack, unwilling to meet his eyes. "My parents are... they aren't going to change their minds."

"So, what, all this is actually real? They're really shipping you off to Freak School?"

She flinches at that. "I'm not a freak."

"That's not what I meant." He sighs, runs his fingers through his jet-black locks. "I know you're not, which is why it's so stupid that you have to go there." Even as he says the words, his eyes dart around the schoolyard, watching those watching them. "You should find a way to stay."

"You think I haven't tried?" She stands up straighter, looking him in the eye finally. "Of course I want to stay. With my family, with my friends. With you. But I'm fresh out of ideas."

He exhales. "It's okay. It's fine. There's a silver lining here, maybe. Actually, I think this place might actually be good for you, you know? You've been... different lately, not yourself. And it all started with this." He reaches out to wrap a lock of her violet hair around his finger and tugs lightly, an action that used to be endearing, but irritates her now.

"So..." Her voice is unreadable. She's not sure whether to be relieved that he's come to terms with everything so quickly or disheartened at the rate with which he's stopped caring. "We're okay?"

He hesitates. "Of course," he finally answers, haltingly. "But maybe we should... I don't know, take a break? And see how things are when you get back."

Even with everything, she's unprepared for those words. "Why? It's only going to be a year," she tells him.

He smiles at that, insincerely. "A lot can change in twelve months." His bottom lip is being chewed furiously. "There's a reason you're not allowed any contact with the outside world when you get there, right? I don't want to be the one holding you back."

She glances around again, noticing some familiar faces darting looks their way. Ever since word got around that she'd be transferring to Tangiso, people had been weird, their treatment of her going from friendly indifference to suspicious disdain. She could sense it. They probably all assume she's crazy now, but can she really blame them?

You don't get sent to a place like that by being normal.

And now she gets what this is really about. "I understand," she responds, speech formal and stilted with him in a way it hasn't been in a long while. "I wasn't going to ask you to wait for me or anything. That wouldn't be fair. I just wanted to end things on a good note."

He is silent for a moment. Then, "I'll miss you, you know. We all will."

She turns away, not in the mood for his pity goodbye. "Well, bye. I'll see you in a year."

"Wait." His hand darts out to grab hers. And just like that, memories of the last few months with him flood her mind: late-night convenience store runs, movie dates, holding hands under the table during dinner with their parents, stolen kisses by the bleachers after a game... Her heart drops with the premonition that things will probably never be the same again. "When are you leaving?" he asks.

"Tomorrow."

"Then I'll come by-"

"No," she interrupts, silencing him. "It's alright. You need to study for that test. Don't worry about me; I'll be fine."