[REWRITTEN] (The Monster x The Angel) [Lui x Valt]

Chapter 32

Lui's POV:

"Hey, Valt," I called out as I walked over to him. Even the wonder boy needs a break. He is not perfect, and we all know that. But we all forget to check up on him, nonetheless. It must be lonely. You can't miss what you never had, though, I guess.

"Yeah, what's up?" He asked, a smile now plastered to his face; any trace of tears now gone, and all I could do was stare. That's actually pretty impressive; and equally terrifying. What has this world done to him?

"You're late; again." I sighed, for now pretending that I didn't see it. I wonder if he'll bring it up. Sure, he cries in front of people, but he can't just randomly walk off the stage balling his eyes without telling them at least a bit of the story I'm fairly sure they know nothing about.

"I am? Sorry about that. I'll get moving." He stood up and went to walk away, trying to get away as quickly possible. He wanted to forget. No that I blame him, but that's not gonna happen. I'm a man of my word, after all.

"Stop," I said, and he stopped, turning to face me with confusion written all over him. I don't want this world to ruin him more than it already has. I will not let a repeat of events happen; I won't let another child's hope die. Not like Shu.

You sound exactly like him.

I do, don't I? I think I get it now - this whole deal of his. This may not have been intended, but he knew something of the like would happen.

He relied on pure luck to get through to you. Only someone like him would be bold enough to trust fate to take the appropriate action.

I still think this was ridiculous.

You would.

I sighed, my eyes meeting his, any hint of kindness now gone. It was almost unsettling; making you forget he was still a child in his own right. "You were crying earlier. What's wrong?"

"You saw that, huh?" He said, considering his options and what to say next. I had never pinned him as the cautious type, but here we are."It's nothing, don't worry about it. I just had sand in my eyes."

He went to walk off again, hoping to end the conversation there. But I, weirdly enough, didn't want it to end there. Especially with that shitty excuse. Like, who did he take me for? "You know you can't hide all your pain behind a smile."

He stared at me, and he seemed agitated. His plan was backfiring on him, and I'm guessing he wasn't too pleased on the matter. A smile was still plastered to his face, though, and it gave me a reason to fear him. Nobody could touch him. He didn't allow anyone to get close enough to reach him, out of, what I imagine, was fear. "What are you getting at?"

"I heard the conversation Zac had with your mum, and then I watched you run off in tears. I didn't say anything then because I thought it was stupid, but now I realise it's not. You wanna talk about it?" I asked, knowing how big of an effect such a simple question could have on somebody.

And that's when the tears started falling, and his perfect smile faded. Is this why he wanted me to be nice to someone? He said it was to see his end of it all, and I instantly thought he meant sunshine and rainbows. But did he mean what was lying underneath? Valt's able to see the scars behind the mask; the pain behind the scars; the story behind the pain. His optimism is there to prevent people from getting so low that scars end up forming. He keeps people looking on the bright side. He may be over the top, but I can't imagine our little wonder boy without a smile. Kind words cost nothing but can achieve so much.

Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone in the ocean. But you have no idea how deep the stone can go.

And this stone went deeper than expected.