I Love You

Chapter Three

Danish

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I stand outside Kazuki's door on Saturday morning, after being informed by my mother that he wanted me to come over. There are footsteps behind the door, muffled words and then I hear the sound of unlocking. I look up at the slab of wood in front of me as it is pulled open. Kazuki's mother stands with a sad smile on her face.

"Harmony, I'm glad you're here." Kazuki's mother moves aside, gesturing for me to enter. With a smile, I slip past her and proceed to kick my shoes off. She has always been one to keep her carpets clean. "I think something happened to Kazuki, but he won't tell me anything."

Suddenly I am overwhelmed by concern. "What do you mean?"

"Well, when he came home after school, he was quick to head out again." His mother starts, causing me to avoid her gaze. Clearly he has not mentioned to her that we did not attend school the day before. Apparently the school didn't bother to say anything, either. "When he came home again, he had a cut on his lip, his eye looked like it was bruising and there were grazes up his arms. I tried to talk to him, but he simply shut the door in my face."

"I'll try and talk to him. If he hasn't said anything to you, I can't promise I'll get anything out of him." I sigh and rub my shoulder gently. There is a frown upon my face as concern floods through my veins. "If he tells me anything, I'll let you know."

His mother smiles at me gratefully. "He's in his room." His mother nods in the direction of the stairs, before she disappears into the living room. I watch her, noting that she seems incredibly tired. Her body is slightly hunched and her feet don't quite make it off the ground. It seems like she is shuffling, as opposed to actually walking.

After she closes the door behind herself, I turn and make my way upstairs. Kazuki's room is on the right, so I make a sharp turn and come face to face with his door. Inhaling deeply, I force myself to raise my hand. It is only at this point that I hesitate.

Perhaps he wants time alone. But he would not have called if he didn't want me to come over. I scold myself for being so pathetic, before knocking on the door confidently.

"Who is it?" His voice sounds lifeless. I feel my frown deepening.

"An angel sent from the heavens." I reply sarcastically, my arms crossing over my chest. There are no footsteps. He is clearly not going to open the door for me. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." His voice is nonchalant, distant. I open the door without hesitation, only to find him lying in his bed. His head is dipped, preventing me from seeing his pale face properly. The TV is switched on, displaying some game of his. I shut the door behind me and make my way to the side of his bed.

Kazuki moves up, allowing me room to sit beside him. I do so, outstretching my legs and turning my head to face him. He still attempts to hide his face from me, instead grasping his controller tightly in his hands. His knuckles are beginning to turn white. With a sigh, I twist my body and rest on my knees. I take his face in my hands, cupping his cheek gently. Slowly, hesitantly, I lift his head until I can see him clearly.

There is a nasty bruise around his right eye, slowly fading from a deep purple to ugly shades of yellow. As his mother said, there is a cut on his lower lip. I wince at the graze on his cheek, rubbing my thumb over it tentatively. My eyes check for any signs of pain, before I proceed to check over his arms. There is a long scratch along his upper left arm, which has already scabbed over. It still looks fairly nasty.

"Oh, Kazuki," I breathe, lifting my gaze to meet his once more. He, like his mother, looks very tired. I sigh quietly once more. "What happened?"

Kazuki averts his gaze. "It doesn't matter."

"We don't keep secrets from each other." Kazuki has never had trouble telling me things before. Why now? What could be so bad that he can't tell me? I tell him everything and he tells me everything. It is how the two of us have managed to become so close. There is nothing we have kept from each other.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I'm worried about you, Kaz." My thumb continues to brush along his cheek. I am not sure whether or not it is comforting him, but I am unsure of what else I can do. I use my other hand to brush his hair out of his face. It is so much softer than I could have imagined. My hand reaches out to run through his hair once more, but I refrain from doing so. Instead I cup his other cheek, refusing to let him look away from me.

"I got into a fight. It's not a big deal." He continues to brush me off. Frustration builds up inside me, though it is heavily overpowered by the sadness that I feel inside. What is causing him to keep things from me? Are we suddenly growing apart?

"If you don't tell me, I can't help you." I force a smile on to my face, though I can hear my voice wavering. Tears are threating to build up, though I am continuing to act as though there is nothing wrong. Instead I lean back, dropping my hands to my lap. My eyes dance around his room, taking in the state of it.

It is relatively clean. He has a few posters stuck up on his walls, though they are for games or movies that he has shown an interest in. There are figurines, books and DVDs on his bookshelf. On his bedside table, there are a few empty cans next to his clock and his bedside lamp. There are also a few wrappers strewn around his bin, the aftermath of it having overflown a few times.

"Maybe I don't want your help." He responds, returning his attention to his game. I can only stare at him as I adjust myself. My legs are crossed, which is more comfortable than resting on my knees. This time, I have to bite down on my lower lip to keep the tears at bay. "I'm fine."

His walls are a dark blue, like his hair. His carpet is grey in colour, visibly cleaner than I would have expected from someone like himself. His dresser and bedside table are made of a dark oak, matching with the colours of the walls.

"I-Is it me?" I stammer, edging away from him ever so slightly. He only looks over at me when he hears my voice wobbling. The tears are fighting harder, which causes my hands to shake in my lap. His eyes widen at the sight. "I can leave if I'm not wanted. But I'm worried and I'm only going to keep worrying." I finish my sentence with a choke.

"I didn't mean it like that, Harmony..." He sighs, reaching out for my hand. I draw back quickly, glaring at him through unshed tears. They cloud my vision to the point that I simply have to blink. Only at this point do they begin to dampen my cheeks.

"Then what is it? Why do you have to keep it from me?!"

"I got in a fight with a friend of mine, okay?" He explains, shrugging at me. I blink harder at this point, unable to stop the tears from flowing down my cheeks. "He said some harsh stuff about you and it pissed me off. I told him to watch what he was saying, but he wouldn't stop. It eventually escalated and resulted in a fight." His words are slowly clicking inside my head. He got in a fight over me.

Kazuki got in a fight over me.

I give in there and then, wrapping my arms around his torso. I bury my face in his chest as the sobs begin to take over my body. His shirt muffles my cries, thankfully. Kazuki places his controller in his lap, before stroking my hair softly as I try to overcome my tears. His other hand wraps around my waist once more, as it did yesterday.

A few minutes pass before my sobs finally turn to hiccups. Even after I have finished hiccupping, we continue to lay in silence. My cheek is pressed to his chest, his chin rests upon my head. He continues to stroke my hair comfortingly. My arms are wrapped around his torso, his other hand wrapped around my waist. It is comfortable, but I cannot help my heart racing.

"You didn't need to do that." I finally spoke up, my voice hoarse from all the tears. "I'm not a perfect human being. I'm not beautiful and I'm far from smart. People are going to insult me as they please."

"I completely disagree with that. You're beautiful and you're smart. You might not think you're perfect, but I think you are. I wouldn't want you to change." Kazuki tells me, causing a smile to spread across my face. He presses his lips to my head for the briefest of seconds and my heart flutters. "Promise me you won't change."

"I promise."

"Jeg elsker dig." Kazuki mutters softly. His lips move against my head and I feel secure. I feel safe in his arms.