Cruel Words, Broken Hearts

Chapter 2

"Why do you bring so much pain?
Spitting on me in disdain,
Can't you see past our appearances?
Or were my efforts in vain?"

"Good morning, Professor Nobis," a cheerful blonde chirped contently as he strolled into the morning class, once again thirty minutes early. They had taken to having conversations before class started, and it seemed they harboured the same opinions on many of the events that happened in the world. With a content sigh falling from his lips, he deposited his books on the exact same desk he had been sitting on in his class since a few weeks ago.

"Vaughn," Nobis greeted casually, drawing his eyes away from his paper. He looked at the blonde's appearance; he seemed more - how would you say? - open, perhaps. The spiked strands of the blonde's bangs suggested that Vaughn may have put a bit more effort into his appearance. "Woke up early to get ready, no?"

"I did no such thing," Vaughn claimed, but the red tint on his pale cheeks said otherwise. With a final indignant huff, he waved a hand as if to drop the subject. A frown occupied his features as he laid a dampener on the mood. "Did you see the killings? I can't believe they burned those villages."

Nobis mirrored the frown on the blonde's face. "I can't either. They are disgusting. How could they just kill the children?" he agreed, eyebrows furrowing in anger.

Vaughn held in a breath, out of spite and pent-up frustration. He ran a hand through his hair, causing the "I can't believe Father agrees with their actions...! It's horrendous what they did!" His hands clenched into fists. "And no one is helping them."

Nobis regarded him silently for a moment, feeling guilt. He could almost feel his student's loneliness just like the way he could see the hot, angry tears pool in those grey eyes. He stood up hesitantly, heading to the side of the blonde, running a comforting hand on the small of his back.

"I can't believe that he is my Father," Vaughn spat, feeling the first of a hot tear rolling down his cheek. "And he agrees with what is being done to them. He thinks they should be killed for being who they are.....!" He wiped the back of his hand across his cheek, halting the tears that threatened to spill.

"Shh.....it's okay," Nobis soothed. He felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility wash over him - 'He needs a father figure in his life,' Nobis thought solemnly. He could hear the quiet sniffles of his student as he handed him a tissue to wipe away his tears.

Vaughn hastily composed himself, trying to get rid of any evidence of his breakdown. With a sigh, he crushed the tissue between his fingers and walked out of the comforting hand on his back. Taking a deep breath, he went back to his seat sullenly; a permanent ache had taken residence in his heart.

~NA~NA~NA~NA~

Nobis had noticed the wariness in Vaughn's eyes as the day went by - resting his chin on a hand propped up by his elbow while gazing out of the window. It looked to him as though he was deep in thought; mulling over his thoughts, he dragged his focus away from his student and engrossed himself in teaching - something he had perfected in doing. The day seemed to drag along ever since that first class with Vaughn in it. Dismissing the class speedily, he cursed his endurance for long hours. He could feel lethargy crawling at his skin and in an attempt to ward it off, he made a break for the staffroom to grab some - awfully too bitter, in his opinion - coffee. As dreadful as the coffee was, it never seemed to fail at keeping him awake.

Walking his way down the - now unfilled - corridors, he couldn't help but notice scrapping of footsteps imminent from the corner at the front. Walking hastily, crawling with mild curiosity, he saw a pair of blondes arguing.