Glow

Chapter Six: Confidence

"Ryuzaki..." Light sighed, frowning slightly. "You know that... um.. you know, the glow?" Ryuzaki raised an eyebrow, shrugging one shoulder. Really? Everyone freaking knew about it by now. And it was only about three days before this. Less than a week. Light quickly glanced around for people, though they were literally just standing in the corner of an empty corridor.
"Yes... what about it? Want to yell at me about it or something stupid like that?" He rolled his eyes, wondering what he was up to.
"No.. actually, I was thinking that my be we should, uh...go with it. Ya know.." Silence for a moment .
"...What?"
"Let's see how this would work out. This glow thing doesn't happen for no reason, does it..? I'll try to be nicer to you and your... friends. Or whatever." Ryuzaki had never Heard Light speak this softly or seriously. Suddenly all his fear of him dissolved into nothing. Ryuzaki has no words to say except true ones.
"...Alright."  With a sigh he agreed, and Light looked at him with a troubled expression.
"You sure? I um.. I was horrible to you for so long.." He asked, the last part mumbled as if he were too stubborn and afraid to admit he bullied Ryuzaki. But he just nodded. L couldn't think of the past now. Time to move on, to the future.
"It's fine." Ryuzaki glanced away for a moment. No second thoughts now. "Let's try it, then."
~~~
So they began to make their way to the cafeteria, agreeing to stay together for the remainder of the day just to see if they could get along. As the two neared Ryuzaki's table, Mello stood up and glared.
"What's the dick doing here?" Light frowned and immediately protested.
"Hey-"
"Enough." L stood between them with a loud sigh. "Light and I are going to try and put up with eachother for the day so you can't fight. Just relax and get used to it." He finished, speaking quickly, and took the seat directly across from Near, who stifled a laugh. Light hesitantly sat next to Ryuzaki and Mello sat back in his own spot, grumbling lowly.
There was a bit of a silence until Near decided to break it, leaning forward in his chair in anticipation.
"So... you two are going to try to... 'get along'?" Light choked on his drink and Ryuzaki just blinked and slowly put down his fork.
"Yes. We can't just ignore this. Though... I'm not sure how it would work out. " Light recovered from the quiet coughing fit and Near nodded.
"I see. Sounds appropriate.. and Light." He turned his attention to the brown haired male, and Mello rolled his eyes. "Protect him. Protect eachother. Things will be better that way, trust me." His dark eyes were unmoving, seeming to pierce through his soul as he stared. Light gave a slow nod, and Near suddenly smiled, getting up and grabbing Mello's shirt.
"Well see you later." Ryuzaki watched them leave then took a glance at Light, to see him looking down at his hands in thought.
"Light, I-"
"Ew." He looked up as he heard an annoying female voice, only to see Misa in exaggerated makeup and a pink frilly dress. "Light, I didn't think you were a faggot.. Just because you two idiots are glowing, that doesn't mean you have to actually go through with it." Misa and her squad gave a laugh. Light stood angrily, shaking the table and gaining the attention of several others nearby. "Who fucking cares? I wanna listen to this cause this is practically the only interesting to ever happen in my life! Just fuck off." He growled and stormed off as Ryuzaki stood.
"Really. You're pathetic if you think you can influence other people by insulting them." Ryuzaki rolled his eyes and calmly, yet proudly, left the gaping Misa and her friends to go after Light. He found him in the male bathroom. He was just sitting there, holding his head in his hands. He seemed stressed. Ryuzaki quietly knelt next to him, sighing. "You okay?"
"...Does it look like I'm okay?" Light's voice was barely a whisper, and Ryuzaki had to strain to even understand him. "Ryuzaki, just look at me." He raised his head to meet his dark eyes and only then did Ryuzaki notice the red eyes and messy hair. "I'm a mess. Look at me. My friends hate me, people are laughing at me, I look like shit.." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Light's hands grabbed at the hem of Ryuzaki's shirt as his voice grew louder and more strained.
'Well that's how I am everyday,' Ryuzaki wanted to say, but he didn't want to be insensitive. If he wanted this to work, he would have to be comforting to his former bully. "Get a hold of yourself." Light's grip tightened, and Ryuzaki grabbed his shoulders. "You're fine, they're obviously not your friends if they talk to you like that. People are only laughing because they want what you have." A pause. "I don't mean me, by the way."
Light weakly smiled and Ryuzaki continued. "And you're not a mess... I just.. I don't know why you'd even think that." He glanced away for a moment then looked back at Light with a newfound determination. "Come on. You ready?" Light hesitated but nodded, letting go of the shirt before standing up. They left the area and Ryuzaki could obviously see Light's hesitation. A few people stared - they could probably see their small, glow and it was probably that strange. Ryuzaki heard a shaky breath on the other male's part and reached over to grab his hand. He looked up and jumped, shocked, and Ryuzaki looked away, but Light stayed like that, somewhat glad for the support.
So they walked through the halls of the high school, hand in hand with their confidence protecting them from the stares and murmurs of the other student's shadows.