Fixation

Chapter 44: Anger

The sound of his ragged breathing and fist colliding with his punching bag was the only thing that he heard.

Why the hell..

His fist landed another blow on the heavy object, making the chains it was being held on sway backward.

Why did she try escaping? Even after I told her that we'd ditch the cuffs if she behaved well!

He struck the black bag once more, letting out a heavy sigh and grabbing a towel hanging on a metallic rack nearby. He knew why.. and he couldn't blame her.

Wiping the sweat that had gathered on his skin during that past twenty minutes, he took off his knuckle guard gloves and threw them into an open drawer.

After a few minutes of cooling off, he swung the towel over his shoulder, walked out of his room and down the dark hallway.

He stopped when he noticed light seeping through from beneath Evan's doorway.

Walking towards it, he opened the door and glanced around, his eyes landing on the boy who had his headphones on. He worked at a table beside the window, a laptop to his left side and a digital piano to his right.

Ryoma watched as the boy's fingers nimbly moved across the keyboard expertly in an almost aggressive way, slowing down at a few points of the song.

A few moments later, Evan withdrew his hands from the piano and to his laptop, where he clicked a single button, stopping the recording.

Sighing, he removed the black headphones from his ears and let them hang around his neck. He turned towards him. "Why are you here?" He asked, his voice sounding rather cold.

Ryoma frowned, walking into the white and navy themed bedroom. "It's past 3 am."

"So?" The boy asked, turning away from him and back to his laptop. "Can you leave? I'm busy."

The purple haired male took a seat on a stool beside his bed. "You're not acting like yourself, Evan. Not since this morning."

Evan scoffed, typing at his laptop. "Why do you care?"

"I want my friend back." Ryoma sighed.

Pausing, Evan slowly took a glance at him. He didn't say anything.

"Evan, I know you're upset about Ace," Ryoma said, taking his towel and moving it across his neck. "But she probably said those harsh things to you because you were the first one to visit her after Raiden messed with her." He leaned forward. "Ace would try anything to escape being a captive, and she did. It shouldn't be too much of a surprise, even though it stings knowing that she tried."

The boy looked down at the ground, his chest feeling uncomfortably tight. His grey eyes wavered. "..It hurts.. to know she.. hates me.."

"She says she hates all of us," Ryoma frowned. "But she may not mean it. She had to let her anger and despair out on someone after hearing that Faith and Akia are being used against her."

Evan rubbed at his temple. "..What do I do?"

Ryoma stood up. "Give her time to cool down before you try talking to her again." He said. "From the looks of it, her mood will lighten up significantly after she's had time to accept things." He began walking to the door. "I'm sure she doesn't hate you like she claims she does."

When he reached the door, he took the doorknob. "Good night, Evan."

The door shut.

Alone with his thoughts, the boy shut his eyes, taking in a few deep breaths.