The Forgotten Ones

Chapter 12: Judge - Part 2

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"We have to do something." Elias ran his fingers through his hair, looking around the empty halls, frantic.

"Do what?" Sunshine studied him; a sunken expression on his face.

"We..." Elias paused. "We tell her." His gaze darted over towards the double doors.

"We tell her?" Sunshine asked disappointedly, stepping in front of his view.

"We have to." Elias took a step forward, but was stopped by Sunshine pulling at his sleeve before planting himself in front of him again.

"No." He struggled anxiously. "We can't do that."

"What are you talking about?" Elias furrowed his brows as he moved around him. "Of course we can she's right in-"

He was taken back by the aggressive yank on his arm. "We can't just..." Sunshine let go suddenly, pursing his lips as he squeezed the beanie on top of his head, turning away from him. "Hazel."

Elias watched him confused. He'd never seen him act like this. Clearly stressed and off-hinged; he always seemed so carefree. It all happened so fast, Elias couldn't discern it. Watching him standing there with his head looking at the ground and fingers entangled around his beanie, he couldn't piece together what he was missing.

"What's wrong?" Elias asked in a softer tone, and Sunshine gradually began to relax. There was an awkward silence before he broke it with a sigh.

Sunshine's small frame sunk for a second before he decided to turn around. "I-"

He paused; his eyes looking just beyond Elias. His body tensed and Eli could visibly see him swallow his words. Confused, Elias couldn't help but look.

The tall, pale figure was impossible to miss. Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, one leg bent and the other standing straight, his head was held low with a few black strands hanging in front of his eyes.

"Pardon me." Cush said, without looking up. "I need to speak with Elias."

Elias wondered how long he'd been standing there listening. Shaking his thoughts away, he brought his attention back to Sunshine. His eyes were lower now; face blank. Something was very wrong, but he couldn't tell what it was.

"Give me one second." Elias waved Cush off.

"No..." Sunshine spoke dully, stepping away. "I...I'm late for class anyway." Elias furrowed his brows.

"I thought you didn't like your...classes." His voice began to dissipate as he watched him walk away without another word. This wasn't like him at all.

Cush looked up as Sunshine passed him; they had a moment of eye contact between them, and oddly enough Elias could sense the tension. He wouldn't expect anything different. Cush probably looked at him the way everyone else does, and he wouldn't blame Sunshine for being intimidated. Hell, he struggled with it. But it seemed to last a bit too long before Cush decided to break it, tucking his hands in his pockets as he made his way over to Elias.

"We'll talk about this later." Elias called out to Sunshine who quickened his pace.

His view of him was blocked as Cush finally approached. "I'm cancelling tutoring today." His dark eyes stared somewhere off to the side as he continued. "Last minute appointment scheduled by my parents."

"Ok, cool. We'll just pick up next week." Elias nodded, trying to settle his mind. It was all over the place at the moment, and tutoring was the last thing he was worried about.

"Here."

He was so out of it, he hadn't noticed that Cush reached into his back pocket pulling out some lightly folded papers. Elias looked at them puzzled.