Balance of the Skies (bxb)

CHAPTER 11

Ty looked at his friend, concerned, as soon as he felt him grip his arm and almost lean against him. After the little incident by the door of the common room, he did not know what else to expect. He was sure however, that Koray had not fully recovered from the last time, when he had collapsed. Ty could not understand how his friend seemed fine one minute but was grunting in pain the next, shoving the boxes he was holding at Sen and Rylan and urging them to "go right in and don't let my sister know". He had then leaned against the door frame, beads of sweat breaking on his forehead. It had taken him a couple of minutes to recover enough to be able to walk in and find his sister.

Ty knew his best friend was still in pain, he could see him gripping his side again, could feel him leaning against him. He barely registered what Auryn was saying, only knew that a shorter guy was shaking his hand, yet he had no idea what his name was, nor how he knew his friend's sister. The only thing that registered in Ty's mind was the fact that Koray had suddenly stood still looking straight at a dark-haired guy whose eyes had a very particular colour. Not only that, but his gaze seemed so unfriendly, that Ty almost expected flames to hit his friend at any moment.

"Earth to Ty," a small hand waved in front of his face, "What's up?"

"Nothing sorry."

"Have you heard a word I've said? No, of course not," Auryn was clearly annoyed at him.

"Sorry." Ty realised that Koray was no longer leaning against him but was chatting with Sen and Rylan with a glass of coke in his hand. On the other side, the dark-haired guy was talking quietly with the shorter boy and Melia. It was then that the blue-haired girl looked up and met his gaze, before looking away shyly. He felt a familiar flutter in his chest. Melia was looking particularly attractive today with her hair pulled up in a messy bun. He did not fail to notice that she was wearing a skirt instead of the usual jeans. He shook his head, flustered and moved closer to Koray.

"Hey man, you better?" he whispered.

"Yeah, let's keep this between us okay? I don't want to ruin Auryn's party. She's been planning all month for this."

"Fine, I still think you should talk to the doctor again though."

"We're not having this conversation again, and in any case certainly not here," Koray huffed, looking around to see his sister talking to her roommate and the two guys she introduced a short while ago.

"Who are those guys again?" Ty asked.

"A couple of Melia's friends from what I gathered." Ty could not ignore the frown on Koray's face.

"Seems your sister and the shorter guy are getting along well," Ty smiled. He knew how protective of his sister Koray was. Koray shrugged and winced again. Damn, the pain had not left him.

"I can't stop her living her life. She's a big girl now and Wilford seems a nice guy."

"Who?"

"The shorter guy, Ty. His name is Wilford," Koray replied. "You were in the clouds."

"I was busy worrying about my hard headed friend tying to think of ways to convince him to talk to the doctor again," Ty jibed.

Koray only snorted and turned to take a small sandwich from a plate behind him. As he did so, his gaze fell again on the dark-haired boy who was still leaning against the wall, still looking pale, while sipping from a glass of what looked like water. As if sensing his eyes on him, the guy looked up, and once again, Koray felt his side heat up as if on fire, while he watched the other clutch at his chest.

Ty, who was also observing this exchange of glances, could not help but notice the reactions of both young men. It seemed almost like his friend winced in pain each time he looked at the other boy. He shook his head - that was so crazy, what was he thinking? Yet he could not deny the fact that the other guy gave him negative vibes and he did not trust him. Ty did not like him at all.

"You're spacing out again Ty, what's wrong with you tonight?" Rylan asked.

"Nothing, just tired, I guess. Not sure I'll hang around here much longer," he shrugged.

"What? Don't you dare leave my party early you dufus!" Auryn exclaimed. "I am so disappointed. Is the party boring? Isn't the food good? The music?"

"Everything's fine Auryn. Don't freak out," Sen hugged her friend while glaring at Ty behind Auryn's back.

"It's true Auryn, you did a fantastic job," Wilford told her shyly, to which the petite girl smiled.

"At least someone appreciates my efforts," she huffed, to which Ty chuckled while looking down at her fondly. She was like a sister to him and he hated letting her down.

"Sorry Auryn, I'm just feeling a bit out of it tonight," he told her, worrying about your brother amongst other things, he thought. "I'm going out into the garden for some air but I'll be back," he assured her. And with that he was gone.

"We're going to dance," Melia suddenly appeared, grabbing Wilford and Auryn's hands. "Wanna come you guys?" She looked at Sen, Koray and Rylan.

Koray stepped back, watching the others join a few students who were already dancing and swaying to the beat of the music with their hands in the air. Some were also singing to the popular song. Koray could not help but smile as he saw his sister dance shyly with Wilford, who was just as awkward around her. Looking at Wilford reminded Koray of the boy's friend and he looked back only to find that the guy was no longer there. He looked around and saw him walking out of the room. Without giving himself time to think, and ignoring the throbbing pain, Koray decided to follow him. He hurried out, just in time to see the dark-haired boy walk into a restroom. He reached the door and hesitated for a second before going in, closing the door behind him. There did not seem to be anyone else except the boy, who was splashing cold water on his face.

"So, Lorien, is it?" Koray eyed him, noticing that he visibly flinched at the sound of his voice.

Lorien turned around and walked back until his back hit the far wall. He was trembling, his hand again clutching his chest. Was he afraid of him?

"Have we met before?" Koray asked tilting his head to the side while looking at the other's face. He was quite attractive with his raven locks, his sharp jawline, his full lips and his eyes... Koray's breath came out with a hiss as another jab of pain hit him. But he decided to brave it. There was no way he would show himself as weak in front of this strange boy.

"Have we? As I cannot help but feel that I know you from somewhere."

Lorien trembled even more as Koray slowly approached him. He shook his head no and tried not to look at the guy in front of him. What did he mean did he know him from somewhere? He looked up straight into Koray's eyes.

"Leave me alone!" With that, Lorien rushed out of the room, leaving a shocked Koray staring into nothing.