The moment Evren's body hits the ground with a loud thud, laying utterly still against the bare chillness of the rough floor, Stellan rushes to his side with a frantic look in his eyes. The gangsters that were creeping around outside the door, scrambled when they heard the security guards barking furiously at them for not heading home early when they should have left. Stellan doesn't have to worry about getting caught by the guards since he's pretty sure the vice-principal informed them about him and Evren. Stellan shakes Evren by the shoulders lightly. "Evren? Oi," Evren remains stiff, unable to respond to Stellan's call. Anxiety rises in Stellan's bile, clogging his throat. What just happened? We were just running away from–oh. Stellan stops, his eyes widening. OH. A realization dawns on him as if a kettle full of hot water poured over him. Could it be related to his frail appearance...? His eyes catch the blue tint of Evren's fingertips, originally purple. Stellan grunts as he hauls Evren onto his back, adjusting his hold on him, careful not to hurt Evren in the process. The two girls, who he still hasn't gotten their names from, assist him in doing so. Does he have like–a health condition or something?
"Why did he suddenly faint...? Good thing those jerkheads left us alone," the black-haired girl mumbles, looking at Evren's motionless body with remorse. She twirls one of the loose strands of her hair, glancing at Evren every now and then. Her friend, the one with honey blonde hair, dips her head downwards, her eyes crinkling in shame. "We're sorry for dragging you two into–" Stellan waves his hand flippantly at her, going for the door. "Save the apology for later, we need to head for the clinic." Stellan glares at them. "You better give us a good explanation–but first," Stellan hooks his thumb at the variety of furniture cluttered around the door behind him. "Can ya get these outta the way first? I can't because of this guy." The two girls nod, taking the pieces of furniture that are messily scattered about one by one.
Once everything is cleared, Stellan opens the door with the key and searches for the clinic. The entire walk there is met with piercing silence, neither one of them bothering to make small talk.
When they find the clinic, they quietly trudge in and close the creaking door behind them shut. Stellan puts Evren on one of the patients' beds gently, draping the white blanket over him as the blonde-haired girl grabs a remote and turns the air conditioner on, instantly cooling the room. The black-haired girl grabs a chair nearby and plops herself on it, sweeping a brief glance at the clock hanging on the wall.
She groans, sinking into the chair. "Shoot, I missed the bus...my parents are so going to kill me later..."
"If you hadn't poked their sore spot, this wouldn't have happened Mars," her friend hisses, taking another chair and sitting next to her begrudgingly.
'Mars' huffs, crossing her arms. "It needed to be done, you know that Yuka."
Yuka rolls her eyes, "Sure yeah, go tell yourself that. As if angering them is the best way to go, good job Mars." A mocking tone coats her voice, earning a glare from Mars.
"Oh, can the two of you shut up?" Stellan snaps. "You still owe us a proper explanation."
"Who are you to tell me to shut up? This is none of your business–" A vein pops on Mars' forehead, curling her hand into a fist but Yuka forcefully pushes her back from standing up and launching herself at Stellan.
Stellan scoffs, sitting near Evren's bed. He gestures at Evren, pinning them down with a pointed look. "He's like this because you two suddenly dragged us into your mess."
Mars scowls at him before her face shifts into a guilty expression as her eyes dart at Evren. "...it's not like we know about his condition..." she mumbles, looking away.
Stellan loses the fiery air he yields moments prior, a look of understanding crossing his face. He heaves a sigh, glancing back at Evren. "I didn't know either up till now."
Mars cranes her head slightly, confused. "Aren't you two friends?"
Stellan pauses and looks, really looks, at Evren laying on the bed peacefully, unaware of the conversation they're having. He hasn't considered that notion before. To be honest, he doesn't know how to answer the question, as simple as it may be. They have known each other for over a month and Evren is the only person who made the effort to get to know who Stellan actually is and not what he's known for. There's a difference there. His classmates only know him as the hotheaded rebel of the school–not as–well, Stellan. He thought that wouldn't change, that there won't be anyone who would bother to know him till they graduate highschool.
But then Evren came.
He doesn't know what to label their relationship as. He can't consider Evren as just a classmate or an acquaintance, can he now? That would be degrading Evren's friendly attempts during the past month.
Are they really friends now? Does Evren think the same way?
Yuka anxiously stares at Stellan and Mars, gripping on the hems of her skirt. "Don't you think we need to go to the hospital?" she asks. Mars shakes her head. "Unfortunately, nope. The hospital is too far, we don't have money to pay for his hospital bills–and," She waves her phone at them airily. It has a cute creamy phone case with pink ribbons. "My phone is dead, meaning we can't contact anyone. You guys?"
"My phone is broken and is being repaired at a computer shop," Yuka gloomily answers. Mars whips her head at Stellan. "You?" Stellan gazes at the floor with a downcast expression. "I left my phone at home. Forgot to bring it." he mutters quietly. Mars throws her arms up in the air. "So there we have it! We have no choice but to wait for him to hopefully wake up. Ah, wait–" Mars turns to Stellan eagerly.
"How about him? Does he have a phone?"
"No, he doesn't."
"What!" Mars exclaims incredulously. "What kind of teenager doesn't have a phone?! It's our life's essential–"
Yuka snorts. "For you, you mean. And well, the majority of the teenagers over the globe."
Mars gives her a dismissal wave. "You're just a boomer who doesn't enjoy the thrill of using phones."
Yuka shrugs. "I tried and it's just not my thing. I only use it for school and contacts."
"Booooo–what a boomer!"
"At least my eyes aren't glued to a screen of all things 24/7."
"What, are you trying not to be like other girls or in this case, other teenagers?–"
"Don't you ever compare me to those awful stereotypes–"
"Can you guys just explain why you were running away in the first place please." Stellan cuts them off, pressing them with a deadpanned glare. Mars and Yuka jump as if they forgot Stellan was also with them in the room. They then stare at each other for a brief moment.
"You explain." Yuka says after a few minutes have passed.
"What? No, you! I'm not good at explaining stuff!"
Yuka arches her eyebrows high enough they might as well touch the sky. "I do not know if you have hit your head on a brick or something, but you're the main reason why we're even here in the first place." She leans against the chair, crossing her leg over the other. "So take responsibility for it by at least explaining it to–" Yuka pauses.
"What's your name?"
"Stellan."
"Okay, Stellan...wait–"
Yuka takes a moment to process what she just heard before gaping at Stellan, staring at him as if Stellan was an unusual creature found on earth. It makes Stellan uncomfortable but he has a faint idea of what is currently going through her head. "...what?" he still asks, playing around with the strings of his jacket. Mars almost topples over her chair when she hears his name, barely managing to balance herself.
"Stellan?" Mars repeats, as if the name tastes entirely foreign on her tongue. "As in Stellan Collins?"
"Oh wow, didn't know I was that popular but yeah, that's me."
"You're kidding."
"I don't know what makes you think I'm joking but it's true."
Yuka puts a hand over her mouth while Mars just gasps in shock. "The guy famous for getting into fights in school? That Stellan?"
"Hm...but..." Yuka squints her eyes at Stellan, scrutinizing him. "You don't seem to be what the rumors portray you as..." she says. "I guess rumors are just rumors after all."
"Yeah! Like–" Mars gesticulates at Stellan. "I thought you would be the typical bad boy with a depressing backstory! But it's just the hormones messing up your brain cells causing you to act all cold and moody–"
Stellan frowns, appalled. "Excuse me?–" He is slightly offended at Mars' original assumption of him. Mars ignores him and continues, "If you're really the 'vicious' bully everyone's been talking about, I don't think you would be friends with someone like him." Stellan knows what she means by 'him', pursing his lips. He ruffles his hair, grumbling. "We're going off the wrong track here, you still haven't given me an explanation."
"Totally forgot about that."
"Mars. Please." Yuka pleads.
"Ugh, fine."
Mars exhales, as if bracing herself to tell a very long story that will take an eternity to finish. Stellan is about to avert his attention towards her; if it weren't for the fact he was monitoring Evren just before, waiting for him to wake up–he would have missed the slight twitch of Evren's fingers. His eyes widen and he snaps his focus at Evren, his chest brimming with a small flutter of hope.
"Evren? You awake?" he asks in a hushed voice, not wanting to disturb Evren. A soft groan escapes Evren's lips and he slowly cracks his eyes open, flinching at the light that meets his vision. He would have covered himself deeper into his blankets if he hadn't seen the three pairs of eyes staring at him with anticipation. "..." Evren stiffly turns his head to look at the figure sitting by his bed. "...Stellan?" he asks carefully, blinking. "Is that...you?" Stellan grins, ease overflooding his being like a tsunami. "Yep, the one and only." Evren stares at them for a while before struggling to sit up on the bed, Stellan immediately aiding him. A bottle of water thrusts in front of his face. Evren looks up from the bottle to see Mars handing it over to him, rubbing her neck.
"Drink it," she orders, "I bet you're thirsty for...how long has it been?"
Yuka thinks, checking at the clock. "It has been around 30-40 minutes."
"You heard her, so take it and drink." Evren groggily accepts the water bottle and takes a sip, feeling refreshed. Stellan looks back at Mars and Yuka, a devious smile stretching on his face. "Now that he's awake, you can explain it to the both of us."
Mars' eye twitches in annoyance but she sits back on her chair and begins. "We were running away from the gangsters because–"
"Did they steal your money?"
Mars swivels at Stellan, her jaw dropping. "How did you know?!"
Stellan blinks, not actually expecting to guess it right. "They tried to steal mine the other day."
"Haaa..." Marrs sighs, her brows furrowing. "So they're doing it to other students too, huh?" Her jaw tightens, her eyes blazing in silent rage. "It all started when I lost my wallet during recess. I was trying to look for it–and saw a bunch of gangsters picking it up. I tried to ask for it back." Her hands clench into balls of fists. "But those jerks ignored me and only made fun of me. I tried reporting them to the school staff and did you know what they said?" she laughs bitterly. " 'You must be wrong. Those students are good kids, they would never do such a thing. It's improper to lie.' I have never wanted to rebel against the school in my whole life."
Stellan stares in disbelief. "They said that? I–nevermind, of course they would..." If the vice-principal won't listen to him, then who is to say other members of the school staff would?
"I was confused at first, why would they defend some high schoolers who were clearly in the wrong? Even a blind person can see through it," Mars says, "so I decided to investigate them."
"Are you stalking people?" Evren blurts out of the blue, joining in the conversation. His question sounds so genuine that it stuns Mars.
"I wouldn't be surprised if she does, she seems to be the type." Stellan adds, snorting.
Yuka tries to bite back a laugh from escaping her lips, her shoulders shaking. She gives up and lets out a bark of laughter, slapping the back of Mars in amusement. "Wha–HAHAHAHAHA! Oh, gosh–Mars, see–I wasn't lying when I said you were like a stalker when you first brought that up–PFF–" Mars shoves Yuka's hand away, glowering. "Shut up, Yuka–and mind you two, I am not a stalker!" she huffs, crossing her arms in exasperation. "I just needed to dig up some information about them."
"That's...isn't that still similar to stalking?" Evren asks.
"Let her delude herself," Stellan says to Evren.
"Eurgh, just–let me continue–Yuka, stop laughing or I might have to strangle you–"
Yuka's laughter eventually dies, but a mischievous smile is plastered on her face. Mars dutifully ignores that and continues, "Anyways, I found out that they were the children of some ridiculously wealthy families that are funding out the school–which now explains why they are just sucking up to them and won't bat an eye if they were to do anything wrong–heck, they might even cover up their wrongdoings instead.
"But oh boy, you will not believe what I just found out." She leans forward, deliberately pausing for suspense. "They committed several felonies such as underage drinking, gambling, and bribery."
Yuka snaps her head towards Mars, bewildered. "You–you didn't tell me that!"
Evren's eyes widen in shock. " I didn't know there were students engaging in illegal activities."
"Ha! I knew those dimwits were up to something!" Stellan scoffs, fuming. "But the vice-principal portrays them as the victims, tch. Just because they have some special connections with the school, they think they can get away with anything. What a bunch of idiots..."
"I knew that reporting it to the school authorities won't work out, so do you know what I did?" Mars smirks devilishly. "I reported them to the police. And we got chased because of that, they got real mad when they found out."
The four teenagers start to rant about the gangsters and their school–Stellan sharing the numerous incidents he encountered with several gangs in their school including the most recent incident with Evren, Mars gasping and cursing out a colorful string of words not worth mentioning, Yuka silently listening but mentally making a note to keep an eye out for the two of them, and Evren watching them all tirelessly rambling with a small smile on his face. The sun sets, the sky painted with a captivating combination of velvet and amber blending in the scenery, casting a warm, enchanting glow in the clinic.
After confirming that Evren is fine and healthy, they retire from the clinic and collect their backpacks, gathering at the entrance of the school. Stellan notes Evren's silence on their way there, not looking up from the floor and his mouth setting in a hard line. He nudges Evren with his elbow. "You alright? You have been unusually quiet the whole time." he asks.
Mars raises her eyebrows. "Is he not a quiet fellow?" Stellan looks at her, scandalized. This is the same person who never fails to talk to him whenever an opportunity arises they're talking about! "Him? Quiet? Since when? This guy is never quiet–he's a yapper I tell you–" Evren elbows him in the ribs, frowning. "Don't listen to him guys, he's just spewing nonsense," Stellan gasps in indignation.
Evren sighs, hanging his head. "It's just...we missed the bus right?"
Mars laments. "Unfortunately–who knew we all rode in the same bus?"
"What about it?" Yuka asks.
"..."
"...I don't know how to get home."
Stellan, Mars, and Yuka stare at him, Evren shrinking from their scrutinizing eyes. "I don't know how to commute by myself without the bus..." His ears redden, embarrassed to admit it to them. "I...don't go outside much so...I don't have any...experience." He hides his face with his arm, turning his gaze away from them. The trio doesn't know much about each other since it's their first meeting. When they make eye contact, they are certain of one thing.
Ah, shoot. Is he...sheltered? Then...
We must protect him at all cost.
"Oh–that's fine!" Mars cracks a grin, wrapping an arm around Yuka. "I didn't know either at first but good thing Yuka is here with me!" Stellan nods. "Yeah, totally fine–we can help you get home, should we use the subway?" Yuka hums an approval, giving a thumbs up. "Easiest form of transportation in my opinion."
They drag Evren along the pavement, the sun already long gone and the moon up high, chatting and laughing here and there. The streetlamps flicker on, providing a nice sort of comfort for the 4 high schoolers. The roads and sideways become thick with the amount of cars and busy people coming to and fro, filled with brazen voices and pure laughter. They stop when they see an ice cream truck passing by and Mars excitedly tugs Yuka's sleeve, loudly declaring that she'll be the one to pay for them. Before entering the subway station, they sit on a bench near it, eating their ice creams and getting to know each other on a deeper level. Mars asks them for their phone contacts and Facebook accounts; Stellan shares his albeit reluctantly and Evren tells her that he doesn't have a phone because his parents have yet to buy one for him but he might get it this evening.
"We will give you our contacts then! Just add us when you get your new phone–don't forget to remind us about it!" she says. Evren nods and smiles, taking the sheet of paper Mars ripped from her notebook, their contacts and Facebook accounts written on it.
They enter the subway and take their respective seats, Evren's eyes sparkling as he glances around the subway in awe. "This is my first time riding in a subway, it's something I've always seen in movies but I have never tried one." he says.
Stellan leans his head against the window panel, humming. "I prefer to use the subway during the afternoon–it always gets crowded during the evening and gets too loud and noisy for my taste."
"But you're here, sitting with us." Mars points out, resting her head on Yuka's shoulder as Yuka reads a book.
Stellan shrugs. "We need to fetch Evren home don't we? I don't mind."
"You sure? I don't want to force you to come with me if you don't want to." Evren looks uncomfortable.
Stellan waves him off. "No, really, it's fine. I can just use my noise-cancelling headphones."
After around 40 to 50 minutes or so, they exit the subway and tag along with Evren on his way home. As Evren enters his house, they bid farewell to one another and part ways. Stellan can hear the concerned voices of Evren's parents and Evren calming them down before the door is closed shut. He ignores the swelling in his chest and heads home, the light and bubbly feeling that has been consuming his soul since earlier waning as he remembers that he will have to return to the house that knows nothing but chaos and perfection.