“Here. It’s scratched and bleeding.”
Ha, at Declan’s seriously continued words, Henry sighed. He was deflated.
Henry twisted his head to avoid Declan’s hand.
“Over a scratch. It’s nothing.”
“Do you have any medicine?”
“No.”
“I have a first aid kit in my room. Put some on before you go.”
At Declan’s words, Henry was momentarily speechless. It wasn’t an impossible action for a relationship between same-sex classmates, but it wasn’t an action there was a particular reason for either.
They weren’t close enough to enter his room, were they? Rather, if their relationship was bad, it was bad.
Besides, Henry wasn’t confident he wouldn’t be awkward being in a narrow space together with him.
“…This much will heal if I leave it.”
“You’ll get a scar.”
He blocked Henry’s rebuttal with a firm voice. At the momentum that seemed like he’d drag him right away if he didn’t follow, Henry stammered.
“Hey, we, we have to clean this up first. What if someone gets hurt?”
Pointing at the glass shards, Henry tried to go look for a vacuum cleaner. If only Declan hadn’t grabbed his arm again and stopped him.
“Put medicine on first. I’ll come back later and clean it up.”
At that point, Henry thought, ‘What the hell is this bastard trying to do?’
“…Why would you come back? This happened because of me.”
“I didn’t explain properly.”
“Decisively, I’m the one who went there and broke the hoop despite your warning. I’ll clean it up myself. I’ll get the wound treated tomorrow at the nurse’s office. Hazel will be waiting for you, won’t she? I’ll finish up, so go.”
Henry tried calmly to pull out his arm caught by Declan. After class ended and club ended, thinking of her who used to come looking for Declan, it was something he said thoughtlessly.
To be honest, it was also an excuse to escape this situation.
“…Hazel?”
So he didn’t expect Declan to ask back questioningly. Henry, who brought up her name first, ended up looking at him with a face that didn’t understand.
“Why? Don’t you always go to the dorm together with her?”
“You watched me that closely?”
“What? That’s not it…”
“Have you seen it recently? Me being with Hazel.”
Henry was denying his words even waving his hands, then stopped his actions at the continued question.
“Of course…”
Huh?
Henry traced his memory. The locker room incident was Friday four weeks ago. Since that day, he’d been watching Declan as if monitoring him, but thinking about it, he had no memory of seeing him together with Hazel.
Henry’s eyes widened roundly. Though he didn’t speak, it was eyes that contained the question of what happened.
To that, Declan’s lips curved in an arc for a very brief moment.
“We broke up.”
“…Broke up? When? How come?”
Henry, who even forgot the fact that he and him weren’t close enough to ask about the timing and reason, asked.
“Then. That Friday.”
“Then? Which one… Ah.”
Henry, who gained realization, trailed off. Because there was only that day, a Friday that could be specially expressed as ‘then’ for the two of them.
Only then did Henry realize why Declan had belatedly entered the locker room at a time when everyone had left without even changing into his uniform.
“Got any more excuses?”
At Declan’s question, Henry shook his head. It seemed he knew he was making up reasons because he didn’t want to go together.
In the end, Henry climbed the dormitory stairs following him. Declan stopped at the very end room on the left on the fourth floor.
Click, he turned the key and opened the door, and Henry awkwardly followed him inside.
The inside of the room clearly should be the space Declan lived in, yet it had no signs of life.
Henry momentarily doubted whether this was really the same dormitory as his room.
A floor cleaned spotlessly without a speck of dust. As for furniture, there was only the bookshelf, desk, drawers, and bed that any dormitory room was basically equipped with.
There wasn’t even anything that could properly be called belongings. The minimum of books and writing utensils were all the luggage visible from the outside. It was a scene that made one wonder how he was living.
The smell was also like that.
If it was a room of high school boys, it didn’t even have the usual sweat smell or damp laundry smell.
Instead, there was a very subtle and sweet fragrance, and Henry intuitively knew it was the smell coming from Declan.
Simultaneously with realizing him, embarrassment surged up. It was because he realized he’d come so obediently to Declan Russell’s room, whom he hated so much.
Henry held his breath and tried to forget the smell he’d just smelled.
“Do you use the room alone?”
“Yeah.”
“How come?”
“I transferred here this March.”
“Ah, so…”
To hide his awareness, Henry pointed at the empty desk and asked for no reason. Even to the somewhat out-of-the-blue question, he answered sincerely and rummaged through the drawer next to the desk.
“Isn’t it boring being alone?”
“Not really.”
It was a curious thing. Not being bored even alone. Only two older sisters above him. On top of that, for Henry who’d lived his whole life surrounded by friends, it was incomprehensible.
“You don’t go home much even on weekends either, do you?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow, I couldn’t stand it.”
Henry sat roughly on the empty first-floor bed and muttered.
“I’m used to it.”
“To what? Being alone?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you an only child?”
Henry thought that if he wasn’t an only child, there was no way he’d be used to being alone. Even before entering the dormitory, Henry’s family absolutely never left him alone.
“…For now.”
If it’s yes, it’s yes, what’s with ‘for now.’ Henry complained quietly, and in the meantime, Declan found and took out the first aid kit.
“Sit properly.”
At the commanding tone, a fire lit in Henry’s eyes for a moment, but died down as soon as he met eyes with Declan. It was because he at least had the awareness that he had saved him.
“I’ll disinfect first.”
He, who soaked gauze with disinfectant, placed it on the wound. At the stinging sensation, Henry flinched and shook.
“Does it hurt?”
“What, over a wound the size of a fingernail? Just do it, it’s fine.”
Henry found his consideration unfamiliar. At words that felt like they contained concern, he deliberately let out a hollow laugh and pretended to be fine.
In the meantime, Declan wiped off the foam that had turned white from the disinfectant and squeezed medicine onto a cotton swab. At the touch so gentle it felt ticklish rather than painful, Henry tried to ignore that sensation.
“So. Why did you do that when I told you not to touch the hoop?”
It wasn’t an angry tone, nor a face filled with tremendous curiosity. Just, he’d told him, yet he deliberately touched the hoop and caused trouble. It must be purely a question to understand the cause.
Nevertheless, Henry’s face turned bright red. Well, it had been an action committed in a fit of anger while indulging in delusions alone.
“…I didn’t know that’s what you meant. No, rather, if you’d properly explained it was dangerous, I wouldn’t have done it!”
As soon as Henry spat out the words, he made a surprised face and shut his mouth. It was because whining had unknowingly flowed out from embarrassment.
This wasn’t what he meant to do. Henry wasn’t shameless enough to get angry even at someone who saved him.
But the problem was that the other person happened to be Declan Russell. Every time matters involving him never worked out as he wanted.
At times like this, he should have coaxed him well and at least tried to probe what he was thinking by keeping his mouth shut about the secret.
Henry, who bit his lips at his own stupidity, sneakily read Declan’s mood. He still had a calm face.
If any emotion showed, I could guess it, but he’s just indifferent, so from Henry’s position of having to deal with him, it’s maddening.
“…Sorry, I didn’t mean to blame you.”
He became gloomy. Apologizing to him, he blankly stared at the floor with nothing on it.
“I’m the one who’s sorry. I should have explained properly.”
It was something completely unexpected. Being apologized to by him in return.
Henry raised his head with a start and looked at Declan. For a brief moment, their gazes crossed.
He tried to make some excuse, but before he could open his mouth, he stood up first. Watching him throw away the cotton swab and gauze he’d used when applying medicine and organize the first aid kit, Henry opened his mouth with difficulty.
It was because he felt now was the opportunity.
“…I thought you meant for me not to come because I’m dirty.”
About to put the box away, he turned around as if he’d heard something incomprehensible.
“I mean, that… I… David… Anyway, because of that.”
“Ah.”
His expression became increasingly more unreadable. Still. It was the expression of someone who didn’t understand.
He didn’t want to hear the answer. Because he was afraid.
In case, an answer came back that those words were correct at the time.
“Anyway, it wasn’t that, right? Then that’s fine. Thanks for the medicine. I’m enough to clean the broken glass alone.”
Henry left the room as if escaping.
