Embarrassment washed over his senses as he stood over the fallen human. He had to admit it was slightly adorable when human’s blushed. Their faces turned into such vivid colours of pinks and reds.
He offered a hand to the blond male, pleased that he took it and pulled him up to his feet. “You seemed very distracted. I tried to warn you, but I don’t think you heard me.”
He felt the confused emotion radiate from the russian. “Why would you want to help me?”
Aibek cocked his head. “I should have left you smack into the door?”
Another flush of red. “Uh no. Sorry. Just didn’t expect a new kid to worry about a stranger.”
Aibek nodded. That was a fair answer and one he could understand relatively well. He didn’t realize the two of them had begun been walking together down the hall.
“Where are you taking me?”
A flash of pearly whites accompanied a half laugh. “The mess hall. I figured it’s lunch time and you probably haven’t been here yet.”
The cancerian nodded in appreciation as they entered the large chamber. It was set up similar to how the barracks at the palace were. “That was thoughtful. Thank you.”
“Are you always so formal? You know can relax here. I’m sure whoever you have to impress aren’t here to judge you.” Dmitri had seen a few foreign students that were children of high profile dignitaries come and go so he understood why they sometimes had a hard time being casual and letting down their shields.
He knew currently of a couple diplomats/ambassadors kids although neither of them had body guards that actually followed them into the university.
He eyed the same tall man that he had seen earlier this morning. He was good, keeping at a distance behind that didn’t hinder Aibek or anyone directly near him, yet remained firmly in eye sight.
“I am trying to be informal. I have a difficult time relaxing in public, it is a work in progress.” Aibek shifted uncomfortably.
Dmitri gave another smile. “Don’t sweat it Champ. I get it. How about you come and sit with me and my friends?”
Aibek seemed happy with the quick change of topic. He silently followed Dmitri as he chose his food and paid for it. The blond russian gave Aibek a strange glance when he noticed that he wasn’t buying any food, but he didn’t want to be rude and question it.
The table was crowded and loud and Aibek had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from flinching from the noise.
He listened with half an ear as the people hollered, greeting Dmitri in various levels of friendship, they quickly fell into idle conversations amongst themselves.
He knew many of them were staring at him out of the corners of their eyes. He didn’t need to be able to read emotions to know what they were thinking. Most were curious. Some were envious. Others had distrust splayed all over.
A metal tray toppled high with fruits suddenly appeared in front of Aibek’s spot. He gave a small nod towards Jasper who was already backing away to disappear out of sight.
He reached for the bright yellow blocks. He came to love pineapple more than he cares to admit aloud. Obviously that meant Alice probably knew of his secret love before he even knew himself.
“So that’s why you didn’t get anything. Does your servant always bring you your food?” Dmitri somehow managed to ask while taking bites out of his sandwich.
“Jasper is not my servant. He is my keeper and yes, to make sure I cannot be poisoned. Although I highly doubt I would be.”
The russian paused mid bite and gave Aibek a strange expression. “That’s pretty extreme.”
“I suppose.” He popped another bite of pineapple before continuing, “But I would have thought that would be relatively normal for someone in the russian mafia, all things considered.”
Silence hushed over the table. Everyone’s eyes went wide while a few rested their hands on various weapons hidden on their persons.
Aibek casually ate another piece of yellow fruit as he felt a hand softly grip his shoulder. Jasper glared strongly at each person from his position.
Dmitri sighed. This was escalating very quickly. The last thing he needed was a brawl to start in the middle of a public lunch room. He waved his friends to stand down. “Why do you think I am supposedly part of a mafia?”
Aibek raised an eyebrow at the blond. “Your ring.” He pointed to the heavy thick band on the russian’s left middle finger. “It has a family crest on it from a very famous clan. I saw it in a history book when I was studying your country’s culture.”
Dmitri shook his head in disbelief. “I guess it was fairly obvious, no one’s ever noticed or at least they were never bold enough to call me out.”
Aibek shrugged and Jasper decided it was safe enough to leave. Back to the shadows he goes.
Lunch ended with relative peace. The previous tension slowly dissipated as they made idle talk. Aibek only had one more class for the afternoon while Dmitri had two. He had asked the silver haired male to stick around for dinner to which he agreed.
It would be better than having to set through a whole meal with Alice asking a hundred questions about his first day in a human school.
Aibek decided to explore the library after his second class to pass the time as he waited. He was impressed by the vast collection. He thumbed through a few tomes. Each one he found was fascinating, even the fictional ones.
A preset alarm on his watch notified him it was five in the afternoon. Almost time for dinner. Dmitri had said to met him in the café near the library at 5:15pm. They opted to eat there instead of the noisy mess hall.
The cancerian was grateful. It was exhausting to be exposed too many emotional states. He picked out a table in the corner. It was busy for such a small place. These students really loved a drink called coffee. He learned that piece of information very quickly.
It was apparently some sort of drug that forced humans to stay awake for longer periods of time. Quite useful even if it seemed risky.
“Thanks for waiting! The professor was taking her sweet time explaining the homework.” The silver haired male twisted his head to face the blond. “Do you want a coffee Aibek? I’ll get us some.” And Dmitri was suddenly pulling the other by the wrist to get into line.
It was an odd experience. Besides his parents, a very limited servant or two when he was young and now Jasper and Alice, he was never physically touched. Although even then, it was very minimal. It was a unlawful to touch a royal without permission.
He also learned that humans are very warm in comparison to everyone else he has touched. It was a soft and inviting kind of heat. The type that made someone instinctively lean towards it before they noticed.
“Hey, you okay, you got all quiet.” Blue eyes twinkling with concern.
“Uh, yes, sorry, I was distracted.” He used that moment to pull his arm free. That warmth could become addictive.
“That’s good-“
“AIBEK!” A horrified scream and a wave of fear was all the warning the young cancerian had before the walls of the university exploded with tremendous force. Tons of stone and rubble were falling from the high vaulted ceiling.
Screamed echoed in his ears as he tried to see through the heavy fog of dust. He was barely able to spot the blond who was laying flat on his stomach. He kneeled over Dmitri. There was blood pooling on the once pristine clothing. He wasn't able to pick up any emotion from the fallen male.
Another explosion vibrated throughout the building. The ceiling was not going to hold. More massive blocks of stone were raining down around them and he no longer could spot an exit.
A third boom rattled his bones and he glanced upwards, only to see that he was right and the entire roof was finally falling determined to smash anything below into paste.
All the silver haired could process in his panicked mind was, ‘I have to save him!’, and with that, purple light burst into existence, blinding him as his vision slowly faded into a black abyss.
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