I couldn’t look them in the eye. I hadn’t really thought about that night afterwards. Angel behaved like he always did, sometimes bothering me, sometimes reacting to my teasing, but now he was almost crying in front of me, because of me.

I had hurt a lot of people in the past, but I always had a reason, it had a purpose. This time, it was a mistake. He didn’t deserve this, so as his whimpering quieted, I continued to stare on the floor. “’m sorry,” I muttered. I didn’t remember the last time, I sincerely apologized, so I wasn’t very good at it.

I heard his friend, the one that got the punch, scoffing. I couldn’t blame him, he seemed to care a lot about Angel. When I looked up again, the other one was still standing on the same spot. He merely inspected me, his face not giving away anything, so he seemed surprisingly calm.

I couldn’t stay here much longer, but I couldn’t go anywhere else as well. It was almost 10 pm which meant we couldn’t leave our rooms anymore soon. So, I got up, brushed by the tall friend and without another word, went inside the bathroom. I splashed some water against my face and stared into the mirror. The bruises from before were healed, so I hoped that this punch didn’t leave one. I liked my features more without the additional colour.

I could hear their voices in the other room. They were probably contemplating about what to do now. If they were going to report this, I would be fucked. I had to admit, though, in a way, I deserved it. I sighed. I wanted to leave this place, the second I stepped onto school grounds but now I wasn’t so sure about what I wanted anymore.

The voices quieted down, and I heard them leave the room. I brushed my teeth and got ready for my bed. When I opened the door, I saw Angel alone and awkwardly standing next to his bed. He stared at me before staring to the floor. “I didn’t tell them. They just… saw,” was the first thing, he said to me. Was he honestly concerned about that? Because he didn’t receive an answer, he tried again, “They will not tell anyone. I- I promise.”

I sighed and pulled my shirt off for me to go to sleep, “Why would you promise that? That’s stupid.”

“Well, if I would tell the teachers, you could tell them about my friend, and he would probably be punished as well. So, it was only for our benefit really.” I noticed him imitating my response from just last night, which caused me to chuckle lightly. He apparently heard that, because the moment I looked at him again, he was smiling, despite his eyes being slightly reddened.

I didn’t get his friendliness. It didn’t seem forced or fake, but it somehow pulled at my heartstrings to see him like that.

I lay down in my bed. I had never gone to sleep that early, but the events of the day had drained all my energy. Angel was also already on his way to bed. When he turned off the lights, the only sounds were our breathing and his quiet footsteps. “Will you go see a doctor with that?” I asked after a while.

“Uhm yes, my friends set it as a requirement”, I heard his answer from across the room.

I didn’t ask what the requirement was for and instead settled for a “kay, night,” before finally closing my eyes. I was gone in a second.

The next morning came way too fast. The alarm was ringing in my ears and making me groan as a result. The usual sight welcomed me as soon as I opened my eyes. Angel was already tying his tie, looking calm as if the events from yesterevening never took place. I slowly sat up, rubbing my eyes.

Angel smiled at me, “We don’t share most classes today, but I can still show you the rooms if you want me to.”

“No need,” I mumbled, while getting ready myself.

“Oh okay, I’m going first then,” he said before leaving our room. It felt odd to see him leave without me again. I got weirdly used to his presence but didn’t let the thought bother me too long.

Soon after, I entered the classroom and found it looking quite differently from the other ones. Even though this was a music-based school, I wanted to take art classes because if there was one thing, I was worse in than literature, it would be music. That didn’t mean I had no music lessons, though. I just had less, but the school forced everyone here to engage with its musical core.

Now, I was seated on a desk, wondering when the art lesson would start. I had never been much of a drawer actually, not during the last years at least, but I thought it better than music. I liked graffity, after all. This couldn’t be too bad.