Aemilius stared out the window, his gray eyes catching the light from the afternoon sun. A slight sigh escaped his mouth as a frown took over his features. There were students, so many that they seemed to be blurring and mixing into each other. All coming together to form a sea of red and black. Yet in this sea of color, only one spot was visible, the poster that they surrounded. Where is he?

Aemilius shook his head as he left the window, and began to pace the room. Dusty shelves claimed the walls that he passed, abandoned textbooks filled every corner that he walked around. And lastly, there was an old wooden table right in the middle of this room. He quickened his pace around the room, unconsciously walking in a circle around the small table. Eli, who had been lounging at this table could only groan, “You're making me dizzy with all that walking. Like I get that you're deep in thought and all, but can ya stop?”

Aemilius fixed his gaze upon his friend, his brows furrowing deeply. “He is missing,” he said as he stepped closer to her, “No… not missing he must have gotten kidnapped!”

With such a dramatic statement, Aemilius expected Eli to let out a gasp, or even widen her eyes in shock. Yet instead, all she did was arched a brow. 

“He is? Mind explaining who this ‘he’ is?”

“Irving! Damien Irving!”

Eli snapped her fingers. “Oh him! Why did you go straight to kidnapping though? Had ya ever thought that he could have just missed a day?” 

Aemilius’ frown deepen. “A day? No... Irving had not entered this school building for the last thirteen days!”

“Oh? You counted?”

Aemilius nodded, suddenly proud of himself, “Of course I did. Why wouldn’t I? It is the great me after all.”

Eli clapped her hands, glad to hype her friend up in one of his nonsensical moments. Yet she soon ceased her clapping. “Hmm… you must really be worried about that dude.”

Aemilius grew slightly pink at the statement, “N-no. I-I am not worried.” he raised his chin, crossing his arms, “I am simply considering the well-being of my potential tutor. That is all.” He walked closer to the giant window, once again peering at the crowd below. “Ah-hem.” he coughed, “This is quite the surprising turnout.”

Eli rose a brow up at the sudden change in topic, but then shrugged as she stood beside Aemilius at the window, “Why wouldn't it be? For such a large sum anyone would be wanting that job. Plus, nice choice with this spot, we can see the whole situation from here.”

Aemilius’ lips curved up at the compliment, “Yes, this is quite the spot.” His hand swept across the room, “Even if it is filled with a bunch of boring books and dusty boxes…” Eli raised an eyebrow at Aemilius’ sudden quietness, “You good bro?”

“Ah… shoo!” he sneezed, causing Eli herself to jump back in surprise. Aemilius quickly wiped his nose with his handkerchief “I guess... that this room is too dusty for my tastes. Nevertheless…” he raised a finger, “this was the best I could do, but still, there is no Irving in sight… ah shoo!” He sneezed again, the force of it sending even more dust particles to swirl around the room. 

Eli heaved a sigh as she dug out a tissue from her bag, handing it to Aemilius who gratefully took it. “Yeah… if this is going to be our new lookout spot then I guess we gotta clean it soon.” she sat back in her seat, wincing at the dust that rose from the landing. She would have been upset if it was not for the warm sunlight streaming inside the room, warming her in the process. Eli nodded at the chair opposite her and when Aemilius sat down she gave him a look. “But hey prince, would he really show up though? Didn't he tell you ‘no’ like 5 times already?”

Aemilius pursed his lips “No... it was merely three times.”

“You and your counting…”

Taking this as yet another compliment, Aemilius' smiled. “My previous attempts of ensnaring Irving were obvious failures, however, this plan will succeed! Who can say no to money?”

Eli shrugged as she leaned back in her chair, her eyes watching the group of students who surrounded the poster. “Well… our Irving is obviously different, haven't even tried to contact you about the money.”

He clicked his tongue, “You are right, perhaps…” his attention went back towards the crowd. The crowd had grown a tremendous amount since day one, so big that even Aemilius was intimidated by its size. He shrank down in his seat, “Perhaps this was a bad idea.”

“Yeah, seems like it. Administration is bound to get involved in no time.”

Aemilius sighed as his head met the dusty surface of the table, “Irving just where are you? Maybe you are sick? Or kidnapped…”

At her friend’s sadden state, all Eli could do was frown, “So we’re back to square one huh? Firstly, who would want to kidnap that giant dude? Isn't he like six-foot-something? Secondly… I can confirm that he had not been kidnapped.”

Aemilius' sprung his head from the table unaware that dust clung to his now dirty cheeks. “You can?! Wait… why are you just revealing this information now? Are you not aware of my panicked state?”

Eli shrugged as she took yet another tissue from her pocket, wiping Aemilius’ face in the process, “Sorry, sorry it just came to mind.” She smiled at his clean face and tucked the dirty tissue away. “And yeah I can tell you, but this information is going to cost ya.” She said with a smirk, her eyes curving into crescents. 

Aemilius nodded, anticipation already burning within him. 

Eli’s eyes twinkled at the response, “Well… I saw him the other day on the bus.”

“The bus? Oh yes, Irving does love to ride those.”

She frowned, “I don't know, I doubt anyone would love riding a bus. Anyways, I saw him the other day. He looked thinner, still his overly tall self, but he didn't look like himself. Ya know? He didn't...” she rubbed her chin as she thought some more, “He didn't look healthy.”

Alarm became apparent on his expression, “Then I was right with my assumptions! I cannot remain here Eli, I have to go!” Aemilius attempted to leave the room but was stopped by Eli. 

“Um… no. The boy already thinks you're weird enough, showing up at his place isn't going to help your case.”

He deflated, “Ah… you are right. I do not want to mess up my relationship further with him.”

Eli nodded. “Yep, and besides... Damien must know what he's doing. So don’t worry, okay? 

Aemilius averted his gaze, “As I said, I am not worried.” he mutter, yet why did his chest throbbed so much at the idea? 

…

For the rest of the day, Damien did not attend school. His lack of presence was quite disturbing to Aemilius, who found it strange since he had just become aware of Damien’s existence. He found himself chasing faint traces of Damien’s throughout the day from stoic expressions to even his tall statures in anyone he came across. Yet when he realized that these people were not Damien, his chest stung. 

Perhaps something did happen to him? No… Eli said not to worry. His heart throbbed in disagreement, yet Aemilius merely shrugged these thoughts off as he entered into the rain, cursing about how wet he was becoming. It was raining, harder than the forecast predicted. The world was drenched in a bucket of water it seemed, with no sign of it stopping anything soon. However, Aemilius was lucky since he was able to make it to the car without getting too wet.

“Home please.”

The driver nodded and started to drive. Aemilius sighed as he loosened his soaked tie, rubbing his hand through his somewhat stiff yet wet hair. His mouth curved down, “Such an annoying gathering.” he thought back to the party he just attended. Fake smiles, putrid-smelling perfume, and eyes that observed his every move. “How can father find these types of events to be exciting…” He sighed once more as he let the window down, allowing the moist air of the night to enter the car. Despite Aemilius' extroverted personality, he wasn’t the type of person to enjoy lavish gatherings. The only reason he attended this one was due to a sudden plight that had befallen his father. Nothing too serious, he gratefully remembered. Just a normal cold that he received due to overwork. His mother was meant to go in his father’s stead, yet chose not to due to certain reasons. 

Aemilius smiled ruefully at the memory of his mother in tears, gripping her husband’s hand tightly. Saying words such as “I cannot bear to be apart from my sick beloved!” and some more nauseating words. Aemilius allowed another sigh to escape his mouth, disliking how dramatic his mother could be. 

The car rolled to a stop at a red light, and Aemilius continued to stare out the window. He stared at the buildings mere feet from his window. Taking in their shapes, and attempting to read their signs through the heavy rain. Yet soon he grew bored of this activity. Perhaps Edward can brew me a nice cup of milk when I return home...

Another sight catches his eyes, a moving object, tumbling down the road. Its movements, too sluggish and its size too large to be any type of city animal. For some reason, Aemilius was captivated. Captivated by this lone figure that marched through the rainy night, stumbling with each step they took.

However, something about them felt off, a flood of familiarity rushed over Aemilius at the figure. 

“Goodness… I even see traces of Irving on the streets. There must be something wrong with me.” Still, despite his words, Aemilius could not take his eyes off of the individual. Suddenly, lightning took over the sky, flashing light onto the figure’s face. His heart thumped ferociously in response as if attempting to break out of his body. Aemilius shook his head, “No… how can that be Irving there is simply no way this can be true.” The person took one staggering step then fell, their body motionless. 

“It’s not him.” The rain struck the cement, ringing like alarms. “It's not him.” The person did not move, their body covered by the pouring rain. The rain slowed as the world froze. Aemilius was out of the car, his vision blurring, his chest throbbing with pain. 

 Irving or not… I will allow them to collapse in front of me!

He raced towards the person, ignoring the cries of his driver, ignoring how the rain slammed against his body, even ignoring the icy hand that squeezed his heart.

When he finally reached the person, he knelt before them, “Are you alright?”

Not a single whisper was heard. 

Aemilius came closer, as lighting embraced the sky with light, illuminating the person’s features. His eyes widened as a trembling hand reached for the person’s face. 

“Irving.”