"You're fine… fine?!" Emily suddenly snapped, her voice rising in a way Noah wasn't used to hearing from her.
"You were buried alive!" she shouted, her voice trembling with a mix of disbelief and anger.
The words echoed around the small room, heavy, suffocating, filled with the sheer horror of what she had only just managed to comprehend.
Her chest rose and fell sharply, her fingers curling inward as if she were trying not to shake too visibly.
Noah blinked at her, caught slightly off guard.
He offered her a small, awkward smile, the kind that tugged uncertainly at the corner of his lips. "Yeah… but look on the brighter side," he said. "I'm not dead. I'm perfectly fine…"
It sounded almost stupid when spoken aloud, and he knew it. But he didn't know what else to say. He could only watch as her expression twisted again, her eyebrows knitting together so tightly they almost touched.
Emily gnashed her teeth, the faint grinding sound barely audible but painfully clear in her voice.
"I saw those two fools that always follow him around…" she muttered. "I knew something was wrong… but to think… they did something so… horrible."
She looked like she was moments away from breaking—whether into tears, rage, or both, Noah couldn't tell.
He moved before he even thought about it.
Slowly, gently, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her small trembling body toward him.
Emily stiffened at first, startled, but he didn't let go.
Instead, he lowered her head slightly, burying her face softly into his chest. He could feel the faint hitch in her breathing as she inhaled sharply against him.
"I'm fine," Noah murmured, his voice low, steady. "By some… uh, miracle, I survived. So no need to worry."
Emily didn't respond immediately. She just stood there, her forehead pressed against his chest, her hands hovering awkwardly at her sides as if she didn't know where to place them.
After a few seconds, she gave the smallest nod. Almost invisible, but he felt it.
Then, as if a realization struck her all at once, her ears turned a bright shade of red. The color spread quickly, dusting across her cheeks while her shoulders tensed.
'H-his scent…' she thought. 'No—snap out of it.'
In an instant, she jerked back, pulling away from the hug as if she had just been caught doing something forbidden.
She coughed awkwardly, her face flushed, her eyes darting everywhere except toward him.
'He's the one who got… buried alive… but I'm the one getting consoled,' she thought bitterly, her fingers tightening around the hem of her shirt. 'How pathetic.'
The thought stung her, and she swallowed hard, trying to compose herself.
Though her talent in magic wasn't anything extraordinary, it was still higher than Noah's.
In fact, she had broken to the mid-adept magus rank a few weeks ago, which she had worked so tirelessly to reach.
She had promised herself then that with her newfound strength, she would make sure Noah stopped getting pushed around.
She had wanted to stand between him and the world that always seemed eager to hurt him.
But reality had been cruel.
Her strength was, unfortunately, still nowhere near enough.
She wasn't strong enough to stop Lloyd and those other boys from doing what they did.
Not strong enough to stop them from hurting him to such an extent—burying him alive, leaving him to die.
'I wanted to protect him,' she thought, her nails lightly digging into her palms. But in the end… I could barely help at all.
Her throat tightened.
And the ache in her eyes grew sharper. Because the truth was painful. Because the truth was simple.
There wasn't even really anything she could have done.
Not then, or even with her current strength.
"It's not your fault…" Noah said softly, watching her expression closely. "You don't have to feel too bad about it…"
His voice was steady, calm, yet faintly gentle in a way that made the air between them feel strangely warm. He wasn't trying to comfort her out of obligation—he actually meant it.
Emily didn't reply right away, only nodding slightly.
For the next few seconds, the room fell into silence as they stared at each other—her eyes slightly widened, his gaze steady and warm.
Emily felt her heart skip… once, then again. Her throat tightened for a moment as her breath caught.
'How is he… so handsome…?' she thought helplessly, a faint heat creeping up her neck. 'Seriously… why?'
She wasn't even trying to think that way—it just happened.
His silver hair was still slightly damp, a soft trail of water sliding down the side of his jaw.
His eyes looked clearer than she had ever seen them, sharp yet gentle, and his expression… it wasn't the usual lost, distant look.
It was different.
And for some reason… dangerously attractive.
Before she could stop herself from sinking too deep into her own thoughts—
BAM!
The loud sound of the front door slamming open tore through the quiet, jolting her out of her trance.
A second later, a tiny voice called out excitedly, "We're back!!"
Emily froze.
Her eyes widened and color rapidly drained from her face.
"My parents…" she whispered, horror creeping into her voice. "They're back!"
Noah's eyes widened too in panic.
"I—I thought they would be back until tomorrow?" he stuttered.
Emily's parents…
They weren't exactly fond of him.
No—not fond was putting it lightly. They didn't like Noah at all.
In fact, they felt their daughter had no business associating with someone like him—someone who had shown "no improvement" for years.
They felt he was holding her back, and wanted her to have nothing to do with him.
After all, he was the famous academy's loser, while Emily still had a bright future ahead of her.
If they walked in right now and saw him in their daughter's room…
He was dead.
Emily began to sweat almost immediately, her eyes darting around frantically.
"Yeah… they were meant to come tomorrow…" she whispered, her voice trembling. "I don't know why they're here this fast."
She swallowed hard, stuttering as she looked at Noah. "You… y-you need to hide. I'm sorry, but, it's the only thing I can do."
Noah shook his head. "You don't have to worry, I'll just leave—"
Knock! Knock! Knock!
A firm knock landed on the room door at that exact moment.
Both of them jolted in surprise, their bodies stiffening at the same time.
Noah didn't waste a second. His eyes shot to the window. He sprinted across the room, pushed it open, and without hesitating even once, he jumped out.
He landed on his feet with a soft thud.
Thankfully, Emily's house was only a bungalow—the fall wasn't high enough to injure him. The grass cushioned part of the impact as he sucked in a quiet breath, steadying himself.
And then—
BANG!
Almost immediately after he jumped, the bedroom door flew open, forced from the outside.
A young boy with short brown hair and a scatter of freckles burst into the room, panting slightly as if he had sprinted all the way. His wide brown eyes darted around quickly.
He looked no older than thirteen.
And he stared straight at Emily.