"Help out with Gaby's brother...?" Kurt repeated while staring at Saramin.

He and Trevor began to stare at Gaby hoping for further explanation, but the girl suddenly shifted her gaze while flushing her face red.

"Gaby...?" Kurt continued while leaning his head forward in order to meet her gaze, "Is everything okay with your family...?"

Gaby then grabbed the books from Saramin and began to dash towards the classroom without saying a word.

"Hey! Wait! Gaby!!" Kurt shouted in vain as she continued to distance herself from them.

"Oh, dear..." Saramin whispered while pressing her palm against her cheek, "That girl does not know how to be honest with herself..."

"Sara, what was that about?" Kurt wondered.

"'Sara'? Acting rather casual already, aren't you?" she noted while grinning, "Gaby just asked me to borrow the books in her place since she was banned from the library... It wasn't too much trouble so I just decided to give her a hand..."

"So you two are on good terms now?" Trevor wondered.

"As good as you can be given our situation..." she admitted, "We talked a bit after the fight yesterday. The first proper talk we ever had in fact... Turns out Gaby is kinda nice once you get to know her! Although she has this weird obsession to talk about combat styles..."

Kurt was glad that Gaby was finally expanding her circle of friends, but he was still confused about why she dashed away from them the moment Sara mentioned her brother.

While diving into his memories, he recalled that Trevor's sister also mentioned him when they were discussing if she might have some sick relative considering her obsession with books about poisoning.

"Did something happened to her brother? Did he get sick by any chance? Is that why she carries those books everywhere?" Kurt asked while staring at the white-haired lass.

But Sara simply sighed in response, "Ehh... Sorry... If she didn't tell you, it's because she doesn't feel comfortable talking about it... You better ask her yourself..."

"Ugh... Fine..." the boy groaned while walking to his class.

Trevor followed right after him in order to try and calm him down. He knew how dangerous it could be when Kurt started to act on impulse.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Kurt repeated while glaring at him, "I have healing powers and Gaby has a sick brother. Why doesn't she just ask me to go cure him??"

"Maybe she doesn't feel good asking for help like this?" Trevor assumed.

"Why not? If you have a problem asking for help in order to solve it is a natural conclusion, isn't it??"

'Indeed...'

"See! Even Dory agrees!!" Kurt commented.

Trevor gazed at the bird for a second and wondered how the conversations between these two tended to proceed exactly.

"Look, man... Just because people need help, doesn't always mean they feel comfortable asking for it..."

"That's dumb... If you have a knife on your back and you can't reach it to take it out, wouldn't it make sense to ask someone to take it out for you?"

"Well... Yeah... But... Well..."

Dorothy noticed that Trevor wasn't going to make any progress with this discussion so she decided to intervene, 'Sometimes people would rather suffer in silence than be a bother to others...'

Kurt suddenly stopped on his track which startled Trevor.

[What...?] he asked using another language.

'People. Sometimes they don't like getting help from others.'

Kurt tried to think about that statement for a moment but he still couldn't bring himself to agree with it, [That's silly... Why would someone prefer to not solve their problem just because they don't want to bother anyone?]

'Then, let me ask you this... Back in your old life, when you were feeling lonely, did you go out of your way to ask your classmates if they wanted to become your friends? When you were having trouble with your studies, did you ask your brother to help you out? When you were confused about what you wanted to be once you grew up, did you bother seeking advice from your parents?'

Kurt processed her words for an instant and came to realize what she was trying to say.

[N- No... I didn't... I would mostly just report to them after things went wrong... Never before...]

'And why is that?'

[Because...] Kurt paused due to his embarrassment, [Because I felt my problems weren't important enough to trouble them with it...]

'Sounds familiar?'

[Bu- But... That's different! We're talking about someone's life being in danger here!! Not some silly school problem!]

Dorothy closed her eyes and shook her head left and right, 'Everyone always assumes their problems are a different size from what they truly are. Sometimes they think all their problems are gigantic. Sometimes they assume their problems are small and insignificant... Sometimes we have this small voice in our heads that will whisper things like 'It's my problem, not theirs... It's not a big deal I'll solve it eventually... They are probably dealing with more important things right now, it would be selfish to give them even more stuff to deal with', and so on...'

[Then...] Kurt began to lose the energy to be angry, [What do I do?]

'Well, thankfully you're her boyfriend now. That means you're allowed to be a bit more intrusive in her business! Just go to her and tell her-'

_________

_________

"Whatever you're dealing with... I'm here for you!"

Gaby just stared at Kurt in silence after hearing these words coming out from him, "W- What...?"

"I..." the boy continued, trying to recall exactly what Dorothy told him, "I know you're dealing with some stuff... And that you might not feel comfortable talking about it just yet... But I want to make it clear that I'm more than willing to help you if you feel there is something I can do!"

Gaby didn't know how to respond. The boy just barged into the classroom seeking her in her seat and began to spout these declarations out of nowhere, grabbing the attention of the whole class towards the two of them.

She felt like he was performing a switch-up from the first school day where he tried to challenge her to a fight in front of all the students, while this time he was declaring that he would give his support no matter what was that she needed.

"Kurt... I..."

"You don't have to say anything. Just remember that I'm here for you in case you need it!" Kurt declared while completely ignoring the gazes surrounding them.

Gaby couldn't help but feel a little relaxed by his dumb bluntness and kindness.

"I know..." she responded while smiling at him, "You told me before, right? We are on the same side!"

Kurt smiled as well after noticing that his words managed to reach her, "Yes! Yes, we are!"

Gaby began to consider her situation and changed her expression to a much somber tone while looking away again, "I... I'll think about it... Thanks!"

The red-haired boy became a little dishearted that she still wouldn't talk to him about her problem, but he knew that trying to force it out of her wouldn't do either of them any good.

"Well... Then... I'll be here if you need me..." he commented while starting to walk away to his seat.

But before he could, Gaby suddenly grabbed his wrist and stopped him from moving. Kurt turned around to look at her and saw her face reddening up.

"I mean it!" she stated, "It means a lot to me to know you have my back! Thank you!"

She then began to look down at her desk in order to hide her crimson color.

"Yeah! Anytime!" Kurt replied.

The rest of the class watched as the boy drifted towards his seat in the middle of the room that he had gotten back from Gaby.

The purple-haired lass assumed she would be upset from having to sit on the back because of this change, but once she realized that she now had the chance to look at Kurt as much as she wanted, she began to feel like it wasn't so bad.

"Hey, cloud-head..." Saramin suddenly appeared whispering in her ear while she continued to focus on the boy as if she was a hawk.

Gaby was still not used to how overly close the white-haired girl had gotten after they solved their differences. She was always so used to her trying to pick fights or throwing insults every now and then that seeing her new changed behavior was throwing her off her guard.

She almost missed the old Saramin that would ask her friends to throw rocks on her. At least that one was something she could comprehend.

"Ah... H- Hey, Sara..." Gaby replied while using one of her books to hide her face.

"Is something wrong?"

"Ugh... Kurt wants to help me out with my problem..."

Saramin began to place her things on her desk and took a seat next to Gaby, "Is that bad...? He might be able to help you..."

"I don't know... Doesn't it feel like I'm taking advantage of his kindness...?"

"A little bit, yeah... But..." Sara came closer and whispered in Gaby's ear, "Wasn't that the reason you asked him to be your boyfriend in the first place?"

"Yeah... But now I feel a little guilty... I think he would have helped me regardless..." she commented, "It kinda makes me not want to do it..."

"Man..." Saramin mumbled, "It's always so needlessly complicated with you two... Do you want to help your brother or not?"

"I do..."

"Do you think he can help you or not?"

"I... I do..."

"Do you want to kiss him on the lips or not?"

"I do- Wait!!! That's not-" Gaby suddenly shouted, making the class turn towards her for a moment.

"Well, there you go! Go to him! Ask for help with your brother! And then offer a kiss as a reward afterwards! Easy peasy!"

"Ugh..."

The curly-haired girl then picked her book again and continued to observe the back of the red-haired lad and wondering if she was really doing this because she needed help, or if it was because she wanted HIS help.

She was once again reminded of his words from when he attempted to patch up their relationship.

Even now, she still couldn't fully understand why that boy was so insistent on helping her out, but she couldn't help but feel like she enjoyed knowing that he was putting so much effort just for her.

"Someone is on my side..."