"....Ayanokoji-kun..." Suzune muttered.

Kiyopon immediately returned his gaze to the floor.

Suzune couldn't believe this. There, sitting on the bed, is Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. But.....he looked so pale, skinny, and absolutely tired. She closed the door and made her steps towards him.

But then she accidentally stepped on something and she quickly lifted her foot and backed away. She looked down on the ground and she was suprised to find his notebook just laying there.

She bent down and picked it up.

' Why was it on the ground? Ayanokoji-kun is never that careless when it comes to his notebook....' She thought as she continued her way towards him.

" Ayanokoji-kun." She sat beside him on the bed.

He didn't turn to her. He didn't hear her. Kiyopon was currently trapped in his own little world, blocking out everything in his surroundings.

"....Ayanokoji-kun, please look at me." She tapped his shoulder.

But he didn't respond to her touch, her voice, nor her presence. Even when they locked gazes when she entered the room, Suzune foolishly assumed that he had noticed her and was suprised to see her. But in reality, he was looking right through her, in his little world, she didn't exist. He couldn't hear her.

Suzune didn't know what to do. The lack of response was killing her little by little. This entire atmosphere felt suffocating, she didn't know how to help someone with depression but Sakayanagi insisted that only SHE is able to help him.

After a moment of thinking, she looked towards the notebook in her hand and quickly found an idea.

" Hey, you dropped your notebook on the floor. I almost stepped on it, you know?" She spoke in a light tone, holding the notebook in front of his direction.

Kiyopon's eyes sharpened at that.

She continued, " It's very unlike you to-"

Before Suzune could finish her sentence, a swift hand immediately slapped the notebook off her hand.

" Huh? Ayanokoji-ku-" She turned to him but was shocked to see that he finally locked gazes with her once more.

" Don't touch that notebook." He finally spoke. His voice sounded hoarse and

Suzune froze at his gaze. It was like she was looking into the eyes of another person, some part of her refused to believe that this was the same Kiyopon she became friends with ever since the first day.

Her mouth drew a thin line, she couldn't speak under his gaze.

" What are you doing here...." He asked.

Suzune was about to reply but he spoke first,

" Didn't I tell you to leave me alone? So why are you here." He said.

" I was worried.....everyone was worried." She replied.

" Why are you here, Horikita." He repeated the question, he didn't accept her previous words.

" ....Didn't you hear what I just said? I was worried....that's why I came here......I wanted to check up on you." She said.

What followed was a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

" I'm fine..." Kiyopon finally broke the silence.

Suzune didn't believe that, not even a second, but before she could utter a reply. Kiyotaka stood up.

" Now that you know I'm fine. Please leave." He ordered.

Suzune's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, she immediately shot up from her seat in protest.

" ' FIne'? You're anything but fine, Ayanokoji-kun." She said. " Look at you....you're so pale, thin, and....tired...." She worried.

"...." He didn't reply.

" Ayanokoji-kun....you even slapped away your notebook....you.....you never do that. The Ayanokoji-kun I know cares about that notebook." She said.

" I don't. Not anymore." Kiyotaka replied bluntly.

" That's-" Once again, Suzune was immediately interrupted when she felt her wrist being pulled by Kiyotaka.

" H-Hey!" She tried to hold her ground but Kiyotaka, despite not being at the best shape, was still strong enough to pull her towards the door. She struggled but Kiyotaka refused to budge.

They reached the door and Kiyotakamyanks her towards it before letting go. Suzune looks at him, full of disbelief, but was immediately shook deep in her core once she heard his next words....

" Leave me alone. I don't need you here. If you refuse to leave, then consider our friendship over." He spoke, coldly.

" That's my last warning." He added before turning around, assuming that Suzune would finally get the message.

But he was wrong.

" W-Wait!" She called out, stubbornly. Kiyotaka halts, he released a sigh.

He turns to look at her coldly again.

" Did you not hear what I just said?" He asked, his tone was clearly running out of patience.

" I did. I heard it loud and clear. But do you really think I'll leave you alone like this? Please let me-"

BAM! Before she knew it, he had already rushed back towards her and slammed his hand on the the door spot right next to her head.

Suzune held her breath as her gaze slowly meets up with his.

" I just want to be alone. Is that too much for me to ask of you, Horikita? Can't you be useful for once in your life and heed my damn request." He said and she flinched at his even scarier tone.

" I don't need an annoying existence like you to come barging into my room, destroying my privacy, and then lecturing me about shit you don't understand. I know I'm not okay. I'm aware of that, so please shut your mouth and stop nagging me about it." He said before grabbing her by the collar of her uniform.

" I'm tired of a lot of things. But do you know what I'm most tired of?" He asked and stared her dead in the eye.

" A-Ayanokoji-kun-" Suzune tried to respond but Kiyotaka refused to hold back his words.

" I'm tired of keeping a stupid promise to you. I'm tired of having to help an incompetent girl who couldn't improve herself unless prompted to. I'm tired of seeing your face everyday, especially at this very moment. I'm tired of you, Horikita." He spoke words of venom.

"....." Without realizing it, the words affected her so deeply to the point where if this went any further, she would've cried. She was subconsciously trying to keep the tears from falling.

Kiyotaka lets go of her collar, she stumbled till her back hit the door.

" Leave now. Before I call someone to make you leave." He turns around and treads back to his bed.

She clenches her fist but quickly unclenches it. She exhales a breath before turning to the door and gripping the knob.

' He's just angry.....he doesn't mean that......right?' she tried to reassure herself that these were just the words of a boy who couldn't think properly at the moment.

' It....was just in the heat of the moment....i-it has to to be...' She tried to deny his words, as she gripped the knob tightly.

' I can try again tomorrow.......I can't give up on him......he needs someone to be there for him....' She thought to herself.

But she knew that his words hurt her deeply. She never expected to hear those words from him of all people. It just made it hurt more.

' Or maybe.....being alone.....is just what he needs.....maybe I just have to listen to him....' she began to think.

Doubt. She'd begun doubting her ability to help him in his time of need.

She wondered if she really was the best person to help him. Could Sakayanagi be wrong? It was possible.

....

" I understand...." Suzune released a sigh as she said that.

She decided to give him the space he needs. She shouldn't have come here after all, this,,,,,was a dumb decision on her part.

" I'm sorry for barging in like this. I'm sorry for being an annoyance to you...." She apologized sincerely.

Without looking at him, she decided to add one more thing before leaving.

" And....I'm sorry for being a bother to you.....if what you said, was your full honesty regarding your opinion towards me.....about me being incompetent.....useless.....annoying....bothersome...." She pauses before taking a deep breath,

" Then I apologize for all of that. "

Suzune had nothing left to say.

That's a lie.

She had a ton of things to say, but these were the only necessary words that needed to be said.

" Well.....I'll see you....when you get better. Goodbye, Ayanokoji-ku-"

A loud thud interrupted her exit.

' Huh?' Suzune was suprised by the sudden sound.

She turned around.

Kiyotaka laid on the ground, unconscious. Suzune wore an expression of shock at the sight of his unconscious body, but quickly rushed towards his side and began shaking him gently.

" Ayanokoji-kun!" She repeated his name a few times and checked his temperature by placing her palm against his forehead.

' Ah....it finally got to him.' She concluded.

The dehydration, hunger, and his burning fever had finally reached his body's limit which then led to a complete shut down.

' What was I thinking! If I had left even a minute earlier, then this would've happened without me even knowing!' Suzune scolded herself before slowly picking up Kiyotaka and wrapping his one arm over her shoulders.

' He's....incredibly light...' She mentally noted for concern as she quickly helped him to the bed.

" Ayanokoji-kun.....you....hadn't slept for days, huh...." She muttered as she observed his sleeping face.

She's never seen it so....relaxed....in forever. Ever since coming here into his room, this was the first time she saw him wore a calm expression contrary to the glares and cold looks he'd been giving her.

She estimate that for the entire week, he hadn't sleep.

Suzune soaks the clean washcloth in cool water. She dries it up a bit before placing it on Kiyotaka's forehead, gently patting it.

She sits by the side of his bed, staring at his expression with a sad smile.

" I'm sorry, Ayanokoji-kun. But it seems like I'm going to have to be a bother once again..." She apologizes.

She slowly grasps his hand.

" You can hate me for it. You can end our friendship over it. You can....ignore me for the rest of your life......but....please allow me to help yo-.....no.....I'll help you regardless of your answer." She said.

She looks at the time.

" I should make him something to eat." She said to herself before standing up and heading towards Kiyotaka's fridge.

She opened it and was suprised to see that it barely contained any ingredients.

"....I guess I'll have to go grocery shopping for a bit....and pick up some medicine on the way back. " She said.

She headed towards the door but glanced one more time at Kiyotaka's sleeping self.

" I'll be back in a bit, so...." She smiles. " Please rest, okay? Let sleep take over until I get back. You need it." She said before leaving and closing on the door.

Kiyotaka's soft snores filled the silence.

CHAPTER END!

Future chapters will contain wholesome Suzune doing her best to help Kiyopon heal!