7: What's wrong?

Killian hasn't seen Sebastian that much in the past week. He has been too busy with his soccer practice to bother that boy. It also seems like Sebastian has closed himself off and been trying to avoid him. Killian didn't get the chance to know what's happening. But now that he is free, he is noticing Sebastian's quietness and it's bothering him. There is nothing holding him back from satisfying his curiosity and knowing what's up with the boy.

Killian takes a drag from his cigarette as he leans onto his car at the student parking lot. Alex is standing beside him, smoking a cigarette of his own.

"You gotta help me out, dude. I swear this will be my last time. " Alex says, looking into Killian's eyes.

Killian rolls his eyes at his friend but nods his head anyway, " You gotta stop getting in trouble with those people though. They are bad news." He warns in a serious tone.

"Are you scared, Mr.Price?" Alex asks playfully, wiggling his eyebrows.

Killian scoffs at that. Alex is good at avoiding a conversation that concerns him and averting the attention to something instead. He wishes he could do something. Not to sound like s hypocrite, he knows he is on the road to destruction himself but Alex is way ahead of him.

Smacking Alex on the head, he mutters, " Yeah. So scared that you are begging me to help you out."

Alex punches Killian's chest, making him cough. " I'm not begging you, you fucker." Killian just smirks at that.

A few minutes go by with them talking about stuff and then Killian's eyes find the person who he has been looking for. That person is skating towards the school gate. It's Sebastian. He wonders why Sebastian didn't bring his bicycle. The memory of that night invades his mind when the question of the bike pops into his mind. A smile finds its way towards his lips unknowingly.

Despite his utmost efforts to dive back into the conversation with Alex, he finds himself focusing on Sebastian only. Sebastian looks happy. That's a first. He can't recall if he ever saw Sebastian smiling in school. The sight is refreshing to say the least. Sebastian looks confident as he skates towards the entrance. He can clearly see him as the distance between them isn't much.

"Are you even listening to me?" Alex asks in the middle of his speech, following Killian's gaze.

"Aha." Killian confirms which makes Alex roll his eyes.

"I must say you are a great babysitter." Alex mocks, trying to see what Killian finds so interesting that he isn't even blinking.

Killian doesn't reply, rather he holds an intense staring contest with the boy. As always Sebastian looks away after a few seconds. He takes his skateboard in his hand and walks towards his locker room, finally letting Killian bring his attention back to his friend.

"Yeah." Killian replies after what feels like forever without even knowing what he is agreeing with.

"Well, I honestly don't know if I should be concerned or happy for you." Alex mutters, giving Killian a sympathetic head shake.

"The fuck are you on?" Killian asks but Alex doesn't linger around to answer.

He follows his friend and meets up with the rest of the group. They were hiding from Oliver. Killian has never been able to finish a cigarette in front of that goody two shoes hence they had to seek for an alternative way.

Killian in now sitting beside Sebastian in the first class but Sebastian is unwilling to look his way. He tries to think of things that he did which ended up offending Sebastian. Except being an annoying little shit, he doesn't remember doing anything to offend him even remotely.

"Did you take an oath to avoid me or something?" Killian raises a question, tapping on the table with a pencil.

Sebastian does nothing but scribble down the notes in his notepad which successfully manages to irritate Killian. He smirks despite this as something cooks in his mind.

"Really? Are we really doing this? After what we have been through together, you are gonna throw me away like I never existed? How can you be so cruel? I wasn't wrong when I said prefer dogs to cat." Killian's choice of words to phrase his sentences gains Sebastian's attention.

Sebastian first looks around to see some students gawking at their bench with utmost attention. He glares at Killian for speaking nonsense loudly enough to spark other's curiosity. Killian gives a boyish grin to Sebastian as he finally got a reaction out of him.

"What happened?" Killian asks with a calm voice this time, worry being prominent in his voice.

Sebastian's eyes soften at the concern that Killian's face holds but he looks down immediately. It's like he is afraid to look at Killian in fear he will rant about the things that are bothering him.

"If you want-"

"Please." Killian stops as soon as he hears Sebastian's plea. He nods his head at Sebastian and zips up his mouth.

Killian lets the brunette have some moment of peace before he strikes again. It's unsettling to see Sebastian quiet like before. He genuinely enjoyed that night with Sebastian. It made him feel like he was having a good time with a friend. He is that friend who can't see his friends suddenly acting out of their characters, it awakens the Sherlock in him as worry nests in my mind. That is why he plans to know why Sebastian is suddenly so quiet, why he looks so burdened with gloom.

Time passes by and lunch period rolls in. Killian shares his table with his friends as usual. But what's unusual is his interest in the new boy of the school who is standing in a line to get his lunch.

"Something happened between you two?" Oliver asks, gaining Killian's attention briefly.

"What?" He plays dumb, not wanting to answer questions that will follow if he answers now.

Alex rolls his eyes, remembering what happened earlier this morning. Killian looks restless and engrossed and he knows the person who is responsible for it.

"The new kid should give him his dose of attention and he will come back to being normal." Alex advises, biting into his burger.

"Shut the fuck up." Killian yells before snatching Nick's fries, ignoring the curses that leave Nick's mouth.

"Why is it always me?" Nick whines, dejected about the fact that he is always stuck with Killian who never forgets to steal his food.

Killian shushes him up as he receives a call from someone. Standing up from his chair to get some privacy, he takes the call.

"How's prison?" He asks as soon as he answers the call.

"How's rehab?" Andrea retorts from the other side, making Killian chuckle.

"Are you smoking or eating some real food? It's lunch period."

"Do not worry about me, sister. Worry about your beauty instead." Killian teases, eyeing Sebastian who is sitting at an empty table, playing with his food instead of eating.

"What about him?" He can hear the desperation in her voice which makes him turn his gaze away from the boy.

Is she really serious about him? It can't be the case. They don't even know each other. Andrea is the one who asked him to be close to Sebastian and be his friend. But deep down he knows it's not the only reason why he is desperate for Sebastian's attention. It's like there is a pull between them. It's platonic, he would love to think. He feels the same about his friends, doesn't he?

"Calm down, Andy. Deep breaths only." He keeps pulling her leg and he lets out a laugh when she curses at his pathetic attempt of making jokes.

"Don't eat my brain, Killian. I've got only a few minutes in my hand." She warns as sadness embraces her tone.

Ever since she left home, he feels lonely and alone. It's hard to cope without her. And she feels the same. That's why she sneaks out and calls him whenever she gets time.

"He's alright." Killian assures, walking back towards his table.

"Are you friends with him now?" She asks, adapting a hopeful tone. He can imagine her smiling face from here.

"Oh yeah! we are best friends." He sarcastically replies.

"You little idiot-" She holds herself back before continuing, "shit. I gotta go. Take care of yourself, Killian."

"That's not how a civilised person should eat, Alex. Even my toddler brother has more table manners than you. Wipe off-"

"Guys, take your food with you. We will give someone company today." Killian declares, stopping Oliver mid-sentence.

"You should stop cutting me off mid-sentence, Killian. My God! All of you need to learn manners!" Oliver rambles under his breath in frustration, gathering his things anyway to follow Killian.

"But what did I do?" Nick asks innocently.

"Exist." Killian replies for Oliver.

"You all wound my heart. " Nick dramatically utters, placing his hand on his chest.

"Are we really gonna invade the new kid's privacy like this?" Alex asks, shocking all three of them.

"It's rich coming from you. " Three of them say simultaneously which itself proves their point.

"You all should fucking get a life." He grumbles before taking some angry steps towards Sebastian's table.

"Hey! Hope you don't mind us joining you." Oliver politely says before taking a seat.

Sebastian looks at him in confusion and then his eyes fall on the other members of the group.

"Why would he mind? He is Killian's best friend, isn't he?" Alex comments, smirking at Killian.

The more they speak, the more confused Sebastian gets. He looks into Killian's eyes for answers but all he gets is a mischievous smirk.

"You are not gonna eat that? I can finish that off for you if you want." Nick kindly offers, gaining a glare from Oliver.

"Nick! You ate two burgers already. Moreover, you can't just go around and ask people for food like that." Oliver chides.

"Who uses moreover unless it's an essay?" Nick asks, trying to rile Oliver up even more.

Sebastian still can't wrap his head around it. He looks like a confused puppy as he keeps silently watching them.

"Cute." Killian can't help but mutter, hoping nobody heard him.

"Wow! There's no doubt you all are creeping him out." Alex states, enjoying the chaos.

"Don't be bothered by them, Kitty. They are idiots just like that." Sebastian glares at him for using that name in front of other people, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

"Kitty, huh?" Alex playfully nudges Killian's shoulder.

The other two also appears amused by it. However, Sebastian is miles away from being amused. Instead, he looks like a hot lava, ready to explode.

Sebastian slaps his hand against the wooden table before standing up, "you are free to enjoy the burger." He tells Nick before trying to make an exit.

Killian frowns at that. He hasn't touched his food. He still remembers Sebastian's pale face. He looked so fragile, so tired that night. Even today he looks drained out. This boy should take care of himself and eat properly.

"Sit down." Killian orders which holds Sebastian back from walking away.

"Was that a request?" Sebastian asks, giving Killian a challenging glare.

Killian leaves his seat and walks towards Sebastian. He can feel that he is making him nervous. The brave exterior that he is portraying will crumble down soon. But before it can happen, Sebastian breaks the eye contact once again.

"It was a humble order. Sit down and finish your food." Killian challenges in a dangerously calm voice, eyes holding authority but Sebastian ain't budging.

"Don't scare him off, Kill. You don't need to be afraid, Sebastian. We are friends, aren't we?" Oliver consoles Sebastian, making the boy laugh out in a jeering manner.

"I'm not afraid of little boys like you." Sebastian says, looking at Killian momentarily.

He grabs his backpack and slings it over his shoulders, "But I'm indeed afraid of friends." He confesses to the group before walking away.

There must be something wrong with Sebastian. Killian can feel that. He looked happy in the morning. What might have happened to make him feel gloomy? And why did he say such a thing about friends? Hundreds of questions swim around in his mind. Sebastian is more complicated than he thought initially.

"He is weird, man." Alex says as soon as Sebastian leaves their line of vision.

"That's a bad thing to say about someone. Especially when he is not present here." Oliver schools him about his manners again.

"Please, I beg of you, Oliver. Just shut the fuck up. "

As if all other noises didn't reach his ears anymore and everything vanished in front of Killian because he can only think about Sebastian and his words. He doesn't know what's bothering Sebastian. But whatever it is, it's bothering him too.