(Henry's POV)
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"See, it's not so bad," Grey tried to pacify me while we marched in the halls.
With the way I was acting, he definitely knew I was gravely nervous right now. He snaked his arms around my shoulders and glided his palms up and down to comfort me.
I scooted closer to him and watched as every student we passed by kept turning their heads in our direction, which caused my face to flush.
People kept whispering to each other, and someone even boldly pointed at either me or Grey.
We entered the teachers' office, which was located on the second floor. The school was too big, and it took us almost 15 minutes to locate where it was.
"Hello miss, we're here to get our schedules, we're new students," Grey politely asked the woman in charge, and she responded with a warm welcome.
"Hi, it's nice to meet the two of you. Here, that will be for you, and this one… is for your brother," she said softly as she handed us our individual schedules.
I unintentionally stared at her for too long, thinking that her voice was so soft, unlike my previous teachers who were so scary and shrill.
"Hi there, you have very pretty eyes," she said when she noticed I was staring.
"Th-thank you," I whispered and shrank back behind Grey.
She didn't try to converse with me after that. Maybe she noticed that I was reserved and not socially engaged with other people. Somehow… she seemed to understand.
"Well that's all you need to know. If you have further questions don't hesitate to ask me, okay? Oh! And also, do you guys need a tour? I'm free if you'd like."
Grey looked at me for a second.
I shook my head a little.
He smiled and politely declined her offer, saying that we could manage on our own.
We thanked her and started reading the schedules in our hands as we left. Our designated buildings were different, since I was still in my final year of secondary school, while Grey was already in his second year in college.
"Bud, you good? My room will be in the other building, but it's just connected anyway. You can go there and see me if you don't feel well. Okay bud? I'll see you at lunch."
I just nodded at him thoughtlessly while trying to work out my complicated schedule, not listening to a single word he had just said.
When I looked back up—
Grey was no longer by my side.
"_"
"Grey?"
I looked everywhere but couldn't spot him. I walked aimlessly and felt like I wanted to cry.
"He left me~" I trembled.
I was scared of asking someone for help, so I toughened myself up to reach the room I was supposed to be in by myself, hoping I wouldn't get in trouble.
"I can do this!"
I mustered the courage and marched forward through the halls.
(After a few minutes)
"No… this won't do."
I had been walking for almost half an hour and realized I was just going in circles.
I finally gathered the courage to ask the girl standing by the side who had stopped to fix her things.
She seems nice.
I sauntered toward her with sweaty hands and was about to tap her, but she moved as she finished fixing her things and prepared to leave.
"No! Wait—"
I grabbed her bag quickly, which completely shocked her.
"Holy shit!" she cursed as she turned back to look at me, probably seeing how stressed I was while gripping her bag.
"Uhmm, do you need something?" she asked carefully.
"If it's okay… Ca—can you take me to this room?" I said with a quivering voice, showing her the paper, letting go of her bag.
"Ohh, I see. You must be new here," she said, studying my schedule.
"Well, you're in luck, we have the same course and the same room. Follow me. But first," she stopped, her face scrunching, "I have to go to the restroom. Nature's call!"
She shouted the last two words as she raised her right fist forward and caught my hand with her other one dragging me with her.
"So how've you been? Isn't this school great?" she asked energetically.
Somehow… her presence didn't affect me as much.
I got comfortable with her easily, which was odd, because for the record, it took my older cousin Robby seven years to get comfortable with me.
"It's fine. I mean, the people here seem nice," I replied, my voice coming out soft.
"Is that so? How old are you exactly? You look kinda small to be here, but hey… I'm no judge," she said cheekily.
"18."
"Really? You sure don't look like it. Your face looks like 15 or 16, and your height—ummm… no offense." she laughed, stopping, though I knew what she was gonna say.
"But if you think about it, that's actually good, unlike me who's practically the same age as you but looks old." She puffed her cheeks, and I let out a small laugh.
We soon reached the restroom within just a few minutes.
"Wait here, and I'm very sorry, this might take a while. But don't worry, we won't be late," she said quickly before running inside the girls' comfort room.
I stayed outside, waiting.
About three minutes later, I suddenly felt the urge to pee.
I hesitated… then decided to go. I entered the restroom and went inside a stall to relieve myself.
"I think I just made a new friend." I mumbled happily.
[Creak!]
I heard one of the doors in the cubicle open.
I quickly finished and stepped out to clean myself. I washed my hands thoroughly, then took off my glasses to splash some water on my face.
Without warning, I was suddenly jerked forward.
"Oof!"
A hand gripped my neck tightly as another hand slowly caressed my face.
What… what is happening?!