Chapter 39: Hairclip

~~~

As Rina continued her explanation at the front of the room, her voice droning on about the upcoming project and its requirements, my attention wasn’t on her. It hadn’t been for a while now. It was on the girl sitting near the front whose familiar mousey ears kept twitching during the lecture.

She looked like she was trying too hard to focus. Her eyes were on the board, but her hand hadn’t moved in minutes. Her pen hovered just above as she pretended to take notes.

But I remembered. Just today, she had looked at me. It hadn’t been long, barely more than a moment, but it clung to me like a splinter under skin. Secretly, I got my hopes high, hoping that maybe she’ll remember me again.

As I ruminated, an announcement came, sharp and clear.

“You’ll be working in pairs for the next project. Guidelines are on the board. I expect them submitted before the end of the week.” Rina’s voice cut through the low hum of classroom which soon became restless.

The words sent a ripple through the room. Chairs scraped across the floor, students leaned toward each other in excited huddles, heads turning left and right as if everyone had just flared back to life with those few words.

Some were already laughing as they paired up with their usual cliques, others bickered in jest over who got whom. I sat still, absorbing it all. Part of me wanted to shrink back.

My eyes wandered around, looking for an anchor, until they inevitably found Wryn. She sat where she always did, head slightly turned to the side, watching the others as her mouth remained muted as usual.

I swallowed. I hadn’t really thought about this part of things. Partner projects were simple enough, but with Wryn… it felt different. These past few days, we’d talked more, spent moments where she let me into her space… awkwardly, begrudgingly, but she did.

I stood up slowly, trying to act casual, though my heartbeat betrayed me. Part of me hoped it would go fine as I took the few steps to her desk, and she looked up without surprise, like she already knew I’d come to her.

“Hey,” I said, voice low. “Wanna pair up?”

Her eyes locked onto mine for a beat too long. Then she blinked, leaning back slightly in her seat. Her lips pressed together in that way she did when she was busy trying to sort through her unspoken thoughts.

“…You asking 'cause you want to, ' or 'cause you don’t have anyone else?'” she asked, voice flat, looking at me imploringly. I couldn’t tell if she was teasing or testing me.

I gave a slight cough as I responded. “Can’t it be both?”

She didn’t reply right away. Just tilted her head a bit, eyes narrowing like she was studying me for any signs of bullshit.

And then, to my surprise, she sighed. Not annoyed, just resigned. Her gaze dropped to her desk for a moment, then back to me.

“Fine,” she muttered. “But don’t expect me to do all the work.”

That got a slight grin out of me. “Same goes for you.”

“Tch.” She looked away quickly, but I caught it, the tiny tug at the corner of her lips. The smallest of smirks.

She probably didn’t even realize she was smiling.

We both turned back toward the board. The rest of the class had settled again. I could still hear faint murmurs of everyone sorting out their own partners, but my mind had already quieted.

Wryn leaned a little on her elbow, chin in hand again, now scribbling absentmindedly into the corner of her notebook. I watched her for a moment longer than I meant to, then forced myself to look away.

For the first time in a while, I felt oddly excited about our academy again.

~~~

Class had finally ended, as we were on our way home. The only sounds around were the soft crunch of gravel beneath our feet and the rustling of the leaves stirred by a light breeze. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I found myself walking beside Wryn with a growing grin on my face.

"So," I started, breaking the silence between us, "the project. Any ideas yet?"

Wryn didn't even look at me, her gaze fixed on the ground ahead. “Not really. It’s just a class project. It’s going to be annoying,” she muttered, the lack of enthusiasm clear in her voice.

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling at her usual indifference. She was always so blunt, but it was part of her charm, even if it didn’t exactly scream "team player" when it came to school projects.

As we kept walking, something else caught her attention. Up ahead, a small street vendor stall was set up on the corner, brightly colored trinkets and snacks catching the last of the sun's rays.

The mix of foreign sweets and quirky toys seemed to shimmer, calling out to anyone passing by. Wryn’s gaze flickered toward the stall, and for a split second, I saw something I wasn’t expecting, her interest, but without passing a second glance, she just kept walking.

I blinked, confused. Was she too embarrassed? Before I could stop myself, I reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back. “Hey, come on. Let’s check it out.”

She jerked her arm back, eyes wide with surprise. For a moment, I thought she might snap at me or pull away, but instead, she just stood there, giving me that usual look of irritation mixed with confusion.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice laced with disbelief.

I grinned, feeling that rush of excitement for no reason at all. “I saw you looking at it. Come on, don’t pretend you’re not interested.”

Her expression softened, just a little, though she still looked annoyed. She glanced back at the stall and let out a heavy sigh, but didn’t make any move to pull away from me.

“Fine,” she grumbled. “But don’t expect me to buy anything.”

I couldn’t help but feel pleased, even if she was still acting like she wasn’t into it. We made our way over to the stall, her hand still in mine, surprisingly loose. I started pointing out all the things that seemed interesting, my excitement clearly showing.

“Look at this!” I said, picking up a strange-looking bag of chips. “They’re weird, but I bet they taste amazing! And these little monster figurines, aren’t they cute?”

I waved the snack in front of her, trying to get her attention. “You sure you don’t want to try it? It’s supposed to be really good.”

But Wryn was too busy munching on whatever she had in her hand, her eyes glued to the food as if nothing else mattered. She didn’t even look up. “Mm-hmm,” she hummed absentmindedly, clearly not hearing a word I said.

I smirked, still holding the candy out. “I’ll take that as a yes, then.”

She flicked a glance at the snack, her focus immediately back on the food in her hands. Then, to my surprise, she paused. Her fingers grasped at the snack, and her brows furrowed in confusion. She turned the packet over in her hands only for crumbs to fall out of it, looking at it as if it had somehow disappeared.

I couldn’t stop my laughter. “Guess you were really hungry.”

Her eyes widened slightly, a flicker of shock crossing her face as she looked at the empty space where her snack used to be. Snapping back to reality, she glanced back at me, almost annoyed. “What are you looking at?”

I grinned, shaking my head. “Nothing special, just watching a hungry lil puppy.”

She scowled, but there was no real heat in it.

Wryn's ears drooped down in disappointment as she stared at her empty hands, wishing she could savour the snack a bit longer.

Then she flicked her gaze around, probably searching for anything else to munch on. It was a small, almost endearing reaction.

"Hey, don't look so down," I said, offering a grin. "There's a lot more stuff we can try here."

But just as I said that, my eyes landed on something that caught my attention. It was a hairclip, one I was pretty sure Wryn had noticed earlier when we passed the stalls. She had eyed it for a moment, then moved on without saying anything, as if unsure about getting it.

I pointed it out casually. "That clip looks like it might suit you."

Her wolven ears perked up, just slightly, as she followed my gaze. A flicker of something crossed her face, and for a brief moment, she seemed to be wanting to say something, but she paused.

She glanced at the clip again, her expression faltering. "It wouldn't suit me," she said, her voice quiet, as if convincing herself more than me.

I raised an eyebrow, stepping closer, a teasing smile tugging at my lips. "Come on, you'd look great with it. Seriously, you’d be rocking it."

Her ears flicked down a little, and she gave me a quick, almost embarrassed glance. "It won’t with this scar," she muttered, her hand briefly touching under her eye, as if to cover it up. "It’s ugly. I don’t think anything would look good with it."

I could feel regret filled in her words, but I refused to let her believe that. "I see your scars, but what I really want to see is you with that clip," I said, trying to sound confident. "And trust me, the clip will look amazing on you." I said, lowering my voice a bit as I leaned in slightly, "C’mon, could you try it for me, please?"

She hesitated for a moment, the clip still in her hand, and I could see her eyes searching for any reason to say no, even though she was already swayed by the idea. I wasn’t going to let her back out now.

"Come on," I urged, my voice gentle but insistent. "You have to at least try it on. What’s the harm in that?"

Wryn shot me a look, an exasperated look, but she finally sighed, defeated by my persistence. "Fine, fine... but only because you’re so damn pushy."

Her voice was a little softer than usual, but I could hear the faintest hint of something, maybe amusement? It didn’t matter. She had agreed, and that was all that mattered for now.

She stepped into the little area inside the stall and I held my breath as I watched her from the corner of my eye, hoping I wasn’t making her feel too uncomfortable.

Wryn stood there, her posture a little more rigid than usual, but she was wearing the hairclip now, nestled in her hair just above the scar on her forehead. It was simple, elegant, yet it suited her in a way that made her look even more... well, beautiful, if not cute too.

I didn’t even realize I was staring until she shifted awkwardly and cleared her throat. "What? Is it that bad?"

I snapped out of it, trying to hide my surprise with a grin. "Bad? Are you kidding? You look amazing." I had to bite back the urge to go on praising her, but I couldn’t help it. "Seriously, Wryn. You look like you belong in one of those fancy fashion magazines or something."

Her wolf ears twitched as if they were happy to hear that, and I caught her glancing at herself in the mirror, her gaze still unsure about my praises. She didn’t reply, but I could tell she was starting to warm up to the idea.

While she was busy with the mirror, I secretly turned toward the shopkeeper to pay for the clip and noticed the price tag. My heart sank. It was more expensive than I’d expected. A lot more.

I quickly glanced at the small stack of bills in my pocket. Shit. I wasn’t sure I had enough for this, let alone my usual cab rides back home. I was going to be cutting it close, but... I didn’t want to let that stop me.

With a small sigh, I pulled out my wallet and handed over what I had. My hands were a little shaky as I did it, but I didn’t want her to know how much it bothered me. It wasn’t about the money, it was about making sure she had something that could make her feel better about herself, even if it was just a small thing like this.

As the shopkeeper handed me the change, I pocketed it without a second thought, feeling the weight of my decision settle into my chest. I didn’t know what was coming next, didn’t know if I could even afford to keep this up, but I wasn’t about to back down now.

When I handed her the hairclip, I could tell she was a little surprised. Maybe she didn’t think I’d actually go buy it. But I smiled, determined to make this moment count.

"Here," I said, pushing the clip gently into her hands. "It’s yours. I bought it for you, wear it with pride, alright?"

Wryn blinked at me, her expression softening as it remained stoic as ever. But gradually, a warm smile graced her face, and I could feel the same warmth permeating into my being as well. Her entire body relaxed, looking unguarded, something I never saw from her usual tense self.

I reached up, almost unconciously, to pat Wryn on the head, like I had so many times with Nora, trying to bask a little in her joy. But the moment my hand landed on her head, I saw it.

Her eyes widened, pupils dilating rapidly, and before I could process what was happening, everything changed. Something flashed, sharp and electric. It felt like Wryn’s hand jolted up, for a fraction of a second.

My hand froze there as I felt a searing pain. It was so sudden, so real, the pain nearly brought me to my knees. I gasped, trying to catch my breath, but all I could hear was the sound of my pulse pounding in my ears. A strange, tearing sensation shot through my wrist.

The blood surged in rhythm with my heartbeat. I looked down to see the blood pouring from the wound, pooling around my hand as if it couldn’t stop. Everything felt so surreal.

My vision started to blur, the world around me dimming bit by bit. People around us began to scream. Everything felt muffled, like I was underwater. My head swam as the pain dug deeper into my skin, raw and relentless.

And then, my legs buckled. I couldn’t keep myself up anymore. The blood drained from my face, my body shaking uncontrollably as I collapsed forward.

And for one final moment, I could see Wryn’s face, her hand soaked in my blood. Dripping, drop by drop, as her eyes remained wide in disbelief.

Her expression was like nothing I’d ever seen before, pale, stricken, utterly lost. It was as if time had stopped for her as well, her whole body frozen in shock as the blood stained her fingers.

Then everything went dark.