How to Make a Sinner Sleep

20 | demons; misfits of obscurity

"Kaden, where are you heading?"

Niklas hopped behind the other man, making silly faces to gather the man's attention. Kaden glanced back, laughed lightly and kept walking.

"I have to meet up with my brother. There's something I need to discuss with him." He said calmly, not revealing any expression.

Niklas frowned when he heard those words, aware of the poor and imbalanced relationship between the two. Not to mention... no, it wasn't the time to worry about that yet.

He cleared his throat and smiled. "Why don't I come along with you?"

"That's not an option."

"Oh, come on, isn't it time to introduce your best friend to the family—"

Kaden cut him off with three words.

"We are friends?"

"......"

Niklas gave off the expression of a sulking puppy, backing away slightly as he glanced at Kaden. His chestnut hair seemed to droop, the fluffiness dampening in sorrow.

Truly an amazing talent, thought Kaden with a shake of his head.

When pretending to be pitiful didn't work, Niklas rushed over again to catch up to the walking man. "You were joking, right? We're friends. We are. Yeah?"

Kaden laughed. "Yeah, we are."

Friends. A foreign thing on his tongue, but something he was starting to get used to.

Niklas, who followed him around endlessly without stop, Noah who had the expression of not wanting to help, but did regardless. Nicola who shared classes with him, Holly who now waved in the hallways enthusiastically.

It really wasn't a bad thing at all.

However, he really couldn't allow the other to follow him when the consequences of such a thing was unpredictable.

He had just turned back to tell Niklas to leave before the other spoke.

"Kaden."

"Ah? What is it?"

Worry spread across the man's face, hesitant. "Don't try to do things that are beyond you. If you are, rely on your friends, alright?"

Kaden raised an eyebrow. "What sort of nonsense are you talking about now?"

There were no other students this early in the morning, and the hum of birds outside sounded distant, muffled by the glass panes.

Sunlight streamed inside, scattering the shadows. The outside leaves were beginning to change colour, warmed up by reds and yellow hues. It wasn't a gloomy scene in the slightest, but Niklas's face didn't smile brightly as it usually did.

"Kaden, there's a saying my mother used to tell me often." Niklas started, glancing outside. "As long as the sun continues to rise, you should never succumb to the night."

"It's a good saying." praised Kaden, always respectful towards other parents—with the exception for Loser... Yoser.

"But that's wrong. Day and night coexist for balance, and one shouldn't indulge in the light and hide away from the dark."

"Niklas, I really need to hurry. Is this for a drama assignment?"

"You're an idiot."

"...excuse me?"

Niklas sighed deeply, before sadly waving off to usher the other person away. "Ah, you can't understand my deep insights, go, go. I'll also have you know I would excel in drama—I'm particularly good at setting the stage."