Masked Truths: Book 1

Chapter 7: Oh...

Cassie's POV:

I exhaled slowly, letting the warm air slap my face. I looked around, giving myself a side note to come over here whenever I can. It was so calm and peaceful out here, the loudest noise being the happy chittering and chattering of friends crouched on the seats, laughing and joking around. I walked over to an empty bench near the mini fountain/waterfall and pulled out the book in my tote bag, glancing at the message on it. 절대 포기하지 마세요! 당신은 잘하고 있습니다! It read, above a kawaii drawing of a green dinosaur making a heart with its hands. I smiled. It was a gift from my elder sister, Cynthia. She was the eldest child, older than Eric and was already married and had a decent house. I really missed her; she was pretty much like a second mum to me. I mean... hey, she was more than 10 years older than me! She was amazing, and words cannot describe how devastated I was to hear that she was moving out.

I plopped myself down on the seat and opened up my book to the page I was up to and started to read. I was currently reading Harry Potter for what seemed like the billionth time ever. I let myself picture every single word and image it in my head, suppressing a snort when that character comes in. I looked around me, tearing my gaze away from the words in the book and looked at the scenery around me.

The terrace and sitting area outside the school was in a weird jellybean shape. Around the edges of the area, there was a short wall with rocks on the side, a gap in one area revealing a staircase descending to the forest outside the school. A pebble garden lined against the wall, nurturing small flowers and succulent plants. The sun shone brightly through the gaps between the towering trees. I was enjoying the view of the small birds chirping with the breeze, swaying along with the trees, only for a handball to break my peace.

"Ow!" I hissed, rubbing at my shoulder where it hit me.

"Oop- sorry! I'm so sorry!" A tall, lean boy walked over, quickly picking up the handball and continuing their game.

I half-smiled and waved my hand, indicating that it was fine. I went back to reading my book, and after some time of listening to the birds chirping, I couldn't help but think that I could hear a few muffled cries and sniffles somewhere around me. Everyone else was too focused on playing handball or chatting with their friend to hear it or notice it. 

I slid in the bookmark at the page I was at, shoving it in my tote bag and began to look for the source of noise. I treaded through the trees surrounding the school, hearing the muffled crying and cries becoming louder and clearer. I pushed a few leaves out of the way, and there it was, in broad daylight, Blaze was crouching there, crying. Crystal clear tears streamed from his blue-grey eyes and down his cheeks, running down until it was hiding under his black mask. He raised his hand to wipe his tears, and I was startled to see a long, deep scar etched across, stretching from his wrist to his ring finger.

"Blaze?" I called out.

His head jerked up, and he looked startled. He sprang up, dirt and twigs falling from his baggy, black cargo pants. We looked at each other for a moment, then he broke his gaze and sprinted towards the school.

"Blaze! Wait! A-Are you okay?" I cried after him desperately.

He didn't look back for a second, but then he turned around, the deepest and most intense glare I had ever seen, and it was burning with hatred.

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Hello my lovelies! I have updated pretty quickly im ngl, but hey? 200 reads??? THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME <3333 Oh and btw, Blaze is going to be an absolute jerk in the next few chapters, but hey, who can blame him?

- KK <3