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The school bell rang, and Heathcliff groggily lifted his head up, drool and all. He ignored Ishmael’s glare as he stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets, not bothering to wait for Dante to dismiss them.
He was about to step out until Meursault gave him one look and he withered under the tall man’s gaze. “Dante told me to grab you before you sneak out.” Meursault explained and Heathcliff felt himself slouch even further. “However,” he perked up as Meursault continued. “You are free to standby near the door.”
He couldn’t help but let out a laugh, slapping Meursault on the back. “I knew I could count on you, Meursault!”
“S.U.O.E.” Ryoshu grumbled out, and he shot her a glare, who glared back just as intensely before staring at Sinclair who only shuddered in response.
“She said,” Sinclair started, glancing at Ryoshu popping a lollipop in her mouth. “‘Shut Up Or Else’. Um, Dante can we leave?” Heathcliff watched as Sinclair hurriedly turned his attention to the teacher waiting by the table.
<Oh, yes. Right.> Dante nodded, clapping their hands together to grab everyone’s attention. <Class is dismissed, be back in an hour for your Literature class!>
“You’re lucky I’m hungry,” Heathcliff growled out to Ryoshu. “Or else I’m going to beat you to a bloody pulp.”
Ryoshu responded by flipping him off.
<Hey, no fighting!>
—
Heathcliff sat down on the concrete floor of the school’s taped off rooftop, smiling toothily as he threw the tape, alongside his jacket to the side and finally dug in for his long-awaited lunch. “Finally, some peace and quiet ‘round here.”
He sighed in contentment as he stabbed a sausage roll and shoved it in his mouth. “Yeah, can’t blame Nelly if she taught a brute like me to cook,” he grumbled to the unusually strong wind. “I should have stolen the recipes when I had the chance.”
Drip.
“Huh?”
Drip, drip, drip.
“Bloody–” Heathcliff cursed, barely covering himself and his lunch as he took cover by the door leading back to stairs going down to the school’s corridor. “The weather didn’t say anything about the damn rain!”
“It seems Faust going here has been proven beneficial after all.” A cold impassive voice echoed through the stairs, and Heathcliff looked down to see a head full of silver hair and a pair of steel blue eyes blankly staring at his purplish-blue ones. “You are drenched, Heathcliff.” Faust said her arms crossed underneath the jacket she hung on her shoulders.
“Yeah, no shit,” Heathcliff grumbled out as he took out his barely drenched food. “At least I can still eat lunch.” He dejectedly closed his lunch and glared at Faust who only continued to stare blankly at him. “What do you want?” He growled out and Faust only sighed in response.
“Don Quixote–” she ignored Heathcliff spewing out curses to their sprightly classmate, “that someone was sneaking to the rooftop,” Faust explained as she gestured for him to follow her down the stairs. “Again.” She sharply stared at Heathcliff, who flinched in response before staring ahead. “Vergilius as stated, if this happens one more time, the next student will get immediately suspended.”
Heathcliff narrowed his eyes at her explanation. “Are you saying…” he started off as they both stopped at the infirmary and clicked his tongue when she stared at him to go in. “I’m the so-called next student?”
“Indeed you are,” she answered casually as she drew the curtains. “Now sit here while I get a change of spare clothes from one of the lockers.”
As Faust shuffled around the infirmary, Heathcliff is left with his own thoughts and suspicions on what the valedictorian of the school was doing. He furrowed his eyebrows as he watched Faust grab a fluffy towel from one of the cabinets; what was her goal for being kind to him? If it was any other day, she would have not cared– even smugly smirk at him if he walked down drenched to the core.
“Stop using your brain for a moment,” Faust snapped him out of his thoughts as she gently handed him a fresh set of clothes. “You need to change lest you do get caught.”
Before Heathcliff could retort she drew back the curtains, separating him and her. “Make sure to change quickly.” He heard her say, before the sound of her footsteps faded away just a bit.
—
“You have finished, just as I predicted.” Heathcliff rolled his eyes when he drew back the curtain, finally wearing the fresh set of clothes Faust had given him. “It seems you are missing the jacket.”
Heathcliff lifted a brow when Faust took off the jacket off her shoulders and draped it over his own shoulders. “Put your arms on the sleeves,” she quietly said, her eyes darting to the nurse who came back from their lunch break. “Fortunately, the size of my jacket fits your stature.”
She immediately straightened up. “Make sure to eat your lunch, Heathcliff.” She uncharacteristically said loudly, nodding to the nurse before she walked out. “See you in Literature class.”
Faust left him be, her jacket on his shoulders and he felt his cheeks turned red. “Bloody hell…” He grumbled, covering his face with one hand as he slowly walked out of the infirmary, his lunch hidden under his free arm.
Heathcliff couldn’t help but wonder what was up with Faust.