Anya's POV
The school gate had never felt this quiet.
I checked the time again.
6:32 AM.
The meeting was supposed to start at six.
And Iris… was nowhere to be seen.
At first, I didn't think much of it.
Five minutes late? That's just Iris.
Ten minutes? Still manageable.
But thirty minutes?
That wasn't normal.
I pulled out my phone and called her.
Ringing…
No answer.
A small frown formed on my face.
I tried again.
Still nothing.
A strange uneasiness settled in my chest.
"She's not here yet?" one of the council members asked.
I forced a small smile. "She'll come."
But even I could hear the lack of confidence in my voice.
Another few minutes passed.
No message.
No call back.
No Iris.
I inhaled slowly and turned to the group.
"I'm really sorry… we'll have to postpone today's meeting."
A few disappointed sighs, a few nods....but no one argued.
Because everyone knew,
Without the president, there was no meeting.
As soon as they dispersed, I didn't wait.
I ran.
---
Her house wasn't far, but today every step felt heavier.
Pick up, Iris… please pick up…
I reached her door and rang the bell.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
No response.
"Iris?" I knocked harder this time.
Nothing.
My heart started beating faster.
Don't panic.
Don't panic.
My hands trembled slightly as I pulled out the spare key she had given me.
The door unlocked with a soft click.
The house was silent.
Too silent.
"Iris!" I called out, rushing inside.
No answer.
I went straight to her room and pushed the door open,
....and froze.
She was lying on the bed.
Unmoving.
Clutching a photo frame tightly against her chest.
"Iris!"
I rushed to her side, shaking her lightly.
"Hey....wake up!"
No response.
And then,
I saw it.
A thin line of blood from her nose.
My breath hitched.
"No… no, no…"
I ran to the kitchen, grabbed water, and came back quickly, sprinkling it on her face.
"Come on, Iris… wake up…"
For a moment,
nothing.
Then,
her fingers twitched.
Her eyes slowly opened, unfocused.
"Anya…?" she murmured weakly.
Relief crashed into me.
"What the hell, Iris!" I snapped, my voice shaking. "You scared me!"
She tried to sit up, but immediately held her head.
"My head… feels dizzy…"
"Don't move."
I supported her gently and opened the bedside drawer.
The medicines were still there.
Of course they were.
I handed one to her with water.
"Take it."
She didn't argue.
After that, I made her lie down again, adjusting her pillow.
"Sleep," I said softly. "Just sleep."
This time,
she listened.
---
About twenty minutes later,
She woke up.
And the moment her eyes met mine...
she froze.
Because I was staring at her.
"Did you cry?" I asked.
Silence.
She looked away.
Then slowly…
she nodded.
Something inside me snapped.
"Iris!" My voice rose. "You promised me! You said you won't do this again!"
"I..."
"No!" I cut her off. "You keep saying you're fine, but this....this is not fine!"
My vision blurred.
"You don't eat properly, you don't sleep properly, and then you overthink until you end up like this!"
She stayed quiet.
That made it worse.
"You think I don't notice?" I continued, my voice breaking. "You think I don't know what happens when you push yourself like this? What if something happens again? What if this time it gets worse and...."
"Anya."
Her voice was soft.
But it stopped me.
I clenched my fists.
"You were about to say 'treatment' again, weren't you?" she said quietly.
I froze.
"…You promised not to bring that up," she added.
"And you promised not to break yourself!" I shot back.
Silence.
Heavy.
Then,
"I'm sorry."
I blinked.
She was looking at me now.
Eyes tired.
Voice small.
"I was just… scared."
That one word broke everything.
"Scared…?" I whispered.
She nodded slightly.
"I don't know why… but everything felt too much."
Her grip tightened around the photo frame.
"I tried not to think… but I couldn't stop."
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
"I tried, Anya…"
That was it.
I pulled her into a hug.
"Idiot…" I whispered, my own tears falling. "Why don't you just tell me?"
She didn't reply.
She just held onto me.
"If you ever feel like this again…" I murmured, "just stay with me. Don't go through it alone. Okay?"
A small nod.
---
Kaizer's POV
The park was quieter than usual.
Not silent,
but bearable.
I sat on the bench, leaning back slightly, letting the faint noise pass through me.
Fragments. Always fragments.
*I should finish my homework…
Why is the weather so weird…*
Nothing important.
For once.
"Bro!"
Lux dropped beside me, slightly out of breath.
"You disappeared from school like a ghost."
I didn't respond.
He leaned back, sighing.
"Anyway… did you hear what people are saying?"
I frowned slightly.
"…About what?"
Lux's expression changed instantly.
Annoyance.
Not excitement.
"About Sister Iris."
The way he said it,
protective.
"Some idiots are spreading nonsense," he continued, irritation clear in his voice. "I swear, people can't handle someone being better than them."
My posture straightened slightly.
"…What kind of nonsense?"
Lux glanced at me.
"You care?"
I didn't answer.
He sighed.
"Grace. That girl. She's saying stuff about Sister Iris....like she does things for attention… using the fact that she doesn't have parents."
Silence.
Around me, the faint thoughts continued.
But now,
they felt sharper.
*Yeah, I heard something like that…
Pretty girls are always like that…*
My jaw tightened.
Shut up.
"Who said it?" I asked quietly.
Lux raised an eyebrow.
"Grace. Obviously."
He paused, then added...
"But Sister Iris already handled her. Shut her down completely."
A faint smirk almost appeared on his face.
"Serves her right."
I looked ahead.
"…Of course she did."
But something didn't sit right.
The noise,
it was getting heavier again.
More irritating.
More… personal.
I stood up suddenly.
"Where are you going?" Lux asked.
"I need to walk."
But that wasn't it.
Not really.
Because for the first time...
the noise didn't feel random.
It felt like it was pointing somewhere.
And without thinking,
my mind went to her.
Iris.