Caecus was at a loss for words.
The tears on Nyx's cheeks were still flowing down, but she wasn't weeping. The crying must have happened involuntarily.
Her eyes looked straight into Caecus' and something was beneath them. A hesitation lingered in them, something unusual for her.
"You say I have no sympathy, n-no emotions." This was the first time Caecus had ever heard Nyx's voice breaking. "Then what is this?" she pointed to her own face.
Caecus didn't know what to say, he just stayed silent, fist clenching.
"..."
Nyx continued while biting her own lip as a way to pull herself together. "That may have been the truth before, but do you not understand that all I want to be is your friend?"
"I..." Caecus' voice didn't respond to his commands.
Then something in Nyx's gaze changed.
The tears stopped flowing, and the ice cold facade was back up.
"I'm sorry you had to see that, but Caecus, do you not see that I don't have any ulterior motives?" she asked him while putting on her usual smile, although this time it seemed frail, as if she forced herself to do it.
"...Please look at it from my perspective." Caecus averted his eyes from hers. "You came to blackmail me with something… something t-that could ruin my life, and then only requested to be my, well, friend." His jaw clenched slightly before he opened it again to speak. "I… I can't help but be suspicious of you, especially considering that you're from a rivaling Corpus…"
When those words left the blind boy's lips, for a fraction of a second a hint of hesitation showed itself on Nyx's face, but it left just as fast as it came.
"I understand, so tell me, what do I need to do to gain your trust?" She inquired, and wiped the tears from her face.
Her eyes were a little puffy now, which Caecus noticed through echolocation.
"I don't know." He answered truthfully, and then showed his face back to her. Although his eyes revealed no emotion underneath them, and seemed like they were made out of glass, the rest of his face revealed enough.
Caecus' eyebrows were raised and a small frown lingered on his lips.
"Would it help if I told you the actual reason for my interest in you?" Nyx leaned forward, hair swaying with the movement of her head.
"So you lied before?"
Her eyes widened a little, and eyebrows lifted, but then she raised both of her hands in front of herself waving them. "No no no. I just didn't say everything, what I told you was the truth entirely."
"Maybe it'll help. I'm not sure." Caecus answered.
"Well then let me tell you…"
…
Meanwhile she told him her story, Caecus didn't interrupt once, but listened carefully.
When she finished, tears slipped once again.
"I– I'm sorry… it's just harder when you actually say it." Nyx wiped her tears away immediately.
'Why am I so fragile all of a sudden?' She thought.
But Caecus, Caecus just stayed silent for a few seconds, then stood up, and moved.
Nyx froze together when she felt Caecus' arms close around her head, and press her head against his chest.
"I-I'm so sorry…" He said, his voice breaking. Something wet hit Nyx's scalp.
Her mind went blank for a few seconds, and she didn't move an inch.
Then it all came crashing down.
Her emotions couldn't be contained any longer, and what was silent tears before, was now her voice collapsing into uncontrollable sobbing.
Caecus just kept holding her, the sobs muffled under the now-wet sweater he wore.
'I don't deserve this.'
…
Caecus and Nyx were walking down the hallway, going to Titus class. The boy was looking at his soul phone, when his gaze lifted, and eyes widened as he saw the both of them with their puffy eyes.
He shot Caecus a look that seemed to say "What the heck happened here?"
The blind boy just started laughing when he sensed the taller boy's reaction, while Nyx eyed him with a cold gaze.
As if to prove a point, she moved closer to Caecus, who before would've been uncomfortable, but now didn't seem to mind.
"..."
Nyx spoke. "Let's go to the cafeteria, I would've eaten with Caecus, but he insisted on waiting for you."
Titus still seemed startled, and then hesitantly walked towards them, as Nyx already went ahead.
When he walked closer to Caecus, he leaned down next to his ear, and then whispered.
"You seem more comfortable around her now… what happened?"
Caecus listened, and then shot him an apologetic smile, "Ah… I don't think Nyx is comfortable with me telling you sorry…" he scratched his cheek, and then followed the one he mentioned.
Titus stood still for a few seconds, but then followed them too.
When they arrived at the cafeteria, Caecus grabbed his tray, put some rice with beef liver, and scrambled eggs on his plate, along with some… chocolate (what a surprise), and then sat down.
As fast as lightning, Nyx sat down next to him, her own tray beautifully crafted once again, but portions immensely bigger than Caecus.
'Will she not get fat?'
When Nyx saw Caecus eyeing her food she smiled threateningly.
"You know, I feel like you're thinking something inappropriate. I'll just tell you one thing. When you are my height, rank and weight, you burn more calories than you think. Just because you are:" Her hands made the pinch sign. "Doesn't mean you can discriminate me for being normal height. And what you need to do is gain some muscle."
Caecus shot her a glare.
'She dared to bring up my height?!'
Nyx on the other hand just started eating.
She sat impossibly close to him, just like when she was overly affectionate, their thighs touching.
'I guess that side of her hasn't changed at all.'
As if reading his thoughts, she smiled at him once again, but the threatening air she had before was gone.
'It must've just been my mind–'
When Titus sat down, the air seemed to shift as if growing dangerous.
'Definitely not in my mind.'
"Caecus, your next class is duels right? Are you sure you want to train with me after that?" Nyx said, this time worry in her voice, which caught Caecus off guard.
'I have to get used to this side of her.'
"I'll have to see, you can train with Ti-"
"No. I want to train with you." She immediately interrupted him.
"Okay… I'll make sure not to go too hard then…"