The morning was crisp with frost. It crunched underfoot, embedded into the grass, and made your breath stain the air with small plumes of white fog.

Everything was shrouded in a translucent mist, the streetlamps above littering eerie white light onto the pavement. It was still fairly dark outside, the sky breaking out in shades of grey and smoky red as the sun barely peaked the rooftops.

It must have been around 6am. After waking up early and being unable to get back to sleep, you figured a walk might clear your head and freshen you up for the day ahead.

You had your eyes fixed on your feet most of the time, lining the toe of your shoes with slits in the pavement in some trivial game of yours, paying little attention to your surroundings.

When you finally reached Kei's neigbourhood, you were on edge. The air seemed thicker here, draped between the craggy buildings and their overhanging roofs, trembling with an unseen tension.

It wasn't until you turned the corner did you realise why. Your throat dried out instantly.

Fluctuating red and blue lights swung between the gutters like strobe lights, dizzying and blinding. You stumbled down the street with your heart in your throat, toward the police car pulled up right outside Tsukishima's drive.

Thoughts and worries tore through your mind like bullets, punching through your gut and gripping you with sudden nausea as you stopped a short distance away, gazing over the scene with panic.

Why were the police at Tsukishima's house? Was he in some kind of trouble? Was he hurt?

You wanted to run over there and see what was happening, make sure Tsukishima was okay, but that wouldn't be fair on anyone. You were just some kid from school who, in reality, hardly knew Kei at all. Knocking on his door would be intruding on him and his family. You didn't belong over there. At least, not yet.

Holding aside your doubts, you gritted your teeth and dragged yourself away, but not before one final glance back.

The curtain in the upper left corner twitched aside, and your eyes snagged a pair of haunting golden eyes, before he drew it closed and shut you out again.

_____________________

Tsukishima wasn't at school that day.

And it made your head hurt.

You spent every spare second searching the corridors and classrooms for him, head turning at every flash of blonde hair that passed, but he was nowhere to be seen.

As Art class rolled around during last period, you went straight up to the teacher's desk with an anxious smile pasted on your lips. "S-Sensei," you stuttered, absentmindedly curling a piece of hair around your finger. "Do you think I could ask a favour of you?"

Sensei's brow cocked askew, her lips twitching into a faint smile. "Go on, [Y/N]-San. Though might this have anything to do with Tsukishima?" You gave a start, gaping in puzzlement as she pushed aside a few leafs of paper and propped her elbows against the desk. "I had a flick through your book the other day. It's filled with sketches of him, so I assumed you're friends now."

You felt your cheeks burn in humiliation, dipping your head so as to avoid betraying your emotions. You knew it was a bad idea leaving your sketchbook unattended, but you figured a few minutes couldn't hurt whilst you went hunting for a pencil sharpener. Apparently you were wrong.

"So what's this favour you wanted to ask?"

You shifted your weight, biting the inside of your cheek. "Uhm, well I was wondering if you'd mind checking the system for me, to see if Tsukishima was marked absent today."

Sensei tapped lightly on the keyboard. "May I ask why?"

"Uh, he wasn't very well yesterday and I haven't seen him around today. If he's off ill, I know it's a bad idea to go and visit him," you rambled, praying your excuse sounded feasible enough.

She narrowed her eyes, but didn't question you further. "Hm... his parents haven't phoned in to mark his absence, but he hasn't attended any lessons today."

Your heart sunk at this, but you managed to muster a weak smile. "Okay, thank you very much Sensei!" Bowing your head, you returned to your desk in dismay.

Had something happened to Kei? Is that why he was absent? Heck, is that why a police car had been parked outside his house at six in the morning?

Burying your head in your hands, you lost your focus on the lesson completely. Whenever Sensei drifted past your desk, you'd start randomly shading your paper with the flat of your pencil, or add a few highlights to the sketches you'd already finished.

As the bell signalled the end of the day, you practically tripped over your own feet running out of the classroom, dodging and dashing around the students as they poured through the school gates. You didn't slow your jog until Tsukishima's house loomed into view over the hill, leaning askew amongst its peers.

The gravel crunched underfoot as you walked up the street; the ice from that morning hadn't thawed yet here. It grazed the soles of your shoes and sent you skidding closer to the house, where frost webbed the gutters and climbed up the windows like spider's webs.

You paused by the wall that fringed his garden, staring up at the patchwork bricks.

Everything was frozen in time. Nothing stirred but the wind and your drumming heart.

You stayed outside his house for a good ten minutes, your fingers numb and your nose raw as the wind stole the warmth from your bones. No matter how desperate you were to see him again, you couldn't work up the courage to walk up to the door.

You were scared. Scared of what you might find inside.

So you left.