[Third Person Pov]
As Clark and Haruna walked down the hallway toward the faculty room, the sound of their footsteps echoed softly against the polished floors. Haruna kept her head lowered, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her sleeves as she struggled to gather the courage to speak. After several moments of silence, she finally inhaled and forced the words out.
"You know… you didn't have to do that," she said quietly. "He was a senior student. You could've gotten into trouble for stepping in like that. You still might, actually. He could decide to get revenge later or make things worse for you. Really… it was fine."
Clark didn't slow his pace or look back at her. His expression remained neutral as he continued walking forward, hands tucked into his pockets.
"You're right," he replied calmly. "I didn't have to. I just wanted to." His tone was even, almost dismissive. "So if he decides to start something later, that's my problem for being nosey. It has nothing to do with you, and it's not your concern."
Haruna slowed slightly, caught off guard by how final his words sounded. She chewed on her lower lip, uncertainty twisting in her chest. She knew what he was doing—putting distance between her and any consequences so she wouldn't blame herself if things went wrong. That only made her feelings more complicated.
"Still—" she started.
"Haruna."
The way Clark said her name made her stiffen instantly, her posture straightening as if she were standing at attention.
"No matter what someone's status is," he continued firmly, still not sparing her a glance, "whether they're an upperclassman, a teacher, the principal, or even your own parents—do not ever let someone disrespect you and walk all over you like that again."
His voice hardened.
"It's pathetic."
Haruna froze mid-step. Her eyes stared forward, unfocused, her pupils trembling slightly as the word echoed in her mind. Her expression fell, shoulders tensing as she lowered her gaze.
'Is… is that what he thinks of me now?' she wondered. Her throat tightened painfully, making it difficult to swallow, and a sharp sting pricked at the corners of her eyes.
Clark suddenly stopped and glanced over his shoulder, finally looking directly at her.
"And you aren't someone who's pathetic."
Haruna lifted her head sharply, her eyes wide and glossy, her pupils expanding as she stared at him. "What…?"
Clark rolled his eyes, clearly irritated that he had to repeat himself. "You're not pathetic," he said more bluntly. "So don't let people treat you like you are. I don't care who they are or what kind of status they have. Have I made myself clear?"
Haruna bowed her head quickly in acknowledgment, partly to show she understood—and partly to hide her face. Her hair fell forward, concealing cheeks that had turned a deep scarlet as her heart pounded wildly in her chest.
"Good," Clark said. "Now come on. I still don't even know who I'm supposed to give these to." He motioned ahead with his head.
Haruna let out a small sound of agreement and jogged over to his side after taking a deep breath to steady herself.
Once she caught up, Clark added casually, "Also, if you ever make me say something cringy like that again, just know I'll personally trip you and step on you instead of around you."
"Eh?" Haruna glanced at him, startled by how serious his tone sounded. The fact that he clearly wasn't joking only made her burst into laughter. She covered her mouth with one hand as she giggled, the other clutching her stomach.
They soon arrived in front of the faculty office. Haruna looked up at him, her expression softening into a sincere, warm smile. "Thank you," she said quietly. "Truly."
"Hm," Clark grunted in acknowledgment. "Now stop being weird and open the door."
Still smiling, Haruna did as she was told.
…
After they exited the faculty room, Clark immediately turned and started walking back in the direction they had come from.
"Follow me," he ordered.
"Hm?"
"Just follow me," he repeated, rolling his eyes.
Despite her confusion, Haruna didn't hesitate and quickly trailed after him. "Where are we going?"
"Look down at your knees," Clark said as they stopped near the nurse's office, which was only a short distance away from the faculty.
"Huh?" Haruna did as he said and noticed scrapes across her knees. Small specks of dried and fresh blood dotted her skin. "Ah… I didn't even realize. But you did…"
'Kinda hard not to when I can smell it,' Clark grimaced internally, though he said nothing aloud as he opened the door.
He glanced inside, noting the empty room, and couldn't help but comment, "You'd think with two nurses on staff, at least one of them would actually be here."
Haruna giggled softly as Clark motioned for her to go inside.
"Sit," Clark ordered, already rummaging through the cabinets without a shred of concern for whether the nurses were actually present or not.
"But—"
"Do not make me repeat myself."
"…" Haruna bit down on her tongue, cutting herself off before another word could slip out. She obediently moved over and sat on one of the stools, her hands resting stiffly in her lap as she watched him continue searching.
After a moment, Clark straightened and turned back toward her, holding out a small bundle of supplies. "Here. Use these."
"Eh?" Haruna blinked in surprise as she stared at what he handed her. "You're… handing them to me?" That wasn't at all how she had imagined this playing out in her head.
Clark gave her a flat look. "What the hell were you expecting?" he asked bluntly. "You scraped your knee, not shattered your spine. Did you suddenly become useless or a paraplegic? You fell, that's it."
Her face immediately erupted into a fiery blush. "N-No! I just thought you would— I mean— you could—" She trailed off into a mess of stammering, clearly flustered, before weakly extending her hand. "I thought you'd… Just please give it here."
Clark paused, eyeing her cautiously. "Did you… want me to do it?" he asked, raising a brow.
Inside Haruna's mind, chaos broke loose. Two tiny chibi versions of herself appeared over her shoulders—one dressed like a scandalously suggestive slutty angel encouraging her forward, the other a modest devil screaming at her to retreat immediately.
The internal debate raged for a solid few seconds.
Haruna abruptly lowered her hands and turned her head away, face burning bright red as she hesitantly extended her legs toward him. "…Please."
Clark snorted and shook his head. "Since when did you become so high-maintenance?"
Realizing what she had just done, Haruna immediately covered her face with both hands, mortified beyond belief. "Forget it! Please forget I said that! I don't know what possessed me—"
Clark let out another amused snort and dropped down onto one knee in front of her. "Relax," he said. "I'll do it if you really want."
She winced slightly as he began tending to her scraped knee, carefully cleaning the wound. Haruna stared down at him—kneeling there, focused, one hand steadying her leg—and for a moment her mind drifted. Before she could stop herself, the words slipped out.
"Why… why are you being so nice to me?"
"Hm?" Clark looked up at her, genuinely puzzled.
Haruna froze. She hadn't meant to say that aloud. But now that it was out there, she couldn't take it back. She swallowed and forced herself to continue.
"Sorry," she said softly. "It's just… you're acting really strange. You're not usually this openly nice. You have this… hidden kindness about you. Like you believe the best kind of kindness is the kind no one notices. The ones done in secret. So seeing you like this is a little… unsettling."
Clark's lips twitched into a strained smile. "Do I really come off as such a terrible person," he asked dryly, "that being nice is unsettling?"
"Yes," Haruna answered immediately, without even a second of hesitation.
Clark burst out laughing. "Hahaha! I suppose you've got a point."
He tilted his head slightly as he thought, placing a band-aid over her knee. "I guess there are two reasons," he said. "The first one's simple—you just caught me in a really good mood. I did something fun earlier, so I don't feel like being particularly rude right now."
"And the second?" Haruna asked quietly.
"I tolerate you."
"Oh…" She paused. "…Thank you?"
Clark scoffed. "That's the highest compliment you'll ever get from me. You better treasure it."
Haruna chuckled. "I can imagine."
Clark continued more seriously, "I don't tolerate people easily. But you've always respected my boundaries. You know when to keep your distance and when it's okay to approach. I've known you since middle school, so I know what kind of person you are. That's why."
"I see," Haruna said softly. "You're right. That really is the highest form of praise from you." She smiled warmly—and without thinking, reached out and gently patted his head.
Both of them froze instantly.
Their eyes locked.
"…I'm demoting you," Clark said flatly.
"No, wait!! It was an accident!" Haruna cried out.
"Nope. You're just a classmate now."
"Please! I didn't mean it!"
"Class press, We better be leaving, we wouldn't want to miss lunch"
"No, Clark! I'm sorry!!"
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