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He had looked everywhere that he could think of, all the places she usually lurked and even some she didn't. By now, any other day, she would have found him and he wouldn't be up to his ears in worry over where she was. In fact, he wasn't even sure why he was worried now. He had been completely convinced that she was little more than a pain in his rear up until now, but confusion over what he thought about her was the least of his worries right now. What if she were hurt?

He stalked down the hallway, brows furrowed, his bag thrown over his shoulder as he peered into classroom after classroom. She hadn't been in class, which he assumed meant she probably wasn't at school, but that made no sense at all - she was always at school. He wasn't well equipped to handle situations like this, as he simply felt at a loss as to what to do. He didn't really have friends, well, other than her he guessed, and had never had to wonder where people were when they weren't.. around.

He sighed as he reached the end of the hallway and leaned his back against the wall. He dropped his bag to the floor, head tilted backwards, and arms crossed over his chest as he stared up at the ceiling as if it would tell him the answer to all his problems. He looked frustrated and confused, which was a big step for the normally emotionless fellow.

He shut his eyes after a moment, sighing lightly to himself. Hell, he could almost hear her, that's how stressed out he was. Of course, then he realized all of a sudden that that voice had been all too real and his eyes flashed open to stare down at he figure that seemed to have appeared out of no where just when he thought there was little hope of seeing her. He felt relieved, at first, until he noticed the bandage and what appeared to be blood upon it.

"Nevermind that," he said with a slight frown as he nodded towards her bandage. He was noticing more and more of the minute details as he watched her, and even his relief at finding her wasn't enough to mask the vague worry in his eyes. "Where have you been? What happened?" It was a little more demanding than he had ever been with her, and hell, he was actually initiating a form of conversation for once as well. Enough of a change of pace if there was any.

Not to mention, talking to her about what was wrong was also a good way to avoid actually telling her that he was here because he had been worried over where she was. He was used to her being around, used to her blabbing away, filling his silent moments with her nonsense. If he answered her, he'd have to admit to what he was doing and likely admit a lot of things to both her and himself that he didn't want to.

As she began to explain herself, the whole mess seemed to make a lot more sense. The bandage, the ripped and dirty clothes - although that blood (or what he assumed was blood) didn't fit at all but at least she wasn't badly hurt and had already been treated for her problems. His first instinct was to ask her why she had been in the tree, but then she produced that apple, and when she said it had been for him - well, he felt instantly terrible. He knew it was to make him happy, make him smile, because that's what she always tried to do. She had hurt herself trying to do something for him, something that she thought would.. make him happy.

He frowned lightly and reached out to take the apple, swallowing all complaints that he would have made about how he didn't want the damn thing and how she should be more careful. "I was worried when you weren't in class, and even more worried when you didn't find me afterwards," he muttered, running his thumb over the shiny red surface. Oh, but bloody hell, he felt a bit like an a** for this.

He opened his mouth, as if he might say something to her, but simply shut it again as he turned the red fruit in his hand. The forbidden fruit. The thought amused him lightly, seeing as she'd gone through so much trouble to get it for him. He probably wouldn't have eaten it otherwise, but it felt wrong not to now. "I'll eat it later, ok?" He planned to, but right now he didn't really have much of an appetite at all. He held onto it though, but let his hand fall at his side so he was no longer staring at the red flesh, looking at her instead.

He nodded, glad that she was fine, glad that there was nothing serious and that he didn't really have any true reason to be worried any longer. He probably would have felt terrible if something worse had happened to her, especially if it had all been because of that damned apple. He really would have to eat it, and he'd have to make sure she saw too. Since when did eating an apple seem so complicated? Probably not since Adam and Eve, he was sure.

Just as he was about to lean down to scoop up his bag, he was caught about the middle by her arms. For a moment he just stood there shocked, mouth slightly gaped and eyes staring down at the top of her head. His arms hung awkwardly for a moment before he timidly reached one up around her to return the gesture. It felt strange, but yet, it also felt like the right thing to do. "Don't thank me, it's a natural emotion." Although, given his stand on her being such a pain previous to now, he wasn't sure why it was natural at all. It was clear he had a lot to figure out. He simply kept his arm around her though, watching her, slightly baffled at his own reaction.

If he had known that she thought his little bit of emotion was worth falling out of of a tree and injuring herself, he probably would have been quite astounded with her. No one ever thought much of what he did was worthy of anything, not anyone past his mother or teachers, but he had long since come to terms with being the quiet kid at the back of the classroom. He already felt bad enough that she had gone through so much to do something so small for him, if he knew that she still felt like it was worth it, he wouldn't be sure what to think.

The whole situation now, though, felt increasingly awkward. He was left staring down at her with her arms wrapped around him and his own braced against her. He was sure it looked odd from an outsider's view, but that was the least of his worries. She was happy, so happy in fact that it was radiating off of her in waves that he would have to be a fool to miss. Needless to say, his brows furrowed in a lightly confused fashion, and he was less rather stumped. Why did his happiness please her so much? What was even more disturbing was the thought that he didn't want to ruin the sudden joy she seemed to have at the moment either, not after all of this, so it meant that on some level he also cared about her own hapiness.

Just as he was about to answer her though, she moved, leaning up to press a kiss against his cheek, and leaving him even more astounded than he had been before. For a moment, he simply blinked, confused beyond reason and seemingly blinded by the action. He opened his mouth to say something to her, but found his words rather garbled. He was never at a loss of what to say, even if he said very little, and it was not a very settling thought at all. He stared down at her, shifting lightly where he stood, trying to work some part of him back into motion. "Wh-what was that for?" he managed finally, steady as he could force the words, though he couldn't for the life of him figure out why they should be unsteady to begin with.

He was surprised and overwhelmed - he had never really had to deal with someone that acted so unpredictably as she did. With her hugging him, then kissing his cheek, he was bound to get a little bothered and confused - he was only human, right? He managed to force himself to keep his eyes on her, though he wanted nothing more than to look away and down the hall.

"No, I'm not upset," he said lightly, trying to figure out her words, trying to puzzle out what it was she was saying to him. She felt the need to kiss his cheek? She felt like it? Since when was a kiss on the cheek a thank you for showing a simple emotion? The more he thought about the things she was saying, the more and more confused he became, and despite his best efforts to stop it, it was growing more and more visible on his face. He was well aware that he didn't often show emotion, but he had told her time and time again that it was because he had no reason to - well, she had given him reason, good enough reason even if he didn't entirely understand why it had become so, and he figured she should have simply accepted it instead of making it into such a big deal.

What he found more disturbing as he stared down at her now, however, was that he was having his own overwhelming urge to.. do something. Kiss her? That's what it felt like. His stomach churned, his face felt a little warm, though not blushed, as if blood were clouding his thoughts, and his eyes were drawn to her lips. He could feel the flesh of his cheek where she had kissed him, burning as if her lips had been fire. For a moment, he almost groaned at his own inability to think, at the feeling overwhelming him. It was.. primal, thoughtless and he felt like he was losing control of himself. It was disgusting, his lack of control. He never lost control, but then, he had never had a pretty girl clinging to him before either.

"Let me go," he muttered finally, forcing his eyes away from her and taking a deep breath. He forced himself to relax his arm, his hand tightening around the apple still clutched in his palm. No, he wasn't going to kiss her. Not like this, not in the heat of some confused moment. He needed to figure out why he wanted to kiss her, if there was any real reason or if he was just a victim to circumstance. He wasn't a pig-headed idiot, this wasn't going to happen before he had a chance to think about it.

He had let out a small breath of relief, though it was lost beneath the ringing chimes, as she finally let go of him. What he hadn't expected for her to do was to reach up and touch his cheek, and a shock went through him so quickly that he could have crumpled to the floor right then if he wasn't too proud to do so. Her hand was warm, soft, and if she hadn't let go when she did he probably would have leaned into the touch. When she finally did drop her hand, he was stuck between relief and ache, glad that she had let go and disappointed all at the same time.

"Yeah, I'll see you later," he said, not so loud as she did, but he did bring up his free hand in a half-wave as she walked backwards away from him. The farther she got, the more he felt like he could breathe, as if he were retreating from a burning fire instead of her simply walking away from him instead. Once she had disappeared, he leaned down to scoop up his bag, tossing it over his shoulder as he turned to head in the direction of his next class. Somehow he didn't think he was going to be able to concentrate on the lesson very well, as he had more important matters at hand.

"Everything always turns out ok," he muttered as he moved through the crowds of students filling the hallways now, like a ghost drifting with no thought to their surroundings. He knew she'd be coming to find him later and he had to figure this mess out before she came back. What if she touched him again? He was having a hard enough time trying to figure out why he had cared so terribly that she was missing to begin with, let alone having to deal with being reverted to some hormonal b*****d when all she did was kiss his cheek. Damn the girl.

He had found his own little spot, secluded and away from everyone else as usual, beneath a large tree with sweeping limbs. It was shaded and cool, and as quiet as one expected anywhere outside to be at this time of day. It was his usual choice of lunching area, and more often than not, he had no issues with keeping others away. He seemed to be good at making just about anyone, other than Kepi, simply edge away once he was in the area. Maybe it was his constant silence, or perhaps he was just an unsettling person.

Whatever the case, he was seated comfortably on the grass beneath the tree, his back pressed up against the trunk and a book balanced on one knee. He held a pen in his right hand, which he used to scribble out notes and write others in their places (the book seemed to be a book of music sheets) and in his left he held his apple, a few bites taken. It was sweet, juicy, and he enjoyed it more than he thought he would have. With his mind on his music, though, it was taken mostly away from the guilt he felt every time he looked at the the diminishing red surface. At his side was a brown paper bag, laid flat with a sandwich atop it and a bottle of water. A simple lunch, though barely touched at the moment.

For whatever reason, he glanced up, just in time to see her making her way towards him. Despite it all, he felt happy to see her, glad that he didn't have to get up and go find her again. He could see from the distance that she had a book, though not what it was. It was a strange thought, as she didn't usually walk and read at the same time - she had too much energy for that, he thought. "What are you reading?"