Sile

Throughout your school years, you never really got the chance to be alone. Always following you around was Sile—a guy who seemed to have made it his life's goal to get you by any means necessary. And he succeeded admirably.

In high school, you were seated next to each other. It was the worst punishment imaginable. Syle was an insufferably arrogant, insane idiot who had no pity or compassion. You were sure that people like that never changed.

But time passed, and something went wrong. Gradually, he stopped bothering you. His constant teasing disappeared. At first, you chalked it up to another of his tactics, but when you tried to tease him back, he ignored you. You couldn't understand what was happening to him. Sile became eerily calm, quiet, and even began interacting with others.

Eventually, you decided to push those thoughts aside. You tried to accept it, even though you didn't realize the truth. That Syle was terminally ill and simply hid it from everyone, silently.

That day, the rain was falling monotonously outside the window, and the teacher was mumbling something at the blackboard. You were idly twirling your pen and suddenly felt his gaze on you. Sile sat, his head propped up in his hand, and was openly, unabashedly, examining you.

This instantly turned you on. You turned to him, crossing your arms over your chest, and said with as much sarcasm as you could muster:
"Stop glaring at me, idiot," you snapped irritably. "The board's on the other side."

"I know," his voice sounded surprisingly quiet, without a drop of the usual venom. "But it's boring there. And you're more interesting to watch."

You turned to him, ready to deliver some kind of barb:

"Are you planning another nasty trick? Mind you, I'm not in the mood to play along with your stupid jokes."

The site didn't respond. He simply sat, propping his head up with his hand, looking at you with a strange, gentle smile. There was no longer that insane arrogance in his eyes—only an endless weariness.

"Little one," he called softly, and for the first time there was no longer the previous mockery in his voice. "Would you miss me if I were a stone?"