Arthur examined the slim figure in front of him. Light blonde hair, dull eyes in a lovely indigo shade and an oversized coat that contained the Norwegian flag in a corner. Now, whilst Arthur was most definitely gay, he felt no attraction to the male who was slightly shivering. Instead, Arthur felt as if he wanted to be a brother to him. "Uh... hey. Is this the Kirkland's house?" The boy's voice was quiet and he had to raise it for Arthur to hear him over the racket erupting from inside the house. It also sounded really unused, as if he didn't talk often. "Hello, yes. I'm Arthur and you must be Lukas Bondevik, right?" Arthur held out his hand, "Come inside. Be prepared to become part of the family." Lukas stood there for a while, some conflict inside projecting for a split second in his eyes, which were hard to read. Finally, he grabbed Arthur's hand, "Better than freezing to death, I guess." He stated only it came out more like a question. Arthur bit his lip. It seemed like helping Lukas was not going to be an easy task.

Lukas' POV
I follow the British guy into his kitchen, out of the way of his family (thankfully), where the kettle was boiling. "I may be an awful cook but at least I can make a bloody cup of tea." He flashes a smile in my direction, his accent thick. From what I've found out in my research about this town, it's pretty multicultural with people from all around the globe living here. When finished, he hands me a cup and clutches his own. An awkward silence settles around us. "So... do you have any hobbies? Frequent activities?" Hmmmmm, let's see. Oh, how about wanting to kill myself on a daily basis? Does that count? (Note the sarcasm) "Not really. You?" He sets down his steaming cup of tea, "I, um, I play the electric guitar and generally listen to rock music." More silence. I slightly move my arms but it ends up being too much when one of my wrists bash against the kitchen worktop. I clench my teeth from the pain that emerges, small tears forming in my eyes. I try to mask this as much as possible, unfortunately Arthur notices and grabs my arm, barely missing the fresh cuts that lie underneath my coat, sleeves and bandages. He moves up all of them and I seem powerless to stop him. When he sees both scars, scabs and the fresh cuts, he just stares at them for a minute. Then, ever so slowly, his gaze meets mine.

"People can be such bastards." Is all he utters, "Not you. The people that I'm assuming are the cause of this." He next pulls me into a hug. It catches me off guard and I'm unsure what to do, I've only ever been hugged by Emil before. I barely know this man. "Why do you care? You don't know me. I guess I'll make it simple for you: I'm a freak, ok?" I pull away. "What, because you can see magical beings? You're not the only one. I can promise you that." So he knows. For some reason though, he's acting differently to all the others. Yes, there's the usual sympathy that I get from counselors but I have a feeling his is for an actual reason. Not one of those 'oh you poor thing's. A mint coloured bunny touches down next to him and tucks its wings behind its back. I instinctively shy away from it. "This is- well to be honest she doesn't actually have a name- this is flying mint bunny." My mouth drops in shock, eyes bursting out their sockets. "I'm just like you, Lukas. We have the same condition. But while you seem to hate yours, I think it unlocks the real underlying beauty within this world full of war and fighting." The bunny comes closer to me and I back away. I don't want this at all! "I don't want this no matter how beautiful others find it! It's taken too much from me, caused me too much misery! You won't understand! This condition took my mother from me!" I shout, the tears dropping out my eyes. All the pent up emotion and frustration starting to break down all the barriers I had put up.

"You sure it was this condition? Maybe it was the people around her." His green eyes gaze right into mine and I'm rendered speechless. "Look, your personal life is not mine to pry into. I won't push to know what happened. Telling people these things requires trust and I certainly haven't gained yours yet. I probably won't ever. That's not what I care about though. All I'm suggesting is looking at things through a change of perspective." Our cups of tea have long since been abandoned and I gaze into mine, looking at my reflection. In just a glimpse, I think I see the childhood version of me, full of hope and with not a care in the world. There's not a nordic cross clip in his hair, that symbolises so much tragedy he's been through. None of that. All he does is smile. I blink and he's gone, replaced with me now. Depressed, done with life, the clip in his hair. My eyes fully well up and I start crying with ugly sobs. What happened to me? Did I really let my mother's suicide and bullying completely destroy me? "I- I was five-" I choke out, Arthur hugging me again. "It was just after Christmas- and- and Emil, my brother, was asleep upstairs. My mother- she started acting really strange.  She- she gave me her hair clip-" My fingers brush the cross in my hair, showing it to Arthur. "She then got out some rope and slung it over the lamp hanging off of the ceiling. I still don't know to this day how it held her weight. She tied it into a noose and- and-" It becomes too much for me. I haven't told anyone all of this, not even Emil. "And killed herself." Arthur finishes and I give him a tiny nod.

"I'm guessing that people at your school weren't the best either to you? Was it the usual? You know, calling you a freak and 'fairy boy'?"
"Yeah but they would get physical every now and then. I stopped talking to anyone but my brother. I thought that would help but it made things worse. As you've probably assumed, I'm suicidal. Before a couple of days ago, I would prepare but, as luck would have it, my lillebror would walk in just when I was ready to stab myself. I wasn't cruel enough to do it in front of him so that was enough to stop me." He's holding me close and in such an understanding way that it restores some faith in humanity. "Until two days ago." I take off my coat and pull up my top to show him the thick bandage wrapped around my chest. "I finally went all the way with it. I lodged a knife right into my chest. I thought it would be enough; the doctors saved me just in time." His fingers brush around the edge, avoiding the wound, a pained expression painted on his face.

The rest of the night we just hug and hug. His face gets damp with his own tears. He comforts me, constantly whispering: "It's going to be alright. Everything will be fine." I'm fed this line so many times but for once... I believe it.

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Another chapter done! That's good. I seem to be getting in the habit of updating every Sunday. Next week I'm on a retreat with my church (yes, I'm religious, fight me XD) so I should be able to write two or more chapters.

Have some Usuk and Dennor!

Hope you enjoyed and I'll see you in the next one!
Bye!
~Peanutsfan1