3

He quietly knocked on the door and walked in without waiting for permission. When he saw Firuze lying on her bed reading a book, he smiled softly at her, hoping she wouldn't look up and ask what he was up to. He watched her for a few minutes without saying anything. She eventually put away her book and sat up and looked at him expectantly.

"I'm leaving now. Is everything ok? You didn't reply to me last night," she said.

Firuze shrugged. "Yeah, I guess it's nothing. I don't need anything. Sorry I woke you."

Ayoub shook his head. "That's not why I stopped by. I wanted to say goodbye and thank you again. For everything. For taking care of me, and for letting me stay with you for so long. For giving me a place to live… for keeping me alive. It all means a lot to me." He walked across the room and gave his sister a quick hug. "Goodbye Firuze. Take care. I'll talk to you later, ok?" With that he turned and exited the room.

The walk to school seemed longer than usual today. It was raining and cold as well. His hands were shoved in his pockets, so he was able to hold his bag with them and still feel warm. When he arrived at his house, everyone else was already at their places and eating lunch. He sat down at the table with everyone else while waiting for his food. The only difference from the previous day was that everyone was talking about something different, but he just let it happen. They had been told to keep quiet during meal times and it was getting annoying. But he wasn't too bothered anymore. Now that everyone was here, he could focus on studying for his tests tomorrow.

They chatted for the rest of lunch break and after they left for home, Ayoub decided to sit outside by the pool. He put his bag beside him on the floor and lay down on the grass. As he stared at the sky above his head, his thoughts wandered back to what he'd heard about the boy who was killed last month. He wished the boy had lived, otherwise it might make things easier for him. He sighed and rolled onto his back, staring up at the cloudless blue sky above him. A few clouds formed, drifting along with the breeze. He was starting to fall asleep when his thoughts drifted back to Firuze. He remembered how kind and supportive she was towards him, but that wasn't even half the reason why he loved her so much. He loved Firuze because of the way she treated him. She was caring and strong. Sometimes she forgot to take care of herself though. She often pushed herself too hard. But she was always thinking of others more than herself. She cared so much about people. Ayoub liked people. He also knew what kind of person she was. She would always try her best to understand people no matter the circumstances. Even if it meant risking her own safety. If anyone could survive a fight against an Akuma, she could. Maybe she shouldn't risk so much though, especially when she was sick. That's what worried him. What if she had caught this sickness or something from one of those Akumas she fought? What if she died? Then everything would be so much worse. He could lose both her and her family at the same time. He tried to shake the thought from his mind, trying to concentrate on studying. He knew it was impossible, he couldn't concentrate at all.

He was sitting on the couch, watching television. It was about 11pm now and all he'd seen was a bunch of ads for various types of products. Nothing interesting came on though. He turned off the television and grabbed one of the blankets to cover himself up with. The room was beginning to grow cold. He'd have to turn on the heater tomorrow. For right now, sleep sounded really nice. But first…

Before he knew it, Ayoub was asleep.

He awoke to a loud knocking at his front door. He groaned and rubbed his eyes. Why did that sound so damn familiar? He opened his eyes, squinted for a second, and realized where he was and who was there knocking. Oh, it was just a dream, right? He sighed and forced himself to get out of bed. At least he hadn't woken anyone up. Who knows what he would have said if that was actually real and someone was standing on his front doorstep.

"Are you awake?" asked a voice from behind the door. "Because my friend here won't stop asking me to wake you up!"

"Niruko!" Ayoub exclaimed, surprised. He quickly ran over to his front door and yanked it open.

Niruko stepped forward a little and grinned. "Morning! Did you know that it's the weekend?! Can we go to the beach now?!"

"Of course we can! I didn't even realize it was Sunday," he answered.

"Great! Let's go!" She turned around and raced back outside.