Useless

Sebastian woke up on the stretcher in the school infirmary. Despite being his first time there in that state –because he had already been there several times before–, he perfectly recognized the place. The white ceiling with a couple of spotlights hanging from it, the curtains of the same color so that the patient has "privacy", the metal shelves where there were various medicines and basic instruments, the black leather benches with wheels and the metal tables at the sides of the beds where there was a lamp placed on each one. The air was so fresh and the atmosphere too calm that, for a moment, he had forgotten why he had ended up lying on the second stretcher.

He was able to notice Jade's presence when he looked to his left. The girl had a pained expression and was carefully stroking the back of his hand with her thumb. Her gaze was glued to the ground, lost in her own thoughts. Her nose was reddish and, on her cheeks, he could still see the paths that the tears had traveled through. He did not remember seeing the girl that way before and was sure he did not want to see her like that again.

He moved his hand slightly, catching the girl's attention quickly. Their gazes traveled from their hands to their faces, where they finally connected. Jade, after being hypnotized for a few moments, jumped up from the bench, abruptly releasing him. She looked scared, for her eyes had widened and her mouth was slightly half-closed. Her expression quickly changed to one of concern, leaning in to look at him more closely.

"How you feel? Does something hurt?" Her gaze traveled all over his face, searching for a hint that he was in disrepair. Sebastian tried to smile to show that he was okay, but only managed to wince.

"I'm fine...", with the little strength he had, he tried to get up, but a pain in his right shoulder was present, sending him back to lie down.

"Don't try too hard. The blow was somewhat hard, thank goodness you did not hit your head", the girl smiled at him, pushing away the hair that covered Sebastian's eyes. "That would have been worse".

"Worse?" Was there really something worse than everything that had happened? At the confusion on the girl's face, he shook his head in denial. "Hirsch. Did he...?"

"He...", she looked down and formed a line with her lips. "Hirsch didn't come to see you, if that's what you wanted to know", the pain was present again in his chest.

"I see...", he sighed, placing his gaze on the white ceiling.

"Did you eat something this morning?" She changed the subject at the same time that she picked up a blue plastic bag that had been lying on the floor next to the gurney. As there was no response from the black-haired boy, she continued: "Jack did the favor of bringing food for us. He would have accompanied us, but someone had to take over the council" she giggled. "I'd rather be the one who take care of you".

"I'm not hungry" he replied without expression. However, the girl left the bag next to the boy's body to be able to remove the packages with food inside.

"You shouldn't skip meals. Maybe that's why you passed out" she left the food on a metal table and watched him. "I don't like to see you like this. So, please, eat well".

Resigned, he let Jade feed him. In fact, he was starving because, after the shower he took the day before, he did not eat anything. That would be his first meal in twenty-four hours. It didn't surprise him that his body had collapsed so suddenly. He was used to eating too much on a daily basis and skipping three meals would obviously affect him. Adding the fight he had with his best friend - if he could still say that - and everything that he had been carrying for a while now.

"Jade", Sebastian called the moment the girl put food in her mouth. She babbled a "yes?", for which he continued, "Why don't things turn out the way I want them to be?"

"Hey...", the girl looked at him sweetly, stroking his cheek so lovingly like he hadn't felt in quite some time, "life would be very easy if we could control things as we wanted, right?"

"Maybe, but..."

"Don't worry about everything that's going on", she interrupted. "You are doing everything right. Don't offer more of what you cannot give".

"Seriously, Jade, when did you get so wise and philosophical?" he smiled to the girl.

"I have always been like this", she shrugged it down, smiling back.

Between them they collected everything they had used for lunch, returning it to the plastic bag to throw away when they leave school. Even if he had barely tasted the food, he felt the strength in his body recovering. He didn't notice the moment his shoulder had stopped hurting. The older, with the girl's help, stood up, checking if he had enough strength to walk alone. Luckily for him, his legs weren't flanking.

The nurse, who arrived five minutes later and, after seeing the boy's condition, allowed Sebastian to leave, leaving Jade in charge of taking Sebastian safely to his home. The girl nodded, taking responsibility for her friend. She grabbed her bag that had been thrown away at the same time they were leaving the infirmary.

The first stop they made was at the eldest's locker, where a blond man was waiting for them, leaning against the lockers with a backpack on each side. Sebastian could spot out his, while the other belonged to the boy. Jade smiled and ran out to where the other was, making his ponytail move from left to right and vice versa.

"Jack!" she shouted, stopping in front of the blonde, taking a deep breath before speaking again and greet him, "thanks for waiting for us".

"You're welcome. I couldn't leave you alone". He smiled, handing his backpack to Sebastian when he joined them. He backed away from the lockers, slipping one of the belts from his backpack on his shoulder. The black-haired mimicked his action. "You gave us a big scare, Sebas. When we found out about the argument you were having, Jade and I decided to intervene, but it was too late as at that point you passed out".

"Thanks for worrying", he bowed slightly, "but you didn't have to take care of me".

"Are you kidding me? You didn't react and all of us who were there went into despair, especially Hir..." He was interrupted due to a hit in the ribs by the girl, followed by a warning look. "Well, it doesn't matter".

"What Jack means is that you are too important to us", the young woman explained. "We couldn't just do anything for you".

"Exactly. Since you are our council leader, we had to do something for you. Besides that, Jade was going to hit me if I didn't help you". Jack put his arm around the boy's shoulders, giving him a side hug.

"What a bad image you have of me, Jack!" She pouted, followed by a slight laugh. "Anyway, we have to leave Sebas at his house".

"I can go alone..."

"Don't be so modest, Sebas", the blonde interrupted the aforementioned, pushing him to advance down the hall, being followed by the young woman.