They pulled up to Chunji's place, and L. Joe grimaced just looking at the building. “I don't suppose you're going to be able to tell me you live on the ground floor, by any chance?” L. Joe queried, rhetorically.

Chunji shook his head, knowing that it wasn't needed, and yet kind of delighting in giving the other boy bad news all the same. L. Joe sighed and shook his head. “Can you help me up?”

“Under other circumstances, perhaps. But I mean, as far as I know, you're more than capable of getting yourself out of my car. Since you won't disclose any injuries of yours or anything.” Chunji cracked, giving L. Joe a challenging stare. He was practically daring L. Joe to try and get up without his help.

L. Joe might've been tempted to try doing just that, but he was already in a fair bit of pain. Just shifting his leg, sent pain coursing through him, his teeth clenching, subconsciously. He couldn't imagine trying to put his weight on it for all of those stairs. He had no choice but to swallow his dislike, and pull his pant leg up to the lower part of his thigh, hissing slightly as the material passed his knee.

He'd wanted to wait until they were in Chunji's apartment, before he showed the older boy. He'd wanted to relax and bask in the sympathy the other boy would no doubt offer him. Chunji didn't look like the sort of boy that injured himself that often, so he would undoubtedly be horrified by the sight. No doubt fawning over him piteously, and doting on his every whim.

Chunji could see why they'd sent L. Joe home. No wonder he'd been crying. It was kind of amazing to Chunji that L. Joe wasn't bawling, with how his knee looked. He even seemed disappointed in himself for releasing those few tears of pain. Did he think he was made of steel or something?

His knee was certainly eye catching. The entire surface of his kneecap was a disconcerting plum shade, with small areas, that almost looked black. The outer rim, encapsulating the rest of his knee, was dark blue, and the skin slightly above and below it was pink and probably hot to the touch. The whole joint was swollen.

It was kind of sickening to look at.

But he couldn't turn him down, and leave him to walk on that alone, now could he. Chunji sighed, helping L. Joe out of the car, after the younger boy had pulled his pants back down, in a moment of modesty. He felt rather than heard the moan of pain that emanated within L. Joe's chest, as he shifted his knee.

Chunji suspected that it was just as painful as it looked. The swelling was probably affecting the joint, making it hard to move. He wrapped his arm around L. Joe's waist, standing on the same side, as his injured knee, to assist him inside. “That doesn't look too good.” Chunji stated, unhelpfully, as they slowly ascended the stairs. Thank goodness that he only lived on the third floor, and not higher, like he'd originally been going to.

“It doesn't feel too good either.” L. Joe responded, complete seriousness in his tone as he spoke. Chunji wondered if that was the younger boy's way of telling him that he was in more pain than he was attempting to let on right now, or if he wanted Chunji to take him to the doctors or the hospital to get checked out.

“Do you think you might've broken it?” Chunji questioned again, but L. Joe shook his head, urging him to help him up the next flight of stairs. Only one more to go.

By the time that Chunji let L. Joe into his apartment, he was worried that the younger boy might've been about to throttle him. L. Joe's lips were tinged a dark pink, from the way L. Joe kept biting them to keep his groans of pain to himself. But Chunji had felt every jolt and every accompanying whimper, not that he'd tell L. Joe that.

L. Joe crumpled down onto Chunji's lounge, choking on his own relief at having found a solid surface he could rest against. Chunji ignored him for the moment, setting about organising their things, moving them away from where they'd been dropped in the middle of the floor.

He went over joining the reclining L. Joe on the lounge, brushing away his damp fringe, tiredly. “Going to explain how you hurt your knee now?” he enquired, lightly, as though he weren't dying of curiosity about the answer.

A crooked grin formed on L. Joe's lips but it vanished almost as quickly as it had formed, while he rubbed at his eyes, unhappily. “Ah that.” He paused, and Chunji wondered whether or not he'd have to force the information out of the younger boy, when L. Joe decided to continue. “I was playing with some of my friends. We were messing around having a limbo competition in a deserted classroom, during recess. I slipped, and landed on my knee. Unfortunately, the floor underneath the laminate was actually made of concrete. It started throbbing and swelling up. By the time class started about 10 minutes later, it was already changing colours. The only reason I could even walk on it was because the throbbing pain was so bad, that it kind of numbed the joint. My teacher took one look at my knee when I entered my next class, and sent me to the office. The ladies took one look at my knee and sent me home.” he answered with a shrug.

Chunji was a little relieved to hear such an innocent response, but that kind of made him nervous at the same time. L. Joe had a really good poker-face. Perhaps he was just lying about what had really happened, and Chunji couldn't tell.

But L. Joe seemed fine. Why would he lie? What did he stand to gain from it?

“But why did the office ladies call me? And on your phone?” Chunji pressed, confused. He'd never known office ladies to call anyone other than a person's emergency contact information, and even when a person had the details themselves, they refused to ask them for them. How would L. Joe have managed to get them to call him? Why would he want them to?

L. Joe shrugged. “My mum was at work, my father lives half way around the world. When they tried calling at home and got no answer, they asked me if there was anyone that could come and collect me. Apparently, they'd decided that I had to go home right away, so I told them to contact you. They went to ask me for your number, but by then I'd already dialled your phone, since I wasn't sure you'd answer them if you didn't recognise the number. I handed the phone to them and they spoke to you and hung up.” he explained.

Chunji just shook his head. Trust something like that to happen to L. Joe. He was probably the only kid in the country that would manage to get that sort of luck. Only L. Joe would get an office lady that didn't care where he went, as long as he got off school property right away.

The thought was kind of scary.

He sighed, standing, only to see the way that L. Joe flopped backwards onto the lounge. The younger boy closed his eyes. Chunji observed him, confused. “What do you think you're doing?”

“Sleeping.” L. Joe responded, tone calm and even, confirming for the bewildered Chunji that the other boy couldn't just fall asleep like that. Chunji rolled his eyes, “Duh. But you can't sleep there. Not now.”

“Why not? You said that I could stay here for the next few days.” L. Joe responded, observing the older boy quizzically from his reclining position. “Because, for one thing it's like 12:30 in the afternoon.”

“Don't care.” L. Joe responded, closing his eyes once again.

“You'll miss dinner.” Chunji tried again. “Not hungry.” Chunji gave a hard tap to the bottom of L. Joe's nearest foot. “You can't know that 6 hours in advance. Besides, it's not healthy to skip meals. Especially not when you've just injured yourself. The healing process takes a lot of energy. You'll slow down your body's attempts to fix that knee of yours.”

“I don't care. I'm not hungry, I'm tired. And anything that lets me stay here longer, is a positive as far as I'm concerned.” L. Joe informed him, smoothly. Chunji shuffled slightly, not having expected the compliment encased in those words, but he shook it off to nudge the younger boy once again.

“I don't care if you're not hungry. I'm responsible for taking care of you now, and I won't allow you to skip meals.” Chunji informed the other boy, adamantly.

“Jeez. I might as well be staying with Niel.” L. Joe grumbled under his breath.