My concentration was at its lowest peak. I couldn’t focus on anything. My mind was moving in different directions as I tried to think. My fingers were constantly drumming against the table, my feet tapping unconsciously on the floor, and sweat beads formed on my neck as I tried to think or at least pay attention in class. This was my first time receiving a threat, never in my life have I ever had a death threat.

Was it a mistake? Was I getting it all wrong? Maybe it meant something else. Have I wronged someone? What’s going on? Have I said something that has gotten me in trouble? Was it Riley? She doesn’t look like the type of girl that does threats, she seems like someone who would rather talk face-to-face than send threats. She seems more direct and less shady, but then, there is Genevieve…I have seen these kinds of things on mystery tv shows and horror movies and bad things always happen to the protagonist and then they try to struggle for their lives, is that what's going to happen to me? Was the secret admirer not a secret admirer but a serial killer?

My mind tries to process all the possibilities. I could hear the tapping of shoes on the floor, the shuffling of feet, and my desk mate tapping his own against the table which only ticked me off more. The teacher was talking, the students were whispering, my fingers drummed faster, my foot tapping went faster, what's wrong with me? I suddenly found it hard to breathe. My chest constricted. The walls were closing in on me. The faces of my classmates were turning around in circles, my head was pounding, and I could hear the way my heart rate spiked up, the beating going faster in my ears. My blood pressure is rising. I knew I was having a panic attack. 

Suddenly it all dulled out and I succumbed to the darkness. 

….

Paranoia. That was the first thought that entered my head when I slowly began to gain consciousness. Paranoid. One letter was able to turn my entire day around. I thought I saw my life flash before my eyes. I may be over exaggerating but the way I felt was no exaggeration. 

It was busy in the room where I was. What I laid on was a bit hard but okay, felt like a hospital bed or the floor. I could only hear the shuffling of feet and whispers from a voice I couldn’t recognize. I slowly opened my eyes, trying not to blur them with too much light at once.

It adjusted after a few seconds and I turned to see where I was. Yup, my first guess was right, a hospital bed. The school hospital bed. I sat up on the bed, feeling tightness in my head. My headache persists, I closed my eyes again, my hand pressing against my forehead as I tried to calm down. I heard feets rushing closer to my bed. 

“Oh dear, you shouldn’t get up that quickly especially after fainting” It was the nurse who spoke. 

I resisted when she tried to make me lie down again.

“No thank you. I feel better. A bit” 

I looked up at her and gave her a reassuring smile. Though, I was taken aback when I saw Jason there, his eyes clouded with worry, with Johnny behind him, trying to fit into the small space in the nurse's office.

“Oh alright. What happened though? Your friends say that they have never seen you faint before and I know for sure that I have never seen you in my office even once. No record of you falling sick or anything. Is everything okay?" She asked in her southern accent. Her eyebrows furrowed, eyes filled with worry 

Nope, everything is not fine. I wanted to say.

“Yes, everything is alright," I said the total opposite. “I think it’s the stress of late-night studying or something related” 

Of course, I had the chance to tell her and explain this new precarious situation that I was in, but Jason and Johnny were there. I trust Johnny, but Jason… is just too perfect and too good to be true, especially to someone like me. So I couldn’t say it. But I gave the nurse a meaningful glance, hopefully, she understood that I would like to talk to her later. 

She handed me a card.

“If anything, come see me later, alright?”

I nodded and walked out. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and turned to Jason.

“Why are you here?” I asked him. He shouldn't be here. He should be with his clique in the RM group of schools. How did he even know I was here? What does he want?

"I was around here. I came to check on something before when I saw him carrying you out of the class" he used his chin to point at Johnny.

Johnny frowned at him. "Still didn't warrant you following me to the nurse's office.” he turned to me, placing a hand on my forehead 

I slapped his hand off. “I am fine”

I gave Jason another look and said thank you. He shrugged and I turned to walk back to class.

Except the floor looked like a spiral and I tripped on air.

I expected my face to bash the floor and lose two teeth but it never came. I was held up by two hands. 

The hands balanced me up and I let out a breath of relief. I looked at both of them.

“Are you okay? You don't seem too strong ” Johnny placed a hand on my forehead and I slapped it off. 

“I am fine,” I said, trying to calm myself down.  

“Maybe you should go home”

“I am fine really” I sounded a bit unsure because I didn't know if I want to stay in school but I have responsibilities 

Jason who was beside me suddenly turned and went back into the nurse's office. I stared at the door, thinking if he forgot something. Anyways, why do I care?

“Do you like him?” Johnny asked out of the blue. 

I raised an eyebrow.

“Do you like him in that way? Romantic way?” He asked again.

I scoffed. “Like? He is narcissistic and not my type. I do not like him, yes he has been helpful a couple of times and I have gotten used to his presence but I do not like him” I rolled my eyes. “Why did you even ask that?"

I looked at him, his eyes downturned. He adjusted his glasses and turned to look at his fingers. 

“Johnny…” 

“Let's go,” Jason's voice said from behind me.

“What do you mean let's go?" I asked him, confused.

He threw something at me and I instantly caught it. It was a pass. A pass that I could go home and Jason could take me, signed by the nurse.

Johnny looked at the wordings over my shoulder and he didn't look happy one bit.

“You didn't have the right. She said she was fine and even if anything, I am the one to take her home, not you”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Does she look fine to you? No. She fainted and is in no way fit to study. Do you have a car? Probably not. So what are you going to do? Call a bus or a taxi? What if she faints again? I know her home, I can get her there faster and she feels safe with me. You go back to class and feel considerate of your friend” he said and grabbed my wrist.

I didn't even get a chance to put a word in only to find myself in the parking lot, my wrists in his and he dragged me towards his car.

I shook my head. “You really can't expect me to go with you? How did your car even get here? This is NS property, shouldn't your car be at the RM parking lot” 

Seriously, everything is just suspicious.

“Do I have to explain everything?” he ran his hand through his hair. He doesn't know the reason why I am doubting him. Maybe that's why he feels exasperated. “I didn't come from school, I was out of town. I have some responsibilities to take care of here and papers to deliver and I packed here. I was already done, getting ready to head to class when I saw Johnny taking you out. I wanted to make sure you are fine, is that so bad?” 

I looked into his dark eyes, he looked honest and a bit frustrated. I sighed. Just this once Ruby, just this once. 

“No, it's not. Thank you” 

****

It didn't take long before the SUV parked in front of my house. It started raining when we were close to my house, it was a quiet ride. We didn't talk much and most of the time, I spent it looking out the window. I stared at the front door to my apartment. I watched as the raindrops hit the pavement and calculated my movement toward my house where I would not be completely soaked. 

“I have an umbrella,” he said.

This was the first sentence he had said to me since I entered his car. 

I turned to look at him, his stoic face held a frown and his dark eyes stared out the window, his long eyelashes fluttering as he blinked. He had nice eyes. 

“Thank you. You have been a great help to me today” I was glad. I did not want to go back to class, I just wanted to lay in my bed and sleep and forget everything that happened today 

He let out a sigh. “Ruby…”

This was the first time I heard him say my name. No pancakes or shortcakes. Just Ruby. Why is he being serious all of a sudden?

“I know that I didn't leave the best first impression and I apologize. I am just really bad at flirting and saying stupid things when nervous”

I raised an eyebrow. “Okay…I guess”

He let out another breath and turned to me. “I like you”

“You…like me? Dude, you don't even know me”

“I know enough. I didn't like you at first sight. I noticed you when you were walking down the street to your supermarket. Your hair was in a frizzy mess, you had a red jacket wrapped around your waist, and your lipstick was a bit smudged that day but I found it cute. You were cute and I was attracted to you. I wanted to know more about you and the next day I stepped into the supermarket and saw you. I was glad, you had the most beautiful voice I have ever heard. Though I am sure I looked more like a narcissistic pervert…but I want to make amends now. I want to start all over and get to know you more”

I stared at him, mouth shut, eyes widened. In all my life, I have never been confessed to. No one ever told me I looked cute. I was a bit rounded, but there are no amazing qualities about me apart from singing. I remembered the day he was talking about, I was in a rush to help mom cuz Amina had fallen sick and my mom had a night shift. I didn't expect anyone to find that cute when I looked as if a bird had flapped its wing against my face. 

I didn't know what to say. So I tried to find an excuse, so I can get myself out of this situation. “I thought you had a girlfriend? I thought you were the school's playboy?”

“I don't have a girlfriend. Riley is someone most people ship me with just because our family is close. Riley is also delusional cuz she thinks I have her attention, but she is nothing but a little sister to me. As for the playboy issue, where did that even come from?” 

“Hmm, stereotype. You are handsome, attractive, and rich. It's common that you would be a playboy. Like those novels and high school movies”

He burst into surprised laughter. “Thank you for the compliment but I am not. You have seen my terrible way of flirting. I read many erotica novels for my good, they don't teach good flirting”

I chuckled. He laughed. And silence embraced us again. It was a bit awkward, seeing that he just confessed to me. 

I decided to reply with the first statement that came into my head “So now that you have said you like me, what do you want?”

He smiled a full teeth grin. He placed his hand on my cheek. I could feel the heat emanating from it. The way he looked at me as if I was the only girl he had ever seen made my heart do a cartwheel.

“I want to get to know you more. I want to date you”

☟︎︎︎☟︎︎︎☟︎︎︎
𝐇𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬! ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ

𝐈𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠. 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐍𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠?

𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝.

𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬.

𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮. ✌︎✌︎