Twelve
– Daniel King’s POV –
I’m at the locker hallway taking slow steps towards the room. Lost in thoughts. After what I heard from grandpa, I started to overthink things. Random possibilities keep on flashing in my mind. It gets me more uneasy.
Later on, I suddenly flinch when I feel something warm on my cheek. I quickly turned to find out what was that and I saw Hannah smiling at me. She was holding a two regular sized of coffee cups.
I blink as I get my thoughts together. My heart slowly beating fast as I looked down. Should I say hi to her? Should I even smile back?
She extends her arm and hands me the coffee on her left “Coffee?” Her voice was so cheerful and sweet to my ears.
It will be rude if I reject it so I slightly move my eyes to get a small view of the coffee and take it from her hand.
“Thanks.” I murmured without looking at her.
“Do you have an answer to our science assignment?” She asked. Her voice was normal but it has this effect in me that makes me calm.
Without my realization, I turned to look at her. My heart race when I feel her nose at the tip of mine. I froze on where I stood. It feels like I’m dreaming when I see sparks beside her smile. I take back to distance myself to her as I swallowed.
“Y-Yes.” I stutter and I quickly look away.
I heard her breath out.
I can’t stop my eyes from looking at her so it lightly move to catch a glimpse of her. Her brows meet and she looks puzzled.
“What is wrong wi-” She was about to step closer to me when I immediately stop her.
“No!” I exclaimed, looking halfway to her as I take a deep breathe, “Don’t come closer to me.”
“What is your problem, King?!” Her voice raised, “I gave you a coffee, not an Ice cream to be cold.”
Good thing it’s still early so there aren’t that many students yet. Otherwise, we will look like lovers in a novel arguing.
I blew out as I dare to face her and look straight to her eyes. I open my mouth but my tongue seems to be taken back. I take a deep breathe as I grip the coffee to push the words out of my mouth.
“Y-You are the problem, Hannah.” I hesitated. My lips are shaking and she seems amused, “I don’t understand why I am unsettle every time you are around.” I paused as I take a deep breathe, “I had this crazy feeling ever since you sat next to me.”
I hold my breath as I shut my eyes. I’m going to regret this but it already came out. And now, I have to deal with it.
I open my eyes as I exhaled. She narrowed her eyes at me and her lips were parted.
“What’s that even mean?” She sounded puzzled and she seems a little impatient.
I take a deep breath as I press my lips together, “Don’t make me take the words out of my mouth.”
“Take it out!” She even raised her voice out of impatience.
“I’m into you!” I exclaimed, and she seems taken back.
Her eyes widen as her lips were hang open. She seems shocked.
“I love you! And that’s the problem!” I wasn’t able to control my voice and the words came out so bold.
I don’t know if it gets to her but she appears to be totally absent minded. Her eyes are widen and her entire body seems to be frozen. I gasp through my mouth as I stare at her. She bite her lower lip as her eyes are randomly blinking. I immediately look away.
My eyes gets blurry and wet. I felt like my heart just shattered. Why am I feeling this after confessing? Shouldn’t I be joyous?
I slowly moved my head to look at her. She was covering her mouth with her hand and her eyes are red and wet. She puts down her hand and wipes her cheeks. She bites her lips before she open her mouth. But before she could say anything, my head swivel at our back after hearing gossips.
Students were gathered at our back. Eyeing at us while gossiping and chatting to each other. Others were giggling in a mocking tone.
Is there nothing more embarrassing than this? Damn! And I even embarrassed myself in the entire campus.
I pulled Hannah’s arm as I walked to the end of the hallway and turn left, escaping from their eye shot.
“What did you just say?” Her voice cracked in the middle and she sniffed.
I slowly turned to her but I can’t look straight to her eyes, “What?”
“The one… you said earlier…” She paused as she sniffed.
“What?” I murmured as I narrowed my eyes to her.
She stamps her feet as she bites her lower lip and rolls her eyes, “The part… with the I love you?”
I smirk though my lips are trembling, “I love you too.”
She giggles as she looks down. I was also carried away by the uneasy feeling that I have and release it through a chuckle.
I shake my head to snap the thought out of my mind. This is a mistake.
“But we can’t be together.” I mumbled as I press the corners of my eyes to prevent the tears forming.
She look at me and her smile was slowly fading, “Why? Why can’t be?”
I cleared my throat before looking at her, “It will be a problem.”
Her eyes furrowed as she is protesting, “Why would that be? I love you too as much as you love me.”
I slap my palm on my forehead as I shut my eyes. Dammit!
I exhaled through my mouth before looking back at her, “Now that is a huge problem.”
Her mouth was hang open as she peered at my eyes, “I don’t get it! What’s that supposed to mean?!” She raised her voice and it sounded like she was about to go insane.
I was shocked. Does she really don’t know about it? That we are somewhat… and I don’t know how… Or is it only my guilty conscience talking?
I sniff and give her a forced smile, “That’s good. Better that you don’t know anything or it will kill you inside.”
She bites her lower lip as she looks down. I swear, I saw a tear escape from her eyes. She quickly wipe her cheeks as she sniffed.
“The coffee suits you better.” She muttered as she pressed her hands together, “Hot when served, but few hours later, it becomes cold.”
“But still a coffee and taste good.” I replied.
She looked at me as she smiled and our eyes meet. I chuckle and she covers her mouth with her hand. But I can still have a view of her cheeks turning red.
“Hey, are the two of you planning to skip class?” A voice from afar made our heads turned to look where it came from.
Not far from us, we saw Vanessa moving towards us. She was grinning from ear to ear, and believe me, she looks like mocking us.
“I’m telling you it’s not a good idea. Exam day is two days away.” Vanessa informed and took glances at us.
Hannah cleared her throat before she lifted her head, “Actually, we’re on our way.”
“Really?” Vanessa’s eyes widened as she examined her face, “With swollen and red eyes?”
“Drop it, Vanessa. I don’t want to talk about it.” I interrupted before Hannah could respond.
Vanessa shrugs, “Fine. Then we better get going.”
“You can go ahead.” I told them when they were about to turn their backs at me, “I’ll catch up.”
I wasn’t looking at them but I could feel Hannah’s glare at me. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to walk. I wasn’t able to protest or even pull back my hand. My eyes were staring on her hand and I could feel sparks everywhere in my nerves.
She looked halfway to me furrowed, “After shouting your feelings in the entire campus, you’re hiding from the crowd? Where did all your guts go?”
Her words strike some nerves in me. Oh well, since I’m going to hell, time to break some rules.
My eyebrows crossed as I strongly pulled Hannah’s hand. Enough to make her move backwards. Her back landed on my chest and I quickly put my arm over her shoulder.
Automatically, we started to walk towards our room. She was staring at my eyes with lips parted and I tried to be serious without looking at her.
“My guts? I am the guts and your my glory.” I spoke in a deep serious tone.
I could see from the corner of her eye, a smile is slowly forming in her face before she looked at the way and she wrapped her arm around my waist.
It feels different or something new to me. Like I wanted to hold her close to me and enjoy her presence every day.
All eyes were fixed at us, from the hallway until we entered in our room. They look shock, and others were gossiping and chatting about us. But I really don’t care.
“I love you, King.” I heard her soft whisper and before it sinks in my mind, I felt a warm sensation that touch my cheeks.
My whole body froze. And I could only move my eyes to see her charming smile that sends sparks to me. I cease from breathing as my heart skips a beat. My knees loose its strength until it could no longer support my weight. Everything happened so fast that next thing I know, I was on the floor and my whole sight went black.
– Hannah Mae’s POV –
“King! King!” I panic as I kneel beside him and briskly shake his shoulder.
Seriously, King? Did you just collapse after being kissed by a girl on the cheek?
“What happened?” Vanessa was behind me. She seems also worried.
“I-I’m not sure…” I paused as I tried to make a coherent statement, “He just… collapsed after I…” I hesitated. I can’t say it to her. She will definitely mock me.
Vanessa narrowed her eyes at me, surpassing a chuckle, “After you?”
I looked at her for a minute as we exchange look, “Maybe after I kiss her on the cheek?” I sounded like unsure of my thoughts.
She burst out in laughter. Loud enough to make all my classmates swivel their heads at us, “You are really such a good kisser, Hannah.” She mocked between her laughed.
I really hate when I’m being mocked by hear. It sounded really annoying.
“Nicole! We need a red cross over her!” She shouted at Nicole who was so busy chatting with our classmates.
Nicole Alvarez is our only red cross classmate. She knows a lot about first aids and also she is intelligent.
I heard footsteps approaching towards us. Vanessa looked over her shoulder and she moved aside. I saw Nicole’s image standing next to her with a puzzled face.
“Is he unconscious?” Nicole asked.
“I think so?” I answered.
I heard Vanessa’s mocking giggle, “That’s because she kissed him.”
Nicole was surpassing a laugh as she covered her mouth with her hand. I threw Vanessa a glare, but she only respond with a soft chuckle.
“May I check his hand?” Nicole moved closer to me and squat beside me.
She reached his hand and pressed the radial longitudinal crease part of his hand, which is between the point finger and thumb. She massaged it on a circular way. That’s the usual spot that people massage when someone lost it’s consciousness.
Later, his head slowly moving and his eyes were squeezing. I sighed in relief when I saw him responding to Nicole’s massage.
“Classmates, for some reasons, Mrs. Rabaddon can’t make it to our class but she left a group activity to do as a sit work.” I heard an announcement from the front that made me stood and look at the blackboard.
No other than our Class President Clarisse Brickson is writing something on the board. Something related to science and we need to open our science textbook on a certain page and answer it. Good thing that I followed my instinct and bring my book with me. But gosh, I hope King will regain his consciousness soon. Science is all geek to me without his explanation. I can’t answer even a single item without him.