Sneeze

Unbothered by the rainfall which had been reduced to a drizzle, Cathryn walked briskly ahead of Blake no matter how hard he tried to match her pace as she clutched the small bunch of flowers she had illegally picked at the park.

There was a post that it wasn't allowed, but the flowers were too beautiful it was worth getting into jail.

Blake was a good partner-in-crime as he covered her back as she inconspicuously cut the stems.

Raising her hand to bring them closer to her nose, she inhaled the heavenly sweet scent of the peach, red, brown and purple blossoms mixed with the evening dew.

Ah, Cathryn couldn't wait to create a realistic painting of this one.

She was taken aback when he saw Alexander sitting at the steps outside the apartment complex, one hand stretched out into the raindrop falling from the dark sky, and the other one held a flashlight facing the pavement.

With his hoodie covering his face, Cathryn could see his messy golden hair sticking out even if he faced the other way from her angle. She couldn't help but smirk.

Was he waiting for her and Blake?

"Hey, Alex," Cathryn called out as she waved the hand which held the flowers.

She closed the remaining distance by running towards him, leaving Blake in the dust.

Narrowing his eyes at her, Alexander stood up from his position and pointed the flashlight at her.

Café macchiato eyes twinkling with mischief, his lips curled upward into a grin when she neared him, and they smiled at each other.

Glancing up into his chiselled face, Cathryn crossed her arms and asked, "Whatever are you doing here outside?"

"You know I was waiting for you idiot." Alexander attempted to comb her curly wet hair with his fingers, but it wasn't smooth enough like what it seemed in the movies.

Her damp curly, red hair was too tangled for the life of her, and it stuck into his nails when he raised his hand.

Cathryn's face flushed in embarrassment and stepped backwards, but Alexander had grabbed her elbow to prevent her from his head pats.

Sniffing as she rubbed her nose to get rid of itchiness, she let out a sneeze, the cold splashing unto his hoodie.

"Ack." Alexander was too shocked that he couldn't even utter a coherent word.

Alexander lifted his hands in the air as if Cathryn had pointed a gun at him instead of just sneezing on his shirt.

They both stared at the space where her saliva had landed.

Ew.

Fuck.

She was the most disgusting girl on Earth.

Alexander would hate her now.

"I'm sorry." She sniffed again and sneezed for the second time.

Third.

Avoiding eye contact, Cathryn fought the urge to scream as she attempted to wipe her saliva out of his hoodie with her damp hand.

Unfortunately, she looked like she was sexually harassing him by rubbing vigorously at his pectoral muscles.

She didn't mean it that way.

With Cathryn's hand suspended in the air, she stared at her lewd hand in accusation before apologizing to Alexander again.

Alexander didn't look too angry.

He appeared frozen in place while both of his eyebrows almost rose into his hairline.

They kept staring at his shirt while Cathryn pinched her nose to eliminate the stuffiness in them.

Ah, she thought about how much her head had ached while she stayed at the apartment.

Now, she was sure about suffering a cold and a fever tomorrow.

Well, at least she had a valid excuse to skip all of her classes tomorrow.

Tears of regret almost fell from her eyes when she remembered she was a University Scholar who already skipped the first day of class.

The first week of class was crucial as a Scholar because you need to butter yourself up for the teachers so that they would give you good grades if they remember you.

What a sad, sad day to be sick.

"What were you doing with Blake, baby?" Alexander tapped his foot impatiently as he tilted his head, waiting for her answer.

Her eyes widened with shock when Alex dropped the word 'baby' like it was nothing, disregarding the implication of the word 'baby' in front of Blake. "It took you so long to come back."

Cathryn pursed her lips, choosing to remain silent.

Don't talk to anyone.

Don't look at anyone.

Cathryn scratched her cheek and winced. 'You need some fucking time alone, and you know why.'

She really needed to think about this situation carefully.

Well, he didn't know that Blake had confessed that he was interested in her.

Of course, he didn't know. Alexander had assumed it by himself that he had owned her now just because he had kissed her a few times.

Boys.

"I need to change my clothes because I'm wet," Cathryn told him as she combed her wet hair with her fingers, hoping Alexander would get the hint.

Cathryn moved sideways to get inside the apartment complex, but Alexander had already blocked the entrance.

She pushed towards him, but the bastard didn't budge at all. "Oh, you didn't use the umbrella you brought with you?"

"No."

He continued his interrogation. "What was the purpose of the umbrella then?"

By then, Blake had already caught up to them and spoke to Alexander in her place. "We danced through the rain while we stayed at the park for a while."

"Why did you allow it, Blake?" Alexander's attention switched to Blake as he glowered at him in frustration." Cathryn could get sicker because you let her do that."

"Why?" Blake shrugged as he took away the umbrella he had been holding and squeezed his shirt, wringing the water out of it as it dripped on the pavement. "I was wet too."

Alexander clenched his flashlight too tightly as he scowled at his fellow band member.

If she didn't stop this pissing contest between them, shit could get ugly.

"Alexander, you are shady so calm down. It's fine." Cathryn raised her hands and placed them on his broad shoulders.

She fought the urge to tiptoe to match his height. "My body would just think that I was taking a shower in the bathroom."

"We both know that wasn't the case." Alexander turned his back on them and proceeded to the entrance, leaving Cathryn and Blake outside. "Maybe, I was worried about you for no reason, then."