Chapter 21

I still haven't moved on from the nurse at the clinic earlier, so even when we're back in the room, I can't stop laughing. Alzid is even trying to calm me down.

When it was time to go home, Kath completely avoided me. The reason wasn't clear to me; even though I was laughing, the truth is, I was hurt by her avoiding me. She left first with Malyn's group, and I watched them go.

I was surprised when Alzid suddenly grabbed my hand, so I turned to look at him.

"It's okay, I'm still here. You can have me as your best friend, and most of all, you said I could be like your 'dad,'" he told me with a smile.

I smiled back at him. I know he's trying to cheer me up, so I'll try to be happy. I'll choose to be happy because there's someone who never gets tired of making me smile, someone who doesn't leave me despite all my silliness.

While we were walking, I noticed Alzid's eyes looked sleepy, like he had a fever. So, I stopped walking, touched his forehead and neck, and confirmed that he indeed had a fever.

"Alzid, you have a fever," I told him with concern.

"It's nothing, just a fever. I'm still Alzid," he joked despite his condition.

"This is my fault. I'm sure it's because of all the running earlier, and you even had to carry me," I said, feeling guilty and worried. He ruffled my hair and put his arm around me as we continued walking out of the school.

"What are you talking about? You didn't do anything wrong. I'm fine," he said, but he was really burning up with fever.

When we got outside, his car wasn't there.

"It's a good thing you didn't bring your car today. You probably wouldn't be able to drive either," I said.

"Mom took my car keys because she was angry at me," he replied.

"So, are you taking a ride home?" I asked him, and he just nodded.

"I'll take you home, Alzid," I said.

"No," he replied firmly.

"What do you mean, no? What if something happens to you on the way? I'd feel guilty!" I said, annoyed.

"I can take care of myself," he insisted, but he was shivering because of his fever.

"Alzid, please, let me do this," I said with authority.

"Laine, I can take care of myself. Don't worry about me," he stubbornly said.

But I didn't listen to him. When a bus stopped in front of us, I grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the bus, leaving him with no choice.

As we sat down, he was still shivering from the cold brought on by his fever. I was worried and a bit panicked, so I took my jacket out of my bag. I always carry one, but it was small and wouldn't fit him, so I draped it over him instead. He leaned against my shoulder and closed his eyes.

"Don't fall asleep, okay? I don't know the way to your place," I said, and he just nodded. I was still worried, and I couldn't help but feel that his fever was my fault.

After about thirty minutes, we got off the bus and took a tricycle into his subdivision. I was nervous about possibly seeing his mom, but my desire to make sure he got home safely was stronger, especially given his condition.

Inside the tricycle, he was still shivering. He really needed to take some medicine, and even though I had wrapped him in my jacket, he was still shaking from the cold. With no other solution in mind, I hugged him.

As he leaned on my shoulder and was wrapped in my jacket, I told myself not to get the wrong idea—I was only doing this for his own good. He wasn't saying anything because he felt so unwell, and I was still genuinely worried about him.

Finally, we arrived at his house. I helped him get off and paid the tricycle driver. His house was huge—well, he is rich, after all.

When we entered his home, the living room was spacious, and he immediately collapsed onto the sofa.

"Alzid, where are your housekeepers? You need to take your medicine," I asked.

"There's no one," he replied weakly.

"What do you mean, 'there's no one?'" I asked, confused.

"I'm living here alone," he said, his voice still faint as he coughed.

"What? You're living alone? How's that?" I asked in panic.

"Where's your mom?" I continued.

"We're living separately," he answered. Wow, rich people really do like having separate homes.

"Oh no, where's your emergency medicine stash?" I asked, worried.

"Just find it over there… in the kitchen," he said, pointing weakly toward the kitchen. I felt sorry for him and didn't want to leave him alone. I hurried to the kitchen, still flustered, and rummaged through the cabinets for medicine.

I found the medicines and took the fever reducer. I poured a glass of water and went back to Alzid in the living room. He was still on the sofa, shivering badly.

"Here, take this to bring down your fever," I said. He slowly sat up and took the medicine, then lay back down again.

"Where are your blankets? So I can cover you," I asked him.

"Get them from that room over there," he said, pointing to a room at the end of the hall. I quickly went there.

I grabbed three blankets so he wouldn't feel cold anymore and covered him. He closed his eyes and eventually fell asleep. I sat on the floor, leaning against the sofa where he was lying. I didn't want to leave him. It was almost eight in the evening, but I didn't want to go until he was okay.

I felt sleepy, but I forced myself to stay awake. I went to the kitchen and cooked some noodles so that he'd have something to eat when he woke up.

After a while, the noodles were done, and I put them in a bowl and placed it on the table since he was still asleep. I went back to check on him, watching him closely. It's annoying—he's still so handsome even when he's sick.

Meanwhile, whenever I'm sick, I look completely unkempt. I didn't expect him to suddenly open his eyes and look straight at me. He immediately sat up from the sofa and started unbuttoning his uniform.

"H—hey, what are you doing?" I said, startled, covering my eyes.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Alzid said, annoyed.

"What are you doing, Alzid… this isn't right, it's really not right," I said, still covering my eyes.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, confused.

"Help me take off my uniform buttons," he ordered. I quickly removed my hands from my eyes.

"B—but why? Why are you unbuttoning your uniform?" I shouted at him. I didn't know, but my mind was racing with wild thoughts.

"Laine, I just wanted to take it off. I'm feeling hot and sweaty," he said irritably.

When he said that, I realized how ridiculous my thoughts were, and my cheeks flushed in embarrassment. I was thinking of all sorts of things when all he wanted was to remove his uniform because he felt hot. Gosh, Laine, your mind is so dirty, I told myself, but only in my head so he wouldn't hear it.