17.
chapter seventeen
he needs me
by his side?

I wanted to run away. To dig a hole and shout all the ignorant insecurities into it, so that I would never tremble the way I did, seeing Lillie standing beside him, clutching a vial of the very liquid that had been sprawled all over my hands the night before.

But of course, he didn't seem to have noticed the internal storm as he chatted away with Nurse Joy. He didn't even notice me standing a few feet away from her.

I looked down at my hands, trying to get a grip. This won't do. Besides, Gary and Paul, if I'm not wrong, are with Lillie too. So whatever he wants to do doesn’t just include them, does it?

Drawing in a sharp breath, I made sure to keep my gaze to the floor as I reached the distance to the screens shielding Dawn.

But I failed to not attract attention.

"Serena! Hey!"

Wearing a small smile and clasping my hands behind my back, I tilted my head to look at his mesmerizing brown eyes. "Good evening, Ash."

His eyebrows quirked up, disappearing beneath his messy, voluminous bangs. Perhaps he had sensed the hesitation etched deep within my voice.

Nevertheless, he quickly excused himself from Nurse Joy and strode to me. I noticed his gait had gotten stronger, somehow resembling himself even if I had never caught it before.

"Hey," he began, stopping a few inches away from me. "Could I take you somewhere now?"

It was my turn to arch an eyebrow. My fists tightened behind my back. "Where to?"

Ash shrugged, glancing over his shoulder. I followed his gaze to his little group of friends who were, more or less, staring at us. At least, Gary and Lillie were. My heart clenched when he spoke. "Say, for a test."

"What sort?"

Apparently, my questionnaire was unnerving him. Or at least, that’s what I thought.

But then he smiled, his hand prying out to take mine. "I need you by my side. Please."

Perhaps magical words were real. For I found myself letting him lead me through the almost deserted hallways, leaving Dawn to Misty's care.

His warm grip was grounding me, but there was something about the way his fingers intertwined with mine, tugging me along dominantly, that had my heart skipping significant beats.

"Where... are we going?" I quipped as silently as I could. Gary and the others were footsteps ahead of us—either out of giving us privacy or simply because they were walking faster than Ash was—I had no clue.

The boy glanced over his shoulder, shooting one of his boyish smiles. "The chemistry labs. To test a blood sample."

Now that got me intrigued. I was sure the vial Lillie was holding was his lifeblood, but were they going to test it in college labs? "A blood sample?"

Ash nodded, turning back forward. Nonetheless, he gave my hand a little squeeze.

"I don't care anymore about the dangers I carry." His voice was now lower than a whisper, but audible enough. He abruptly stopped walking, and I narrowly avoided crashing into his back. "I understood yesterday night..."

"What?" I stammered, eyes widening when he turned around.

His friends turned a corner behind him, but he stepped in front of me, blocking their view. The resolution he held in his eyes seemed like the pattering rain—relentless to break the walls of insecurity I had built, totally ignorant and unbeknownst to myself.

"That your warmth..." For some reason, all the seriousness seemed to have dripped out of him. Along with the blood loss, it seems.

I gave him an encouraging smile. The words I anticipated him to utter were long overdue. What with the draining turn of events that we had found ourselves in not twelve few hours ago, things seemed to have gotten different between us, like the air filling the walls between us was charged with electricity.

You see, folks, the most healthy option that soulmates have right after they meet is to seal the pact. If they don't, there's bound to be complications. Or so, Mom told.

I waited long enough to taste the essence of this pure and divine bond. Physically. But all that mattered now was the emotional climax to everything that one fated evening had started. And I simply couldn't wait until then.

Ash's shoulders sagged before he took both of my hands in his, and his gaze locked onto mine—warm and raw. "That your warmth is all I need to weather this storm. I'm sorry I kept you in the dark for too long. You don't deserve that. Nobody deserves that."

The weight of his vulnerable words settled on my chest like an iron scale tilting off balance.

Perhaps this was his admirable touch. Looking at his carefree demeanor now, I understood why I always saw him flocked with students. No wonder he's cherry-picked by the best students of his class. If only he had this all year round.

A little giggle left my lips, and I tugged at his hand. "Been reading romance novels, have we?" I joked, unable to control my laughter—my happiness, rather.

Ash's face went through the three stages of wonderment—surprise, bewilderment, then amusement. His mouth formed an imperfect 'O'.

"This is without the influence of shoujo, Serena-chan." A smirk flitted across his perfectly sharp features, stretching the line of the bruise that ran from his temple to his z-marked cheeks. "Imagine otherwise, Koibito."

I laughed dismissively, even though my heart skipped a beat at his comment.

"Oh, you're an utterly ridiculous pushover," I teased before letting him lead the way to the chemistry labs.

"Say what you will, Serena-chan. I really hope you'd catch the real side of me when you see it. Oh, and grow to love it as well."

A warm feeling seeped into my chest, and I struggled to keep a straight face. As we walked, I could only pray everything went fine, and that in an hour or so, we would be walking home similarly—
hand in hand, grinning, twirling around each other, and simply joking around.

— 🫧 —

Hey guys!
I bear unfortunate news,
again. The updates will
be a little slow once more,
until the following weekend,
at least. Just that I'm
going to a place with
no Wi-Fi and my network
sucks as is.

I'll try to update
every alternate or
two days, though!
My apologies, once
more. >w<
Honestly, I feel so
bad because just
seventeen chapters in,
not even a quarter of
the book, but we're
at eight hundred
reads! You guys
are awesome.
Thank you! TvT

Thank you for reading!

Miyoko x