KAEDE | HAYASHI

FUCKING HELL— I'M going to batter Neo the next time I get my hands on him.

"Fuck me." The groan barely had a chance to leave my mouth before I clutched my nose.

The pain thrumming over the site had me clenching my eyes shut. I bent over as if it would ease the pangs jumping over my face ( it didn't ).

"Shit! Kaede you alright?"

I sensed, more than heard, Neo rush over to me. I couldn't even voice my dissent as something warm and wet poured on the palm I had against my nose. The sensation confirmed whatever had happened to be pretty bad and pushed me to speak.

"What does it look like, you knob?" The words left me void of anger, the pain from breathing through my nose causing me whisper.

It hurts so much.

"I'm sorry." I wasn't in the right headspeace to register him fiddling with his locket. "Let me have a look at it?"

I was about to give in when I noticed the silence that had descended over the room. The others had stopped practicing quick passes too to watch.

This is not how I wanted our first practice to go.

I felt like I only had a few seconds to reassure them before they all headed over. Despite the urge to crawl up into a ball and wait the pain out, I straightened up and lowered my hand. It soon formed into a fist as a distraction from the stabbing spreading over my face.

"I'm fine, Neo." The lie slipped through gritted teeth.

He didn't listen to me regardless and stepped closer. "Your nose is bleeding."

Now he pointed it out, I couldn't ignore the prickling to my eyes or the taste of iron on the back of my tongue. All I wanted to do was keel over till the ache subsided. But I couldn't, I was captain.

"That's why we don't pass balls at people who say don't." Each sentence worsened the pain in my head but maybe that was because of how hard I was clenching my jaw.

He had the decency to look sheepish and I was glad he'd stopped looking at my face so closely.

"Are you okay Captain?"

I had to turn my head slowly in Liam's direction to overcome a dizzy spell. By it alone, I knew I couldn't carry on practice in this state. Inwardly, I groaned as I pressed my hand to my nose to hide the blood I could feel trickling down my lip.

"Just a nosebleed. I'll head up to the Hospital Wing to get it checked out. You guys carry on practicing alright? I should be back soon, it shouldn't take long."

Clearly Liam didn't believe me as his gaze skimmed the bloody cracks between my fingers. I threw a sharp look at Neo.

He got the hint to speak up. "Yeah, K isn't a newb to nosebleeds, he can handle it."

He turned to me though, voice quieter but heavy with concern. "You sure you don't want me to head with you?"

I would have shaken my head if I was sure I wouldn't have gotten dazed from it. "You can make sure everyone's doing the right thing while I've gone."

I didn't want to know how narrowed my brows were for him to quickly nod.

"I'll see you both," I rested my eyes on Liam's and then Neo's. "I'll message if anything else comes up, but I should be back before the end of the session."

Regardless of if they believed me or not, I headed out into the hallway. On my way, I stopped to push open the court doors that seemed heavier than usual. Free from the pressure of my lie in the empty corridor, I groaned. I lifted my other hand to lightly touch at where my nose-bridge met my brow ridge: where the basketball had landed. I wasn't surprised to find a bump but the prick at the contact was striking. I had to stop in my tracks and wait for it to ebb away.

There was no way I was making it back.

The thought slipped into my head when I managed to open my eyes again. In the aftermath, I wanted to groan but the pain it would send down my nasal passage wasn't worth it.

I needed to text AJ.

It took me far longer than I liked to pull out my phone from my shorts pocket. I absent-mindedly thanked God that I wasn't in our official kit that was pocketless for practice. Lowering my hand from my head, I tried to use both to type out a text. However, it took multiple attempts to reign in my concentration to finally get out a coherent(ish) message.

me
Soz if ur buzy can u
disvand pracrice for
me im goin to HW.
Injurrd

aj 🤞🏻
What happened??
Are you okay??

aj 🤞🏻
Nevermind I'll ask Cai

aj 🤞🏻
Is someone taking you
there at least? Don't
tell me you were stubborn?

me
Fine.Nozebleed Goin
HW alonr tank u ttyl

My brain was throbbing too strongly for me to read the words on the screen any longer. The ache in my eyes seemed to increase the pressure in my head and I nearly dropped my phone in an aim to alleviate it. I stowed it away in my pocket, ignoring it's vibration against my thigh. I directed my focus to making it to the Hospital Wing.

The taste of copper drowned out everything to the point I was unsure if I had a penny in my mouth. Warm liquid kept building in my palm and I didn't know what I'd do once it overflowed.

Neo, Neo, Neo.

I am so gonna get you.

I thought the twinged across my nose would ease eventually as I wandered empty halls but they didn't. They got worse. That and my body began to feel like weights were hanging off it.

It was soon a burden to keep my arms up and they dropped down to my sides. My nose didn't give me any reprieve but the flow at least slowed. I wiped my hands against my front to try and stop any blood from getting on the floor. Though with my unblocked nose, I wasn't sure how successful I was.

Neo, when I get my hands on you—

"H-Hey you're bloodying up the floor Kaede."

Bambi-eyes— no it's Odette Kaede. Odette.

I didn't have the energy to be surprised at crossing paths with her the one time I didn't want anyone to.

But seeing her face triggered my memory of when I last had and how she'd turned away afterwards. The whole ignoring-thing circled my mind and it felt like a kick in the teeth for her to be inquisitive now— especially when I looked like I'd gotten into a fight and lost.

My sluggish steps slowed even further to a stop. There was too much I wanted to say, to ask, to discuss with the girl. It didn't help that my concentration to hold onto each thought slipped away like grains of sand.

Hospital Wing. I need to get there.

I partly turned to meet her eyes, suddenly feeling bitter for the wall of silence this past week. I lifted my thumb to swipe at the blood gathered on my top lip as I didn't break contact with her browns. I raised a brow despite the fire of pain that raced down my face. But I earned myself the sight of her swallowing— one I hoped was from guilt.

I shifted my gaze off her before I did something stupid and stayed any longer when I'd already lost enough blood as it was. One unhurried foot in front of the other, I began walking again. The tang of iron lingered in the back of my mouth.

Hospital Wing. Then everything will be sorted.

"You're going to lose too much blood if you don't even try to stop the bleeding."

A Siren's lure, that's what her voice was to me. To go from hoping to chat to her again to her actually talking to me was messing with my head. Or maybe that was the basketball.

Regardless, she'd had her bit of ignoring, why couldn't I do it too?

"You didn't walk here from the courts like that, did you?"

Because no matter what I tried, I couldn't ignore her.

The pathetic thought had my jaw tightening, but it was true. I took a deep breath via my mouth since my nose was useless and stopped to regard her properlly. I was unsure of why she was even talking to me in the first place. My world had been empty of her this past week, after I'd show her the "real Kaede", so I held little hope that she'd reappear.

Was all that it took a little bloo—

The floor began to shake under my trainers and I closed my eyes in a bid to concentrate, to last until the hospital wing. All my feelings of irritation drained out of me afterwards as lightheadedness hit me.

C'mon man, almost there. Focus.

"Oh my— are you alright? Tell me how you're feeling right now."

She needed to stop talking so I could focus for a minute, steel myself. She was impossible to ignore so I had to wish she'd leave me alone so I could make it without fainting.

"'M fine. Noth'n to worry 'bout."

Well there went my silent streak.

The sounds of footsteps approaching me made me crack open my eyes. She was nearing me.

Why?

I didn't understand what was happening here; she'd been content on keeping a large gap between us, why did she care that I was injured? Why did she care at all?

I couldn't turn over the topic any longer because a strike of pain made my eyes scrunch up again. I grabbed my forehead in an attempt to soothe it but it didn't do much against the pounding.

The floor was shaking again.

"Hey— you okay lad?"

I didn't have time to even understand the question when my arm was enveloped by hers. The warmth of a body beside me told me I'd ended up falling after all. Her scent of sea salt and cocoa butter swirled up my nose and I sighed as my thoughts drifted away again.

My memory was becoming more and more hazy. It didn't help that I found myself being tugged somewhere— not in the direction of the Hospital Wing.

I tried to voice that I needed to go to there but my tongue was being difficult. I didn't have the strength to escape her pull and found myself being pushed onto a bench. The heaviness of my head made me drop it forward despite the ache of my nose at the action. I couldn't think.

Why was my nose bleeding?

I couldn't carry on that line of questioning when two familiar hands found themselves cupping my face and lifting my head. "Let me see what's going on with your nose."

I hadn't noticed my eyes had shut until they fluttered open at the closeness of her voice. The sight made my breath catch. With my nose out of commission, for a moment I couldn't breathe. She was on her knees between my legs, holding my face with heart-pounding care. As if this was normal.

I was dreaming, I had to be dreaming. She doesn't like me.

The thoughts didn't stop her from querying. "Did you break your nose or have an unfinished nose-job on the court? And why didn't any of your teammates assist you to the Hospital Wing Kaede? Are you all just reckless?"

This has to be a dream; it was the only explanation that made sense.

Despite myself, a smile of disbelief spread across my face at the ridiculousness of it all. That basketball had done more damage than I'd initially thought. I shut my eyes and tried to remember what my goal was before this moment.

"The Hospital Wing." The revelation left me desperately. "I need t'get there. I can make it. It was just a Basketball to t'nose."

But dream-Odette wasn't listening. "You're not gonna reach that place in this state. Please let me help you."

My eyes snapped open at the warmth of her fingertips on my skin. It was distracting. It wasn't real. This couldn't be happening.

I sat up straighter and lifted my hands to pull her wrists down. I needed to cut contact with anything that had my eyes drawing closed. This wouldn't end well for me; I was already at her will and she'd just been treating me like I was invisible. How would I be after she gave me a sliver of attention and a sprinkle of care?

I didn't want to know.

"I'll make it to the. . .Wing. Let. . .me go."

"You nearly collapsed, you are not making it across the West Wing and up one floor in this state. You're not fighthing me on this, I'm not going to let you enter a situation where you'll be hurt." She twisted her arms in such a way that she ended up holding my wrists. "Now tell me if I can touch your nose or not. If not, I'm calling the nurse from here but it'll be better if I tend to you now— I know my way around bloody noses."

The flame in my chest that had fed my energy to argue sputtered out and I felt tired all of a sudden. I wanted the pain to stop so bad.

"A'ight."

After the admission of defeat, I didn't expect her hands to find my face again. Not when I kept my head up like she'd silently commanded. I hoped with all the blood leaving me that no more went to my skin.

"Don't faint on me, I don't know if you've got a concussion or not."

The thought of having one made me wince. I really hoped I didn't. It would put a spanner in everything. Training, basketball, school. Though with my scattered mind, I had a feeling it might be.

"Fudge you Neo." The mumble left my lips before I could think otherwise— but I was glad I had enough self-restraint to not curse.

I opened my eyes ( when had I closed them? ) at the slight pressure of something against the sides of my nose. Odette wore a layer less than before. The jacket she'd taken off served as a makeshift tissue to staunch my flow. My brows furrowed but I didn't pull away.

At least she wasn't weirded out by all the blood.

The only way I could track the time passing by was with how less groggy I felt. And with it, I understood why she'd doubted my capabilities in making it to the Wing in one-piece. It was ridiculously easy for my attention to then slip to her. My eyes followed as they settled on her face. I took in the the slight furrow between her eyebrows as she concentrated, the pursing to her dual-toned lips.

Pretty. She's always pretty.

The thought caused heat to climb up my ears and I hoped I didn't pinken anywhere else she could see. I tried to get my mind to turn to other things but with the cloud of salted chocolate around me, it wasn't my fault my focus remained on Odette.

Was she doing this out of kindness? Or guilt for having avoided me? Or maybe she'd help anyone and even I wasn't the exception?

I couldn't even remember how she'd found me, how our interaction was. Had she been pushy? Regretful?

My head hurt.

"Odette?"

Her eyes didn't rise to mine but her nod let me know she'd heard. "Yes Kaede?"

She really was speaking to me.

I felt like I already knew the answer to why she was avoiding me so I grabbed another question from the lot that was wracking my brain. "Who do I remind you of that you're scared off?"

She froze, her hand dropping from my nose completely.

Should I have asked her that?

Her wide browns found mine and I swallowed before pushing on quietly, "It's just that you've been avoiding me, not just on the courts in person too."

My heart was weirdly calm while I was being upfront about what had been bothering me all this time. If this wasn't some weird hyper-realistic dream, I didn't know what it was.

"Um, I've been avoiding you— not because of you though."

Oh.

I didn't argue her words, even if it felt like it was because of me. "If I made you.. . .uncomfortable, I'm sorry. Did I, um, make y'uncomfortable? Is it anything I did that made you act like that?"

What if she said yes?

Suddenly I didn't want to know the answer. But it made no sense for my feelings to be hurt when there was nothing to be hurt about. When we didn't even really know each other; not like how I knew my teammates or even teachers. It only made sense to think that it was the fear of missing something great that was haunting me. Of missing out on a connection I had with my friends in my close circle.

And I didn't have a lot of those.

"I've. . .wanted to be your friend since we met."
Once it left me, I had no choice but to carry on.

My eyes traced her outline, too scared to see any repulsion in her eyes. "There's just something 'bout you— not to be weird or anything. It does sound. . .pathetic but your nice and I thought, maybe, I could be good friends with you since I don't have lots."

I thought she'd laugh but even the made-up version of her was considerate enough not to. Didn't mean I'd chance a look though.

"There's. . .something 'bout your presence— I don't know. I'm kinda self-conscious around you, yeah, but you're never rude or judge. It's like you take me at face-value. . .and not many give me that grace. So thank you for that."

I gnawed on the inside of my mouth for a beat before continuing. "I apologise for whatever ive done to scared y'off, y'don't owe me- like to show up again or anything. Just, um, wanted you. . .to know."

"Um." Her teeth bit down onto her bottom lip and the sheen to her eyes made my heart thud awkwardly.

Was she going to cry? Was that all I did to her? Neo's advice was bullocks.

Maybe I was the problem— especially if I could make the dream-her cry and I already done the same to the real her.

Maybe she was right to stay away from me.

"Thank you for the, um, apology Hayashi."

I guess even in my delusions, my brain knew to keep it pragmatic. Her response was the best I could get all things considering. It was up to her if she wanted to pursue a friendship with me, the guy who scared her, made her cry more than laugh— but then again none of this felt real. Even our surroundings were a haze and the only thing in detail was her.

It was always her.

There was a weight to my limbs and shifting was like wading through custard. But blood began to leak from my nose again so maybe that had something to do with it.

"Kaede—" She cut herself off, voice tinged with something I couldn't decode as she moved to press the stained jacket to my nose.

I forgot to apologise for that. I'd buy her a new one to replace it.

Her brows were visibly furrowed now and I couldn't help but ponder the cause with nothing to do. My mind trailed back to the moment in the gym with her, when she seemed to express interest in me by asking what had inspired me to be captain. I hadn't answered completely honestly— or rather let out the dark thoughts about captaincy that had been marking me since I'd been given the position. There was an urge in my chest to let them out into the light once and for all, to stop them roaming the corners of my mind.

Should I tell her before she disappeared again?

Was I off my head? Why did I want to tell her of all people? I had friends I was way closer to—but my tongue didn't follow. Maybe all the blood loss was responsible for the woozy, safe feeling I felt.

"Before in the gym when y'were asking me 'bout being captain?"

Though I realised if she didn't remember, there'd be no point in carrying on. If she didn't cared enough to recall our chat a week ago. . .

But she nodded even though her eyes on my freckles, my brows, my nose, anything except my eyes. "In the gym, after you saved me."

Saved her?

I wanted to pursue that but I didn't want to leave this conversation, this interaction, this dream with regrets. I could put everything, put her behind me, after this. That in some world at least, we were close enough to bare the dark parts of ourselves to each other.

Maybe I did have a concussion.

". . .I forgot to say that I do love it— the role. . . but I'm not Sang-hun. It seemed like he could handle everything without breaking a sweat but here I am, nose bleedin' after my first practice. I want to believe I have it but. . ." I trailed as a frown down-turned my lips. "I'm not him."

The realisation made me stare at the carved cherubs in the ceiling above us. I wanted to sigh but with my nose's current state, I couldn't. Even if I tried with all my might, I never met Sang-Hun's level so why did I bother?

"Him?" Her query was quiet, almost like she didn't mean to utter it.

Still my eyes struck hers, drawn to tell the truth, to explain, to have at least one person understand my thoughts— even if that person wasn't real. "My old cap'. I dunno, 'round you. . . I feel like y'don't have a person in mind that y'want me to be. I felt like I could be myself and that was enough. But. . .I don't wanna let the team down— 'specially with scouts popping up. I've got to get us to nationals this year, I have to."

I rested my head on the wall behind me. There were chips in the stone and the feel of them grounded me slighlty. "Why am I even goin' on like it'll solve things—"

A bolt of pain caused my head began to pang again. "Fuck, my head."

I kept my eyes shut and tried to rationalise the ache and push it down. "I should be stronger, able to 'andle this. It's not that bad."

Her silence and the darkness I behind my eyelids only strengthened my stance on all this being something my head had conjured. If it wasn't for the continuous pressure on my nose and the blood in mouth, it was like I was resting.

The longer time went on, the less liquid I could feel leaving my nose. There was still an pounding to my forehead but my stillness had dulled it. At some point my eyes had reopened and the blurriness on the edge of my vision had cleared away. It made me feel less like this was fake. That and my memory was starting to return.

I couldn't believe the mess I'd gotten myself into; I should have been back at the courts by now, ending practice or at the very least gotten a diagnosis from the nurse. Yet I'd somehow ended up with Odette. With Odette nursing my injuries.

The stark ring off the school bell drenched me off the rest of my illusion and I felt myself flinch.

This was real.

My eyes veered to the currently empty hallways in an attempt to ignore the hulking elephant in the room. Then my anxiety stepped up to help when the sounds of doors opening and brisk footsteps reached my ears.

This wouldn't look good: Odette kneeling between my legs whilst I was covered in blood. Whatever gossip would bloom from this moment wouldn't be positive in the slightest. Not to mention, the last thing I wanted was for her to be treated cruelly for being kind.

"Odette?" I wasn't prepared for her eyes to meet mine after all I'd said before but she did.

I took a slight breath, laying a hand on her wrist. "People are coming, you don't have to—"

She cut me off with a shake of her head, seemingly catching on to my trail of thought. "I'm not putting your health at risk because I'm afraid of what others have to think."

I felt my heart beat a little faster under the determined glint in her prolonged gaze. But she broke it at the sound of students stumbling upon us from further up the corridor.

I felt my frame stiffen but Odette took it in her stride, directing a question to a pale-looking Lower Six with an authority I hadn't heard before."Could you please run to the Hospital Wing and get Nurse Ngoy for me?"

The boy quickly nodded and scarpered off. I hadn't ever seen her so confident before and I felt my stomach twist. There was so much to her that I still didn't know about— and I doubted I ever would with the way the past half an hour had went.

My thoughts scattered when more students began to head our way. Whether their intent was to use the corridor or have a nosey about what was going on, to my brain it didn't matter; there were more eyes cutting at me, judging me for ending up in a situation like this.

The shallow nature to my breaths only worsened. Instinct made me ducked my head to decrease the chance of anyone recognising me. I half expected Odette to admonish me but she only placed the jacket in my hands and guided them to my nose.

Then she got to her feet, standing in front of me like a shield to all the eyes. "Why are yous gawking? If you're not here to help, get to tea."

The clear irritation in her hard voice pushed people to move and I remembered she was a governor's daughter.

Still, I wanted to thank her— but also take back everything I'd said before. She was currently acting like nothing had happened, like she hadn't even avoided me in the first place, like her treating me so well was normal. It just confused me further.

Especially since she could have so easily turned me into a spectacle in front of the crowd that had gathered. All she needed to do was share literally anything I'd said and that would have kept the gossip vine fed for a good month. It would have been a repeat of being bullied in year ten all over again.

But she didn't.

"Thank you."

With the emptying corridor, she went back to kneeling back down between my legs again. She tilted her head up at me in question and I realised I'd spoken as a whisper. It was the only thought that got through before my brain short-circuited. The sight of her, her big brown eyes set on me, wiped my mind clean.

"Hmm? Sorry, I didn't catch that."

I had to clear my voice before I spoke but it still came out lower than usual. "Thank you— for that."

Her brows furrowed before she caught what I was talking about; keeping the crowd away.

She dispelled the thanks with a shrug, "Think nothing of it, it's the least I could do."

But it wasn't, she didn't have to.

Her gaze strayed to my face but she chose that moment to carefully peel my hands away from my nose to have a closer look. It meant I didn't have anything to hide my flushed face. Her fingertips were light on the edge of my jaw as she gently tilted my face this way and that. I was surprised she didn't comment on the heat across my skin. I wasn't prepared for the tenderness in the gesture— neither was my heart as it tripped over itself as hints of argon oil reached my nose.

"Besides. . ." She carried on her response with a whisper and if she moved any closer I feared she'd hear the quickness to my heartbeat. "Treat others the way you want to be treated' is what Jesus says."

Her gaze fell to the cross hanging from my neck before climbing back up to my nose. Warmth resided in the aftermath of the touch of her eyes.

She continued to graze my nose as if my skin didn't simmer in her proximity. "Does it hurt?"

I couldn't help but stare at her instead of answer her question. I couldn't make heads or tails of her but my confusion only ate at me further. Who was Odette Moetti?

She was like an intricate maths problem that I'd barely gotten started with understanding. Every time I felt like I'd cracked a little bit about who she was, I'd realised I'd come to a completely wrong answer.

"What?"

Her question made me blink and I remembered myself. "Yeah, a bit."

She sat on her heels in the wake of my response, scanning my bridge. "I'm pretty sure you don't have a nose fracture or anything, it's more superficial. You're defo gonna bruise since there's so many burst blood vessels."

The confidence in the diagnosis was the same as the one she'd worn when asking the Lower Sixth to fetch help. Her sureness of herself made me stare.

I didn't realise I was smiling until the curve to my lips shaped my next sentence. "A doctor too, huh?"

She bit down on her bottom lip before she tried for a joke. "Well, I am a STEM girlie Kaede."

The way her fingers fiddled with each other while her eyes skimmed the floor clued me in. My lips twitched but more at her flustered state. I tried to stop myself from looking like I was taking the mickey by swiping my tongue over my top set of teeth.

"Don't laugh, it's, uh, true. I take bio and PE since I'm a swimmer— but we share that class so you probably knew that. I also do chem and photography. So, I definitely qualify as a STEM girl innit?"

Biology, Chemistry and Photography; her Alevel options were so different to mine but it deter my interest in her in the slightest.

What would've happened if we didn't have the same PE class? Would this moment even be happpening right now?

The ache in my nose and the image of Neo throwing a basketball at my face had me landing on maybe.

I dropped my chin on my fist while my elbow rested on my knee so I could look up at her properly. "I knew you were a swimmer though."

"D'you at least have a first impression of me that's not related to swimming?"

The question threw me off. Her tone was almost— no it was desperate and I didn't think she realised.

Did she believe her worth only rested in her swimming or was this her really wanting to know what I thought? Was she curious about my opinion?

Regardless, I left my head to give her an actual response. My eyes raked her form, trying to remember my initial thought of her. It didn't take long for the memory to rise in my mind: of her in assembly wearing a smile powered by sunshine with big eyes that could trap me with a single look.

"Bambi and sunshine."

Why did I say the first thing that popped into my head?

Multiple emotions moved over the plane of her face and I didn't blame her. "Why that?"

But I was starting to figure out her tells. She'd folded her arms, scuffed the toe of her trainer against the floor and I found myself smiling like a tool again. A pleased feeling pooled in my chest at making her so flustered.

Was it wrong that I wanted to do it more?

My tongue poked the inside of my cheek in an attempt to hide the lift to my lips. "You said not to do with swimming remember? We saw each other in the stands on Induction and in the Kitchens that time—"

I quietened as I realised the state of our relationship was completely different then, even though we didn't know each other's names. This relaxed state between us might not be forever; it could just be until I got medical attention.

And then she'd just be a fond memory.

"Before you started avoiding me, I mean." The mutter escaped me from downward lips and I couldn't help but think, did this all matter?

"Kaede." I glanced up and found her at war with herself, brows drawn and her fingers colliding with each other.

"I'm sorry, really, about that. It wasn't your fault at all, I—" She cut herself off and squeezed her fists but I still wasn't over her first sentence.

She was apologising?

"Before you said you were worried about making me feel uncomfy, well you don't. Not at all. Every time I've seen you, you-you've helped ease me in some way." She looked up at me as if I wasn't wondering if I was still dreaming after all. "Well, um, not this time but you know what I—"

I saw her approaching a mental wall and gently cut her off, voice a bit too emotionally-charged than I'd like. "I get you."

My eyes were on her, watching way too closely to miss the deep breath that shook her shoulders. "I want to be your friend too, really, it's just—"

"Odette? Who was it that needed medical attention?" I turned my head to the new voice at the end of the corridor and felt something deep within me groan.

So close. So close to finding out a reason why— and she did want to be my friend. She did.

It seemed like the white-cloaked woman approached us in no time. She threw a glance to the bloodied floors and a wave of embarrassed swept over me at the mess I'd caused.

I didn't want to know what Coach Noah would say when he found out.

Odette spoke up in my ashamed silence. "This is Kaede, he's got a nose injury from basketball. I also think he has a concussion."

If I didn't know any better I would have thought ripping off medical injuries was a part of her normal everyday. However, as I looked between the two, I noticed they held similar facial features. It would explain their familiarness with each-other. Especially in the way the lady held a strong likeness to Lesedi.

The nurse crouched before me and her gentle smile alleviated my worry about her reaction to everything. "Hi Kaede, I'm Head Nurse Ngoy and I'll be checking if you're alright. Is it okay if you lower your hands from your nose? I just want to see what's going on."

I didn't realise I was shielding it until she brought it up. Nodding, I followed her request. The nurse began to pull out some gloves from her belt bag when Odette started filling her in of everything that had happened— and even some bits I didn't quite remember.

"O, he had a heavily bleeding nose and it took a while but I got it to clot. I think he's lost quite a bit of blood though since he nearly fainted earlier. He's rambled to me a few times and sometimes seemed incoherent. He's better now though, obviously—"

Guess it would have been too much to hope she'd forget my rambling.

The nurse had straightened up partway through her babble to place a hand on her shoulder. "You did well. I'll take it from here. You go inform a cleaner of the mess then take a shower and get something inside you. You look like a butcher."

Her shoulders slumped like a burden on them had been released. "Okay, thanks O. I'll see you."

Nurse Ngoy nodded and crouched back in front of me, this time with a small light in hand. "Now I'm just going to carry out a few tests to see if your concussed, okay Kaede?"

I nodded but throughout the assessment the only thing I could stay focused on was Odette's lingering presence.

"Um."

It was while the nurse wrote some things down on her electrical notepad that I finally looked her way.

"I know our conversation was interrupted but we'll talk soon. . .if you want too I mean?" Her uncertainty made me frown.

She'd been so self-assured before. I had no doubt that her thoughts had led her to a place where she spoke out of hesitancy.

"Bambi and sunshine."

She looked up after a pause at the echo of my earlier words. I wanted her to remember that I didn't see her as the villain she'd mentally painted herself to be. Yeah, she'd avoided me and I'd been left so confused but she was willing to explain why. Maybe I was reading too much into it, but it didn't seem like it was fully her choice.

"I'll see you soon Bambi. We'll talk, don't you worry."

I didn't mean for Bambi to leave my lips again but the way her browns were trained on me and darkened with worry, I couldn't help it. I wanted to ease her, to lighten the moment but I could only do so in so many words when my brain was nowhere near one hundred percent power. Though despite it all, it really did suit her as a nickname.

Only she gave me the weakest scowl I'd ever received in my life. It was a real struggle to stop a laugh from leaving my throat.

She crossed her arms and I didn't miss the slight pout to her lips that made my eyes linger.
"S-Stop calling me that."

There was nothing I could do to stop my next chuckle. The sound was interrupted when my nose began to bleed again. It reminded of why I'd tried stopping it in the first place.

Nurse Ngoy was tending to me in an instant but Odette still rushed over. "Oh my days, I'm so sorry—"

The nurse cut her off softly. "Hush, it was bound to happen. You'll be more useful if you go do what I instructed Odette, now scarper."

She nodded and finally followed her instructions. My eyes trailed her as she walked down the corridor. Absentmindedly, I noticed Nurse Ngoy pulling out a walkie-talkie and speaking to someone on the other end about fetching a wheel chair. In all honesty, my attention was on something else.

She was leaving without saying goodbye?

My staring wasn't in vain. It was as if she'd heard my wondering because Odette turned back. Her hand came up to wave at me like she had so many times before and my lips quirked up. I rolled my eyes at her commitment to the move but I lifted a hand in return.

Maybe there was some good that would come from this injury after all.

EL SPEAKS !
heyyy!!
bruh sorry for the delay it was mainky because i didn't know what to title this chapter HAHAHA

PLEASE let me know if kaede feels a bit out of character in this chap :/// i'm still debating if i handled the whole concuss-ramble well or if it was a hit-and-miss 🙏🙏

i'll be back in scotland in 3 days i can't wait 🕺🕺 and my bday is so soon i cant wait to celebrate with my friends and bf literally so giddy

VOTE and COMMENT please and ty 😍💅 LOVE YALL !!! hope the new year has been treating yall well so far 🫶🏽🫶🏽

( posted; 13/01/25 )