2 Chapter 2

Her beautiful, graceful movements entranced him. When he tried the door, he found it could be opened, so he went in and closed it behind him.

The sound of the door closing abruptly halted Skyler in the middle of her dance. She turned around to see a guy standing by the studio door. As he noticed her noticing him, he walked toward her. As he approached, she noticed he was taller than her by a head and had lightly tanned skin with sharp hazel eyes.

"You are?"

"Hey, I heard music playing and was curious," he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Sorry, but please leave," she told him.

"Isn't this school property?" he countered.

"We reserved this studio with the groundskeeper-"

-Ringing-

Distracted by the sound of her phone, Skyler looked in its direction further into the studio before returning her gaze to the guy. He simply waved her away to answer her phone, and she made a quick dash for it, thinking it was probably just a scam call.

"Hello?" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jose had followed her and was now a short distance away.

"Good Evening, may I speak to Skyler Ito?"

"That's me."

"Hello, Miss Ito. I'm calling from The General Hospital to inform you that your father has been admitted as he has tested positive for COVID-19. He will be required to stay with us for close monitoring due to his underlying health conditions that may cause complications. However, please rest assured he is stable at the moment and is in capable hands. Miss Ito, for the safety of the public and yourself, kindly return home immediately and take a COVID test for the next few days. This is a safety measure implemented by our government-"

The nurse's voice became muffled to Skyler's ears as terrifying thoughts flooded the teen's head. The person on the other end once again urged her to go home immediately. With trembling fingers, she packed her things robotically.

From where Jose sat, he had a clear view of her face and noticed the abrupt change in her demeanour.

"Are you alright?" The smooth, boyish voice startled her out of her panicked thoughts.

"I'm fine, please just leave," she replied monotonously.

"Are you sure? I'm a health science student, and it appears to me you're in shock right now."

"I'm fine on my own!" She stubbornly insisted, none too kindly.

He raised his hands in surrender and left the studio without further delay.

What he was doing on school grounds this late, she didn't care to ask. She picked up her phone again and was about to speed dial Xavier's number when she stopped. He was busy with his boyfriend; she should be considerate and let him have his alone time. So Skyler locked the studio and booked a ride home.

As she was walking down the escalator, ominous thoughts flooded her mind again. What if her father didn't make it? What if she was left all alone? Where would she go then? Sudden dizziness and numbness enveloped her like a blanket. She started to fall forward. A hand wrapped around her waist just before she could fall off to what would be a rather dangerous fall.

"Told you." That smooth, boyish voice she was starting to recognize said from behind her.

With his hand still on her waist, she tried to stand on her own two feet, but it appeared her legs had fallen asleep. The guy noticed this, so he moved her left arm over his shoulder. In this position, he helped her to the school gates and waited with her.

"Thanks. I'm fine from here," she muttered, embarrassed at her current state.

He gave her a look that she guessed said he did not believe her.

He got into the cab with her when it arrived, and they travelled back to her place in silence. Surprisingly, he helped her to her doorstep and did not enter her house but squashed a small piece of paper into her hand before leaving as abruptly as he arrived.

'Smooth weirdo,' Skyler thought to herself as she sat in the doorway, staring at the piece of paper in her hand.

"Jose," she read.

Shortly after he left, feeling returned to her legs, so the teen went about busying herself and heated up some leftover food in the fridge. It was then the crew's group chat started going off. They had been ordered to self-quarantine as well. Skyler told them what she had been told and apologized to them for putting them at risk. The crew brushed it off, instead now concerned about her. This made Skyler smile and calmed her mind a little more. She told them she was fine and was home now.

She decided then it would not hurt to thank the mysterious Jose for helping her home. He simply replied with a smiley wink face, which she promptly ignored.

Three days later, the crew had been cleared to return to their daily activities by the health advisor.

Skyler was about to head to school when news of what she had feared most arrived via a phone call. Her father had not made it past the complications and had passed away that morning. When her brain could finally comprehend what she was being told, the shocked 17-year-old stood there for several minutes, not knowing what to do. She crawled back into bed, too drained to do anything. She was not even allowed to go to the hospital to see for herself if her father had truly gone. Relying solely on the words of a stranger. What should she do now?

That night on campus, it was time for dance practice. It was then the crew noticed the absence of their youngest member. No one was in the same class as her, so no one had noticed her absence earlier.

Xavier asked the others to continue practice without them and rushed straight from school to his childhood friend's apartment, with a gut feeling that something was not right. Skyler was not one to miss classes, even if someone bullied her, and she would always text him if she was going to miss practice, which almost never happened. Dance was her passion, her daily bread! 

He fumbled with his spare key to her apartment, half afraid of what he would find or would not find when he opened that door. When he finally entered and found the subject of his panic-stricken state on her bed, sobbing into her pillow, he knocked on the door, which garnered the attention of tear-filled eyes. He did not know what was going on, but the fact that she was crying said a lot. After all, this was the second time since they met that she had cried.

He silently dropped his bag on the floor of her room and pulled her to him. She was drenched in sweat but was cold to the touch, which worried him. They sat there on her bed with her crying on his chest for a good minute as he stroked her hair. Skyler continued to cry and Xavier patiently waited until she was ready. 

She pushed herself off his chest and tried to compose herself enough to explain because her childhood friend deserved that much. Looking at him with teary eyes, she told him.

"My dad- my dad is gone, Xavier. He- He didn't make it through the complications." 

Upon hearing that, Xavier froze.

They had been talking just yesterday through video call and now he was gone? He pulled Skyler back into a tight hug letting her cry it all out. It was in that position that the two teens fell asleep.