20 There's No Other Choice

Ethan fell on top of Kate pinning her to the ground. As they fell, the poor girl bumped her head with Ethan's which caused her to cry out in pain. As if to add insult to her injury, her head knocked hard on the ground which caused her to lose consciousness.

"S-Sorry!" Ethan immediately apologized and gazed at the girl under him. Kate had a pained expression on her face and a red mark was starting to spread on her forehead. It was the place where she bumped her head and Ethan felt very guilty for hurting her.

"Kate, are you alright?" Ethan, lightly shook the girl's shoulder. "Please, open your eyes."

Seeing no reaction from her, Ethan lightly tapped her cheeks in order to wake her up.

"Kate, please wake up."

He was starting to panic. Ethan didn't dare to shake her too much because he was afraid that it might worsen her injury. The first thing that came to his mind was to return to their camp to call for help, but he was unable to leave her alone in this state.

"First aid. Yes, I need to give her first aid," Ethan muttered. In his panicked state, his mind was a mess. He was unable to think logically as he tried to remember the various first aid treatments that were taught to him by his teacher. "Should I give her CPR? Mouth to mouth resuscitation?"

He looked at Kate and hardened his resolve. It was his fault, so he needed to solve this problem by himself. He placed his ear on Kate's chest to listen to her heartbeat. In order to focus, he closed his eyes. He felt something soft, but he was not in a state to think about such things.

"Her heartbeat is stable. Do I really need to do CPR?" Ethan asked himself. "There's no other choice. I need to do CPR."

His common sense had already left him and he was grasping for straws. If any medic were to see him right now, they would had slapped him silly while yelling, "You don't give CPR to a breathing person!"

Ethan gazed at Kate's pink lips. It was slightly parted, and he unconsciously gulped when he saw them.

'I need to do this.' He kept repeating these words as he slowly lowered his head. His gaze was focused on Kate's adorable lips. He unconsciously closed his eyes as his lips parted. His breathing became rough as he got closer. Their lips were about to touch when Ethan heard a cough not far from them.

His body instinctively pulled back. Ethan raised his head and saw a young man with blonde hair and light blue eyes staring at him. Standing beside him was a middle-aged man with gray hair. It was none other than Ciel and Heinz.

Ciel calmly approached the still dazed Ethan. He kneeled beside Kate and checked her for injuries. Aside from the red mark that was visibly seen on her forehead, he didn't see any other forms of injury. Of course, Ciel knew that there might be a bump growing at the back of Kate's head, but he was not too concerned about that.

For some reason, he believed that Kate would survive even if she was dropped down from a three story building. He even poked the unconscious girl's nose as if he found the whole situation funny.

"We'll take it from here," Ciel said with a smile. "Heinz, please carry Kate back to the camp."

"Yes, young master."

Heinz knelt down and gently lifted Kate from the ground. She was very light and Heinz frowned at the discovery. 'Maybe I should double the amount of snacks that she eats. She's a growing girl so she needs more nutrition.' With those thoughts in mind, Heinz carried Kate back to the camp leaving the two boys alone.

"Thank you for looking after her," Ciel eyed Ethan. There was a complicated expression on his face as he looked at the older boy in front of him. When he saw him about to kiss Kate (apply CPR), he felt slightly irritated. He knew that Ethan was only trying to help. Ciel understood that, but he felt a pain in his chest when he saw that scene.

Ethan stared back at him. He was feeling guilty and it could be seen on his face. Ciel sighed and decided to go back to the camp. There was nothing to do here, and it would be awkward if he stayed. He turned his head and walked away. But before he did, he left Ethan with some parting words.

"Let me give you a piece of advice," Ciel said. "In the future, don't give someone who is still breathing CPR. You might accidentally kill them if you do that."

Ethan watched as Ciel's back disappeared in the distance. His hand unconsciously touched his lips and felt relief and disappointment at the same time. Relief because help arrived on time. Disappointment because he missed an important chance.

"I almost kissed her," Ethan murmured. "I was so close."

-----

"Hng…"

"Looks like she's about to wake up."

"Big sister Kate is hard headed. A bump on the head is not enough to kil- hurt her. You shouldn't worry too much, Big Brother."

'I heard that you little…' Kate wanted to rebuke the familiar voice, but her head was currently hurting right now. 'This is probably how it feels to be hit on the head with a baseball bat.'

When she managed to open her eyes, the first one he saw was Ciel looking worried beside her. She completely ignored the sly fox that had a smirk plastered on her face. Kate touched her forehead and felt a slight bump when her hands made contact with the painful part.

"Where am I?" Chloe asked.

"You're in heaven," Chloe replied with a smile.

"Since you're here, I'm sure that this isn't heaven."

"Hehe, I was just joking, Big Sister Kate."

Kate rolled her eyes. If Ciel wasn't around, she would had already flicked Chloe's forehead in irritation. It was one thing to tease her while she was in pain, but being called "big sister" gave her goosebumps.

"How long was I sleeping?"

"Only an hour has passed," Ciel replied. "Don't worry, Heinz already applied first aid. It was only a minor injury."

"I see," Kate groaned and touched her head. "What happened to Ethan?"

"You can ask him yourself," Ciel said as he glanced in a certain direction.

Kate followed his gaze and saw a young man sitting under a tree. He was looking at her with a face filled with guilt. She didn't blame him for what happened because it was an accident. In order to ease the guilt that Ethan was feeling, Kate decided to cheer him up. She waved his hand and motioned for him to come close to their location.

Ethan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her gesture and stood up. 'She doesn't hate me.'

He walked towards Kate and sat beside her. Kate was still lying on the blanket, but there was a smile on her face when she greeted him. She told him that she was fine and not to worry about her.

Ethan admired the way Kate handled the situation. Instead of getting angry at him, she talked to him in a cheerful manner and explained that it was not his fault because it was an accident. She just reminded him that next time, he should always be prepared and bring some tissue wherever he go.

"It's fine. Everyone does it," Kate said in a serious tone. "Just make sure to wash your hands properly after doing your business."

Ciel and Chloe's lips twitched, but they decided not to say anything. They were afraid that Ethan might die from embarrassment if they joined the conversation.

Ethan, on the other hand, was in cloud nine and didn't pay much attention to whatever Kate was saying. He just kept on nodding his head like an obedient pet listening to his master's orders. He was smiling and looking at Kate with a gentle expression. Even the red bump on her head looked cute in Ethan's eyes.