~Chapter 17~

It was hot.

Very hot.

Unbearably hot.

It felt as if he's inside of a furnace....or rather inside that accursed building which he willingly burned along with her in it.

He wants to run away, away to a cool place, somewhere she can never reach out her claws to him.

Somewhere she can never call out his name in such a sickening sweet manner that he'll have to hate his own name including his existence.

He can't breathe, he wants to breathe but he can't….the heat is getting him, the burning flames is chasing him very close.

Just as he was about to give up, he was encased into something bright before his ears started to pick up the sound of something else other than growling fire, his nose recognized the scent of rain and sweet scent of grass.

When he opened his eyes, everything before him seemed blurry but gradually his vision cleared. He felt something wet on his forehead that turned out to be a wet handkerchief. His room was semi illuminated with a candle. Was there a power cut? He didn't have to find much about this odd situation for he saw golden….no…blonde streaks of hair resting its head on his bed. The owner of that hair is supposedly sleeping but on his movement of trying to sit up, she blinked her eyes and then looked at him. Then she broke out into a smile of relief.

"Oh good looks like you stopped sweating. As for your temperature….." Rio stifled a gasp when she brought her face close to him...…too close to him in order to touch their forehead. He didn't flinch away. In fact he didn't feel the need to flinch away as she touched her forehead with his to check the temperature. "….mmm yep you don't have high temperature anymore. But you might be weak, so please lay down."

If someone told Rio about his future involvement with the popular girl Emilia Johannes before the start of his senior year he'd have dismissed it as some sort of prank or lie because never in his dream could he ever expect that THE Emilia Johannes would be in his room, tending to his sickness. Emilia is an attractive girl, he too finds her attractive but internally he knows that she isn't someone whom he should drag down to his messy life and murky self. She deserves something, someone better than him. Someone who is not as broken as him. It irked him to imagine her beside someone else, but he's a fool for she was never his to begin with.

Those kisses?...he's sure they don't mean anything to her. She might've met or kissed with guys who were far more better than him. When she was measuring his temperature, she had closed her eyes to focus but he didn't. He had stared at her face, her closed eyelids, her dark black eyelashes, her thinly trimmed eyebrows, her nose and her plump lips that seemed to be inviting but that's the line and border he dared not to cross anymore when clearly she had showed him his place in her life as 'friends'.

"As you can see I am fine now. So you can go home now." Rio gulped. He didn't receive any response from the girl so he looked at her who was looking at him with a blank expression. Then she shook her head.

"Dude, some kind of guy you are. Did you see the horrible storm that is brewing outside?" She pulled away the curtains that were covering the window. Indeed it was still raining accompanied by thunder and lightening. "I cann—no I refuse to go out in this condition and I will not leave until you are absolutely fine. Sit tight and I'll make you something delicious." She tied up her hair into a bun and left the room.

Was she wearing his sweatpants and shirt?

Emilia heaved a sigh of relief when she exited the room. She really panicked when he collapsed like that. Then she had to half drag him and half carry him on her back to the only open room of the house that she presumed to be his bedroom since all other rooms of the first floor seemed to be locked. On the account of her being soaking wet, his pajamas too have become damp. She made him rest on floor and quickly scanned his room for a closet in order to find any other sets of clothes. One set for him and another for her. She knows that she's being out rightly rude and taking advantage of a sick boy but has to handle to immediate need at present and that is to get out of her soaked clothes and get his damp pajama shirt changed. She hunted through the closet that seemed like an old bridal closet and found another shirt of the pajama set and she borrowed another pair of sweatpants and shirt. She quickly rushed downstairs and after searching a bit, she found the kitchen and also the bathroom. She changed her clothes swiftly and threw them inside the dryer. She didn't have any extra pair of undergarments so she had to go commando.

After she changed his damp pajama shirt she laid him back on his bed. Her phone buzzed with an alert of heavy thundershowers and a possible power cut.

Great! Just freaking great!

Emilia tried calling her aunt but it went straight to voicemail, so she left her a voicemail explaining the entire situation and assuring her that she is safe and fine and would return as soon as the sky clears up. She even left her a message in Whatsapp in case her aunt forgets to check the voicemail.

Since there'll be a power cut Emilia had to find a substitute light because her mobile's flashlight may not last long. She fished for candles in the kitchen cabinets and found three. She also found matchboxes. When she returned to the room she found Rio sweating profusely and his entire body was burning up. She once again rushed to the kitchen to fill some cold water. She didn't know where towels were kept so she decided to use her own handkerchief.

Not a recommended healthy choice but she really hasn't used this handkerchief this week.

Emilia had to wipe down the sweat on Rio's forehead and after some time, he sleepily got up and tried to take off his pajamas to which she barely held him off trying assure him mumbling of "it's hot it's hot" with a; "Lie down lie down. Don't take off your shirt I'll wipe you lie down now." Emilia had take several gulps and control herself to the fullest when she saw his porcelain skin under the shirt. When she was changing his damp shirt previously she had looked the other way to control her blush but this time she cannot wipe down someone without looking at them! She had to repeatedly remind herself not to be inhuman enough to take advantage of a sick person like Rio no matter how delicious he looked at present. She got a hint of his deliciousness when his pajamas hung loosely from his body when he opened the door for her but she meant to get out of there as soon as she handed over the documents to him but fate had other plans.

She was wiping him down when it started.