Something More, Maybe
"It's really hot," Yusuke panted. It was so hot that Yusuke felt like he was drowning in his sweat. Of course, sitting on the school's rooftop in scorching heat during the hottest season—summer—didn't help, but where else could he find such peace and quite? Up here, no one disturbed him—no one except her.
The door to the rooftop swung open, followed by Keiko's voice. "Yusuke, you skipped class again!"
Yusuke sighed. "Is that such a shocker?"
Surprisingly, she didn't yell or smack him for being cheeky. Instead she stepped in front of him, knelt down and brought her face close to his. Their eyes met; hers locked on his and his on hers.
Yusuke waited for her to say something—anything; however, she said nothing. She just moved her face closer to his. She was so close. Had she ever been this close before?
"Um Keiko," was all he managed to say as his pulse raced. He wanted desperately to back away, but suddenly he felt weak, paralyzed. Plus, his back was pressed against a hard uncomfortable brick wall, causing his body to ache. There was nowhere for him to run.
She placed her hand on each side of his face, leaning further in. His stomach churned. Was he nervous? No, he couldn't be. After all, it was just Keiko. Yeah, just Keiko, he thought, and she smells wonderful. He breathed in the sweet scent of her shampoo. What was happening to him?
"Yusuke," Keiko said softly as she ran her fingers through is sweat drenched hair. The gesture made him feel hot inside and out. No, this is Keiko! He tried to remind himself of this over and over, but he couldn't.
Gazing into her lovely eyes he felt different, strange—like he was fading into some dream. Everything was becoming hazy—everything, except Keiko. He could see her light brown hair, her bright brown eyes, her soft and full lips—they were moving. Keiko was saying something, but he couldn't hear her. His head was pounding so loud it drowned out her voice. She drew closer and without meaning to he closed his eyes and whispered, "Keiko."
Yusuke opened his eyes, surprised to find that he had absolutely no idea where he was. He was on a bed and feeling horrible. He heard a door open. Though, Yusuke felt groggy, a bit weak and completely confused, he managed to sit up. As he did so, he heard Keiko's voice. "Yusuke, you should be resting."
"Where am I," Yusuke asked, as he watched her scoot a chair beside him and sit down.
"The hospital. You fainted," Keiko explained. "Your mom was here, but when the doctors said you'd be okay she went home."
Somehow, he doubted his mother had gone home. She was probably downing a number of beers at this very moment, and Yusuke had learned, a long time ago, not to care. More important concerns plagued him, like fainting and ending up in a hospital. "Why did I faint?"
"Heat exhaustion." Yusuke couldn't believe it. Heat exhaustion. "I thought something might be wrong. You looked pale and then when I felt your cheeks, you were so warm." Her eyes grew misty. "Then you collapsed. I was so scared."
"I'm sorry," was all he could say, and, "You can hit me."
Rising from her seat, Keiko stood in front of him. She really was going to hit him; though, he guessed he deserved it, having worried her so much. So, he closed his eyes and braced himself; however, the impact of her hand across his face never came. Instead he felt her arms slide around his neck.
"I'm so glad you're okay," she said.
And as he returned her hug, Yusuke couldn't help thinking about how close she was. He couldn't help thinking about how close she'd been, when they were on the rooftop; He felt so strange then: He'd been dizzy, his head pounded, his pulse sped up, his stomach churned, it felt hard to breath, he felt weak and faint; But that was from heat exhaustion. Still, when he hugged her tighter, Yusuke wondered, Could it have been something more. He smiled and thought, Maybe.
The End