Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Chapter 2
The fluttering of the girl's eyelids reminded him of the gentle flutter of a butterfly's wings. Behind those dusky eyelids, he could now see the blue of her irises. And the fear within them.
She moaned gently as she stirred in the infirmary bed, her head rolling to one side.
Hasselberry stood over still, his stance protective, but he crouched down slightly and fixed a smile on his face - this way, he'd seem less intimidating to the girl just waking up. She had been here a full day and these were the first signs of her regaining consciousness.
He did not speak until she had properly opened her eyes - a beautiful sea blue - and was focusing on him.
"Hey there" he said gently.
"Where … where am I?" she whispered, her eyes already scanning the white room in fear.
"Duel Academy. In the infirmary" he informed her.
"Duel Academy?" she muttered, holding her head. "How did I get here?"
"You washed up on the beach" Hasselberry said, sitting down on a chair next to her bed. "Were you on a boat?"
The girl bit her lip and looked down. She didn't want to answer that.
Hasselberry noticed the girl's hesitance, and resisted his natural instinct to make her answer him - she'd been through enough. No doubt she would feel more comfortable talking later, when she'd been assured that she was in no danger. But he still had no idea who she was. Well, he could always ask the basic questions and find out.
"What's your name?" Hasselberry murmured.
The girl's eyes met his own, their sea blue colour shining. Her baby blue hair fell over her face momentarily before slender fingers brushed it away. She twisted a lock of it around her pinkie finger as she spoke.
"Alexanderia Lyna" she muttered, so softly that he barely heard her.
"Alexanderia" he whispered.
It was a strange name, unlike the simple name 'Alexandra'. Evidently, she agreed with him.
"You can call me Alex" she said, smiling faintly.
He nodded once.
"What's your name?" she asked him.
Hasselberry focused on the blue of her eyes and the shell pink of her lips. This was the first thing she had asked him directly, without being promoted by anything he had said beforehand.
"Hasselberry" he said, and he reached his hand out.
Alex smiled at him as she placed her hand in his own and let him close his fingers around her own.
"So this is Duel Academy" she said, her voice lighter than before. "I've heard about it but I've never been here."
Her voice was lighter and seemingly more carefree, and a smile had taken its place on her face. But Hasselberry could see - because he was watching her so closely - that she was twisting her fingers together nervously. She was still uncomfortable and probably scared.
He wanted to say something more, but he didn't get a chance, because there was a knock on the door and two people entered.
Alex looked up at the two newcomers, fear in her eyes. But she relaxed when she saw a woman who was quite obviously a teacher and a boy who was quite obviously a student.
"Oh, hey, you're up" the boy grinned, walking over to the side of the bed and standing next to Hasselberry.
Hasselberry looked up at the other boy with ease - they were obviously friends. He was probably here to check on Hasselberry.
"How are you feeling?" the teacher asked.
Alex stared in confusion at her, and at the boy in the red jacket, not knowing what to say. Thankfully for her, Hasselberry noticed her hesitation and came to her rescue.
"This is Miss Fontaine. She's the school nurse" he said, gesturing to the teacher. "And this is the Sarge. Eh, I mean, this is Jaden." He grinned sheepishly.
"Hasselberry, how long has she been awake?" Miss Fontaine asked.
"Five minutes" he shrugged. "Her name's Alex."
"I see. Well, Alex, you've had quite the ride" Miss Fontaine said, smiling sympathetically as she laid one hand on Alex's shoulder gently. "It's a lucky thing that Hasselberry found you when he did, or the cold water could have proven problematic for your body temperature."
Alex didn't really understand fully, but one part of the nurse's words jumped out at her, screaming the truth. She turned to Hasselberry.
"You found me?"
"Yeah. He carried you here" Jaden answered for him, while Hasselberry himself blushed slightly.
"It was no big deal."
Hasselberry looked into the other's eyes. It was no big deal that he had carried her here, but … if he had actually saved her life? Well, it was different. And it was huge.
There were emotions in her eyes that he could read - which surprised him, since he had never been good at just looking in someone's eyes and seeing their feelings. It looked like the girl had many things to say that she couldn't. A hundred speeches, a thousand words.
But the only word that passed from her lips was "thanks."
Please R&R
