I'm finally back.

Sorry for the delay.

Thanks for reading.

My Mesmerizing Mirage

crystal-mist

Chapter 10

"Will you finally tell me what's bothering you, Alice?"

"Will you let me leave the room, Runo?"

"I can't... Do you have any idea how high your fever is? And on top of that, you're fatigued! You're so famished that glucose has to be pumped into you! Why would you want to-"

"He's here...And I want to see him."

"What?"

Runo just sat there, wide-eyed as Alice related to her about the accident. After Alice had finished, Runo stood up from her seat. "He refuses to see you, hey?"

"But Runo..." Alice stared at her blue-haired friend in surprise. That look, she knew that determined look all too well. And nothing good ever came out of it.

"Don't cry anymore, kay?" said Runo as she walked out the door whilst ignoring all words of protest that escaped the orange-haired Russian's lips.

After the door clicked to a close Alice turned her attention to the 'thing' that was still feeding her glucose. She couldn't sneak out, not until she figured out how to detach that contraption from her wrist.

One thing Runo learnt from her attempt to sneak into Shun's room was that the hospital staff albeit being uptight was very careless. So much so that she managed the supposedly unfeasible feat with extraordinary ease.

Immediately after entering the room she came face to face with the raven haired guy in question.

"Wrong room." he commented wryly.

"Not necessarily." answered Runo with a not so sweet smile. This guy, he was the root of all Alice's problems. It was his fault that Alice was hurting so much. But her mocking smile soon vanished upon seeing his injuries. He was draped in bandages here there and everywhere. "You're battered up pretty bad." there was a hint of sympathy in her voice.

"..."

"I'll get right down to business then- why didn't you let Alice see you? Do you have idea how much that action of yours hurt her?"

A hint of surprise momentarily crossed his features at the mention of the word 'hurt'. But a frown soon replaced it "And why would I answer to you?"

"You are arrogant, aren't you?"

He snorted at that. "So?"

Runo exhaled in frustration. "Alice... wants to see you. She feels guilty for what's befallen you."

Shun laid his head back down on the pillow. "If so, then she'd have already snuck in here like a 'certain someone'."

"I'm Runo Misaki." answered the bluenette knowing full well that he'd been referring to her with the 'certain someone' title.

"Hn..."

"Alice has a fever."

"How life-threatening!" exclaimed Shun, sarcastically. "She shouldn't be that bothered about me anyway." He added under his breath.

Runo tried her hardest to ignore his sarcasm. After all, she wasn't the most patient person in the universe: she had a very very short fuse, and it could go off at any moment. "Listen... Alice is worried about you. Despite what anyone may say...I can sense it in her actions, she genuinely cares for you."

Shun was stunned for a second or two. 'You're not alone, Kazami-kun'- that's what she'd told him. Although he hadn't let it show, those words alone had shaken his heart and almost taken his breath away. He shook his head free from those thoughts. "I...don't want to see her face." he lied bitterly. "I don't want to experience that aggravating compassion she radiates."

And that was the exact moment something within Runo snapped. "You don't deserve to, either." she muttered, stalking out of the room.

Runo took in a deep breath. One thing was for sure, talking to that guy was stressful- it couldn't be good for people with high blood pressure.

To her surprise a nurse was standing outside Alice's room. She stopped Runo from entering. "Miss Gehabich is asleep with a very high fever at the moment. We can't permit visitors, please understand."

Runo nodded, realizing that sneaking in wasn't an option- not when there was a nurse practically guarding the entrance. "Please take good care of her." said Runo with a bow. "I'll come visit first thing tomorrow."

"Alright."

Alice's P.O.V

I guess it must've been the anxiety- because a few minutes after Runo left for Kazami-kun's room I suddenly felt a hell of a lot worse. My head was spinning, and I was aware that my fever must've gone up a couple of degrees in the very least. I settled on the bed and closed my eyes, hoping to stall the throbbing. It was hot and very uncomfortable, it felt almost as if I were entrapped in a furnace, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't do anything but endure it.

That was, until I heard the worried murmurs of a doctor and a few nurses. They put another ice pack on my throbbing head and in a minute or two I felt a needle penetrate into my forearm- probably a sedative or painkiller. But soon after that, I uncontrollably drifted off into sleep, peaceful sleep...How nice.

Breathing suddenly became much less complicated. It felt nice, continuing in that state of slumber.

Then there was a faint creak, almost as if someone had slid the door open. It was probably one of the doctors checking up on me, or it was probably a dream. I say 'probably' because I was still much too tired to open my eyes and confirm what was happening.

There was a faint 'dragging' sound, was it? And then the next thing I knew, I felt a hand on my forehead. That's right, they were checking my fever. But then that warm hand gently stroked my forehead, tenderly running those caring fingers through my fringe. Wait, was a doctor 'supposed' to do that? But I was still queasy from whatever they'd injected into me. I couldn't think straight nor could I open my eyes. All I could concentrate on was that illogical sadness I felt when the hand moved away. Did it even make sense?

And then, that 'person' took hold of my free hand. I felt a strange pressure, and the next thing I knew my wrist was in contact with something mildly cold and metallic. What was it? Some sort of machine to monitor my condition?

"Get well soon." came a voice. A sweet voice, a voice I couldn't place- what with the queasiness I felt it was a wonder I'd heard it at all. And wait, what was that I felt on my right cheek? Was it a kiss? It felt so much like an ever so slightly lingering, sweet kiss. Impossible!

I could vaguely make out that strange dragging sound again before the door clicked to a close.

What had just happened? I was feeling dizzy despite my closed eyes and my head was whirling in perplexity.

After God knows how long I finally woke up. I felt refreshed and the fever seemed to have subsided quite nicely. But then, realization struck me like a bolt of lightning.

Author's P.O.V

Alice stared at the window absentmindedly but soon her hand flew to her right cheek, clasping it tightly, her chocolate orbs widened in alarm. Had 'that' really happened? Had some anonymous guy really sneaked in and given her a kiss? She felt freaked out and instantly stared at each of the doctors' faces in alarm.

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head from side to side." Nothing, nothing." she reassured them- silently reassuring herself that it had only been a dream.

A nurse came over to her and detached the needle that was feeding glucose into her wrist. Good, once that contraption was detached then she'd be able to sneak around to her heart's content. Victory at last! But her mental celebration came to a sudden shocking halt as she noticed something clinging onto her left wrist.

'It' felt oddly cold and metallic...'It 'felt just like the thing 'that person' had put on her. And worst of all she'd never ever seen 'it' before. 'It' was a silver bracelet studded with emeralds and 'it' looked really expensive.

Alice almost forgot to breathe as she stared at the bracelet...Someone had visited her, someone had stroked her hair...so lovingly, someone had placed the most gentle kiss on her right cheek... But who was that someone? She felt an odd mixture of surprise, curiousity and alarm... What if a doctor was hitting on her...and...

She stopped her thoughts short when Runo came barging cheerfully into the room with Dan, Baron and Julie behind her.

And then, the hospital room was so filled with chatter and laughter that Alice absolutely had no time to deliberate over the strange emerald bracelet, or the reason why Joe hadn't come to visit, or even the idea of sneaking into Shun's room.

When Alice finally did manage to get away from her friends' circle and into Shun's room, it was empty. He'd already vacated it. Alice laid her forehead dejectedly on the bedpost. "Why, why must I always have such bad timing? Kazami-kun, do you hate me now?" It would be very hard to see him again, considering the fact that she didn't know where he lived. She made up her mind that she'd stake out Haruse University if she had to. Little did she know that the actual benefactor of the bracelet was Shun himself. The dragging sound had been Shun struggling to walk with crutches attributing to his broken leg.

The day after the next Alice finally managed to go back to university. The P.E teacher issued a heartfelt apology to Alice for having 'failed to notice' her fatigue.

Presently Alice stood in front of a door. Not just any door, but the door of the literary club; the door on the other side of which sat Joe 'supposedly' engrossed in a book.

She took in a deep breath before knocking softly at the half-open door. "May I come in?"

Joe raised his eyes from his book and smiled at her. "Since when do you knock?"

"Because..." she paused, not knowing how to proceed. "You ignored me in class all day."

"I did not." he defended immediately.

Alice pulled a chair right in front of him and sat there. "You did too...You also...didn't come visit me in the hospital." she spoke, masking her blush.

"Well that's beca-"

"Everyone else came!"

Joe stared at Alice, their gazes locking and he couldn't help but to give in. "I had a reason..."

"Huh?"

"The thing is..." Joe paused, his face looking so distant all of a sudden. "That day when you were running the fourteen rounds...and when I tried to stop you...You totally shooed me off." He propped his chin on his palm and turned his gaze towards Alice. "You treated me as if I were an outsider... You pushed me away so blatantly and it was plain to see that you didn't want me to interfere."

Alice stared at Joe wordlessly. That sadness in his eyes only made her feel guiltier. "Joe, I..."

"I was afraid..." continued Joe, ignoring her failed attempt at framing a sentence. "Afraid that you'd treat me like that again. That's why I didn't come to see you and 'ignored' you. Forgive me."

"No. I'm sorry... I didn't realize that I'd...well-" In actuality She was so set on completing the rounds that she hadn't actually 'noticed' that it was Joe who tried to hold her back from running. But she couldn't tell him that now, could she?

"Never mind..." spoke Joe, his face suddenly lighting up in a smile. "You're feeling better?"

"Uh-huh." she answered glad that Joe had brightened up.

"That's good then." whispered Joe, leaning forwards and touching his forehead to hers. "I'm glad."

Alice held her breath as her eyes locked with Joe's. She couldn't deny that her heart was beating so fast. The best thing was that comforting aura that radiated from him. He gave her a feeling of protection, like she was safe, like she needn't worry about anything when she was with him.

"You're so different..." she whispered softly.

"Who're you comparing me to?" he asked, his heart already afloat with joy.

Alice's eyes widened as she realized that she'd been comparing Joe to Shun just now. She immediately pulled her face away, doing all she could to mask the embarrassment and/or astonishment.

Joe watched dreamily as Alice hurried to a nearby bookshelf. She was blushing quite profusely, as was he.

True to her plan Alice staked out Haruse University day after day but Shun never emerged from the gates. Well, from Runo'd told her Shun was quite seriously injured so he might not have recovered yet. But then, that searing guilt/concern wouldn't let Alice rest. So Alice would wait for him everyday at the gate after her classes.

Days turned into weeks and soon an entire month had passed by.

On this particular day Alice had ended up waiting until eight in the evening. She sighed heavily as she started walking in the direction of her house. Another day, another failure.

Quite suddenly a black Porsche skidded to a stop right near her. She sped up her pace but the Porsche only sailed right beside her. The window slowly drew open revealing the face of a man. She couldn't see the face since it was still hidden in semi-darkness.

Alice gulped as she broke out into a sprint, knowing full well that Porsches would easily catch up with sprinting college girls.

"You getting in or what?" called out a male voice impatiently.

Alice immediately came to a halt and whirled around. "Kazami-kun!" she exclaimed in relief.

"Get in." he instructed simply.

Alice obeyed him without another word. The car sped away in the direction of her house. She kept staring at her lap, she couldn't stop her fingers from trembling or her stomach from doing somersaults.

"You've recovered?" she asked softly.

"Hn..."

"Kazami-kun, please answer me."

"Let's put it this way- thanks to you I had to buy a new car."

"Oh..." her voice dropped remembering how Runo's mentioned a broken leg. It probably still hurt him to walk. "I'm sorry...so sorry."

"Yeah whatever...Don't get me wrong. I'm only dropping you home because it's late; it's an 'obligation' as you put it before."

"I understand that." she spoke, still staring at the floral patterns on her skirt. "But then, why did Kazami-kun do 'that'?"

"That?"

"Why did you save me? Why did you throw yourself in front of a moving vehicle for me?"

"Don't flatter yourself. It wasn't something that I'd fully intended to do. It was just reflex. If I were ever given a second chance to live out that moment I would've let you get squashed by that vehicle." he spoke harshly.

Alice's face bore and extremely defected expression. She dropped her gaze and stared at her own hands. "Really?" she asked.

Shun pulled the car to a halt in front of a café. He closed his eyes slowly "Not really...That was a lie." he muttered closing the window with his face turned away from her. "No matter how many times that moment may repeat..." his eyes locked with hers. "You'd still be safe."

"Kazam-"

"Coffee." he cut her short. "My treat." he motioned at the café.

She blinked at him before breaking out into a smile. "Thank you."

"Idiot!" Shun chuckled. "Why would you thank someone like me?"

Yeah, so I had to stop it there. I'm sure all of you've noticed that Alice is really more than just a bit "confused" heehee.

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