A/N: i hate the escape key. or backspace key. whatever that i pressed that made me go back a page and lose whatever progress i had in replying to the reviews... oh my fuck... i was like ONE word away from pressing save and then BOOM, back to square one. oahajdfjnagfasmfamsf
majic91: thank you for the thought; i appreciate it regardless :P and yeah, i love white nut, it tastes great. i mean, chocolate chip is great and all, but white macedenoaiasia (thats not how you spell it but i cant be bothered to check right now :P) nut just tastes better!
kittenxxkisses: i put quite a bit of emphasis on my description of emotions because i think it plays a big part in developing a character. thank you for all the praises, of course :P and nope, im not a published author or else ill probably be writing away in secret and not uploading anything. (i think my writing is a bit too amateurish anyway :/) im a singaporean, and im 17 this year. i normally hang out at dhoby ghaut, or at Orchard road because of the cinemas and people there :)
QuantumKhaos: welcome back! i really missed your crazy long-assed reviews that never fail to make me laugh :D haha. my gf went pms on me on valentines, and we broke up a day after that -.- but hey, it was bound to happen so better now then later. and ill guess that you're a girl, mainly because no guy would go through so much trouble to type out all that *actions* and stuff :P
CakeBook: you dont know how much i enjoy hearing people laughing at my stories. it gives me a big sense of achievement :) so yes, thank you! i think i wrote something else previously before the delete, but i cant remember it anymore :/
Ayumi Sakuragi: complicated name there! thanks again, and i was intending to write sydney and adrian's first meeting in this chapter, then thought better of it since im too tired. anyway, its going to be pretty tough to write because adrian's gonna really piss sydney off, and of course, there's that little spark between them the moment they meet ;) ill leave that for the next chapter.
OKAY THATS IT. Thank god i didnt press backspace this time...
Lissa couldn't sleep.
She had tried to for the past hour, but only succeeded in tossing and turning in bed, kicking off the covers every few minutes because it felt too uncomfortable, then pulling it back over her body when a cold draught whipped in from the open window. She almost wished that her leg was still elevated and bounded – at least that meant that she couldn't keep squirming around.
Another half hour ticked by before frustration got the better of her. Propping up her pillow against the headboard of her bed angrily, Lissa settled against it, careful not to aggravate her healing ankle. According to Sydney, she would be up and running by Thursday, but that was only if she got sufficient rest to promote and accelerate her recovery.
And her little bout of insomnia wasn't exactly aiding matters.
A loud knock on the door followed by some blurred shouting snapped Lissa out of her thoughts, and she frowned. It was almost midnight; who would be seeking out the doctor at this time? Shifting her body slightly, she leaned sideways and peered through the doorway to the entrance of the building just in time to see Christian dragging what appeared to be a limp body into the cabin.
"What happened to him?" Lissa heard Sydney ask the moment Christian stopped grunting from exertion, and her voice was not without a pointed lack of concern or anxiety for her patient's health.
Christian heaved out an exasperated sigh and nudged the motionless man with his foot. "Get up, Adrian. Stop pretending that you're dead. Nobody dies from a blow to the balls."
The man – Adrian? – grumbled something unintelligible.
Appeasing her overwhelming curiosity, she carefully lowered herself off the bed and onto her good foot, gingerly putting a little bit of weight onto her injured ankle. When it held strong and only gave a slight squeak of protest, she padded over slowly and silently to the doorway and peeked at what was going on.
"Get up, Adrian!" Christian hissed, prodding at Adrian's shoulder with his toe ruthlessly until it caused Adrian to roll over with an 'umph'. "You're an Instructor, for God's sakes! Stop spoiling our damn image by lying around like a boneless baboon!"
"At least a boneless baboon has his testicles intact!"
An Instructor? Lissa frowned. Adrian was an Instructor? Now, that explained why he appeared older, though not much more sensible then a twelve-year old, if his actions right then were any indication about his mental age.
A twang of pain shot up her ankle when Lissa absently placed more weight on it, and she almost cried out from the agony. Pressing her lips together, she leaned against the wall and sank slowly to the ground, cursing her lack of vigilance.
"… fucking dramatic son of a bitch," Christian was saying with a resigned shake of his head, pointing to Adrian who was making a big show out of crawling onto the chair Sydney had set aside for him. "He's fine, really. There's nothing wrong with him." The last two sentences were addressed at Sydney, who just nodded emotionlessly – not looking the least bit frantic or dumbfounded – as if such a happening was not out of the ordinary.
"I beg to differ," Adrian croaked with a wag of his finger from his perch on the chair, drawing Lissa's attention back to him. "This is my manhood we're talking about! Who knows what the repercussions might be? Better to be on the safe side by getting it checked."
Christian slumped into a chair of his own on the other side of the room. "Have it your way then," he mumbled, "but I don't think Sydney would agree to it anyway."
This was met by a questioning lift of Adrian's eyebrow, the change of his mood so spontaneous that it startled Lissa. "Are you sure? Most women actually enjoy doing that." His expression turned silently pensive before he shrugged. "Actually, make that all women."
Adrian's amendment had Lissa poking her head out again, despite the ache in her ankle she was futilely trying to assuage by rubbing circles over it with her palm. Adrian sported the same physique as the other Instructors; his body lean and packed with muscle. His long, disheveled brown hair was badly in need of a trim, but it gave his otherwise hard and sharp facial features an almost boyish quality that no doubt most women found endearing. Lissa suddenly had a sniggering suspicion that one of the requirements of making the position of Instructor is to be incredibly handsome – as evidence by the three Instructors in charge in camp.
Lissa found him attractive – she would be worried if she didn't, because Adrian is undeniably gorgeous as well – but not in a way that had her breath catching and causing her to lose her ability of speech like Chris –
Not going to think about him, remember?
Her eyes swung to Sydney, who was studiously ignoring the other two people in the room as if she was trying really hard to imagine that they didn't exist. She had her back to the duo that was still arguing, and was arranging the medical equipment into neat rows.
However, there was something to her movements that struck Lissa as odd. Squinting, she stretched her head out even further around the doorframe –
"Lissa?"
The sound of her name had Lissa jerking in surprise, and her hand that was supporting her awkward pose gave way, causing her to fall haphazardly sideways onto the floor.
"Lissa!" Christian appeared in front of her moments later, lines of tension branching out from his eyes. "You alright?"
She nodded hurriedly, averting his gaze as she felt her cheeks heat up in mortification. What a way to be discovered!
Large, warm hands cupped her cheeks and urged her to look at him. Reluctantly, she did, meeting Christian's gaze and feeling something infinitely tender swirl inside of her when she saw the concern and fear in his eyes. "Are you alright, Lissa?" He repeated, this time softer and more tentatively as he helped her up.
"Yes, I am – Ouch!" She winced when her ankle started to throb in earnest the moment she was on her feet. If Christian's hands weren't around her shoulders and supporting her, she would probably have collapsed to the floor in a tangled heap.
"Oh, fuck." Understanding dawned, and Christian glanced at her leg, blowing out a breath slowly. "Sydney?" He called out, never taking his eyes off her injury. "We have a problem here."
Sydney floated over, seemingly an apparition in her white doctor robes and how silently she moved over the parquet flooring. She took in everything in a split second and gestured for Christian to place Lissa back down on her bed.
"Hey, what about me?" Adrian complained from outside, a pout to his voice.
Everybody ignored him.
Without hesitation, Christian scooped Lissa up effortlessly, and if Lissa had harbored doubts about his strength before, it was cleared in that instant. He carried her over to the bed and laid her down with a gentleness that gave rise to even more tumultuous emotions within her.
Sydney's cool, light touch against her skin made her flinch. When Sydney applied just a little pressure on her ankle, however, she buried her face in the pillow to smother her scream. It hurt even more now than it did when she was initially injured – probably because then, she was sinking in and out of consciousness.
"The swelling's back," Sydney said, her tone slightly chiding. "I told you to rest, Lissa. Now your ankle is going to take even longer to heal. All that process you previously made? All gone." She shook her head. "You might take days to recover, now – "
"That's enough, Sydney." Christian intervened firmly, as if sensing Lissa's growing distress in the face of the doctor's admonishment. "I'll see to Lissa. Can you go talk to Adrian now?"
Sydney's expression didn't alter a bit, though Lissa spotted a muscle near her eye bunching up. "Yes, I think I'll do that," she agreed tonelessly before walking out, her white coat fluttering behind her from the wind generated by the motion of her pivoting on her heels.
"I didn't mean to – " Lissa began the instant Sydney left, feeling the need to explain to Christian the reason for doing what she did. It was born out of habit; she had always done so whenever her parents lectured her for her misbehavior – trying to explain herself. Of course, her parents had also punished her for doing that, as they viewed it as a kind of 'disrespect'.
Her mouth clamped shut on its own accord. This reaction, however, was ingrained into her through fear.
Christian waited patiently by her side, and when it became obvious that she wasn't about to continue, he just smiled and poured her a cup of water, unaware of how close she was to tears. "Drink," he said, handing it to her.
Not meeting his eyes for fear that he might see the naked emotions swimming in her eyes, she accepted the cup and drank slowly out of it, wishing that he would just leave her alone so she wouldn't feel so vulnerable, so… readable.
He didn't, and after another tense minute, an odd sense of peace settled over Lissa.
Handing the empty cup back to Christian, she nestled herself more comfortably between the covers, suddenly feeling sleepy. Stifling a yawn, she felt her eyelids droop shut. She could feel Christian's presence next to her, and it calmed her, comforted her like nothing or nobody else ever had.
He made her feel safe and untouchable.
That should have alarmed her, but she was too tired.
In seconds, she was sound asleep.