Chapter 14 : Distance (Part 2)

That night, Tomoyo is having dinner together with her family. Her grandfather noticed something weird about her daughter. "Hey, Tomoyo, you've been staring there for so long. Food doesn't taste great if you just stare at it."

"...Oh! I'm sorry, oji-san." She apologized, as she eats her food.

Sonomi got curious about her daughter's behavior. She thought, maybe she's just stressed out will all the pressure she's handling now that it will be almost 2 weeks before the grand opening of their new restaurant. "Tomoyo..." she said, looking at her daughter. "... if you have any problems, do not hesitate sharing it with us. We're here to help..."

"Don't worry, Ma, I don't have any. I'm fine" she reacted.

"Well, I'm not saying that you have a problem right now. But if there is, tell us. Just sayin'." Sonomi replied.

"Sure. Thanks, Ma." then, Tomoyo continues swallowing her food.

Tomoyo went to her bedroom after dinner. Meanwhile, Sonomi, and the grandparents were in the living room. They talked about Tomoyo.

"Well, I'm getting nervous about my daughter these days." Sonomi said. "She's been like that for days. I don't know. Maybe because she's been handling so much stress already. Do you think we should intervene with her affairs?"

"What do you mean?" asked Tomoyo's Grandfather.

"I mean, look. She's been working all day long. Sometimes, she forgets to eat her breakfast. She doesn't even get enough sleep because she been working even at night. I think it will be better if she get enough rest. We should convince her to have some break... or let her enjoy a vacation! I just want her to take care of herself as of the moment, and let's run those errands for her." She explains.

"Well... we're also concerned about her." Said Tomoyo's grandma. " Last week, we've talked to our granddaughter about that. We told her that same concern that you had with her. We also asked her to take some off from work. But she refused."

"She insisted that she'll take some rest once everything is put in to order." Her grandma added.

Sonomi sighed. "how I wished I could check my daughter from time to time..."

"You don't have to worry that much, Sonomi." said Grandpa. "Tomoyo's quite hard-headed, but she tells us if she could no longer handle things. Everything will be fine. Just trust her."

It's almost 2:00 in the morning. Tomoyo is inside her bedroom, trying to sleep, but...

"ARRRRGH!" She suddenly got off her bed, she's been awake the whole night. "What have I done?!" She asked herself, as if she's angry at some point. "How the hell did I offend him?"

She's been talking to herself, walking back and forth.

"I only treated him for a snack, and... and then, he acted like that in front of me!"

"I just want to show kindness...What's wrong with him?!"

"I'm sure it's not because of the food I ordered for him. Maybe because he really wants to go home and see his father. Maybe I should not have brought him..."

"Or maybe, I'm just overacting... Maybe I showed too much kindness to him, and he felt uncomfortable..."

"Or maybe..."

Then, she realized something.

"No...he's different from other people. He might have thought about it..."

"I mean, yeah, he thinks differently, but he should take like as if we are just friends... Nothing else!"

"Or... did he?"

"Haisss! I'm dead!" Tomoyo suddenly fell in her bed. She grabbed her pillow and hugged it. "I'm so stupid." she said. "Is he thinking that we're more than just friends?"

"How should I face him tomorrow?"

"I should not have put too much pressure on him... What should I do now?"

"I should apologize to him..." As she thinks deeply on what to do with Eriol, she gently closed her eyes, and tried to fall asleep.

That morning, everyone is in the classroom - Except for Eriol and Tomoyo. Tomoyo is supposed to go with them for their second evaluation. The class should have started at 8, but it's been an hour now and because both of them isn't there yet, they can't start. Everyone's talking about them since neither of them has been late.

"Both of them aren't here, yet!" said one of the students.

"Traffic's not heavy outside so I also wonder why?" said the other one.

- "Isn't it a coincidence? Both our boss and Eriol were late today."

Then, the class changed their topic.

"Oh, speaking of which, I've just noticed that our boss is so kind to that Eriol guy. That's weird, isn't it?"

- "I think so, too. I mean, no one wants to talk to that weird man. Not even me."

"Heck, an elegant woman, with high social status, is so close to him. like, hello?"

-"You know what, I heard that he was hired because of Ms. Daidouji."

"Really?"

- "I'm not sure, but one of my friends is working for the HR Dept. But if it is true, what did she saw in him? Something fishy is going on here."

"Maybe she's got pity on him!"

- "Or maybe she's just stupid, as well..."

Chiharu just couldn't let them insult Eriol, so she answered them. "Or maybe you could just shut the hell up because you're just too envious at him!"

"Or maybe you could shut your mouth as well, nerdy girl!"

"WHAT?!" Chiharu shouted. "How dare you call me nerdy?!"

Yamazaki grabbed her hand and tried to stop her. "Don't get involved with their stupidity , Chiharu!"

Chiharu looked at him "But, Yamazaki..."

Then, Kouichi entered the room. "What's the commotion all about?"

Everyone rushed in and went to their own seats. Kouichi then start talking. "Well, one of your classmates is not here yet, which is quite unusual. Tomoyo isn't here yet. I texted her but she hasn't replied yet. We don't have a choice but to start -"

Just as he about to end his sentence, Tomoyo entered to room. "Sorry guys, I'm late." She said.

"Are you okay, Tomoyo?" Kouichi asked. "You look pale."

- "I hardly had sleep last night."

"What? Well then, let me take care of our class for today."

- "I'm fine. I can still move, but not that much." Then, she noticed something. "Eriol's not here, yet. Will he be absent, or late, or something?"

"I don't know." said Kouichi. "He's never been late... until now."

Tomoyo shrugged. "That's okay, I'll talk to him later."

Meanwhile, outside, Eriol is rushing in all the way to his class. He knew he was late, and he's afraid he might get scolded in front of everyone, including Tomoyo. He was just in a hurry. His hair was not combed properly, that you can imagine his bed hair after waking up. His Uniform was almost crumpled. But he never mind about it, he has to get into the class.

Eriol is just outside of the classroom. "I'm late..." He told himself. He's been thinking of an excuse so that he won't get scolded, like the traffic is too heavy, or his alarm clock didn't worked.

But then he thought, Tomoyo knows him. She knows he won't use any excuse to get out of a difficult situation. He's not a liar. He knew why he was late - He was not able to sleep last night, thinking of her. Then, he decided to tell her the truth, instead. He knew it was quite embarrassing, but at least he didn't hid it from her.

As he is about to enter the room, he heard some screams. He finally entered the room, and saw the people in commotion. Then...

"Ms. Tomoyo!"

He saw Tomoyo lying on the floor. She fainted. He ran towards him, trying to wake her up. He couldn't believe on what he saw - A strong, and almost tireless woman, just fainted in front of her. As others carried her into the clinic, he followed. His heart beat fast. He doesn't understand what he felt that time. Is it just worry, or is it something else?

Everyone was outside the clinic, when the doctor went out.

"What happened? He she okay?" asked Kouichi

"She's fine, don't worry." said the doctor. "She needs to take some time to rest, though. She had a mild fever. I believe she's not getting enough sleep for weeks now."

"I know, She's been through a lot of stress, right now. At some point, she doesn't even get one." Kouichi replies.

"Really?" the doctor reacted. "Maybe I should tell her not to abuse herself. Anyways, that's all for now. Just let her sleep for a while. I'll give her medications once she wakes up." And the doctor went back inside. While Kouchi told the other to go back inside. "All of you, go back inside."

While others were rushing back inside the room, Eriol was walking slowly, sometimes looking back at the clinic. Then, Kouichi noticed him "You, hurry up!"

"Y... yes, sir!" said Eriol, then he walked faster.

Hours passed, Tomoyo finally woke up. "W... what happened?" She asked was facing the window when she noticed it was already dark.

"Ah... it's dark already... " She thought her family already knew what happened. "My parents are waiting for me...I have to get up."

Tomoyo, still feeling dizzy, gently got up from the clinic's bed, and stretched her arms a bit. But as she puts down her hands, it touches something. It was like it was someone's head. She quickly lifted her hand. She's a bit surprised. Is someone looking over her while asleep?

She slowly turned her head on her left. Then, she noticed beside her.

"E...Eriol-kun..."

It was Eriol, sleeping besides her. He's been watching over her the whole time after his class. But he was so tired, he fell asleep. Tomoyo giggled, because she noticed that Eriol forgot to take his glasses off while sleeping. "Poor boy..." She wisphered.

Then, she slowly puts her hand on top of Eriol's head, and smiled.

Hello everyone! I'm very sorry for being late in updating this fic. I've been busy studying for my midterms. This might be my last update for this year. But stay tuned because next year, I promise that I will give you updates more often.

I just want to thank those who put kind words on the feedback section while I'm away, and also to those who put this fic as one of their favorites.

See you next time, and Happy holidays!