Gabby went into Michael's house after dinner. Two days ago, the boy gave her the double keys to his house. He excused so that the girl did not have to bother pressing the doorbell.
After the lock on the fence was opened, Gabby ran into the boy's house. Forgetting the pain in her legs, she trotted up the stairs. When Gabby was on the second floor, she could see Adam walking into the music room. She followed Adam from behind and couldn't help but smile. Adam didn't seem to know that Gabby was walking behind him.
Adam knocked softly on the door to the music room and then entered when he heard Michael's reply. The man opened the door and Gabby trailed behind him.
Before Gabby could get inside, she could feel the door bang against her nose. The girl fell backwards while holding her nose.
"Ouch!" Gabby moaned.
Adam turned his head to find Gabby holding his nose, "Gosh, young lady." He quickly grabbed Gabby's hand, "I'm really sorry."
Michael stopped playing the piano when he heard Adam's voice behind him. The man turned his head and saw Gabby sitting on the floor. Michael quickly got up from his chair and walked over to Gabby.
"Are you alright?!" Michael asked.
Adam lowered his head several times, "I'm sorry. I really don't know."
Gabby stroked her nose then nodded her head, "I'm fine."
Not long after Gabby said that, she could feel something running down her nose. She reflexively wiped her nose. Gabby took her hand away from her nose and saw blood on the back of her palm. Michael was shocked when he saw that. He turned his head and said, "Adam! What are we supposed to do?!"
"Come with me, young lady." Adam's face was serious, he walked ahead of Gabby.
Adam walked into the bathroom and asked Gabby to walk over to the sink. Michael followed behind and then held Gabby's hair back. The man turned on the tap water and told Gabby to clean the bloodstains on her nose and hands.
Not long after that, Gabby looked up and took the tissue Adam had provided. Michael turned to Gabby, wiped her face with a washcloth and asked her to come out.
"I'm really sorry young lady." Adam lowered his head.
Gabby confirmed the tissue on her nose and then moved her hand, "Don't worry, I'm fine."
"I'll come down for a while to make hot tea." Adam lowered his head once again.
After seeing Adam move away, Michael pulled Gabby's hand to his room, "You should rest."
"So you kicked me out?" Gabby asked, suddenly stopping her steps.
"Quite the opposite," Michael turned his head, "Let's sleep in my room."
As the sentence left his mouth, He could feel his cheeks turning red. His sweaty hands let go of Gabby's hand and turned around. Unlike Michael, hearing this made Gabby raise both of her eyebrows. A big smile rose on the girl's face as she stepped her foot closer to Michael.
"Oh, really?" Gabby teased.
"I don't mean that! I'll sit on the floor and you sleep on my bed!" Michael shook his head.
Michael turned around and walked away from Gabby. The man could hear Gabby's laugh, which made him feel even more embarrassed. A moment later, he felt Gabby following him from behind.
"I don't think it's weird." There was Gabby's voice from behind.
From her voice alone, Michael could tell that Gabby was smiling mockingly at him. The man ignored her then opened the door to his room. He pointed to the bed and looked at Gabby.
"Sit there." Michael briefly told her.
Gabby obeyed the man's order and sat down on Michael's thick blanket. The girl smiled broadly when she saw Michael's face that looked serious.
"You still have time to smile." Michael looked at Gabby with a cold gaze.
He walked over to Gabby and folded his arms across his chest. The boy's hand wanted to fix Gabby's slightly wet hair, but Michael held back his desire when he saw Gabby remove the tissue from her nose.
"Don't pull it out!" Michael frowned, took the tissue in Gabby's hand and put it back on her nose.
"Ouch, okay, okay." Gabby pursed her lips.
Somehow, seeing Gabby hurt made Michael's heart hurt. But the boy couldn't say that out loud. Michael's hand kept the tissue against Gabby's nose, afraid that she might remove it.
Michael remembered something, then looked into Gabby's eyes as he asked, "How's your leg?"
"It's fine." Gabby lifted her leg and showed it to Michael.
"Looks like today's your unlucky day huh?" Michael teased.
"Hmm, but at least you're here to take care of me." Gabby grinned as she saw Michael's flushed face.
After Gabby's nose stopped bleeding, Michael threw away the tissue that clogged the girl's nose earlier. When he returned to her, the girl mustered her courage to ask.
"Do you have to practice playing the piano after this?" Gabby asked quietly.
"Hmm." Michael replied curtly, his right hand smoothing Gabby's wet hair.
"Aren't you bored?" Gabby asked. Looking at Michael play with his piano every single time felt so boring for her.
Michael lowered his hand and thought for a moment before saying, "It's my routine, so I'm used to it."
When he didn't receive an answer from Gabby, Michael let out a sigh and then asked, "Is there anything wrong with that?"
Gabby looked at Michael with sparkling eyes then hugged the boy's waist, "My husband ..."
Hearing this made Michael feel something was wrong. He let go of Gabby's hug and then grabbed her shoulder, "What's wrong?"
"Come out! Let's play basketball." Gabby suggested.
Michael's eyes widened in surprise and looked at his bedroom's window. The sky was dark and Gabby asked him to play basketball? At this hour?
"It's late, we have to go to school tomorrow." Michael shook his head.
Gabby folded her arms and got up from Michael's bed. She walked toward the door and turned, "Well then, I'll just play with my friends."
"If I fell and kept getting hurt I would ask my friends to treat me." Gabby continued. She already knew how to get Michael to comply with her request.
Michael sighed and then sat on his bed, "Where do you want to play?"
"There's a basketball court around here, right?" Gabby exclaimed. The girl tried not to smile, "Come on, I guarantee playing basketball is more fun than playing the piano."
Actually, Michael had always hated sports. He preferred to read books or play the piano. But when he saw Gabby's pitiful face, he couldn't help it.
"Alright then." Michael replied, walking over to his wardrobe.
-
Arriving at the basketball court, Gabby felt her friend pulled her hand. She then turned to Michael and said, "Wait there a minute, okay?" The girl then ran toward the court to talk to her friends.
"Gabby! He wants to come play with us?" Asked Gabby's friend, Tashia, when they were quite far from Michael.
"Yes, I asked him to come with me earlier." Gabby answered and nodded her head.
Tashia blinked several times as if she could not believe what she was hearing. She tilted her head and saw Michael from a distance. The cold night wind blew the man's hair.
Tashia's face turned red when she realized that Michael had been looking at her earlier. She had only met Michael once or twice, and only then. Since the first time Tashia met him, she always thought that the boy was her destined prince.
Tashia straightened her hair then pulled Gabby's hand to get closer to Michael. The girl watched Michael's face change as she approached. A warm smile appeared on the boy's face.
Michael stepped his feet and Tashia was getting ready to be greeted by the man. Just as she was about to wave her hand, she saw Michael walking past her.
"Stay close." Michael whined then grabbed Gabby's wrist.
Tashia turned and saw Gabby chuckle at the sight of Michael. She felt embarrassed because she thought Michael had been smiling at her all along. Tashia bit her lower lip then walked away leaving them.
"Have you ever played basketball?" Gabby asked.
Michael frowned then shook his head, "No. I just stayed in the middle of the field during P.E."
"Hahaha, let's just play together first." Gabby said. She took Michael's hand and invited him to stand at the end of the field.
Gabby asked Michael to warm up for three minutes. The guy already had shortness of breath just by warming up. His face turned red and he walked over to get a bottle of water he had brought.
"I'm fine, I'm just thirsty." Michael quickly put down the bottle when he saw Gabby approaching.
"Yeah, whatever." Gabby rolled her eyes and nudged Michael's arm.
When Michael wanted to get back at Gabby, he saw a basketball rolling towards them. He then heard a male voice from a distance.
"Uh, Gabby pass the ball, please." The man was wearing a sleeveless shirt and his bangs were tied up.
"Don't wanna. Take it by yourself." Gabby turned and stuck her tongue out at the boy.
'They must be close friends.' Michael muttered to himself.
"Huh, are you still angry?" The boy walked closer to them.