Ren was standing in the school hall near his group of soccer teammates and cheerleaders as usual when Lumi approached him. He was a little surprised but acted normal. He was good at that. Hiding his true emotions on the inside.
"Here's your jacket back." She handed over the black zip up.
He took it and put it under the other arm to hold it in place. "Thanks."
She gave a faint smile and walked away before she could blush from the weekend events.
Chloe, the evil cheerleader, was watching from a few bodies over. She tapped Freddy who was talking to another cheerleader and gestured him to her. He squinted and then smiled walking towards Lumi.
"Hey Lumi wait up!"
She stopped and looked back as he hopped to her side. He walked her to her class and apologized for losing track of her. She played as if she understood. She could tell he was oblivious as to what really happened that night and didn't feel the need to tell him about it. She was still trying to get over the embarrassment herself.
"How about I make it up to you over dinner?" He asked with a charming smile. His blue eyes worked their magic.
Before she could think of saying no the school bell rang and he said he would pick her up tomorrow night. She sighed and plopped her side onto the wall of lockers beside her watching him run off.
During Lumi's lunch period she called Jade.
"Hey boo, feeling any better?" Lumi asked.
"Ughh how are you not sick!? We spent the whole weekend together. No. I'm all stuffed up." The nasally girl replied.
"I don't know, I think I feel ok. Anyway Freddy asked me on a date tomorrow night."
"If I could scream right now, I would. Go get it girl!" Lumi smiled.
The bell rang.
"Oh that was the bell. Feel better! Bye."
She hung up and then walked to her next class.
Lumi was dreading her last period. P.E. She hated working out and hated sweating. Thankfully she just had to take the class once a week for the semester. It was a requirement. She changed into some shorts she had outgrown and a shirt she didn't care for before heading out to the gym. Thankfully the teacher was pretty relaxed about what the students wanted to do since they knew it was a blow off class.
"Ok meet me on the track. For those who want to play soccer today, line up on the field. We are in luck since one of South Lake's famous athletes, Ren Kim, has volunteered to help out during this period. The rest of you just walk around the track field."
Lumi groaned as she walked out to the track. She started to feel warm but just assumed it was the sun but it was fall. Each day was getting colder and colder. Everytime she would turn the corner on the track she would sneak a look at Ren. He was so tall and built. It was impressive. His muscles were toned, not bulky but she could see all the curves of them when he ran. The longer top parts of his black hair slightly bouncing with each step.
Corner. God is it getting hotter. She stopped to cough.
"Keep it moving Mitchells!" The teacher shouted from the field.
Ren stopped catching the ball with the bottom of his foot to look over at Lumi. She was now bent over coughing. Before he knew it she fell to the ground. Ren ran as fast as he could to her. The teacher ran as well but he wasn't as fast.
"What's wrong?" He asked crouching down next to her. He didn't even need a moment to catch his breath. She didn't reply.
The teacher now at their side looking over Lumi who was grimacing and her eyes shut.
"Can you take her to the nurses office?"
Ren nodded and scooped Lumi up into his arms. He was definitely strong.
As they made their way to the nurses office Lumi looked up at Ren. She felt so safe in his arms. It made her warm. It was probably more so the fever she was catching though. She felt his chest. His heart was beating so fast. Ren was scared when he saw Lumi fall. It reminded him suddenly of his mother and how she lost her strength in the end. He was scared for Lumi now and wanted to get her to safety as soon as possible.
Ren barged into the nurses office with Lumi in his arms still. The nurse jumped to her feet and gestured for him to lay her down on the patient bed.
"What happened?" She asked.
"I don't know. She was coughing I think and then she fell." You could tell he was afraid because his words came out a little faster than normal speech. Without thinking Ren reached down to grab her hand and held it for the time being. The nurse took Lumi's temp.
"She's got a fever. I'll get her some medicine but she needs to go home and rest for the day. I'll call her father."
"I can take her home.We're neighbors." Ren said quickly before the nurse could take another step. The nurse fed some medicine to Lumi and that was the last thing she saw before passing out. She never let go of Ren's hand.
When they got to Lumi's house her father was aware of the situation and had the door open for Ren as he carried her inside to her room. He laid her down on her bed and covered her in her sheets.
"Thank you Ren. The nurse told me everything. You're a good guy."
"No problem Mr. Mitchell." He said never taking his gaze off Lumi.
The father noticed his concern for Lumi and left to bring some towels back. He could tell Ren would be worried if he left now and decided to offer to let him stay a little while longer.
"Can you wet these towels and put them on her forehead? I need to run out and get some medicine."
Ren nodded and took the towels from his hand and went to the bathroom next door to soak them in cold water. He heard the front door shut behind the father.
Ren walked slowly back into Lumi's room and sat beside her. He gently placed a cold towel to her forehead and used the other to dab around her face. Lumi's brow scrunched slightly from the feeling. Ren stopped for a moment and then continued to dab gently.
He stopped and watched her as she fought her fever. Ren frowned, hating the feeling of being powerless. It was one of the reasons why he trained so hard. He thought training would not only make him stronger physically but mentally as well. He was about to get up to go sit in the living room to wait for her dad to return but then he heard her speak.
"Ren." She whispered. His back to her.
"Don't leave me again please." She pleaded while unconscious.
He turned to her and saw a single tear fall from her eye. He wiped it away with the towel still in his hand. He looked down and saw her hand by his side and he held it. To his surprise she held back. She looked so tired and sick and it melted his heart. He had years to heal from his mother's death and he had healed. But he had never healed from losing Lumi, his best friend. She brought out another side of joy he had not experienced since they stopped being friends and he wanted it back in that moment. He hoped it was not too late.
"I won't leave you." He was saddened by the time they had lost.
"How did you get so tall?" She asked, her eyes still shut. He smiled at her silly question. She always knew how to cheer him up.
It was dark outside now. Lumi woke up from her slumber. She had the weirdest dream about Ren. It felt so real. Her forehead had a cold towel pressed to it. She groaned, her head was in pain and dizzy.
"Are you awake sweetie?" Her dad asked rushing to her room to sit next to her on the bed.
"Yeah…what happened?" She asked half asleep.
"You got a fever while at school and passed out. I was so scared."
"Aw dad, I'm ok." She tried her hardest to show him a genuine smile. "Sorry you had to get off work to come get me."
"Ren brought you home actually."
Lumi squinted at her father for a second.
"He did?"
"Yeah he stayed and put this towel on your head while I went to get your medicine."
"Oh…" She thought it was a part of her dream. Surely the rest was just a dream. Or was it?
The next day she stayed home from school. After a quick trip to the doctor's office she officially knew she had the flu and was now getting over the worst part but was still contagious. Jade had been texting her all day worried after hearing yesterday's events.
Her phone rang by her bed where she sat drawing out a dress sketch. She reached over to pick it up.
"Hello…"
"Lumi! I hope you are feeling better."
Lumi smiled and replied. "I sure am. Should be back at school tomorrow."
"That's good to hear. Is it true that Ren carried you all the way to the nurses office yesterday? The whole school is talking about it. Wait, weren't you supposed to go on a date with Freddy tonight?" She asked, speaking quickly.
"Ah yes…Shit, I forgot. I have to text him that I'm still recovering from the flu."
"Well, are you going to try to reschedule?" Jade asked, trying to be nosey.
Lumi shrugged "I don't know…" She thought about Ren for a moment.
"You should! I have to go. I am about to get in the car. Talk to you later!"
Lumi hung up and then pulled up her text messages.
"Hey Freddy I don't know if you heard but I'm sick so I can't go out tonight sorry."
"aww feel better Lumi."
Well that was a relief she thought. She really wasn't ready to go out with him just yet. However, maybe it would be a good idea to start trying to date. It would give her some practice. She pondered it for a moment and then heard a knock on the door.
"Sweetie, can you get that? I'm on the phone!" A shout came from her father.
Lumi scooted off her bed and went to open the front door. It was Ren. Her eyes widened. They had been seeing a lot of each other recently but still hadn't had the chance to really talk.
"Hey." Lumi greeted.
Ren looked relieved. He was glad she was up and looking well.
"You should probably go down a step. I'm still contagious."
He took a step down from the doorstep.
"I just wanted to see if you were feeling better."
"I am. Thanks for yesterday. My dad told me what you did."
Does that mean she remembers what she said? He thought.
"No worries, I mean we are neighbors after all and I know your dad gets home late from work sometimes."
Of course he just helped me because we live near each other. She thought.
"I'm sure you have these but just in case." He pulled his backpack to his side and pulled out a bag of cough drops and handed them to her.
She smiled and took them from his hand. "Thanks."
"Well I better go. I have homework to do." He said before turning to walk across the street to his home.
She watched him cross the street before closing the door and looked down at the bag of cough drops in her hand. She opened it and unwrapped one before popping it into her mouth and smiled. This is nice. She thought before walking back to her room.
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A/N: Please comment, like, and review :)