Galene could have sworn she was fast enough to outrun Drystan but the moment she tried to run away, Drystan took a hold of her and pinned her to the wall. Drystan whose whole face was burning red still stared at Galene as she tried to get away from him. Right at this moment when he was so close to her felt like a dream.
He let out a sigh before gently holding her hands and leaning his head on her shoulders. He was very much trying to control himself from kissing Galene again. Being this close and being able to hold her was making him insane.
"Don't run Astraea, we wouldn't be able to talk properly if you did"
Right now, Galene was experiencing a turmoil of emotions coursing through her whole being. She was confused, nervous even, and yet she could feel her heart beating loudly. Galene knew that Drystan was making sense about her not running away but she didn't know what to do, Drystan's sudden confession and that kiss were making her mind hazy. She had so many questions that she didn't even want to know the answer because if she did she knew she would start feeling awkward around him.
"What–"
Drystan looked up and met Galene's trembling gaze on him.
"What if I don't wanna talk?"
Drystan understood what she meant, she was trying to process everything that was evident. He let out another sigh and moved away from her, Even though he still wanted to be close to her, he needed to give her some space.
"Then tell me when you're ready to talk about it, I'll wait, you didn't need to run"
It was just that easy, after all, she didn't need to run. Even if she did, it was sure now that Drystan would only come after her to tell her this. She didn't need to completely avoid him.
"And just to make things clear, I didn't avoid talking with you because I didn't like it. I just couldn't talk to you the same way as before now that my feelings are different"
Drystan was finally able to tell her and clear up their misunderstanding but he was worried that this might lead to an irreparable relationship between the two of them. He didn't know what Galene's feelings for him were, if things turned out for the worse, their somewhat weird friendship could even be ruined.
"Then, I'll take my time"
Galene said while avoiding the gaze of Drystan who was now smiling sadly at her. She couldn't see him eye to eye now. Even when she was so used to rejecting men, somehow she couldn't bring herself to reject Drystan outright and it was overwhelming for her.
Drystan knew he was risking everything on this, their school was now officially on its mid-year break. It's a two-week break and he knew that so many things could happen within those two weeks.
But, seeing how Galene didn't bluntly reject him, he wanted to at least hope a little bit.
He did say that it was alright, that he would wait but Drystan could feel himself draining as the two-week break passed by so painfully slowly. Within those two weeks, he cooped himself up in his room. While that was normally the case, he would be writing songs during those times but this one was different.
He couldn't write anything at all and his mind kept on wandering to what Galene's decision was. His very thoughts were invaded by Galene alone.
It was excruciating but Drystan was determined to give Galene her space. It even reached the point where he stopped himself from wanting to send her messages. He missed her like crazy and it was enough to say that it drove him insane.
It was near the end of their break when Drystan's body gave in and fell sick. The building-up anxiety and frustration finally took its toll on his body.
"You're telling me Drystan's sick? That Drystan?"
Galene stared at Serenity and Malkiel who were talking in front of the group. Her gaze quickly shifted to Drystan's seat which was still empty.
"We were surprised too, this is the first time this happened"
"Yeah, that's why he can't come to school today because apparently he was still sick"
Galene didn't know what to feel, she was worried about Drystan's health but there was also a part of her that was happy because she didn't need to deal with him. If she was telling the truth, this past two weeks for pure torture for her.
She was so confused and no matter how logically she tried to think about Drystan's confession it just didn't make sense for her.
He hated her, that's why she had fun pushing his buttons before, and yet she liked talking to him that's why she got angry when he made it obvious that he couldn't converse with her. She knew in herself that what she felt for Drystan was far from love and yet whenever she thought about their kiss, she couldn't help but feel butterflies in her stomach.
Was she attracted to him then? If she was, would it be the right choice to move forward with him? If they try being in a relationship and it doesn't work out, the thing that he hated the most would happen. It would be awkward and it may even lead to the downfall of his band. She didn't want that to happen.
She saw what happened between Serenity and Malkiel before, even if they were together now, there came a time when the air between the group felt heavy. She didn't want that to happen again. If the band was important to Drystan, their group of friends was important for her too. It was the only company where she felt safe and happy, she didn't want to ruin that.
And yet that same heavy air would still happen if she rejected Drystan.
Malkiel, Serenity, Quincey, and Koa simultaneously glanced at Galene when she let out a heavy sigh. They somehow knew the gist of what happened between the two when they came back together blushing two weeks ago. Although none of them asked and both Drystan and Galene didn't talk after that, they knew.
"'HEY HEY HEY"
Everyone's attention shifted to Kenzo who was rushing inside the room.
"HEY GUYS GUESS WHAT"
"Kenzo damn it, lower your voice, it's too early in the morning to shout"
Quincey glared at Kenzo who was making a face just to piss her off more.
"Anyway, someone gave us another gig that wasn't on the schedule but Miss Emily said she didn't know how to respond since Drystan is absent today"
"Ahh she did need to discuss it with Drystan"
It was then that Quincey smiled menacingly and stated.
"Well, isn't it the manager's job to cascade these things with the leader of the band?"
Galene instantly froze for a second before glaring at Quincey who was now laughing at her. She hated it when Quincey got ideas because most of the time, they aren't nice ideas.
"Miss Emily also said that it came from a huge name in the music industry"
Everyone's attention went to Galene who was now sighing.
She then stood up, no matter how much she hated Quincey, she did make a point.
"No need to look at me, I get it, I'll go to Miss Emily first"