Chapter 10

Alex was done changing into his P . E uniform, so he was waiting for Rachel to head towards the stairs . In truth Alex wanted to check on her inside or even just at the entrance of the locker room, but he felt that action might make Rachel uncomfortable . So the compromise Alex could make was to wait for Rachel at the stairs .

When Rachel was walking down the stairs she saw Alex waiting for her . Rachel was already somehow used to his actions . Even though they just met yesterday based on past examples she was sure Alex would do something like this . She even thought Alex would barge into the girls locker room .

"So Alex where is your new friend Oliver?" Rachel asked Alex as she walked pass by him . Alex followed Rachel and was walking right beside her .

"He left telling me that being a third wheel was not his style . He also told me to enjoy my youth . " Hearing the reason why Oliver wasn’t with Alex surprised Rachel . ’So that guy does have some sense to him . ’

When the two reached the school field together, a bunch of students still couldn’t get used to the idea that the Goddess of their class was with someone, especially someone who just recently transferred . Rachel herself didn’t bother explaining that Alex wasn’t her boyfriend but just a friend, she did this so that people confessing to her will lessen or better yet entirely stop .

The P . E teacher who saw everyone was already gathered decided to make the class run five laps under the scorching heat .

When the class started running, Oliver was at the head of the pack with his superior athletic ability . Alex on the other hand was jogging at a leisurely pace right beside Rachel . Since Alex was taller than Rachel he was able to block the harmful rays of the sun from reaching Rachel, he became Rachel’s shade .

Obviously Rachel noticed this kind gesture of Alex, and was once more reminded of how much Alex cared for her . ’Why does he care for me this much? Didn’t we just meet yesterday, and it wasn’t even a romantic meeting, it was a bad start . . . ’

"Hey Alex what do you think your doing?" Rachel asked Alex while continuing to run .

"What do you mean?" Alex asked genuinely confused at the question .

"You could easily caught up to Oliver at the front, but your deliberately slowing your pace to match mine . Why are you doing that?"

"Well I’m protecting you from the UV rays of the sun . "

"Why do you need to protect me? Look at everybody else they don’t need someone to block the UV rays for them . How am I any different from them that I need you to block the sun’s UV rays?" Rachel asked with a bit of irritation at the end .

"They’re them, and you’re you . To me your special, your someone I must protect . " As Alex responded to Rachel’s question, he suddenly thought . ’Was that alright? I didn’t really say anything about it being my mission, it will seem like it was just my desire to protect her . . . Ok I guess I’m safe . ’

Rachel on the other hand was blushing, she doesn’t know how many times she had blush ever since meeting Alex . She just couldn’t help it, this guy who looks like he has zero idea about girls or dating one would always successfully deliver a surprise attack . He would always say the most unexpected thing at the worse timing .

Rachel just continued jogging without saying another word . As she jogged beside Alex she felt a sense of comfort and security . Alex’s body was not big nor was he too tall, yet to Rachel the man jogging right beside her at this very moment look like he could shield her from everything . She smiled at the sense of comfort she felt .

The two silently continued their jogging, the students who heard their conversation could practically see the pink atmosphere the two created .

The boys who liked Rachel had now truly lost . Their Goddess since the start had been blushing and smiling as she stood by the transfer student . . . By Alexander’s side . They who had tried to make her smile had ultimately failed, and it was only Alexander that was able to achieve it .

. . . .

When the group was done running, the P . E teacher gave them free time . The boys invited Alex to play Basketball with them, but Alex declined . Firstly he needed to protect Rachel and right now she was tired from running, making her more vulnerable at the moment . Lastly Alex didn’t know how to play Basketball, he would only be a liability to any team he joined .

The group of boys misunderstood this as Alex just wanting to have some alone time with his girlfriend . The group of boys approached Oliver and asked him instead . Oliver looked at Alex and Rachel’s direction, he gave the two a thumbs up and smiled . Rachel also misunderstood Alex’s actions as him wanting to spend more time with her .

Rachel sat at a shade of the tree near the school field, Alex followed after her like a loyal dog . The two sat down side by side . There were no words only silence as a gentle breeze blew by, the two simply looked at their classmates play happily . Some of the girls who noticed the two felt a bit giddy seeing the two so close to each other, It was as if they had a world of their own .

The silence continued for awhile before Alex spoke . "It’s so peaceful . " "Why did you suddenly say that?" Rachel asked Alex interested why he would say such a line at this moment .

Alex was caught by surprise by another of Rachel’s questions . "Nothing really just sitting here with you watching the clouds looking at our classmates having fun feels real peaceful to me . " Alex didn’t look at Rachel trying to avoid her gaze as he continued looking at the clouds . He averted his gaze because he was afraid Rachel might notice something suspicious .

Hearing Alex’s answer and the way he continued to look at the clouds made her think that it really was peaceful .