Chapter 22

"You don't look good," Kaia walks up to me right before classes and cups my face with a worried expression, "Don't stress yourself, June. Everything will be fine, I'm sure."

I nod and munch on a cereal bar, the only breakfast I'm able to eat that morning. I'm wearing my platform shoes, since they're almost four inches. Still, I feel incredibly small and weak.

It's days like these, when classes that usually take ages to finish pass in mere minutes and I don't register anything. Carlos tells me all about the latest game he's playing during literature and I have no idea what he's even talking about. He notices after I declared yeah, Fallout sounds like a nice band, and pats my arm encouragingly.

"I know you can do it June. Don't freak out."

I don't think I can. I feel like I need to throw up any moment. My face is positively green and my knees incredibly wobbly once I reach Matthew, but he doesn't seem to notice and throws an arm around my shoulders.

"Ready?" he asks with a bright grin.

No, I'm most definitely not.

I feel like I'm drained out all of my energy when I stumble back into the clubroom. Kaia rushes to steady me, holding onto my hand.

"I heard you did well, June," she says and smiles brightly, "Good job. I knew you guys are going to excel it."

I nod slowly and yawn.

"What's going on?" Liling asks curiously and walks over, pressing a hand on my forehead, "Are you not feeling well, June?"

"Just tired," I say and manage a small smile, before I grab my things and move to the back of the room.

I slump down on a beanbag and quickly slip out of my shoes. Presentation is over, presentation is really, finally over, and all the tension from the last days leaves my body rapidly. I yawn again and press my cheek against the soft stuffing of the bean bag.

"Presentations cause June a lot of stress," Kaia explains to the rest, "She can't sleep the night before because she's so nervous. It's all good now though, no worries. She just needs to sleep."

"I see," Liling hums, "We can make tea – and prepare some –"

They start discussing something I don't have the energy to listen to, so I close my eyes and pull up my knees, until I'm all curled up in the bean bag. I take off my blazer and nuzzle my face into the bean bag, and it's warm and so very comfortable and definitely not hard to fall asleep any second.

The door slams open again and there's Duncan shouting.

"What's wrong with June?"

Kaia goes to explain it all over again, and I drift off to sleep.

I wake up because something warm is touching my face. My eyelids flutter, and there are shapes and colors and I blink several times until the club room's all clear again. There's a low buzzing, Liling sits with Carlos and Duncan at their desks and they're chatting animatedly. Kaia sits across from Agatha, both working on their notebooks, and Johnny is discussing something with the VPs, their foreheads almost pressed together as they whisper secretively. I yawn again.

Then, I notice the person next to me.

"Oh, sorry," Matthew says and quickly retreats his hand, a small smile forming on his face, "I didn't want to wake you up."

I turn my head and stare at him. Matthew's crouched down next to my bean bag and he's only wearing a simple white shirt. It takes me a moment to realize he took off his hoodie and draped it over my shoulders.

"Thank you," I mumble and smile at him.

Matthew smiles back as he looks at me, his eyes dark and unreadable. Then, he reaches out and touches my face again, finger tips slowly grazing my jawline.

"You did well today," he says and his smile is so wide, "Really, good job."

"Thank you," I whisper and blink rapidly, until Matthew's face stops blurring in front of my eyes.

I have no idea what else to say, so I simply tilt my head. Matthew chuckles quietly and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "Go back to sleep, okay?"

I nod and look up at him. I don't know if my mind is making up things, but the way he looks at me leaves my body tingling.

Matthew looks hesitant all over again. He swallows and then cups my face with one of his hands. It seems like he's waiting for a sign, so I nod slowly, and the next second he leans in. Matthew's breath brushes over my cheeks as he softly, fleetingly presses his lips on mine.

I'm stunned, so very stunned, with my heart beating like it's about to jump out of my chest. Which is quite a task, considering I'm still half asleep. Meanwhile, Matthew already leaned back and now bows down to grab his hoodie from the floor.

"It fell down," he explains, all cool and collected, and drapes it back over my shoulders.

I want to read something, anything in his expression, but Matthew only smiles and brushes his fingers over my cheek again. I feel my eyelids drop as I lean into the touch, and I drift back to sleep with Matthew's warm palm cupping my face.

When I wake up again, I'm not sure if it wasn't a dream. The lights outside faded to a dark grey, and the club room is mostly empty. Johnny sits at his desk and reads through a huge stack of sheets, while the VPs and the rest of the junior pack apparently already left. On the other side of the room, Kaia and Agatha are chatting quietly.

I notice someone placed a cup of tea next to my bean bag and take a hesitant sip of it. It's hibiscus.

"Oh, you're awake," Kaia calls from her table and waves, "I was just about to wake you up. It's late, we should go home. Your mum's probably dying to know how your presentation went."

I take the cup and sit up, Matthew's hoodie falling from my shoulders.

"How long did I sleep?" I ask and rub my eyes, until my hands are black and I remember I put on an extra shade of mascara.

Kaia checks her phone. "It's seven p.m."

Well great. I feel all wobbly on my knees when I slip back into my shoes, and wrap my arms around Matthew's hoodie.

"He already left," Agatha tells me and her eyes trail to the hoodie, "Matthew, I mean. His mother called him. He told us to make sure you get home all save and sound"

"He was all worried," Kaia sighs dreamily and places a hand on her chest, "He totally wanted to drive you home himself, I'm sure. Too bad he's still carpooling with Carlos, Duncan and Liling."

"They're all carpooling?" I repeat and carefully put Matthew's hoodie in my bag, "Why aren't you joining, Agatha?"

"My boyfriend gives me rides," Agatha explains and checks her phone, "He'll be here soon so – I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Have a good night," Kaia calls and I wave.

Johnny looks up and exchanges a few words with Agatha before she leaves the room hastily, her bag swinging on her side.

"Well, let's go too?" I say and send a quick text to my mum so she isn't worried.

Kaia furrows her brows, and then goes to sit on Johnny's desk.

"President," she says and nudges his shoulder, "It's time to go home. It's late, you know?"

Johnny runs a hand through his hair, messing up his carefully gelled strands, and sighs.

"Yeah, you're right,"

He looks exhausted, and I'm sure staying this late behind isn't unusual for him. It's amazing, I think, how much work Johnny puts into the club. I feel like things surely wouldn't run as smoothly, if at all, without him.

We wait until Johnny grabbed his things and locked the door behind him. The school is mostly empty, and there's a cold breeze.

"I'll see you girls tomorrow," Johnny calls when we part in the parking lot.

I stay a little behind, giving him the chance to say something, if anything to Kaia, but he just nods. Carlos often says Johnny is way too stiff for his own good.

"Drive safely, president," Kaia says and smiles.

I lift my hand a little, and Johnny chuckles. Then, he strolls off to a small black sports car, and I wonder if his organized appearance can be reasoned by his family's money.

"You should ask Johnny to give you a ride some time," I tell Kaia.

She blinks at me. "What? Why, if there's you?"

I shrug and go to change my shoes. "I'm not always there to drive you."

On the way home, Kaia chatters about all the things I missed during club meeting, which apparently weren't that important anyway since preparations for the Christmas prom are still stuck in their early stages. Agatha and Matthew are still busy creating flyers and posters to spread all over school, while Liling is organizing a cake sell and Carlos and Duncan are set to handle everything related to the band. Johnny and the VPs busy themselves with the estimation of costs and a whole lot of paperwork for the teachers, the school directorship and any outer companies, while Kaia and I are supposed to choose a catering, a responsibility I'm not so sure I'm happy with.

"We'll handle it just fine, you'll see," Kaia reassures me, "We can look through the menus, and maybe drop by to try a few dishes, and it will be all great and well. No need to worry."

I shrug and wave her off at her place, before driving straight home.

My mum awaits me at the doorstep, and her eyes are wide.

"How did it go?" she asks immediately.

"Good," I smile, and she pulls me into a tight hug.

We spend the evening discussing the pros and cons of school presentations and whether my mum should bake Matthew a thank you cake or not. We settle it on a thank you lunch for the next day of school, and my mum tells me I should bring him home some time.

"He sounds like a great friend," she says thoughtfully.

I wonder if she suspects anything, though I didn't really hint around so far, so I only nod.

"He is."