Episode 12

EPISODE TWELVE

Days have passed and well, we’re back at school and taking PE class, to make it fair, all the players for this round are girls and in the next round, the boys will play. Today’s lesson? Soccer and I’m the goalie and I know what you’re thinking “but Nicky isn’t your still hand sore from the disastrous baking you did before” well, yeah, but it’s not that sore anymore and I’m wearing thick gloves so it’s fine, and being a goalie is great, ‘coz I don’t have to run around a lot, all I have to do is stand by the goal and look awesome and block the ball and stuff, the other great thing about this is I get to watch Arden play soccer and try to be all badass, she’s so sporty! And the not-so-great thing about this is she’s on the other team and she’s a striker which means…

“Nicky! Get ready! They’re gonna pass the ball to Arden!” my teammate shouted

I looked at her, gave her a thumbs up and got ready, just because I’m head over heels in love with her doesn’t mean I’ll let her score a goal

They passed the ball to Arden and she got ready to score

“Don’t go easy on me!” I said

She smirked “oh I won’t”

She then kicked the ball as hard as she could and I almost, I repeat, almost didn’t catch it but I did so yay me! I stood with the ball in my hands, she smiled at me and ran back to her goal, I then threw the ball at a teammate and the game continues

Time’s almost up and the score is 1-1 so both teams are really trying hard to score a winning goal and by the way, Arden was not the one who scored that goal so don’t think that I went easy on her, because I didn’t…okay that was a lie, Arden did score that goal and I kinda did let her score, but can you blame me? Her beauty is really distracting anyway I have my game face on now, so no more goals

One of Arden’s teammates passed her the ball  and she was making her way towards me to score but one of my teammates got overly competitive and tried to steal the ball away from her by sliding, she  didn’t hit the ball instead she hit Arden's leg, causing her to fall forward and hit her knee on the ground

She let out a pained scream and everyone, including me, hurriedly ran to her side

“Are you okay?” I asked

She sat and answered ”...yeah”

“Is your leg alright??” our PE teacher asked

She nodded then Dana, my teammate who kicked her, quickly and repeatedly apologized

Arden, being the really nice girl that she is, tells Dana it’s ok and it’s just an accident but I really wanted to smack her or at least yell at her for being careless and overly competitive but I just let it go, Arden needs help right now, and being angry isn’t gonna help anyone

I grabbed Arden’s arm and gently helped her stand

“Can you walk?” Our PE teacher asked again

Arden nodded and tried to take a step but the moment she did that, her expression gave away the pain she felt, not to mention she squeezed my arm really tight

I noticed that her leg is starting to bruise. I turned to our teacher and said “Sir, I’m taking Arden to the clinic”

“Yeah, I think you should” he answered then dismissed the class before heading back to the teacher’s lounge

I turned to Arden and said “ok then let’s go to the clinic”

She nodded and tried to take a step which I quickly stopped her from doing

“You sure as heck not walking” I said

“And how am I supposed to get to the clinic if I don’t walk?”

“Easy” I then put her left arm around my neck, my right arm on her back and left arm behind her legs then lifted her “I’m carrying you”

“You guys make such a cute couple” Rachel, one of our classmates, commented with a smile, in which our other classmates agreed

Arden looked at them “You guys, we’re not a couple, we’re not even dating, we’re just really good friends, right Nicky?”

I faked a smile and looked at them “Yeah…we’re friends”

“That’s too bad, you two look great together” she said

And when that conversation ended, we made our way to the clinic

The clinic is not far away from the field, I guess they put it there on purpose since most accidents happen in sports field and it’s also next to an open road for easy access if an ambulance is needed. We reached the clinic, I put her down and help her walk in, the nurse immediately ask us what happened, I told her everything, she then instructed Arden to sit at the nurse’s table so she can she if her leg is alright

“Looks like you have a strained muscle, it’s mild so no need to worry” she said “I’ll just get an ice pack so we can start treating this” then she left the clinic

“How’s the leg?” I asked

“A bit painful and I think it’s a bit swollen” she answered while looking at her leg

I noticed that her knee is scrapped and bleeding, so I took out my handkerchief and wet it with water then I took some cotton and betadine then I took a chair and sat in front of Arden

“What are you doing?” she asked

“Your knee is scrapped, I’m just gonna clean it” I then gently wiping the blood and dirt off of her knee with my handkerchief. After it was clean, I poured a bit of betadine on the cotton and gently rubbed in on her knee, when I was done, I looked at her and saw her staring then she suddenly looked away, her face is kinda flushed, what is wrong with her?

I stood and touched her forehead then her cheek “Are you alright? Do you have a fever or something?”

She looked at me and I found myself staring directly at her eyes. I couldn’t look away, she didn’t look away either and we remained like that for a while, my hand on her cheek, our eyes locked and both of us blushing. The moment was cut off when the nurse entered the clinic with an ice pack

I quickly removed my hand and we both looked away, the nurse approached us, took a chair and sat in front of Arden and started treating her leg

She then turned to me and spoke “Arden will stay here for a while and rest her leg, you should go and attend your other classes, You can come back later and accompany her to her house”

I nodded and looked at Arden “I’ll, uh, see you later”

Arden nodded and then I left

Okay what just happened back there? the way she looked at me, I can’t really explain it but it seemed different

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After my classes, I went straight to the clinic, I went inside, the nurse greeted me and said that Arden was in one of the room cubicle, so I went there and looked for her. I heard her voice and another female voice so I peeked in and found her, lying in bed, happily talking to a senior who also been admitted to the clinic as well

I knocked and went in, Arden saw me and flashed me a smile

“Ready to go?” I asked

She nodded and turned to the girl “I’m going now, nice meeting you Monica”

“Nice meeting you too” she answered

I took Arden’s hand and helped her stand

I smiled at Monica “Thanks for keeping her company” and she smiled

I then asked Arden “Is it okay for you to walk your leg?”

She nodded “the nurse said it’s fine, just don’t put too much weight on it”

“You’re girlfriend’s really caring, she’s definitely a keeper” Monica commented

Arden turned to her and smiled awkwardly “um...She’s not my girlfriend…”

Everything just became awkward, I interjected “Yeah…we’re not dating, we’re just friends..really good ones”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s ok, don’t worry about it” Arden said and waved goodbye

The moment we walked outside the clinic, thunder started roaring

“Uh-oh, we better go now, it’s gonna rain soon” I said “wait here, I’ll get my bicycle”

Then I ran as fast as I could and got my bicycle. I rode it back to the clinic

“Let’s go before it starts raining” and the moment after I said that, it started raining hard

“Too late“ Arden smiled “c’mere and take shelter, you’re gonna get wet”

We sat at the bench outside of the clinic, both of us quiet, there’s tension and awkwardness in the air probably due to the fact that other people mistakenly thought Arden and I are a couple

“Um, let’s wait here a bit until the rain stops or at least subside” I said

Arden nodded then took her bag, pulled out her handkerchief and handed it to me “uh..you should wipe off some of the water on your face and head before it gives you a headache”

I gave her a half smile “thanks” then took the handkerchief and started wiping off the water from my face. After a while, I heard Arden giggling

“What?” I asked

“You have something on you cheek” she said

I touched my cheek and looked at my fingers, it has a black substance on it then I realize, It’s ink! I then looked at Arden’s handkerchief and saw a part of it that was covered with ink, I turned to Arden and showed her the handkerchief “I think you’re pen spew out some ink”

Arden quickly checked her bag and I was right it was ink, her retractable pen was next to her handkerchief so some of the ink got on the handkerchief, She looked at me, clearly embarrassed but I just smirked and both of us burst out laughing until we’re almost out of breath, we looked at each other and smiled, the tension was gone and the light comfortable vibe is back between us

Arden then took out some tissue and started wiping off the ink on my face

“Uh-oh” she said suddenly

“What is it?”

“I think I smudged it more”

“Oh well, in that case” I took her handkerchief and smudged some ink on her “you should have some on your face too” I grinned and she laughed

The rain then slowly stopped

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When we got to Arden’s apartment, it started raining again and since I don’t have an umbrella, Arden asked me to stay until the rain stops again which I gladly accepted, So here we are, sitting on the sofa and eating instant noodles while laughing at the most silly and random things with both faces free from any ink marks

“Isn’t it funny that most people think we’re together?” Arden said

“Well, I have to admit we do look good together” I joked with a hint of seriousness

“Yeah, we have chemistry!”

“Actually, we have physics, 3rd period”

Arden laughed as she lightly slapped my arm

I have to ask her, I need to know “Arden, can I ask you something”

“Sure, what is it?”

“With this whole mistaken GF/GF relationship, is there a chance, you know, for us to actually make this real? Like seriously real”

“Like be in a real relationship? Like a real couple?”

I nodded and held my breath, make or break, shit! my heart feels like it’s about to explode from all of the nervousness

Arden thought then answered “I don’t think so”

My heart instantly sank, not the answer I was expecting

She continued “I think we’re better off as best friends, I can’t really imagine us being together”

“Yeah, totally thinking the same thing..heh” I faked a smile

Arden giggled and stood “I’m gonna get a soda, want some?”

“Sure, diet coke…”

She then went to the kitchen to get the sodas

my chest suddenly felt so heavy yet empty at the same time I sighed heavily and closed my eyes, there is no way, I’m crying here

I quickly stood and left a note on the table and quickly left her apartment

I’m glad it’s still raining when I left, this way no one will see the tears that were falling from my eyes…