Little Hearts

2 | My Little Mandarin

A/N: So. I'm sick. Whoop. My nose hurts, and it sucks. I hate it. It's making my roommate feel bad too, 'cause she thinks that she made me sick (she's been sick for the past week or so). Either way, this chapter is kinda blah, because I feel kinda blah.

I hope you like it either way though♥

Because, seriously, Dane is so flippin' cute. I don't even know what to do with him. ♥♥

Chapter Two

“Aw, Dane,” Kelly cooed, ruffling my hair. I frowned in petulance and tried to fix my hair. Thankfully, the mousse that I put in my hair this morning seemed to be helping to keep my hair pretty tame. “You didn’t have to make me a card!”

“I forgot to give it to you when you were over on Saturday,” I mumbled, still playing with my hair.

“You’re so precious.” He continued to shower me in compliments and flattery as my face grew redder by the minute. “Do you mind if I hug you?”

My heart warmed at the consideration. Most people, like Dani, didn’t even care to ask. They just wrapped their arms around me, suffocating me and not even taking my anxiety into consideration. I didn’t like to tell them outright that there was something wrong inside of my brain, but I knew that there was—and touching me just happened to trigger it sometimes.

I shrugged noncommittally and looked away with the blush still heating my face uncomfortably. His arms wrapped securely around me, not too loosely and not crushing the life out of me either. It was the most relaxed I had ever felt when someone touched me; I almost didn’t want it to end. Another human’s touch was so warm, and I had no idea.

Kelly gave me a final, firm squeeze to my waist before releasing me. A small wanting mewl nearly left me as I was once again exposed to the cold February air. I pursed my lips and kept it in though, staring at the sandwich on my lap.

“You’re the best Valentine ever.”

I flushed even more at the compliment. Focusing on eating lunch, I let Kelly ramble on about how much he enjoyed hanging out with my sister and I on Saturday. He loved Dani, which made me happy and uneasy at the same time. I knew Kelly was bisexual from all of his ramblings and our late night conversations, but what if he liked Dani more than me, found her more attractive than me?

I mentally shook myself. Look at me, thinking about Kelly as if he were my boyfriend rather than just my friend. I reprimanded myself; Kelly was just a friend, my first friend, my only friend. I began to rip off pieces of my sandwich crust when I realized that he was truly my only friend. If he left, I would be devastated. I liked having him around me. I wasn’t good at conversation, but he didn’t seem to mind and his eyes would light up every time I tossed in my two cents.

We carried on with our normal routine while these sorts of thoughts seemed to always be plaguing me. He never noticed though, of which I was thankful for. If he knew that I doubted his friendship towards me, he would chide me and lecture me on how special I was and how much he enjoyed spending time with me.

A week after I gave Kelly his card, he didn’t show up to class, and I grew immensely worried. Kelly was always in class. I nibbled on my bottom lip and skin of my thumb the entire rest of the day. Music did little to comfort me as I ate my lunch in the school garden. My stomach could barely even handle the food with the concern I felt for my friend. I spent the rest of the day feeling dizzy and tasting the blood that came from the skin I accidentally gnawed off of my lower lip.

I walked to Kelly’s house when school was over. He lived a little farther away from the school than me, but I still managed to get there quicker than if I walked home. Biting my already abused lip, I knocked timidly on his front door.