Until July *COMPLETED*

Chapter XII

Ryan left and it wasn't until a few minutes pass by that he came back.

When he did, he entered with a small bag in his hand.

"Where did you go?" Briella greeted.

"I took a very quick trip to the apothecary," he replied.

Briella furrowed her brows at his words. "The pharmacy??".

"Yes, the pharmacy.".

"I-I mean, why did you go to the pharmacy? Is everything okay?".

"No, not really. You are sick and you did tell me that you ran out of medication... I'll leave it to you now to connect the dots..." he spoke, leaving the small bag beside the warm pastries. "The pharmacist said to take two a day. Six hours between each," he added before heading back to the kitchen and extracting the tea bag from the warm beverage.

He brought her over the tea. "Now, do you want some sugar in your tea?".

"Nah, I think I'll manage this time without sugar. Not in the mood for sugar anyway...".

"Well, I guess it's good thing that I got you savoury, and not sweet... For the pastries I mean," Ryan replied.

"On that note, what did you buy me?" she asked.

"That will be for you to find out!" Ryan answered. The ends of his lips rose into a small smile.

"And... how much do I owe you?".

"What? Owe me?" Ryan repeated her question.

"Yeah, do I owe you anything?... how much did the food cost? The medicine?".

Ryan stopped for a second as he squinted his eyes, digging deeper through his thoughts.

"Hmmm... okay... I'll tell you one thing you owe me," Ryan began.

"Yes? What it is? I'll pay you anything you want," Briella said.

"Getting eager, aren't we?". A teasing smile grew on his lips.

"Okay... now it sounds like you are going to do some indecent things to me...".

As quickly as those words left Briella's mouth, the smile on Ryan's face disappeared.

"What do you mean 'indecent'!? What kind of a man do you think I am??".

A brief moment of silence.

"Hmmmm... I'm still trying to figure that out..." Briella replied.

Ryan raised an eyebrow at Briella but then let out a sigh before continuing from where he stopped. "The only thing you owe me is for you to get better...".

Briella widened her eyes at his words. "For me to get better?". Her eyes didn't come off Ryan's.

Ryan answered with a simple nod. "Yes.". A pause followed. "I know it sounds a bit... stupid, but... I want you to feel better. I like helping people out.".

'I can't imagine Dylan doing such a thing for me...' she thought to herself. Briella was never usually in awe, but Ryan's intention made this time an exception to the rule. 'Looks like everything I experience with him may be an exception to the rule.'.

They gazed at each other for a few more seconds, right before...

"Anyways, I think that will be me for now... I'll be off. If you need anything, drop me a message and I'll try to reply as soon as possible.". He paused for a second. "And remember, only two a day, with a six-hour leeway between each," Ryan added, referring to the medicine.

Briella showed her acknowledgement with a nod. "Yes.".

"Alright... I'll come by again after school to see how you are.".

"Oh, honestly though, you don't have to, Ryan," Briella replied, shaking her hands as a sheepish smile grew on her lips.

"You are right, I don't have to... but I want to," Ryan answered.

Again, his words struck a chord with Briella, she felt something in her chest, fluttering against her own will. 'It's because he is a writer, Briella. What else could you expect from a person who writes?' Her thoughts talk to her. 'He is saying all the right words... and it's scaring me...'.

"I'll see you in a few!". With that, Ryan began his way towards the door.

"H-hold up!!" Briella started.

"Hm?".

"I-I have a question to ask you...". A slight blush made its presence across Briella's cheeks.

"Yes?" Ryan inquired.

"Since I am not coming in today... I wanted to ask..." she began, then Briella reached out and grabbed her warm mug of tea. "What are you going as for today?".

She kept her eyes on Ryan, pressing the rim of her mug on her lower lip.

"Well... it did take a few days, deciding here and there. But I have come to the conclusion that I'll dress up as William Shakespeare!".

Upon hearing Ryan's words, she choked on her tea, in turn, causing her to cough. Vigorously.

"S-Shakespeare???".

"Yes, Shakespeare..." Ryan affirmed.

Seconds later, Briella erupted into a fit of laughter. "I-I am sorry... But out of all the things... Shakespeare??".

"Okay, now you are really making me regret the choice of even wanting to dress up..." Ryan spoke lowly.

"No, no. I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting that.".

"Ehh... I mean, I guess I don't really have the best creative mind when it comes to things like dressing up..." a sheepish smile grew on his lips, as his eyes lowered to the ground.

"But that's why you write really nice stories...".

Ryan looked back up at Briella. A genuine smile replaced the sheepish one that was there only seconds ago.

"You know... you always say the right things..." he voiced.

She was caught off guard by his words. She thought the same thing about him only a handful of minutes ago. 'I should really be the one saying that to you...'.

"Anyways, I better get running now. See you after school!". With that, Ryan turns around and runs out the door.

"A-alright! Good luck at school!".

"Thank you!". With that, the door closed shut.

---------

Ryan ran out of Briella's building and didn't slow down until he got to the bus stop.

While running, he couldn't help but think over their interaction. A smile grew on his lips. 'Her laugh when I told her about my costume... it sounded like the way honey tastes...'.

'It sounded so sweet hearing it...'.