𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮 » 𝐍𝐢-𝐤𝐢 | (𝐈 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮) 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟐

ix

My hands started to sweat as I approached their house, the closer I got, the more nervous I felt. I raised my hand, about to knock but suddenly stopped. My body just froze. Am I really doing the right thing? Maybe I should just go home and wait for Ni-ki to get better. Biting my lip, I thought about my next move, should I go home instead? But that might make things between him and I worse.

I took a deep breath before knocking on the door, taking a few steps backwards to be polite, somehow. My grip on the straps of my bag became tighter as I hear footsteps approaching the door. As soon as the door opened, I smiled, trying to hide how nervous I actually was. There, stood a woman  who I assume is Ni-ki's mom.

She gave me a warm smile which made me calm down a bit. She seems nice. "Good afternoon young lady. Are you here to visit Ni-ki?"

"Yeah." I answer shyly. "I'm Luna, I'm a classmate of his."

"Luna?" She asked in which I nod to. She nods her head her head with a smile, as if knowing something that I don't. "Well, would you like to come in? He's up in his room."

"Thank you." I smiled before entering. Their house was nice, it felt really cozy. I felt comfortable as soon as I walked in, it felt like home even though I had never been here before. I carefully followed behind her as she walked up the stairs. On the walls hang their family pictures and a few of Ni-ki's pictures when he was still a baby. I smiled as I pass by each one, nothing changed, he still looks cute.

We stopped in front of a door, she opened it slightly and amidst the dim room, I could see Ni-ki peacefully sleeping on his bed. "If you need anything, I'll be downstairs."

"Thank you." I replied as she starts to make her way down. I walked in as quietly as I can, trying not to wake him up. A few of Michael Jackson's posters were on his door. His room was a bit messy but not too much, I didn't mind either. I carefully walked in, making sure not to bump into objects or cause too much noise. There was a chair nearby where I decided to place my bag. As I look at Ni-ki, I felt bad. It somehow feels like he became sick because of me.

I carefully sat on his bed beside him. The sheets were covering up to half of his face, all I could see were his eyes which were closed. I placed the back of my hand on his forehead to check his temperature, it's hot. He has a high fever.

"I'm sorry." I whisper as I took back my hand. "I didn't mean to make you mad, I was too careless and didn't think about what you would have felt." 5

I sat there for awhile as silence surrounded me inside his dark room. Even though he was just sleeping, I felt comfort around his presence. I carefully moved aside the strands of hair covering his face, causing me to see the mole undearneath his eyes. With a smile on my face, I touched it softly with my thumb. "Pretty. The prettiest boy I had ever seen. How did I become so lucky to have you?". It always impressed me how many moles he had on his face. It was like God took time in creating him. His moles looked like constellations. And him? He himself looks like a work of art.

I sighed. Maybe I should go home for now. It would be good for him as well, at least he can rest. As I stood up to take my bag, I felt a hand softly gripping my wrist. "Don't leave me." He mumbles, his voice sounding tired.

"Ni-ki, you're awake." He had moved the covers down so I could at least see his face.

He nods his head slowly. "I had been awake this whole time." He says, looking at me through hooded eyes. I smiled before sitting back down beside him. "and I heard everything that you said."

I put my the back of my hand on his forehead again. "Do you feel better? How did you even get sick in the first place?" I asked, trying to shift the topic. It embarassed me a bit knowing that he heard it.

"I wasn't feeling well earlier, but now that you're here, I feel much better." He says, moving closer to me. I could feel his hot breath on my arm. "Please stay for a few more minutes."

I couldn't bare leaving him, it wouldn't hurt to stay a little longer either. "Okay." I whispered as I start to run my fingers through his hair. It felt soft, I could play with his hair for the whole day if he allowed me to. "Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"

"I...I didn't want to worry you." He says, his eyes slowly closing.

"But I worried even more." I sighed. "You should tell me next time, okay?"

He humms in response as he slowly fell asleep. Checking the time, I saw that it was getting quite late, mom is probably looking for me. I made sure he was deep in his sleep before making my way out of his room.

"Oh, Luna, are you leaving?" asked his mom as I made my way downstairs.

"I'm sorry for leaving so soon but my mom might be looking for me. Thank you for letting me visit Ni-ki."

"No problem. Do you have a ride home? I could ask his dad to take you home."

"It's okay." I smiled. "I'll take the bus home. Thank you for having me, Mrs. Nishimura."

"Visit us again next time, alright?"

"I will."

As we said our goodbyes, I started to sprint to the bus stop. My mom is gonna kill me.