Our beloved youth

18: As long as I'm here

What is this happening?

Elina's thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her phone. She handed the ice bag to Kevin and turned to take the call.

"Hello, who's this?" Elina asked.

"Hello, Elina, it's me; Jiya," Jiya responded from the other side. Elina glanced at her phone, seeing an unknown number on the screen.

"Is this your new number?" Elina asked, but then shrugged it off. "Let it be, did you reach safely?" she continued, not giving Jiya a chance to respond.

"Yeah, I have reached safely thanks to Jason," Jiya said, causing Elina to frown. "Jason?"

"Yeah, surprisingly, he is the one the shopkeeper was talking about. My battery was dead, so I borrowed his phone to ask if everything is alright," Jiya explained, while Jason looked on with anticipation as he thought.

I hope she is fine... 

"Yeah, everything is okay. Kevin and I just headed out," Elina said.

"Relief to hear it. And yeah, the most important thing is..." Jiya paused, and Elina widened her eyes, already anticipating the answer.

"Oh no!! Please tell me that you did not tell mom!!" Elina exclaimed, unknowingly turning towards Kevin, who got flustered and looked away.

"Sorry, but I had to. She was asking so many questions~" Jiya continued, shaking her head. "But now what matters is that they know everything."

Elina closed her eyes in annoyance, huffing. "Uh!!" she faked a cry.

"You better get ready to explain her," Jiya said.

Elina hummed in response. "Okay then, I'll hang up now. Bye, take care," Jiya said.

"Yeah, you too take care," Elina replied and ended the call. "Let's go," she told Kevin, who nodded and followed her.

______________________

"Here, thank you," Jiya said, giving Jason his phone back.

"Is sh- uh, I mean, are they still at the hospital?" Jason asked while taking the phone.

"Yeah," Jiya shrugged. "They'll leave now."

"Oh... Okay, then bye and take care," Jason said, putting on his helmet.

"You too, take care," Jiya replied as Jason nodded and drove away. She then went inside her house.

______________________

Inside the Taxi

Elina laid her head on the seat, closing her eyes while still applying the ice bag. Kevin checked his watch, noting the time, and sighed. His eyes drifted towards Elina, who had stopped massaging with the ice bag, probably indicating she was asleep.

Sometimes she makes me question her... 

He thought, shaking his head but then looking at her again.

She looks so cute, just like a puffball, 

Kevin mused, smiling to himself. He noticed something on her cheek and was about to remove it when Elina opened her eyes. Kevin widened his eyes, his hand still in the same position. Just then, the driver passed over a speed bump, causing Kevin's palm to rest on Elina's face, while Elina slid towards Kevin almost bumping into his chest, but stopping due to his hand resting on her face.

Kevin's eyes widened as Elina struggled under his palm. The driver quickly apologized, "I am sorry!!!"

Elina's muffled voice came from under Kevin's hand which covered her whole face, "Can you remove your hand from my face?"

Kevin immediately pulled his hand away, blinking multiple times. Elina breathed deeply, trying to calm herself, while Kevin stammered, "I-I didn't mean to-"

Elina nodded, "Yeah, I get it." She tried to get up from Kevin's arms but failed as her hair got tangled in one of his shirt buttons. "Ouch!" she whimpered, moving back towards him, bumping into his chest. Kevin frowned, his heart racing.

"Wh-what happened?" Kevin asked, stuttering.

"I guess my hair is tangled with your shirt's button," Elina replied, trying to free her hair.

Kevin started, "Then-"

But Elina didn't wait; she pulled her hair with force, finally freeing herself.

She looked at Kevin, who was frozen. She frowned, then glanced at his bare chest and realised that the top two buttons of his shirt were gone. She gasped, her eyes widening as she traced her hand through her hair, finding the buttons tangled there.

She pulled them out. "Uh-- uhm, sorry," Elina said, placing the buttons in Kevin's hand and sliding to the opposite side, embarrassed. While Kevin was just stunned to speak anything as he just froze in his position, while Elina bit her lip as she shook her head. 

Couldn't it be less embarrassing!!!

Time skip

"Um—let's go," Kevin said, and Elina nodded as they started walking towards her house in silence. Kevin kept his hand in his pocket while Elina held one side of her bag.

As they reached her house, Elina broke the silence. "By the way, thanks for today. I don't know what would've happened to me if it weren't for you," she said, facing him.

Kevin gave a small, almost unnoticeable smile and looked ahead. "It is alright."

Elina hummed in response and was about to look forward when Kevin turned to her again.

"As long as I am here, no one can hurt you," he said, looking into her eyes. Elina returned the gaze, questions swirling in her mind.

Why are you being kind to me...

She gulped but soon heard a familiar voice. "Ms. Helmet?!"

Both Kevin and Elina turned towards the voice to see Jason standing there with his bike. She raised her eyebrows in surprise as he approached after parking his bike at the corner.

"Jason?! What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I live in this neighborhood," he replied, then squinted his eyes as if trying to guess something. "Don't tell me, you too live here?" he asked, and she nodded.

He laughed a little. "Woah! Truly, the world is so small," he said, while Kevin just eyed him.

"Yeah it is just like your brain!!" Elina said as she forced a smile towards him while Jason raised his eyebrows as he asked her "Is it?" he asked while Elina nodded as she gave a forced smile making Jason chuckle as he shook his head.

"Okay then, I'll get going to my house... Bye to you both," Elina said, waving at them before heading towards her house. Elina entered her home, and Kevin looked at Jason, who was about to leave.

"Jason," Kevin called, making Jason roll his eyes and come back.

"Don't try to toy with her or her feelings," Kevin warned.

Jason scoffed with a smirk. "Why? Does it hurt your feelings or what? Do you love her?" he asked. Kevin gulped, and before he could answer, Jason continued.

"And seeing how impatient you are—" he stepped closer to Kevin, smirking.

"I think I might fall for her" 

To be continued

Extra shot

Kevin slowly pulled out his phone, aiming to capture a video of Elina while she conversed with Jiya. Even though Elina had turned her back to him, Kevin could still sense her expressions and smiled as he recorded. But just as he was capturing the moment, Elina suddenly turned towards him.

Startled, Kevin quickly tucked his phone back into his pocket and glanced away, trying to play it cool. Meanwhile, the recording continued with a black screen, capturing only the audio of their conversation. While Kevin thought by himself.

Did she see me?

No, no, she mustn't have.

* * *