Elle and the Exchange Student

Chapter 5

Elle's Point of View:

"Nice for you to finally attend this class, Mr. Park" Miss Stephanie said and suddenly I felt like I was going to pass out.

I turn to my right and I have to blink twice to get my sight back.

Mental note: Remember to eat!

What have I done to the universe to be punished so cruelly?

Indeed, right next to me sits none other than Dae-freaking-Jung. I am really starting to develop strong negative feelings towards him, emphasis on the word negative. I have properly met him only two times and on both occasions he insulted me without any reason whatsoever.

For the quickest moment I stop and take a good look at him. He is wearing slim-fitted jeans paired with a graphic tee, layering it with a denim jacket to add an edgy touch to it. His medium-length black hair is well-maintained and slightly wavy. I would say that he is very attractive, however, his douchebag of an attitude makes him ugly in my eyes.

As I'm about to move my gaze from his hair to his face, a small smirk appears on his lips as he catches me staring. Oh fuck. Now he probably thinks I'm checking him out. As if he needs any more inflation to his already enormous ego.

"Like what you're seeing?" he whispered mischievously.

I can't do this. I thought and hoped I would be able to ignore his presence, but with him being so idiotic every chance he gets, I don't think I can do this. He makes me so angry I want to punch him in his annoyingly gorgeous face! I'm seeing red.

No, wait, I'm literally seeing red. And stars.

Without even thinking about it, I raise one hand while holding my head in the other.

"Yes, Miss Edwards?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but suddenly I'm not feeling so well"

"Oh, are you not properly healed yet from your illness" she asked concerned look in her eyes.

"I am not sure...Please, will I be excused?" I was using all of my energy to keep my eyes open. I knew I needed to hurry if I didn't want to faint in front of the class. I could feel everyone's eyes on me already.

"Oui bien sûr, but you must go straight to the school nurse. Who would like help Miss Edwards get to the school nurse's office?"

"Non, merci. I can get..."

"Je vais y aller avec elle" Dae spoke beside me.

Oh no you will not! Wait, what the fuck, he speaks perfect French?

"NO! I mean, I'll be just fine..." pulling my bag from the floor and turning towards the door I lost my balance for a second. Luckily, I managed to hold on to my desk for some support preventing me from falling over.

All of you were probably hoping for the bad boy to romantically catch me in his arms. Not gonna happen.

"C'est très gentil de votre part, merci Monsieur Park" Miss Stephanie almost sang out.

Dae-Jung gets up from his seat with the widest possible smirk on his face extending his hand, probably so he could hold me up and help me walk.

"Don't touch me" I hissed, not in the mood for his games. I was able to walk out of the classroom, leaving only me and him in this big, empty hallway.

I could feel my body starting to give up. I had to lean against the wall for some support, simultaneously focusing on my breathing in hopes of feeling better. My head was spinning and my vision was getting even blurrier than before. My lack of eating mixed with the sky high levels of stress and anxiety, is to be blamed for my weak state.

"Come on" he said, once again reaching out towards me in an attempt to help me.

"Do not dare to touch me!" I tried to say with strong determination, but failed miserably.

"So you are capable of defending yourself, after all" he chuckled, moving even closer.

If I wasn't about to lose my consciousness, I would be so intimidated by our proximity. The fact, that he's standing so close I could feel the warmth of his body without him actually touching me, would normally be enough for me to panic. In this situation, I couldn't possibly focus on that.

"Fuck off" I was beyond furious. How can he seriously make fun of me in a moment like this? Did he really offer to accompany me just so he can make me even more miserable? What kind of a sick person is he?

I quickly turned, so my body was facing him, but the sudden movement was too much for my weakening body. My legs felt like overcooked spaghetti and before I could comprehend what was happening, a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves tightly around my body, stopping me from falling down. Being in this pathetic state of mine, there was nothing I could do about it. Honestly, I was relieved I wasn't alone right now.

Gently and effortlessly, without saying a word, he placed me on the floor so my back was leaning against the wall. I pulled my legs up and wrapped my hands around them. He squatted down in front of me, and started looking for something from his backpack.

"You skipped lunch" he stated still searching for something.

What??! So he pays attention now.

"Here, eat this" as he shoved a chocolate bar into my hands.

All I could do was stare at him with confusion probably written all over my face. Is he being nice? Or is this some kind of a sick joke and I end up more hurt and embarrassed? I am convinced it's the latter. Therefore, I remained motionless.

"Please, Elle. You need to eat"

I couldn't understand what's going on. Is Dae-Jung begging? No, I must be passed out and this is simply my wild imagination making fun of me instead.

Convinced I was already unconscious, but then, I felt a large hand on my knee, making me realise I wasn't.
The warm sensation of being touched so softly was enough for me to finally pass into oblivion.

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Opening my eyes, I found myself on a bed in the school nurse's office, Fannie and Delilah sitting next to me with worried expressions. What the hell happened?

"Oh, Thank Lord! You're awake!" Delilah began and Fannie's "Sweetie, take it slow." follows shortly after.

"What happened?" I'm not yet fully aware of how and why I am here.

"You don't remember?" Delilah gasped.

"No..." But then it all comes right back to me. How I suddenly felt so dizzy after finding out that I share my French class with Dae-Jung. While I tried to escape the situation, he forced himself along, only making things worse. I remember almost collapsing in the hallway but him catching me, and moments later offering snacks.

But after that everything went black. Oh God. I fainted in front of him, didn't I?

"Dae-Jung came to find us, saying he found you passed out in the hallway and that with some help, he brought you here." Fannie explained, making me even more confused than before.

That can't be true. He was with me when I fainted, right? So why would he tell the girls, that he just happened to find me?

Are all the boys this confusing? If they are, I am happy I've been able to avoid interacting with boys for the majority of my life. Like this one week alone has given me a constant migraine.

Our school nurse, I guess her name is Janet, promised to inform my teachers that I would be taking the rest of the day off. After, what felt like hours, of reassuring the girls I only felt little dizzy because I didn't eat lunch, they walked me to my bus stop.

Coming to school today was undoubtedly not worth it.