Layers of Heat

Layer 13

Winnie rushed back to her dorm room after all her classes finished and was surprised to see Ken sitting at Leila's desk doing homework while Leila herself was fast asleep in bed. The sight was so shocking that she couldn't help but stand in the foyer and gawk. There were things meant for a sick person on the kitchen counter that she knew Ken must've brought since Winnie definitely hadn't been the one to buy them and Leila had been too sick to get out of bed.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she finally said.

Realizing she had been louder than necessary, they both glanced at Leila and saw that she thankfully didn't even twitch from the noise. After they sighed in relief, Ken answered.

"I heard Leila was sick and didn't want her to be left alone, so I came to keep her company."

Winnie narrowed her eyes. "You're really shameless, aren't you?"

Ken couldn't argue with that and simply kept his mouth shut.

She observed him for a couple more seconds before saying, "But if you're here, then that must mean she let you stay."

He nodded. "Yes. I apologized and she forgave me."

Winnie relaxed from his words. "Well, I'm back now, so you can leave her to me. And...thanks for taking care of her."

Ken smiled in reply and began packing his stuff into his backpack.

"Who told you Leila was sick anyway?" she asked.

"Miles." When he saw the way Winnie stiffened, he wondered if he had made a mistake for revealing such information. "I thought you told him."

"I hadn't," she sneered. However, after another glance at Leila peacefully sleeping, she said, "But I'll let it slide this time."

—

Leila's fever eventually passed a day later, thankfully on a Saturday. The weekend allowed her to catch up on lessons she missed the previous day, as well as gave her time to wash her bedsheets to get rid of the grime from her fever. As she placed her clean linen back on her bed, she jumped atop of it, feeling refreshed and relaxed.

"So you and Ken are official now or what?" Winnie asked.

She looked across the room to her friend who was also lazily lying atop her own bed.

"Good question," Leila replied. "You know, I should probably ask for confirmation."

She grabbed her cell phone and texted Ken.

Winnie asked if you're my boyfriend now.

The two of them stared at each other in silence as they waited for his answer—Leila with a smile on her face, Winnie with a frown on hers.

Just a few seconds later, there was a reply.

Only if you'll be my girlfriend.

Leila grinned and replied, I'd like that.

In response, Ken sent a blushing emoji as well as a heart. Leila sighed in bliss, finding it absolutely adorable before sending a heart back.

Then she looked back at Winnie and burst out laughing at the utter disgust on her friend's face. Regardless, she cheerily said, "It's official. We're dating."

Winnie sneered. "I guess I should be grateful you only got together in our last year of university."

Leila blinked, understanding exactly why she held such sentiments. "Is Miles really that unbearable? What exactly happened between you two?"