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STEVE was in front of her, but she didn't know where she was—where they were—or what he was trying to tell her. His mouth was moving and his hands were waving, but only her eyes could blink.
"Hey! Valentina, can you hear me?" Steve was practically shouting now. The entire class of third period gym was now staring at the two of them. They stood in the middle of the basketball court, the same spot where Valentina got hit in the face, and the same spot where a puddle of blood was forming between their feet.
No, she couldn't hear him. Not exactly. Not enough to actually understand the words coming out of his mouth. Not enough to follow the movement of his eyes or look where his fingers were snapping. He hadn't touched her, but she could vaguely see him restraining himself every few seconds from grabbing her shoulders and shaking her into focus.
"Vee!" Steve shouted again. The class continued to watch.
With an attempt at rolling her eyes, which only resulted in the dark blue spheres rolling entirely back into her head, Valentina finally saved enough energy to muster up a measly, "Don't call me that."
Despite feeling his heart rip a little at the seams, Steve was just thankful to hear her speak. Even if her words hurt him.
"Hey! Hey. Hey, you're good. You're okay," he kept whispering, but it sounded like it was more for himself than for the girl on the verge of passing out. She definitely wasn't okay, but Steve kept telling her she was anyway. He didn't want her to freak out like he was.
"No, it hurts," she whined, scrunching her face up in pain. That only hurt more though, and a strong wind sucked through her nose as she resisted the urge to scream. Steve noticed she was hurting herself and went to grab her face again, but stopped himself.
"I know, I know," he spoke softly, finally lowering his eyebrows that were about to blend in with his hairline.
Valentina looked toward the ground where her shoes were beginning to stain with deep red at the toes. Steve's white and green shoes were beginning to look like the flag of Italy with the puddle, but he didn't care as he stepped even closer to the girl.
"Don't look down. Just tilt your head up, okay? Like this."
After a moment of hesitation, Steve's hands carefully reached up to hold Valentina's jaw, and her eyes followed the movements wherever they went. When his pointer finger and thumb grasped her chin, her gaze transitioned to his face. His dark brown stared into her deep blue with a sense of certainty and worry. Both seemed to taint their lives at the moment. But still, with a very subtle nod of permission from the girl—anything more would have her brain spinning in circles—Steve gently held her head between his fingers and began tilting it backward.
Staring up at the ceiling, the girl began to take deep breaths while listening to the sound of Steve's breathing. His breaths were harsh and heavy while hers were short and rapid, but eventually their chests began to move in sync.
