On My Way to Believing

Chapter 12 - What?!

I woke up again, feeling much more refreshed than when I initially woke up, albeit still weak. I pulled the covers off of me and sat on the bed. I reached for my phone in my pocket and pulled it out, checking the time.

3:17 PM, Thursday

"Looks like I'm absent for the day." I sighed.

I stood up, and headed for the bathroom inside the room. I went in and closed the door behind me. I went up to the sink and washed my face. I grabbed the small face towel on my right and dried myself, inadvertently getting a glimpse of myself on the mirror. My hair was all messed up, my skin looked more pale than normal, and my clothes were wrinkled.

'Huh, I look like shit.' I thought to myself, and shrugged it off. 'Axel wouldn't mind.'

After drying my face, I placed the towel back on the hanger and left the bathroom. I thought about contacting Chris to tell him what happened, so I pulled my phone out again and texted him.

'Can you take my call?' I typed and pressed send. A few seconds later, my phone rang.

"What's up?" Chris asked. I then proceeded to tell my brother what happened. Chris quietly listened to me as I spoke.

"...So I ended up here, in a classmate's house." I said, finishing the story of yesterday's events. Chris was still silent. "Chris? You still there?"

"Yeah. I am." He replied with an angry tone. "It's just so frustrating that I couldn't be there for you."

"Hey, it's fine." I said, reassuring him that he wasn't at fault. "This is the reason why you trained me after all."

"You're right." Chris said, feeling a little more relaxed. "So, listen. I want you to stay there until I get back. It's too dangerous to leave you alone in the house."

I hesitated for half a second. "Got it." I said.

"Alright. I'll be back in two days, so just hang in there." He said.

"I lasted this far." I said, smiling. "You better be back."

"Don't worry, I will!" He said, cheering me up. "Anyway, I gotta go. See you in two days."

"See ya." I said, hanging up.

I left the room I was in to look for Axel. I found myself in a small corridor with two other rooms besides the one I stayed in. On one end of the corridor, there were stairs leading to the floor below. I walked down the stairs and saw Axel's living room. It had a TV as big as the one in his room, a coffee table, and three couches with one facing the TV and the other two facing each other. There were various pictures and decorations around the room. Further in the living room was a doorway leading to the kitchen.

'Wow. Axel's place is awesome.' I thought to myself as I looked around. I walked over to the couch facing the TV and tried to sit on it, but I sat on something that definitely didn't feel like a couch.

"Ah!" I screamed, startled, as I looked to see what I sat on. It was Axel, lying down on the couch with his right arm over his eyes.

Axel groaned a bit, as he moved his arm to look at me. "Oh, hey. You awake?"

"Uh, yeah." I said. "Sorry."

"No big deal, I was thinking of getting up anyway." He replied as he sat up. "Feeling better?"

"I'll live." I said. "How about you? Still tired?"

"Nah, I'm refreshed." He said. "Sit." I sat down beside him, still feeling slightly uncomfortable around him.

"So, what're you gonna do now?" He asked with noticeable concern in his voice. "It'd be pretty dangerous if you're left alone at your place."

"About that.." I said, feeling slightly guilty. "Chris told me to stay here."

"Yeah, that's a good plan." He replied.

"What?" I said, slightly taken aback. "You mean you don't mind?"

He looked at me, straight in the eyes. "Of course I don't mind." He said. "I wouldn't leave you alone in your current state."

I looked down on my lap. "I'm sorry." I said.

"Haven't I told you?" He said. "It's fine, you aren't a burden."

I then returned my gaze from my lap to Axel's eyes. "No, it's not that." I said, making him turn his head to the left. "I'm sorry for being such a bitch to you."

His facial expression seemed to indicate that he didn't understand what I meant.

"I've had the worst attitude towards you. Ever since I had to tutor you, I've always viewed you as an annoyance. I've always thought that you were nothing but trouble; that nothing good would come from talking with you." I said, facing down again feeling ashamed too ashamed to face him. "But, here you are, taking care of me. I didn't think you would have a side like this, so it kinda came as a surprise to me. So, please know that I'm really grateful and that I'm sorry for being rude to you before."

A few seconds of silence passed before he spoke up. "It's okay." He said. I looked at him, not expecting that response. He must've sensed this, so he continued to explain.

"I mean, I understand. I did mess with you, and I admit I did impose on hanging out with you." He said, not meeting my eyes. "Besides, I think it's pretty much common sense to help out an injured person."

"Well either way, thank you so much." I said, smiling. "For everything." He then returned the smile.

"By the way," I said. "Why'd you want to hang out with me anyway?"

"Uh." He stammered, avoiding my eyes. "Well.."

"Yes?" I said smiling, pushing for an answer out of curiosity.

"I'm using my right to remain silent." He said, still avoiding the question.

"C'mon!" I whined. "I really wanna know."

"Nope."

"Please?"

"Still no."

"Why not?"

"Because no."

"That doesn't make any sense." I pouted, then, I thought of a deal. "Alright. How about this? You answer my question, then I'd answer any one question you throw at me."

Axel then looked at me, his dark brown eyes sparkling. It was at this moment, I knew I fucked up.

"Alright. We have a deal." He said, smiling. "The reason why I want to hang out with you.."

He intentionally paused to tease me. "Go on." I said, getting slightly impatient.

"It's cuz I wanna be close to you." He said.

"What?" I said, slightly confused.

"I want to be your friend." He reiterated.

"Uh, okay. Why?" I asked.

"Nope. One question only." He said, smirking. "My turn."

"Dammit." I gulped. A few seconds passed by before he spoke up.

"Wanna make out?" He blurted out.

"What?!"

"I said, can we be friends?" He said more seriously. Needless to say, I was puzzled, but happy.

"Sure."I replied.