Green-Eyed Beauty

Part 2: Bruises

*Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter, getting way deep into some tension between V&L. Find out what happens in early mornings! Enjoy!

I walk through the green doors to enter my school. It's Wednesday, halfway done with this hellish week, but still, I'm early as always. I have wellness first class. Ugh, you have got to be kidding me. 

Let me update you. Everything has gone just swell since last weeks Lauren incident with my friends. I've gotten to avoid her since then because she happened to be sick and gone from school. I won't lie, I was a little more than a bit worried about her, but I still managed to keep my distance from any mentions of her. But now, she is supposed to get back to school. I am a hundred percent certain I'm going to screw something up.

 I begin to walk up the three flights of stairs to the wellness room, shivering the whole way up. Damn, it is foggy and cold. I really do need to bring a jacket. I open the door up to a really eerie feeling. The light is flickering, the hall is dark, and I have to turn a corner to wait outside the room. I should probably just wait by the door. I begin to sit down until I hear a cough. And another. And another. Is someone dying?

I turn the corner to see Lauren on the floor coughing her lungs out. I forgot all about what my friends would think and ran to her side.

"Lauren, are you okay?"

I kneeled down to her level. She had one hand on the ground and the other holding her left side. I place my right hand on the middle of her back and rub it until she stops coughing.

"Thanks, V", she says.

She looks up at me with a pained expression, but a smile. I grab onto her hands and pull her up. She leans on me for some support. 

"Why are you back at school Lauren? You still seem really sick."

"I'm fine V."

"No, you're not you should go home and get some sleep. Come on, I'll walk you to the office."

"No!", she shouts.

She backs away from me, unsteadily. I gaze at her with a worried expression.

"Sorry, I'm just a little off today. It's nothing really. I'm sure that's the last of my cou-gh," she utters before proceeding to cough again.

She raises her hand to lean up against the wall, but she loses her balance. I wrap my arms around her waist fast enough to catch her. She's limp in my arms. I can feel her heart beating extremely fast. I quickly check to see if one of the classroom doors is open, now knowing she'd kill me if I took her to the office. If Lauren was fully functional, she would run a mile to stop me from taking her there. She's just persistent like that. 

The first door is locked. I curse under my breath. I carefully place Lauren down to check the second door. My hand grabs the door handle shakily. Please open, please open, please open. The handle creaks to a stop. I give the door a push and it opens. Thank god! I walk over to the spot where I placed Lauren and pick her up carefully in my arms.

"I can still walk you know", she says with a half smile.

I roll my eyes at her and carefully walk with her to one of the couches. That's the best part of this class; they have the best seats. Lauren groans as I place her down clutching her left side once again. I feel her forehead with my hand. She's not burning up, but she is still pretty hot. Not like that but, well yes like that, but for real she is uh, warm? 

"Lauren, is your rib okay? You keep clutching it."

"Yeah, it's fine. I just got hit with a ball during tennis practice before getting sick. It's just sore."

Her breathing is super uneven and I can see the sweat drip down her forehead. Judging by her movements, this bruise isn't just sore.

"Can I take a look at it?"

She looks at me with wide eyes. I swear I thought I saw her blush for a second. She warily nods her head and looks towards the window. I kneel down next to the chair. She's the one who's sick, but I feel like I'm about to explode. 

"Um, do you want to lift up your shirt? Orrrrr...", I say cautiously.

She looks at me. Her eyes nervously dancing around unable to focus on mine.

"Yeah, just give me a sec", she responds.

She shifts up straight in her chair and slowly lifts up her shirt. My eyes widen as I see what is causing her pain. The bruise definitely has an imprint of a tennis ball. It's on her lower left ribs and it's freaking red and purple. It looks pretty bad.

"L-Lauren", I say with a loss of words.

I look away from the bruise to her eyes. She is looking down at the ground with a blank expression. Without thinking I reach up to touch it. She winces and lets her shirt fall back down.

"Omg, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to", I say in horror.

I am such an idiot! Of course, the bruise is going to be sore. She got hit by a freaking tennis ball. You know how fast a varsity team hits those?

"It's fine, V. It didn't hurt. I, I'm I'm just not used to someone else, uh, you know", she replies touching her side.

I look blankly. Oh my god, I just might cringe to death. I freaking touched her bare skin. 

What An IDIOT!

She suddenly lifts her shirt back up, grabs my arm, and places my hand on her side. I look up at her in shock. Her eyes are tightly shut, but her breathing steadies from my touch. I think she trusts me. I begin to gingerly run my finger across the sore spot. Her breath hitches, but she never opens her eyes. 

"Does it hurt bad?", I ask.

There is long silence between us. Did I mess up? UGH. I start to move my hand away until she grabs it.

"It doesn't hurt as much when your hand is there", she says short and sweet with her eyes still closed.

I place my hand back on it with curiosity. What is going through her beautiful mind? I decided to trace her ribs with my fingers a little higher. Her breath settles with the movement. She has a really toned stomach with abs. She is so... I hear the building door open and close. I completely forgot we still had class. 

Lauren opens her eyes swiftly realizing people are going to come in. This time, I'm sure I saw a blush on her face. Her shirt drops back down and I swing myself over to the seat beside her. People start rushing in the door talking loudly. The teacher walks and takes her seat as she prepares for class. Luckily, none of my friends from my group are in this class otherwise they'd have a heart attack.

 I look to Lauren and find her eyes already staring back at me. She seems uncomfortable. I start to consider moving to give her space, but she sets her head on my shoulder bringing our bodies closer together. She sighs with her right side leaned on my left. I maneuver my arm a little higher than her waist knowing it would cause major drama if I went any further. She starts to settle into me as the teacher begins to talk. 

This is how it should be. Me with her and her with me. 

*WOAH Right! Why was Lauren so stern about not going home? Come back next time to see the aftermath of this interesting morning. Also, that bruise is gonna stay for a while. ;) Love Y'all! Hope you enjoyed and make sure to vote!

 ~A