If Not Now, When? // Book 1

Chapter 21: Mar 1

Chapter 21: March 1

(LIVIA'S POV)

"I don't want to leave you, Kat. I want to stay here until you get better. I want to make sure you're okay..." I sobbed. He squeezed my hand.

"It'll be fine, my dear Livia. You need to go back to school, I'm sure they'll understand if you're late."

"I know, Kat, I'm just worried about you. You're not in a very good condition right now."

"Livia, I'm okay. I can't exactly not do as I'm told - I'll get in trouble." He chuckled.

"I know, I know... But I love you too much to let you go."

"I'm fine, Liv. Don't sacrifice your education for me."

"I don't care about school anymore, I only care about you. I don't think I could live without you."

He smiled. "I promise I'll get through this. You can come back straight after school."

"No. I'm not going back yet."

"Livia, you know I want the best for you. Please, catch up on your work, text me whenever, and I'll always reply as fast as I can."

"I don't want to leave. I am not going to leave. My decision is final, Kat."

"Livia!" He sounded like he was getting irritated with me. "Please, I understand that you care more about your friends than your education, but I care. I want you to pass. I don't want you to be stressed about workloads, I don't want you to be stressed about me."

"I'm fine, Miles. You're the one sitting in hospital. All the important stuff is due tomorrow, anyway, it'll be alright."

"Livia, I'm not going anywhere. Please, go hang out with your friends! Go have some fun!"

"But without you, I don't know what to do..."

"Go with Michaela."

Speak of the devil, my phone buzzed and I saw a text from her.

Michaela: Come to school! I need company, Sheldon's not in my class for the next two periods. ;-;

Livia: Fine, Kat wants me to go anyway... I don't want to leave T~T

"Michaela wants me to go as well. I need to talk to her anyway, I'll see you tonight." I kissed him before throwing my bag on my back and walking out. I wished I didn't have to leave him, but he's right, and I don't want to deal with stacks of homework because I missed out on two days of school.

I got to school, period 2 had already started. I had Japanese with Michaela. "Sumimasen, osoku narimashita." Sorry I'm late, Miss. Renner. I sat next to Michaela.

"Are you okay, Liv? You look like you've been crying..." She whispered.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine..."

"Are you sure? What happened?"

"I'll tell you later."

After Japanese finished, I walked with Michaela to her locker. I leaned against a locker, choking back tears. "Livia, what happened with Kat?" she asked.

"I feel like he just wanted me gone, like he didn't want me there with him anymore."

"That's ridiculous, Liv, he cares about you. He wants you to be happy."

"If he wanted me to be happy, he'd let me stay with him."

"He wants the best for you, and who knows, maybe he wants some you out for a reason that we don't know..." She winked at me, and went back to her phone, texting someone. I'm scared now.

(MICHAELA'S POV)

Kat: What should I do for her??

Michaela: I have no idea... Shannon stayed home today, ask him to get something from the shops

Kat: I don't know what to get her though... It needs to be something really special though

Michaela: Definitely, Livia's been kinda upset since she got here..

Kat: I have an idea, but you'll find out tonight

I had already put my books away, so I grabbed my food and went with Livia to her locker, she got her snack and we walked with Sheldon.

"I've made up a ship name for you and Kat." I said.

"Oooh, what is it?" Livia asked.

"Kadeline."

"Love it!"

That passed pretty quickly, and soon it was period 3. I had math with Livia. Today was the day of our Mathways test. Great. Nobody likes these tests, but they still keep doing them. No one likes Mathways, although it gives me time to draw because I get through the modules pretty easily. Anyway, we got our test over and done with, so I just did more sketching.

Period 4, we had English. We got to act out scenes from Romeo and Juliet. I think some of the teachers are in on shipping students together though, because Miss. Schumer got me and Sheldon to play Romeo and Juliet. I didn't even volunteer to read this time.

(LIVIA'S POV)

I watched in awe as Michaela and Sheldon acted out one of the most famous scenes from the play. The scene where the two first officially meet and decide to get married. Granted, Romeo is a bit lovesick and Juliet is just a hormonal teenager, and given the time period, I'm pretty sure it's not legal to marry people under the age of 18 today, so I don't think my best friend would get away with immediately marrying the day she met him, as much as I want them to, they are adorable.

Honestly, I can't wait for them to have children.

I must say though, Michaela is a great actor and Sheldon is going all out. I love them so much!

At lunch I had to host Writer's club, so I invited them to join me. Michaela started to write something about an 18 year old finding out about her past and supernatural powers, and it's actually going pretty well. Sheldon didn't know what to write, so he just sat next to Michaela, helping her write her story.

Period 5 was science, I didn't have Michaela in that class, sadly. That was the longest fucking 75 minutes of my life.

I couldn't wait to get back to Kat. I caught a bus straight to the hospital. Before I walked into his room, I heard a faint "I'll pay you back, bro, thanks." The door opened a few seconds after, and Shannon walked out. "Hey, Livia." He said.

"Hey, Shannon."

I walked into Kat's room. "See, I told you I'd still be here, I'm not going anywhere for another week."

I smiled, holding his hand. "I know, I just get worried about you."

"Okay, Liv, I need you to close your eyes." He said. So I did. I heard a bit of shuffling before he told me to open them again.

In front of me was this box, surprisingly heavy for its size. "Open it." He whispered. I tore open the box, and on the top was the first issue of the Archie Comics.

"I got you the whole first and second volume of Archie Comics, because I know how much you love Riverdale, and I thought I'd take it one step further."

I almost cried. "Thank you so, so, so, so much, Kat. This is fantastic!" I put the box down next to me, hopped onto Kat's bed and kissed him. It had been far too long since we had done this. I pulled away to breathe, staring longingly into his blue eyes. We stayed here for the rest of the night, going through each issue of the comics. I think I have forgiven him for making me leave the hospital earlier.