From England, With Love

Blooming

The throbbing in the back of my head is immense. Ae's hand is pressed firmly over my hair so I can tell it's bleeding. As much as I don't want to cry in public, the pain and the surprise of the impact has forced tears into my eyes. I'll admit, I'm surprised I'm not panicking over the fact that I have a head injury, but from Ae's expression, I think he's panicking on my behalf.

"Pete! Are you okay? Er, do you need to go to a doctor?" Ae spoke frantically, his face washed with concern and his brows knitted together. I weakly shake my head in response; I don't want to cause a fuss and I'd rather see to it with just a first aid kit at home.

Then, a man appears in front of us and bats Ae's hand away from my head. I see in the corner of my eye that he opened his mouth to protest, his concern turning into a scowl, but he says nothing.

"You alright, mate?" He asks, leaning over me to assess my injury. "Doesn't look too serious but you should go to A&E and get it checked out just in case – I can take you there if you need a ride." He appears calm, probably glad that his flying cricket ball didn't knock me out. The back of my head is still pulsing, but the tears are gradually disappearing from my eyes.

"A&E?" Ae asks sharply, shuffling closer to me on the bench and gently gripping my arm, "he doesn't need a doctor, I'll look after him."

This confuses me. A second ago Ae was asking me if I needed to see a professional, but now he is the professional?

The man raises an eyebrow. "What if he's got a concussion?" He says, quite validly.

"If he shows any symptoms, I'll take him to hospital," Ae snaps back, pulling me up and wrapping an arm around my shoulder before leading me away. I look behind me, not really sure what to do, to see a small audience of people who had watched the situation unfold, and the man stood there looking somewhat dumbfounded.

I want to say something to Ae, just anything, but his aura is unfriendly as we walk to the bus stop, and it almost seems like a storm cloud is forming above his head. We pass through the town centre quickly, the pain in the back of my head still fierce. I instinctively slow down, and Ae quickly stops.

"Are you in pain?" His voice is surprisingly soft in comparison to his expression, and I feel slightly more at ease.

"Yes, yes I am," I say honestly, touching the back of my head and wincing slightly. He looks at my face, but says nothing, before readjusting his grip on my arm and pulling me the final distance to the bus stop. Thankfully, the bus arrives quickly, but it's packed. Ae scans our tickets and heads to one free seat toward the front of the bus. I was about to tell him to sit down, as I feel bad about being a nuisance. I ruined our day out and now he's having to mother me, it's only natural that I feel slightly guilty.

But, before I can say anything, he gently pushes me down onto the seat before reaching up to hold the handle bar. He then moves closer toward me, his knees touching mine as more people fill the bus. I feel almost surrounded by him; I can hear him breathing and smell his deodorant. It's quite musky. Very masculine, which doesn't surprise me.

I feel calm.

As the bus starts moving, Ae falls into me slightly, and I look up at him. Our eyes meet and I feel forced to look away. From this angle he looks different. His jaw looks sharper and his face more brooding. His sleeves are rolled up to his elbows; he looks strong, and I notice, if not on purpose, the prominence of his adam's apple.

I don't believe I've ever observed someone so closely.

My head hurts.

After a few minutes the bus draws to a stop and Ae gestures to me to stand up. I feel slightly dizzy from my headache and grab onto his arm for support. He seems shocked for a second, but then allows me to almost fall into him.