HOT. Itâs getting harder to breathe under the suit.
She had always been neutral when it came to hot weather, caught in the middle of hating and loving, though there was little to love about standing under the spring sun for the duration of a soccer game. Kanon was heated on the field then and she was even heated now, body hot and head light, a mouse jaguar caught in Eden.
Just how was she supposed to get out of here without exposing herself?
She wonât.
This, Kanon realizes with a sort of horror when the head lifts and cool musky air greets herâa blow to the face that pales in comparison to the bright (equally shocked) eyes that meets her own. Here, the shame rolls in in fervid waves, the second year well aware of the way her hair sticks to her skin, sweat beading at her temples and mouth slightly agape.Â
Honestly, she wasnât even sure of what she can say.
âIââ The excuse is on the tip of her tongue, held back by the surprise of being nudged out of the locker room as she blinks rapidly, breathing shallow and face growing hotter by the moment. What do you say, Kanon, what can you say?Â
Stress mounts at a rapid pace, downright skyrocketing the more she stares at his pretty eyes and remembers the condition of her matted hair, general unattractive exterior, foolish expression, and almost wants to smack herselfââwhy.
âIââ She tries again, unable to find the words and growing more and more embarrassed by the millisecond.
( I, what, Kanon, what? )
Nothing. Absolutely nothing comes to mind in the face of worried eyes and an awkwardly attractive smile.Â
Uncharacteristically, her knees buckle, lower lip trembling as her mouth parts for a third attempt at speakingâat reassuring the shirtless male that she was fine. And when nothing comes outâwhen sheâs surely at risk of looking like an absolute idiot, Kanon resorts to the safest measure possible in the spur of the moment--she falls straight into his arms; limp.Â
In hindsight, itâs smart, she figures, anything to avoid one on one with a 10 when she is looking far, so far, into the negativesâof course, she doesnât expect him to pick her up, leaving her with no choice but to continue with the charadeâ
Limp, as he carries her away from the locker room and leans her into his torso.
Limp, as she peeks at him through the veil of her hair and a half opened eye.
      ( Limp, while her heart flutters wild -- what a heartthrob.
       âwhat a scenario worthy of an epic love story. )
Admittedly, sheâs thought of nothing else. Not of how to get out of this particular situation, not of how to explain to the nurse that she wasnât suffering from whatever he thought her to be, not of how this will even end after everything.
Even more so, she doesnât think about it when her hand lifts to tap against his bare chest for attention, fingers warm and breathing shallow, still hesitant against eye contact as her hand gestures back to Ju Jakâs dormitory.