Mrs. Matthews hadn't even noticed our absence. Leo let go of my hand and walked over to his friend before shooting me a glance over his shoulder. My heart twinged, a touch of anxiety rising from the distance, and I felt the queasiness return, along with the beginnings of another headache. Though I wasn't sure which side-effect was worse, I still gave him a nod to affirm that I felt relatively okay, and he responded with a hesitant nod of his own.
As soon as she saw me, Zoey moved to sit beside me. I expected her to tease me for having spent so much time alone with Leo. But to my relief, she began to fawn over someone else entirely. My stomach began to twist again, but I focused on the words coming out of her mouth instead.
"Momo, you totally missed it!" She hissed with glee. "I had to kiss Rick!"
Rick? Leo's friend? Now, that was surprising. I forced myself to summon up a smile for her. She sounded happy, and she deserved to be content. I wasn't about to allow my predicament to rain on her parade; nausea be damned.
"L-lucky guy," I responded with some difficulty. "How was it?"
The expression on her face dampened as she studied my face more closely. "You look paler than usual," she said as she pressed the back of my hand to my forehead. "Are you getting sick again?"
I gently tugged her hand away and shook my head. "I'm fine," I countered. I felt no qualms in lying for her sake. "Tell me more about Rick. Do you like him?"
She had a suspicious expression on her face, but she conceded. "Yeah. I've always thought he was cute," she continued, handing me a chocolate chip cookie. I had passed out from a loss of blood sugar a couple of times in the past, so she was always quick to bring me something sweet whenever I looked too pale. "And he's even sweeter once you start getting to know him. He asked me out, and I'm thinking of saying yes."
That time, a genuine smile formed on my face. "That's great to hear," I admitted. "I hope things work out well between you two. From what I heard from Leo, Rick seems to be a decent guy."
"Hmm, on the subject of our basso cantante," my bestie singled out just as I held the cookie to my mouth. "Tell me. Did he confess to liking that kiss? Did he ask you out? I want details."
"What? He didn't ask me out!" I rebuked as I felt blood rushing to my face. "We've just barely become friends."
"But, that blush tells me you wouldn't have minded if he did," she taunted.
With a groan of aggravation, I took a vicious bite from the cookie. But the sugar and chocolate did nothing to ease nausea. My stomach only felt even worse. I felt some movement behind me, and then several warm fingers were trailing along my scalp.
"Your hair's quite soft," Leo's deep voice pointed out.
I couldn't bring myself to look at him. Had he been feeling sick to his stomach, too? That had to be the reason for the stray touch, right?
"Now, that's hardly fair," Zoey stated. I could see her motioning towards Leo out of the corner of my eye. "Are you giving Momo hair-touching privileges in return?"
As I turned towards her to dissuade her, Leo reached behind his neck to tug off his hair tie. Before I could say anything, he took my wrist and pressed my hand to the side of his face. I was ultimately out of sorts. The queasiness and headache were once again gone. But, the warmth that registered through my sweaty hand from Leo's skin caused my stomach to turn in an entirely different way.
"Go ahead," Leo prompted with a smile that caused a few of the nearby chorus girls to choke. "You can touch mine in return."
Mrs. Matthews returned just then, asking us to help clean up the classroom. Leo let go of my hand, and the side-effects began to build once again. Without saying a word, we chose to remain next to each other as we collected the trash. When we were finally dismissed, the amber-eyed teen didn't hesitate to take hold of my hand. With a huff of envy, Zoey took it upon herself to take hold of Rick's hand, as well. The four of us headed out to the bus ramp, where she bid the blue-haired boy goodbye with a kiss on the cheek. Rick was the only one who didn't board the same bus.
Leo didn't have to ask Zoey to relinquish her usual spot because she immediately took the seat behind us on the bus. I didn't even know where to begin. But, she didn't waste any time.
"Hmm, I didn't realize that being 'just barely friends' included the perks of holding hands and caressing one another's hair follicles," she mused aloud.
"Okay, okay...just give me a second to explain. Zoey, remember how I had another dream about Triple-D?" I explained, trying to ignore the warmth radiating from Leo's held hand. "And remember how Triple-D's most important person was named Nevis?"
"Yes," Zoey responded with a slight frown on her face.
"Nevis is someone I've always had dreams about since I was little," Leo added. "His most important person, using your own words, was a desert prince named Raemka."
Zoey looked confused for a moment before her blue eyes widened, and she let out a squeal so loud that all of the other students on the bus sent her glares and complaints.
"Oh, get over it; your ears will recover!" Zoey clapped back. Her voice fell to a whisper when she turned back to us. "Holy shit, guys. This can't be a coincidence. Are they your past lives? I've had my doubts…."
"I believe so," Leo responded at the same time as I replied, "I still find it hard to believe."
After Leo deciphered what I said, he looked upset, but his tone of voice remained steady. "What is it, exactly, that you find so hard to believe?" He asked as he let go of my hand, and my stomach dropped. "You feel that, too, don't you? The pounding headache that comes with us not touching? The urge to hurl right outside the window of the bus?"
I didn't enjoy the sensation one bit. Having him point out my body's inner aches and pains, something I had cautiously kept to myself for most of my life, stung the little pride I had left even harder. What right did he have to reveal such things about me? My eyes narrowed as I glared at him. But, he held my gaze without an ounce of regret for what he had done.
My best friend looked from Leo to me and back again. "Whoa, is that why you've been behaving more-than-friendly with each other? The distance makes you sick?" She deduced. "Why do I feel so disappointed about that?"
"We don't-" I began, refusing to look away from the taller teen, but Leo interrupted me.
"Yes," He insisted. "Distance makes us literally sick to our stomachs. This is why I'm asking Momo to hang out with me for a bit after school."
My eyes widened. "Wait, hang out? My dad won't-"
"He usually gets home around 6, doesn't he?" Zoey interjected. "He wouldn't know if you went with Leo for a bit."
I then gaped at Zoey as if she had grown a second head. "He wouldn't like it, either way."
"But, what he doesn't know won't hurt him," she insisted.
"You," I commented with narrowed eyes. "You've always been a bad influence, haven't you?"
"Sounds like you want to puke your guts out the bus window," she countered.
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