Something More? ✔️

4

After thirty of minutes of frenzy, Penny was seated on one of the chairs with her hand propped up on the table.

"We're going to the hospital," James declared.

"No — i'm fine! It's really not that serious."

He flashed her an impatient look, "Don't be so stubborn. Health isn't something you should mess around with."

She fidgeted uncomfortably at his tone, remembering about his ill mother, "I really don't need to go. How about we just go back to the dorms."

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. After a few more moments, he finally nodded.

❋  ❋  ❋

The long walk back to campus was...awkward. Penny felt him sneaking glances at her, and in turn, she would do the same — resulting in brief moments of unexpected eye contact. It seemed like they had walked for days when suddenly he turned to her with a sheepish look on his face.

"Um — uh," he mumbled. Penny blinked twice and looked at him curiously, confused what was going on. "Um — I," he trailed off again. Running his hands through his hair, he looked away, but Penny could see that the tips of his ears were the palest shade of pink.

"Yes?" for some reason she was embarrassed now.

He looked back at her with a determined gleam in his eye, and spurted out, "i just wanted to say thank you for helping me and — and I'm sorry that you got hurt."

From the pink hue on his cheeks, Penny guessed that he wasn't one to usually express his feelings. Suppressing a laugh at the absurdity of the situation, Penny offered a friendly smile and to her own surprise, patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it," she shrugged, "I would have done it for anyone."

Except after those words left her mouth, she realized now it may not be true. Sure, at first she had helped out of sheer discipline, but now ... things seemed to have changed (although she couldn't put her finger on it).

Glancing up at him, Penny saw that he looked a bit glummer than before. His eyes were downcast and his hands dangled lifelessly beside him. Looking at his side profile, she noticed the slope of his nose and the quiet flutter of his eyelashes. Behind him, the setting sun tainted the sky a brilliant navy and orange. Surprisingly, this was the most comfortable Penny had felt since going to college. He had an air of ease about him that put others at ease as well. It was weird but the fact that he never seemed to try to be liked, had the opposite effect — it made him all the more likable. With a small smile, she decided next time she would paint this moment.

The quiet moment was shattered when suddenly a motorcycle zoomed by so close and so quickly that Penny had no time to react, but to cringe her eyes shut. She expected to fall over or to bruise, but instead all she felt was the strong grip of an arm around her shoulder, pressing her to the side. Slowly opening her eyes, she glanced up and saw James gazing down at her, breathless from the moment before. For a few moments, neither of them moved; their eyes were locked and they couldn't find the key.

Slowly Penny shuffled back to her feet and felt her cheeks flame bright red.

"Be careful," was all he said. It came out smooth and natural, which made Penny all the more embarrassed to be embarrassed.

"Your eyes are interesting," he mused after a few moments passed.

"Really?" Penny was genuinely surprised, "It's the dullest shade of brown. I've always wanted a baby blue or an emerald green."

He shook his head, "It's the warmest shade of brown I've ever seen."

A wide smile stretched across Penny's face, and she laughed. James couldn't help but look.

With that, the two continued down the road. The only difference? This time, they walked a bit closer.