Without The Words

Chapter 23

There was something oddly therapeutic about sprinting, which I hadn't ever thought about until now. I had always been the type of person to run long distance; never short distance. But with Mr. Lee? It changed my whole perspective.

Him and I raced each other. The trees and branches and flowers and little details of nature flew past my vision, but what remained only mere inches away from me was my own history teacher. All you could hear was our sneakers slapping on the dirt trail. The occasional splash of mud would decorate my legs or the snap of twigs would derange my footing, but I failed to care because at this very moment, I was next to him.

In only a few minutes, we caught up with the rest of the group. The way everyone was running reminded me of a pack of animals, how they all traveled in groups together.

When we all ran our way through the course and back to the track, we waited a few minutes for Mr. Falliner's group to come back. When they finally did, some students plopped down while others stretched and drank ice cold water bottles from the mini-traveling cooler. I grabbed a bottle along with everyone else. Choosing a spot near the bleachers where I was a safe distance from Vera, I watched Mr. Lee grab himself a water bottle.

I took this time to observe Mr. Lee in awe. His hair was matted down and pressed against his forehead. Sweat glimmered against what wasn't covered by his locks of damp curly hair. His white t-shirt was awfully see-through. Now that I thought of it, everybody was just as sweaty as he was, and truth be told it was kind of hot for mid-September.

Mr. Lee was talking to two other students. His head was thrown back and he was laughing; it was such a wonderful sound. It was vague from where I was sitting, but I could still hear it as if the rest of the world had been muted. However, my trance was interrupted immediately.

"Hey," Vera said as she sat down next to me quietly, so quiet that I hadn't heard or noticed that she wasn't at the spot I thought she was at.

"I'm sorry about last weekend," she began. "I regret leaving you like that."

I just stared at my legs in front of me, refusing to say anything to her.

After a few awkward minutes passed, she sighed and got up. And just like that, she walked away.

Mr. Falliner's group thankfully arrived, and everyone took a seat on the ground while the sounds of heavy panting filled the silence.

"Tomorrow is our first official meet, and I am positive all of you will do amazing. We will be going on the coach bus again and the weather is supposed to be sunny, so let's hope it stays that way. Get some rest and eat healthy. Good job today, everyone." He dismissed everyone and they all began to leave in groups.

My breath got caught in my throat when Mr. Lee walked up to me.

"If you can keep your pace with me while you're running, you're more than just the average runner. I'm suggesting you do track and field this year."

I raised my eyebrows and began to write on my notepad that was half folded from being in my sweatshirt pocket.

Track and field isn't my thing, I wrote.

He glanced at it, an amused glimmer in his eyes. "I beg to differ."

My heart rate increased and I unsteadily scribbled a no thanks.

"Just think about it," He said encouragingly. "I'm the coach for track and field too."

And little did he know that him being the coach could make all the difference.

**

That next day after an uneventful class and a boring and insipid lunch, I walked up to his classroom door with an anxious expression plastered on my face. The door was closed, so I knocked and waited while the anticipation nearly choked me.

Mr. Lee appeared at the doorway and slowly opened it, his eyes never leaving mine. "It is a pleasure to see you again," He said jokingly, seemingly the fact that he just saw me a period ago. A smirk tugged at the right corner of his mouth. I nodded and smirked back as well as locking my eyes with his.

"Ladies first," he said casually, pointing at the doorway. I walked in and headed to my usual seat. Mr. Lee took a seat at his desk.

"You don't have to sit so far away, you know," he chuckled. "Once again, I don't bite."

He took that as a complete joke, but I sure as hell didn't. I awkwardly coughed and forced a smile. The thought of him biting my skin sent an uncomfortable shiver down my spine. Not in a negative way, of course. Who wouldn't want someone as attractive as him biting your skin?

I shook my head as if to shoo the thought away, and focused on taking a nap. I leaned my head down and looked up at him through my lashes. He had his glasses perched on the bridge of his nose as usual, but instead of reading or typing away on his laptop, he was on his phone. I bet he was texting his wife or girlfriend. His girlfriend was probably gorgeous, nonetheless. And he was successful and intelligent and handsome; who wouldn't want him?

Angered, I threw my head down maybe a little too fast on the desk. A bang echoed in the classroom.

"Are you alright?" Mr. Lee asked, his eyes studying me as I raised my head. I wanted to chuck his phone out the window. My breaths grew short the more we looked at each other, and soon enough my palms began to shake and it didn't take a genius to know what was coming next.

I quickly scribbled in large letters that covered a full page of notebook paper:

PANIC ATTACK

I ripped the sheet off and raised it up to show him. His eyes absorbed my handwriting and he instantly shot up from his seat.

"Breathe in and out," he said distractedly. I watched helplessly as my hands embarrassingly shook so much that I dropped the paper. I laid my hands out on the desk in front of me.

He quickly walked to my seat and handed me a water bottle. "Hydrate yourself. Some symptoms of panic attacks are dry throats and it will help drastically."

I submissively took the cold water bottle out of his hand and took a large sip, which oddly enough cooled the burning sensation in my cheeks. I closed my eyes and listened to my panicked breaths.

"You're okay," he whispered quietly. "You've got this. You don't need to be afraid." As gently as ever, his hand moved towards my face and his fingers caressed my chin. He tilted my face up to his. "Alright?"

I nodded slowly, my heart thumping loud enough to vibrate against my ribcage.

And right when I thought he was going to bring his head closer to mine, the wiggle of the classroom doorknob broke the trance we had.

A/N:
I've been extremely busy so I really do apologize for taking longer than usual. I was occupied all day but I will work really hard on trying to update again tonight, but I'm sorry this chapter is kind of short and my updates are dragging. Don't forget to comment and vote, it helps me out a lot :-)