Bold Love

Chapter 16 - A good nap

Y/N's POV

I open the door with a deep sigh, the tension of the day lifting off my shoulders as I step in the room.

"There you are." Kim stands up abruptly from her bed, eyes filled with worry.

Before I can respond to her or close the door, someone throws their arms around me, pulling me in for a hug, strong arms encircling me.

"Thank you." James squeezes me tightly. "Thank you so much for standing up to me."

I try to wind myself out of his grab, my lungs screaming for air as he practically squeezes me to death.

"Ugh. James, you're killing me here."

Immediately he drops his hands, stepping back.

"Sorry. Sorry," he mutters, "Still, I own you one now. No one stood up against Nicolas before and made it out alive."

I smirk. "Everything for my best friend."

"Speaking of alive. Someone looks badass with this bruise." Kim comes up beside me, also pulling me in for a brief hug.

I wink at her, wiping my hair out of my face to show off the bruise. "I know."

"Yeah, it highlights your face more," James chuckles, "Wear it with pride."

I let out a laugh and tell him that's exactly what I'm going to do from now on. Nobody needs to know the pain that I actually suffered from the hit.

"Now tell me..." I sit on the edge of the bed, leaning my chin on my palm as I look at my friends in curiosity.

I clap my hands together. "So what happened after I went dark? Ugh, I wish I could have seen his response after he hit me."

"You should have seen his face after Ms Hathaway stepped between you two. Like she would return the slap for you, so angry was she." James mentions, earning a laugh from me.

"Well, she shouldn't have done that. It was all too much." Kim declares seriously, my laugh being wiped away by her confession.

My eyes widen, turning my head to her in offense. "Wait, you don't want a professor to defend me even if it's the right thing to do?"

"No, y/n, I mean, she practically screamed at him." Kim tells with a serious voice, shaking her head to herself like she still couldn't comprehend it.

"Oh." I voice out slightly taken aback by the new revelation.

Ms Hathaway screaming at a student wasn't exactly what I could picture her doing. She just always seems so nice. But maybe there are things I don't know about her yet. And truthfully, I can't wait to discover them.

Kim furrows her brows. "I've never seen a professor react that way before."

I gulp. "There's a first time for everything."

"Still, it's weird."

Since Kim can't come up with a possible explanation of the whole situation not making much sense to her, she excuses herself to the bathroom, leaving James and me alone.

Just as she leaves the room, James turns to me with a wide grin spreading over his face, eyes glinting with bright amusement.

"And? Did you get some special treatment from her while you were away?" His tone clearly implying the double meaning behind his words and I grumble, turning my attention to him.

In response, he only wiggles his eyebrows at me. I roll my eyes, hitting him against the shoulder in annoyance.

"I was in the infirmary dumb head and out for a while since you didn't notice. You guys left me alone."