The day I stopped singing in the shower

Chapter 15: Cute panda

I walked into the room, first aid kit in hand avoiding Ace's gaze. His piercing golden eyes fixed on me. I let the first aid kit beside him on the bed and finally looked up to study him. I winced when I saw his eye and eyebrow. He had a cut with a trace of blood running through his face and his cheekbone and eye were swollen and already bruising. The one in his other eye was not that intense but sitting down on my bed, watching me with that adorable look, he kind of reminded me of a panda.

Poor guy, he had the face all beaten up and there I was, thinking he looked cute like that.

I took disinfectant and a piece of cloth and began to clean the blood in his face. He was staring at me in the eyes, and I was beginning to feel really nervous. I tried no to change my expression but I could feel the back of my neck, my ears and my cheeks warming up.

I then drove my hand with the piece of cloth to the wound. I tapped it gently, not wanting to hurt him. I watched his face out of the corner of my eye and saw him wincing in pain a little. I continued cleaning the wound, until all you could see was the red line of the cut. I went to grab some suture adhesive strips that I believed we had somewhere in there. Thankfully, I was not wrong.

"You're not too bad at this. We could switch degrees." He whispered.

I don't know why I whispered too. "I told you, I hate blood." I shook my head.

"I know. Thanks." He said softly.

"No, I'm the one to thank you." I said putting one of the strips on his eyebrow.

"You don't have to."

"Yes, I do." I stopped and looked into his eyes. "I don't know what could he possibly have done if you hadn't-"

"Don't think about that." He said gently touching my fingers with his. He paused for a moment. "He was the guy I saw you-

"Yes." I didn't look at him, raised my hands again and continued cleaning the wound.

I looked down and then glanced at him again. "That's it." I leaned over to close the first aid kit that was beside him. I sat up and locked my gaze with his. I raised my hand and brushed with my fingertips his bruised cheekbone. I half smiled. "Now you have a matching one."

He chuckled and shook his head, looking down.

I pulled apart and stepped back. "Well, maybe you wanna go, you know, talk to Lilly." I mumbled picking the first aid kit and putting it on my desk.

He cocked his head and furrowed his brow. "Lilly?"

"Yeah, I saw you with her before. If you need to go talk to her, go. I don't mind. You seemed to be having a good time." I muttered. I didn't know why the hell was I saying that. It came out in a sharper tone than how it had sounded in my mind. I was even avoiding his gaze and moving stuff from my bedroom abruptly, as if I was tidying up, which I wasn't. I was just changing things from one place to another.

"Yes, we were having a good time." Damn, that made me even more irritated. "But I'm not leaving. She would understand."

He was feeling sorry for me. I could tell. He thought I didn't want to be alone -which I didn't- and didn't want to leave me here. I hated to be a burden. "Seriously Ace, you can go-"

"I said I'm not leaving." He said firmly clenching the muscles in his jaw.

"Gee, relax." I widened my eyes and raised my hands. "I just thought you would like to resume what you left there."

"And what have I left there?" Okay, now he was treating me like I was stupid or something. He was beginning to irritate me even more.

"Oh come on, stop playing dumb, you know what I'm talking about." I was raising my voice now. He noticed it and raised his too.