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That would have been torture.
“Really?”
“Really, but that’s it. Now, scram.” I shooed him away before turning around.
“Wait.” He grabbed my wrist and whirled me around, our eyes blinking at each other.
I gaped at him.
After a brief silence, Cole let go and scratched the back of his head, embarrassed as he stuttered a question, “So, is he in trouble? Are you and Gray in trouble?”
Gray? I promised I wouldn’t tell.
“Nope,” I lied, “not at all. I was just worried Gray might have been. I had a bad dream about him, that’s all.”
“Oh, well, uhm. If y-you need help, or anyone t-to talk to at all,” he stammered, his chin in the palm of his hand, “please, uhm, don’t hesitate to come to me. I kinda sorta missed you and I talking.”
I looked down on my feet, feeling uneasy.
“No offense, Cole, but I’m good. If I ever need someone to talk to, I think I’ll just go to Keith,” I jested, a smirk replacing my previous frown. “Or myself. Yeah, that works too.”
“Alright,” he mumbled. “And uhm, in case you were wondering, it’s unrequited.”
“What is?”
“Me and Keith.”
My ears twitched.
“He doesn’t like me that way.” He tried not to laugh at his own setback. “He was really mad at me when I kissed him, and then he punched me in the face and told me to go to hell and stay there for the rest of my life.”
“He doesn’t like you?” I said as if I couldn’t believe it. “Is he straight?”
“No,” he replied with a lingering sadness in his eyes. “He likes another guy.”
“Dear me,” was all I could say before walking toward him and slapping him lightly on the back.
Cole’s face turned into an unmistakable shade of red. He had no bruises, though, so I figured Keith’s punch wasn’t as brutal as he’d made it sound.
After giving Cole a quick hug, we said our goodbyes. I watched him leave and wished we never had to talk again.
And the thought that I was finally free from him made me dance—in my head.
The following day, I remained sick with the flu. I hadn’t been this sick since I was in kindergarten and barely even able to read. I also had to skip more classes, which was a bummer, but the good thing was I didn’t have to worry about any death visions.
By Saturday, I started feeling like myself again. I showered and scrubbed here and there, dressed myself in comfy clothes and shoes, and went out to buy coffee ice cream at the convenience store five blocks away from home. While strolling and licking my ice cream, I was reminded of something that also had a coffee flavor—theKopiko kiss.
Maybe the visions ceased and I got sick because Gray planted a kiss on me.It couldn’t be … I can’t be sick because of a kiss, can I? Dear me. Was it cursed?
A male voice forced me to regain my grip on reality, “Should I kiss you again?”
“What?” I asked, registering Gray’s presence beside me.I did not just say that out loud, did I?His flannel shirt was orange and black this time, and whoa, just, whoa, it looked perfect on his flawless body and newly styled side-swept haircut. “No!” I barked, pulling my face like a llama. “No …” But he lookedreallygood all of a sudden. It was like a brand-new light shone upon him. I even noticed he wasn’t wearing his black stud earring anymore.
“No? No? You’re sick,” he reminded me, his voice rising with what seemed like a frustrated tone. “You just said out loud that maybe you’re sick because I kissed you. Because of me. What if something bad happens to you? What if having no visions of the future is actually not a good thing?”
“It is a good thing,” I said resolutely.
He rubbed his own neck before coming up with something else to question. “What if you have to let me go to get better?”
