- Chapter Three -
Sneaking Out

Julia’s Point of View:

The sky had already darkened as I finished reading the last page of one of my favorite books.  My mom had called earlier to check up on me and I assured her that I was doing fine.  I even had time to take a quick nap, so now I was feeling especially energetic.  I got up and walked over to Yi Xing’s bed.  He was sleeping soundly, curled up on his mattress cutely.  A few strands of hair had fallen over his eyes so I gently brushed them out of the way.  He stirred and mumbled something incoherent before sighing in his sleep.  His lips parted slightly and I blushed a deep strawberry color.  He was quite handsome, almost in a distracting sort of way, but what I liked about him the most was his unique personality.  It was infectious.  Every time I was around him, I found myself smiling and/or laughing.  I was just about to turn to leave, when Yi Xing grabbed my sleeve.

“Where are you going?” he slurred as he sat up in bed.

“I have the urge to go out for a little bit.”

He turned to look at the clock and grinned rakishly.

“At 9pm?”

“Yeah, why?”

“They’ll make us go back to bed if we get caught.  You’ll need my help if you want to sneak out.”

My own smirk snuck up on my face.  This could be fun.  If felt like I was sneaking out of “the house” for the first time with a boy.  (Obviously it was something I had never done, but hey, why not add something new to my list of accomplishments?)  Yi Xing and I smiled at each other knowingly before darting for the door.  He peeked out, looking both ways, before dragging me with him down the hallway.  He took a quick look around the next corner and turned back to me.

“The nurses are at their station.  We’re going to have to crawl past it.  Just follow my lead,” he whispered before crouching down against the wall.

I followed him as quietly as I could.  As we approached the nurse’s station he paused.  A pretty nurse with brown hair swiveled in her computer chair to grab some papers, before turning around so that her back was facing us.  We took that as our chance to slide by and rounded the next corner.  This hallway appeared to be empty and we proceeded with extra caution.  Suddenly, the door next to us flew open.  Yi Xing grabbed me, pulling me against his chest in an effort to keep us unseen.  Two doctors were talking amongst themselves as they walked right past us and back the way we had just came from.  I exhaled in relief, thanking the stars that we hadn’t been caught.

“Ahem,” Yi Xing cleared his throat.

I let go of him like a bolt of electricity had just zapped me.

“If you wanted to be close to me, all you had to do was ask,” he teased.

I felt my cheeks heating up and smacked his chest in protest.

“That’s not funny,” I whispered through gritted teeth.

He stifled a laugh before once again leading the way.  I could tell Yi Xing knew this place like the back of his hand.  He knew every hallway, predicted every staff member’s move, and finally got us to the elevator.  I expected to be caught as soon as the doors slid open, but luck seemed to be on our side.  We got on and he pushed the button for the main floor.  The two of us stood in silence, listening to the cheesy elevator music the whole way down.  When the doors opened, both of our eyes widened to the size of saucers.  Nurse Mae was standing there staring at us.  She was just as shocked as we were before she shot us a knowing grin, boarded the elevator, and turned a blind eye to us.  Yi Xing didn’t waste the opportunity.  Before I knew it, Mr. Mission Impossible had us in the courtyard.

“I can’t believe if you actually did it!” I exclaimed.

“Shhh!” he snapped back.

He started dragging me across the grass towards the forest.

“Where are we going?” I whispered.

“I wanna show you my secret spot.”

“S-Secret spot?”

Yi Xing didn’t say anything else for a while as we trudged through the dark forest.  I was feeling pretty creeped out at the moment.  He must have been to this place dozens of times during the night because I couldn’t see a thing.

“I hope you know where you’re going,” I said between labored breaths.

I was positive that if my doctor knew I was participating in this sort of rigorous activity, I’d be in deep trouble.  It was starting to catch up to me.  Even Yi Xing was getting out of breath.  Just as I was about to suggest that we take a break, we came to a large clearing, revealing a humongous field.

“Come on,” he said while walking into the middle of it.

He flopped out on the ground and rested his arms behind his head.  I stared at him, feeling a bit unsure, before he patted the spot next to him.  I followed his example and stretched out by his side.  I started wondering what was so special about the place, when he pointed towards the sky.

Thousands of beautiful stars sparkled at us.  I’d never seen so many at one time.  Usually the city lights hid most of them, but out here it seemed like you could see the entire universe laid out before you.

“Wow,” I breathed.

“Pretty cool, right?”

I nodded in agreement.  The arduous walk through the woods had definitely been worth it.

“How often do you come out here?” I asked curiously.

“Just when I start to feel a bit suffocated,” he replied honestly.

“Is that why you wanted to come here?”

He shook his head.

“Not this time.  It may sound stupid, but I thought it would be nice to share it with someone.”

“Why is that?”

“Come on, Jewels… even I get lonely sometimes.”

He was lonely?  That brought a frown to my face.  Yi Xing was too good of a person to have to deal with something like that.  He should never have to be lonely… ever.  Then I caught it--his new nickname for me.

“Wait… Jewels?” I quirked a brow at him.

He his side to face me.

“Yeah.  I hope you don’t mind ‘cause I think it’s sort of cute.”

“I don’t mind.  Where did you come up with it?”

“Believe it or not it happened on its own.  I noticed that every time I thought about you, that name would pop up in my head.”

Silence.

Yi Xing’s Point of View:

Crap.  I hope she didn’t notice that.

“Y-You think about me?” she mumbled.

Dammit.  How am I going to explain this away?

“Um… yeah.  I uh… have nicknames for everyone I like,” I fumbled for a convincing response.

“Oh,” she replied simply.

I frowned because it seemed as if she were disappointed.  I found myself wanting to take back my rushed words, but it was too late. Yes I thought about her.  Exactly why was still a mystery to me, and until I figured it out, I wasn’t willing to admit it just yet.

“So… what are your hobbies?”

It was my fail attempt at changing the subject.

“I like lots of things.  Mainly music, sketching, and puzzles.”

“Sketching?  What do you sketch?”

“Usually portraits of people.”

“Really?  Can I see some of your work sometime?”

Being forever the modest young lady that she is, she blushed at my words

“I guess so,” Jewels replied sheepishly.

I found myself smiling again.

“I like music too.  I haven’t done that many puzzles and I’m not very good at drawing.  I do like to dance though.”

“You can dance?” she asked surprised.

“Yep.  Hip hop dancing mostly.”

“Doesn’t it tire you out though?”

“Of course it does but that doesn’t stop me from trying anyways.”

I grinned at my own lack of self preservation.  If Kris knew I did that sort of activity with my heart condition, he’d go ballistic.

“Can I see you dance sometime?”

“Sure.  I’ll make you a deal.  I’ll dance for you if you show me some of your sketches.”

I held out my hand, waiting for her to take it.  She contemplated a second before shaking my hand in agreement.

“Deal,” she replied.

Inwardly, I was doing a little dance inside of my head.  I decided that each day I was going to make it my goal to learn something new about her.  Maybe during the process, I’d figure out why I thought about her so much.

Doctor Kris’s Point of View:

It was nearly 11pm.  My shift was supposed to end over an hour ago, but I had some last minute things to do before I went home, one of them being to check up on my little brother and my newest patient Julia.  Hopefully he hadn’t corrupted her and brought her to the dark side just yet.  That boy is far too mischievous for his own good.

When I entered their room, I smiled at the two of them tucked in their beds, sleeping soundly.  I walked over to Yi Xing first and immediately scowled.  His hair was littered with twigs and pieces of leaves.  How did all of that get there?  I shook my head as I went over to Julia’s bed to check on her.  I noticed a bit of dirt on her pajamas and a few stray leaves stuck in her hair as well.  I turned to glare daggers at my sleeping brother.  That little had snuck out again and this time he had taken a new recruit.  I’d have to have a little chat with him in the morning when he woke up.  For the time being I was willing to let it go.

I swear… what am I going to do with those two?

A/N:   For some reason... I've really fallen in love with Yi Xing's character.  He becomes even more complex and interesting as the story progresses.  <3  In a way... I feel like aspects of Julia's personality resemble myself.  It's funny how easy it is to get wrapped up in your own characters.