Between Aria and Taeil
Risk and Retaliations
The first week of Jay's stay at the hospital passed by in lightening sped. During that first week there was not one day, not one night that Aria, Jongwoon, and Taeil were not in that hospital room along side Jay, and that meant a lot to Jay. After all her years of having to go and make a home in a hospital room, where the only people who ever stayed with her or came to visit was Aria and her brother, it meant a lot to Jay that she had developed friends like Taeil and Jongwoon; whom she had grown incredibly close to in that one week of being hospitalized. There was not one day that Jay went with out learning something new about either Jongwoon or Taeil, and there was not one day that passed with out Taeil and Aria arguing or fighting. It had gotten so bad sometimes that Jongwoon had to pull Aria off of Taeil to keep her from clawing his eyes out. The entire thing was funny to Jay of course because she could read between the lines, she could see things that Aria and Taeil could not, and she suspected that Jongwoon did too. Jay couldn't help but to be amused by her best friend and Taeil, the way they hated each other but at the end of the day were only becoming closer and closer to one another, but Aria would never admit to that, she probably didn't even realize it. However, as the second week rolled around, things were different, the days didn't pass by as quick as they did the first week. No, in fact the days Jay stayed in the hospital her second week were among the slowest and longest days she had ever had to stay in a hospital room. Jay was getting better, much much better, which is why she did not understand why it was Aria and Taeil couldn't come to visit her as often as they did the first week. That was until Jongwoon came to visit her to tell her the exact reason behind why Taeil and Aria could not come to visit her, making sure to leave out the fact that Aria has been helping him with his lesson plans and his grading, making sure to leave out that Aria had been waking up three hours eight just to help him prepare for his classes and grade the assignments. Knowing the moment that he did mention it, that Jay would become upset. And there was no way he was going to risk Jay relapsing, no way in hell. Of course Jay didn't respond well when Jongwoon told her that Aria and Taeil would not becoming to visit her as often, but when he told her that they'd be spending some time alone to go over lesson's she had missed, her heart did back flips. But it was still a little depressing knowing that her best friend Aria, and her new friend Taeil would not be able to see her very much this week. However, Jay understood, that Aria and Taeil needed to be in class, and she understood that if Aria was here with her while Jongwoon taught her the lessons she missed, that she would not be able to focus. If only Aria could see it that way. Aria was so worried about Jay that the last thing she was worried about were her classes, in fact the entire first week Aria could only think about Jay, and whether or not Jay was doing alright while she was away. Every chance Aria got, every time there was time between her classes, Aria would get on the train just to go check on Jay, even if Jay told her not to, she still did it. When Jongwoon told Aria that she would no longer be able to go see Jay as often as she did the previous week, Aria threw a fit, but it was short lived because she knew, just as much as she suspected Jay did, that nothing would get accomplished if she was their while Jongwoon caught Jay up.
Aria walked through the hallways with a false smile plastered on her lips, her eyes bright with false happiness, her waves and greetings insincere. The last thing Aria wanted was everyone in her business, asking what it was bothering, asking why it was she was not smiling, but Aria was good at hiding her pain, at hiding her problems. The only person who could tell that anything was wrong with Aria was Jay, but other than that, she was the only one, but sometimes that was not the case, because there were those times when Jay never knew anything was bothering Aria. Aria sighed softly as she walked down the hallway toward Jongwoon's classroom,
"Aria! Aria! I know you hear me." The very distant sound of a voice calling her name pulled Aria out of herself, making her a billion times more alert to what was happening around her. Aria looked up to see a very handsome young man walking toward her, his cheeks a little flushed,
"Oh, um hi Woohyun how are you doing? Long time no see." Aria chirped, waving her hand in front of her as Woohyun hurriedly approached her,
"Hmph, are you really going to stand these and act like you don't know what you did!?" Aria stepped back as Woohyun shouted at her, blinking her eyes as a cloud of confusion settled over her head. Aria was so consumed with making sure Jay was recovering well, that everything else that happened between the time Jay was admitted into the hospital and now flew over her head undetected. So she had no idea what it was Woohyun was talking about.
"Woohyun...I'm sorry but I have...no idea what you are talking about..." Taeil walked down the hallway, his ear buds in his ear, the music playing turned down incredibly low. There was no need for him to have his music turned up any louder because at this moment there was no one around to make any noise, no one around to give him a headache, that was until he heard a furious voice belonging to a male, and the voice of a girl, a very familiar voice. Taeil pulled his ear buds out of his ears and stopped in his tracks, just waiting for the females voice to sound again, to make certain that he was not imagining Aria's voice.
"Like hell you don't know what I am talking about! do you know how many times I called you this past week...do you know how many text messages I sent you!? Huh!?" Taeil peeked his head around the corner to see a guy towering above Aria, his face red with anger, his body tense,
"Woohyun...I...I'm sorry...I totally forgot about...I've just been so busy...with um..." Taeil listened in horror as Aria d the air for a reason why she had failed to call this Woohyun guy back. Taeil shut his eyes and clenched his hand into a fist as the anger with in him rose, as his blood began to heat up. He didn't understand why he was becoming so upset, but the longer he listened to this Woohyun character lash out at Aria for blowing him off, the more his blood boiled, the hotter with fury he became. He had spent the entire week with Aria, the both of them by Jay's side the entire time. Taeil had seen first hand how much of a toll Aria took as she watched her friend in the hospital. No matter how much Aria tried to mask it, no matter how much she said she was alright, Taeil could feel, he could tell, that she was anything but alright. Those long periods of time when Aria would disappear, Taeil knew, or at least he assumed, that she was somewhere crying her eyes out, but it was only an assumption. But judging by the way Aria would come back to the hospital room, her eyes a tad bit swollen and her nose the slightest bit red, he figured that his assumption was correct. However, through it all Aria was strong, she smiled no matter what, she held her head up high, no matter what. So it shocked him to see this strong girl, standing before this douche as he unleashed his anger out on her.
Aria you idiot...why are you just standing there letting him talk to you like that!? The voice in Taeil's head screamed as he watched Aria jump from the rising tone and volume of Woohyun's voice.
"With what, Aria!? What could you have possibly been doing that you ignored my five calls and texts i left you?" Woohyun folded his arm across his chest and huffed as he waited for Aria to answer him. Aria nibbled her lip nervously, moving her hands up to her earring, which she tugged on gently,
"Answer me damn it!" Woohyun exploded, causing Aria to jump back some. Taeil, who was still watching from the shadows, could no longer take it, he could no longer take seeing Aria get interrogated by this jackass Woohyun.
"I-I...I um..." Taeil took a hesitant step forward, but sprang into action the moment he saw Woohyun's arm flex.
"She was at the hospital taking care of her friend you prick!" Taeil exclaimed, hurrying over to Aria's side, taking her hand in his and pulling her away from Woohyun and toward Jongwoon's classroom. Taeil opened the door to Jongwoon's classroom and pulled Aria inside, and slammed the door shut. Taeil gently pushed Aria against the wall before shutting his eyes and running his hands through his hair,slightly tugging on it.
"Taeil what the hell was that!?" Aria exclaimed, taking a couple of steps around Taeil, only to be pushed back against the wall by the very man she was trying to get away from.
"Who was that guy out there?" Taeil's voice was oddly calm and very soft as he asked this question, the complete opposite of how he felt on the inside. Taeil peered down at Aria, his eyes searching her face for an answer while he waited for her to speak. Aria could feel Taeil's gaze warm on her face, he was incredibly close and her heart was thumping against her chest. Aria didn't know whether her heart was beating because of what just happened between her and Woohyun, or if her heart was going crazy because Taeil was so very close to her. Aria kept her eyes trained on the ground, her fingers busy with the earring on her ear, she could smell the coffee and on Taeil's breath as he inhaled and exhaled. She dared to flicker her eyes up toward Taeil's face, her eyes instantly meeting Taeil's. Those dark and mesmerizing eyes of Taeil's bore deep into Aria and for a moment she felt like she no longer needed to tell Taeil and thing, his gaze was so piercing it felt as if he saw right into her mind, right into her heart. Aria tore her eyes from Taeil's and settled her gaze on his lips, watching as tongue darted over his vibrant pink lips, parting her own to speak,
"...no one...he was no one Taeil...just this guy I met a few days before Jay was admitted to the hospital...no one you should worry about...now if you do not...mind i have to um...go find Kim gyosunim..." Taeil narrowed his eyes and exhaled softly, his breath tickling Aria's neck, blowing the hair that framed her face away,
"Why was he yelling at you like that?" Taeil asked, placing a hand on the wall beside her head, leaning his weight on it leisurely. Aria looked away from Taeil's face and sighed,
"Look Taeil...I have to go...today is the last day we can see Jay before Jongwoon cuts us off from seeing her. But i can't see her until I finish grading these assignments...so if you do not mind..." Aria blurted, changing the subject from Woohyun, not wanting to really discuss her personal life with the very guy she was convinced she hated, who in turn hated her. Just because she and Taeil spent an entire week with one another meant absolutely nothing, just because Taeil knew a few things about her, just because she knew a few things about him did not make them instant friends, and it did not mean that Aria had to tell him what was going on with her and Woohyun. Taeil watched Aria intently as she walked away from him, as she wandered over to Jongwoon's desk and pulled out a thick folder about the same width of her thigh and placed it on the desk. Taeil shrugged his shoulders as he walked over to one of the vacant desks in the front of the classroom, his eyes still trained on Aria as she pulled her thick curly hair up into a bun and pulled a few colored pens out of her bag. Taeil sat in the room, humming to the many tunes that played in his ear as he awaited the arrival of his hyung, all the while, keeping his eye on Aria as she slaved over the papers that were supposed to be Jongwoon's job to grade days ago.
"That's a lot of papers you know, do you want any help?" Taeil asked looking over at Aria to see her head laying on top of the stack of papers on the desk. Aria raised her head up and looked over at Taeil,
"Um...nope...it's alright...I got it...just a few more to go." Taeil shook his head and stood up, stretching his arms above his head, biting his lip hard as he watched Aria bury her head in the papers once more. Taeil hadn't noticed the bags under Aria's eyes before now, which only made him curious. Aria glanced up at Taeil to find him staring at her as he chewed on his lip. Aria's heart fluttered at the sight of Taeil, her pen falling out of her hand,
"...ah...um..." Aria looked up at Taeil and down under the table at her pen, before falling to her knees and crawling under the table to retrieve her pen. Aria had no idea why Taeil was making her so flustered, but here she was dropping her pen and choking on her words,
"Are you sure...i hate to...well...you look awful and really sleepy...and i don't know about you, but that does not look like a few." Aria crawled from under the desk, her pen in . She glanced up toward where Taeil was standing only to find him no longer there, Aria stood up to her feet, looking around the room for Taeil,
"Boo!" Aria screamed at the sudden sound of Taeil's voice behind her,
"Hahahahaha!! You are such a coward...you literally jump at everything..." Taeil chuckled, watching Aria as she bounced with hiccups, her eyes narrow as she glared at him,
"Screw off Taeil...you're a... jerk." Aria spat slashed hiccuped, completely and utterly embarrassed at having reacted the way she did to Taeil's immature antic. Taeil walked over to Aria, his chest still hoping with laughter,
"Come on Ary, I was just messing with you...you can't seriously be upset at me." Taeil stood beside Aria, looking down at her as she forcibly crossed out the wrong answers on the papers she was grading, her body bouncing slightly with each hiccup. Aria ignored the fact that Taeil was standing behind her, determined to block him out as much as she could, she didn't want to have to deal with him anymore this evening. Taeil pulled up a chair next to Aria and grabbed a small stack of the ungraded papers,
"Yah! I said i got it...i dont need your help!" Taeil snatched the papers out of Aria's reach as she grabbed for them, standing up and holding them above his head,
"You're not that tall you know." Aria spat, standing up to grab the papers from Taeil,
"I'm taller than you...a head taller to be exact...midget..." Taeil waved the papers above his head, snickering as Aria jumped and reached for the assignments he held hostage above his head
"That's not fair...give them here..." Aria whined, pushing at Taeil's chest,
"No...you need my help...besides you need to take a break so you can rest...you don't want Jay seeing you like this....you look like a troll..." Aria crossed her arm in front of her chest and began to pout,
"Aria...come one just let me help you... " Aria looked away from Taeil, not wanting to admit to defeat.
"...whatever..." Aria couldn't deny Taeil's help because he was right, he was completely right, about everything. She really was tired, very tired, but she wasn't going to tell Jongwoon, or Jay for that matter, because at this moment, the both of them had Korean to worry about and the last thing Jay needed was to be worrying about Aria. The last thing any of them needed was to be worrying about Aria. The important one here was Jay and Jay only, there was no way Aria was going to allow her small troubles to get in the way of Jay's recovery, in the way of Jay's life. And it was up to Aria to minimize any stress that Jay would encounter, and that started with her, Aria had to make sure that she did not give Jay any reasons to stress out, it was critical for her health. So if that means having to go a few nights with out sleep just to make sure the days went by smoothly, that's exactly what Aria had to do. Besides, Taeil was a native Korean speaker, he knew more than anyone whether or not the grammar on the worksheets were correct or not. Taeil took his seat next to Aria and immediately began grading the sheets in his hand, Taeil looked over at Aria to see that she was nodding off and smiled. Taeil grabbed the papers from underneath Aria and quickly assessed them, making sure to mark any grammatical errors as incorrect. When Taeil was finished with the rest of the papers he cleared the desk and placed the sheets back in Jongwoon's desk drawer. Taeil took his seat next to Aria and looked on as the girl fell into a deeper sleep. Taeil snickered to himself as he poked at Aria's cheeks, the girl stirring,
"Yah!" Aria exclaimed, shooting up in her chair, holding her hand up as if she was going to strike Taeil,
"Mwo!?" Taeil retorted, raising his hand, prepared to strike her back,
"Yah! Stop it, Taeil." Taeil turned around at the sound of Jongwoon's voice, his hand still hovering in front of his face,
"Geur-" Taeil started to say but Jongwoon cut him off
"Just stop. I'm sorry I'm late Aria...i was stuck in a faculty meeting since noon." Jongwoon glanced at his empty desk, a blank expression on his face.
"Did you grade those assignments in my drawer already?" Jongwoon asked, looking over at a very exhausted looking Aria.
"Ah...um...aniyo...." Aria admitted, her voice thick with disappointment as she looked around Jongwoon's desk for the left over papers she was supposed to finish grading. With one look from Taeil, Aria knew that he had finished grading the papers for her and she couldn't help but smile at him. Taeil's heart did a back flip and then some as the bright smile spread across Aria's full and luscious looking lips, the dormant butterflies in his stomach going crazy as he beheld the girl in front of him,
What the hell is the matter with you Taeil?! The voice in his head snapping him out of his momentary period of bliss. Taeil looked over toward Jongwoon, his cheeks coloring a deep red color,
"I helped her out some, she was just going so slow...i thought she'd never finish! Why do you keep asking her to help you...she's so slow...not to mention she fell asleep while she was grading the papers." Taeil said, kind of as a hint to Jongwoon that she was doing to much. Aria looked over at Taeil, taking his comment more like an attack,
"I'm sorry, i just...I was grading the papers one moment and then I just-" Jongwoon looked over Taeil who had been glaring at him the entire time and nodded his head,
"It's okay Aria, I apologize for leaving so much work for you to do today...I've just been so busy trying to prepare these lessons for Jay" Aria blinked wildly, trying to wake herself up and keep her contact lenses moist,
"No, its okay Kim gyosunim...it really is aright, I totally understand... I just dozed off is all...all that reading makes me sleepy...I'm perfectly fine. Is there anything else you need me to do before we go see Jay." Taeil almost spoke up at hearing Aria claim that she only fell asleep because of all the reading and at the fact the she was offering to do more work knowing that she was exhausted.
"...ahh, if it isn't too much can grade these papers really quick...I have to go over this schedule i printed for the doctors. That way they know when i will be coming in to teach Jay the lessons she missed and how long I will be staying each visit." Jongwoon pulled out a folder full of papers and handed them Aria, jetting over to his office which was on the other end of the room.
"Yesung!" Taeil called after his friend as he listened to a soft sigh leave Aria's lips,
"Aria, you are too tired to be doing that...why didn't you just-"
"I'm fine Taeil really...I've been helping Kuim gyosunim for the past few days so I'm used to it....thank you for helping me by the way. I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time before." Taeil watched the tired smile creep up on Aria's lips and he couldn't help but to feel a little bit heart broken. He had no idea that she had been helping Jongwoon out, every time he came in here to talk with his hyung, Aria was no where to be found.
"Do you want me to help you?" Taeil asked finally, his voice low and soothing,
"Ah...ani...you go rest...I'm sure you're tired after grading those papers for me." Taeil wanted to yell at Aria the moment the words left her lips, but did not dare open his mouth.
There is no way this girl is serious right now...is she really about to grade those papers? Is she really going to sit there and tell me that I'm tired and that i need to rest, when she is the one who was just drooling over some papers a minute ago!? Just exactly how long has she been helping Jongwoon out with his work? The questions sounded in his mind as he watched Aria chew her pink pen, her eye lids falling shut but only for a brief second before they popped back open. Taeil kept his eye on Aria as she marked up the new worksheets Yesung gave her to grade, every now and then asking her if she was alright, knowing that, even if she said she was fine, that she was anything but. Aria glanced at her phone to see that it was going on ten at night. Aria glanced over toward Jongwoon's door and bit her lip,
"Aria...is everything alright?" The sound of Taeil's voice frightened Aria but only a bit,
"Oh...um...yeah...i just...I'm finished grading..." Taeil looked into Aria's face, his heart breaking as he saw how bloodshot her eyes were, how tired and worn out she looked,
"Aria you need to rest..." Aria shook her head and pushed away from the desk, walking over to Jongwoon's door. Aria wasn't going to do anything else until she got a chance to see her best friend before she couldn't see her any more this week. Aria was half way to Jongwoon's office door when it was thrown open,
"We should head over to see Jay, it's getting pretty late..." Aria smiled weakly at Jongwoon,
"I um...i finished grading the papers you gave me." Jongwoon nodded his head, glancing over at Taeil, who still had his eyes trained on Aria,
"Ah that's great, Aria! Thank you so much....if you are all ready to go we can leave then." Aria hurried over to the table she was grading papers on and grabbed up her bag, slipping her phone into her pocket,
"Aish! You two go ahead...unlike me this is the last time you two get to see Jay this week. I forgot my iPad back in the union building." Aria opened to tell Jongwoon that she was willing to wait but he was gone out of the door before a sound left her lips,
"So i guess that means you are riding with me...lets go..." At this point Aria would catch a ride with a hobo in order to go see her friend, so she had no time to complain about having to ride with Taeil, all she could afford to do at this point was shut up and do as she was told. Aria followed Taeil all the way to the student parking lot, keeping her eyes trained on his feet, rubbing her eyes every so often as she felt the exhaustion tugging on her eye lids. Taeil peeked over his shoulder at Aria, the girl behind him tired out of her mind, he wanted more than anything to just turn around and sweep her off her feet, but knew better than to lay one finger on her.
"Here." Taeil said handing Aria a motorcycle helmet once they arrived at his bike,
"What...what is this!?" Aria asked before taking a look in front of her. Taeil swung his leg over his bike, starting it up, looking over his shoulder at Aria, who just stood there staring at Taeil and his motorcycle like she was looking at a ghost.
"Put your helmet on...we have to go so we can see Jay remember..." Taeil said, snapping his fingers indicating that Aria needed to speed up the process.
"...I've never rode on a motorcycle before Taeil...what if I fall off?" Aria looked up at Taeil with wide innocent eyes and blinked, earning from the man a small smirk,
"...you aren't going to fall off I promise...all you have to do is hold onto me...and everything will be alright...I won't let anything happen to you Aria." Aria didn't know what emotion it was she was feeling at the moment, all she knew was the longer she listened to Taeil speak, the deeper his words sunk into her heart. Aria looked into Taeil's eyes and practically melted, his gaze, on top of his smooth voice, was enough to make a girl lose strength, which in this case Aria was. Never before has she ever heard such true and sincere words spoken to her, besides that of her best friend of course. Even if Taeil was referring to a motorcycle ride, Aria had the feeling that that's not the only thing he meant when he said that all she had to do was hold on to him and everything would be alright, that he meant it when he said he would not let anything happen to her. Aria rubbed a finger over the helmet in her arms before flashing Taeil a shy and tired smile,
"Okay Taeil...i trust you..." Taeil watched Aria as she climbed onto the back of his motorcycle, her fingers digging into his shoulder as she steadied herself.
"Just hold on tight...and whatever you do...never let me go, okay?" Taeil said, placing his hands over Aria's clasped ones, pressing them against his hard stomach. At first it was weird and rather awkward for Taeil as Aria hugged him, the feeling was foreign for the both of them in fact. However as time passed by and Taeil and Aria relaxed, it wasn't all that bad, being so close to one another.
"...okay...I won't let you go..." Aria voice turned into a whisper as Taeil took off out of the parking lot and speed into the bustling streets of Seoul. Aria had never been so scared in her life as Taeil zipped down the streets of Seoul, the window whipping across her body at an exhilarating force. Aria hugged Taeil so close to her that she was sure that she left bruises around his stomach. Every time he made a turn, or sped up in front of a car, Aria could have sworn her heart leaped into . Taeil glanced over his shoulder Aria every once in awhile, only to find that she had her eyes squeezed shut. This only made him laugh, how could the very girl he was sure he wasn't going to like, be so cute?
"We're here." Taeil said as he parked his bike and turned off the gas. Aria was still buzzing with the sensation of having just rode a motorcycle, that it did not register in her head that they had arrived at the hospital, that they were no longer moving. Aria barely heard Taeil speaking, the sound of the cars swishing by loud in her ear.
"Aria...are you alright?" Taeil asked, glancing over his shoulder to see if Aria was okay. Aria peeked up at Taeil and smiled weakly,
"....um...yes...I'm fine...just...I'm fine, thank you..." Taeil could tell that Aria was still a little freaked out from the motorcycle ride and he could tell by the way she held on to him even though they had stopped.
"Aria...you can let go now...we're not moving anymore." Taeil said smiling down the girl who was still holding on to him as if they were still going seventy down the freeway.
"Oh yeah...i guess you're right...um yeah!" Aria exclaimed as she peeled herself from Taeil's back and pulled the helmet off of her head, revealing a mess of curls.
"See...it wasn't that bad right?" Aria looked over at Tail as she surely messed up hair, her face flushed from having just been driven to the hospital on a motorcycle,
"...it was...fun..." Aria said at last, looking up into Taeil's face, a wavering smile appearing on her lips. Taeil could see that Aria was still terribly sleepy, and that she was trying her best to fight it and appear like she was wide awake. To many people, the false smiles that Aria wore on her face would have been believable, but after spending night and day with some one and observing their every move, for a week, those false antics were soon unmasked.
"Hmph, well...i'm glad you had fun...see, i told you you wouldn't fall off." Taeil grinned as he hopped off his bike and helped Aria off. Taeil and Aria hurried into the hospital and ran toward Jay's room, earning grimaces from the many doctors and nurses that bustled through the corridors. Taeil and Aria arrived at the door at the same time, both of their hands gripping the door knob,
"Let go, i'm going in first." Aria whined, flashing Taeil a weak and rather tired grin,
"But she likes me better...so I'll go in first." Taeil said shouldering Aria out of the way and bounding the door open,
"Yah! That's not fair! You're stronger than me!" Aria shouted, slapping a hand over as she entered Jay's room, forgetting that she could have just as well been asleep.
"I thought i heard you two out there flirting." Jay exclaimed, swinging her feet off the bed and walking over to Aria.
"Oh, i'm so sorry for making so much noise eonnie...i totally forgot what time it was....and we weren't flirting....that's...disgusting..." Aria apologized to her best friend before shooting Taeil an ice cold death glare for having shouldered her out of the way,
"It's okay Aria, i was just messing with you. Hey Taeil....what took you two so long? Where is Kim gyosunim?" Jay asked, looking over at Taeil and then the door, waiting for her teacher to walk in.
"Oh, um...Kim gyusonim told us to leave before him so Taeil brought me here...on his...motorcycle..." Aria said dragging out the last part of her sentence so that Jay could hear what it was she just did. Aria smiled softly as Jay's eyes grew wide,
"You didn't! Ary are you serious!? Taeil i didn't know you had a motorcycle!" Taeil looked between Aria and Jay with a sheepish grin on his face.
"Yup...I uh...drive a motorcycle." Taeil waved his helmet in the air before letting his arm fall back to his side.
"Was it fun?" Jay asked, looking at her friend, who was staring at Taeil, who was in turn staring right back, a small grin on his lips.
"I guess you can say that..." Aria said quietly glancing over at Taeil before turning to face her friend,
"Hmph...really now?" Jay asked, one of her eye brows raised skeptically as she eyed both Taeil and Aria,
"Yup!" Aria said, looking away from Jay and down at her feet. Taeil's eyes widen at Jay's implication and he coughed,
"um...yeah...I think she left bruises on me though...she was holding on to me really tight...she was so scared..." Taeil said, placing a hand on his stomach as he began to chuckle.
"I bet she was." Jay commented as she watched the little tiny sparks between Aria and Taeil fly.
"No i wasn't...he's exaggerating Jay...shut up Taeil!" Aria exclaimed walking over to him, her arm raised as if she were going to hit him.
"Yah! Yah! You crazy girl!" Taeil exclaimed as Aria smacked him repeatedly on his arm,
"I wasn't scared! Babo!" Aria shouted at Taeil, smacking him on the chest before running over to stand by her friend. Jay snickered to herself walking over to her bed, taking a seat as she watched the ridiculously entertaining Taeil and Aria.
"Are you alright, Jay. I'm really sorry I was late...please don't be angry...I was really busy today...I um..." Aria shut before she accidentally, mentioned Woohyun or the fact that she had been helping Jongwoon out with his grading. Taeil looked between Jay and Aria.
"I um...had a bunch to do today...I just lost track of time...and Kim gyosunim was really busy too." Taeil took a couple of steps toward Aria and Jay,
"Oh, no I'm not mad Ary...and I am doing fine....way better than last week." Aria smiled brightly at the news her friend gave her,
"So i am guessing the medicine the doctors prescribed to you is working? If there is anything you need me to do just let me know, okay? I'll do what ever you need me to do." Jay smiled at her friend.
"Thank you Aria, I don't need anything at the moment." Taeil walked over to the vacant sofa and plopped down on it, leaning his head back so that his head was resting on the wall.
"So...did anything interesting happen while I was away?" Aria flashed Jay a sweet smile before glancing over at Taeil,
"Um...not much...just a bunch of cramming and testing...I um...I woke up late this morning so i didn't get a chance to study as long as I would have liked to." Taeil listened to Aria as she told Jay her constructed story of her days endeavors, noting that she made no mention of the little altercation she had with Woohyun, or the fact that she actually woke up four in the morning to help Jongwoon prepare for his classes while he prepared his private lesson plans for Jay. He also observed how Aria made sure not to mention that the actual reason behind them being late was because she was actually grading the sky high stack of assignments Jongwoon was supposed to grade few days ago.
"Doesn't look like you slept late. Aria you look exhausted." Aria shook her head and giggled,
"I'm fine Jay, really. Don't worry your pretty little self about me okay? You just focus on recovering." Taeil sat up and glanced at Aria before standing up to leave the room, his temper rising with each false word that left Aria's mouth.
"Are you going somewhere Taeil?" Jay asked, looking up at the sound of movement,
"I want to hear about your day too." Jay said cheerfully, Taeil stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to look at Jay, flashing her a big smile.
"Huh? Oh no, I was just stretching." Taeil said, glancing down at Aria, the girl turning her face away from him. Taeil walked over to Jay's bed and took a seat beside Aria,
"You do look a little tired Aria, maybe you should lay down." Taeil said, tilting his head so that he was looking into Aria's face,
"I'm not going to lay down...I'm not tired. I want to spend as much time with Jay before we have to go." Jay looked at Aria and smiled,
"I can't believe Kim gyosunim is making you guys stop coming to visit me." Jay said, folding her legs underneath her, making more room for Taeil and Aria on her bed.
"I know! When he told us that after today we could no longer see you on a daily like we were last week I almost screamed." Lay, Taeil, and Aria all sat in a small circle just talking about random things for about an hour and thirty minutes,
"Whoa! Was that your stomach Ary?" Jay asked out of the blue, the faint sound of Aria's stomach growling distracting her. Aria looked up at Jay and smiled sheepishly, she had been so busy all day that she barely ate much of anything. Aria's diet for the day consisted of two cups of green tea, a cup of blueberries, four bottles of water, and a mixed bag of dried fruit that she munched on through out the day.
"Yeah...I guess it was." Aria laughed,
"Aria, when was the last time you ate anything?" Jay asked, her voice stern and big sister like,
"Um...not too long before we left to come see you." Jay frowned. Taeil looked over at Aria, he did not remember seeing Aria eat one thing while he was there with her in the classroom as she graded papers.
"But you did eat something right? And i'm not talking about that bird feed you call food." Aria rolled her eyes,
"Yes, Jay, I ate." Jay looked over at Taeil but only for a brief second before returning her attention to her dongsaeng,
"Aria, I know how you get when I'm in the hospital...it takes someone to remind you to eat." Aria sighed, knowing good and well that the last time she ate anything was this afternoon, but that did not stop her from telling Jay otherwise.
"I ate something Jay, stop worrying about me. You just get better alright...I need you to get better...and you can not do that if you are worried about me." It was Jay's turn to sigh,
"I'm sorry, it's so hard being stuck here...and away from my best friend." Aria smiled up at Jay and took her hand,
"I know...I know its hard...I wish we could come the rest of the week. Look on the bright side, you get to come back this Saturday." Jay flashed a toothy grin at Aria and then at Taeil.
"You know what this moment needs?" Aria asked, rubbing her eyes before looking over at Taeil and then up at Jay, glad to finally change the subject,
"What, Aria? What does this moment need?" Taeil asked,
"Ice cream!" Aria squeaked, jumping off the bed.
"Ooo! That sounds great Aria. I want strawberry." Aria grabbed her bag and dug out her wallet,
"...what flavor do you want Taeil." Taeil looked at Aria,
"What ever flavor you are getting." Taeil said,
"Um well...i hope you're alright with green tea...because that's what I am getting." Taeil nodded his head,
"It's cool. Do you want me to go with you?" Aria shook her head before Taeil even got a chance to finish asking his question.
"No, it's okay...I got it...you just...stay here and bore Jay..." Aria giggled before walking out of the door. Aria stood outside Jay's room door, she could feel a migrane throbbing ever so faintly against her head. Aria sighed softly as she walked through the lit hallways toward the elevators.
"So, how was your day Taeil?" Jay asked, looking over at Taeil, who was sitting in front of her,
"It was alright Jay, thank you for asking. How are you? You look like you are doing much better." Jay smiled,
"I'm doing much much better. I can't wait to get out of this hospital room though." Taeil smiled at Jay, the smile on his lips wavering,
"Taeil what's wrong?" Jay asked, detecting his faltering smile. Taeil looked back at the door Aria exited and then at Jay,
"Is it Aria? What did she do? Is she being difficult? I'll talk to her for you if you want me to." Taeil shook his head,
"Oh no, it's not that...well yeah she is difficult... nothing I can't handle. But earlier today I ran into her in the hallway and she was talking with some guy..."
"Ugh! Was his name Woohyun!?" Jay exclaimed, running her fingers through her hair,
"Yeah. How did you know?" Taeil asked, his eyes wide with amazement,
"She met him the day before i went to the hospital." Taeil nodded his head,
"What, do you not like him or something?" Taeil asked, choosing his words carefully. Judging by the way Jay scoffed, Taeil could tell that she was not too fond of mister Woohyun.
"I can't stand the guy. Why? What happened?" Taeil bit his lip and looked over at the door to make sure Aria was not coming.
"I was on my way to Yesung's room-"
"Wait, who's Yesung?" Jay asked scrunching up her nose,
"Oh yeah, i forgot...it's Kim gyosunim....well it's what I call him...a lot of his friends call him that actually." Jay nodded her head, smiling at that fact that she knew her teacher's nick name.
"Well, i was on my way to Yesung's office when I heard Aria...she was talking with Woohyun. I shouldn't have been eavesdropping but...he started yelling at Aria, he looked furious. He was yelling at her about not calling him...accusing her of blowing him off... And she just stood there, apologizing like she was in the wrong, when it was really him. Jay he looked like he was going to hit her...I don't know, maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me...Jay i got so angry...it took me everything not to go over kick his for being a . " Jay put a hand up to ,
"I knew that guy was no good! Is Aria alright?" Taeil nodded his head,
"I don't know, when I asked her about it she said everything was alright." Jay shook her head and sighed,
"She always does that...always....one thing about Aria that you probably should know is that she will not let anyone in. If something is bothering her, hurting her,if she is sick or in any type of pain or trouble, she will not let anyone know...she hides it...and that scares me about Aria. It took me a while to realize that the reason why she always hid her troubles and pain was because of me. Aria didn't like me worrying about her when I was sick...but its hard not to. I mean look at hear, she's this little sweet naive girl, who smiles at everyone...at everything...who looks for the positives in every situation...who doesn't sleep until you are sleep...who doesn't eat until you have eaten...who doesn't help herself, but helps you. I couldn't stand it as a child, she was just so nice...sometimes I wanted to slap her for being so passive and sweet. Don't get me wrong, Aria is strong...boy is she strong. To keep a smile on her lips even when she wants to cry or when she is really in pain...that takes a strong person....and she does have a temper, which I am sure you have figured out by now." Taeil stared forward, his gaze blank as he listened to Jay talk about Aria's tendencies, nodding his head absently,
"Taeil...can you do me a huge favor? Please?" Taeil looked over at Jay and nodded,
"Of course, what is it that you want me to do?" Jay looked Taeil dead in the eyes, her face rid of all emotions,
"Can you keep an eye on Aria for me? I know she isn't your favorite person in the world...but it would make me feel a lot better knowing that someone else is out there watching her besides me. I trust Aria, I do, I just don't trust everyone else. I mean, I trust you Taeil...that's why I am asking you to do this. If i didn't trust you there is no way I'd be talking to you right now. So what do you say?" Taeil didn't have to think about the answer to Jay's question, there was no internal debate, or emotional compromise, because Taeil had made the decision to keep an eye on Aria before he spent an entire week with her, before he got a chance to actually know her.
"Of course I will Jay. Definitely." Taeil said, the tone of his voice hard and defiant.
"And as far as this Woohyun guy goes...make sure he doesn't do anything to hurt my Ary." Taeil nodded his head vigorously,
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I'll be sure to keep an eye on that creep." Taeil smiled slightly at Jay,
"Thank you Taeil..." Jay and Taeil's heads snapped over to the door at the sound of someone jiggling the knob.
"Don't tell her anything okay?" Taeil nodded his head, pressing his finger against his lips. Taeil jumped off the bed and ran over to the door and opened it, only to find out that the person at the door was not who they were expecting,
"Whoa hyung! What took you so long?" Taeil exclaimed as he stepped aside and let his hyung in the room.
"Ah mianhae mianhae...I left my iPad in the building where the teacher meet up and they called me back in for another conference. It was a brief hour i must say. Anyway, how are you doing Jay?" Jongwoon walked pass Taeil and directly over to Jay. Taeil rolled his eyes and shut the door. He was halfway across the room when there was a light knock at the door. Taeil ran back toward the door, knowing for sure that it was Aria this time,
"Took you long enough!" Taeil exclaimed at Aria when she neared the door,
"Here!" Aria shoved a large cup of green tea ice cream toward Taeil,
"Why did you get me so much?" Taeil asked looking down at his massive cup of ice cream,
"Because you are a boy and I figured that you'd want more than a small." Aria walked over to Jay and handed her the small cup of strawberry ice cream, leaving Taeil over by the door to stare at his ice cream.
"Oh, Kim gyosunim! When did you get here?" Aria asked as she looking over in the chair next to Jay's bed.
"Aria, hi...I just got here actually, about five minutes ago." Aria looked down at the small cup of green tea ice cream in her hands, and then looked up at Jay, who was looking at Jongwoon. Aria thought it would be weird if Jay was eating ice cream in front of Jongwoon so she decided to give him hers.
"Here." Aria blurted as she handed her teacher the ice cream she bought for herself.
"Oh no I can't it's yours. I couldn't take it." Aria shook her head and smiled,
"It's okay, you can have it. I'll just go get me some more." Jongwoon looked over at Jay, who was now looking at Aria,
"Are you sure?" Jongwoon asked,
"I'm positive, Kim gyosunim...you can have it." Jongwoon hesitantly took the cup of ice cream from Aria.
"Thank you Aria." Jongwoon said bowing his head ever so slightly,
"Don't mention it. Now talk to Jay." Aria urged Jongwoon to begin talking to Jay. Taeil walked over to Aria, who had, instead of leaving to get more ice cream for herself, sat down on the couch located across the room.
Why does she keep doing that? Taeil wondered as she walked over to where Aria was,.
"You can share with me...if you want..." Taeil suggested, taking a seat beside Aria.
"There is no way I am going to finish all of this by myself...and it saves you another trip all the way to the cafeteria." Taeil said, waving his cup of ice cream in front of Aria's face,
"Besides, I can tell you're exhausted...and don't even tell me that you are not." Aria chewed her lip
"Okay...i guess I'll share with you Taeil...just let me go get another spoon." Aria was pushing herself up off the sofa when Taeil pushed her back down.
"You can just use mine...I promise I don't have any diseases." Aria looked up at Taeil like he had lost his marbles.
Does this guy really think I'm about to share a spoon with him? Aria asked herself, looking between Taeil and the ice cream in his hands.
"Okay...but if i get sick behind you I am going to kill you." Aria said, her voice soft and tired, her lips spread across her face in a weak smile. Taeil and Aria laid on the couch on the opposite side of the room as Jay and Jongwoon conversed with one another, making sure to keep their voices down so that Jay and Jongwoon could speak without any disturbances.
"Aria...?" Taeil's voice was low and quiet as he called the girl who was now laying in his lap name,
"Yes?" Aria asked, taking the spoon out of Taeil's hand and spooning some ice cream into .
"Are you alright?" Aria turned her head so that she was looking up at Taeil and not up at the ceiling,
"Of course...why do you ask?" Taeil grabbed the spoon from Aria's hand, dipping it into the cup of almost finished ice cream.
"...well, you woke up at four o'clock this morning for starters...and have been up since then...slaving away grading stack after stack of papers on top of doing all your own work for your classes...you have barely ate anything today...the ice cream doesn't count by the way...and you have yet to shut your eyes. It's going on one o'clock in the morning.,,and you have not complained one time. Are you are sure you are alright?" Aria reached up to grab the spoon from Taeil but he held it out of her reach and was going to keep doing so until Aria answered his question sincerely,
"If i tell you the truth will you give me the spoon?" Aria breathed, too tired to really yell at Taeil.
"Hmm...we'll see..." Taeil said as he ate more of the ice cream, making sure to keep the spoon out of Aria's grasp.
"...no...I'm not okay...I'm so tired I think I am going to pass out....my eyes hurt and I am dying to take these contacts out of my eyes. I have a killer migrane, that slightest light makes my head spin. I am so hungry I think I could eat a horse...I am scared out of mind for my friend...and I want to curl up into a ball and cry...but I won't do any of those things...I can't..." Taeil looked down at Aria, his eyes trained on her face, making note of each expression she made as she poured out her heart to him,
"...why not? Why can't you cry?" Taeil asked, sitting the empty cup on the table beside him. Aria looked up at Taeil before shifting her body so that she was no longer looking at him, so that she was no longer face to face with Taeil. Aria felt that if she continued to look at Taeil that she would start bawling, because for some unknown reason, this guy that she had only known for little over a week, had a way of bringing out the hurt in her. It's like he could see past her exterior, as if those dark eyes of his were peering into her heart, reading her heart, feeling her emotions. Aria wiped the single tear that fell from her eye away and gulped down a breath before opening to speak,
"...because...I just can not..." Aria whispered, bringing her knees up to her chest, curling into a ball. Taeil looked down at the girl in his lap before glancing up at his friends Jay and Jongwoon as the two, completely engulfed in their conversation, paid no attention to what was happening around them. Taeil unconsciously began rubbing Aria's back, the girl tensing beneath his touch, however as the seconds ticked by, she began to relax. The feeling of Taeil's touch so relieving and calming made Aria sleepy, and the longer he went on rubbing her, the harder it became for her to keep her eye lids open. Aria twisted around for the last time, her back now facing Jongwoon and Jay as they continued talking, her face now facing Taeil's stomach. It made Taeil feel good that out of everything that had happened in the past week that he could do something for Aria, even if it was as small as help her go to sleep.
"You know, I'm sorry if I hurt your stomach...I didn't think i'd be holding on to you that tightly..." Taeil looked down at Aria, her eyelids hanging heavy over her eyes,
"...you didn't hurt me Aria, I was just being stupid." Aria shook her head,
"But i was holding onto you pretty snuggly. Are you sure you aren't hurt." Taeil smiled brightly at Aria, finding the notion that Aria thought she was actually capable of physically hurting him by just holding onto him cute and funny.
"You didn't hurt me Aria, I promise." Aria looked up at Taeil as he twisted one of her curls around his finger.
"...okay...I was just maki-." Aria whispered, her voice low and quiet as the sleep trickled through her body.
"Aria just...be quiet...and go to sleep." Taeil's voice was stern, but held a very soothing undertone to it that made Aria's heart flutter,
"...If it shuts you up...then...I'll try..." Taeil quietly chuckled at Aria as she shut her eyes in attempt to fall asleep. Taeil continued to mess with Aria's hair, the small action making him sleepy .
"Kimgyosunim look." Jay said pointing at Aria and Taeil, who were fast asleep on the sofa on the other side of the room from them. Jay looked down at Aria, who was curled up on Taeil's laps, his hand resting on her head as he snoozed, his head resting on the wall. Jay glanced at Jongwoo and snickered,
"They're so cute!" Jay squealed silently, returning her gaze to the slumbering couple of the couch.
"And to think those two actually can not stand each other." Jay and Jongwoon exchanged glances and smiles as they looked on at their friends. Jongwoon glanced at the watch on his wrist,
"Whoa, Jay...it's a quarter past three." Jay's eyes widened,
"Really!? That's crazy! I can't believe you guys actually managed to stay up this long...well...I can't believe you managed to stay up this long. You must be tired after working. It must be hard having to do all that planning and grading and stuff...and then those meetings." Jay said as she watched Jongwoon stand up and stretched his arms. Jongwoon looked down at Jay and then glanced over at Aria who was fast asleep in his friend's lap. If it weren't for Aria there is no way he'd even be up at the hospital with Jay right now.
"I'm sorry for keeping you up here so late." Jongwoon smiled down at Jay, reaching out to touch her cheek,
"It's okay, Jay...it's worth it." Jay smiled softly as Jongwoon walked over to Taeil and Aria, bending down to nudge Taeil on the shoulder,
"Yah! Ireona! Take Aria home." Taeil jolted awake, looking down at Aria, afraid that he woken her up,
"Shh!" Taeil exclaimed, shooting Jongwoon an icy glare and waving him away. Taeil Aria's hair before blinking away the sleep in his eyes, trying his best not to wake Aria up with all his fidgeting.
"Taeil, it's almost four o'clock you need to get home, and make sure that Aria's home safely as well. I have to give these schedules to Jay's doctor and she said he should be in here to check on her in about ten minutes." Jongwoon made sure to keep his voice down, glancing down at Aria ever few seconds to make sure he did wake her up. she needed every ounce of sleep she could get if she was going to follow through with their arrangement. There was no way she'd be able to help him if she didn't get the proper amount of sleep.
"Okay, Yesung...I'll see you...tomorrow..." Taeil's voice was saturated with exhaustion. Taeil looked down at the slumbering Aria,
"Come on baby girl...wake up...we have to go now." Taeil cooed as he gently shook Aria.
"Mueot! Meuot!" Aria exclaimed quietly, waving her hand up in the air as if she were shooing something away.
"We have to get you home." Aria squeezed her eyes shut and snuggled closer to Taeil, not wanting to move from her spot, not wanting to wake up yet.
"Mmmm~ st-stop it~" Aria moaned sleepily as Taeil tickled her her neck with the pads of his fingers,
"Wake up..." Taeil whispered, moving his fingers along , causing a tremor to zip through Aria's body. Aria opened her eyes slowly and looked up at Taeil,
"Hmm...I'm awake..." Aria breathed. Taeil helped Aria to her feet seeing that she could not stand up with out falling over, and walked her over to Jay,
"Bye bye Jay..sl-sleep well...okay? T-take your me-medicine...p-please...I need you to be alright, Jay...goodnight...:" Jay couldn't stand the sight of Aria, with one glance, Jay knew that Aria had been over working herself, that she had not been eaten, that she was not getting the proper sleep she needed. Taeil glanced down at Aria and then up at Jay,
"I have to get her out of here, Jay. I'm sorry we couldn't stay longer." Jay shook her head,
"It's fine Taeil, just...take care of Aria until I get out okay. At this rate she is bound to kill herself. I'm counting on you dude, alright?" Jongwoon stood in his spot over by the couch, completely and utterly shocked at what just occurred before his eyes.
"Make sure she sleeps, Taeil...please..." Taeil nodded his head at Jay, wrapping both his arms around Aria to keep her from falling again.
"I will Jay, don't worry. She'll be back to normal in no time." Taeil flashed Jay a small grin,
"Aria?" Jay called over to her friend who was hanging to her last bits of consciousness,
"Yeah, I'm...right here Jay." Aria whispered, her words slurring together. Jay looked up into Taeil's face, her eyes filled with concern,
"...I'll see you soon okay?" Aria, looked up at Jay, ,
"Okay, Jay...just...just get better for me...I'll call you..." Taeil guided Aria to the door, grabbing her bag on their way out. Jay hurried over to Aria, giving her a hug good night,
"Aria, please get some sleep." Aria looked up at Jay with half lidded eyes and faintly smiled,
"Okay." Aria's voice was a little below a whisper but she couldn't help it. Aria glanced over at Jongwoon and smiled,
"Goodnight Kimgyosunim...see you tomorrow." Taeil bid Jay and Jongwoon his farewells and left. It took Taeil a minute to get to his bike,
"Aria, do you think you can hang on to me until we get home?" Taeil said as he jumped on his bike, twisting around to help Aria up behind him. Aria nodded her head and hummed,
"Um..yeah~" Aria said as she settled on the back of Taeil's bike and rested her head on his back, locking her hands in front of him.
It didn't take Taeil much time to get back to the campus, what took a majority of his time was finding out where Aria and Jay's dorm was located, and it did not help that Aria was half out of it. When Taeil finally found Aria's dorm building, Aria was having trouble staying awake,
"Aria, stay awake, we are almost there." Aria mumbled something that Taeil could not comprehend. Aria fumbled around for her key, fishing it out of her pocket, the piece of metal clinking to the ground. Taeil bent over to pick it up and Aria crashed to the ground,
"Aish! Ary, get up." Aria laid on the floor asleep, her head resting on her arms. Taeil bent down and scooped Aria up, walking down the hallway and taking a left. He looked up the hall in search of her room number. When Taeil found Aria's room he jammed the key in the door and through it open, once inside, Taeil walked over to the cough and laid Aria on it, falling to his knees and pulling her shoes off and setting them to the side. Taeil sat there for a while, just watching Aria as she slept, not wanting to leave her just yet. Taeil stood up to leave when Aria stirred,
"...T-taeil~?" Aria moaned as she struggled to open her eyes,
"Ne?" Taeil said, taking a few steps until he was standing in front of Aria's face, falling to his knees once more so that he could be closer to her face.
"...can you stay here...please...I don't want to sleep alone...again..." Taeil looked down to see that Aria was peering up at him with watery eyes. Taeil looked over Aria's body and sighed,
"Aria..."
"Please Taeil..." Aria whispered, shutting her eyes, allowing the tears to roll down her cheeks. Taeil grabbed Aria's hand and gave it a squeeze, rubbing her thumb across her cheeks, wiping away the tears.
"Okay...baby girl...I'll stay..." Taeil said finally, keeping his eye locked on Aria's as she dozed back off, a small smile spreading lazily across her lips.
"Thank you...Taeil..." Taeil smiled at Aria, laying his head down on the sofa cushion right in front of Aria, his face just inches away from hers
"Goodnight, Aria. Sleep well." Taeil said, using his unoccupied hand to brush the curls out of Aria's peaceful face,before nodding off himself.
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