You couldn’t focus at all at work the following day. You say at your desk, shifting through papers, but you weren’t seeing what was on any of them. The project you had abandoned over the weekend had come back to haunt you, and you were drowning in the amount of work you had left. It was already three o'clock on a day that needed to be the most productive and wasn’t going to be at all. You spun your chair away and put your hands over your eyes for a moment.

The headache was back, not terrible but certainly persistent. The cold hadn’t completely cleared out after all. You could go home early and try to sleep it off, but you didn’t want to worry Leo and you still had way too much to do. With a sigh you made your decision and reached for your purse, looking at your phone. You had been checking it throughout the day, pretending that you were just looking at the time when really you just wanted to see if Leo texted you.

You were dying of curiosity. Would it be short and efficient? Full of heart and smileys? The thought of him sending you a text just randomly to say hello gave you a little thrill that you tried to ignore; you weren’t in grade school anymore, even if that was the effect Leo had on you. There was no message from Leo, of course. Why should there be, when the purposefully-set ridiculously loud ringtone hadn’t gone off? You had checked it fifteen minutes ago anyway. You opened up a new message to Leo and told him what was going on; he could go out if he wanted, just remember to lock the door, you were going to stay late at work and didn’t know what time you would be home. You sent it.

No thinking about it, you told yourself, and turned back to your paperwork. The phone was nestled on the corner of your desk. It was silent. With a sigh you picked up the first paper and scanned it over. You read it twice, but it finally clicked what you needed to do; as you pulled a pen in hand and leaned down over it, you finally began to work for the first time that day.

Maybe it was knowing that you were dedicated to stay that made you do it, but you were being productive until your phone beeped. It was startling loud, and you jumped away from your desk in surprise. Your pen rolled across the floor after it flew from your hand, heart hammering in your chest. You looked at the number. Yes, it was indeed Leo. You didn’t dare touch it. It was as if he was there in the room with you, staring at you with dark intense eyes that pleaded silently for affection. Finally, you picked up the phone and opened the text.

“Alright, I understand. Work hard, I’ll see you tonight. Leo.” You mumbled as you read the message, tone stained with sarcasm. And you had gotten all excited.

You leaned back in your seat, tossing the phone carelessly to the side. The light was hurting your eyes and the headache was reawakening with a vengeance. You didn't feel good, and you wanted Leo to make you feel better, but Leo wasn't there.
Whatever, you finally decided, it was time to just work. You needed to be productive if you wanted to get home at all that night. You turned off your phone, figuring that a few hours without distraction might help you‏. Leo clearly wasn't the type to send cute needy messages anyway; you would check it when you were leaving to see if he needed anything.

The hours ticked painfully by. Your coworkers one by one said goodbye, carrying their umbrellas and raincoats as they exited. You waved at them absentmindedly as you chipped away at the seemingly unending pile of papers. Every few minutes you had to lean back in the chair and close your eyes, head throbbing worse and worse. Some of the lights on the far side of the room were flipped off; you pulled your coat into your lap, a little chilled. You didn't bother to check the time.

When you got to the last sheet in the pile, you had to do a double take, thinking there must be more somewhere. You looked around, but indeed that was the last sheet. You let out a long sigh. Finished? Could it be true? You looked over the sheet, filling in the required information, but the words blurred together on the page. Screw it. You were done.

You stood, not wanting to be there a second longer, and started to pull on your coat. The world spun for a minute, forcing you to grab the back of your chair for support. As it stilled you grabbed your phone and shoved it in your pocket and pulled on your coat. Then, as you grabbed your purse and put it on the desk, you finally reached up to feel the heat of your forehead.

You hardly needed to; you knew the fever came back. Still, there was nothing more to do about it now than to head back home and get some rest. The project was finished well enough to leave for someone else to pick up.

As you walked out of the building, you your phone. You were mildly surprised to realize that it was already past nine, but it seemed detached somehow. A text from a few hours ago beeped through from Leo.

What time will you be home? Dinner is in the fridge.

Right, dinner. The thing you hadn't eaten. You sent him a quick reply, telling him that you were leaving now.

Another sigh as you walked to the main doors. It was pouring, rain coming down in buckets. You didn't have an umbrella. It was dark. Your head hurt. Finally, you gathered the motivation to set out.

It didn't need to be mentioned that you were soaked through by the time you go home. You could see the apartment a few buildings down when your legs started to stop working on you, trembling with cold and exhaustion. What time had you woken up that morning? And this wasn't the warm summer storm from a few days ago; this was a cold front from hell. You leaned on a lamp post for a second, trying to steady yourself in the gray and dark and rain, but it didn't do any good. Slowly you slid to the ground, eyes closing as you shivered. You couldn't find the strength to get back to your feet, and cursed yourself for it. The last thing you saw was a broad-shouldered silhouette running towards you down the street as you fell into darkness.

Hello all :) I feel terrible to keep interupting the story with my little comments, but I have one last poll to shove down your throat... (really, I'm so sorry, I just love to hear what you want!) This is regarding who is going to be the other love interest in the upcoming love triangle! If you want someone else, leave it in the comments of the poll.

http://www.asianfanfics.com/poll/vote/105413

Hopefully you're enjoying the story so far! Thank you for all of the support :) Happy reading!