Fever

Grigori carried most of the suitcases into her room. She expected him to leave her be like he usually did, but instead he helped her put her things away. It wasn’t until the third time he brushed against her that she noticed him staying close to her. However, she didn’t mind. In fact, she felt an odd sense of safety and comfort in his presence.  It felt different than before, when she felt intimidated around him.

 

Halfway through putting her things away, he lightly touched her arm. She blinked up at him, almost surprised at the warmth of his fingers.

 

“Would you like to stop for lunch?” She nodded slightly, and he nonchalantly patted her arm then led her to the dining room.

 

After lunch, he once again helped her putting her things away. Once they had finished, it was dinnertime. That went quickly, and they returned to her room.

 

“…well. Are you ready for school tomorrow?” She nodded.

 

“All of my things are together…”

 

“Good. I’ll wake you up in the morning.” With that, he left her be.

--

Closing the door to her room, Grigori went outside to his car. He opened the trunk and carefully pulled out a smaller suitcase. He then closed the trunk, and delicately carried the suitcase to his room. Once in, he closed the door and set the suitcase on his bed, and opened it. Inside were the pictures he had collected from Charoum’s house.

 

He carefully pulled out a picture, and cautiously opened the frame, pulling the picture out. He did this with each and every picture. The pictures were carefully placed in a stack on his bed. After that, he pulled a scrapbook that he had found as well. The suitcase, now full of empty picture frames, was placed underneath his bed.

 

The pictures were placed into a photo album, which he stored in the drawer of his nightstand. He quietly sat on his bed, picked up the scrapbook, and leaned back against the headboard. Seeing the pictures had piqued his interest; now he wanted to see her as she grew, to get a feel for who she was.

 

In her youngest days, she was as he would imagine: bright and happy, but with a sense of quietness about her. As she got older, she had more of a serious air about her, and there quite a few pictures of her reading. One picture that stood out to him was one of her sitting on the beach in a bikini, holding a book. It was the most recent picture in the scrapbook. He silently closed it and set it on the ground beside him.

 

It’s late. I’ll go tell her goodnight.

--

Charoum was sitting on her bed, relieved to be in her own nightclothes. She had just finished taking a bath, and was brushing her hair.

 

A light knock startled her slightly, but she was starting to get used to it.

 

“Come in.” Grigori opened the door and poked his head in.

 

“I just wanted to say goodnight…” He said softly, walking over to her.

 

“Goodnight…” Arriving in front of her, he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. She blinked at the gesture, feeling a faint redness tingle in her cheeks.

 

“Sleep well.” With that, he left, closing the door behind himself. She shook her head at herself and rubbed her cheeks. What’s wrong with me? Silently, she stood and turned off the light, and curled up in bed.

--

The next day, as he said, he woke her in the morning. School preparations were made, breakfast was eaten, and when it was all said and done, he drove her to school. She was a bit embarrassed, since he had had to help with her bra again.

 

“Would you like to go shopping after school?” He asked as he turned into the parking lot of the school. She blinked at the question.

 

“I suppose…” He nodded slightly and pulled up near the front entrance.

 

“Have a good day…” He murmured, leaning over and kissing her head. She couldn’t respond; instead she simply got out of the car and went inside.

 

She spent her entire school day fidgeting. There was a strange ache in her heart that she couldn’t escape from. For once she was glad she was friendless; they would have been asking all kinds of questions.

 

Though she was somewhat relieved when school ended, the sensation continued, and when Grigori pulled up, she tried to compose herself before getting in.

 

They met eyes for just a second- and the achey feeling dissolved, leaving her with an almost fuzzy feeling.

 

“How was your day?” He asked, pulling out of the parking lot.

 

“F...fine…”

 

He blinked at the slight stutter in her voice. “Are you alright?” She nodded quickly, confused at how nervous and excited she was.

 

Fortunately, as the drive went on, she was able to relax. What was that…? That was so weird…I felt like…like…

…

Like I don’t want to be away from him…

There’s really something wrong with me. She peeked at Grigori, whom was calmly driving. I shouldn’t feel like this towards him. It’s just…wrong. God knows what he would think of me if he knew…

 

She barely noticed when they arrived at the mall. In fact, she didn’t feel her usual indignation when he opened the car door for her. It was pleasant feeling, oddly enough. He led her to the doors, and she stayed close, almost afraid to stray too far from his side.

 

Almost impulsively, she grabbed his hand. He blinked at her and she panicked, realizing what she had done. Instead of freaking out, however, she held onto his hand, acting like nothing had happened.

 

“Charoum?”

 

“Yes?” She managed not to stutter.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

“Yeah…just…didn’t want to get separated.” She mumbled, concentrating on looking everywhere but at him.

 

“…alright…” He led her to the clothing department, and straight to the bras. She blinked once she realized where they were. Noticing her expression, he explained himself.

 

“I thought it might help if I were to get you a bra that you wouldn’t need my help to put on…” Her grip on his hand unconsciously tightened as she remembered the feeling of his hands so close to her bare skin.

 

Using the hand she wasn’t holding, he lightly touched her cheek and turned her face to his.

“You don’t seem well…” She felt her heart beat faster in response to his soft, concerned voice. “Let’s go home, we can do this tomorrow…” She merely nodded and he led her out.

 

Maybe I am sick…

--

Grigori pulled into the driveway at his house, and went around to her door. He opened it, unbuckled her and gently swept her into his arms. Her breath caught in her throat with a gasp, and she felt her heart skip a beat.

 

He didn’t seem to notice, and he carried her to her room, and gently set her on the bed, tucking her under the covers. He almost seemed to be panicked in his movements, after tucking her in; he went into her bathroom, returning quickly with a wet washcloth. Moving onto the bed beside her, he gently laid the cloth across her forehead. The coolness relaxed her slightly.

 

“Are you alright?” He asked softly, with a faint tone of worry. “What do you need?”

 

“Just…need some rest...” She mumbled, staring at his lips when he spoke.

 

“Okay…I’ll check on you in a little while, alright?” She managed a nod, and he walked out, turning off the light behind himself, and leaving her door open a crack. When he was gone, the buzzing in her head faded and she relaxed.

 

…I’ve got to figure out what’s wrong with me…

--

He first started worrying when she stuttered. That made him noticed that she seemed tense, and almost fidgety; very unlike her. She relaxed a bit after, so he thought nothing of it. Probably just a long day at school.

 

As usual, when he parked, he went around and opened her door. She seemed distracted, but left her to her thoughts. Leading her to the mall, she seemed to stay closer than usual, but it was probably just something he imagined.

 

When she grabbed his hand, it nearly took all the composure he had not to jump. She mumbled responses to his questions. Something really weird must have happened at school today…

 

In the bra section, when her grip tightened on his hand, he worried that she was going to collapse. Studying her face, she seemed rather flushed and rather warm to the touch. Has she got a fever? A faint, unfamiliar feeling came over him. He didn’t know what it was, except that he wanted to get her home and take care of her, and he wanted to do it as quickly as possible.

 

He rushed her home, and worrying the fever – or whatever was wrong – might have worsened, carried her inside. He moved her swiftly to her room, being as gentle as possible, and tucked her into her bed. Washcloth, washcloth… He went into her bathroom and grabbed a washcloth. Turning on the water, he tested the water with his hand. It was fairly cold, so he added a bit of heat so it wasn’t so intense on her. Once it was cool, but not cold, he quickly drenched the washcloth and returned to her side, delicately laying it across her forehead.

 

He asked her panicked questions, and she mumbled a single answer. He didn’t want to leave her, but he knew that staying wasn’t going to help things.

 

Somehow he willed himself to leave, but he was still worried. He paced up and down the hallways, trying to figure out what to do.

 

Finally, ten minutes later, he peeked in on her. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed to be asleep. Watching her sleep, he suddenly felt an impulsive urge to touch her. Walking over to her bed, he delicately reached down and touched her face. She mumbled but stayed asleep. He carefully traced his fingers along her cheek, silently enjoying how soft she felt. Her features were tranquil, and a part of him enjoyed seeing her this way.

 

He stood there awhile, tracing her face and watching her sleep. Gently brushing her hair away from her face, he leaned down and pressed his lips against her forehead. He observed her for a moment before forcing himself to leave.

Reviews

[*Kantola*]

"SHE IS BLUSHING AND WANTS TO BE CLOSE TO ME... SHE MUST BE SICK"
gotta love Grigori =P
He's so sweet! I bet he feels like she does. "omg im acting weird... I MUST BE SICK!"
Wonderful story so far! YOU HAVE MY COMPLETE AND UTTER ATTENTION WITH THIS STORY! (i think i used the wrong 'utter' >.>;)
GOOD JOB SO FAR!! :D