Chapter 22: Clean

"How was it?" Alex asks as we walk to the school ground.

"The test?" I say.

"The taste."

"Taste?" I look at him in confusion. "What taste?"

"I think he's asking about that crossaint you were eating." Says Marina.

"No." Alex says shaking his head. "I was talking about myself."

I look him up and down a confused and disgusted expression on my face.

"You finished your test very quickly, did you even write something?" I ask.

"I told you, i'm way too smart." He smiles proudly.

"We'll see once the result comes."

"You know the things you're learning right now i've already learned it." He leans towards me. "I'm just here for fun and plus i'm older than you." He smirks.

"You do look old."

"Oh yeah? I'm pretty sure i'm just 3 years older than you."

"That's why you know about everything we are learning here- why are you even here?"

"I am here for a mission." He says with the most serious expression ever.

"Mission?"

"Yeah, mission."

"What?"

"Mission: make Lia fall for me." He says dramatically.

I sigh in annoyance.

"But I know you're already deeply and madly in love with me you just don't want to accept it."

"I'm not." I say nonchalantly.

"You always say the opposite thing."

I look at him raising my eyebrows.

"So that means, you do."

"I don't. That was a bad try to make me say yes."

"I know you do, you just haven't realised it yet."

"You're way more delusional than I am."

"I'm serious because I can tell."

"How?"

"The way you look at me."

I am literally looking at him with no expression or maybe with a bit of disgust.

"See, this is the look of love."

I roll my eyes at him and turn around going towards the washroom.

"Where are you going?"

"Washroom."

"Oh, call me if you need help." He smirks.

I look back at him with a mix of disgust and annoyance.

After a while I go out again, I am drinking a juice as I look around hoping Alex isn't around, I look outside the school gate, there's a black car and someone is inside, again. I keep looking at it wondering who's car could it be, no one parks their car right in front of the gate. I seriously saw this car before, I can't remember maybe in my dream? I ignore it and turn around and take a step, my head bumps into a wall or so I thought it was a wall. I look up and of course Hazen is standing.

"Do you like bumping your head against my chest?"

I look at him as I rub my forehead.

"Chest or wall?" I mumble to myself.

"Hm?"

"What? I didn't do it on purpose and why were you standing behind me?"

"I was just thinking why were you looking at the gate so intently." He looks at the gate and back at me. "Who were you looking for?"

"No one." I clean my hand where some juice was spilled.

He stares at me.

"Here." He hands me a tissue.

"No thanks, I don't need it."

"Not for you."

My expression turns into confusion.

"For me."

"What?"

He points at his shirt which was soaked in juice. My mouth slightly opens I look around and clear my throat.

I tilt my head acting confused.

"Why are you looking at me with such confusion, here take it." He places the tissue in my hand.

I am still looking at him with the same expression, he wants me to clean it?

"Don't you have hands?"

He shakes his head.

I give him the tissue back.

"I won't."

"You will."

"No."

"It's your mistake you should do your best to correct it." He leans against the wall. "Do you know how much this shirt is for?"

"Not more than 10 euros."

"900."

"Cents?" I smug smile. "See, I was close."

"Euros."

My smile drops.

"900?!!"

"Yeah."

My mouth still open as I look at his shirt.

"So are you gonna clean it or buy me a new one?"

"900 and it's not waterproof?" I mumble.

"No it's not." He chuckles quitely.

"If I buy something this expensivene I expect it to talk to me and solve my problems." I mumble to myself again.

"Are you gonna keep mumbling to yourself?"

I sigh and take the tissue from his hand.

I wipe it gently trying to dry it.

"Done."

"I still see some over here." He points.

"I'm not a washing machine." I mumble again.

He suddenly comes closer to me his ear almost touching my nose.

"What? I can't hear you if you keep mumbling."

"Lower."

He turns his head to me.

"I don't talk from my nose."

He looks at me with a cheeky smile.

I push him, he stands straight.

"I don't think wiping it would help."

"Then what should I do? that's all I can do."

"I can take it off and give it to you, take it home and clean it."

"And are you planning to walk around without a shirt?"

"Concerned?"

"Scared."

"Of?"

"Seeing a homo sapien walk around half naked in a school."

He chuckle lightly.

"Wait, i'll get some water."

He holds my wrist stopping me and leads me to the gym room but stops outside where a sink is placed.

I stand there.

"I'm waiting."

"I don't think this sink works." I say.

Half of the school sinks don't work.

"It does."

"I tried to turn it on last time but it didn't work."

"Try it."

I sigh and turn the tap on but nothing comes out.

"See."

"Do it harder."

"It won't-"

He twisted it harshly breaking the handle, the water splashing on us.

I stand there with my eyes closed, my right side is soaked. His hand on the tap stopping the water to come out but making it worse.

I stand there not moving an inch as I look at him with a mix of anger and annoyance. He stands in front of me stopping the water to splash on me.

"Done with your experiment?" I look up at him. "Satisfied?"

"I didn't know it would break."

"Was I speaking gibberish?"

"Well, we needed water and didn't matter how, right?"

"It did because now i'm also soaked." He looks around, the water still hitting his back. I grab his arm and move to the side.

"You can get sick." I say wiping my face with my hand.

He takes a tissue and offers it to me.

"You need it more."

He sighs grabbing my wrist stopping me from wiping my face.

"Stay still." He starts wiping the tissue on my face, I grab his hand taking the tissue from him.

"You should try to fix that." I point at the sink.

He grabs his phone from the pocket and dials a number.

Who's he calling?