Inside Your Heaven

Inside Your Heaven - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Trusting Him Again

            This feels like some weird déjà vu… Angel thought as she was being dragged across the campus at night. The only difference was Dawson was angry beyond reason.

            “Dawson?” Angel called his attention tentatively, but Dawson just kept on walking.

            “Dawson…” Angel called again, a little louder, but got the same result.

            “Dawson James Stewart, if you don’t stop, I’ll wrestle our way back to East Dorm!” Angel said loud and firm, and Dawson stopped and sighed.

            “Why do people always use my full name to get their way around with me?” he asked, annoyed.

            “’Coz you’re being quite the unreasonable one sometimes,” Angel argued. “Like what you are doing right now.”

            As pissed as he was, the last thing he wanted was an argument with Angel.

            “Since when did I become unreasonable?” Dawson asked, trying to distract himself and making himself calm down as he turned to face her.

            “When you had that fight with Tracy after you kissed me,” Angel replied. “And if you would ask where I knew of it, I asked Tracy when we’re at the hospital.”

            Hospital…

            “Speaking of hospital, would you mind telling me what happened to your back?” Dawson asked, pointedly glaring at her when the word triggered the kibosh at the lobby.

            “Well, you found me being wrangled by Amanda in that hallway,” Angel replied in a small voice. “Some of her scratches and hard grips landed on my back and gave me bruises. When we’re at the hospital, I didn’t notice it until I felt the pain the day after you were admitted to the hospital.”

            Dawson’s fist clenched when he heard it, but quickly tried to calm himself down again for Angel’s benefit.

            “Why didn’t you tell me?”He asked again.

            Angel looked down on her feet.

            “’Coz I was afraid,” Angel replied, her voice shaky. “We… we were on not-so-good terms that time… And to tell you the truth, that night when I found you in an argument with Amanda, I wasn’t really asked by Tracy to go ask if you wanted dinner… I went to find you because I felt so terrible at hurting you when…”

            Angel couldn’t seem to finish her statement, for she was sniffling already, but she didn’t notice it until she was already in Dawson’s arms, hugging her.

            “Was that why you were saying sorry to me when you went to see me?” Dawson clarified.

            Angel nodded.

            “I felt all the worse when I was on the floor with my hands being soaked with your blood,” Angel murmured. “’Coz I felt it was my fault…”

            Dawson snorted.

            “You’re being a silly goof, Angelie Elizabeth Hayes,” Dawson whispered to her. “It isn’t your fault, or anyone else’s. If anything, it was my own fault. If I wasn’t so dumb to realize what my feelings are, you wouldn’t end up in my mess with Amanda.”

            For a long while, they were silent, and in that silence Angel realized something.

            “Dawson?” Angel asked.

            “Yeah?” Dawson responded.

            “Close your eyes,” Angel said, and Dawson did at once.

            This is for my happiness… Angel thought as she stood on her toes and planted a short kiss on Dawson’s cheek.

            Dawson opened his eyes in surprise, and then he blinked once, and then blinked some more.

            “What… was that?” was all that Dawson can find to say.

            “Well… let’s just see… if trusting you again would be worth it,” Angel said with a smile.

            “Well, you won’t regret it,” Dawson said with certainty, smiling the same way Angel is. “And… can I ask you something?” Dawson now seemed nervous.

            “What is it?” Angel asked.

            “Well…” Dawson began, but can’t seem to get it out.

            “Why are you so nervous?” Angel was chuckling, making Dawson more nervous.

            “Oh fine…” Dawson huffed. “As corny as it sounds, can we go out some time? On a proper date, that is…”

            It was now Angel’s turn to blink once, and then blink some more.

            “Uh… Now would be a proper time to answer,” Dawson hedged tentatively.

            “Are you… asking me out?” were the first words that came out of her mouth.

            “Uh… Yeah, I believe I am,” Dawson now looked so red that Angel was fighting herself not to crack up and laugh.

            “Well…” Angel let her answer hang for a bit, making him squirm.

            “Please, I can’t bear the suspense,” Dawson whined, and Angel laughed, not a crack up sort of laugh, but a tinkling laugh, like wind chimes.

            “Of course, I’d like to go out with you, Dawson James Stewart,” Angel said with a genuine smile, for once feeling happy without a care in the world.