°~+I'm weak when I'm with you+~°

Chapter 14: May I ask you this?

A/N: Cover image by Hanny Cho12

'Sabo's POV'

Lunch time finally came and I immdiately speed walked myself towards the library, then I heard Ivankov calling for me. I turned around only to witness him, or her this time, in a blouse with her chest a bit exposed, and with some stockings. Bro, what about the dress code?! "Hey there Sabo!" She chimed in as she waved her arm in the air, "vhere're you going? The cafeteria is on the opposite direction, silly!".

I replied, "oh, about that. I got assigned as a tutor for a student, and I told him that we'd be meeting in the library at lunch time. So carry on lunch without me". She then gave me that look that was somehow uncomfortable for me, "w-what?".

"Are you sure you ain't just having a date vith this so call 'student'? Hm?" She stated as she stepped in closer to me.

"Uhm, no. Just a student, or friend? I can't really tell..."

"Vell then, text me vhen you're done vith this 'student' then!", she replied as she went to the opposite direction.

I just rolled my eyes, and headed to the library, where I'm supposed to meet Ace there. Hope he isn't waiting there for that long.

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Once I made it to the library, I tried to find Ace, and where he's sitting. Turns out he isn't here yet. So, might as well wait for him, I was actually worried that I was running late. I stayed at the library for a while, until I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see that it was Ace, and was... in so many bandaids. Panic immediately rosed inside me, and I went over to him.

"Holy crap, Ace! What happened to you?! Are you alright?! Do we need t-"

Ace interrupted me, as he spoke up. "Hey, I'm fine, just a bit banged up is all".

"Still! We can't just let this slide, we gotta take you to the infirmary!"

"I said, it's fine. Now, let's get on with the tutoring, shall we?" Ace was definitely reluctant and stubborn, kinda like someone I know in the past. But still, I didn't want to put it, so I gladly proceeded with the tutoring.

I took out the same math textbook as his, and looked for a simple and easy question, while I tried to not distract myself with his bruises. "Oh, okay, here's an easy one, what's the square root of pi?"

"Uh, sugar... flour... eggs"

"Huh?" Was he listing the ingredients of a pie? "No, no, no, I meant pi, P-I. Not pie." I could tell he got embarrassed, as he hides himself behind a book. I stifled a giggle, as I took a deep breath. "Okay, we can take it slow if you want, progress takes time, so there's no need to rush things."

I could tell Ace started to calm down, as he lifts his face up from the book he hid behind. "Oh... sure, I just don't like Math that much, that's why I keep ditching Professor Kuro's class." Ace respond.

"Really?" I replied, intrigued. "So, is there a class that you don't usually skip?"

Ace thinks for a second, and looks away blushing a bit once more. "Well, I do like... chemistry..."

This kinda shocked me a bit, and smiled at a fellow chemist buddy, "really? Me too, I like chemistry and biology."

I could see Ace had a look of something that surprised him, and immediately leans forward to me, "Really?! I-I mean... that's cool too. What do you like about... chemistry?"

"Oh, where do I even begin?" I replied, as I start to ramble about the many things I like in chemistry. From the chemical compounds, to the many chemical reactions.

I could tell that Ace was intrigued, and adds on his favorite things in chemistry, I never thought that he was into that. Reminds me of someone I knew.

=====

It had been a while since we talked about chemistry, and I think I was starting to get a bit closer to Ace. That was when my head clicked. The tutoring. "Oh crap. We forgot about the topic that Professor Kuro requested me to teach you..."

"Oh, fuck... you're right." Ace replied.

And in instinct, I called out "Language" out loud. Where did that come from?

I could Ace frozed up a bit, and giggled after that, "Sorry... I forgot I shouldn't say that." He said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Oh I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have said that so loudly." I replied, looking away.

That was when I felt something on my hand, I turned to see Ace, holding my hand, and smiling at me. I don't why, but his was warm, and nostalgic...

But Ace immediately snapped out of it, and pulled his hand away. Luckily I grabbed it in an instant, interlocking my fingers with his, and didn't plan on letting go. Something about his touch was... comforting, despite the callous hand, and rough texture, it was still comforting. My face immediately heat up, but I couldn't let his hand go, not yet.

"So, uhm..." Ace spoke up, blushing a bit, "I was wondering... after school do you wanna... hang out? Like go to the park, or watch movies, or maybe even dinner or something. "

I looked up at Ace with wide eyes, as I see the fire inside those comforting, warm eyes. And immediately, in instinct, I replied...

"Sure."

To be continued...