FAWN 🍂 10
   (Day 12, Monday)
   "What happened to your arm, Zev?" one of our classmates asked him upon noticing the wound on his arm.
   "What happened?"
   I feel bad because it's obvious that I squeezed his arm too hard when I pinched him last night. He gave me permission, so I did it, but maybe I went too far.
   "Just a scared woman pinched me yesterday," he said, then looked in my direction where I sat next to Felly.
   "You're the one who did that, right?" Felly, who was sitting beside me, asks.
   I roll my eyes, "Dhai, I have no idea about that."
   "Oh, you're trying to deny it. What did you do last night?" she teases me and pinches my side.
   "You have such weird thoughts, dhai. Stop it."
   She laughs loudly, "Hoy, it's only you thinking that way, not me."
   I pinch her arm and then leave, realizing I need to prepare for the school's anniversary today.
   "Where are you going, Fawn?" I glance at Zev as he approaches. If he had a dark skin tone, it would highlight the color of his green eyes even more.
   "Today is the school's anniversary, I have to get ready for the performance later." He knows that I'm a member of the dance troupe, and Mr. Damian will be mad if I'm late.
   "Let's go." He takes my hand and intertwined it with his.
   "Hey! What are you guys doing?!"
   "Are you guys dating already?"
   "Zev, stop it! You're making me want to have a boyfriend now!"
   He pulls me out of the room while holding my hand. "Don't you dare," he says as I try to remove my hand from his.
   "Zev, let go of my hand." He tightens his grip on me even more. Students are starting to look in our direction as we head to the gym where the event will take place this afternoon. "People are watching us." It's embarrassing.
   "Let them watch." I fall silent at his words as we finally enter the gym. That's when Asher looks at me before his gaze shifts to my hand held by Zev.
   As we approach the group, he still doesn't let go of my hand, and it seems like Asher doesn't like what he sees. "Fawn," his face is serious.
   "Zev, let go." I breathe a sigh of relief as he finally releases my hand.
   "Nice to see you again, Asher," Zev's stoic expression fixed on Asher.
   Asher furrows his brow at Zev's words. "This is the first time we meet, man."
   Instead of answering, Zev looks at me, his gaze softens, and he plants a soft kiss on my forehead before turning his back on us. He sits on a bench a bit far from the group.
   "Who the hell is that guy?" Asher gives me a disapproving look.
   "You were with him the night I was..." I can't finish my sentence. Not here, in front of the dance troupe members. The memories of what happened slowly come back like a nightmare I tried so hard to forget.
   He seems to recall something as he raises his eyebrow and looks at Zev on the bench. "It was him. I remember now. So, are you dating him?"
   I don't answer his question as Mr. Damian enters. Memories of what happened to me that night, the night Uncle Atlas...
   "Fawn, are you okay?" I take a deep breath and nod slightly.
   "Line up, dancers!!!" Mr. Damian yells at us. "Today is the anniversary of this school! Don't disappoint me! Do we understand each other?!"
   "Aye, sir!!" we all say in unison.
   "Three last practices before we get ready for the event later!!"
   I take a deep breath and we start practicing again as usual, but my mind won't cooperate as I keep messing up the formation.
   "De Los Santos!!! Are you trying to insult the reputation of your school?!" I flinch at Mr. Damian's loud shout echoed in the gym.
   "No, sir!"
   "Then why do you keep messing up the formation?!"
   I bite my lip, "I'm sorry, sir!"
   "Again! Back to the top!!"
   For the third time, I mess up again, and I see the veins in Mr. Damian's neck as he yells at me once more. I bow my head, my hands clenched into fists.
   "What is wrong with you, De Los Santos?! You're the ace in this group, yet you keep making the same mistakes--"
   "That's enough." I startle when I hear Zev's voice echo. His approaching steps get closer until I feel his hand on my back gently caressing me.
   "And who are you?" I raise my gaze to Mr. Damian and swallow hard. He is livid.
   "Fawn's man. Stop yelling at my woman; she's trembling." I gasp at his words right in front of Mr. Damian.
   "Zev."
   Mr. Damian is speechless as he looks at me. I am indeed trembling.
   "She needs to rest, and don't put pressure on your students, Mr. Damian." Zev grips my waist and pulls me out of the gym.
   He took me outside the gym, near a bench under a big tree, and he turned me to face him. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight. He didn't say anything as I just let myself calm down completely. His hands on my back stroking me helped me calm down at least.
   "You calm now?" he asked as he loosened his arms around me, looking down at me.
   "I am." I sighed and looked up at him. "Why are you doing this to me?" It's only been a few days since he became my classmate, but it's hard to wrap my head around what he's doing to me.
   "I haven't shown you how much I care for you back then. Six years, Fawn. I've been in love with you secretly. I was a coward; I couldn't even look at you in the eye. But ever since I got the chance again to go back in the past, I promised myself I wouldn't be a coward. I will confess how much I love you again and again, even if you reject me a thousand times."
   It feels like time suddenly stops, and he's the only one I see in these moments.
   "I don't care if I mess up the timeline; I no longer care about the future without you.”
   His words from the night he came to the house sink in. "You're really from the future? You're not joking, are you?"
   A smile appears on his lips. "I am. And I'm here because of you."
   I push him away. "H...how?"
   It seems he didn't like me pushing him. "I don't know."
   "I thought you were just joking..."
   He takes a step closer to me. "That's why I warned you about your Uncle."
   Tears well up in the corner of my eyes, "He heard you that night."
   He stops and holds my hand, "I'm so sorry. What happened to you is my fault. Fawn, I'm so sorry."
   I shake my head, but the tears keep falling. My heart feels heavy, and it's suffocating. That memory will haunt me forever. He pulls me close again, gently wiping my tears with his thumb.
   "Damn, I'm so sorry," he mumbles and pulls me into another hug. I feel his hand gently stroking my hair. It's not his fault, but I can't help but blame him too. "Just cry... I'm right here," he adds.
   After a few minutes, I stop crying and look at his school uniform, wet from my tears. "Your uniform..."
   He looks at his chest where I cried minutes ago and stifles a laugh. "It's okay as long as it's from you." He wipes away the remaining tears on my cheek. "You have to rest before the event this afternoon."
   I nod slightly at his words. I shouldn't bring shame to the school. This is an international private school, and it would be an insult if I mess up, especially since I'm the ace of the dance troupe.