19
A few minutes had already passed, yet Jude still could not fully absorb what was happening right in front of him.
First, his name had been the password. Then, his face appeared as the wallpaper on Sky’s laptop.
No matter how hard he racked his brain, he could not come up with even the slightest logical explanation. None of it made any sense.
Jude stared intently at the face displayed on the screen.
It was a close-up image of him. His freckles were clearly visible across his nose, with tiny hazel-brown specks scattered over his cheeks.
His pink lips looked slightly chapped, and his kinky black hair was somewhat disheveled.
From what he could remember, the picture was taken a year ago during the school’s founding anniversary.
Lindaville University Cup held one-week-long events and competitions, which happened every year as part of the tradition.
There was only one reason he looked quite terrible in that picture.
He appeared burned out and drained, though that was not really the case.
He never had the chance to even look at himself in the mirror.
On top of that, he had a cold for three consecutive days at that time and was somewhat unmotivated due to his personal life and the bullying.
Well, that was at least how he felt every day in school.
But he refused to let any of that negativity shake him.
The pharmacy department had chosen him to represent them in almost all of the academic contests during the event.
Throughout the week-long celebration, he competed in General Information, Quiz Bee, Spelling Contest, Literary Writing, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Impromptu Speech.
He honestly expected to lose in some categories, but on the culmination day, when the winners were announced, Jude ended up winning every single academic competition he was part of.
It was nothing new. Jude had been winning since seventh grade—first place, top honors, champion.
It had become predictable by now. Still, whenever his name was announced, shock would settle over him all over again.
Perhaps that was the strange thing about Jude Finn: no matter how many times he won, he never quite learned how to believe that victories belonged to him.
Even though winning was already something Jude had grown used to, he still felt genuinely happy and grateful at that moment.
Despite being sick, he had managed to excel in every contest, even while competing against participants mostly from the college departments.
Each department was allowed only one representative, except at the primary level, and Jude had been chosen to represent the senior high department in academics.
There were many other events outside academics as well, including the highly anticipated basketball game that Jude did not want to talk about.
Other events, including hockey, volleyball, tennis, golf, singing, and contemporary and folk dance competitions, were also part of the festivities, with students strongly encouraged to participate.
However, the one thing that saddened Jude was missing the chess match.
Jasper was playing in it, but he never got the chance to watch it because it happened at the same time as his literary competition.
Overall, Jude still felt a sense of fulfillment knowing that he was capable of doing well even when he was sick, even when it felt like the whole world was against him.
Sometimes, he found himself pondering that he was exceptionally good at academics but terrible in real life.
He could not even defend himself. All the wisdom he carried was useless against the bullies around him.
He only excelled in the world of theoretical ideologies and in worlds that did not truly exist.
Nonetheless, the Lindaville University Cup was fast approaching, scheduled for the second week of December this year, and it would be the last time he would participate in the tradition.
Pushing those thoughts aside, he shut his eyes tightly and left the home screen for Chrome. A shiver ran down Jude’s skin as he began typing into the search bar. His breath caught when a list of pornography-related searches appeared among the recent browsing.
Jude swallowed hard, his face suddenly warm.
His eyes drifted to the bookmarks, only to find several pornographic websites pinned there as well.
Jude swallowed hard, his face suddenly burning with embarrassment.
He quickly shoved the thoughts from his mind and reached into his bag, searching for his pen.
He silently hoped the night would pass quickly.
As time slowly passed, he found himself genuinely enjoying the process. Research had always been something he loved. He loved being able to study a problem deeply, develop meaningful recommendations, and, if possible, create interventions through their paper that could truly make a difference.
Almost an hour had passed when he suddenly heard the door creak open.
A spark of hope crossed his face at the thought that it might be Jasper.
Perhaps it was because Jasper still had not come home, and Jude could not help but wonder where he was.
He straightened in his seat and turned his attention toward the entrance.
But the moment he saw who walked in, his heart instantly sank.
Jude fixed his eyeglasses on the bridge of his nose as he blinked. His pulse quickened as Sky stepped inside, a white plastic bag hanging from one hand while the other stayed tucked inside his pocket.
Jude thought he would come home late enough for him to avoid seeing each other, and yet, here he was.
Sky’s eyes immediately found Jude as he walked toward him.
Jude did not know how to react. It felt as though his eyes had been glued in place, unable to look away from that stoic face.
Yet despite Sky’s cold expression, there was an unusual softness hidden within those icy golden orbs, something that stirred an unfamiliar and indescribable feeling in Jude’s small, delicate organ.
Snapping out of his daze, Jude jolted from his seat when Sky tossed the plastic bag onto the small table.
The items inside made a thud as they landed beside the laptop.
He quickly tore his gaze away from him. He forced his eyes back onto the unfinished document on his screen, pretending to focus while remaining aware of Sky’s every movement.
The silence between them felt dangerously heavy.
Jude could sense him walking closer until the sofa dipped slightly as Sky sat right beside him.
He tried to concentrate on his research, forcing himself to think about what to type next, but suddenly, a hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him away from the screen.
A soft yelp slipped from his lips before he immediately pressed them shut, startled by his own reaction.
Golden-green eyes locked with stormy gray ones.
Their proximity caused his breath to hitch, especially with his left hand still trapped within the larger, dominant grip of the other.
He hurriedly looked away, but the hand holding him tightened and pulled him back again.
“Look at me,” he ordered.
The roughness in his voice sent his heartbeat racing uncontrollably. He slowly drew his head against his will, confusion written all over his face. Sky’s intense stare made him want to shrink away and disappear.
Sky surveyed his face thoroughly, as if it were a microbiology specimen under a compound microscope.
Sky was extremely serious, creasing his brows and forehead all at once.
Without a word, Sky finally released his grip and reached for the cellophane he had brought earlier.
He began rummaging through it, his brows still tightly furrowed.
His expression was very deadly and intimidating.
The rustling of the plastic bag was the only sound filling the tense silence between them.
Jude had no idea what he was doing. He watched as he carefully picked out each item one by one, even though his large hand could have easily gathered everything at once.
Sky took out an antiseptic, sterile gauze, plasters, cotton balls, alcohol, and antibacterial topical cream, then placed them neatly on the table as if the medical supplies were something carcinogenic he was afraid to mishandle.
He also pulled out three pads of Advil from the cellophane bag.
Without saying anything, Sky stood up and disappeared from his sight.
A minute later, he returned holding a glass of lukewarm water.
Jude stared at him in disbelief as Sky extended his hand.
He had not realized how long he had been staring until Sky gruffly pushed the glass toward him.
The sudden movement sent water spilling over the rim, splashing onto Jude.
Sky tipped his head toward the glass, silently insisting that he should take it.
Jude swallowed nervously before reaching for it, uneasiness settling deep within him as his trembling hands wrapped around the glass.
“Take two caps,” he ordered.
Jude reluctantly obeyed. Slowly, he reached for the medicine on the table. It almost fell when it was in his touch. His hands trembled as he peeled open the foil packaging of the medicine.
Sky was watching him the entire time.
After Jude had hardly swallowed the two pills, Sky went back down beside him. He picked up the remaining pack of Advil, grabbed Jude’s shoulder bag without permission, and slipped it inside.
“Take those whenever the pain gets too much,” he counselled, as if he was a registered pharmacist.
Jude was puzzled. He looked at him as he returned to arranging the medical supplies. Then, without another word or even meeting Jude’s eyes, Sky suddenly reached out and held his left hand.