KaiRitz

  I stood under the showerhead, letting the water beat against my skin in steady, rhythmic streams. It had been close earlier.

  Too close.

  I exhaled, staring down at my hands, clenching and unclenching them like I could physically shake off the lingering feeling of her body against mine.

  Her warmth. The softness of her skin. The way she’d pressed against me, so effortlessly, so confidently—like she knew exactly what she was doing to me.

  I swallowed hard.

  The heat of the shower wasn’t helping. My skin still tingled where she’d touched me, like an imprint I couldn’t shake.

  For a fleeting second, my thoughts drifted to the easiest way to get this out of my system.

  Here. In Astrid’s shower.

  I immediately shut that thought down, biting the inside of my cheek. Yeah, no. That would be… wrong. Invasive, almost.

  Maybe I’d take care of it ter, when I wasn’t standing in her space, surrounded by her scent, where every single thing reminded me of her.

  I sighed, running a hand through my wet hair.

  Most guys my age would be thrilled at the idea of sex. Excited. Ready. Wanting it to happen as soon as possible.

  Me?

  I just felt… anxious.

  The emotions. The physicality. The expectations.

  It wasn’t the act itself that made me nervous—it was everything that came with it. The unspoken rules. The pressure. The idea of being completely seen by someone else in a way I wasn’t sure I was ready for yet.

  And I always wondered if that meant there was something fundamentally wrong with me.

  Still…

  I wanted it.

  Not now. Not yet.

  But with Astrid.

  I wanted us to take our time.

  I exhaled, reaching for whatever shampoo was in here. The second I rubbed it into my hair, I froze.

  Oh, great.

  Now I was going to smell like her.

  Figures.

  Before I could dwell on that unfortunate realization, a voice called from outside the door.

  “How long are you going to be in there?” Astrid’s voice rang through, light and teasing.

  I huffed, rinsing my hair. “I’m enjoying the water.”

  “But I miss you!” she whined dramatically.

  I rolled my eyes, but my lips twitched.

  Then—

  “Achoo!”

  I blinked.

  “Bless you,” I called out.

  Silence. Then a small sniffle.

  I frowned slightly, wiping water from my face.

  “…Astrid?”

  Another sniff.

  “…What?” she asked innocently.

  I narrowed my eyes at the door. “Are you getting sick?”

  A pause. Then—

  “Nope!”

  I sighed, rinsing the st bit of shampoo from my hair.

  “Liar,” I muttered.

  Astrid scoffed from the other side of the door. “Excuse me, rude.”

  I rolled my eyes, shutting off the water and reaching for the towel she’d left for me. “You literally just sneezed and sniffled. That’s, like, the first stage of a cold.”

  “I am completely fine,” she insisted, but her voice was just the slightest bit hoarse.

  I sighed, running the towel through my hair before wrapping it around my waist. “Yeah, sure. Just like you insisted that standing in the rain was a great idea, and now look at you.”

  Silence.

  I smirked. “Exactly.”

  “Shut up,” she muttered, her voice muffled.

  I chuckled, shaking my head before finally stepping out of the bathroom.

  Astrid was sitting on her bed, legs crossed, her oversized sweater slipping slightly off her shoulder. She looked up at me as I entered the room, her gaze flickering to my still-wet hair, then lower—to where the towel hung loosely around my waist.

  I felt her eyes linger.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Astrid.”

  She blinked, then smirked. “What?”

  I narrowed my eyes. “You’re staring.”

  She hummed innocently. “Can you bme me?”

  I sighed, moving to grab the shirt she had given me earlier. “You really have no shame, huh?”

  “Not when it comes to you,” she mused, her smirk softening slightly.

  I paused, gncing at her.

  Something was off.

  Her eyes were slightly gssy, and there was a faint flush on her cheeks—not the kind from teasing or embarrassment, but the kind that looked just a little too warm.

  I frowned. “Astrid.”

  She hummed again, tilting her head. “Hmm?”

  I squinted at her. “…Are you actually okay?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked, but the way she sniffled quietly right after completely betrayed her.

  I sighed dramatically. “You are getting sick.”

  “I am not,” she huffed, waving a dismissive hand. “It’s just a tiny chill.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah? And next you’ll say it’s just ‘a little sore throat’ and then ‘just a slight fever’ before you’re actually dying in bed for two days straight.”

  “…So?” she muttered.

  I exhaled, rubbing my temples. “So, I told you we should’ve moved out of the rain earlier.”

  Astrid flopped onto her bed, throwing a pillow over her face. “No regrets,” she mumbled stubbornly.

  I sighed, pulling on the shirt before sitting down beside her. “I swear you’re impossible.”

  She peeked out from under the pillow, giving me a zy smirk. “And yet, you’re still here.”

  I sighed again, shaking my head.

  Then, before she could react, I reached out and pressed the back of my hand lightly against her forehead.

  Astrid froze.

  Her eyes widened slightly, her lips parting—but for once, she didn’t say anything.

  Her skin was warm. Too warm.

  I frowned. “You’re definitely running a fever.”

  Astrid swallowed, her expression unreadable. “…It’s not that bad.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “Not yet.”

  She huffed, trying to sit up, but I gently pushed her back down by the shoulder.

  “Henry,” she muttered.

  I gave her a look. “Bed. Now.”

  She groaned, dramatically sprawling across the mattress. “Ugh. This is the worst.”

  I chuckled, shaking my head. “I warned you.”

  She muttered something very undylike under her breath, making me smirk.

  I reached over, grabbing the extra bnket at the foot of the bed before draping it over her.

  Astrid blinked up at me.

  “…You’re really gonna take care of me, huh?” she mused, her voice quieter now.

  I rolled my eyes. “Of course I am. I do like you, you know.”

  She exhaled, something soft flickering through her expression.

  “…That’s nice,” she murmured, curling into the bnket.

  I chuckled, brushing a stray strand of damp hair from her face. “Get some rest, dummy.”

  She hummed, her eyelids already drooping slightly.

  “Stay?” she mumbled.

  I sighed but slid under the bnket beside her, letting her rest her head against my shoulder.

  ***

  Dinner was a quiet affair—too quiet.

  Astrid, usually the one dominating the conversation, was uncharacteristically subdued. She picked at her food, barely eating, her usual sharp remarks repced with slow nods and hums of acknowledgment whenever her mum spoke.

  I watched her carefully from across the table, noting the faint flush on her cheeks, the slight gze over her usually sharp blue eyes. She tried to hide it, sitting upright and keeping her expression neutral, but the way she occasionally sniffled and rubbed at her nose was a dead giveaway.

  She was getting worse.

  Her mum must’ve noticed too, because she set her fork down and tilted her head. “Astrid, sweetheart, are you feeling okay?”

  Astrid immediately straightened, shaking her head. “I’m fine,” she said quickly, waving a dismissive hand.

  Her mum raised an eyebrow. “You sure?”

  Astrid huffed, stabbing a piece of food with more force than necessary. “I said I’m fine.”

  I sighed, rubbing my temple. “She’s lying.”

  Astrid kicked me under the table.

  I winced. “Ow.”

  Her mum smirked, eyes flicking between us. “I thought so.”

  Astrid scowled, shoving food into her mouth like that would somehow distract from the fact that she was very obviously not okay.

  I leaned over slightly, lowering my voice. “You barely ate all day,” I pointed out. “And your nose is running.”

  Astrid froze for a second, then quickly swiped her sleeve over her face. “No, it’s not.”

  Her mum sighed, shaking her head. “Astrid, just admit you’re not feeling well.”

  Astrid groaned, dramatically flopping back against her chair. “Fine, I might be feeling a little off.”

  I shot her a look. “You sneezed on me earlier.”

  She smirked tiredly. “That’s just me marking my territory.”

  I groaned, dragging a hand down my face. “You are unbelievable.”

  Her mum chuckled. “You two are ridiculous.”

  I sighed, setting my fork down. “Well, as much as I love dealing with your stubbornness, I should probably head home. We have school tomorrow.”

  Astrid immediately perked up. “Wait—no.”

  I blinked. “What?”

  She pouted, grabbing my sleeve. “Stay.”

  I hesitated. “Astrid…”

  Her fingers curled into the fabric, her voice dropping slightly. “I don’t want to be alone.”

  I exhaled, my chest tightening slightly.

  Her mum smiled softly at her, then turned to me. “You’re welcome to stay, Henry. But if you need to go home first, I understand.”

  I rubbed the back of my neck, torn. “I should at least grab some stuff and tell my parents where I’ll be.”

  Astrid pouted but nodded, clearly still not thrilled about it.

  I sighed, standing up. “I’ll be back soon, alright?”

  She hummed, still clutching onto my sleeve for an extra second before reluctantly letting go.

  Her mum gave me an amused look. “Good luck expining things to your parents.”

  I groaned, already dreading it.

  ***

  The moment I stepped into my house, I felt like a fugitive sneaking back to confess his crimes.

  I closed the door behind me as quietly as possible, slipping my shoes off like it would somehow buy me time.

  I had maybe five seconds before—

  “Henry?”

  I flinched.

  I turned slowly, finding my mum standing in the hallway, her arms crossed.

  Damn it.

  “Where have you been?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “You were gone all day.”

  I cleared my throat, keeping my expression neutral. “Hanging out with Astrid.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “And?”

  “…And I might be sleeping over at her pce tonight.”

  She blinked.

  I quickly held up my hands. “Not like that. She’s sick.”

  Mum’s eyes narrowed.

  Dad peeked out from the living room. “She’s sick? Then why were you hanging out with her?”

  I sighed. “She got sick because we were out in the rain too long.”

  Mum let out a deep breath, rubbing her temples. “Henry, seriously?”

  I groaned. “It wasn’t intentional. She didn’t want to move.”

  Mum gave me a look. “And you, being the genius that you are, stayed in the rain with her?”

  I hesitated. “…Yes?”

  She muttered something under her breath before shaking her head. “You’re so lucky you didn’t get sick too.”

  I chose not to point out that I could still get sick.

  Dad sat back in his chair, eyeing me curiously. “So, you’re staying with her because she’s sick?”

  I shifted awkwardly. “Well… yeah. She asked me to.”

  Mum’s expression softened slightly at that. “Oh.”

  Dad smirked. “She must really like you.”

  I felt my face heat up. “That’s… not the point.”

  Mum squinted at me. “Henry.”

  “…Yeah?”

  She tilted her head. “Are you two… official now?”

  I froze.

  I could technically lie. Say we were just friends. But something about the way she was looking at me made it clear she already knew.

  I sighed. “…Yeah.”

  Dad grinned. “Knew it.”

  Mum exhaled, crossing her arms. “I like Astrid. But if you’re dating her, I expect a proper introduction.”

  I groaned. “Mum, you’ve met her.”

  “Yes, but not as my son’s girlfriend.”

  I rubbed my temples. “Fine.”

  Mum sighed, but she smiled. “Go grab your things. And behave.”

  Dad snickered. “If she’s sick, I think that’s a given.”

  I ignored him and trudged up to my room.

  This was already way more complicated than I had signed up for.