Chapter 256 - Rainy Night (4)

'I will not be fine! You have a fever! Health is a serious matter!' Sofia wanted to speak the words but, something suddenly dawned upon her... 'This is the second time,' she thought.

A sudden flashback of her conversation with Heiz telling her the same words and in the same manner came to her mind. She could not help but make a comparison.

'I will be fine.'

Now that she remembered Heiz, it was really the second time that someone told her that they would be fine. But, the assurance does not feel like it was spoken to console her. Rather, it was for themselves.

'How odd... the similarity of the way it was spoken was uncanny! Even the expression of their faces...' Sofia pondered while staring intently at Stephen. Somehow, Sofia suddenly realized that his eyes had the same shape as Heiz. Perhaps coincidence?

"Do you feel a headache or are there other pain you are experiencing right now?" Sofia questioned and looked at the time in her watch. It was just about to go midnight, 11:47 PM.

"Bro, we have to check if there are other symptoms! Maybe this is not just a fever. It's better to be sure. Now, tell us if you feel hurt in other areas of your body," Joey stated. His attention was still on the search results on his phone.

"No, I don't feel pain. I'm just sleepy. Hehe. Come on, it's just a fever, guys. I had experienced worst than this," Stephen told them feeling a little bit concerned by how worried they were towards him.

"It's good if you are not in pain," Sofia exhaled. Then, she looked at Clark in the eyes, "How is it? Is there medicine available in the convenience store?"

"Yes, there is. My driver is on his way. He already had the medicine and other stuffs," Clark spoke after reading the text message from his driver. He casually place his hand over Claire's shoulder and guided her to sit.

"Good thing we are all here," Sofia said. "Or else, I would probably insist on bringing him to the hospital if it's just me."

"Haha, please, no hospital. Sof, I'm really fine!" Stephen insisted with stifled laughter.

Minutes passed and Clark's driver did arrive bringing everything they need in one plastic bag. 

"Thank you," Sofia did not forget to express her gratitude to the man after he handed the bag.

"You're welcome, miss," the man respectfully replied before he went out of the room.

They quickly checked Stephen's temperature and let him take the medicine. The man maintain his silence and only spoke a word of 'thanks' to them after taking the medicine.

"Bro, we will monitor you. If your temperature becomes high, we will have no choice but to drive you to the hospital at this ungodly hour. My gosh! Your immune system is so weak to catch fever easily," Joey jokingly commented.

"Alright, don't bully me, bro. I can't defend myself right now! Wait until this fever is cured and I will show you who is weak!" Stephen grumbled but a small smile did not leave his face. "You guys don't need to guard me. Just sleep and have your rest too. We have classes tomorrow," he added to remind them.

"Aissh... just rest, bro. We can attend classes tomorrow. Just worry yourself," Joey glowered.

"Who would have thought that the almighty Stephen who managed to scare the other students in our school was actually this vulnerable," Claire joined and teased him. With Stephen's reputation, almost everyone would not even dare to offend him. Yet, at that moment, the man looked harmless in front of her.

They let Stephen lay his body properly to sleep on the sofa while the rest of them transferred on the floor, just beside him. They have long forgotten the second match and were completely focused on Stephen. 

"Okay, I have told my driver that I won't go back home tonight. I'll sleep here," Clark stated. Because he had his driver, he did not intend to stay in Claire's place. He just planned to play games and go home later with Stephen and Joey. But now, he was also bothered by Stephen's condition and decided to stay.

"If you are not troubled to sleep here," Claire said and pointed to the floor.

"Well," Clark hesitated.  He was from an upper-class family. Such experience suddenly felt new and... exciting to him?!

Sofia chuckled at Clark's reaction. "There's always a first time of everything, Clark." 

"Yes, there is," Clark grinned and understood what she meant. He then crossed his arms around his chest and tilted his head, pretending to think of some good ideas. After a while, he spoke again, "Unless Claire is willing to share her bed with me? What do you think, Sof? I won't do anything illegal! I'm a good boy!"

"Good boy!" Joey could not help but repeat his words. But Clark only laughed at his tone and did not take offense.

"Hahaha, why ask me? Ask Claire directly?! It's her bed!" Sofia responded. "Wait, are you officially boyfriend and girlfriend? You two in a relationship?" she suddenly questioned and looked at their faces to check their reaction.

Claire quickly shifted her gaze and avoided an eye contact amost as if she looked timid. But Clark boldly raised both of his eyebrows up and down repeatedly. 

There was not a single verbal confirmation from these two but it was enough for Sofia to get the response she needed.

"Really? Well then, you sleep on the floor, Clark," Sofia commanded with a hint of playfulness in her voice.

"Let's all sleep on the floor. I will get my mattress and pillow," Claire forced herself to speak. Then, she quickly went inside her bedroom.

"It's also fine by me," Sofia said and watched at the retreating figure of Claire.

"Me too. I can sleep wherever. My family used to go on camping in the mountains when I was young. We would sleep outdoor and watch the blanket of stars," Joey sounded while he reminisced his childhood memories. Then, he nudged at Clark, "Congrats!"

Clark's grin even became wider, "Thanks!" And the two exchanged a friendly fist bump.

Claire returned to her living room. She was effortlessly dragging her mattress and pillows. Clark and Joey moved their feet and quickly helped her. They push the mini table on the corner and set the mattress at the center.

"Sof, you must be exhausted too? We can monitor Stephen's condition. How about you sleep in your place?" Claire suddenly expressed still bothered about her guest. She also remembered Sofia and Jing Jing had been doing errands the entire day. 

"Right! Sof, we will take care of Stephen. You should rest too," Clark supported.

Sofia did not tell them about all of her whereabouts that day. But, Jing Jing had been occasionally chatting with them in their group chat. Hence, they were actually aware of how busy Sofia's entire day was.

"It's fine. I'm not really that tired," Sofia replied while she slanted her body on the leg of the sofa. Stephen's hand brushed her hair and gently patted her head. Sofia glanced at the man however, his eyes were already fully shut.

Their conversation and her response was the last thing that Stephen listened to before his consciousness fully went to slumber.

"Alright, let's have our rest. We can play tomorrow. I will try to contact other squad leaders if they are willing to have a practice match," Sofia told them. But then, she suddenly remembered the list of participants that had been able to register for the tournament. "Or, we can study and analyze the dynamics of our opponents and formulate a strategy against their gameplays," she added.

"Okay, Sof!" the three of them agreed.

"Good night, guys!"

The rain seemed unstoppable. It continued to pour heavily, watering the entire land, beating the leaves of the trees. And there was occasional lightning that would flash on the sky. But the teens had settled peacefully in one place and slept.

They have settled in this position: Stephen was on the sofa. Sofia was next to him however she was laying on the mattress on the floor. Then, Claire was beside Sofia. Clark positioned beside Claire but with a pillow in between them. And Joey was on the other end of the mattress.

At dawn, Sofia woke up to monitor Stephen's temperature. She also checked his forehead as if not satisfied with the numbers that the thermometer produced.

"Is he still burning with fever, Sof?" Claire whispered behind her as Sofia's movement awakened her from her sleep.

"His temperature is back to normal. Thankfully, the fever is gone. Go sleep, Claire. It's still early," Sofia softly replied and put down the thermometer on the side.

"Mmn," Claire hummed a response and rolled over until her body moved out from the pillow boundary she had placed. Without thinking too much, her hand reached to hug Clark, filling her senses with the scent of him....