Chapter 157 Nightmare (1/2)
”You almost kissed her? What stopped you?” asked Ali.
”Xing Han,” Sam confessed.
”When?!” Xing Han exclaimed, ”Don't accuse me randomly now! I wouldn't have stopped you. I would have taken pictures!! Then blow them up!! And frame them!! And ...”
”I'm not accusing you randomly,” Sam said, cutting in before Xing Han went on his tirade, ”It was during that time when you saw me with her.”
They heard Xing Han slap himself, ”Oh gosh! I'm so stupid. I should have kept my mouth shut! Why didn't I think of that? You guys were close, but it didn't look like you were going to kiss her!”
”I almost did,” Sam admitted, ”It's just that ... when I held her like that ... my mind went blank. All I could feel was how soft she was, how cute she was, how enticing her lips were and ... aaaaarghh! Make it stop!”
Sam took his pillow and put it on his face, mortified. Saying it out loud sounded worse than him going through it in his mind.
All of them were quiet, not teasing him at all for they could hear how deeply affected he was by it. Problem was, none of them could really emphatize with him as they had never been in his situation before.
”We-llllll,” Xing Han began, trying to be encouraging, ”Maybe that's a good thing?”
”In what way is it a good thing?!” Sam exclaimed, ”She's going to slap me for sexual harassment!”
”She didn't look like she was protesting when you held her,” Xing Han pointed out, ”Maybe she doesn't mind? Like, she likes you?”
”Oh please, Xing Han,” Sam said, ”We've only met twice. How can you like someone so fast?”
”I did,” Xing Han said, ”The moment I saw Kyle, I knew he was the one.”
”Ye Gads, Xing Han, this is not the same!” Kyle protested, ”You're talking about BFF, while Sam's talking about a girl liking him romantically.”
”Same difference,” Xing Han replied stubbornly, ”Feelings are feelings. Sometimes, you look at someone and bam! You just know, you know? It's like, when I saw you all those years ago, Kyle. You were so dashing and cool, the way you stood up to the teacher and all. I just knew it, without a doubt, that you're the one for me.”
”You seriously need to work on how you phrase things,” Kyle said with a laugh, ”That sounded like a confession.”
”Pah, you know what I mean,” Xing Han said, ”Just go with the flow, Sam. If she's receptive, why fight it?”
”Because the only reason I'm feeling this way is because my body is out of whack,” Sam said patiently, ”If she did feel something for me - which I highly doubt - it would not be fair on her, would it? My feelings are not real.”
”So what are you going to do about it? Avoid all girls?” Ali asked.
”No,” Sam said, ”It's only her. I'm fine with Beatrice and Irene from the Student Council, as well as Sage Class members. Maybe it's because they're older? Or that I know them already?”
”Or maybe it's because Betty is like a bunny,” Kyle suggested.
”That too! I keep getting this image of a human bunny and I just want to rush over and hug her,” Sam wailed again, ”She's so cute that it's lethal. I even feel like putting her away so no one else can see her.”
”That's bad,” Xing Han said.
”I know!” Sam sighed, putting the pillow under his head again, ”That's why I need to know how to overcome this. What did you guys do? Except Kyle, of course, since he's abnormal for some reason.”
Ali shrugged in the darkness.
”I do what I feel like to. If I want to hold her hand, I do. If I want to hug her, I do. etc etc etc,” Ali said, ”Then again, these girls are my bride candidate so some form of skinship is allowed. If we can't even do that, then it would be weird and uncomfortable later, right?”
”So, that's your solution for me? To get it out of my system?” Sam said.
”Only if she doesn't mind,” Ali clarified, ”I always go half-way and let her end it. If I feel like holding her hand, I would offer my hand and it's up to her to take it. Things like that.”
”Urgh,” Sam grunted, ”I can't do that.”
”Heh heh,” Xing Han laughed softly, ”You've already gone beyond that, I would think.”
Sam was quiet for a while, his face burning as he remembered how he grabbed her hand and walked off with her. He groaned.
”She didn't get angry at you, did she?” Xing Han queried.
”No, but I used wanting to escape from you as an excuse,” Sam replied, ”I doubt she'll accept me just suddenly holding her hand or something. Ali has the ultimate excuse. I don't.”
”Why don't you just get to know her better?” Kyle suggested, ”Right now, you're just seeing a bunny. Maybe, after spending time with her, you'll see her as human and you'll be able to get that bunny image out of your mind.”
Sam thought about it.
”That's true,” Sam said eventually, ”Right now, I guess all I am attracted to is this bunny figure. Not the person. So once I get to know the person and I can start seeing her as a person, the weird attraction will disappear. Great idea!”