Popular!America x Nerd!Reader - Remembered Ch.10

Before you read this chapter, read the description where it says NOTICE!. It's really important, and it may help if you get confused while reading the chapter if you just so happen to SKIP THIS IMPORTANT MESSAGE WHICH I WILL NOT BE HAPPY ABOUT >:C



The next few days went by as if they were nothing. The sun and moon rose over the horizon and they set. Birds sang in the morning, and they disappeared during the night. As street lights began to turn on, no people littered the streets. During those next few days, Alfred was able to go home, but you were not allowed to see him. Everyone in the household thought it would be best if you didn't, and so you were forced to stay at home to worry every night if Alfred would be okay.

Each night for the next week since the incident with Matthew in the hospital you would stay up late, unable to get a wink of sleep. It was difficult for you, seeing as though Alfred's health could have changed in just one night. While trying to fall asleep, you would toss and turn in every which direction, and eventually, you would give up and just sit there to ponder.

And the wondering and pondering made school life for that week stressful. You couldn't concentrate on your studies, which was unusual to the teachers. You would sit at your desk with your head in your hand, occasionally staring out the windows or just staring at the front of the classroom but not soaking in the information the teachers would say. Your grades dropped, but not dramatically, and you got some questions on your homework assignments wrong-- if you even turned in your homework. Doing and turning in homework was also difficult because you would just call up Arthur to check on Alfred after school; you never focused on anything but Alfred.

But once you heard he was coming back to school the next Monday from Arthur one night, you couldn't keep in your relief. No more sleepless nights, late homework assignments, or bad grades. But those things were far from your mind. All you could think of was seeing Alfred again. Just the thought of it made you feel giddy.

That Sunday night, you could only sleep at most an hour. And upon waking up the next morning, you felt as awake as can be. Arriving at school, though, you began to feel slightly groggy and tired. Walking into first period, and also being the first to arrive, you plopped yourself down with a sigh. You then let your head fall to the wooden desk, not caring if it hurt or if it might bruise later.

"Are you okay?"

Upon hearing that familiar voice -- the voice that made you feel inferior some times but loved at others -- your head snapped up. You wanted to see it to believe it, and when you saw him, your heart almost burst. You abruptly stood from your seat, towering next to him. Your eyes were wide, your mouth agape, and your mind blank. You couldn't believe it, even if you were seeing it.

"I... I'm fine, sorry," you said with a slight smile, and though your body wasn't reacting as such, inside you were grinning like a fool. Your fingertips felt numb, and that numbness felt as if it were spreading slowly throughout your hands. You had to open and close your hands into fists to feel again.

"That's good," he grinned nicely, flirtatiously, for the first time to you. "Let's just hope your pretty forehead doesn't bruise."

Immediately, your cheeks burned, and you knew your face was turning a beet red, but that smile never left your face. "Thanks. I-I mean, about my forehead. How you said it's pretty and that you actually...care about it." Your speech slowed as you took a moment to pause and contemplate something that had just dawned on you. He...cared. But he never cared about anyone but himself! What was going on?

You'd only read things like this in books and in fan fiction, but it wouldn't hurt to make sure. Would it? So you did anyway by asking a fairly simple question. By that time, that smile had gone away, replaced by narrowed eyes and furrowed brows. An underlying feeling, though, settled in your stomach that you hadn't noticed. Later, as you thought back on this moment, you realized that that feeling wasn't some sort of queasiness or worry. It was fear of what his answer would be and what that answer would tell you.