Young Writers Society

So maybe it was a little awkward. Still, Evaline tried to minimize the feeling as much as possible.

"I still have two more," she said as she began to unpeel the bandage, then realized that she truly was making this more awkward than it needed to be.

This felt more embarrassing than the kiss itself.

She lightly cleared her throat and began to focus unbandaging around his chest and back.

"Thank you... for that," she said, suddenly not knowing what to say.

Well, he could tell Evaline felt awkward.

"I just hope you don't get sick," he said, partially changing the subject. He leaned forward a little to make it easier for Evaline to unwrap.

"I'd hate for you to come down with a fever like the one I have now."

Evaline was about to agree, but the thought of getting sick because she kissed James sent her down an awkward spiral.

"I don't think I will," she said quickly. "I mean, I don't think it's contagious. That you can get, from, you know. Ki-... breathing. I think, for you, it's might be blood loss. Related. Fever. And pain. Exhaustion. All of the above."

This was ending up as a disaster, and she already started to feel flustered when she told herself she wasn't going to get flustered.

James laughed weakly.

"You're right. I've lost a lot of blood, and I've been hurt for a long time..." he sighed. "Like you said before - or maybe it was me, I can't remember. I don't know. But it all caught up to me."

"Right. It was me," Evaline said, trying to fill the silences that followed. "I'm pretty sure. Last night, I think. Or maybe today. I don't..."

She sighed and bit her lip to prevent herself from saying anything more, instead focusing on the task at hand here. Her hands slipped behind his back as she continued to unwrap.

"It's ok. My memory's worse than yours at the moment. Don't make it a competition," he said, with just a little bit of laughter in his voice.

"I... it's..." Evaline began, but then trailed off. She didn't really know what she was saying anymore.

At this point, she finished unwrapping James and set the used bandage aside, noting how the wound had scabbed over, but it was still thick and seemingly tender to the touch. She picked up the washcloth and lightly dabbed over any moisture and sweat.

"Sorry," she said, then realized she had apologized for no reason, just like James usually did. "Not with..."

Not the kiss. She wasn't sorry for the kiss. Just...

"I guess, I'm just confused," she said softly, sighing. "To be honest, I don't really know what I'm doing. I don't know if either of us do. But I know now... not talking about it isn't going to help."

She looked up to meet his eyes for the next sentence. "I said I'd try to be better at communicating, didn't I?"

She placed the washcloth down and began to gently apply the salve. Not a lot; just enough to prevent itching and irritation.

"And now, I know, and you know, that this—whatever this is—is here. And we can't ignore it. And since I'm going to stay here with you permanently, then I think we should both try to be better for each other. Communicate with each other, I mean."

Evaline closed the bottle and began to unfurl the bandages, wrapping it around the wound.

"So my question to you is—what is this? I mean, I know we're not married like in our fake story, but... what do we call this, then?"

She paused, letting one last carefully-curated thought come out as she looked up to gauge his expression. She had one last shred of confidence left, and she wanted to use it wisely.

"Am I still only a friend to you?"

James had a moment. An: I wish I was more coherent for all of this moment. But it was far too late for that kind of regret now. They were in this, and he knew the both of them needed to have the conversation, even if his head was stuff a fuzzy mess.

He looked up at Evaline and took in a deep breath. If they were going to make anything official, he wanted her to know he was taking it seriously. He was listening.

"More than a friend," he said intentionally, making sure each word was clear.

"Obviously, we're far from marriage, but..." he paused, taking another breath. "Well, I never expected to have this conversation on my sickbed, but life comes with many surprises."

He set a hand over hers again, just to pause the bandage wrapping for a moment because he felt it was important he had her full attention.

"I don't know what things are like on earth and what words you use, but in the moonlight kingdom, it's common - when two people like each other and share great affection and romantic interest for one another - to call this a courtship. That is, something more intentional than just a friendship, and with mutual interest. Because, well... like you said, we can't ignore it. I think it's clear we both like each other."

More than a friend... Far from marriage...

This always happened when she was close to someone; Evaline always dreamed of what her future would be like with them. She tried not to anymore, and it was easy to repress when she continually pushed people away. But with James, it was always slipping.

It was easy for her to reveal intimate and realistic details of their fake marriage story because it was something she thought about sometimes.

But now? Now she didn't need to fantasize about a fake future together when he implied that she was going to be in his future, and he was in hers.

Her head buzzed with so many intrusive thoughts about what this meant now, but she felt herself trying to stop it again. The both of them were just starting. She didn't want to be disappointed.

She thought about telling him what he confessed to her last night, but then decided not to. She should have brought this topic up when he was feeling healthier; she didn't want to overwhelm him. But also, she didn't want to overwhelm herself. So many emotions swirled in her chest and she didn't know which one to feel or what some of the names were.

"Courtship," she repeated softly with him still having her attention. "I like that." She glanced down at his hand on hers again.

"In this phase of a serious relationship in Earth, we'd call each other partners." She smiled warmly. "So then... We have a courtship, partner."

Partners. People used that word in Nye as well.

James smiled warmly. It was a full smile that seemed to spread all across his face, meeting his eyes. He laughed a little, deep in his chest.

"I like the sound of that, partner."

Seeing James happy made Evaline happy. She felt something that resembled anxiety in her chest, but it was more electrifying and not at all dreadful.

"Well, since you call me... stunning," she said, sounding confident at first, but then trailing off and saying the last word bashfully. She tried again, confidence returning. "I'd like to confess something too."

Her eyes gazed down to his cheeks, and then poked where his two dimples were when he smiled.

"You have a charming smile, and I think you have the most adorable dimples."

James's smile started to fade a little naturally, but when she complimented his smile, it returned with full force, but with his brows pinching upwards. He averted his gaze bashfully and laughed, timid.

"Oh. I - ha - I forgot I even had them," he said.

Evaline looked down and noted his dimples again, smiling herself. It was strangely endearing to see James bashfully accept a compliment.

"Well, I don't," she said softly, her hands back on the bandages, but already pausing in thought. "And I can remind you... among other things."

She looked up to meet his gaze.

"That is... if you want."

James met her eyes but quickly looked away, still feeling the heat of embarrassment on his cheeks.

"You - you can say whatever you want," he said quietly. "You just might find that I'm probably no better at accepting compliments than you are."

No better at --

Evaline almost didn't believe him. She thought he liked compliments. She figured since he liked to give compliments, he'd want to receive them too. This past month, she had been trying to give him a compliment any time the moment came up, although admittedly the opportunities were sparse. Was she just this bad? Or oblivious?

She hummed this over in thought. "Okay," she said quietly, wrapping the bandage around his chest until it met her fingers. She began to tie it off.

"I am attracted to you, but not just because of who you are. It's how you look, too."

She cringed, hating how shallow that sounded. She quickly added on, finishing the knot and giving James her full attention.

"I mean — that's just a small part of it. I'm much more attracted to who you are as a person. But also, I say it's small, but it also—well, the infatuation, at first, was because..."

She bit back a groan, deciding to just start over.

"You are attractive," she said, more confident this time. "Inside and out."

She paused, trying to repress a grimace as she let out a small, nervous laugh.

"Sorry, that was... cliche. I promise I'll surprise you with something more original next time."