A kiss a day keeps the doctor away

Ken's class has a couple of hours of PE classes each week, and it's time for one of those. The students are all wearing their gym uniforms.

"Divide yourselves into two teams, today we're playing dodgeball," the teacher says.

He names the captains of the two teams who take turns selecting their members. Ken and Rebecca are on one team, while Will and Briar are on the other.

"Play fair and as a team” he emphasize before starting the game with a whistle. The two captains play rock-paper-scissors for the first throw, and unfortunately for Ken and Rebecca, their captain loses.

The game begins gradually, with the students having fun but also a hint of competitiveness in the air. Ken and Rebecca's team loses almost five members right away, and the opposing team has a clear advantage. It seems that someone from the opposing team is particularly determined, but Ken can't let himself be defeated in this way. Especially to impress a certain girl on his team.

"Come on, guys! Do you really want it to end like this?!" he encourages his team.

"No!!" the others respond, except for Rebecca, who simply watches them with a surprised look but still wants to contribute to her team's victory.

"Let's do this!" he says again.

"Isn't he overdoing it a bit...?" Briar comments to Will, watching the blond-haired boy cheering his team on from the other side of the court.

"Forget it... he can be really stubborn about these things," Will rubs his temples.

Ken manages to eliminate two players from the opposing team, but they continue fiercely eliminating one of Ken's teammates after another. He tries to catch the ball as much as possible to invalidate their shots, but this is exhausting his strength more quickly.

It's his team's turn, and he takes the opportunity to rest a little, leaning on his knees with his hands, breathing heavily and dripping with sweat. He wipes off some sweat with his sleeve.

Where's Bibi? He looks around and finds her still on the field not far from him, with a red face and palms.

Damn, she's too far... I need to get closer.

The opposing team throws the ball right in his direction. Ken starts running towards it without thinking twice, reaching the target in a matter of seconds and forcefully punching the ball. The ball slams against the wall with a loud thud.

"Are you okay?" he asks immediately.

"I-I'm fine..." She looks at him with wide eyes, amazed by what just happened.

"Thank goodness," he sighs in relief.

The teacher blows the whistle, declaring the throw invalid.

"Howard, are you okay? If you need a break or want to go to the infirmary, let me know," the teacher approaches her to check on her closely.

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine. I can continue."

"Alright. Carry on!" he blows the whistle again, and now it's Ken's team's turn as the game continues.

Tempers seem more fierce than ever, especially after the last foul. Ken keeps trying to save the few remaining teammates by catching the ball and moving across the court towards the direction of the throws, until he steps on his foot in the wrong way just moments before the opposing team's throw.

He falls to the ground, and the person who needs to throw can't miss this opportunity. They throw the ball in his direction. Luckily, Rebecca has already started running towards him, but her trajectory is lower than normal shots, so the ball hits her ankle, causing her to fall as well. The sound of the teacher's whistle echoes in the large gym.

"The game is over. Take both Douglas and Howard to the infirmary, please. You'll have a nice punishment afterward on the meaning of 'fair play'!"

Will and Briar run towards their friends. Ken is sitting, and Will immediately helps him up, while Rebecca takes a bit more time to recover from the shock and sits down. Every movement of her injured leg causes small twinges of pain.

"Are you okay?" Briar kneels in front of her ankle and uncovers it. "Doesn't look good..."

"K-Ken, are you okay...?" She turns her attention to Ken, held under Will's arm.

"I think I'm fine, but are you?"

"She isn't... a big bruise is forming. Can someone help me take her to the infirmary? I don't think she can walk in this condition."

"I can do it-" Will gives him a playful smack behind his head.

"Ouch!"

"Deserved," he says.

Some of their teammates and others help them to the infirmary, where the nurse examines their injuries. Rebecca's ankle has swollen at the same spot where a large purple bruise has appeared, while Ken's ankle only has a mild bruise. The nurse has them lie down on two beds and puts ice packs on their bruises.

"Stay here for a few hours. Don't worry, I'll notify your teachers of the reason for your absence. Rest in the meantime," she leaves the room, leaving them alone.

Ken's eyes become heavy against his will because he wants to talk to Rebecca, ask her how she's doing, and why she did something as foolish as taking a hit for him, but his eyelids are stronger than him.

Once awake, he learns that about an hour has passed, and Rebecca is still peacefully asleep, making no noise except for her gentle breathing.

He sits up and sees that besides them, the room is completely empty, with no nurse in sight. He stands up and sits on the chair next to Rebecca's bed, waiting for her to wake up.

About twenty minutes pass before it happens. Rebecca rubs her eyes, which seem even greener now that she's just woken up. She immediately turns towards Ken but quickly closes her eyes, as the sun shining directly behind him is too bright.

"W-what time is it?" she asks.

"It's been about two hours."

"Damn, I missed history and English..."

"How are you feeling now?" She tries to move her leg before answering.

"Much better. But I can't feel my ankle anymore because of the ice," she chuckles.

"Let me remove it..." He removes the ice pack from her leg. The bruise is still there, darker than before, but the swelling has decreased.

"How are you?" She looks towards the hand he used to punch the ball to defend her, noticing that he's keeping it in his pocket.

"I just tripped, so the damage isn't as bad as yours..."

She quickly grabs his hand, pulling it out of his pocket, surprising him. She turns it between her hands, noticing that his knuckles are red and the middle finger is even fractured.

"Oh, this? It's nothing." He tries to reassure her, but the truth is that he has been trying to ignore it and not look at it, thinking that it would disappear that way. But now that he's looking at it himself, the pain he didn't feel during the impact returns, though minimized, and he lets out a groan of pain. She looks at him with a concerned expression as soon as she hears it.

"Really... it's nothing..." He chuckles, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I'm sorry... it's my fault." She gently strokes his knuckles to avoid causing him further pain.

"It's not your fault. I acted because I wanted to, and you had nothing to do with it. I would have done it for anyone."

"Still... thank you." She kisses his knuckles, avoiding the fractured one.

Perhaps it's because she's standing right in front of the window with the sun directly hitting the back of her neck, but she feels strangely warmer.

"Feeling better?"

"Absolutely."