After Flynn started feeling better, the nurse allowed him to go home.
As Flynn stepped through the front door of their house, he happened to run into his father who was just coming out.
Lucas immediately noticed the weariness in his son's movements. "You okay, Flynn?" he asked, concern threading his voice.
Flynn only nodded tiredly. "I'm fine," he replied, then headed straight to his room without another word.
Inside, Flynn's mind replayed the day's events on a loop.
He couldn't deny that Dylan's earlier advice to rest had been right. But what puzzled him was the intensity of Dylan's attention—almost too much—making Flynn stubbornly resist even his own thoughts.
He pushed the feeling away, grabbed his school bag and sat down at his study table to began his assignments.
Not long after, Dylan appeared.
"Uncle," he greeted Lucas quietly.
Lucas glanced up. "Dylan, you're here. Flynn's in his room. Why don't you go see him?"
"Thanks, Uncle," Dylan said, then without hesitation, made his way toward Flynn's room.
"Hey, you feeling better?" Dylan greeted Flynn.
"Would I even be able to go home if I wasn't?" Flynn replied sarcastically.
"You're so grumpy. Here." Dylan set down a plastic bag filled with medicines and vitamins he'd bought after class.
"Why did you even buy these? The nurse already gave me medicine before I left."
Hearing this, Dylan quickly grabbed Flynn's bag and rummaged through the medicines. When he saw them, he immediately took them and tossed them in the trash.
"Why did you throw those away? The nurse just gave those to me."
"These are different. They're not from me, so you won't use them. You'll use the ones I bought from now on," Dylan explained, sounding like he was laying down the rules.
Flynn just sighed and turned back to focus on his assignments.
As Dylan watched Flynn, a sudden flashback of what Nathan said before Dylan left the clinic came to his mind.
"I don't really know what you truly feel for Flynn," Nathan had said, his voice calm but steady, "but I can sense how much you worry about him... how much you want to take care of him."
Dylan felt the weight of those words.
"Flynn is kind," Nathan continued, "but he's used to being alone. Nobody's really given him the kind of attention you're showing now. So... it might be a little overwhelming for him."
Dylan kept thinking about it as he looked at Flynn. Dylan's lips curved into a knowing smirk. Deep down, he believed it was only a matter of time before Flynn opened up and let himself be cared for.
Before going to sleep, Dylan remembered it was time for Flynn to take his medicine, but Flynn was already lying down.
"Take your medicine before you sleep," Dylan said, holding out a pill and a glass of water.
Flynn barely stirred. "Just put it there, I'll take it later."
Instead of leaving it, Dylan placed the glass on the table. He knew Flynn would only forget if he left it there. So he came closer, and without a word, slipped the pill past Flynn's lips.
Flynn quickly sat up to grab the water because of the bitter taste of the medicine on his tongue.
"Why are you doing this?" Flynn asked.
"Don't ask," Dylan replied.
Silence fell between them, thick but not uncomfortable. Flynn looked away first. "Aren't you going home yet?"
"No one will take care of you if I go home."
Flynn didn't argue anymore and just lay back down to sleep. A moment later, Dylan settled beside him.
The next morning, Flynn woke up early, the soft glow of dawn filtering through the curtains. His head no longer throbbed, and the dizziness that had clouded his vision was finally gone.
He turned his gaze to the side, where Dylan lay curled up, still deep in sleep. Memories of how Dylan took care of him throughout the night flashed in his mind.
Soon, Dylan also woke up. He saw Flynn already getting his things ready for school.
"You're already awake? Why didn't you wake me up?" Dylan asked.
"How could I wake you? You stayed up late taking care of me. And besides, it's still early." Flynn replied.
Dylan got up to freshen up and prepare his things as well.
Before heading out to school, they made their usual stop at Aunt Mary's eatery.
As usual, they ordered the same thing—two orders each of hotdog with egg and fried rice. Aunt Mary was delighted to see how well the two ate.
Flynn and Dylan arrived in their classroom side by side. The sight immediately caught Nathan's eye.
Sigh... these two are really something else, Nathan muttered to himself, shaking his head in disbelief. It felt like just yesterday the two couldn't stand being in the same room—and now here they were, walking in together as if they'd never argued at all.
Not long after, Amanda arrived. She set her things down before speaking.
"Today, we'll be having an earthquake drill," Amanda announced. She then went on to explain the procedures to follow during the drill.
While everyone waited for the signal to begin, Flynn used the time to finish some of his assignments.
"Hey, are you sure you're feeling okay?" Dylan asked. "It's hot outside—you might collapse again."
Flynn didn't lift his gaze. "I told you, I'm fine. It was the expired medicine that caused it yesterday, not the sun."
Before Dylan could reply, the sharp wail of the emergency siren echoed across the campus, signaling the start of the drill.
Chairs scraped back, feet shuffled, and one by one the students dove under their desks.
Flynn covered his head with his hands, but Dylan leaned in and placed his own hand over Flynn's head as well.
"What are you doing?" Flynn asked from beneath the desk.
"Protecting you," Dylan said simply.
"Protecting me from what? It's just a drill."
"Well, I'm practicing how I'd protect you if it really happens one day," Dylan said with a mischievous grin.
Flynn only sighed, too tired to argue further. They stayed like that until the long continuous wail of the second siren echoed through the halls—signal to evacuate the building.
The students stood and waited for their class president's instructions before filing out of the classroom and heading toward the school quadrangle.
Once everyone was lined up properly, the class president began counting heads to check attendance.
Dylan noticed sweat beading on Flynn's forehead. He took out his handkerchief, wiped Flynn's sweat, then quickly unfolded it and placed it on Flynn's head to shield him from the sun.
Flynn was startled, caught off guard by the sudden gesture, but he couldn't react in time.
Across from them, a group of girls noticed what Dylan had done, and they squealed in delight.
"Oh my God, did you see that? They look so cute. They look like a couple."
"Right? They really suit each other."
Flynn's ears burned. He turned sharply toward Dylan.
"Why did you do that? Everyone's watching," he muttered.
"So? What's wrong with it?" Dylan replied.
At the far end of the line, where Nathan stood, a small crowd of girls were also squealing over him—some waving their hands to fan him, others sneaking photos.
But Nathan paid them no mind. His gaze was fixed on Flynn and Dylan, his mind turning over the whispers he had just overheard.
After their earthquake drill, everyone returned to their respective classrooms.
While Flynn was busy finishing his assignments, Dylan couldn't help but ask why Flynn had been so cold to him the day before.
"Hey, Flynn. Why were you so grumpy with me yesterday? We were fine the other day, right?" Dylan asked. "I know you weren't feeling well, but it seemed like there was something else bothering you."
Flynn paused in what he was doing. Only then did he realize that, because he'd been overthinking the letter he'd read and spent the whole night dwelling on his ex, he'd ended up treating Dylan that way.
"I just didn't get much sleep yesterday. Something's been on my mind," Flynn replied, continuing with his work.
"What is it, huh? Don't tell me it's about your girlfriend?" Dylan pressed.
"You're such a gossip, you know that?"
"So it really is about your girlfriend?"
Flynn didn't answer. Instead, he kept on with what he was doing.
Dylan couldn't help feeling curious about Flynn's girlfriend, but sensing that Flynn didn't want to talk about it, he chose to let the matter go.