I'm interrupted from my sleep with an ear-piercing scream. Leaning over to my nightstand, I check the clock to make sure I don't have to beat someone up for waking me up early. 

8:30 AM.

They're spared. For now.

I lazily limp out of bed, wondering if the scream was just in my head or if it was a random girl in the hallway.

Then it happens again.

Only, this time, I hear it in the bathroom, which is strange because who would be screaming into the bathroom at this time of morning?

I knock on the door anxiously. "Who's screaming?"

The wooden door opens almost immediately, revealing a terrified Bradley on the small bathroom counter. His face is abnormally pale, and I can see the nervous darting of his eyes.

"Max, thank God you're here!" he cries, his perched stance on the counter making it hard to take him seriously.

I look at him incredulously. "What's going on? Was that you screaming?"

He points to the floor with a shaky hand, and I open the door all the way to get a glimpse of what was terrorizing him.

There, on the linoleum floor, was a light brown spider.

I shout in surprise and scramble to get on the countertop as well. Bradley clings to me, the surface being almost too small to hold both of us. The spider creeps closer to the cabinets below us as if to mock us.

I glance over at the brunet's terrified face. "Do we wait here until it dies, or...?"

"I... I don't know."

We sit in silence for a few minutes, both of us keeping our eyes trained on the little killing machine.

"Wait," Bradley says, his pasty face lighting up. "My bedbug spray is in the mirror cabinet."

I duck down as he swings open the mirror and grabs the spray with a triumphant air of delight. A wave of relief washes over me, knowing I won't have to be stuck up here on this tiny counter for much longer. Pointing the spray bottle at the spider, Bradley squeezes his eyes shut and pulls the trigger as much as he can in the general direction of the arachnid.

Eventually, he opens his brown peepers (such a fun little word) and glances down at the spider's corpse.

"We... we did it." A grin stretches across his face, his pride evident.

I look over at him with a soft smile. "I don't know what we would've done if you hadn't brought your disgusting cleaning chemicals in here, so... thanks."

"Of course," he says with a light chuckle, "I think this a good time to reflect on the importance of cleanliness-"

"Don't ruin the moment," I say plainly as I hop off the counter.

"Fair enough."

~*~*~

I stand in the pavilion with a sense of importance, checking my watch every now and then. I agreed with Bradley earlier this morning after the spider incident to meet up for his next lesson, and he apparently made the decision to uncharacteristically be late. Momentarily, he appears up from behind a building and runs up to me.

"Hey," he says between pants, "Sorry, I'm late. I had to take care of something."

"What's all this stuff you always have to take care of?" I ask with a tired sigh, tapping my foot impatiently.

He flicks his hand back in dismissal and sits at the picnic table. "Nothing too important."

I shrug, concluding now would be a good time to start what we came here for. "Alright, anyway, the next lesson is one of honesty."

"Seriously?" he says with a childlike groan.

"It's a very important quality to have. I'm going to be honest here; sure, it's good to lie about some things, but sometimes, honesty is the best policy. Usually, kind honesty is the way to go."

"So... sugarcoating."

"Exactly," I say, sitting down to rest my aching knee.

Bradley looks down at my leg blankly. "So, are you going to be honest if I ask you about your knee?"

I tense up a little, not expecting the conversation to change to that subject. "Uhm, well, I guess I saying no would make me a hypocrite."

"How'd it happen?" he asks quietly.

"Sometime during the X-Games, I messed it up. But it's fine, it'll go away." I give him a reassuring smile to seal the deal.

Bradley shakes his head in disbelief. "Absolutely not. It could be serious."

"I promise, it's okay-"

Before I can finish my sentence, I find myself being picked up bridal-style by Bradley. 

"Bradley- what're you- how- why-" My face flushes in embarrassment as my brain struggles to come up with coherent words.

"I knew you wouldn't go to the infirmary if I just told you," he says with a roll of his eyes. "Then I spontaneously decided that force would be the right way to go."

Without waiting for further protest, he proceeds to walk to the infirmary with me resting in his arms like some sort of female protagonist in a romance movie. I cover my flushed face as students ogle the sight before them in hushed whispers and confused expressions. I can just feel their gazes burning into me the, the same questions running through each of their minds.

After a few moments, we arrive at the building, and Bradley gently sets me down in a waiting room chair. He makes sure I'm comfortable before walking over to the front desk and talking with the nurse, who seemed just as bewildered as me.

The nurse, Lucy, gestures for me to follow her to the clinical examination room, and Bradley watches me with piercing eyes as I limp away. As soon as I get into the room, Lucy pats the cushioned table for me to sit on, and I hop up onto it hesitantly. Bradley comes in and sits on a chair a couple minutes later, being his usual stoic self.

"Alright," Lucy says as she sits down on a stool in front of the table and clasps her hands. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I was injured in the X-Games, and my knee is a bit messed up, but it's no big deal."

She raises a brow at me. "That's to be determined by me. Bend and unbend your leg."

I do as she says, and a jolt of pain rushes through me. Lucy hums in response and rolls over to her little desk in the corner, scratching something down on a clipboard. Bradley just keeps his eyes on my knee in a curious manner.

Lucy comes back over on her stool, feeling the hough of my knee. "You have a knee sprain. By not treating it, you've made it worse."

"Knee sprain?" I repeat, peering down at my aching leg.

She nods and glances over at Bradley. "I'd recommend painkillers and a brace, which I'll go get right now. If he stays off his leg for about two weeks, he should heal in no time."

He crosses his arms and leans back in his chair. "I'll be sure to watch over him."

"Why're you even talking to him?" I mutter as she walks off.

I have to stay off my leg for two weeks?

Great.

There's a sudden knock on the door, and I jolt at the abruptness. Bradley opens it, and we're greeted by a nervous Nico. My heart sinks like Bradley's rock to the bottom of the lake, Nico pulling Bradley outside the room. I watch as the door closes behind them, leaving no space for me to hear their conversation.

Momentarily, Lucy comes back with her promised items and sends me on my way after telling me how to use them and reprimanding me for making my sprain worse.

I exit the examination room and go to the lobby, greeted by the lone figure of Bradley. His back is faced toward me, but I can tell he knows I'm there. His fists clench and unclench, and I can't tell if it means anything.

He turns around to look at me, and the anxiety is evident on his face.

So, the fist clenching did mean something.

"Where did you get that blue curtain yesterday?" he asks evenly.

"A store... with curtains... that are blue..." I speak slowly as to not show him I'm lying because I'm amazing at that.

Bradley's eyes rove over me judgmentally. "I can't believe I trusted you. I-I can't believe I let you into my life- I can't believe I thought you'd be the only honest person in my life."

It hits me like a truck carrying eight-hundred bricks.

He knows.

He knows that I went to check out the cafe after he specifically showed he didn't want me to.

"Look, Bradley-"

"I thought you were different," he says with a bitter laugh, "and you just turned out to be a hypocrite, huh?

I run a hand through my mullet. "I understand you may be upset, but I'm worried for you, Brad. You have every right to be angry-"

"I'm not angry," he says, cutting me off with a low raise of his hand. "I'm disappointed."

"But-"

"And don't call me Brad," he mutters before leaving without sparing me so much as a glance.

I watch as he trudges off, my knee painfully stinging and my heart painfully breaking.