Chapter 8

The next morning, I was rudely awakened by an alarm, only it wasn't mine. I sat up groggily and climbed down the ladder to look for the source of the sound. It was Leo's alarm on the other side of his bed. And the only way to get to it was to go over the bed. I sighed and waited a moment, but he didn't budge. Looking at him closer, I saw his eyes were still red and puffy from crying. It must've taken a lot of energy out of him. I took a deep breath before deciding to hit the snooze button for him. I carefully placed a knee on the bed before I 'Twistered' my way to his bedside table. Before I could reach the alarm clock, I was tossed to the bed. With my back against the blanket, I looked up to see Leo's bewildered face. His hands were pinning my wrists near my head and he sat on my hips as he stared at me confused.

"Um, you're alarm was going off and you seemed tired, so I was just going to snooze it," I explained timidly. I was stuck in a very compromising position. He looked me over before his eyes glued themselves to my chest.

"Y-you have boobs," he blurted. My eyes widened. I almost forgot that I slept with my wrap off. And with my loose white shirt and him sitting on my pelvic, he could probably feel and see everything.

"Hormone imbalance," I blurted the first lie that came to mind.

"No way... you really are a girl," he concluded.

"No I'm not!" I retorted quickly as my face turned red.

"Prove it," he challenged. I couldn't prove it. I sighed and closed my eyes briefly. I was caught. It had only been less than 24 hours, and I had already been caught.

"I can't," I answered defeatedly. He let go of my wrists and turned his alarm off before he climbed off of me to pace beside the bed.

"This doesn't make any sense," he muttered to himself. I sat up slowly and sat on the edge of his bed as I watched him process the news so early in the morning. He stopped suddenly to face me.

"You know this is an all-boys school, right? You're not supposed to be here. Why are you here?" He asked quickly. I sighed and buried my face in my hands. I wanted to cry. There was no way Leo was going to let this one go.

"I just wanted to be coached by Race Imboden. I wanted to get better at fencing and hopefully get scouted for the Olympic team. That's the only reason I'm here," I admitted.

"You could be coached by a female fencer," he offered. I shook my head.

"They're all either exclusive coaches for the Olympic team or still on the team. Coach Race was the closest coach coming from the Olympic team, and he's also my role model. You have no idea what I had to do to get here. Please... don't tell anyone," I begged as I stared at him with teary eyes. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as he began pacing again.

"Does anyone else know about you?" He asked. I shook my head before staring at my lap. I felt my tears finally fall. It was all over and I didn't even get to be coached by Race. I sniffled and tried to wipe my cheeks dry but my tears fell faster than I could stop them.

"D-Don't cry. I haven't decided anything yet," Leo said uncomfortably. I sniffled and tried to stop it but I couldn't.

"Okay, okay. I'll make a deal with you. Somehow, you calmed my panic attack yesterday. Normally, I keep hyperventilating until I pass out, but I didn't yesterday. I get them every time there's an official start. If you promise to help me with them, I'll keep your secret," he offered. His panic attack from last night. All I had to do was stop them? I looked at him to see him already staring back at me.

"Deal," I agreed.