"Stop nodding your head like that, you look dumb doing so." The man named Sebastian broke her trance and is looking annoyed at something or to be more specific at a certain someone with red hair.

Blink, blink.

She blinked and blinked some more. Althea was so speechless with the audacity of this man. "Pardon?"

" I. Said. You. Look. Dumb." This time he emphasised each and every word with a face of someone who's bored out of his mind.

"Wow! Would you look at this? I mean here I'm being nice enough to help you out and you're treating me so rudely." Althea spat the words as harshly as she could." Hmph! Suit yourself, I won't be bothering you from here on." She abruptly stood up and was about to leave him when the man seethed in pain. Clenching her small fists she looked at him. And for some outwardly reason, even with a stoic face like that he looked pitiful.

God!! Why do I have to be the one to feel guilty!

"Okay, at least let me take you to a doctor." She said hoping that he would agree.

Sebastian gave her a brief stare," I don't..

"Don't be stubborn and think wisely." She cut him in between," you cannot even stand properly, how can you expect that you'll make it out of here on your own?". Sebastian didn't reply to that.

A broad smile appeared on her beautiful face," I'm taking your silence as a sign of approval." She outstretched her hand for him to which after staying still for a moment, he reluctantly accepted. Her hand felt extremely warm to Sebastian, warmth that he never once experienced before in his life. He was so used to the people who would often approach him for their selfish needs and desires that this kindness almost felt like a taboo to him.

Althea gave him support by placing his hand over her shoulders. However this posture made them unnecessarily close, that she could even hear the sound of his heartbeat.

Wait or is it my heart that's beating like a drum??

***

As they were walking alongside when Sebastian finally decided to voice out his suspicion," why are you helping me? I mean..you don't even know me and it's not like you have any obligation to do so ..".

Althea has to look up to meet his eyes due to the height differences, well it wasn't that she was a midget or something, it's just this man was terribly tall. Oh and was this man terribly heavy as well?

Bingo!! He definitely is!!

Chewing on her bottom lip she decided to tease him a bit" why, you ask? Isn't it obvious that I'm expecting a big reward in return for this generosity of mine?".

A familiar taste of bitterness began to grow inside Sebastian," I knew it, you all are the same." He started snickering like he was mocking his own self for even having those ridiculous thoughts.. it was an understatement to say that this sudden outburst of his, made Althea confused. Nonetheless she continued" that is what you were expecting to hear, rght? However, the truth is that I am just doing this because I want to."

" Heh! Yeah, I'm not falling for that." His words were full of resentment.

"Whatever"she huffed," believe it or not, that's all there is to it."

The sun has gone for a while now and is replaced by a full moon night. The number of people on the streets have also decreased to a minimum.
After what felt like hours, they finally found a small pharmacy at the corner of an intersection.

"Finally!! Found one." Looking around, she started searching for something that could be used as a temporary support for Sebastian till she can get some medical supplies from the store and as if luck was on their side too, a wooden stick was lying under a tree not far from where they were.

"Here, use this stick as a crutch for now and wait here for me. I'll be right back in a moment so don't you go wandering about just anywhere, do you understand?" She began explaining him just like a parent would do to their five-year old.

Althea has spent twenty three years of her life growing up being showered with love, and taken care of by others. Her daily life consists of Eating fancy breakfast in bed as soon as she wakes up, servants tending to her needs all day long, Travelling around in luxurious cars. It wouldn't be exaggerating to say that not once did she have to lift a finger to do anything at all and money was never an issue for her, as we all know being Rich has it's own perks so all she had to do was just say the word and she could get everything she wanted.

So having to look after someone is an experience she never had before this, it was somewhat new and exciting for her.

Sebastian just gave her an indifferent look and kept quiet.

Pouting, she grumbled under her breath "hmph! it's not like I was expecting you to praise me or something anyways" .

While Althea was gone, Sebastian was staring into the sky full of bright stars, illuminating the night." I don't know if she's just so good at pretending or is she really that naive and benevolent? Tsk!" . clicking his tongue he shuffled out the phone inside of his pocket and typed a short message, then after getting the notification that the message had been received successfully by the recipient, Sebastian put the phone back in his pocket.

Now why is it taking so long for her to come back?

Did she leave after all?

Even though they've just met, how come the thought of her abandoning him sting so much? Clutching to where his heart was aching, he released a deep breath.

I shouldn't be feeling this way, she's just yet another insignificant person among the crowd.