Chapter 7

Leila stared blankly at Fred wondering if she imagined hearing the words or he really said that he wanted to ask her out.

She opened her mouth to answer but no words came out. Leila cleared her throat thinking maybe it would help her voice. "Wh- what?"

"I... Well, I've wanted to ask you out." Fred repeated and she couldn't believe he said that. Twice!

"Listen Leila," he started when he saw her expression. "I know that it's not the good time to do that, but I'd really like to take you out."

Leila didn't reply she just stared at him. She looked like someone had told her that the sun had come out in the middle of the night. She couldn't think. She knew if her mind was working she wouldn't have been having this dream when she was supposedly awake. 'He wants to take me out?!' What was left from her senses screamed out.

Leila felt like her body was turning numb, cold and she couldn't breathe. 'Oh God no, not now.' She thought as she closed her eyes and wondered how long this was going to take.

"Leila, are you okay?" Fred asked quickly. He could see how her face turned white and how her breath came out shallow. He got up from his chair and sat on the bed next to her. "Leila!! Answer me, are you okay?" he asked again but couldn't tell what was happening to her, surely she wasn't going to faint because he said he wanted to ask her out.

"Pl... please," Leila whispered faintly. "On my night stand,"

Fred turned and waited for her to point out at what she wanted from her night stand.

"Tablets..." She whispered again and he found them next to the painkiller for her ankle. He quickly picked it up and handed it to her before reaching for the glass of water and forcing the two pills she got out into her pale, nearly blue mouth.

"Swallow..." He murmured, "easy, another sip!" Fred held the hand she lifted while she was drinking and found it as cold as ice. He put back the glass and took her hands in his trying to make them warmer.

After few minutes Leila slowly opened her eyes and Fred let out the breath he'd been holding for the last ten minutes. "You okay?"

"Yeah,"

The sound escaped her lips as if it was just a breath and Fred wondered what happened to make her so sick all of a sudden.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked again not quite sure whether she was okay or not.

Leila closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she let it out and he saw how her shoulders relaxed and how the colors went back to her face. "I'm okay now." She said louder this time while a hint of a smile covered her face.

Fred smiled warily and said, "We can go to the hospital you know,"

"God no," Leila said quickly. "I'm fine now."

"Well, you look better now. We can still go... It seems that I have a bad effect on you. Twice in only 24 hours that's a record." He said cheerfully.

Leila gave out a small giggle before leaning back a little. "Thank you."

"For what?" he asked. "If I'd known that this will happen to you when I mention asking you out I wouldn't have said it." he said and quickly cursed himself when he saw her smile fade away.

"Leila, I'm sorry..."

"No, no it's fine." She mumbled shyly and looked down. "I... sometimes I have problems breathing, it's psychological, and I'm fine now."

"Oh, I thought it's because of me."

Leila kept quiet for a while and it made Fred realize he was still sitting next to her on her bed holding her hand. He stood up and moved away from her bed. 'I don't trust myself that close.' He thought as he took few steps away from her bed.

"Why?"

Fred stopped when he heard her voice. He turned around and asked, "Why what?"

Leila took another deep breath before answering. "Why do you want to take me out?"

"Why do I want to take you out?" he repeated after her and it took him a while before realizing what the question meant.

"Ah... well," he muttered not knowing what to say. 'What kind of a question is that?' he thought to himself as he went back to sit on the chair next to the bed.

"Why? Hmm," he rested his elbows on his knees and sighed. "You are... different,"

"Oh," she let out a small sound and he was damn sure he heard disappointment in her voice.

"No, I mean different as in a good way!" He commented quickly.

"Oh." This time her tone was changed a bit and she raised her big brown eyes and stared pensively at him.

"I mean you are different than any other girl I've known," Fred said and found out that every word he said made it worse.

With Leila's questioning big brown eyes staring at him, waiting for his explanation he couldn't help the words that escaped his mouth.

"You look so adorable all the time and that's what makes you different."

Fred didn't know whether the red color that covered her cheeks and almost covered her neck was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I swear I meant different in a good way." He said, worried that she might shy away and the nice girl who he'd been talking to for an hour now would disappear and the shy girl that wouldn't talk to him would take place again.

But then when the corners of her mouth moved a bit, he heaved out a sigh. She smiled a little at the way he was trying to explain himself and he couldn't help liking how her brown eyes lit when she smiled.

"I... I thought you're going out with... someone." She mumbled bashfully.

"Ah- no, no I'm not." He said quickly but then thought, 'I think I should say the truth.' So he continued, "I used to go out with someone," he said preferring not to mention Benny or any other name. After he'd known she thought they were better than her he thought mentioning them was a bad idea. Especially now that he wanted to ask her out. "But not any more. I've wanted to talk to you Leila. Really, it's just that you can call me a coward for not doing it earlier."