Take Me Away

The dazzling moonlight lit up Ryan's perfect face. Surprised, Fiona asked in a low voice, "So what did you want to tell me?"

He slowly stood up and gazed at her face, his heart was beating so hard he was afraid it might jump out of his chest.

"Well, there is a post about you on our school forum, Fiona. I don't know if you've seen it yet," Ryan began tentatively watching her reaction. "You've seen it, too?" Fiona was a little embarrassed. "I don't know who has taken those photos."

"Well, are you really dating the drillmaster?" he asked anxiously.

"No!" Fiona replied shaking her head. "We just know each other. That's all."

"Phew! Thank God!" Ryan said happily, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Is that all that you wanted to ask?" Fiona asked feeling amused at the look of relief on his face.

"No, actually there is one more thing," he said nervously. "Haven't you noticed that many people want to get to know you better?"

"Me? Why?" Fiona frowned and shook her head. "I saw the post, but I didn't notice that. Who wants to know me better?"

"A lot of people! Mostly boys," Ryan said. "They want to date you."

Fiona was very embarrassed. She stammered, "Ryan, I... Let's not talk about this. The post has been deleted. It's pointless..." "Yes, of course!" Ryan said hurriedly. "I just found the post to be very interesting because now I understand how lucky I am." Fiona was stumped. It was easier for her to crack a math problem than figure out Ryan.

Seeing that she was confused, he laughed and confessed, "I love you, Fiona."

His words fell softly in her ears

like a gentle breeze.

She was too stunned to react. Looking into his eyes, she felt so warm and fuzzy inside. She felt like she was floating on a cloud.

"But I'm not sure how you feel about me," he continued, running a hand through his hair. "You're an amazing girl and many boys want to be with you, myself included. I don't know if the odds are in my favor. But at the same time, I feel I'm lucky to have met you before the others. I'm confessing my feelings to you because I'm afraid that it would be too late if I waited too long."

Fiona had often received such proposals and she had refused many times.

But tonight was different. She had always wondered why Ryan treated her so well, but she had never expected him to confess his love to her. His confession had caught her off guard.

"You know, the first time I saw see you wasn't near the lake in our campus," he said sheepishly. He opened up to her slowly in an attempt to find a way into Fiona's heart. "The first time I saw you, you were standing in front of an advertisement at a bus station with a sketchpad in your hand. You took my breath away. I thought how could a girl be so beautiful and serene? I fell in love with you at first sight!"

Fiona's loud heartbeat

echoed in her ears. It was the first time he had admitted his true feelings to her.

"Ryan." Fiona didn't realize that her face was as red as an apple. After a long pause, she tried to say something but she fumbled, "I... Uh, this is..."

"I know, I know. This is all too sudden for you!" Ryan said to put her at ease. He was equally nervous. Proposing to Fiona made him realize how brave those girls, who had expressed their love to him, had been. "You don't have to answer me right away. I just want you to know that I love you."

The atmosphere changed between them. Both of them were breathing slowly and gazing at each other silently.

A long moment passed before Fiona said anything. When her heart rate returned to normal, she said, "I understand. But I..."

"Fiona, please don't refuse. At least, not so soon!" he cut in.

When he heard her say the word "but," his heart broke. "Please give me one chance. At least think about it for some days?"

Looking at the desperation on his face, Fiona kept bit back her protest and nodded.

"Great! Thank you!" Ryan was thrilled. His smile was as bright as fireworks in the night sky.

"I will try my best to win your heart, Fiona!" he said excitedly. Ryan panicked and didn't know whether he should make a move or just leave it at that. Eventually, he said hoarsely, "I will definitely convince you to be my girlfriend!"

'Girlfriend?'

Fiona blushed and lowered her head. She stared at her feet and mumbled, "I...I need to leave."

"Okay." Ryan nodded. "It's getting late. You'd better go back and get some rest."

"Bye!" Fiona nodded, turned around and rushed to her dormitory building.

Watching her disappear into her dorm, Ryan turned around and walked back to his own dormitory. He started walking faster and faster as a bubble of excitement grew in his heart making him grin from ear to

ear.

He was nervous when he went to meet her, but thrilled when he returned.

The wind was whistling in his ears. He felt like a man who was chasing after a dream and had finally fulfilled a small part of it.

When Ryan and Fiona both left the scene, a slender figure emerged from the shadows near the dormitory building. She gazed at him with a crazy obsession in her watery eyes.

Meanwhile, Fiona was back in her dormitory room. She climbed into bed.

Ella was applying a face mask when she saw Fiona coming in hurriedly. She questioned her, "What did you do outside? Why did you return in such a hurry?"

"It's nothing," Fiona replied automatically.

"Humph! You are behaving as strange as Leona. She, too, went out not long after you left. Are you two up to something together?"

"Hey! Why are your cheeks red, Fiona? Did you get sunburned?" Sophia asked peering at her rosy cheeks.

"No!" Fiona swallowed. "I was just walking fast, so maybe my cheeks turned red because of that. Anyway, I'm too tired today. I am going to bed early!"

Suddenly, the door opened and Leona walked in sullenly. She quietly got into bed.

"Oh God! Not another one!" Ella complained when she noticed that Leona was not in good mood either. "Now why are you so upset? And where have you been?" Just like Fiona, Leona, too, remained silent.

Sophia muttered, "You're asking for it. Ella, you'd better shut up and go to sleep!"

"Ugh! This is so boring!" Ella stretched and went to the bathroom to wash off her facial mask.

Fiona finally relaxed and leaned back against her pillow. Her face suddenly turned pale as she remembered Spencer.

Irrespective of whether it was a fake marriage or a real one, she was going to get married to Spencer. This meant she was in no position to accept Ryan.

The blood drained from her cheeks. 'I promised Ryan that I would think about it but that's really inappropriate on my part. I must make it clear to him that nothing can happen between us. But what should I tell him?'

"Alas!" Fiona sighed and turned on her side. She was overcome with great self-pity. The past ten years had been very difficult for her. Would her future be just as horrible? She was being forced to marry a guy, who hated her deeply.

She tossed and turned in her bed.

She thought of Ryan's gorgeous smile in the moonlight, and desire flared in her heart. An inner voice said, "Fiona, don't get married to Spencer. Ryan is so gentle and considerate. Be with him instead! You have a crush on him, don't you? And you once considered breaking off the engagement to Spencer, didn't you?"

Feelings of hesitation, confusion and trepidation swirled inside her like a storm.

It was the first time she'd felt so helpless. She couldn't choose the man she liked. She was stuck in the stupid agreement with Spencer.

The next morning Fiona woke up and splashed water on her face several times. She had not slept at all. She was exhausted and, on top of that, her period started too. However, it was time for military training so she had to get dressed and leave even though she looked like a zombie!

"Hurry up, sleepyhead! We're going to be late!" Sophia urged, dragging her towards the playground.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming!" Fiona groaned and put her hand on her belly.

On the playground, Spencer had been waiting for the students. It was time to begin, but Fiona was trudging at a glacial pace. He roared, "Hurry up! There's still one minute left. Anyone who is late will run for twenty laps!"

"Come one! Move it!" Without waiting for a response from Fiona, Sophia yanked her and started running. Fiona didn't have the time to explain that she felt sick and a little nauseous.

Spencer shot her an annoyed glance but said nothing. Then he began the drill.

Spencer straightened his spine and announced loudly, "First row, call out your numbers!"

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"Four!"

"Five..." Fiona tried her best but failed to keep up. Spencer was immediately pissed off. He went and stood right in front of her, squinted and yelled, "Louder!"

Fiona took a deep breath and tried to shout with all her might, "Five!"

"Count again!"

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"Four!"

"Five!"

"Again!" Spencer commanded.

He repeated this drill three times. Fiona could tell the other girls began to hate her.

"Either run twenty laps or count again! Pick one," Spencer barked at her. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back exhibiting an uncompromising stance.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐