Chapter 117 - Under The Rain II

And as his lips captured her, Xavier, who was watching from afar, had finally caught a glimpse of the mysterious woman's face. 

Even after he'd finally seen her face, he couldn't take his eyes off of what was happening. To make things even more worse, the man in his dream wasn't just anyone, it was him. 

Under the rain, the lovestruck couple kissed like there was no tomorrow. Like no one else but them was present, which was true in a sense. She wrapped her arms around his neck, he clasped his hands behind her back. 

Xavier heard a symphony of noises, the rapid beating of someone's heart, the sounds made by the rain as it poured down on what was once dry land.

Thunder boomed in the background. Most would have taken it as bad timing, but Xavier would reckon otherwise. He didn't know much about dreams.

However, what had happened may have been a sign. A kiss wasn't just a kiss, it could mean many things. 

An epiphany. 

A solution.

An impending disaster.

Or a transformation. 

Xavier felt a pang of happiness in his heart, before he woke up, breathing and panting whilst drenched in sweat. 

Sighing, Xavier wondered if that dream he had had any hidden meaning behind it. Was it some sort of sign? 

Dreams could never be taken light. So… was it…

A sign that something that included him and Madeline was to come? Who knew?

'Argh, what's Adrian done to me? Now, I'm getting distracted again,' Xavier said, grasping his hair with his two hands. 

Why, why, why?

Why was he feeling like this all of a sudden? Why did these feelings decide to surface now of all times? 

He was fine the way he was, that was what he believed to be true. 

Was he happy? Content? Fine where he was? 

The answer to that was… 

"I don't know," Xavier admitted. 

He would have answered that he was sure he would be happy. Something had made him change his mind. 

"Why do I not know?" He asked himself. 

Frustration brimmed within him. 

He didn't feel like he was lovesick, he felt like he was frustrated. 

Frustrated that he couldn't make up his mind whether or not this was the path he wanted to take.

Frustrated because he felt like he was backed up into a corner with no means of escape. 

Laying his head on his desk, he felt someone stroke his head gently. 

"You need to get some rest, you know. You've been working too hard. An hour isn't enough. Neither are two hours, or three. Overexerting yourself won't do you any good," a familiar voice told him. 

"You're not actually there, are you?" Xavier asked, looking up to see no one there. 

Sighing, he couldn't believe he imagined Madeline there. She was probably someplace else, doing something else, and not thinking about him. 

Wondering if she would follow her word, he headed to her quarters, wanting to do something. 

Knocking on her door, Xavier didn't expect anything, or anyone to open the door. 

So when Madeline opened the door, dressed in navy blue silk pyjamas with her hair flowing down past her shoulders, Xavier was unable to speak. 

"I wanted to—"

Xavier gulped. 

Madeline could sense something was up. 

She brought him in a hug, feeling like he needed one. She could tell from the look on his face, and the way he stood up. 

"You looked like you needed a hug," she whispered to him when she sensed him flailing his arms, wondering where to put them. 

Xavier felt another pang in his heart, and felt as his previous emotions subsided.

"Thank you," he whispered back, speaking even more softly than she was before. 

'For everything,' he thought to himself. 

She had once told him that she was there for him whenever he wanted to talk. Well, he didn't feel like talking, but decided to come to her anyway. 

"I'm sorry for bothering you in the middle of the night," Xavier said, pulling away from Madeline. 

"I don't know what came over me, I—"

"You're not bothering me, now come in already," Madeline said, taking him by the hand and pulling him in her quarters, telling him, "Just because you're busy, or you have work, or you have other things to do doesn't mean you don't take care of yourself and rest properly. Come on in."

Xavier was rendered speechless, wondering what to do next. What was she trying to do?

"But, I have work," he reasoned. 

Madeline looked at him, dead in the eye, as she said to him, "For once you need to prioritize your health over your work. Look at you, you look exhausted."

She took a seat on the couch, an idea in mind. 

Questioning what Madeline was trying to tell him, Xavier tilted his head to the side curiously. 

"Take a nap," Madeline said, patting her shoulder. 

Xavier seemed even more confused. 

"Not with me," she clarified, adding, "But beside me, so there's nothing that could possibly distract you, nothing to disturbing you, and at least you get some rest," she reasoned. 

Deliberating over it, Xavier wondered if it was really sleep that he needed. Walking over to her, he sat on the couch beside her, resting his head on her shoulder. 

And like clockwork, he was lulled to sleep by the silence of the room, and feeling warm and safe. 

In a matter of minutes, he had fallen asleep. 

Madeline didn't know how long it'd take for him to wake up, but she stayed there. Not long after, she too fell victim to the resisting temptation which was sleep. 

__

"Morning," Xavier heard someone greet. 

Opening his eyes, he saw Madeline still dressed in her pyjamas, handing him a cup of water. 

"Here," she said. 

Xavier thanked her, accepting the cup. 

He felt far better than he did before. Heck, he felt better than he ever did, actually. 

'Who knew that nap would have done the trick?' Xavier asked.

He didn't feel the same way he did yesterday. His heart no longer raced, his moods didn't shift as quickly… That was a major improvement in his eyes. 

"Had a nice nap?" Madeline asked hopefully. 

As much as Xavier didn't want to admit it. He had to, there was no doubt about it.

Nodding in response, he confirmed Madeline's prediction.

At first, he wondered if she was able to read his mind. 

She knew he wanted a hug from her without him having to say it aloud. She knew exactly what he needed, and her presence made him feel at ease. 

Heck, rest had fixed his problem. 

Who knew? 

Who knew that the solution to all of this was rest?

Xavier thought that it would've taken a more complex solution. 

To think, Madeline was part of the solution. 

Xavier felt like he could run thousands of laps around Eudora. He felt amazing. 

Adrian was in for one hell of a surprise that day. 

One moment, he was met with his friend who had the exact same symptoms as lovesickness. 

Next, this friend was all sunshines and rainbows. 

Adrian was called by Xavier to join him for breakfast. 

Sensing something strange was occuring since Xavier had never once invited his friend to breakfast, he rushed to the breakfast room, only to see Xavier… 

Err… 

"What is going on?" Adrian asked. 

"Sit, I invited you to breakfast for a reason," Xavier said, gesturing for Adrian to sit on one of the free chairs. 

Adrian narrowed his eyes. 

"What, think I'm being suspicious? Sit, before my mood's ruined," Xavier ordered. 

Adrian followed his friend's orders, sitting down before helping himself to some food. He hadn't had much of an appetite the past couple of days, but he didn't want to waste the opportunity to eat breakfast with Xavier, he reckoned it would be a great bonding session. 

Also since they hadn't had the chance to simply sit down and talk, especially about things that had nothing to do with work. 

"Been a while since we got to sit down and talk," Xavier said. 

Adrian nodded, "Nice that we get the chance to."

They chatted, and had a satisfactory time at breakfast. 

At the same time, Adrian knew there had to be something behind Xavier's spectacular mood. 

After breakfast, they visited Xavier's office, which was squeaky clean. 

Well, it was always clean. However, it was cleaner than usual. 

"What has gotten into you, Xay?" Adrian asked, watching Xavier and his every move. 

"Nothing, I just got a great night of sleep, is all."

Adrian nodded, a look of fathom on his face. 

So Xavier had gotten a great night of rest. 

'Hmm, totally. Of course, that's the only reason behind this. There's no other meaning and or reasoning behind this. Just sleep. Is all.'

Adrian didn't pay it any extra attention, he reminded himself that it didn't matter how Xavier was happy, so long as he was content… He wouldn't question it further.. Alright, that wasn't all truth and facts.