Karina bent over, hands resting on her waist, breathing in short tired gasps.

The search for Mai was hopeless. The campus, every nook and cranny of it had been scoured: classrooms, swimming pool, the café, even the basketball courtyard. Mai had disappeared into thin air.

Winter had jogged over from the other side of the garden, equally out of breath, but her calm was slightly ruffled.

"She is not in the cafe or at the pool," Winter panted, her chest rising and falling as she tries to breathe.

Karina nodded in response. Still hunched over, she feels just as exhausted. She tapped the bench beside her and Winter, after a brief pause, sat beside her. Both girls leaned back, letting the quiet of the garden wash over them for a moment.

Winter didn't say a word. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a cold can of Coke. She cracked it open and let the fizzy air hiss out as she offered it to Karina. Karina was leaning back with her eyes closed but sat up at the sound of the hiss.

Winter offered the drink to her with that expression that nobody could decipher on her face. "Here."

Karina blinked at the movement and was waving her hand away when she said, "It's all right, I don't need it-"

Before she could get further into the sentence, however, Winter already grasped for Karina's hand with her icy fingers. Shock coursed through Karina's body from that sudden contact; in less than one second, though, that flutter in her stomach that she tried not to feel came back in full swing.

She almost tried not to feel it, but it was futile. Winter thrust the Coke into her hand, leaving her no choice but to take it.

Karina froze at the touch, her skin alive where Winter's hand had been, and she looked on in frozen silence as Winter yanked out another can for herself and snapped that open too, and drank slow, deliberate draughts, her eyes closed in appreciation of the cold drink.

Karina kept her eyes glued to Winter, her junior's serene expression making her heart beat fast. She looked away fast, flushing.

What is wrong with me? she thought agitated at her own reaction.

Desperate to distract herself, Karina took a big gulp of Coke-too big.

It hit her throat hard, making her cough violently. She tried to cover the opening of her mouth, but it was too late, and that coughing fit caught Winter's attention.

Winter, who kept silently observing, jumped in panic.

"Hey, you okay?" She reached forward, lightly patting Karina's back in a bid to help her; the concern began to grow as Karina's face turned an even deeper shade of red.

It only made things worse for Karina, though. Her skin felt on fire, and the pat on her back only multiplied butterflies in her stomach. She stood up fast and continued coughing as she tried to distance herself from her.

Winter stayed watching her, furrowing her brow in worry.

"You sure you're all right? You don't look so good."

Karina nodded quickly, still taking short breaths, her face flushed. She didn't know if that was from the choking or the oppressive feel of Winter sitting beside her, but she needed a moment to get herself together.

Finally, after several more coughs, she was in control enough to settle, standing there awkwardly before Winter still, who watched her with that unreadable look.

"I'm fine," Karina muttered, her voice still raspy. She tried to brush off the embarrassment, but the weight of Winter's gaze on her only made her feel more flustered.

Winter leaned back on the bench, her eyes still trained on Karina.

"If you say so. But maybe take smaller sips next time," she said, her lips quirking into a faint smile, as if she found Karina's awkwardness endearing.

Karina looked down because she could not meet Winter's eyes. Her mind was still reeling.

Why did she have to be so cool all the time?

—

Karina trudged back to class, her heart still thundering in her chest from her time with Winter. Winter insisted she didn't walk back alone after the choking incident; Karina protested at least initially, but Winter was not one to be underestimated: stubborn perhaps or concerned, maybe even deep down, Karina wanted this.

Curses from her mind to betray her own thoughts.

Oh, shut up, she said to herself, trying to keep her composure in place.

They stood in front of Karina's room. She turned to Winter, offering her a little appreciative smile. "Thanks, really."

Winter nodded, her calm expression firmly back in place.

"Take care, okay?" she said softly before turning and walking away.

Karina couldn't help but still wear a small smile on her face as she walked into the class with Winter's gentle voice still echoing in her mind. She sat beside Giselle, wearing a blank look on her face with a stupid grin on her face as she continued to fidget with her nails in a daze.

It couldn't have taken Giselle long to notice. She leaned in closer, a smirk tugging at the sides of her mouth.

"Someone's in a good mood," Giselle teased, clearing her throat dramatically to snap Karina out of the daze she was lost in.

Karina blinked, sitting straight up right away, trying to act like nothing had happened at all.

"What?" she said in a voice that was a little too shaky, hinting at her attempt to be indifferent.

Giselle quivered her eyebrows as the smirk spreading across her face grew.

"So who is the lucky guy?" she asked, playfully inquiring.

Karina's stomach dropped. The smile on her face disappeared in an instant as her mind screeched to a halt.

A guy?

That was an added twist she wasn't prepared for at all.

Winter wasn't a guy. She swallowed hard as if a landslide of situation weighed her down. Her throat tight, she stared straight ahead, unable to utter a word.

The words Giselle had let spill had precipitated a storm of thoughts.

What if Winter doesn't like girls?

The thought crept in and clawed at Karina, hurting in a way she hadn't prepared for. Karina thought about Winter: how cool she was, how so many probably admired her.

Of course someone must ask her out before.

But Karina didn't know if Winter had ever dated, or if she even liked girls.

Uncertainty was almost like a sharp blade, cutting through her so that breathing became difficult.

Sitting there, lost in her thoughts, Karina realized how deep she had fallen for Winter. Now that uncertainty choked her. She wouldn't know how to say anything to Winter when she didn't know whether Winter might reciprocate those feelings or if she could accept them inside of herself. Thoughts swirled around in her mind like a storm and made her unable to focus on anything else.

Giselle raised an eyebrow over the sudden turnaround, but she let it drop. Karina's thoughts had to be far more complicated than she had realized.