Winter breathed hard, her chest heaving as she dashed through the hazy campus.

Panic swept through her head as night crept in and the darkness Karina had always feared drew near. Study time was about to commence, not that Winter cared. The only thing that mattered now was to find her stubborn president. Karina had been acting all off-day and Winter couldn't ease herself out of the dread gnawing at her insides.

On reaching the corridor, Winter hesitated for a moment, deciding if she would peek upstairs. Her heart was rattling very loudly in her ears when, just before she could do anything about what she saw, she bumped into Mr. Lee, the history teacher.

Winter apologized quickly, but he did not even acknowledge her. He hurried away with an oddly hectic stride. Something twisted in Winter's gut as she saw him disappear; her instincts screamed that something was wrong.

Peering one last time upstairs, Winter moved toward the swimming room, from whence Mr. Lee had come. She inched down silently, her heart pounding harder with every step.

Opening the door a crack, she saw the still waters of the pool, and beyond that nothing unusual until she spotted a thin plume of smoke curling around behind a wall.

Winter's stomach dropped. She ran toward the smoke, realizing it was coming from a door that had been propped open with a cleaning stick balancing across the handles.

Panic hit her, but she pushed through and dragged the stick out of its mooring, flinging open the door wide enough for her to step inside. The smoke swirled around her and Winter instinctively covered her nose and mouth as she stepped into the thick haze.

Smoke began to clear, and Winter saw the crumpled figure on the floor—Karina.

Winter's heart stopped.

"No." She knelt beside Karina, her shaking hands out, feeling for anything-alive. Two fingers she pressed to the side of Karina's neck found a faint, agonizing pulse. Karina wasn't breathing.

"President! President!" Winter's voice cracked with panic as she shook her senior, but there wasn't a sound.

She felt desperation grip her, and without another second to waste, started doing CPR. Her hands lay on Karina's chest, counting under her breath.

"One, two, three," but Karina's body was unyielding.

Winter's breaths will be shallow, her eyes burning with unshed tears as she pressed her lips to Karina's, blowing air into her lungs.

"Come on, please." Her voice barely audible as she continued with chest compressions intermixed with breathing into Karina's mouth.

Sweat began to trickle down Winter's temple, and her heart felt like it was going to pop out of her chest.

Tears streamed down her face as she leaned over, over and over again, kissing Karina, blowing into her lungs, willing a miracle to be so.

And then Karina's chest heaved with effort and she coughed up a lung, gasping for air.

Winter's heart was flying she was so relieved that Karina was alive and slowly, slowly, the haze of smoke cleared from her eyes and she looked up at Winter's agonized face.

"Winter." Karina's voice was barely above a whisper, straining to fill just enough into the sound, but it was enough. Winter let out a strangled sob of relief and wrapped her into a fierce hug, her arms shaking beneath her.

"Don't ever do that again!" Winter scolded, her voice shuddering with a mix of fear and relief. Her tears dripped into Karina's shirt, and for the first time, Karina didn't push her away. She blinked, her heart pounding not in fear or exhaustion, but from something else—warmth and comfort spreading through her chest.

Karina gasped for air, yet flushed her face in the bony grip that Winter held onto her tightly. The panic subsided. The feeling of nausea subsided.

And for the first time, she forgot about how scared she was. It was as if everything that had been weighing her down, everything that she'd been pushing away, didn't matter anymore.

She never really realized just what it was that she was so desperately in need of until now - comfort and security in Winter's arms.

Karina paused in hesitation, allowing her own arms to dangle limply by her sides before she could finally hug Winter back, her head resting on Winter's shoulder. Her heart was pounding, but not with fear this time-it was something far more inherent and something she had been fighting for so long.

Karina felt her walls crack in the hold of Winter as, for once, she let herself lean into someone else.

For what seemed like an eternity pressed in each other's arms, Winter snapped herself into attention, her mind suddenly zeroing in on reality.

The warmth of Karina's embrace was replaced by a rush of panic as she realized the emotional depths she'd acted upon.

Winter glanced down and her face burned red.

Did I just hug her like that?

And worse, Winter remembered the CPR—well, what felt like a kiss—and her embarrassment skyrocketed.

She wasn't cold, composed Winter at all.

Karina already missed the warmth, her lips subtly pouting at the sudden loss. She looked at Winter curiously, noticing how flushed and awkward she looked.

For someone usually so stoic, Winter was now acting like a bundle of nerves, fidgeting and clearly avoiding eye contact.

Karina couldn't help it—a soft laugh escaped her lips.

Winter's face reddened even deeper, and she rose hastily, all flustered.

"Shut up," she muttered, attempting to move away, her arms crossing so she gained her composure once more.

But Karina's laughter made her feel silly, and so Winter hid her face, mentally scolding herself.

How ridiculous, Winter. You kissed your senior. Well, CPR. but still!

Karina, finding everything so adorable, tried to stand up, but Winter's instincts that provoked her to protect again immediately started.

"Hey! Don't be stubborn," Winter said sharply but with a tender expression as she was quick to help Karina to stand.

"Stay a while, or you'll fall again."

Karina was smiling at Winter's concern; her usual teasing look softened.

"It's okay, really," she reassured, but the moment she tried to balance herself, her body swayed.

Winter's eyes narrowed into a glare, lips compressed into a tight line.

Karina couldn't resist the grin that spread across her face at Winter's reaction.

"What?" she teased.

"The floor's cold."

Winter huffed angrily, clearly not pleased at all with being seen so vulnerable. Without another word, she let Karina lean fully on her, their bodies now pressed together as Winter helped her stand.

The strangeness of the closeness sent another wave of fluster over Winter, but she pushed her embarrassment down, focusing on the position she was now in: supporting Karina as they stepped out of the storage room slowly.

They went out onto the pool area. Winter thrust Karina forward toward one of the chairs by the side of the pool. Carefully, she let her self down, making sure Karina sat before stepping back one step, her hands awkwardly staying in the air for a moment.

Karina leaned back in her chair, still catching her breath as her gaze stayed a little longer on Winter than was usually the case. There was something to be said for the fuss over Winter and yet how much she cared; it gave Karina's heart a lighter feeling.

Though she would never say it aloud, Karina actually found Winter's awkwardness seriously adorable.

Meanwhile, Winter stood stiffly at the side, though she was still flushed with trying to look nonchalant, her eyes darting everywhere but towards Karina.