Winter, still fuming from the whole saga, was not going to let Karina get away with it this time.

She plopped her down and left herself to hurry back into the storage room, scanning around for that piece of paper that Mr. Lee had torn off.

"Nope," she muttered, rummaging through old equipment and boxes. Her eyes raked every nook and cranny.

Nothing sprang out at her. She resurfaced, still empty-handed, getting fed up.

She took a step back into the cool by the pool, where she could watch Karina shiver slightly, as if this obstinacy might keep the creeping cold that already spread through her body from spreading further throughout.

Winter furrowed her brow, uncertain for a moment before finally deciding in.

And without a word, Winter slowly coaxed Karina back to her feet, holding some of the weight of the girl as she started walking them toward the student council room.

Karina leaned on Winter, grumbling softly, but did not resist too much.

Once again, Winter's mask returned to being composed as she intently kept focus on getting Karina to a warm and safe place.

They slipped unobtrusively into the students council room, and Winter promptly locked up immediately behind their backs.

Quiet, dimly lit, and private, the room was everything she needed. Winter led Karina to the little bed which mostly acted as an emergency nap during lengthy meetings or reads.

"Lie down," Winter said, her voice not open to argument as she pushed Karina toward the bed.

Karina's face twisted into a frown, and she wriggled slightly under Winter's ministrations.

"I'm fine, Winter. You don't have to make such a fuss over me."

But Winter didn't listen. She didn't even give a chance to answer while rummaging through the cabinet near the bed, pulling out a small blanket.

Covering Karina up, she ignored her protests and crossed arms, features stern but gentle. Karina realized this battle was lost; she sighed, huffed, and lay down like a stubborn child.

Winter had composed herself somewhat beside the bed; she folded her arms and watched Karina complain under the blanket.

The scene would have been humorous if the strain from the earlier parts hadn't still clung to the air.

And although Karina's grievances were far from passing, Winter didn't say a word.

Her face set in determination, Winter weighed Karina's needs.

There was a moment or two when Karina looked up at Winter who stood behind the blanket. Then, her heart melted at the sight of how Winter can take care of her even if she wore almost an icy exterior. She felt it in every move Winter did to help her, though she didn't utter a word.

"You don't have to be bossy," she said under her breath, but there was no bite in her words, only quiet affection.

Winter just shrugged and sat down at the desk beside hers, glancing over at Karina now and then to make sure that she was indeed sleeping, though Karina was pushing hard to prove she didn't give a rat's arse.

Winter drew a chair up close to Karina's bed and sat down in it. Her face was serene enough, but the eyes couldn't help matching that questionful nature as they lay on Karina.

"What happened?" she asked at last, her voice soft but relentless. She leaned forward a little, her eyes intent on Karina and the answer somehow connected to everything in her mind.

Karina fidgeted under the glaze of Winter, and her vulnerability and exposure surfaced under the antiseptic stare. Her heart wouldn't stay inside. She was really small and fidgety under the intense way Winter gazed at her.

She dared a peek into Winter's lips before she jerked her head away to look into the blanket. She tried to press the chaotic beat of her heart down through fistfuls of glove struggling against the material.

With newfound resolve, Karina continued.

"I walked into the staffroom after I made you leave," she attempted to press on and was trembling.

"I didn't find anything at first, but then Mr. Lee came in. I had to hide under the table, and that's when I overheard him on the phone. He seemed nervous, like he was involved in something. He took out the list for the swimming competition and tore off a page."

She paused, looking briefly at Winter.

"'I followed him to the pool area, but I got locked inside the storage room when the smoke began coming out. I couldn't get out—'

Winter didn't let her finish, nodding slowly in acknowledgment.

"I saw Mr. Lee just before I found you. He was running off, but I didn't pay much attention to it then."

Her eyes never left Karina's face, as if trying to consume every feature of her skin, the depth of her eyes, the curve of her nose. Her eyes dipped to Karina's lips once again, which Karina, having sensed the tenseness of the air, bit nervously.

Winter swallowed hard and cleared her throat in a rush to dispel thoughts churning inside her head.

"Do you think Mr. Lee is involved in all of this? To, you know, living in a loop like us?"

Her voice came out rather awkward than she had intended because her breathing grew quicker from the tension that seemed to tighten between them.

Karina could see the flush on Winter's face, the rate at which she was breathing a little harder than she did normally, the way she still avoided her gaze and gulped nervously. It only added to Karina's nervousness.

She swallowed, her voice to be barely steadier as she answered: "I don't know but when I saw him in class this morning, for one second, he acted like different. Like he wasn't himself. Only for that second it felt weird."

Their eyes met once more. The tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife. Neither knew what to do about it, both girls being too nervous to speak up.

Karina was racing with her heartbeat; Winter, too tried to keep up with her icy composure, could not hide the flush creeping up her neck.

It charged the air between them as the two girls went dazed in the weight of an unuttered emotion as they tried to navigate their way through a conversation.