"You fought three guys?" the nurse asked without looking at him. She was checking a small bruise near his ribs. Her expression was flat, somewhere between unimpressed and mildly annoyed. Which was enough to entertaing the laughing Matthew.
Matthew looked at Lenox who sat stiffly on the bed, his blazer folded beside him and a cold compress pressed against his shoulder. Lenox opened his mouth. "It's not—"
"Don't talk," she cut him off. "That was stupid. Especially for someone like you."
Lenox blinked. "What does that mean?"
The nurse turned and slapped a bandage across a scrape on his forearm. "You don't look like someone who wins fights. That's what it means."
Lenox exhaled sharply and threw a glare at Matthew, who was sitting comfortably on the chair beside the bed, legs crossed, looking like he was waiting for afternoon tea.
Matthew gave him a pleasant smile and gestured with both hands. "Thank you again. Really. You saved me."
Lenox narrowed his eyes.
Then Matthew stood up suddenly and turned to the nurse. "He was amazing. Like, genuinely brave. I thought I was done for but then he stepped in."
The nurse didn't stop writing notes on her clipboard.
Matthew kept going.
"They were huge, right?" he said, using his arms to gesture how wide they were. "Like refrigerators with fists. And just when one of them was about to swing—boom! Lenox blocked it with his arm!"
"Shut up, Matthew," Lenox muttered, "I didn't block anything."
But the nurse raised a hand to shush him without looking up.
Matthew gasped dramatically. "Then the second guy threw a punch right at my face, and Lenox moved—just like that—bam! Took it on the shoulder."
"Please stop," Lenox said through his teeth.
"He didn't even flinch," Matthew added, his eyes wide as he stepped closer to the nurse. "And then the third one—tattoo guy—he tried to land a hook on my ribs. I thought it was over. But Lenox turned like this—" he twisted and mimicked the movement with exaggerated slowness. "And took it right here!" He patted Lenox's side for emphasis.
Lenox flinched. "Matthew—" Lenox growled, both from the pain and the irritation. Just what the hell is going on with this guy? Sadly, Matthew just ignored him.
"And the best part?" Matthew turned to the nurse, clearly enjoying himself. "He never even hit them back. He just stood there. Took every punch. A real pacifist. A real hero!"
The nurse finally looked up, her face blank. "I don't get paid enough for this. You're good to go. Don't get into another fight."
Lenox buried his face in one hand. What is going on now? He thought inwardly. Until now, he was still so confused, he didn't know what just happened. What was Matthew up to?
Matthew leaned closer to him. "Why are you acting so humble now?" he whispered loudly. "People need to know what you did. You stood up to bullies. You protected the weak. That's the kind of guy this school needs."
"I didn't protect anything," Lenox said, trying to push him away.
But Matthew just grinned and grabbed his hand. "Don't be shy. You're an inspiration."
Lenox yanked his hand back and turned to the nurse. "Can you stop? Will you make this guy stop?"
The nurse shrugged. "You are making too much noise."
Lenox stood up slowly, muttering something under his breath.
Matthew grabbed his blazer and held it out for him like a gentleman. "Come on, my savior. Let's go."
Lenox slapped the blazer out of his hand, but Matthew caught it again before it hit the ground.
"See?" Matthew said, following him out. "Still has strength. Truly impressive."
"What are you doing, Matthew?" Lenox asked the moment they left the clinic.
"Thanking you?" Matthew said. "You are my—"
"Please stop that," Lenox interrupted him. "We both know what happened back then."
"Really?" Matthew feigned innocence. "Because all I could remember was you—saving me. You see… I tend to panic when under pressure so… I just let you saved me. Did you not want to do that?"
Lenox blinked. He didn't know what happened to Matthew, but he disliked being hit the most! He looked into Matthew's innocent eyes, then he sighed. "Fine." Matthew had always been so dumb. He wondered if this was because of Catherine. Should he push Catherine towards Matthew this time?
"Where are you going?" Matthew asked as Lenox turned in the opposite direction. "Aren't you going home to rest?"
"We still have class," Lenox quipped.
Matthew smiled but didn't say another thing. Obviously, he knew that Lenox would never miss class. He was, after all, the golden boy, the smart one, the best student in this school.
In the past, Lenox would get into various types of trouble, both from jealous individuals and women who liked him, and it was always Matthew who would face all the brunt to save him. "Well… not anymore," Matthew muttered, smiling as he followed behind Lenox.
It didn't take them too long to reach their classroom, and just as he expected, the first one who ran towards them was Catherine.
She was already crying.
"Lenox!" Catherine looked pitiful as she looked at Lenox from head to toe. "I heard about what happened—" Catherine didn't continue her words as she looked at Matthew. "It was you."
"Yes, it's me," Matthew casually answered. "I was the one that Brother Lenox saved!"
"Matthew, stop it," Lenox said.
"But you really saved me? Lenox saved the weakling Matthew! You saved my life!"
"Matthew—" Lenox clenched his jaw. He was so angry right now, he didn't know what to say!
Catherine's face twisted the moment Matthew spoke. "You're so shameless," she snapped. "You let them hurt, Lenox!"
Matthew blinked. "Was I supposed to stop him from saving me?"
Catherine opened her mouth but didn't speak. She stared at him, visibly confused.
Before she could gather her thoughts, May and Elisa showed up from behind her like backup on command.
"You should've stopped him!" May pointed at him. "He got hurt because of you!"
"How exactly was I supposed to stop him?" Matthew asked, his arms slightly raised. "Lenox is a hero. Am I supposed to just stand there and let them beat me up while he watches from the side?"
May opened her mouth, paused, and then looked at Catherine.
Matthew didn't wait for a response. He stepped closer to Lenox and threw an arm around his shoulder.
"Besides," he said. "This isn't even the first time he saved me. When I was twelve, he did the same thing. I fell into a lake. He jumped in and pulled me out. Nearly froze to death."
Lenox turned to him, eyes narrowing. "That never happened."
Matthew looked straight at Catherine. "Lenox is a hero."
Catherine blinked at him.
May furrowed her brows and Elisa opened her mouth, then closed it again.
Even Lenox didn't know what to say anymore. There was no winning this. If he argued, it'd sound like he didn't care. If he agreed, it meant Matthew got away with everything again.
Because in the end, was Lenox supposed to stand there and do nothing while Matthew got ganged up on?
No one could answer that.
Matthew smiled as he looked at their speechless faces.
Then Matthew mumbled under his breath, "Since you like taking credit for everything, I'll let you have this one too. But this is just the start, so you better prepare yourself."
The others were about to say something when their teacher walked in. "Alright, everyone, back to your seats. It's time to prepare for the review exams ahead of next week's quarterly examinations."
Matthew blinked when he heard this. "What exam?" he mumbled.