"Ugh..."

When her eyes opened, a sharp wave of pain shot through her skull, causing her to clamp them shut again. Moaning, she blindly felt around the mattress, searching for her phone but she wound up smacking a slumbering Zen in the face instead.

"What are you doing?" Zen mumbled through her hand, opening one eye to shoot her a question look.

"Looking for my phone." Amy replied.

"With your eyes closed?"

"Yep. Now give me a hand."

Frowning, Zen scanned the sheets with his scarlet eyes till they landed on the desired object.

"Found it." he said, reaching out and grabbing the device.

"Good. Now give it here."

Zen's frown deepened. "Open your eyes first."

Groaning in annoyance, Amy slowly forced her eyelids apart only to slam them together again as the same sharp pain clawed at her brain, rousing a whimper from her threat as her hand rose to caress her throbbing head.

"Just as I suspected; you have a migraine. I think I'll be holding onto this for a while." Zen said as he stood up from the bed.

"Don't be ridiculous, Zen. Give me my phone!" Amy protested as she struggled to sit up, opening one eye to glare at him.

"No. You need to rest. I think I'll be taking this too." Zen stated, snatching up Amy's laptop as well.

"No! Zen, give it back! I still haven't finished all of my work!" Amy exclaimed, crawling to the edge of the bed and making a wild grab for her computer.

"My first concern is your health, not your grades. Now lay back down and don't get up. I'll be back in a moment with some tea and pain medicine." Zen replied before tucking her laptop under his arm and swiftly exiting the room.

"Zen, get back here, you twit!" Amy grumbled as she tried to stand up but a ferocious wave of dizziness sent her falling back onto her bed. Groaning, she mustered up just enough strength to crawl beneath the warmth of the covers and allowed her head to drop back onto the fluffy pillow. As she stared blankly at the ceiling above, Amy found her fingers drumming anxiously against the mattress.

"Ugh, this is ridiculous. I could be finishing so much work right now but instead I'm stuck lying here, being completely unproductive. I have to get my work done or it's just going to continue to pile up and the next thing I know I'm going to be drowning in work-"

Another sharp throb interrupted Amy's thoughts as she moaned in pain.

"I don't have time for this. I have to get my work done, regardless of how I feel." she mumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose in an attempt to ease the pain she felt. After casting a quick glance at the door, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and shakily stood up. Once her legs stopped trembling, she shuffled as fast as she could out of the room and down the hall, carefully watching and listening for any signs of Zen.

"Hmm, it sounds like he's in the kitchen. He probably has my stuff in there with him." Amy reasoned as she tiptoed towards the kitchen doorway. Sure enough, as she stealthily snuck into the room, Amy's eyes immediately landed on her phone and laptop as they sat quietly on the counter just behind Zen. Biting her lip, Amy ducked back into the hallway and leaned against the wall for suppout as she tried to think of a plan.

"Should I try distracting him with something? No, he's too smart for that. I guess my only option is to try and take it while he isn't looking. Easier said than done, of course." she thought to herself. Taking a deep breath, she snuck another glance into the kitchen to see Zen twirling his ponytail around his finger as he waited for he waited for the water in the tea kettle to come to a boil. Holding her breath to reduce any unnecessary noise, Amy took one cautious step into the kitchen, followed by another and another. Stretching out her hands, Amy carefully wrapped her fingers around the edge of the laptop and quietly lifted it into the air; however, at that exact moment, the tea kettle decided to give a loud scream, causing Amy to yelp in surprise and drop her laptop and phone with a thud. Whirling around, she tried to sprint for the door but a strong arm quickly wrapped itself securely around her waist and lifted her into the air.

"And where do you think you're going?" Zen purred, pouring the water into the tea cup with his other hand.

"Zen, put me down right now! I mean it!" Amy exclaimed, wriggling about I his grasp like a worm on a hook.

Sighing, Zen grabbed the tea and promptly continued to carry it and Amy back to the spare bedroom. After setting the tea to steep on the bedside table, the actor proceeded to flop down onto the bed with Amy still in his grasp and trap her in a tight hug.

"Zen, knock it off! I have to get my work done! Let go of me already!" Amy screeched as she tried in vain to pry his arms from around her.

"Not until you've calmed down. Right now you aren't thinking clearly and until you start, I'm keeping you right here where I can keep an eye on you." Zen replied bluntly, resting his chin on top of Amy's head.

"But Zen, you don't understand! If I don't finish all of this work today, I'll get even farther behind than I already am! Please, just let me do something, just one itty bitty assignment to ease my conscience a bit! Is that truly too much to ask?"

"Yes. No stop arguing with me and close your eyes."

Scowling, Amy laid her head against Zen's chest and stared at the ceiling just as she had done earlier.

"There's got to be some way to make him let me go. Come on, Amy, think!"

"Zen, I need to go to the bathroom."

Zen's eyebrow arched suspiciously. "Do you? Well, isn't that convenient?"

Amy simply shrugged her shoulders and offered the male a bashful smile. "The bladder abides by no time schedule other than its own."

"Indeed. Hold on tight?"

"What? Eek!" Amy squealed in surprise as the actor lifted her up bridal style and carried her into the hall. "Zen, what are you doing?! I can walk myself to the bathroom, you know!"

"Oh, I know. I also know that you could very easily fake going to the bathroom and run to grab your laptop and phone instead. If you truly only need to relieve yourself then you won't mind me waiting outside the door for you."

"That's really stalkerish, you know."

"You only have yourself to blame."

Sighing in defeat, Amy allowed herself to be carried to the bathroom and gently deposited onto the floor.

"Just call me if you need anything." Zen cooed before slipping out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Scanning the bathroom, Amy quickly located the fluffiest towel present and proceeded to smush her face against it, screaming out all of her frustrations into it. Flopping down onto the toilet, she debated giving up and just waiting to do her work later, but after a few moments of deducing the consequences of such action, that idea was quickly scrapped.

"I have to get him away from the door. What kind of request will he not be able to refuse?"

After drumming her fingers thoughtfully against her chin for a moment, an idea so brilliant it was worthy of a gold medal popped into Amy's head, causing her to smile. Of course! Why hadn't she thought of it before?

"Ugh...Zen..." she moaned, her voice laced with the pain that only a woman could know.

"Amy? Is something the matter?" Zen asked worriedly through the door.

"Yeah? You know that box of pads I bought while we were out? Could you grab them for me?"

"O-Oh. OH!!! Yeah yeah, sure! Where are they?!"

"I think I stashed them in my closet."

"Alright! I'll be right back! I'll grab you some chocolate too! Just hold on!"

As the sound of running feet grew fainter and fainter, Amy leaped up from the toilet and cautiously opened the bathroom door. Upon seeing the vacant hallway, she allowed herself a few moments to celebrate and then made a beeline for the kitchen. Snatching up her phone and laptop, she spun around to run back into her room only to smack right into Zen as he was entering the kitchen to grab the chocolate. Definitely should've skipped that celebration.

"What is this? Amy, did you use my concern for your wellbeing against me? I'm both awed and disappointed." he stated, one hand resting sassily on his hip while the other reached out and plucked the laptop and phone from Amy's arms.

"I'm sorry, Zen, but I have to get my work done regardless of how I feel! You of all people should understand that! If I'm not mistaken, 707 said you continued to practice for this production with Echo Girl even when you broke your leg!" Amy protested.

"That situation and this one are completely different!"

"Oh really? How so?"

"Well for one, I heal faster than most people, and secondly, I had an entire team riding on my shoulders! I couldn't afford to take a break!"

"And neither can I! My entire life is riding on me getting this degree! Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to survive without a college degree like you, Zen!"

Everything immediately grew deathly silent as Amy's harsh words sank in. Immediately, a tiny seed of regret started to sprout in Amy stomach but she quickly cast it aside.

"Zen, give me my laptop and let me get back to my work." she said coldly, her hands clenching into fists.

"No."

Clenching her jaw, Amy lunged forward and made a wild swing for the computer, but Zen raised it high into the air and out of her reach.

"Idiot! Give it back! Don't make me hurt you!" Amy snapped, her face turning red with anger. When the actor did not return her device, she raised her leg and tried to hit his crotch, but the actor swiftly caught her foot before she could.

"Now that isn't very ladylike, princess." Zen cooed, a hint of amusement flickering his eyes.

"You think this is funny, Zen?! Is the frailty of my future some kind of joke to you?! Give me that laptop right now or so help me I'll...I'll..."

Zen's lips curved into an overly confident smirk. "You'll what?"

Amy felt her blood reach its boiling point. "That's it. You've left me no other choice, pretty boy. Time for the last resort."

Zen's brow furrowed in confusion till Amy suddenly pulled him down to her level and smacked her lips against his. Utterly shocked by her forwardness, he let go of the laptop and phone, allowing them to freefall through the air. Swiftly breaking the kiss, Amy dove for the devices, catching them just before they could hit the hare floor and barreled towards the hallway. However, Zen was quick to react as well and hastily grabbed hold of her wrist, yanking her back. Amy started to fight back but stopped when she saw the dark glimmer in the actor's scarlet irises. Before she could utter a single sound, Zen's lips were forcefully pressed against her own, sending her heart rate through the roof. Unsure of how to react, Amy just stood there dumbly as Zen nibbled on her bottom lip, prompting a slight whimper out of her.

"So that's how you want to play, Amy? Fine. I can play that way." he whispered huskily, his breath tickling her skin.

As the kiss resumed, Amy felt her grip on the phone and laptop lessening till Zen was able to slip them out of her arms and set them aside. With her hands now free, Amy sank her fingers into Zen's hair at the nape of his neck, her eyes closing as she allowed herself to get lost in the kiss. Slowly, her headache began to disappear, as did all other thoughts of college and work and life till she couldn't even remember what she had been so stressed about in the first place. All Amy could focus on was her and Zen's lips as they moved in sync like two pieces of an exclusive puzzle. When the screaming of her lungs finally became too loud to ignore, she pulled back and gasped for air, leaning against Zen for support.

"Think you can take a break now?" the actor whispered in her ear as he stroked her hair.

Still too dazed to speak, Amy only nodded in reply.

"Good. Now go drink you tea while I draw you a nice, steamy bath, okay?" Zen purred.

"O-Okay..." Amy mumbled distracted as she withdrew from his arms and ambled down the hallway. As soon as she was gone, Zen allowed his hand to fly up to his heart as he struggled to breathe.

"That was close. She almost got me. She's definitely a tricky one, that's for sure." he chuckled to himself as he made his way down the hall.

Meanwhile, as she took a sip of her now lukewarm tea, Amy couldn't help but ghost her fingers along her lips as she thought about Zen's kiss. Smiling, she started to blush and giggle like a giddy school girl as she replayed the moment over and over in her mind. For now, all the logic and suspicions that would have normally ruined the moment for her were silenced, allowing her to enjoy what had happened to the fullest. If there were consequences attached to what happened, and there undoubtedly would be, she would deal with them later; right now, her main focus was fangirling about getting a kiss from the hot actor who had been flirting with her for over a week straight.