Vanilla

Twenty Nine

A/N: Thank you for being patient! Here is a new chapter ;v; so far, I've been able to manage work and writing at the same time and I'm hoping to keep it up. Enjoy!

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[Leroy]

I'd left the commons just in time not to lose him. The space between us was about fifty feet. I followed. He was heading for the main building despite there being half an hour till the end of lunch. With a brain like that, I thought he would somehow discover the additional presence behind him.

He didn't.

Just kept walking with his head down, fast and almost urgent; arms folded, shoulders low, recoiling from the wind every now and then. I let him have his space.

He ended up on the same bench I found him the previous time, before SOY when he tutored me for the first time. The rest of the plaza was empty since people were either at lunch or in class if they were a yellow or a green. I heard him sigh after sitting down and looking out, staring at the trees. He didn't seem to notice even when I was ten feet away, which indicated how upset he was about the whole thing.

So I sat beside him and stared, thinking he would be surprised.

"I suppose everyone else wouldn't think I'm the pompous, stuck-up teacher's pet if I'd just kept my mouth shut in every casual conversation," he sniffed, still staring at trees. I blinked.

Either he was talking to himself or he knew I was beside him. Even if he did, there had been zero indication. No surprise, no 'you were following me' with heart-eyes or anything like that. Just straight into conversation.

"It happened this morning too, in class. Although that's partly because Chef Palmer insisted I take on the role of class representative and I haven't been the most outgoing student to garner the support of my classmates, so. Naturally, they'd be upset, I'm sure." He sighed, lowering his head and then finally, peered my way. "I'm merely delaying the inevitable. If you're going to break up with me, please be swift."

I stared. He backed down, looking away first. "Dumbass," I reached over to give his forehead the usual. "Guess kissing lowers your IQ."

"W-what—!" His protest included a very cute face. "Excuse... excuse you, Leroy. I'd come up with a grand total of ten possible scenarios on my way to this bench in the span of five minutes and mind you, they were elaborate and concise. You coming after me meant halving that number and you sitting down narrowed it further to conversations and then you, staring and remaining silent eliminated everything else but that one dreadful possibility. I'm merely stating the truth."

I laughed, leaning closer—running a thumb under his eyes that were wet. "And the eleventh?"

He paused. "What eleventh?"

"The eleventh possibility. The one that's happening," I told him. "Right now."

Glasses seemed to consider this seriously, and then, frowning like a mathematician upon discovering a miscalculation in their equations the night before, turned to me with wide eyes. "Oh. Oh thank god."

"Okay let's kiss."

"I'm afraid your conduct of English hasn't improved one bit. Just how many times do you need me to remind you that questions should not be verbally produced with a tone that resembles that of factual statements?" He said, ears dusted in red. "I hope you were listening to whatever it was I was saying earlier. I shan't repeat it ever again."