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Tick. Tock.
Diana lays, sleepless, in bed. It's late. She doesn't know how late, but Hannah and Barbara have long since fallen asleep. She should have too, yet here she is, awake. Restless. Thoughts racing.
Tick. Tock.
She rolls over, the events of last night's party still playing through her head. Andrew, the bee, the ensuing chaos, Akko...
Tick. Tock.
Akko. She swallows, twists her hand into the bedsheets. The bee's magic should have worn off long ago, so why do thoughts of Akko still fill her head? Why does she feel like this, why--
Tick. Tock.
Why is that damn clock so annoying?!
She sighs, defeated, and quietly slips out of bed. The dorm room is starting to feel suffocating, she needs to get out, needs to go someplace where she can think.
The library seems as good a choice as any. Diana knows she's breaking curfew, but with her reputation she can just explain it away as extra study time if she gets caught. Get sent back to her dorm with nothing more than a warning.
Unlike Akko of course, who would face the wrath of Professor Finneran at even the slightest hint of a misstep.
Diana shakes her head. Now isn't the time to be thinking about her. She pushes open the door to the library, rows and rows of bookcases dimly illuminated by her wand. The light flickers across the shelves as she makes her way through the aisles, pulling out books about magical creatures, entomology, curses, anything she can think of. After sitting down and cross-referencing more volumes than she can count, Diana comes to the same conclusion as before: the bee's magic should definitely, definitely not still be in effect.
So why does she still feel like this?
She takes a deep breath. Closes her eyes. Tries to think rationally.
Akko was like a force of nature, causing trouble wherever she went, sweeping up anyone who got too close into her plans. She was chaotic and loud, always barreling ahead without thinking, never stopping to consider the consequences of her actions. Her lack of magical ability was reprimanded by the teachers, made fun of by the other students. Diana almost wants to feel sorry for her.
But despite everything, despite the odds being seemingly stacked against her, Akko never stops trying. There's something in her that just won't break, despite her failures, despite the ridicule, despite the late nights spent cleaning as punishment. Anyone else would have given up by now, but Akko's enthusiasm only seems to brighten the room more and more each day.
And this is why what Diana really feels is something akin to admiration.
Of course, she'd never admit this to anyone. Akko is the opposite of everything she's supposed to stand for. Maybe that's why Diana has always been secretly drawn to her, like a moth to a flame. Akko is fire and part of Diana wants to burn. To throw everything away and be engulfed by her. This was more than admiration, this was something more. More powerful, more terrifying. The thought makes her heart race and her head spin the same way they do when Akko smiles and the whole world stand still. She could drown in that smile, in those eyes which sparkle with something beautiful that she can't even begin to comprehend. She wants nothing more.
She can't.
Diana shakes herself out of her trance.
"I can't." She whispers to no one, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.
She is Diana Cavendish. She is going to graduate from Luna Nova with top marks, marry a nobleman, bring honor to her family and continue their legacy. This is the path she's been set on since birth, this is what's expected of her.
And Akko hates her anyway. She doesn't blame her, she hates herself too. Hates herself for having these feelings, for having to work so hard to be the perfect daughter that she's supposed to be.
The first light of the morning sun is just starting to show through the window. Diana re-shelves her books with a flick of her wand and shudders, cursing Sucy and her bee for making her aware of these feelings at all.
"It's just one more thing to cover up." She tells herself as she heads back to the dorm.