Work Text:
"This is stupid."
Annette scribbles her name on a piece of paper.
"I'm stupid."
She does it again. Annette Fantine... No, she can't! That would be too embarrassing. Dominic.
Twelve times. She has handwritten her name twelve times. They're not exactly identical, her handwriting is sub-par at best, but at least each is recognizable. She dips her pen in the inkwell again and stares at the paper. "It's... it's just for fun," she tells herself and slowly lowers the tip to the page.
Annette....
Her hand starts to shake.
Fan...tine...
She bites her lip and takes a deep breath. It's just like downing awful-tasting medicine. The quicker she writes it, the less time she will have to react negatively to it. Okay. She's got this. Three. Two. One.
Fraldarius!
She throws the quill across the room.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" she asks herself, taking another deep breath and holding up the paper to admire. It has a nice ring to it, no matter how ridiculous it is. Crushing on Felix Hugo Fraldarius like a lovestruck schoolgirl... She is so stupid.
"Annie?"
"WAAAH!" Annette rips the paper in half as she falls out of her chair.
Mercedes pushes the door open and scurries over when she hears the loud BOOM of her friend hitting the floor. "Annie, what in the heavens were you doing?" she scolds, helping Annette to her feet. "You have to be more careful."
"I'm sorry," Annette says, brushing off her dress. "You know how clumsy I am, though."
Mercedes hums in agreement and bends down to pick up the pieces of paper scattered on the floor.
"Wait!" Annette yells louder than she intended. "Don't read thos--"
"Annette Fantine... Fraldarius," Mercedes pieces together.
Annette makes a whiny noise. "Don't say it out loud! It's so embarrassing."
Mercedes laughs. "Annie, you are going to have to get used to it sooner or later." She gestures to the simple yet elegant ring on her friend's finger. When Annette's face turns bright red, she merely laughs.