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'Hmm I reckon Darius here is the best flirt.' Odalia purred, before taking a bite of her sandwich, 'with his dark, mysterious ways.'
Darius shrugged and brushed a lock of his thick black hair out of his face, eyebrows raised, 'Yes, compared to someone like you, who flutters her eyelashes and swishes her hips, in result getting nobody, almost desperately in need for attention, I'd say I'm better.'
The table laughed, as Odalia grew red, Alador shutting his mouth quickly before she could see him snicker.
'Well,' she said, huffing, 'Go on then. Find someone to flirt with, and see if you can successfully ask them out. We want to see you in action.'
It was silent for a second, as Darius' eyes flicked briefly to an oblivious Alador, before his cheeks glowed a soft pink and he turned silent. The red head who joined the table moments before then rolled her eyes and leaned over to Odalia.
'Calm your face, prissy,' snorted Eda, 'No need to get competitive.'
Darius regained his confidence steadily as he stood, smug, 'Yes. And I have no time for these childish games. I need study for my next abomination test.' he shot an appreciative glance to the grinning ginger witch, before spinning on his heel and leaving the lunch hall.
Odalia stood so she was face to face with Eda, as her mouth grew into a slow, sly smile.
'If you are so confident, freak, then why don't you prove that you're the best?'
'At what?' Eda asked, feigning innocence.
'Flirting.'
'Ah well, here's the thing,' Eda smiled, 'Not a lot I got to prove, when we all know I'm the best, princess.' She flicked her eyes up and down over the turquoise-haired girl before tugging gently and playfully at her neatly done top button of her school uniform, and raised her eyebrows triumphantly as Odalia spluttered and recoiled, returning to Alador's side.
'Not to me, you dimwit! If you're so fearless, why don't you show all of us your skills on that bard we all know you are so obviously in love with?'
'What?' Spat Eda, stammering, 'I- I don't- Love? Raine is a friend, I- fine. Fine, I'll do it.'
The table's eyes followed the bard who had just entered the room, oblivious that they were being watched, as they looked around for their friends.
'Go on, then.' Odalia hissed, eyes narrowed. Eda tried to hide the fact that her palms were clammy and she could feel her heart in her throat, as she marched from her seat towards Raine Whispers, her best friend. And her crush.
Okay okay okay, stay calm, you can do this. Eda told herself, trying to push down the furious fluttering in her stomach.
'Hey Rainestorm!' She cried, placing her hands on their shoulders, as they stared at her with a confused yet amused face.
'Eda, hi! You... alright?' Raine asked tentatively, as they took one of her hands in their own and squeezed it. Eda tried to ignore the tingling in her fingers, the ones wrapped by her best friend's own palm, as she pierced her lips and nodded furiously. She looked briefly over at the table, at a smug Odalia who was watching with her friends, hand resting on one hip. She turned back to meet Raine's sea green eyes, before narrowing her own in (what she thought was) a seductive manner.
'I'm great, Rainey,' she trilled, stepping nearer towards them, causing them to stumble back, 'But do you know what would be even better?' she took another step forwards.
Raine was now pressed against the wall behind them, Eda resting an arm just above their head as she spoke softly into their ear.
'If you were mine.' She smiled, trying to dissipate her remaining nerves as she watched the bard's eyes widen.
'E-Eda, wha?-' They stammered but she cut them off with a brush of their blue locks.
'I see the way you look at me, in class, in Grudgby matches,' she continued, mostly making those things up, 'And you know what I think you are?'
She paused to flick her eyes up and down before cocking her head slightly.
'You're Desirable. But I think you want me as well.'
Raine's jaw hung open in shock, and, to Eda's surprise, their cheeks were flushed red and they were making no attempt to pull away. If anything, she could have sworn they leaned closer.
'Is that so?' Raine whispered, soft pupils meeting hers, challenging her.
'Mhm,' she nodded, inching closer, 'You...' she trailed off, her own face dusted with pink, as her gaze landed on their lips. She blank herself back to reality, hoping they didn't notice.
'You need someone like to me, to show you what ... life is really about?' She inwardly groaned - she had lost her train of thought. Why couldn't this be easier? Eda looked back at Raine, who was breathing heavily and blinking rapidly. The tips of their ears were scarlet, and they clutched the fabric of their skirt tight.
'Eda...?'
She looked over to the table where Odalia was at, to see them laughing hard, hands on their knees as they snorted at the mess of a scene. Eda pulled her arm away and chuckled, suddenly embarrassed as she stared at the ground.
'Oh,' Raine looked over at the table, before staring at Eda, 'Oh. It. It was a prank.'
Their eyes filled up with tears almost immediately, as they pulled off their glasses to brush the wetness away. Eda started panicking.
'What? No- No! Well, it, it- Raine where are you going?' Eda cried, as the bard ran off.
'Forget it, Edalyn.' They yelled behind them.
No! No, no, no, no.. What have I done? Eda thought to herself, as she paced back to the table, trying to blink back tears.
'So smooth, Clawthorne. That went wonderfully!' Odalia chuckled, as she nudged her friends.
'This is all your fault!' Eda cried, 'I hate you, you brat, all you like to do is see people suffer and I'm tired of it.'
'Are- are you crying?' she laughed, 'I didn't realise you were THAT obsessed with the bard. And it's not my fault, that they took your flirting... the wrong way. It's yours, okay, freak?'
'Yeah, I guess It is.' Eda whispered under her breath. Odalia looked taken aback, expecting some bite, some sharp comeback, but none came.
'Well. Okay, whatever, not my problem.' She murmured, as she left, leaving Eda alone on the table.
The rest of the school day went by painfully, as Raine did all they could to avoid Eda's apologetic gaze and wary approaches. She tried her best to keep calm but the pained panic in her chest made her heart ache, and tears spring into her eyes as she realised what she had done was... mean. It was a mean thing to do, to play with Raine's feelings like that. If only they knew! That she really did like them, and it wasn't just for a laugh, proposed by Odalia and her friends. Eda had to talk to them, had to find them at some point. But they had seemed to disappear after afternoon break.
Eda had an idea of where to find them, as she slipped between the gap in the school fence when no one was looking, the way she did whenever she skipped class. Then, she began looking.
'I thought I would find you here.' Eda stated, as she sat down next to Raine on the hill, surrounded by swaying snapdragons.
'Go away, Eda. I don't want to talk to you.' they said, muffled, their face covered by crossed arms resting on their knees. Eda knew they were trying to hide their tears, which just made her feel worse.
'Hey, I'm-,' her voice cracked, as she took a deep breath and carried on, 'I'm really sorry. It wasn't fair of me to be like that. And it wasn't a prank, I swear, I just...'
'But Odalia asked you to do it, didn't she?' They shuddered, 'So that her and her friends could just watch and laugh as you.. as you..'
'Yes but, it wasn't meant to be a prank, I never meant for you to be the butt of the joke or to be laughed at or anything! I was just proving a point - it was stupid, it was really stupid.' Eda sighed, hands in her face.
'You can't do that,' whimpered Raine, 'You can't toy with me like that, in front of everyone, be like that when it's just, fake. You can't be like that when... you know I like you. Do you know how cruel that is?'
Eda felt those words explode in her chest as she looked up and turned to Raine.
'You like me?' She whispered, a small smile forming on her mouth. Raine's own head lifted as they finally met her stare.
'Yes? Was- was that not obvious?' They asked, eyebrows raised.
'I mean maybe it was,' she snorted, 'But when you're in love with someone it can be hard to notice.' the words slipped past her tongue, as her eyes widened in realisation at what she had just said.
'Shit! Wait, no, I mean- LOVE? like I don't.. I-. Sorry. Sorry.' Eda stammered, groaning, before she felt an arm slip around her shoulders, and pull her into a hug. A beat of silence passed by as the two stayed still, sitting in silence.
'You...love me? You mean it?' Raine said softly.
'We were proving who the best at flirting was,' Eda muttered, 'Odalia, being the prissy, annoying girl she is, challenged me to show off my skills or whatever? She claimed I liked you, and that I was a bad flirt, and it annoyed me. You're also my best friend so I didn't expect feelings to be hurt like this, I guess I thought you would have shrugged it off, I don't know. But as cringe as I was being earlier, I meant it. I.. I love you. And I want to be with you.'
Raine's own eyes were glassy as they squeezed Eda tighter.
'You are so stupid.' They laughed through tears, 'Maybe that's part of the reason why I love you too.'
Eda said nothing but grin affectionately, as she held them back in their embrace, wiping away joyful tears of her own. She slipped past their arms just for a second to plant a kiss on their cheek, right under their eye and watched in amusement as their skin blossomed a deep red.
'I ... could get used to that.' Raine chuckled, looking away in embarrassment.
'I could get used to a lot, with you, Whispers.' the red-head purred, pulling them closer.
'Aw, so now we see your amazing flirting skills at work,' Raine trilled sarcastically, laughing, 'I'd say between you and me, I'M probably the better one.'
'What?' cried Eda, 'You should have seen your face in the cafeteria, you were basically tripping over your own words, you were so-' but she stopped suddenly as she felt a soft kiss on her neck trailing over to her jaw, before a bright, mischievous set of eyes peered over to hers.
'-F-flustered.' She finished, bright red. Raine grinned wide as they stuck the tip of their tongue out and Eda rolled her eyes.
'That's cheating.' Eda stated.
'What? How?'
'KISSING isn't flirting, you have to use your words, your eyes. Plus, it scrambles my brain.'
'What like, "you need me to show what life is really about"? Wow, I'm blushing HARD.' Raine giggled as Eda shoved them down onto the grass, before kneeling above them and tickling their sides. Raine squealed and kicked as they begged for her to stop in a frenzy of yells and swears.
'That was not my finest moment.' Eda remarked when she had decided to stop, above a panting, laughing Raine.
'Yeah well, I guess it's kind of true.'
'What?'
'When I'm with you, I really feel like I'm living.' they said softly.
'Now look who's being cringe.'
'I mean it, Calamity,' they whispered, shrugging, 'Before you, I felt like a nobody, but now... everything is brighter, happier. You're like this big ball of fire, constantly burning, but never going out, and creating this path that, while chaotic, showers everything in vibrant life.'
'Is- isn't that just the Sun?' Eda asked quietly, not knowing how else to respond.
'Yeah, yeah it is. And I love my bright, burning sunshine.' They smiled.
'Rainestorm.. I can't even put into words how you make me feel. You do everything so effortlessly, and act shy, but you- you're spirit is so loud, and you make me so, so happy.'
'We are a soppy pair.' Raine laughed, as Eda nodded against their shoulder.
'So does this mean...?'
'We're ...?'
'Dating?'
'Yeah. Yeah, I guess so.'
'Can I kiss you properly now?' Eda asked tentatively, and Raine rolled their eyes before leaning forwards quickly and pressing a kiss to her lips, fast but tender. They smiled against each other.
Darius nudged Odalia at the table the next day, snickering as he watched the couple approach.
'Seems like someone beat you to it.' He sang, smirking.
'What-'
'Oh hey Odalia!' Eda greeted, arm hooked with Raine's.
'Yes, hello there, Odalia!' they mirrored.
'Hi? Can I help you?' She grimaced, glancing at their interlocked hands.
'Nah, just taking a look at all the lonely people.' Eda smiled, pressing a peck to Raine's cheek, who looked up at her affectionately.
'Yeah, you should probably try something other than pouting your lips and swaying your hips to try and get a boyfriend,' Raine stated, 'or someone might beat you to it.'
Eda threw a look at Darius before her eyes went to Alador on the other side of the table, and after following her gaze, Darius smiled softly.
'Maybe someone will,' Darius grinned, hopping off his seat, 'I'm going to the bathroom.'
'I'll come with.' Alador said, joining him, as they walked away together.
Ask him out! Eda mouthed as Darius strolled past her and he rolled his eyes playfully as he gave a subtle nod.
'What is this? Some sort of ploy to embarrass me?' Odalia cried.
'Nah, you kind of do that all but yourself. Cmon Rainestorm, we have places to be.' Eda sighed, before walking swiftly away.
'You're so funny when you're cocky.' Raine whispered in her ear once they were out of earshot.
'Oh yeah? You like that?' She giggled and they shoved her face away with their palm.
'Not like that, sunshine.' They laughed.
'It's okay to admit I'm the better flirt, Rainestorm.' She sighed, feigning sympathy as she patted their back.
'Do I have to remind you of the other day-'
'Again. Not my best moments.' She stated.
'Moments. Plural. Meaning you're just bad-'
'Am I going to have to break up with you after a day, Whispers?' Eda deadpanned.
'Stop cutting me off-' they cried, just as Eda pulled them near and pressed a soft kiss to their lips, looking mischievous as she watched their eyes flutter close.
'That's,' they breathed, after pulling away, 'An exception.' Eda smiled widely as she raised her head high in triumph.
'But... at least I'm the least awkward in this relationship.'
'Raine!'
Rumour has it that they never stopped fighting about this, even as they grew old together. Spoiler: they were both as sappy and flustered and awkward as each other.