Chapter Text
Friday’s history class was held in the library to allow for research. Wednesday wandered through the stacks, plucking relevant material from the shelves while keeping her eye on Xavier. She brushed past him and took a seat at a study table. Bianca looked over at him and smiled, sly and flirtatious. Wednesday tracked it, watched how a tight smile played at Xavier’s lips. She felt like vomiting.
“The rumor is true then?” she asked, idly flipping through the tome spread out in front of her.
The way Enid had explained it, Xavier and Bianca’s relationship had frequently been in an on-again, off-again cycle. Bianca was flirting her way back into the on-again stage. Enid had made the point to explain that it was a comfortable, insincere thing purely built out of the need to be coupled because they were too bored not to be, and if Wednesday was bothered by it, she should ‘do something’.
Xavier slid into the seat next to her. “I didn’t think you paid any attention to rumors.” When she didn’t answer, he added, “Not officially.” Enid was not in this class with them, but if she were, she’d be sitting on Wednesday’s other side, digging her elbow into her ribs.
“Don’t,” she said shortly, surprising herself.
He stared at her. “It’s not like I don’t know what I’d be getting myself into,” he reasoned.
She frowned. “That’s not in question.” The way he said that at least implied that Enid was right. It was weird to feel relief at that.
“Then?”
“If you’re occupied with what is essentially a superficial relationship…” she shook her head, a braid falling over her shoulder. “Your attentions could be better focused… elsewhere.”
There was a long, heavy silence. She found her eyes scanning the same passage she’d read three times already. Mentally tripping over words, even. Ridiculous, the things this boy did to her.
“If I had any indication that my attentions would be welcome, that would be motivation enough,” he said. There was a measure of resentfulness there, bitterness. She supposed he was entitled to it.
She was sure everyone in the library could hear how her heart began to race. Xavier pushed his chair back and stood up, turning to leave.
“What exactly would you consider an indicator?” she asked, halting him mid-motion, his breath hitching. She looked up at him, sidelong. He had to know that this wasn’t her area of strength, that she needed something from him, anything.
He studied her face for the longest moment before answering. “Deliberate and specific invitations or requests for my companionship.”
She nodded firmly and went back to reading, though her heartbeat was faster than ever and she was sure she was blushing hard enough to show. He stood there for another minute before walking away. Wednesday waited for her hands to stop shaking before she pulled out her phone, swiped her thumb across the screen to pull up her text conversation with him. It consisted of exactly five texts over the last two months.
I would like to request your companionship tomorrow afternoon.
In the din of the library, halfway across the room, she heard the text notification go off. She watched tensely as he pulled his phone out, read the message, and turned to smile at her.