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For the longest time, Wriothesley always tried to keep out of sight of any student council member. He was serious about it, too, always evading with the finesse of a scampering mouse. His part-time work was more demanding than not, and living on his own and being forced to finish high school didn’t make things easy.
He doesn’t have to do more than attend the bare minimum to graduate. He just has to study hard when he’s alone, ace the tests, and he’s home free. He has big plans after graduation, plans that not even his track record of serving time in juvie and charges of murder can’t even stop. (Huh, he sounds like a pretty bad guy… oh, wait. He might as well be considered one on principle.)
Anyway, his reputation, unfortunately, precedes him as part of the daily rotation of gossip at Mermonia High. They spun wildly out of control at this point, reducing him to an ex-convict who has the nerve to even show his mug around campus. This earned him a lot more trouble than most. However… in times like these, it’s best to just accept it with grace. So, he has the title of one of the toughest delinquents, perhaps the one at the top of the school. Or whatever that means.
Ultimately, thus, and whatever else beyond… he doesn’t make a habit of being seen by the student council members. However, the most important one of all… the student council president was an oddity, always acting with the utmost grace and elegance, and was respected by all of the students. Him included, of course. Although it’d never cross his mind that…
Well, that he would run into him today.
It was a normal day, and one of the few days of the week Wriothesley even bothered showing up on campus. He poked his head in class and sat in the back corner of the classroom. Once lunch rolled around, Wriothesley took off after grabbing a sandwich from the cafeteria and went to do his usual routine of playing with the stray cats hanging around the edge of campus.
However, a certain audacious stray cat felt compelled to jump for his sandwich this time, the greedy bastard, and Wriothesley naturally fought for the right to keep eating it. As such… Well, he should say he was worse off than the cat.
So here he is, sitting in the nurse’s office and covered in claw marks and scratches that punctured skin. He offers a weak laugh as he sits still to be tended to.
The student assistant, a freshman named Sigewinne, is wiping Wriothesley’s wounds off with an alcohol wipe. “You should be careful when you’re feeding stray cats, Wriothesley.”
“I wasn't feeding any cats.” Wriothesley protests. “I got in a tussle with someone over a damn sandwich.”
“A fight, you say…” Sigewinne tilts her head as she moves the wipes over one of the open scratches. He winces and recoils at the sting. “Oh, it might hurt a little more than that. We’re disinfecting after all~”
Wriothesley offers a half-hearted grunt in return, resolving to bide his time.
Then the door opens, first with a crack and eventually fully open. Rather than the nurse, the student who comes in is the notorious student council president. He greets Sigewinne with a formal good morning, his gaze then lingering on Wriothesley.
Wriothesley blinks dumbly, meeting his gaze. He opens his mouth to say something—anything. However, he can't muster anything to leave his lips.
“Sigewinne, is this the friend you mentioned?” The president asks first. Once she nods in affirmation, he looks at Wriothesley again and holds out a hand. “It's a pleasure, Wriothesley. My name is Neuvillette. It seems we never shared a class in the past despite us both being in the same year.”
Wriothesley coughs, scratching the back of his neck. “We did, I just always skipped except during exams…”
Neuvillette raises an eyebrow, “Ah, I see. You're one of the students who get by with minimal attendance. Is there a reason you don't always come to school?”
Oh, wonderful. There are many reasons he doesn’t bother attending, but what could this guy know or understand about his position? So he settles on: “Don’t care for it.”
Neuvillette frowns for a moment, an unreadable expression on his face. He dips his head in respect, straightening the tie of his uniform. “I’d hope to see you more often, then. There is no merit in skipping class.”
“Not sure how we’d run into each other.” Wriothesley raises an eyebrow. “Like you said, we don’t share any classes. While you’re the president, there’s no need to go outta your way for me.”
Neuvillette pauses thoughtfully, already moving to pick up the stack of papers Sigewinne prepared, and then he pulls his satchel back on. “Consider it only a concern for a fellow student. If you would like, please meet me at the library after your last class.”
He exits as suddenly as he entered, leaving Wriothesley boggled and Sigewinne with a wider smile than before.
“Mr. Wriothesley… It looks like you should take the opportunity.” Sigewinne hums, grabbing another bandaid to hand over to her upperclassman. “Who knows, maybe it'll be good karma and you won’t be here with injuries from a cat again~”
Wriothesley barks out a laugh, scratching the back of his neck. “Let’s not go that far. Guess it’d be bad to leave the student council president waiting… his fangirls would have it out for me.”
“Well, guess you know what that means, right?” Sigewinne returns with a hum, then dips her head. “Oh, the nurse will be returning soon… I think you should stop skipping out on class, okay?”
“Got it,” Wriothesley stirs and slides off the chair. He stretches out, flexing his arms, and then finally takes his leave.
The student council president occupies his mind. There’s a large part of him that wants to keep his distance, to keep it where it’s already at: they live in different worlds, and that’s that. Their only connection might be knowing Sigewinne and that they’re around the same age.
It’s a bit delayed, but Wriothesley touches his cheek thoughtfully as he mulls over the invitation from earlier. He must have some sort of interest in me. Can’t tell what.
Almost reluctantly, Wriothesley showed his mug to his last remaining classes for the day. He’s able to relatively swing into the tempo of it, although some confusion is only expected from past lessons. His classmates regard him with anxious stares in both class periods, but he ignores them in favor of trying to get a grasp on the content they’re currently studying. Of course, there’s Neuvillette too, who would be otherwise disappointed if he didn’t know anything—he wouldn’t want to waste his time, after all.
Once classes end, Wriothesley heads off to the library, taking a seat at the agreed meeting spot. It’s in one of the more remote and hidden locations in the library, safe from both noise and other onlookers. Word travels fast among gossiping high school students, and Wriothesley would rather stay far out of the rumor mill. He already has quite the reputation among his cohort because of the perception people have of him from his appearance alone. He sighs, pulling out his notebook from his bag, laying it and a pen in front of him.
It’s not too long before Neuvillette briskly walks in, taking the seat across from Wriothesley without any fuss. “I’m pleased to see that you made it.”
“Well, it’d be a crime to waste your time like that.” Wriothesley shrugs, “You’re a busy guy, I’m sure. You skipped out on other things just to see little ol’ me?”
“I’d say it’s more than worth it.” Neuvillette returns genuinely despite his stiff expression.
Oh, he’s serious. Wriothesley thinks, although it’s a headscratcher as to why or how that’d be the case. No matter how awkward or stilted his speech is, it's obvious that Neuvillette has a kind heart. Perhaps too tolerant of one. He's already starting to make an impression on Wriothesley, an admiration that could easily be conflated with a crush.
Needless to say, all this special attention is nerve-racking. Despite telling himself that it's all a coincidence and that it's because of his position as a figurehead of the student council, Wriothesley isn't going to take this for granted.
“Oh? Then I guess I would owe you one. Do you like tea?” Wriothesley asks as Neuvillette takes his notes out. “Ah, it's not like I can't study… guess it'd be easier if I had some notes.”
Neuvillette affirms with a slight nod, straightening the stack of papers once after removing the paper clip, and hands it over to him.
Usually, he would borrow some notes from a classmate, although they're usually more than afraid to hand them over. It's nice to get his hands on them without all of that fuss. Wriothesley graciously accepts the notes. His first instinct is to skim through them as a whole.
Perhaps there's another universe where he's a genius with perfect photographic memory. This, however, isn't it. So he reviews at a glance, flipping through to see that the notes are greatly detailed and penned meticulously with a sturdy hand.
“Wow, this is great. Mind if I take some pictures?” Wriothesley asks, pulling out his phone to kamera mode.
“Of course.” Neuvillette bobs his head again. He takes out his phone, tapping on it for a moment, and soon Wriothesley has a screen with a new contact page staring directly at him. “In exchange, I believe it'd be easier to contact you if I had this.”
Wriothesley blinks. “Right.” He mutters, trying to loosen the tension in his shoulders as he finishes taking quick pictures of the notes. With utmost hesitance, he reaches over to punch in his phone number. He pulls away, only to see that Neuvillette is still gazing at him expectantly.
Oh, wait. He definitely wants to put his contact in Wriothesley's phone, too. Wriothesley stifles a laugh at the unexpectedly cute reasoning, tabbing out of his kamera function to also pull up the new contact page. “You can put yours in, too.”
Neuvillette's lips twitch into a ghost of a smile, tucking a strand of his hair behind his ear, and then puts his number in Wriothesley's phone.
That awkward, yet pleasant, atmosphere remains between them as the study session goes on. Between cramming knowledge into his brain, Wriothesley starts to take mental notes on the small mannerisms Neuvillette has. Also, how slender his fingers are and other remarks about his beautiful, breath-taking, stunning, and ethereal appearance. It's perhaps almost mesmerizing that Wriothesley finds that his pen drops from his hand while he gets lost in thoughts of grandeur.
Neuvillette blinks at the interruption, but continues as if nothing had happened.
Oh, it's bad. Wriothesley thinks miserably. If it means that he can get this sort of treatment after school, then maybe Wriothesley will make a bit of an effort.
Once it hits a quarter until 5, the intercom crackles to life with an enthusiastic voice on the other end.
“All club activities and other after-school activities will end in another 15 minutes! Please make your way off campus before another hour, since gates will close…”
During the announcement, Neuvillette raises his voice as he draws Wriothesley back to attention. “Wriothesley, it's truly been a pleasure today. If your schedule allows, I would like to continue studying with you every week.”
Wriothesley blinks. “I feel like I should be asking you that.” He jokes, scratching the back of his neck. “Same time next week is fine with me. I usually don't have work then… Oh, I still need to treat you to tea sometime.”
“Then…” Neuvillette trails off thoughtfully, “Please message me when you'd like to go. Through text, of course. You may also call if you find it more convenient.”
Perhaps it's overcompensating or mere excitement. Wriothesley doesn't stifle his chuckle this time and instead winks. “Noted. You'll be hearing from me.”
Ahh… it's really bad, isn't it?