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Could the two of you be any more obvious?
It was like watching a nature documentary— just observing the elaborate mating rituals between two animals. Brittney had to bite back a smile and look up so no one would notice her face scrunched up in barely concealed laughter.
After she finally calmed down with a quiet sigh, she held her chin in her palm and observed.
The six of you had all gone out after classes to a local diner. Nothing too fancy or drab, but comfortable and atmospherically appropriate for students to relax in after a grueling day of tests and group projects.
Deryl was the one who suggested it, swearing on their lunch specials and onion rings he claimed were as big as his head. Who could turn him down when he was that excited?
The booth in the back corner was the warmest, he insisted, but it also had to have been the most cramped out of all the others too. You all needed to practically cram yourselves against each other to fit, but the only one who semi-complained was Geo, who inhaled sharply in annoyance at being smushed against Deryl who just hung off his side purposely to annoy him.
It was Brittney sitting with the both of them on one side, being the one closest to the aisle, and Jess on the other next to the window followed by you and Crowe. Naturally.
This is when things usually started to get good.
Brittney watched the scene under the guise of taking a sip of her milkshake, lowering her head and hiding her eyes with her bangs so neither of you would notice— that was something too, how you’d both immediately freeze up and stop altogether if caught in the act of flirting. It wasn’t Brittney’s intention to startle you, she just found it fascinating.
“Oh, that actually looks really good— what did you get?” You commented, looking down at Crowe’s plate, holding your fork by the prongs in your mouth.
“This is a blueberry galette. Do you want to try some?” Crowe smiled at you with that gentle expression he always had reserved for you.
Brittney leaned in closer, pretending to casually admire her nails.
When you hummed in affirmation, Crowe speared a small portion of the dessert and held the fork up to your lips. You groaned at that, but still took a bite without much fuss.
“Oh, wow, that is good!” Your pouting expression melted away quickly when the food hit your tongue, eyes lighting up in delight.
“Isn’t it?” Crowe laughed at your enthusiasm.
In return, you pierced a portion of your own food and held it up to his lips, a mischievous gleam in your eye.
“Come on, you have some of mine.” Your hand was cupped under your hand that held the fork.
It was Crowe’s turn to avert his eyes, painting his cheeks with a light dusting of red.
“Can I try some too?”
Brittney almost hit her head on the table when Deryl’s loud voice chimed in, interrupting the moment. He seemed totally oblivious as to what was really going on, much to Brittney’s chagrin.
Even though you nodded after a startled pause, Brittney still kicked Deryl under the table; not enough to injure, but enough to make a point.
Dumbass.
Deryl exclaimed and faced Brittney with a frown, who simply twirled a strand of hair around her finger coolly.
“Didn’t your coach put you on a diet? You’re gonna go overboard if you start sampling everyone else’s plates, you know.”
“Oh, come on! One bite won’t do anything”— But Deryl couldn’t do much else against Brittney’s icy glare. He was interrupting her daytime soap opera. Sheepishly, he relented, “Y’know what? I’m good…”
A little confused but understanding, you turned back to Crowe, who took the opportunity to go ahead and sneak a bite off the fork you had held up for him.
“I like that too,” He laughed, “I’ll order that for myself next time we come here.”
Just the two of you or all of us?
Damn, Brittney really had to read between the lines when it came to you guys.
The afternoon continued that way, with minimal conversation and not-so-discreet flirting. At one point you’d even started sharing a fork. If anyone else noticed, they said nothing— well, save for Geo rolling his eyes when Crowe wiped a crumb off your lip with his thumb.
Eventually, the check came and everyone’s meals were paid for. Brittney was too occupied looking over her and Jess’s notes from class to see if Crowe offered to pay for yours, but she decided to assume he did.
It was dark out when they all exited the diner, donning coats to protect themselves from the cold air. When Brittney saw you shivering, she was about to offer you her scarf before Crowe beat her to the punch and wordlessly wrapped his around your neck, tying it for you while you insisted all the while that it was fine.
Brittney waved as everyone went their separate ways, Jess by her side to accompany her to the bus stop. She watched your retreating form along with Crowe’s, noting the hesitant manner in which you grasped his hand.
Yeah, you’d be fine alright.
Jess looked up at her with quizzical eyes, returned with Brittney’s cheerful laugh.
“If we hurry, we can make the five-thirty.” And with that, they were off.
—
“Hey, your button’s undone,” Brittney pointed out one day in the courtyard, gesturing to Crowe’s vest. He looked down and sighed, trying to redo it when it popped off and skittered onto the ground.
“Damn it…” Crowe bent down to pick it up, observing the frayed string that dangled from its holes. His lips only made a slight twitch of a frown when he stood back up to put the button in his pocket.
“Sorry, wish I could do something,” Brittney commented sympathetically, “I’d help but I don’t have my sewing kit on me right now…” She trailed off, thinking back to the time you helped her out once with repairing a hole in her cardigan during lunch. If she remembered correctly, you had your own kit kept ready in your locker.
“Hey, actually, I think I know who can get that for you,” Brittney snapped her fingers in recollection, aiming her pointed finger at Crowe’s missing button. She pulled out her phone and sent you a message leaving out the oh-so-tiny-tidbit about it being for Crowe and not her. Your reply back was quick, saying you’d meet her where she was.
When you arrived, you spotted the two standing off to the side under the shade of one of the small planted trees lined in a sequence along the benches, sewing box in hand.
“Oh!” Crowe seemed a bit surprised, “You know how to sew?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah,” You confirmed, somewhat out of breath from rushing here, “If my uniform gets damaged or something I’d rather be prepared to fix it than buy a new one.”
“Smart.” He smiled. Brittney cleared her throat and crossed one leg over the other.
“Yeah, do you think you can help Crowe? His button just came off. I don’t have my own kit ready and even if I did, I’d have trouble with my nails and all.” She waved her fingers to show them off as proof. Nice excuse.
“That’s right,” Crowe fished the button out of his pocket and presented it to you, “Sorry if it’s a hassle, I guess it just came loose at some point.” You scoffed and took the small button, leaving your lingering touch in his palm.
“It’s no problem at all. Could I see your vest, please?”
He handed you his indigo vest, making sure to be gentle with the other buttons as he peeled it off. Somehow Brittney felt it best to avert her eyes.
When you had the article in your hands, you were careful not to crease or warp the fabric, treating it like it was something precious. Even simply holding it caused its scent to graze your nose and made you bite the inside of your lip to ground yourself. Crowe watched your hands as they moved.
Clumsier than you would have normally liked to be, you struggled to thread the needle with Crowe’s intense gaze. He was leaning in unconsciously, trying to get a closer look.
“Oh… your finger,” he commented under his breath, almost like he didn’t mean to speak aloud.
“What? Ah,” you held it up for him to see when you finally got the thread through the eye of the needle. “Got pricked on a rose bush. It doesn’t hurt or anything, just sort of stings.”
“Well, here,” Crowe shuffled through his bag and pulled out a single band-aid, holding it up for you. “You’re helping me, so here’s something I can do to help you. Sorry it’s the bare minimum.” His expression held a regrettable smile. Your face went a bit redder.
“Thanks.”
Instead of letting you take the band-aid and put it on yourself, Crowe discarded the wrapping and held it with both hands to wrap it around your finger himself, taking extra care to be gentle and not press too hard.
Damn, the two of you were so weirdly coordinated that Brittney even felt impressed.
It wasn’t long before you finished re-attaching Crowe’s vest button, even going as far to reinforce his other buttons for him. He gratefully thanked you and put the vest back on, smoothing the fabric under his hands in admiration.
“This is perfect, I can’t thank you enough.”
“Oh, stop it. It’s nothing crazy.” Still, you seemed glad he was happy with the result.
“No, it’s pretty cool how you two are prepared like that. Having emergency band-aids, too and all,” Brittney’s words were genuine. It was really something to witness people who really cared so much. Being an observer alone made her feel included, she guessed.
She turned on her heel and gestured to the building, inviting the both of you inside.
“Hey, let’s get a move on. I don’t wanna miss next period.”
—
Damn, this project was kicking Brittney’s ass.
She groaned, running her hands through her bangs and then patting them back down to put them back into place.
She was alone this time, having opted to study by herself for a while longer after a group notetaking session. Not much in the way of studying or work had been getting done, though, as she found twiddling her pencil or fantasizing about her recent online orders more fulfilling.
She was trying, but not a single good idea made its way into her brain.
Chemistry… chemistry… what the fuck even was chemistry?
Brittney released another anguished sigh, sending a hard glare to an adjacent student who shushed her. Whatever. She’d just find a new spot.
Quickly getting to her feet and gathering her belongings, Brittney noticed something left on the table that didn’t belong to her. Oh, probably something one of her friends left behind.
When she went to pick up the dark blue notebook, something fell out of its pages and fluttered slowly to the table.
It was a vivid red color, with dozens of tapered petals and a short, leafless stem.
Brittney picked up the pressed carnation, twirling it gently between her fingertips and holding it up to the light.
She picked up the book it fell out of and read the name on the inside cover: Jericho Ichabod.
Gently, Brittney placed the pressed flower back into the book, opting to hold it in her hand for now instead of throwing it in her bag with her own stuff and left the library.
She’d probably be able to find Crowe in the student representative office where he usually stayed later to go over and make changes to school policies, so there she went. Something about the book in her hand brought her a sense of comfort, but she couldn’t place why.
After making the trek to the office, Brittney poked her head into the room, scanning to see if anyone was inside.
“Hello”— Brittney clamped her mouth shut, eyes widening.
There were definitely people inside. Her favorite show was on, after all.
Two heads whipped towards the direction of the door, previously only inches away from each other. Crowe’s hands were on your shoulders and your head was tilted up slightly. You both stood right by the window, framed by the orange setting sun and the gently rustling curtains.
When you both saw Brittney, you practically jumped backwards. Two people caught in the act trying to act like nothing happened in the first place.
“Brittney! Hello, hi,” It was rare to see Crowe so flustered. Struggling to maintain his usual composed demeanor, he walked up to meet her halfway and cleared his throat, “Did you need something?”
Instead of answering right away, Brittney looked past his shoulder to see you staring out the window like nothing happened, fidgeting with your shirt collar and revealing your reddened ears.
Oh boy, what was she going to do with the both of you?
Brittney shook her head and stood with her hand on her hip, giving a coy smile and hiding the book behind her back.
“Nope! See you two tomorrow,” Brittney grinned a bright smile and winked as she gave a peace sign as a parting memento.
Looking forward to the next episode, you two.