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It wasn’t as if his plan had been to wind up in detention. Stupid, really, since if he had thought about it, that’s exactly what would have happened to him if he were caught. And he had been caught. But at least it had been worth it. He hated bullies.
“Take out your homework,” Miss Wynne commanded, looking around the room over the brim of her glasses. “If you have completed your work, you are free to pick out a book. Remember, this is self-study time, not talking time.” Her eyes narrowed sharply on one of the boys, Garrett Hawke. An unrepentant prankster, he smiled dazzlingly at the teacher and shrugged. Cullen was surprised that Varric Tethras wasn’t here with his best friend.
Cullen sighed silently as he grabbed his backpack and pulled out the Chantry textbook and the reflections papers he was supposed to fill out. He tried hard to be a good student (most of the time), but it wasn’t as if he enjoyed all parts of school. Homework, especially when it cut into Templar practice, sucked. But as he was in detention, he might as well work on it.
As he arranged his assignments, he glanced around the library. Miss Wynne was already settled comfortably in her chair, a book open in her hand. There were only three other students joining him in after school detention. Garrett, now staring off into space and wiggling his pencil in a fidgeting manner, an unholy light radiated from unfocused eyes. Another boy who Cullen knew, Sebastian, was already scribbling away furiously at his notebook, but Cullen wasn’t sure what he was so focused on. They had another three hours before they were released to return to their dorms. It would be wiser to pace himself.
Then finally, there was that Trevelyan girl. Sitting perfectly straight, her ankles crossed and tucked beneath her chair, she looked the perfect model of the debutant Cullen knew she was. She read a small, paperback book, her hair shining and arranged precisely, a reflection of the quality and polish she embodied. From the gleam of her patent black shoes to the crisp lines of her uniform, she presented as the model student of Trenton Chantry Prep. The only thing marring her aristocratic image was the scar that slashed from above her eyebrow to her cheek beneath her eye. Her bangs disguised some of it, but it was too deep and prominent to not be obvious. No one knew how she had gotten such a ‘disfigurement’, and wild stories abounded.
Cullen knew of her, of course. Everyone at the boarding school knew of Talia Trevelyan. Her father was one of those influential types, secretly running the government. Members of the Trevelyan family had been governors or senators of New Jersey for years, and when she had first transferred to this school everyone had tried to cultivate a friendship. It seemed all those rich snobs wanted a piece of the action. He had avoided her, like most everyone at this odd school. Cullen was one of the rare few who had gotten into Trenton Prep on a scholarship and recommendation; most of the kids here had money in the family, serious money.
But even the other ‘society’ kids whispered cruelly behind her back now, when they weren’t being flattering and engaging to her face. Her cool, detached behavior kept everyone at bay. The harder the others had tried, the more distant and aloof she had become, and it frustrated the others. Cullen had had a class with her over the past year, and he had seen her turn her blue, icy stare on people trying to toady up to her. She seemed, as pretty much everyone said, an entitled bitch.
She certainly had a look, normally. The hint of a raised brow, slightly pressed together lips, distant eyes. Cullen snuck another glance at where she sat three chairs over and back from him. And his eyes flared in surprise. That was not how she looked now, not at all. Her irises were sharp, animated, flying over the pages of her book, her lips slightly parted in eager anticipation. As he watched, she eagerly flipped the page, smoothing the paper open with loving fingers. Suddenly a wide smile bloomed over her face, and she sunk her teeth into her bottom lip to hide it.
Wow. Cullen blinked, staring now. He had never seen her like this… like she had emotions and was actually alive. The smile lit up her face, crinkled her eyes. Just as quickly as the smile had appeared, Talia suppressed it again, although her delight was still on her face. She had abandoned that cool mask as easily as she had sunk into her story.
Cullen turned back to his textbook, aware that he had been watching her too closely. He focused on his homework, studiously getting to work. But he couldn’t help the faint smile that touched his lips at finding out that Talia was human after all.
***
Cullen groaned as he entered the library. It was Friday, the start of his relished free time. Yet he still had another two days of detention, three hours today, four hours on Saturday, then three more on Monday. Man, he really hoped that his little brawl had made a lasting impression, otherwise this so wasn’t worth it.
Miss Wynne wasn’t yhere yet, only one other student present. Talia Trevelyan was sitting in the same spot she had been in the day before, a different book in hand. She was perfectly composed, as if the human emotions he had seen yesterday had never existed.
He hesitated, then impulsively crossed to the desk next to her, shifting his big body into the almost too small chair. Talia’s pretty blue eyes flew up to his, startled at his nearness. “Hey,” Cullen tried to keep casual, surprised at his compulsion. He never behaved this way, reaching out to those who seemed to actively seek isolation. Yet he hadn’t been able to stop himself either; there was something lonely about her.
“Oh,” she paused and looked down at her book and her impassive mask returned to cover her surprise. “Hello,” she said coolly, and returned to reading.
Cullen felt a little smile twitch at the corner of his mouth. Obviously not one for chatting, but he had known that already. He kicked back in his seat as he waited for everyone else to arrive, keeping quiet. Cullen felt more than saw Talia’s gaze dart towards him, and when he snuck his own glance at her, she looked slightly puzzled beneath her nonchalance. Not used to people being quiet and relaxed around her?
The hour that detention was supposed to start came and went with quiet minutes, and Miss Wynne suddenly bustled into the library. “Oh good you are both here. Sorry for my lateness, we have a minor emergency that I need to attend to.” She trained her piercing gaze on Cullen, and he straightened up hastily in his seat. “Mister Rutherford, I trust you will behave yourself, and follow Miss Trevelyan’s example? If you have any questions, ask her. I expect to be back shortly.” With that she turned and darted back out the door. It slowly creaked closed and latched with a click.
Well, Cullen frowned. This had turned out strange. Were they the only two in detention today? He looked over to Talia, saw a strange look in her eyes as well as she glanced at him. Suddenly he realized he was sitting right next to her while alone in the abruptly cavernous library.
Awkward.
He felt the faint haze of a blush try to rise in his cheeks, suddenly very aware that this was an… unusual situation he found himself in. Did she think that he was trying to flirt with her? Maker!
How could he move further away without being obvious about it? He could… his eyes darted helplessly around the room, grasping at whatever straws he could find… but there were none. If he moved now, it would be blatant he was moving away from her.
He rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously, stealing another glance at the classical profile and the edge of her scar. Nothing to it, his stomach churned a little as he gulped.
Far too loudly and clumsily, Cullen pulled out his homework and organized it around himself. He picked up his pen to start work when it dawned on him that she was reading, not studying. He licked his lips, telling himself it was a bad idea to ask, but his curiosity got the better of him. “Are you finished with your homework already?”
Slowly Talia looked up from her book, and then archly turned her head. For a moment she did not speak, reproof at Cullen for breaking her concentration evident in the slight narrowing of her eyes and the tilt of her chin. Another wave of embarrassed heat cascaded through Cullen, and was complete when she said only, “Yes.”
Shit. He forced out a laugh, almost wincing with how high it sounded. “Lucky. You must be smart and quick to get everything done.” He patted the textbook he had open, shrugging with exaggeration, “I’m unforgivably slow when it comes to some of these things, but I try to get better.”
Her eyes narrowed a fraction more, her lips parted, and Cullen stumbled out with more words, unthinking, afraid that he had somehow said something wrong. “You’re not slow! I wasn’t saying you were like me.” Belatedly he realized that he had really already said that. “I mean…” He stumbled to a stop, unable to push any more words out through his open gob.
Talia’s expression continued to change just marginally, but it was just enough that he thought she was looking at him with confusion. And of course she was! He had just made the most garbled, one-sided conversation in the world. “I mean…” he had already said that! “I mean,” he repeated yet again, “You are lucky you are so good with schoolwork.”
He hastily dropped his head and picked up his pencil, flipping through pages and trying to appear absorbed with work while his brain raced to call himself every manner of idiot. He angled himself away so that she wouldn’t see the grimace he was sure was stamped over his features.
So attuned to the one he just embarrassed himself in front of, Cullen heard Talia shift in her chair, swore he could feel her looking at him with that confused and wondering expression. She probably thought he belonged in an institution after that nonsensical outburst. After long moments of pretending that she wasn’t there, however, she returned to her quiet reading.
But Cullen couldn’t turn to his homework. He couldn’t concentrate. The instant replay was on loop in his brain. After taking a few cursory notes, figuring out pages things were on, and spending a good ten minutes trying to figure out what one of the questions was asking, Cullen gave up.
He tried to stifle his sigh as he looked at the clock. Awesome. He still had just under two hours to go. Miss Wynne wasn’t back yet either. Where was the teacher? It might cut some of the tension in the room to have the adult here.
Cullen peeked over at Talia again. She was absorbed back in her book, the same sparkling yet subdued animation as yesterday rustling beneath her skin. Did she ever let go and allow herself to feel things fully? Or was this the extent of her emotions?
Whatever it was, he couldn’t let go of the idea that she thought him an idiot. Determined to act like a reasonable human being, Cullen shut his books and neatly stored everything in his backpack. Planting his hands on his desk, he stood up.
Talia jerked and shrunk away, her eyes wide as she was startled again. Only this time, instead of surprise, he saw a flash of fear.
Instantly Cullen sunk back, giving her space. A twist of anger settled in his stomach; that had been an instinctive reaction. Trained. There was a reason for her fear, and he didn’t like the explanations that sprung to mind.
He drifted easily over to one of the bookshelves, giving her space to compose herself. No wonder the poor girl seemed so distant and unreachable. He wouldn’t draw attention to it; she wouldn’t thank him for it. Instead he casually said, “I saw you were enjoying your book yesterday. I was wondering if you had any recommendations for me; I always mean to read more, but the books I pick tend to be a bit too boring.” He turned to face her after he spoke, a slight smile on his lips.
He was right; she had composed herself, and was almost serene once more. But for the first time since their detention together, she lowered her book, and turned the full force of those blue eyes on him. For a moment she didn’t speak, just studying him. Then, finally, “What types of stories do you like?” Her voice came out with an elegant twist, a faint hint of the aristocratic lilt in her speech. And for the first time, Cullen heard her without the frost lacing every word. She was gently polite, in fact.
Taking it as an encouraging sign, Cullen’s smile broadened. “Oh, adventures and fighting, usually. But somehow there are many that are dry and unexciting. What were you reading yesterday?”
She glanced down at her book, smoothing one hand over the cover. She hesitated, but then forged ahead. Brave girl, he couldn’t help but think. “It was the first in this series. It is named Redwall.” She hesitated again and peeked up at him, before pushing out, “It’s about a mouse, in a fantasy world, who seeks to protect his home and goes on an adventure to become stronger.” She licked her lips before finishing with a slightly defensive, “It is a children’s book, but they are excellent stories.”
Cullen grinned. “That sounds like fun!” And was revealing of her character, he thought. “Do they have it here?”
She blinked, as if his jovial nature were foreign to her. She quickly looked down at her backpack, then up to him. Indecision warred for a moment on her face before she squared her shoulders. Within seconds, the book from yesterday was produced, and she held it out for him. “Here, you can borrow it. I am already on the second one.”
Cullen returned to his seat, carefully taking it from her. “Thank you. I am sure I will enjoy it. I will let you know what I think when I finish it!”
A true, albeit small, smile broke forth from Talia, and Cullen sat down at his desk heavily. He opened the book slightly dazed and turned to the first chapter. Well. The Ice Queen was pretty much always beautiful, but when she really smiled, she was rather gorgeous.
***
It was strange how he didn’t mind giving up his Saturday morning for detention. Cullen hitched his backpack higher as he ambled down the empty hallway of the school, a faint smile on his face. It had been kinda fun yesterday. Not the making an ass of himself in front of Talia part, but once he had recovered from the surprise of her smile, the book she had lent to him had indeed been quite fun. Aimed for a younger audience, but fast paced and action-packed. At the end of detention he had thanked her again, and he thought there had been a decided warming from Talia’s typical distant look.
After he had actually done his homework last night, he had even pulled Redwall out and had finished about half of it. A little ping of excitement went through him when he thought of telling Talia what he thought so far.
When Cullen came into the library, he was expecting to see Miss Wynne at the main desk and Talia once again in her seat. Instead he was greeted to the sight of a half dozen spray bottles and some rags, a broom, and a mop all splayed out around the desks.
Cullen dropped his backpack onto one of the seats, looking at the puzzling display. “Oh, there you are Rutherford,” Miss Wynne’s voice drew his head up to look over at the windows. Talia was wiping a rag over one of the panes, a focused look smoothed over her features while the teacher stood next to her. “I will leave you two to it. Rutherford, just follow Talia’s lead. She knows what to do.”
With that the teacher blithely waltzed out of the room, leaving them alone. He raised his eyebrows and shook his head. When she had returned yesterday, she had found the two of them quietly reading, and apparently she was now comfortable leaving them unsupervised. Strange woman.
He turned back to where Talia was spraying down the windows and asked, “So… what are we doing?”
She looked at him, and he was disappointed to note that there was a return of the reservation he had thought she had mostly dropped with him. “We are cleaning the library. Well, not all of it. But the main parts.” She hesitated before she spoke up. “If we finish quickly, we are allowed to leave early.”
“Sweet!” Cullen grabbed up a rag. “How can I help?”
She blinked at him for a moment, no doubt because of his exuberance before she handed him the bottle of window cleaner she had. “You can do the tops of the windows.” She was too short to reach them without help, he saw. Gently, remembering her reaction to his largeness yesterday, he came up and took it from her. She was already halfway through the bank of windows, so he started on the tops of the ones she had already finished.
“So,” he said sprayed the glass and set into work, “I’m really enjoying Redwall.”
A smile rose like the Spring, all traces of her ice melting away. “Oh good! The second book is just as entertaining. How far are you?”
“Just about halfway. Mathias and Jess just...” Cullen eagerly set into the conversation, keeping the banter light and happy. There was none of the forced attentative or brownnosing that Talia was so frequently subjected to, and she responded with a slow but growing feeling of openness.
He wouldn’t have guessed it, but when she was relaxed, Talia was a soft-spoken and caring kind of girl. She sometimes seemed reluctant to tell him her opinion, but Cullen would just smile and silently encourage her. He watched the change on her face as she realized that he wasn’t judging her every word for an advantage, and he watched her sharp edges soften and she became a more fascination person for it.
Before he knew it, they were done with the long stretch of windows. “We should move the desks first, then sweep and mop the floor,” Talia explained, already starting into the task.
Puzzled, Cullen watched her for a moment before hurriedly moving to assist. How did she know what to do and why did Miss Wynne treat her with such familiarity?
“Are you here often?” Cullen blurted out, then realized just how awful that was. “Oh, Maker, sorry. That came out like a bad pick up line. Sorry.”
A slow blush crept up Talia’s pale cheeks, a blooming glow that made her appear more alive and innocent than he had ever seen. She blinked down at the desk she was moving, her mouth in a little shy smile as she repeated, “A pick up line.” A laugh gurgled forth, and she met his gaze with dancing eyes. “I think that is the first time someone has given me a pick up line.”
Automatically Cullen shook his head, “No, of course it can’t be. You’re too beautiful… ah…” His brain finally caught up with what his mouth was saying, and he stalled out. This time it was his cheeks that started to burn, but he doubted he wore the color near as well as Talia did. “I mean, you are beautiful and sweet; don’t the guys here…”
Aaaaand that was a really personal question. So was asking her if she was in detention often. What was wrong with him when he was around her? It was like he couldn’t control his mouth.
Talia’s voice snapped him out of his inward spiral, and he focused back on her. “Most boys here don’t… they don’t really see me. Just my father, or the family money.” Suddenly she looked up at him, her brows tightly creased. “Does that make sense?”
He nodded in absolute agreement. “Yes. Unfortunately it does.” He had been going to this school long enough to see all the pretentious acts many of the students and faculty got up to. One of the reasons he liked Miss Wynne was because she was so… earthy, he guessed. Grounded and sensible. And, he suspected, those were also some of the reasons that he was so quickly coming to like Talia.
Not that he liked her or anything! Not like that. He just wanted to get to know her better. He now knew that she was fun to talk to, and she was far more natural than he had ever guessed.
Trying to act as naturally as possible while hefting a desk, Cullen asked with overt disinterest, “And your boyfriend? He doesn’t flirt with you?”
He had surprised her again, those pretty eyebrows knitted in confusion. “Boyfriend? I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Cool,” Cullen said, his mouth moving way too fast. Color hit both of their cheeks, and they hastily looked away from each other. Cullen rushed to cover his gaff, “I mean, well, you wanted to get out of here sooner, so I thought you had a date or something.” Maker, he was going to need to learn how not to be such an idiot around Talia.
She was still pink when she answered, but for some reason she wasn’t looking at him like he was a fool. Instead she actually looked like how he felt; awkward but not embarrased. “No. Not a date. On the weekends, I spend most of my time at a nearby stables. I can get more riding in if I get the cleaning done quickly.”
Cullen perked up, the conversation easy again. “Oh? Horseback riding? I’ve never been. You must enjoy it quite a bit to go every weekend.”
Talia nodded, her hair falling over her face. With an unconscious gesture she hooked her hair behind her ear, revealing her scar more than he had ever seen before. “Would you like to… like to come?”
She peeked at him with her uncertain blue eyes and a warm, protective cloud rolled through Cullen’s chest. Maker, but she was cute. “I’d love to.” Simple and sincere, and Talia light up with another one of her shy smiles. Cullen knew he had made the right choice.
He rubbed his hands together briskly. “Well, then! Let’s bust this out so you can watch me fall off a horse!”
Talia laughed, the slightly rusty but entirely carefree sound making anticipation and excitement bubble up inside of him, and he let his own laugh mix with hers.