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There was an unfamiliar student hanging around with Drift and Shelby. The girls were chatting to him, leading him somewhere upstairs, probably to one of their dorms.
He was cute, with an excited smile and blue eyes hidden behind dark glasses, blonde hair shining in the candle light. Even though it was late in the evening he seemed to brighten up the room.
Scott blinked, tightening his hold on the hot chocolate he had grabbed. He would say hi if he wasn't so tired; maybe another time.
He got the chance to ask Drift about it later. "Who's that guy you were with earlier?" he mumbled "The blonde one? Glasses?".
Drift's head swivelled towards him, eyes wide with alarm "Don't" she warned "He is an absolute menace, you want nothing to do with him, trust me".
Scott nodded, trusting her judgement. He didn't want to get involved in any trouble, he had just thought the boy was cute.
At least, up until he opened his mouth.
Prince Cambam was, in a few words, a lot. He talked loudly and constantly, gestured like he was trying to take up as much space as he possibly could, and flaunted his everything with the grace of a newborn dragon (aka, none).
It's hard to have a crush on a person when they were the most pompously annoying student in the entire academy (apart from Pyro of course).
Scott was totally over him. The attraction had just been fleeting, definitely just a spur of the moment reaction that he had completely gotten over.
None of that explained why he was willingly sitting in the kitchen while Cam tried to learn to cook.
"Should we check on him?" Shelby asked, leaning against their propped up hand "Maybe he confused a potato for a beetroot again".
Drift waved dismissively, "Let him suffer" she cooed "If it looks inedible we'll get him to eat it first".
"I really don't want a stomach ache before bed" Scott mumbled.
Drift frowned sympathetically "Yeah, I don't have much faith in his cooking" she agreed "Maybe go sit in the corner, he might not notice you, and then sneak away when he's distracted".
Scott nodded, slinking to one of the corner tables shrouded in darkness. Right on time, since the prince came barelling through the kitchen doors a moment later.
His hair was wild and frazzled, so different from it's usual level of care. His dragon came bounding in behind him, almost tripping him as he presented three dishes to the girls, a proud smile on his face.
Scott really should have left. Instead he sat there, frozen, just watching them. Drift and Shelby both took reluctant bites before their faces morphed into surprised smiles. Cam said something, boisterously loud as always, and Scott had to stifle a laugh.
It was only a matter of time before his absence was noticed."Where's Scott?" the blonde asked, head swivelling from side to side. The ice mage refused to acknowledge how his heart thumped when their eyes met and Cam's entire face brightened.
"Scott!" he called cheerfully, running towards him, somehow still balancing the dish in his hand "Why are you in the corner? Everything okay?".
"I'm fine" he mumbled, breaking eye contact "You finished your cooking?".
The prince nodded enthusiastically "I made it all by myself!" he announced "Here, have a taste!".
Drift and Shelby had cleaned up their plates, hurriedly leaving to the kitchen area with an apologetic look and a mouthed 'sorry!'.
So it was just them then.
Alone.
Just the two of them-
Scott quickly shovelled a spoonful of food into his mouth before the thought could continue, barely glancing at it before he swallowed.
It was… surprisingly good. The baked potato was rich and golden and tasted genuinely decent.
Cam was watching him expectantly. He had ditched his glasses at some point, blue eyes wide and sparkling.
Scott grumbled, hoping in vain that the heat on his cheeks wasn't visible "It's pretty good" he grudgingly admitted.
Cam placed a proud hand on his chest, "Well of course it is!" he preened "It was prepared by the one and only prince Cambam of KEWLTOWN!".
He held a finger up, a familiar enchanted parchment unfurling above his head "That's KEWLTOWN spelled capital 'K'-"
"I know how it's spelled" Scott interrupted "Thank you Cam" he tacked on as an afterthought.
Cam smiled "You're welcome". Scott blinked. For a moment, there was silence. Nothing but the bright smile on the prince's face and the annoying fluttering in Scott's chest.
Cam looked different when he smiled like this. Charming almost. His eyes lit up and he had the smallest hint of dimples in his cheeks. He looked… kind.
The prince looked away and the moment was ruined. Scott coughed into his fist, covering his flaming cheeks with a subtle twist of his head "Well, I should get back to my dorm" he muttered "Goodnight Cam".
He held back a smile at the cheerful goodbye the prince replied with.
Honestly - he was better than this. He wasn't one to fall for bad jokes and princely looks, or at least, he didn't think he was.
Not to mention that girl - Giselle - who Cam was clearly still hung up on
Scott dropped his face into his hands and sighed. How had he picked the absolute worst person to get a crush on?