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Columbina and Sandrone sit together in every class and even share the same friend group, but strangely enough, they rarely interact – if ever at all. So considering their lack of personal connection, Sandrone has no idea how she managed to end up with a crush on the other girl.
Maybe it was their proximity. Maybe it was her sweet voice. Maybe it was her charisma. Sandrone honestly doesn't know, and she doesn't do anything about her feelings after discovering them. She never makes a move despite how often she sees Columbina – much to their friends' disappointment.
She doesn’t even know how they found out to be honest, their explanation is always something between “there is no way you're this dense,” or “go make a move.”
Yeah no, the last thing Sandrone wanted to do was the latter.
Sandrone would need a third hand just to count the amount of times their friends tried to help her with Columbina at this point. Childe in particular could give less of a shit, but she is so serious when she says this, Rosalyne and Arlecchino needed to find a new hobby outside of being all up in her business. It’s only a miracle that Columbina – as indifferent as she normally is – doesn’t notice the stunts they keep trying to pull. Thank god for that.
One fateful day during lunch, Sandrone is seated with her friends – minus Columbina – when she realizes that she forgot her notebook in the classroom, and since she was planning to study while eating, she quickly departs from the friend group to look for it upstairs.
There classroom is completely empty when she arrives, and Sandrone walks up to her desk – only to stumble upon a folded letter on top; one that wasn't there before.
What the hell? she tilts her head, staring at the piece of random paper like it was a germ.
Confused, Sandrone doesn’t really think twice before opening it up, but after reading it for no more than five seconds, she immediately lets tosses it and screws her eyes shut.
That letter on her desk was a freaking love letter.
A love letter, and Sandrone is sure that it was not meant for her.
Flowery words about lavender eyes, long black hair, pretty lashes, and... a soft voice? What the hell, you'd have to be deaf to think that way of Sandrone, and colorblind too.
Obviously, it doesn't take a genius to know that the cringy little love letter was intended for her seatmate, Columbina.
The confession was as sappy as one could get, ‘puppy love’ as some would call it. But even though she thought the letter was corny as shit, Sandrone knew – deep in her heart – that she had no right to talk, because she shared the same feelings as the writer after all.
An unwelcome feelings sinks into her stomach.
Sandrone folds the letter back up and sighs, ignoring the sudden heaviness in her chest. She shouldn't be so surprised someone else confessed to Columbina first... after all, not everyone was so reluctant to show their feelings.
Dejected, Sandrone pushes down the urge to throw the love letter away; instead choosing to place it on Columbina's desk – the correct desk.
She then finds her notebook under her table and promptly leaves the classroom, not sparing the letter another glance as she walked out.
...
Unbeknownst to Sandrone however, there were a pair of eyes watching her the entire time, and Columbina covered her mouth as her seatmate left, hiding outside the classroom until the coast was clear...
She was originally just planning to take a nap away in the empty classroom… but what was it that Sandrone put on her desk?
Just as Sandrone did moments prior, Columbina curiously inspects her desk and finds a love letter on top. Except this time, as she opened it and started to read, the girl only felt her heart pounding louder and louder in her chest with each line.
By the end of it, Columbina's face was flushed pink as she stared at the letter with wide eyes, and she found her gaze slowly drifting to the desk next to her. Sandrone's desk.
The scene from earlier replays in her head: of Sandrone placing it down on her desk without anyone else in the room, and Columbina can't form any other idea than to suspect her seatmate... may or may not have a secret crush on her.
A shaky hand comes up to her face as Columbina’s lips twitch into a smile, and she carefully tucks the letter into her pocket.
˗ˏˋ 🖂·˚ ༘ ♡
A week passes since that day and Sandrone completely forgets that she even touched that letter. Columbina on the other hand?
She is acting really, really weird.
Sandrone notices Columbina's odd behavior immediately. Not only because of how much more awake her seatmate is, but because her daily life has suddenly become ten times noisier as a result.
Whenever she comes into class now, instead of the usual sight of her seatmate taking a nap, Sandrone is greeted by the very unusual sight of a happy Columbina who smiles at her as she sits down.
“Good morning, Sandrone,” is all her seatmate says, and that's it.
Columbina literally says nothing more during class. She’s completely silent as the teacher yaps, but at the same time, Sandrone can feel her stupid eyes drilling holes into the side of her skull.
For what reason, you may ask? Sandrone has no clue, but it’s weird!
Regardless, Sandrone obviously can't focus at all with someone staring into her soul, and she wonders if Columbina was itching to say something – because it definitely did a good job of grabbing her attention.
Which leads Sandrone to her first issue:
Columbina keeps. on. staring. at. her.
Sandrone thought she was just tweaking at first. Her seatmate never spared her a glance before, in fact, she didn't spare anyone a glance!
So imagine Sandrone's bewilderment when all of a sudden, Columbina keeps staring at her like she's going to explode if she looks away. Whether it be during class, with their friends, or literally just in the same proximity.
it wasn't like Sandrone could ignore the glances either; Columbina wasn't discreet at all, and she was her seatmate for gods sake! What was she supposed to do when the elephant in the room sat right next to her?
At the very least, Sandrone knew she wasn't imagining it when even Rosalyne, Arlecchino, and Childe also noticed it. But they weren't much help since all they did was wiggle their eyebrows at Sandrone whenever it happened, which did a fantastic job of perpetuating her helplessness by the way. Such good friends they are…
Anyway, even if she was quite perturbed, Sandrone had no choice but to try to ignore her and avoid eye-contact with her seatmate, which proves to be one of the hardest things she's ever done. Damn Columbina and her big bug eyes.
During class, Columbina is shooting not-so-discreet side glances at her again as the teacher yaps on and on about their lesson, and Sandrone repeatedly clicks her pen in irritation, trying her damn hardest not to snap at her seatmate.
Columbina keeps looking at her like she knows something, but Sandrone doesn't know!
Deep breaths... Sandrone inhales as her leg began to bounce under the table, and her seatmate's gaze flickers downwards once she notices it.
"Are you feeling nervous?" she whispers, and despite her efforts to de-stress, Sandrone now feels like ripping her own skin off.
Nervous? Sandrone's eye twitches. Well of course she'd be nervous when someone was staring into her soul! She can't take this anymore!
"Columbina, how about I ask you this," she grits out, turning to her seatmate with a tight smile. "do you want something from me?"
Columbina pauses, tilting her head at Sandrone. Archons, the audacity to wear an expression so annoyingly innocent. It's like she's totally unaware of how much psychological damage she's caused Sandrone these past few days.
"...what are your plans after school?" Columbina replies with her own question, and Sandrone raises an incredulous brow.
Seriously? all that staring and that's the only thing she was gonna say?
Sandrone turns back to the front of the room as she hmphs. "I'll be studying at a cafe later," she says, short and simple.
With a smile, Columbina hums while nodding along. "I see... I don't know why I'd expect anything else from you."
Huh? Sandrone crosses her arms, "and what is that supposed to mean?"
"I’m saying you’re living up to your reputation as a nerd, Sandrone, at least you’re studying outside this time," Columbina shrugs, and the words fall from her lips so nicely that Sandrone has to do a double-take to realize the tomfoolery she actually said. "So, can I come with you?"
Excuse her?
Sandrone's jaw dropped as she glared at the girl. "Are you kidding? you're gonna ask that after blatantly insulting me?!"
Columbina nodded, head falling onto the desk as she looked up at her seatmate. "Mhm... is that a yes or a no?"
"Obviously no!" Sandrone answers a bit too loudly, and Columbina stifles a laugh as the teacher shoots her seatmate a pointed glare.
Sandrone’s cheeks puff up in embarrassment, and she buries herself into her notebook for the rest of the class.
˗ˏˋ 🖂·˚ ༘ ♡
Apparently, Sandrone gravely underestimates her seatmate's ragebaiting capabilities, because later that day when she's minding her own business inside a cafe, a large group of people suddenly walk through the door.
The familiar-sounding ruckus causes Sandrone to take her eyes off her laptop and look up, only for her to immediately regret her decision once she sees Columbina waving at her from the door.
Archons, Sandrone can feel the dread striking her in the ass as she looked at all the other people who came in.
Columbina just pulled up to the café with all of their mutual friends. What the hell?
In a matter of seconds, Sandrone's quiet study table is flipped into a whole tea party venue against her will while her friends sit down around her, and Columbina in particular calls dibs on cornering Sandrone, making sure she was the only one sitting beside her.
The entire time, Sandrone was gripping her cup so hard it looked like she was going to break on it.
Their friends chattered around them, intentionally not disturbing the two as Columbina looked all too happy to be next to Sandrone – who looked like she was five seconds away from jumping someone by the way.
Under the table, Columbina's thigh would occasionally brush against hers from time to time, but Sandrone was too busy trying to focus on studying that she never pointed it out.
Looking back on it though... Sandrone should've known better. In fact, she should’ve just thrown Columbina out the window the second they brushed against each other, because it ended up unlocking a second issue for her:
Columbina can't stop touching her.
Okay, that sounds weird, but how else was she going to say it?
Columbina and Sandrone went from no interactions to suddenly bickering with each other everyday, and she's not going to lie, Sandrone’s lack of patience lately almost made her forget about her crush on her seatmate.
But these subtle touches? Archons, have mercy on her poor heart.
As if sitting next to each other wasn’t enough, it felt like Columbina would purposefully move her seat closer to Sandrone's at any opportunity. And while Sandrone was doing fine with their distance before, this one was too much. How is she supposed to focus when her heart feels like it's gonna leap out of her chest?
Some days, she'd be sitting so close to the point where Sandrone could smell her perfume, and Columbina's warmth would literally radiate on her side.
It was weird, super duper weird, but Sandrone actually noticed something this time around.
Columbina would automatically lock in every time Sandrone picked up her pen, like she would go eerily quiet and do nothing else, just watching her write in their close proximity.
It made Sandrone feel a bit self-conscious of her handwriting, but at least during pair activities, Columbina's focus could be somewhat redirected.
Oh, who was she kidding.
"You answer the ones on the left," Sandrone points at the row of questions with her pen, and Columbina nods while writing both of their names. They carry on with their work just like how they normally do, but of course, Columbina has a trick up her sleeve.
As Sandrone writes down one of her answers, Columbina's hand suddenly brushes against hers, and she freezes.
Okay… maybe that one is just a coincidence.
Instantly, Sandrone moves her hand all the way to the edge of the paper, but for some fucking reason, Columbina's hand follows her.
No, there’s no way. Sandrone snaps her head to her seatmate in confusion, and Columbina meets her gaze with a smile.
"I’m pretty sure your answer is wrong," she says, and Sandrone blinks.
Columbina, correcting her?
"...what?" Sandrone watches as Columbina silently circles the number on the word problem, and then looks back at the one she inputted in her calculator. "Oh."
Embarrassed, Sandrone sighs and clears her calculator again, but before she could correct her mistake, Columbina reaches over and places her hand over hers, pressing the in numbers for her.
Sandrone's eyes widened at the feeling of Columbina's hand on top of hers, warm and soft. There was no reason for Columbina to be helping her with this, Sandrone could literally see the calculator she had on her side, and yet...
"You're welcome," Columbina smiles as she pulls away, and Sandrone is so flustered she doesn't even have the heart to bite back.
It was like Columbina burned her touch onto her hand, warmth lingering on her hand even after she let go. Sandrone had no choice but to focus all her attention on answering the remaining problems if she wanted to erase the feeling from her mind, but her seatmate had no idea what she was thinking, and Sandrone had no idea she had only begun to give Columbina the cold shoulder.
Slowly, Columbina's smile faded away as her seatmate intentionally avoided her gaze throughout the entire class period, going so far as to not talk to her.
The silence continued even after submitting the paper, as awkward as it was, and both of them said nothing for the rest of the day.
It was then that Sandrone discovered she had a third problem, a problem which she didn’t want to admit:
She had somehow fallen even more for Columbina.
˗ˏˋ 🖂·˚ ༘ ♡
These instances happen over and over again. Columbina poking her all day… their friends not paying much mind… and Sandrone is genuinely surprised her grades haven't dropped tremendously at this point. While Columbina's actions undoubtedly make her feel all cheesy inside, Sandrone still can't shake off the uneasiness from the sudden switch-up, and she doesn't know what else to do other than push Columbina away; just like how she's used to.
That is, until her teacher forces Sandrone to spend one afternoon tutoring a student, and he's so indifferent about learning that she wonders how he even passed middle school.
The entire time, Sandrone was stuck having to practically lean over the table to point at certain words for this nonchalant bastard, and when it came to explaining, she might as well have taken over his seat to answer the homework herself. This guy was going to have to spend his future living on hopes and prayers.
Sandrone, being the professional student she is, didn’t make her discontent known to the other student, but you sure as hell bet she was itching to ditch the god-awful tutoring session.
Suffice to say, Sandrone wanted nothing more than for it to be over.
Finally, her alarm rings after exactly an hour of tutoring, and Sandrone is so relieved that she doesn’t even care about how the guy doesn't say thanks when he leaves. She just throws her arms up in the air, stretching her aching joints in the peaceful, empty room.
Unfortunately for her though, Sandrone’s peace and quiet is quickly interrupted when – barely one second afterwards – she hears the door creak open again, and Columbina walks in with a frown on her face.
Her expression doesn’t falter even after their eyes meet, and Sandrone cocked her head as the other girl walked closer.
"Did someone piss in your strawberry milk or something?" she tries, but strangely enough, Columbina wasn't having any of it.
"I was waiting for you at the gate, Sandrone." Columbina says, and the brunette stills in her seat. Oh right… they were supposed to head to the bus stop together.
“I waited for an hour, and you still weren’t there,” she continues, and instead of sitting down beside, Columbina places a hand on either side of Sandrone. "So I went up to look for you, only to see you with another guy."
Sandrone looked up at her awkwardly. "Well yeah, I was tutoring him-"
"And?" Columbina scoffs, much to Sandrone’s surprise. "You two were so close to each other, and you didn't move away from him. Not once."
Then, Columbina moves her head closer to hers as if to prove a point, but Sandrone pushes herself away again – only proving her point.
Seeing that, Columbina’s face flickers to something... almost heartbroken, and Sandrone doesn't know what’s up with her.
"Columbina..." she lets out a sigh. “I’m finished now, aren’t I? It’s fine if we’re late, we can still make it to Rosalyne’s house in one piece–”
"No, how long are you going to keep acting stubborn?" her brows furrow. "It's been weeks... Sandrone, did you even mean any of it?"
Instantly, her face drops.
"...what are you talking about?" Sandrone asks, and she feels a chill run down her spine at the other girl’s frown.
"You know what I’m talking about," Columbina insists, voice bordering on defeated. "You’re fine being all up on another person, but you shy away every time I try to get closer to you. Just how long are you going to keep hiding your feelings, Sandrone?"
Sandrone's eyes widened.
"W-What?!" she sputters, cheeks warming. "How do... how are you so sure that I like you? why would you even think about–"
"You're still playing dumb? why?" Columbina's voice grows quieter. "You grew the courage to write me a letter, but even after all of that, you still avoid me like before."
Sandrone pauses. A letter?
"I never wrote anything though?” Sandrone says, “what are you even talking about, Columbina?"
"But... but you placed a love letter on my table, I saw you," Columbina looks at her desperately, pulling a folded paper from her pocket. "Were you just joking? do you actually... not like me back? Please tell me, Sandrone."
Stunned, Sandrone stared at the paper in her hands as tears welled up in Columbina's eyes, and it suddenly hits her.
That love letter Sandrone found on her desk. That stupid, cringy, love letter that wasn't intended for her at all; the one she placed on Columbina's table.
There was no way.
She doesn't exactly know what compels her to do it at the moment, but before a tear could roll down the other girl's cheek, Sandrone suddenly grabs the back of Columbina's head and pulls her into an embrace.
A little ‘oof’ escapes Columbina’s lips, and the letter slips out of her hand, floating downwards below their feet.
"You're an idiot, Columbina," Sandrone grumbles while bonking Columbina's head, and she whimpers. "You're a stupid, dumb, idiot."
"Huh?" Columbina blinked, like an idiot.
"I wasn't the one who wrote that!" Sandrone shouted as the other girl looked up at her, "I just found it on my desk and realized it was meant for you, so I placed it on yours instead!"
She sniffles. "But… it had your name on it.”
Sandrone’s jaw drops.
“It had my what?”
“Your name was on the bottom of the letter…” Columbina answers with a shaky voice, and Sandrone feels her head is spinning. Just what in the world was in that letter? She only read the first line for Archon’s sake!
“I didn’t write it though!” Sandrone groans in exasperation, resisting the urge to pull her hair out. “I’m telling you, I would never confess my feelings through a love letter, do you think I’m the type of person to do that?”
“No, but if it wasn’t you, then… who wrote it?" Columbina mumbles, and Sandrone rolls her eyes. There's obviously nobody else in their school who has her name, so it was probably a prank done by some idiot... fuck, why'd it have to be her though?!
"I don’t know, but their writing was ass, you donut!" Sandrone bonks her head once again, "you're telling me a letter like that had you smitten?"
Columbina sniffles again into her blouse. "Well I thought you wrote it, so..."
"Seriously, I can't believe you thought I wrote a love letter like that… You shouldn’t toss away your brain just because you have a crush." Sandrone blushed. "I... can definitely write a better one if I tried."
Columbina's head perks up, and Sandrone flushes even more at how intense her gaze is.
Just hearing the way her clothes rustle below, she already knows there was no going back.
"Sandrone, you still haven't answered my question," Columbina's arms tighten around her waist, and she gulps nervously. "Do you… or do you not like me back?"
"H-Hey, do you want me to shove a letter down your throat or what?!" Sandrone barks out, but she knew damn well she couldn't beat around the bush anymore, and Columbina looked at her like an expectant puppy as she waited for an answer.
And Sandrone knew that after this whole misunderstanding… Columbina deserved one.
Fine.
"Of course, I like you…” Sandrone confesses with a face redder than a tomato, and Columbina’s eyes widen. “I know I haven’t written a love letter or anything like that, but to be honest, I’ve had a crush on you… for a while now. It’s just that I… I was too..."
Nervous. Sandrone wants to say, but Columbina doesn’t pressure her at all, almost like she already knew the next words as a bright grin takes over her face. And suddenly, Sandrone yelps at the feeling of being pulled into a tight hug.
"I like you, Sandrone," she breathes out, nuzzling her head into her shoulder. "I'm so happy right now, i... I was so worried you didn't like me back."
Well, considering everything Columbina pulled in her efforts to woo her, Sandrone has no idea how she still has a crush on this girl, even if she wasted away all her nerves.
The stupidity of it all brought a smile to her face, and her arms wrap around Columbina.
Keeping those thoughts in her mind for the moment, Sandrone says nothing as she continues to hold her, listening to the way Columbina’s rapid heartbeat synced with hers. And finally, after a few minutes of nothing but embrace, the other girl quietly pulls away with a smile.
The gentle rays of sunset warm all of her pretty features. Their eyes soften as they looked at each other, faces both pink and blushing and... Sandrone notices the way Columbina's eyes flicker downwards, to her lips, and her heart nearly skips a beat.
Except this time, Sandrone doesn't feel like shying away for once, and just seeing the pure love in Columbina's gaze... she can’t hold back anymore.
For the first time in history, she makes a move.
Sandrone finally leans in and kisses Columbina on the lips.
At first, Columbina's eyes only widened at the feeling of Sandrone's soft lips suddenly pressing against hers, but after noticing the other girl trembling like a leaf, she can't help but giggle.
With a smile, Columbina pulled Sandrone in impossibly closer, kissing her back with equal fervour as they both melted into each other's embrace.
˗ˏˋ 🖂·˚ ༘ ♡
Over at Rosalyne's house, a certain ginger boy wasn't having the time of his life as his fake friends chatted on the couch across from him, totally unaware of the rain cloud looming over his head.
Oh, who were they kidding? Of course they were aware.
"What are you moping on about?" Arlecchino is the first to comment, and they both raise a brow at the sulking ginger.
"I hate you two," Childe grumbles.
The ‘two’ exchange a look in amusement.
"Oh my, are you still mad about that dare, Ajax?" Rosalyne sneers, and Childe grumbles again.
"Obviously I can't get it off my mind. It's so embarrassing!" Childe runs a miserable hand down his face. He put the corniest shit in that letter, and he's not even sure if he placed it on the right table!
In the background, Arlecchino and Rosalyne cackle like the evil witches they are.
Signora opens her phone leisurely. "Well, someone had to do it either way... god knows how long it would've taken for Sandrone and Columbina to get together without any intervention."
"Still, did it have to be me?" Childe bemoans, stuffing his face into a pillow. "Just thinking about the shit I put in that letter makes me want to bury myself alive..."
Arlecchino hummed as the other girl leaned on her shoulder. "If you don't want to do anything stupid, then don't lose a bet. simple."
"Yes, and the good news is... it seems like our unconventional method somehow worked in the end," Rosalyne says with a smirk, and the other two perk up at the sound of the front door opening.
There, a cheerful Columbina walks in with her arms wrapped around a very, very flustered Sandrone – who may or may not have a dozen hickeys on her neck.
Sandrone hides her face in shame.
Seeing that, Rosalyne, Arlecchino, and Childe all exchange knowing looks in unison.