"Where did that asshole go?!" Jack shouted, teeth and fists clenched.
"I don't know, it's almost like he turned the corner and disappeared…"
"I didn't think he would be this fast, or strong." Gulp. "Maybe we're better off leaving him alone–"
"Are you insane?!" Jack grabbed his friend by the collar. "You're not the one with a black eye!"
"To be fair…" his second friend muttered. "You were the one who pressed him."
"So what? Are you saying I wasn't in the right? Do you know how long I've been trying to make something happen with Jeanne? And that asshole goes on a date with her on day one?! No way am I letting that happen." Jack spat on the ground and pushed his friend away. "Maybe he got into the building where the Professors' offices are."
"Huh?"
"You think he went to tell on us? Are we in trouble?!"
"I'm the one with the black eye, dumbass!" Jack sneered. "I hope the peasant cunt goes to tell. Who's going to believe him when I'm obviously the one who got attacked?"
"Hm… It is frustrating that someone from the boonies is making us run around."
"Aren't peasants supposed to be super weak?"
"There's no way I'm letting a good-for-nothing farmer get close to Jeanne," Jack whispered while scratching his chin.
"What do you plan on doing?"
"Don't tell me…?"
"Yeah," Jack smiled maliciously. "The peasant asshole doesn't know who her brother is, not yet anyway. But he will, very soon."
"Didn't her brother beat you up a couple of times for talking to his sister?"
"Hey! That's THE Lucien you're talking about! Lucien, The Ice Maniac! If you tell him that someone has a date with his sister…"
"Yeah," Jack chuckled. "That guy is fucking dead." He turned towards his other friend. "Never mind the fact that he beat me up a couple of times. I'm coming to him with someone worse, it's… A peace offering."
"You're an evil cunt, Jack."
"I'll leave you to it, then. No way am I pissing off the Ice Maniac."
"Same."
"Tsk." Jack sighed. "Cowards."
***
(Asm)Odeus had run into a bit of trouble after parting ways with Jeanne, but that wasn't the only reason he showed up two hours late.
"What…" Olivia stood with a hand on the window handle. "What are you doing here?"
Odeus raised an eyebrow. The repressed chuckle led to the corner of his lips curling upwards.
"Can we talk after I've stepped in?" He asked before gazing at the ground four stories down. "It's a bit... Cramped here."
"O-Of course!" Olivia hurriedly opened the window and stepped back, allowing him ample space to hop into the office. "..." Her lips parted once he was off the window ledge, but Olivia found herself unable to say a word.
She had given up on fighting the fantasy too early. And now, she was plagued by it.
Not only that, but he had come from the window, just like she had fantasized, just like… She wanted him to.
Olivia Del Rey told herself that it was only natural to question it, that she should ask why he had come to her window, but her dry throat didn't let her.
"Sorry," Odeus said as he straightened up. "I'm late."
"Yes…" Olivia whispered, chin raised to meet his gaze despite standing two steps apart. "Yes, yes!" The Professor's voice gained energy back as if she had just remembered. "That's right! Two hours late to boot!"
"Yeah…" He scratched his head. "I'm sorry."
"Well? What do you have to say for yourself? Your Professor is here to help you with everything that you've missed so far and… And you make me wait two hours? What could be your reason?"
The thoughts that previously filled her mind rose to the surface.
He would answer that he wasn't sure whether to come or not, that he thought it would be better for them not to be alone in a room, but that, in the end, he had found himself unable to stay away from her–
Despite them, Olivia managed to keep a straight expression.
The slight blush in her cheeks could easily be mistaken for a physical reaction to her anger. In truth, it was due to… Not that she wasn't angry as well.
"Yes, well…" Odeus tilted his head, finding it difficult to explain.
He had run into trouble with Jack and his troublemaker friends and had spent some additional time with Jeanne once classes were over. Still, what caused the majority of the two-hour delay was something else entirely.
"Professor Valen insisted on giving me a rundown of what I missed. I explained that I had a meeting with you, but she insisted… She insisted a lot."
Olivia was listening calmly and silently.
Internally, however,
'That freaking whore of a cougar! This is a student, how dare she! I know she did not have innocent reasons for keeping him either! I know how she is! Ugh! Not only did she keep him for so long, but she didn't care that we had a previously scheduled meeting?! I'll give that old hag an earful next time I run into her!'
Professor Valen Montgomery was thirty-five years old, making her seven years Olivia Del Rey's senior.
"Even when I managed to leave the classroom, she insisted on giving me a tour of the library."
"I-I see." Olivia nodded and adjusted her glasses. "Well, I suppose a tour of the library is a good thing, you'll be spending a lot of time there." She nodded again. 'That freaking whore, I swear to god!' Olivia massaged her forehead. "Anyway, it's already late, and you've worked with Valen already. We can leave my class's curriculum for another day. I'm sure you must be tired."
"No, I'm alright." Odeus shook his head right away. "Happy to be here, really."
"R-Really?" Olivia gulped, sensing the desperation in her own voice. "A-Anyway, okay," She immediately turned around and stepped towards her desk while keeping her eyes on Odeus. "Okay, well, in that case, here I have the… We can probably…!"
Stumble-
"Are you alright?"
Olivia's mind had gone blank the instant her foot had been caught by the corner of the rug beneath her desk, and falling against Odeus' chest wasn't helping her mind restart one bit.
The question of how he had moved so quickly didn't even cross Olivia's mind as she slowly raised her gaze to meet his, hands grasping the sides of his student uniform.
Her mind didn't register his question, and seconds passed with those two in that exact position.
Olivia found herself wondering how such a situation could even take place. It felt like something straight out of a corny romantic movie. Yet, it had happened. She had slipped, and he had caught her.
'I guess if you're flustered enough…' The Professor thought while staring deep into the student's purple eyes. 'These things can happen.'
Olivia found herself unable to say a word, step back, or break the closeness.
"...!" A dangerous shiver went down her spine as she felt Odeus' right hand come into contact with her left arm, and his left hand with her side. "Wha… What are you…?"