[zapdragon555]

Cyril's heart seemed to swell with relief in his chest as she didn't pull away, but instead squeezed his hand back in kind. It showed on his face, a rare thing when he was so used to masking each and every emotion, calculating his appearance every step of the way, but here... here was different. His eyes shone, his expression melting with happiness at her words, and he nodded his head, letting out a soft breath through his nose. "Yes... I... I feel the same way," he said softly, then flushed, chuckling. "Ah, I'm being a bit embarrassing, aren't. All of this..." His hand shifted on hers, but didn't move, his thumb lightly brushing over her knuckles. "But... but if you don't mind, then... I don't mind, either."

[Baconwizard]

Gonna just wrap this conversation up for now. We should discuss what to do now (and how they should start kissing)

Ava smiled softly, her hand twining through his. Ah, she felt like she was about to float away. Ava leaned forward, opening her mouth to speak, then she heard her phone chime softly in her bag. Jumping slightly, ava reached with one hand to try to find it in the mess of her backpack. "Sorry..." She said, opening the text from her mother. "My mother's here." Ava looked down at her phone for a minute, then back at Cyril. "Could--can I have your number?"

[zapdragon555]

[Yeee xD]

Cyril blinked in surprise at Ava's phone, jumping as she did, and at her request he nodded with a small smile. "Of course," he murmured, his eyes softening as his heart sped up a little. Oh, what was he, a schoolgirl? So giddy that his crush was asking for his number? Was Ava his crush? What a childish word... oh, it made him ridiculously happy all the same. "One moment, ahh... ah, I don't have any paper..." he murmured, wincing, then gently took Ava's phone. "Here, let me just punch it in here..." After a few beeping sounds from Ava's phone, he held it back to her with an apologetic smile. "I hope that's alright. And... good luck with your mother."

[Baconwizard]

Ava let him have her phone, her eyes brightening like stars. She was going to have his number! Cyril's number! She could call him, text him, whenever she wanted to. Clutching her phone to her chest, she grinned at him, breathlessly trying to hold back her excitement. Catching herself, Ava cleared her throat, nodding her head up and down. "Thanks. Um, I might text you if she starts nagging at me. It'd be nice to have a distraction. If--if it doesn't bother you. B-but thank you, um..." Trailing off, clearly embarrassed by her incoherent words, Ava stood up, grabbing her bag. "I'll see you soon!"

Giving Cyril one last grin, Ava darted off, taking the stairs two at a time, feeling as if she was flying.

[zapdragon555]

Erastus let out a heavy breath of relief as the powerpoint of notes ended, signaling an end to the class. He had no qualms with world history, but also didn't much like breaking his hand every day scribbling down notes religiously. Running a hand through dark flyaway hair, Erastus began packing up his things, only half listening to the teacher saying something about a test on Friday, tomorrow. Erastus frowned at the thought of having to read all of those notes a second time.

He hadn't meant to scowl, and by the time he realized he was scowling at a girl in his grade in the desk next to him, he blinked in surprise, wincing in embarrassment. He smiled at her and gave her a friendly wave, hoping that didn't make her more confused at his change in facial expression, and quickly started trying to shove his overstuffed AP World binder into his backpack.

[Baconwizard]

"No," Ava whispered, staring at the teacher in horror. Not another test. Why couldn't he leave her Friday alone! She had been planning on asking Cyril if he wanted to do something after school. Nothing big or important, maybe something like hanging out or getting coffee. Ava peeked at her phone underneath her desk. Ever since the other day, she had been texting Cyril at a regular pace. She smiled, hiding her phone in her lap again, a pleasant flutter in her chest. It was mainly just silly things, but it was a start. It felt like they were beginning to get closer.

Ava stared off in the distance for a moment, thinking of Cyril's face as they had held hands on the rooftop. She would need to make a decision soon. She had kind of left him hanging, hadn't she? But it already felt like they were in a relationship. The word 'boyfriend' just felt so sudden, at the time, but Ava was seriously beginning to question her thoughts. Maybe she'd bring it up on Friday, if it worked out. Ava's eyes focused, and she stiffened, suddenly realizing that she had been staring at Cyril. Wait--no! That was Erastus! And he was glaring at her! Ava flushed, quickly ducking her head to look at her scrawled notes, shoulders automatically hunching around her shoulders as she tried to figure out what she had done to make Cyril's younger brother mad.

[zapdragon555]

Erastus blinked as Ava ducked her head, guilt washing over him. Oh gosh, he'd scared her hadn't he... Shouldering his backpack, Erastus stepped lightly over to Ava's desk, looking a little bit shy. "Um--hey," he breathed out, cheeks a little warm from embarrassment. "Sorry, that... weird face I was making wasn't for you. W-wasn't about you, I mean," he quickly corrected, making hand gestures as he spoke, as if trying to reiterate his point. "I was just thinking how much I didn't want to ever look at those notes again and my face just kind of happened on it's own," Erastus chuckled, suddenly rambling at a rapidfire pace, running a hand nervously through his hair and blending the streak of silver with the rest of his dark locks. Oh, he was really bad at talking to girls...

[Baconwizard]

Ava had a small wave of panic roll over her as Erastus came up to her and began talking, but she quickly relaxed as she registered his words. Looking up at him, her shoulders relaxed, and she even managed to let out a small giggle. Just like Cyril, it seemed like Erastus was bad at talking to people, too. He also did that thing that Cyril did when he was at a loss for words, running his hands through his dark hair. It was so cute. Ava blinked, catching herself. Get a grip! Just because she suddenly liked a boy didn't mean that she should let him take over her every thought! Although that did seem to be the trend happening. Looking up at Erastus with a sheepish smile, Ava bobbed her head. "Aw, that's okay. You just startled me, is all. I'm feeling about the same way, myself. Why do all the teachers schedule tests on Friday?" Ava let out a little huff, then began to stand up as well, picking up her heavy backpack and setting it on her chair to pack up.

[zapdragon555]

Erastus relaxed considerably as she talked to him, an easy smile rising to his face as he chuckled. "I bet they all have these secret meetings. Decide to all schedule on the same day, just to mess with us," he said, grinning at her, before closing his lips into a softer smile as he averted his eyes, shifting his weight on his legs. He wondered offhandedly why she was looking at him so much. It was making him a bit fidgety, though he didn't dislike it at all, and he smiled at her, meeting her eyes again. "Or whatever. H-heh, I mean, at least I'm not in AP art. My brother Griffin, like, dies every week trying to get those projects in behind everything else."

[Baconwizard]

Ava's eyes brightened at the mention of Griffin, or maybe at the mention of AP art. That, along with her new relationship development, had also been at the forefront of her thoughts recently. "I'm actually planning on taking that next year. I guess I need to get used to dying." Ava chuckled, a little intimidated by the thought and glanced down at the floorboards. "I did talk to your brother about it, and he said that I should." That was a little point of pride for Ava. Griffin Pearcival, who had won awards for his art, thought that her paintings were good. Now that she thought of it, Cyril had never seen any of her artwork, had he? She wondered if he would like them... Ava trailed off, a little lost in thought, thinking about what Cyril's reaction would be.

[zapdragon555]

"That's the spirit," Erastus said jokingly, a sympathetic smile on his face. Maybe he shouldn't have said that. His eyes widened slightly at the mention of Griffin, however. "Oh, he talked to you? And encouraged you? So he is human after all," Erastus laughed, then trailed off, clearing his throat and flushing slightly as he grinned. "I didn't think he'd open up to anyone besides Millllllohhhh uhhhhh," he suddenly derailed, realizing he'd said something secret as his face turned a bright red. "Uhhh ahaha, so anyway, if you meet my brother Cyril, you will have met all of us at this school. That's pretty funny," he said, catching himself somewhat ungracefully with this new train of thought.

[Baconwizard]

Ava laughed at Erastus's words, then she paused, her eyes widening. Oops, it looked like neither Griffin or Cyril had talked to Erastus about her. It was understandable, but Ava had been secretly hoping that they would have saved her the trouble. Holding a hand in front of her mouth, trying not to smile at Erastus's last comment, Ava bobbed her head up and down. "Um, I know Cyril. And Mildred, too, I met her in the art room one day. I actually began talking to Cyril first, surprisingly, and... um, we're f-friends." Ava stuttered on the last word, flushing at the transparency of her demeanor. She let out a hurried breath, trying to think of a way to dig herself out of the hole she was slowly sinking into.

[zapdragon555]

Erastus' brows raised in surprise at that, and he hefted his backpack a little bit better, studying her for a moment. Slowly, his expression flickered, and his eyes widened in realization. "Ohhh..." Erastus began, tilting his head back and staring into space for a moment before a grin lit up his features. "Cyril's been acting strange as heck, lately. You wouldn't happen to know the cause of that, would you?" he asked with a knowing lilt in his voice, tilting his head at her with a bright smile.

[Baconwizard]

Ava stiffened slightly, her eyes widening in alarm. What was with that smile?! It couldn't be, he had already read Ava's expression? Ava flushed, gathering her thoughts, and turned back to Erastus with a small frown. "St-strange how? He isn't sick, is he?" Ava glanced down at the floor, wanting to ask if it was because of her, but that would have given the whole game away. Still... Cyril fretting and worrying about her... She had better give him a response quickly. Worry spiking in her chest, Ava let out a breath, fidgeting slightly. "I hope he's not..."

[zapdragon555]

"Tch, nah, Cyril's a drama queen when he's sick," Erastus said brightly, his green eyes sparkling at Ava. "He's just lovesick," he giggled, positive about his suspicion now. He was good at reading people, and even was able to pick up on Cyril's cryptic emotions sometimes, something he was utterly proud of. "So like I said... you wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" he asked, grinning at her. "He's been glued to his phone for days, but I'm not a snoop, so I didn't look at the name or anything."