Elena
“Well…I believe in ghosts and spirits and all that other worldly stuff,” Noel told me honestly. I could practically see the hope in his eyes, the expectations.
I furrowed my brows but didn't say anything for a few minutes. I mean, what did I say? Yes, I believed there were angels, so on the flip side, I believed in demons. I did sort of believe there were spirits that roamed the earth. But I had never given the idea of other worldly creatures much thought. I didn't actively research into them or think much about them.
"Do you?" Noel asked after a few moments. He sounded more worried now, like he thought I was going to make fun of him.
"I'm not sure what I believe," I replied just as honestly. "I had never really thought about it before you brought up. I believe in angels and demons. In more of a religious way than anything." When he gave me a quizzical look, I shrugged, "My grandma rose me to be Catholic." Taking a deep breath. "I just never had anyone ever say otherwise to me. I think the idea of otherworldly creatures roaming the Earth to be an interesting concept."
"Oh," Noel nodded, though he seemed unsure of what else to say. I wondered if he was disappointed with my answer. But I hadn't wanted to lie to him.
"But that doesn't mean I wouldn't want to learn everything you know about it all. I mean, I'm sure you know a lot if you believe in it all. I think it'd be kind of cool to learn everything you know. Who knows, maybe you'll turn me into a believer, too," I gave him a warm smile.
"I-I can tell you what I kn-know," Noel nodded.
"Great!" I exclaimed. "Now lets go finish our walk around the campus and you can tell me a bit more ghosts and such. Maybe by the time we're done, our roommates will have made it here."
I grabbed his wrist and pulled him down one of the sidewalks and let it go once he fell into step beside me. The poor kid was still so shy. I hoped the more open and friendly with him I was, the more open and friendly he'd be with me.
Along one of the sidewalks we veered down, I noticed a staircase that led down to some gardens. "Oh, look at all the flowers! Let's go check it out!" I cried as I took off down the stairs, laughing when the wind came and whipped my hair in my face. I could smell roses in the air, my favorite. I felt like this little garden might be my favorite part of the campus so far. There were little statues and benches strewn about.
I glanced back up at Noel, who was slowly making his way down, and as he got a few steps from the bottom, he suddenly lurched forward, and I put my hands out to catch him, but his momentum was more than I could stop, and we ended up falling backwards. Right as he landed into me, he turned his head at just the right angle so that our lips meshed together.
Somehow in the fall, Noel adjusted us so that he would be the one to take the brunt of the fall, and I landed on top of him, our lips still together. I blinked in surprise, my heart hammering away in my chest, my stomach doing little flip flops. Could he feel my heartbeat right now? I couldn't hear anything other than the blood rushing to my face, and I pulled away, fumbling to get up.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Noel blurted out quickly. His face was even redder than I'm sure mine was.
Before I could say anything, however, someone else beat me to it, "Am I interrupting something?"
Eevie
I was trying to figure out just how well I enjoyed this guy's humor when a little cotton ball came from seemingly out of nowhere and smacked Nori in the face before falling into Nori's hand and transforming into a human form. I stifled a chuckle at the sight.
“You know better then to treat a lady like that," the little cotton ball huffed at Nori. I thought it sweet the creature was sticking up for me. Not that he needed to, but this whole scenario was amusing. Especially since Nori still had his hand under my chin and we were still dangerously close to one another. All I would need to do was lean forward a few inches, and...
Suddenly Nori dropped his hand, and I couldn't help but feel disappointed, though I berated myself at the idea. “This is rude of me. Eevie this is my best friend Yun. Yun, this is Eevie.”
“Please don’t think of master Nori as rude, he comes off strong, but he’s just trying to play," the cotton ball, Yun apologized on Nori's behalf. Nori simply laughed a bit at his comment and rubbed the back of his head.
I didn't get a chance to respond before Nori changed the topic, “Anyways different topic. My human’s name is Noel. What do you think the chances of my human and your human knowing each other before the bonding? I’m sure it would make it easier for us to get to know each other more.”
I smirked at the last part of his sentence. "Indeed it would. I feel Hidden University is a small enough school where the chances would be pretty high they've at least met before. Whether or not they'd become friends is yet to be seen. But who says we can push them in that direction?" I suggested with a shrug of my shoulders.
I wanted to play with Nori more. I enjoyed the game we had been playing before Yun had interrupted. It had been so long since I had met a man worth playing with. But I wasn't sure how to broach the topic again. I couldn't just shove him up against the wall to see how uncomfortable I could make him. Well, I could, but I wasn't so sure that was the most appropriate approach to make.
"Are you going to keep staring or do something about it?" Nori cocked his head to the side, a coy smile on his lips. It was as though he knew what I was thinking about. Maybe I was that transparent. I was a bit rusty with this game, though I had used to be the best at it. I had garnered quite the reputation both my parents had disapproved of vehemently.
I didn't blush or hesitate, I took a step forward and leaned forward so that my chest was barely touching him, my lips not quite touching his ear, and I whispered, "I don't think you could handle me." I blew onto his ear playfully. I had one trick going for me, and one trick only. Confidence. I knew what I could and couldn't get away with. I knew my assets and I played to them.
I was looking forward to seeing his reaction as I pulled away, but I caught sight of food in the other room, and my stomach growled just loud enough for the two of us to hear, and I chuckled at myself, berating my stomach. By the time I glanced back up at Nori, he had composed himself and found what had caught my attention.
"Would the lady care for some hors d'oeuvres?" he asked, holding his elbow out for me to grasp so he could lead me to the tables of food.
As a rule, I hated playing the game of Miss Etiquette, but playing with Nori was fun, and I had to admit I was enjoying myself thus far. If only my mother could see me. How happy she'd be I was behaving, but how horrified she'd be that I was with another man. A man not my betrothed.
I chuckled out loud, and Nori looked at me questioningly, "Something amusing?"
"I was just thinking about my mother,"I replied as I turned to the table to survey my options.
"You're with a charming, rather attractive gentleman, and you're thinking of your mother? I must be doing something wrong," he feigned offense.
I smiled up at him. "I'm not easily entertained. It takes more than a few sweet words to hold my attention." I reached out and plucked a chocolate covered strawberry off of a platter.
"The lady doth has good taste," Nori smiled at me as he reached out for a plate and started stacking it with other delicious delicacies.
I raised an eye brow at him as I seductively took a bite of the strawberry, my tongue darting out to lick the juice on my lip. "I have the best taste." Nori chuckled at that. "I'm a slut for chocolate covered strawberries. My weakness." I gave him a playful smile.
Nori smirked, "I shall have to remember that." His gaze flickered down to my strawberry red stained lips.
With a smile, I turned, flicking my hair over my shoulder and made my way over to the other end of the table, having eyes some stuffed mushrooms I also loved, swaying my hips when I walked, knowing Nori would be watching as I walked away.
