His eyes widened as he stared at her, and his face bloomed a dark red, his heart exploding in his chest as he struggled to find the words to say. “I-I know that, I was s-simply testing you! Y-You pass…….”

I DIDN'T EXPECT HER TO BE SO CLOSE! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO SAY?! WAIT NO I ALREADY SPOKE?! WHY DID I SAY IT WAS A TEST?!? I SOUND LIKE A CONCEITED JERK!! NOOOOOOOO!!!

“Is that so?” Looking into his eyes, her cheeks started to darken as well as her ears which started to wiggle with embarrassment. WHAT DO I SAY NOW?! UM- THINK! “I’m glad I passed then.”

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM HOW IS SHE STILL SO CUTE EVEN AFTER THAT?! WHAT DO WE SAY NOW?! THINK! THINK!!! “You deserve it…….”

With a deep breath, Thora tightens her grip on his hands. SAY IT! ASK HIM OUT! I CAN DO IT! “U-um hey Vie, would you maybe-“

“Hey Thora is that you?!” A feminine voice yelled across the forest, causing Thora to flinch and let go of his hands, her face blooming red as she looked around. 

NO! GO AWAY! I WAS SO CLOSE! Please kill me- Her body shook, and she felt like crying, yet, she managed a smile when Abira and Harriet came into view. 

Slowly bringing his hands up to his cheeks, he felt her residual warmth, and slowly took a deep breath before bringing his hands down to his sides, careful not to touch anything as he tried to calm down. HER HANDS ARE SO WARM AND SOFT AND HHHGGGNNNNNN!!! You can never wash these hands again.

“Have you two found the assignment yet?” Abira said with a sweet smile as she walked on up to the two. 

Harriet from behind Abira looked at Irving, then Thora with a little grin. “Or were you two in the middle of something~?”

“Oh please Harriet, Thora would never stoop down to that level, especially during an assignment.” Abira said with a huff as the two started to bicker. 

Thora could feel her heart sink, her eyes spun and her ears lowered, her once flushed skin clammy and pale as her fingernails dug into her palms. Stoop to that level, WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! OF COURSE I WOULD! IT’S IRVING!

Behind her, the very same person she thought of could hardly remember how to breathe as a cold feeling crawled up his neck, injecting ice into his veins as his face went from a sweet cherry red, to an almost sickly pale, and his hands went back into his pockets, his earlier thoughts abandoned as he dug his fingernails into his palms. Ah…….right……. almost forgot, it’s you, of course……..she wouldn’t stoop so far beneath her for someone like you……

A sigh left him as he finally spoke up, his face cold looking, and distant as he stepped to her side, and looked off to some random tree trunk. “We’re still looking, but it shouldn’t take long. It’s rather simple to find Twigly Twist branches if you know where to look.”

Thora, looking to Irving, with her red eyes that shined with a wetness that made it seem like she was about to cry nodded her head, slowly, hiding her face beneath her bangs. “Yeah…..”

Her heart felt like it would break, she didn’t know what to say, what to do, or even how to react, Thora had never felt so…..scared. What if her words ruined everything….?

No, I can fix this! I need to! I've worked way too hard for this to happen! I need to ask him to the dance! Or to be my friend……that’s it! Taking a deep breath, she slapped her cheeks, hard enough to leave a red mark on each side as she looked up. 

“And so! We have to continue looking! I wish you two the best of luck!” Walking over to Irving, she took his hand and began dragging him behind her, a thought in her mind stopping her as she looked back to her friends. “And don’t say stuff like that, Vie is a good friend of mine!” 

With a newly reddened face, she turned her head and began walking off into the forest, away from them, away from everyone, to find a tiny tree.