Forest leaves rustle as Irving and Thora walk through the forest, her hand hot against his as she didn’t stop to turn around, didn’t stop to face him, just kept walking, and walking, with no end in sight.

Unsure of what else to do, Irving could only hold onto her hand just as tightly while she dragged him, his face once again a bright red as his ears wiggled nervously, and his mind zipped around his skull. WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?!? SHE SAID WE’RE GOOD FRIENDS!!! YOUR HEART CAN'T TAKE THIS!!! AND HER HAND IS SO SOOOOOOFFFTTT!!! THIS IS THE GREATEST DAY OF MY LIIIIII- Huh?

Stopping in place, and inadvertently tugging on her hand a bit more than before, something caught his eye as he turned his head to see a short, almost shrub-looking tree, with twisted branches like hair curls.

Finding herself almost falling over, Thora stops and stands next to him, their hands almost glued together by a rather sticky sense of attraction and tension as she stares at the tree, unable to look at him. WE’RE HOLDING HANDS, I'M NEXT TO HIM HOLDING HANDS IS THIS A DREAM?! I WANT TO TURN TO HIM! TELL HIM THAT I LOVE HIM AND MAYBE POSSIBLY HAVE FOR A YEAR NOW! No! Keep calm! Small steps!

As they stood for what felt like hours, but really only lasted a minute or two, he struggled not to squeeze her hand and seem desperate, as he took a step forward, gently pulling her along towards the tree without a word. IS THIS OKAY?! IS IT TOO CREEPY IF YOU DON'T LET GO?! I DON’T KNOOOWWWWW!!! SHE HASN'T LET GO EITHER SO I THINK IT’S FINE?!

“Th-This is what we’re looking for…..” Silently cursing himself for stuttering, he stopped just a bit, in front of the small tree and gestured with his free hand.

“B-before that…” Closing her eyes, Thora could hardly breath, don’t run away, ask him! I CAN DO IT! “I should have asked before um….are you okay with being my friend? because….”

With her ears lowering, her face reddens as she looks at his chest, unable to meet his eyes as embarrassment floods her veins. “I’d really like to be yours…..”

Silence hung in the air as he stood, his cheeks turning an even darker red than her hair as his heart exploded in his chest. YES!!!! A MILLION TIMES YES!!!! PLEASE BE MINE I’D MAKE YOU FEEL SO- CALM DOWN SHE MEANT YOUR FRIEND, JUST YOUR FRIEND!!! STILL THOUGH YOU’D BETTER NOT MESS THIS UP! TELL HER HOW HONORED YOU ARE!!!

Clearing his throat, he covered his mouth with his free hand before softly speaking. “I suppose……you may call us friends………” IM GONNA KILL YOU, YOU SELF-CENTERED NARCISSISTIC IDIOT!!! WHY DID YOU SAY IT LIKE THAT?!?!

With her eyes shining like starlight the sweetest smile carved itself onto her face as joy flooded her veins tickling her face an even redder color, one that nearly matched her hair. “…This is the best day ever…..”

Stopping in place, fear froze her body as the words she thought spilled from her mouth and she quickly felt as the butterflies tried to break free from her entire chest and she let go of his hand. “W-we should get to the assignment!!! Yeah!”

AHHHHHHHHHHH IM SO DUMB! PLEASE END ME WHOEVER HEARS THIS! Skipping closer to the tree, she quickly sat down in front of it and brought out her sketch pad, her ears burning red and twitching in a nervous pattern.

Finding himself reaching for her hand once again as she let go, he quickly stopped himself as he looked at her back, pure shock written on his face as his ears twitched and wiggled up and down uncontrollably, and his eyes spun wildly. WHY WAS SHE SO HAPPY?!? WHY DID SHE LOOK SO CUTE WHEN WE SAID THAT!?! WHAT DID SHE MEAN BY WHAT SHE SAID?!?!

Soon, he took a deep breath, and turned his attention to the ground, deciding to look around to find a suitable twig, since snapping one off would mean getting far too close for comfort as she was sketching. “I-Indeed………”

The rest of their time was an emotion-filled flurry of questions that never got answered, blushing wildly on one hand and doing their assignment on the other, Thora could feel herself getting warmer every moment that passed until she closed her book at last and stood up. “There- done…..”

Looking at the sketchbook, she ran her eyes across the cover and then to Irving. “If you need a copy I can send you a page on my grimoire.”

Freezing in place, he faced away from her, crouched low to the ground. B-BUT THAT MEANS SHE’D NEED MY CONTACT INFORMATION! AND I WOULD OFFICIALLY HAVE HERS!!! OKAY! Okay, don’t mess this up! You have one chance here! “….That would be most helpful, do you want me to write down my incantation?”

“Yes, that would be useful.” Finally, able to speak without a stutter behind her, she took a deep breath and looked over her shoulder at him. I DID IT! AND I DON'T SEEM WEIRD FOR ASKING FOR IT!!

Nodding, he left the branch on the ground and stood up, reaching into his bag to grab his notebook and flipping to a blank page, writing something down, before neatly tearing it out, perfectly along the dotted line, and extending it towards her. “Will this suffice?”

IS MY HANDWRITING LEGIBLE?! DOES IT LOOK STRANGE?? I HOPE SHE DOESN’T THINK IT'S MESSY! Tilting his head slightly, he stared at his own arm, the nerves within his chest painted clearly on his face.

After taking the paper, she sat on the ground and tapped her grimoire, then scanning her notebook she sent the page to his grimoire, her hands almost shaky as she looked up from the ground. “There you go.”

Pulling out his own grimoire, Irving tapped on the message to confirm it, as well as save the sender's name, taking a deep breath as he put it away, and slowly, borderline shakily extended a hand towards her as he turned to look in the direction they walked from. “Perfect……shall we head back?”

IS THIS WEIRD?! I MEAN SHE HELD MY HAND THE ENTIRE TIME HERE AND SHE SEEMED TO WANNA BE MY FRIEND BUT IS THIS WEIRD?!? I DON'T KNOW BUT IF I PULL MY HAND AWAY NOW IT’LL LOOK RUDE! WHY DID YOU EXTEND YOUR HAND IN THE FIRST PLACE YOU DENSE IDIOT!?!

Packing her bag, her ears happily wiggled as she took his hand, and stood, a bright smile on her face that almost looked silly, as if she was holding back an eruption of giggles. CALM DOWN I KNOW I'M HAPPY BUT I NEED TO HOLD IT IN! I WANNA JUST SCREAM HE'S SUCH A GENTLEMAN!!! NGGGGGGHHH PLEASE MARRY ME!!! “Thank you Vie.”

Nodding, Irving found himself unable to let go of her hand once she stood up, and simply started walking back the way they came, his heart racing in his ears as those very ears tinted pink. MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT WHEN SHE CALLS ME THAT!!! WAIT SHE SAID I COULD CALL HER ROSE BUT SHOULD I?! AM I REALLY ALLOWED TO!? OKAY, Okay, you need to calm down and think here, you’re being too tense! Relax and just go for it! You’ll never know otherwise! “I’ll handle the report, your sketch is more than enough Rose.”

HE CALLED ME ROSE! I NEED TO BURN THIS ALL INTO MY MIND! It’s a date, it has to be! Sorta! It’s like a date but not a date STOP! Don’t make this weird you just became his friend officially! Squeezing his hand in response she nods and continues striding alongside him. “Alright.”

As they walked, it soon dawned on the young man that this rare opportunity was ending soon, which brought his face from a slightly nervous happy expression, back down to a slightly sad expression. I don’t want to complete this yet……maybe I can stall for time! But how? And where? OH! THIS SPOT IS PERFECT BUT WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO SAY?!?

His eyes dart side to side as he soon stops in his tracks, and takes a deep breath as his free hand moves up to scratch the back of his head. “A-Actually I think I’ll get started on it right now, the sooner the better with these sorts of assignments……..if you don’t mind….?”

“Out here? Are you sure?” THAT'S SO PERFECT! HE’S SO PERFECT! I CAN STARE AT HIM UNDER THE SHADE OF THE TREES WHILE HE WORKS AND AHHHHHHHHH!!!

Nodding, he looked around to find somewhere to sit, though mostly to avoid direct eye contact, as his face felt rather hot, and he didn’t know the extent of his blush. “I’m quite sure, I think better with fresh air…….”

OKAY! THAT PROBABLY WORKED?! I USUALLY STAY INSIDE SO I REALLY HOPE SHE BELIEVED THAT! M-Maybe we could even talk a while out here! All alone……no one in earshot, just me and her as our base instincts take over an- OKAY YOU NEED TO FOCUS AND SIT DOWN NOW!!! Letting go of her hand, his heart thrummed away in his ears as he walked a few feet away towards a tree, and quickly spun around, leaning against it as he slid down, and sat at the base of the tree, amongst the thick roots that protruded from the ground beneath and around him.

Following, Thora felt as joy surged from her entire body, this time she would not run, this time she would face him! IM SO NERVOUS AND HAPPY!!!

On the opposite side of a large root, Thora leaned against it, allowing her elbows to rest on it along with her chest as she curved her hands around her neck to hold herself up. “Do you mind if I watch?”

Panic flooded Irving’s entire being as he slowly reached into his bag to pull out his grimoire, and turned it to its side, opening a blank document to begin writing. “Not at all.” AHHHHHHHHHHH SHE’S SO CLOSE!!! I CAN’T HANDLE HAVING HER STARE AT ME FOR SO LONG BUT I ALREADY SAID YES! I NEED TO CALM DOWN AND FOCUS! I CANNOT MISSPELL A SINGLE WORD!!!

With that, he slowly began writing, typing out the specifics of the herb, the conditions by which they found it, as well as the area and time it took for them to get there for the report.

Looking at his grimoire, Thora felt as silence crept over the forest, only nature present as the adrenaline from earlier began to die down, crossing her arms and resting her head on the root, she stared at not the grimoire, but him, how his short hair fell down the side of his cheek and shaded his skin, and how it was closely tied back, she wondered how it would look if he let it down.

The wind caused a cool yet warm breeze to rush over her skin, with groggy eyes partially closed she felt her body relax, as well as her mind, and with that she reached over and gently tucked a few stray strands of hair behind his ear, and smiled.

Fighting like mad not to flinch away, his expression was slightly surprised still as he glanced over at her, wondering what she was up to, his face warm to the touch, and his cheeks dusted a light pink.

SHE’S SO CLOSE!!! AND SHE SMELLS REALLY GOOD!!! SAY SOMETHING! TELL HER YOU WANT TO SPEND MORE TIME TOGETHER! DO SOMETHING!!!! Yet, he remained as immovable as the roots around them as he stared into her eyes, his throat closed up, and his mouth drier than the fire realm he spent fifteen hours in.

After a moment, her hand dropped into his lap as she closed her eyes, her body limp against the root as the warm air tucked her in like a blanket and lulled her to sleep.

Silence hung in the air, as Irving’s face turned shade a red that matched her hair color, and utter panic flooded his veins as his eyes darted from her face, to her hand over and over again. AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH WHY DID HER HAND FALL THERE?! I NEED TO MOVE IT BUT I CAN'T RISK WAKING HER UP BUT IF IT DOESN'T MOVE SOON SHE MIGHT- MMMMMMMMM DOWN BOY DOWN!!!!

Taking deep, quiet breaths, he brought his other hand to his face, and covered his mouth as he tried diligently to calm down, and think thoughts other than how close she was to him right now.

Soft breathing leaves her pink cherry lips as the wind blows her hair, her hand gently moving and gripping his pant leg as if it were sheets.

With a deep breath, Irving dug his teeth into his knuckle as he tried taking even deeper breaths, looking off to the side as his eyes spun, and his face got even hotter, his mind racing as he started to feel slightly lightheaded. Please don’t wake up please don’t wake up plEASE DON’T WAKE UP PLEASE DON’T WAKE UP PLEASE DON’T WAKE UP RIGHT NOW AND STOP MOVING YOUR HAND I BEG OF YOU!!!!

And thus, they sat there for hours, the bells having long rung ending classes, and Thora napped the day away.