The rest of the day passed without much else happening after lunch, though he couldn’t help but notice that Reina had the same classes as he did. She spent more of the class times with her friends but made an effort to talk with Dorian as well. He had declined to meet her friends for the time being, not really giving a reason but she understood. The teachers used their class period to introduce themselves and a quick overview of the class, but nothing else which was more than fine by Dorian as he spent the time writing in his notebook. None of the other professors remarked on his achievement regarding how he got into the school, but he felt that might not last long. News travels fast…the most he could hope for would be that people congratulated him and went on with their lives. When the last bell rang, Dorian was one of the first people to leave the building, having wasted no time getting his bag from his locker to get back home. He was just barely out of the courtyard and about to turn right towards his house when he heard his name and running footsteps.
He saw Reina rushing to catch up to him, not seeming to care about how short her skirt was as it moved as she ran. It wasn’t that short…still kinda short, though.
“Something you need?” he asked, pulling a sucker from his pocket. Her friends were standing a little way away, watching with curious smiles as Reina bent over to catch her breath. Dorian waited patiently as she stood back up after her breathing became more regular.
“I saw,” she breathed. “Whew…I saw you were headed this way…you live close to the school?”
“Just a little way down the street, yeah.”
“Great,” Reina said. “We can walk home together.” This is the moment in Dorian’s head where there would be the sound of breaking glass or a record scratch. His confused look made her smile faulter. “I mean…if you don’t want to, it’s totally fine. I just thought…well…maybe….”
“No, it’s not a problem,” he replied, quickly. “Just…it was a tad out of the blue. I mean…we only met today, and you want to walk home with someone who’s practically a stranger?” She gave a small smile and a quick nod, earning a shrug. “Alright then…shall we?” They fell in line with each other, Dorian shortening his normal stride so as not to outpace her. Reina turned back and waved to her friends before turning forward. Neither of them said anything on the way back, but Dorian could feel Reina taking glances over at him. “Lose something over here, Clover?”
“Why do you always seem to have a sucker in your mouth?” she asked, smiling. “And do your pockets just create them out of thin air?” His answer was stalled by him rummaging in his pocket and offering her a sucker.
“It’s just a bit of a habit I’ve taken up recently.” She took the candy and he puts his hands back in his pockets, hooking his thumbs outside. “Besides, I think it kinda goes well with the look I’ve got going on.” Reina hummed in agreement as she stuck her wrapper in her pocket.
“It does help with the whole bad boy thing you’ve got goin’ on,” she agreed. “Looks really good on you….” There was something in her voice that made Dorian raise an eyebrow at her. “What?”
“Pardon me,” he began, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. “But that sounded like a bit more than a casual observation….” The sly smirk she gave him caused him to swallow nervously. “What’s that look for?”
“You want me to say you’re handsome?” she teased. “Want to go off on how hot you are? Strip, throw myself at you and beg you to make me yours and to be mine?” Dorian felt a rush of heat rise to his face making him flip up the collar of his blazer. “What’s the matter, Dorian…?”
“Nothing,” he lied, his eye flitting towards her. “Absolutely fine…nothing wrong here with this guy….” The smile on her face told him exactly how hollow that sounded.
“Dorian,” she began. “You wouldn’t happen to have been…embarrassed by what I said, would you?” It ran through his mind that whether he answered or stayed silent, he was screwed either way. “Hmm…never thought someone like you would get so flustered so easily….” The way she said that hinted at something she wasn’t willing to say, and Dorian had never considered himself so lucky.
“Well,” he began, deactivating his turtle mode. “It’s hard not to be at least a little bit embarrassed when such a pretty girl says those things….” Now it was his turn to smirk as Reina stopped, her face turning red. “Aw…what’s the matter?”
“That was low,” she mumbled, causing him to turn and look at her.
“You started it,” he smirked. “If you’re gonna give it, you’re gonna take it as well.” Her pout slowly gave way to a small smile as she hung her hung and shifted on her feet.
“You’re a bit of an arse, aren’t you?”
“I can be, yeah,” Dorian admitted, shrugging. “But I’m not one all the time….”
“You sure about that?”
“I’m walking you home, aren’t I? Gave you the last sucker, as well. Besides, I still paid you a complement, didn’t I?” Reina walked up to him and playfully punched his arm, causing him to laugh. “Anyway…shall we?” They fell back into step, making the most idle, boring conversation that had absolutely no bearing on anything. Dorian made to move towards his house before course correcting and continuing to walk with Reina.
“Was that really your house?” she asked, seemingly shocked.
“It’s actually my uncle’s,” Dorian explained. “He sometimes rents it out when he’s not here, which is pretty much all the time, but when he heard I was heading to Sacred Heart, he let me stay rent free. All he asks is that I take care of the place and get my own food. It’s got a nice…well, everything really. Good open office space and bedroom, great kitchen and sitting room and another room that I don’t have much of a use for yet.”
“You’re uncle a rich man?” Dorian gave a quick nod. “Thought so. People normally don’t normally have more than one house unless they’ve got a bit of money.” They fell into a sort of awkward silence before Dorian spoke up again.
“I don’t leech off of him, in case you were wondering,” he started. “My family does pretty well for ourselves….”
“What does your family do?” It only hit him when she asked that question that he’d almost let things slip, but it was too late to back out now. He didn’t have to tell her everything.
“My parents run a little boutique back home,” he replied. “My little sister and I help out where we can…even learned a thing or two…little things.” Dorian was aware that he was nearing the point of rambling and went quiet as he felt Reina’s mixture of surprise and almost confusion as she looked over at him. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding when they reached her house.
“See you!” she called, waving as he was leaving. “Wanna walk back to school tomorrow?”
“Why not?” Dorian shrugged. “Just stop by my place and knock if I’m not outside.” Raising his hand in farewell, he turned and walked back to his place. His thoughts turned to what Reina would mean for his new school life….
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