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1035 Words
Ailith kept her head down, shoveling food into her mouth at record speed. Anything to avoid looking Tavian in the eye after his little "helpful" stunt.
Tavian, however, had no intention of letting it slide.
"So," he said casually, watching her struggle to eat and function as a normal human being at the same time. "You never actually answered Nara’s question."
Ailith choked on her rice.
She grabbed her drink, gulping down the liquid as quickly as possible, before glaring at him. "What question?" she asked, pretending she had no idea what he meant.
Tavian smirked. "You know. The one about whether something is going on between us."
Ailith nearly knocked over her tray. "There's nothing going on between us!"
Tavian raised an eyebrow. "You sound very defensive about it."
"I'm stating facts!"
He hummed in amusement, poking at his food. "Mhm. If you say so."
Ailith narrowed her eyes. "Why do you sound so unconvinced?"
Tavian shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe because you seem way too flustered for someone who's ‘just stating facts.’"
Ailith grabbed her spoon and pointed it at him. "I'm flustered because you're being weird!"
Tavian leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. "Weird how?"
"You—" she huffed, struggling to find the words. "You're acting like—like you're—"
"Like I'm what?" His smirk deepened, and there was a knowing glint in his eyes.
Ailith froze.
Wait.
Wait.
Was he—?
No.
No way.
Tavian Caius Gomez, the most popular guy in school, could not be flirting with her. Right?
Ailith forced herself to laugh. "You're messing with me."
"Am I?"
She gulped.
Tavian leaned in slightly, his voice dropping a little. "Or are you just not used to the attention?"
Ailith nearly dropped her spoon.
She quickly grabbed her drink again, taking a big sip just to buy herself time to recover.
Tavian chuckled. "You’re cute when you panic."
Ailith choked again.
Tavian handed her a napkin, laughing as she coughed into her sleeve. "You should really stop doing that before you pass out."
"I—You—!" She groaned, resting her forehead against the table. "Why are you like this?"
"Like what?"
"Like…like you enjoy torturing me!"
Tavian laughed. "I wouldn’t say ‘torture.’ I’d say… ‘mild amusement.’"
Ailith groaned again.
Tavian took another bite of his food, watching her reaction with way too much interest.
"You're acting like I just confessed to you," he teased.
Ailith froze mid-sip.
Slowly, she lowered her drink and stared at him. "You—didn’t, right?"
Tavian grinned. "What do you think?"
Ailith stared.
He stared back, waiting.
She opened her mouth—then closed it.
"…I don't know anymore," she admitted, throwing her hands up.
Tavian laughed, leaning back in his seat. "Good."
"Good?! How is that good?"
He shrugged. "Keeps things interesting."
Ailith narrowed her eyes. "You are so annoying."
Tavian smirked. "And yet, here you are, having lunch with me instead of running away."
Ailith wanted to argue.
She really, really did.
But…he wasn’t wrong.
She sighed, stabbing at her food. "I don’t get you, Gomez."
He grinned. "That's the point."
She rolled her eyes, but she couldn't completely hide her smile.
---
After a few minutes of Tavian's endless teasing (and Ailith trying not to combust from sheer embarrassment), he switched topics.
"So," he said, pushing his tray aside. "You still thinking about my game?"
Ailith nearly groaned. "I knew this was coming."
Tavian chuckled. "Well, yeah. You never gave me a real answer."
Ailith sighed. "Why do you care so much if I watch or not?"
Tavian tilted his head, considering the question. "Dunno. Maybe I just like the idea of you being there."
Ailith felt her heart skip a beat.
She looked away. "You have plenty of fans already. You don’t need me."
Tavian rested his arms on the table, watching her. "Maybe I do."
Ailith’s brain glitched.
She stared at him, mouth slightly open. "You—what?"
Tavian smirked. "Nothing. Just saying."
Ailith’s face burned.
She quickly shoved food into her mouth again. "You're impossible."
Tavian just laughed.
"Fine," Ailith finally muttered, after a long silence. "I'll go. But only if I have time."
Tavian grinned. "That’s all I needed to hear."
Ailith rolled her eyes. "You're lucky I’m even considering it."
Tavian winked. "I know."
Ailith gave up.
This boy was too much.
---
Unbeknownst to Ailith and Tavian, they had an audience.
A few tables away, Mira—Ailith’s best friend—was gaping at them, watching the entire exchange with pure shock.
"Are you seeing this?" she whispered to another classmate.
The girl beside her, Sam, nodded, just as stunned.
"Tavian is flirting with Ailith."
"Openly flirting," Sam added.
"And she looks like she’s about to explode."
"This is the best thing I’ve seen all day."
Meanwhile, at another table, Nara was watching closely.
Her nails tapped against the surface rhythmically as she observed Tavian’s expressions, Ailith’s reactions, everything.
Her jaw tightened.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
She wasn’t sure what was going on between them yet.
But she would find out.
And if Ailith thought she could just steal Tavian’s attention without a fight…
She was dead wrong.
---
Just as Ailith was about to recover from the most mentally exhausting lunch of her life, the bell rang.
She immediately stood up, ready to flee. "Well! That’s the bell! Time for class! Gotta go!"
Tavian leaned back in his chair, grinning. "See you later, then."
Ailith power-walked away before he could say anything else.
Mira caught up to her immediately.
"Ailith."
"Not now, Mira."
"Ailith!"
"I said—"
Mira grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop.
"Ailith, what the hell was that?!"
Ailith groaned, covering her face. "I don’t know! I don’t even know anymore!"
Mira grinned. "You do know. Tavian was flirting with you!"
Ailith whined. "He was messing with me!"
Mira shook her head. "No. He was flirting. And you were panicking. And I loved every second of it."
Ailith groaned. "Can we not talk about this?"
Mira smirked. "Oh, we’re definitely talking about this."
Ailith sighed.
She wasn’t going to survive this semester.
And Tavian Caius Gomez was entirely to blame.
- Writer
