Alvie's thoughts ended up becoming daydreams the more she walked alongside Dante. The feeling was rather nice, but she knew she would have to separate from him soon enough, to sit in her desk. As if reading her thoughts, the classroom was a few doors down, to Alvie's disappointment. Instead of sulking, she squeezed his hand and started walking into the classroom, leading him inside. Soon, she found her seat, and looked down at her hand, still intertwined with Dante's. Slowly, she pulled her hand away, biting her lip as she wanted to continue holding his hand. But, she knew that class had to start soon enough. With a slight smile to him, she pulled her hand the rest of the way from his fingertips, moving to sit in her desk. The blush from before had long gone, as she felt rather comfortable being around him. Pulling out her notebook, she couldn't help but glance at Dante's way again, smiling a bit.
Dante looked, towards Alvie's classroom door, he was thankfull they got to spend their last class together as well, holding onto her hand as they walked inside, not letting go when she sat down for a moment, though eventually he realized he had to. Slowly letting go of her hand and smiling at her a bit, he sat down at his desk, looking towards Alvie again, making eye contact with her, it made him smile a little, he sighed contently, looking over at the teacher just about when the bell rang again, signalling class was starting. Looking over at Alvie one more time, he gave her a reassuring smile before turning to his notebook he pulled out, before looking back up at the teacher, he really wanted this class to be over and done with soon so he could go home with Alvie again.
Seeing Dante's reassuring smile, Alvie smiled as well, pulling out her notebook. This teacher was one that gave lectures most of the period, so they had to pay attention and take notes. Whipping out her pen, she looked up at the teacher with a determined look and kept it only an inch from the paper. To her, at least, the teacher spoke quite fast. Once he started speaking, Alvie started writing, her eyes glancing up at the teacher for a few moments, even as her hand continued writing on the paper. A skill she was used to doing over the years. Luckily, that class period usually went by quicker than the rest, since the teacher spoke the whole time, rarely giving work unless it was a test.
@Serpentine
Dante started to take notes at a rather fast pace ashe wanted to get done as soon as possible, fortunately, it seemed after a while, that's exactly what happened... Sometimes he glanced towards Alvie, seeing that she was doing the same before he looked back towards his own notebook, it was filling up with his notes quite quickly, but class still seemed like a drag, but sooner or later, he heard the bell ring. Looking up excitedly, he started putting away his stuff, having it neatly tucked away in his backpack in record time, he stood up, putting on his backpack and walked over to Alvie to see if she too was ready to head on home.
Class seemed to go fast, even when the teacher continued to drone on in almost a bored tone. Alvie heard the bell ring and felt her heart leap, starting to pack her things. Right when she started to put her notebook up, she saw Dante already at her desk. She raised her eyebrows and smiled, noticing he packed up rather quick. Trying not to waste anymore time, Alvie packed her notebook away and slung her backpack over her shoulders before walking around her desk to Dante. "Alright, are we going straight home?" she asked him, wondering if he might want to stop somewhere first to talk about things or something. Reaching out, she grasped his hand and started walking to the door, still listening to what he felt like doing. If she were to be honest, holding Dante's hand didn't make her feel embarrassed like it used to, it was more like a soothing feeling as she glanced up at him, the warm, fuzzy feeling returning for about what felt like the millionth time since she had met him.
Dante nodded when Alvie asked if they were going straught home, he figured it would be the safest to talk about things there, as he walked out the door, he felt Alvie grasp his hand... This made him smile as they walked out the door, by now, he'd gotten over feeling embarrassed about this, instead, he actually felt rather calm, he looked around incase Antonio or any of his companions were around before he continued to walk out the door. Looking towards Alvie briefly to check if she was ok, he continued out the door, it was getting warmer outside, but his coat helped keep the little cold that was still there out for the time being. Starting on his way home, glancing at Alvie again, making eye contact with her, he smiled, a blissfull feeling welling up inside him, he walked a little closer to her as they continued on their way home, it shouldn't be too long until they arrived really, they'd already passed a few landmarks he had memorized, all that would be left is a few minutes or so with any luck.
When she saw Dante smile as he locked gazes with her, Alvie smiled back gleefully. Her smile only grew when she felt him move closer to her. The cold outside seemed to lift a bit, but the bitter wind still bit through her coat. At least she was warm, thanks to Dante letting her have the coat. It was rather useful since she got it, which made her feel even happier. Lifting her amber gaze, Alvie looked over his features and smiled as she saw the sunlight shine on him. To her, it was a really wonderful sight...something that made that fuzzy feeling return. Letting go of his hand, she grabbed his arm instead, a frequent thing she did when they walked together. Leaning her head a bit, Alvie pressed it against his arm for a few seconds before lifting it once more. She noticed that they were close to home, based on the landmarks they passed.
Dante smiled, feeling Alvie grab his arm, he felt warmer this way and alot calmer for some reason, he felt warmer on the inside as well which helped keep the cold at bay more than anything, despite not saying anything yet, he was actually quite happy walking with her. They passed by a few more landmarks and alot of houses, but, eventually they'd arrived home, and as he knocked on the door, his mother opened it "Did you spend the night out again?" she asked, looking a bit worried. Dante nodded "Yeah... The park again." he said, looking a little embarassed, his mother just smiled understandingly at him and Alvie, she seemed to get what had happened, even if she didn't say anything about it "Now come inside! I'll have dinner ready soon!" she said cheerfully, welcoming both of them inside.
When Alvie saw the worried expression on Dante's mom's face, she felt slightly guilty. But, once Dante had explained where they were, she watched as his mom smiled understandingly. Eyes wide, Alvie simply nodded when she heard that dinner would be ready soon. Walking inside, she waited for Dante before walking up the stairs. At the top, she stood there and bit her lip. "I was a little worried that your mom was going to be more upset." she said, smiling a bit as she pulled a strand of ginger hair over her shoulder, starting to braid it. Then, she lifted her gaze back up at him and tilted her head, amber gaze locked with his. "So, do you want to talk while we start training the kittens?" she asked finally, glancing over at his room then back at him.
Dante nodded, he seemed relieved too "I've done that before... I guess I like hanging out alone at the park sometimes... She was more worried the first time." he said with a nervous laugh. When he was asked by Alvie what he wanted to talk about while they trained the kittens, Dante looked a little embarrassed "We need to address that little issue we're having with those rumors... I don't know if it was truly Antonio's fault for them." he said, lowering the tone of his voice as he walked upstairs with Alvie. Peering inside, he spotted the kittens, as active as ever, running around, and thankfully using the scratching posts rather than scratching up any furniture, he tilted his head at them, wondering what tricks he could start with...
Alvie nodded and followed Dante into his room. The kittens were in a playful mood, lucky for them. It would make teaching them tricks even more fun. Walking in, she sat onto the ground and two of the kitten ran forward, pawing at her shoes. Alvie giggled and reached a hand out to scratch underneath the calico kitten's chin. "Okay...first, we can start with..." Alvie sat there and scratched the other kitten's head as she thought. Then, an idea popped into her head. "Oh! How about we teach them to shake our hands!" she suggested, amber eyes beginning to shine with a childish gleam. She turned to Dante and laughed a bit before crossing her legs and facing the calico kitten. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Felix and the silver tabby pouncing around each other, making her giggle a bit. Then, she held up a finger at the calico, who tilted it's head at her in confusion. Alvie just smiled and glanced at Dante with a beaming smile.
Dante smiled a little seeing the kittens run towards Alvie, hearing her suggestion about teaching those kittens how to shake their hands, he laughed a little in response to her laughing, though the Calico seemed a bit confused at Alvie's action. He smiled back encouragingly at Alvie before walking over to the other unoccupied kitten, sitting down near Alvie and holding out a finger to the one who looked like a leapord, it looked clearly confused as well, and after a moment, he carefully took the kitten's paw and shook it a little before he put it down carefully. He wondered if he would understand what he was trying to tell him, but he wasn't too sure, though after the moment, the kitten did eventually raise up a paw, tilting his head a little which Dante shook again, chuckling a little, it seemed he had gotten it, for the most part, he turned over to Alvie, smiling a little.
Alvie watched as Dante started to teach the little leapord kitten, amazed as he managed to start the little guy going. When she saw him smile at her, she giggled and smiled back before looking back at the calico. She did the same with him, but he often started pawing at her sock instead of paying attention. Alvie was patient, though, and laughed a bit as she tried getting his attention again. Pretty soon, she decided to try it out. Lifting a finger, she saw the calico hesitate for a second before lifting his paw, to which she grabbed and shook gently. Alvie turned to Dante and smiled. "You seem to be great at this sort of thing. Teaching animals, I mean. They seem to really like you!" she gushed, her smile widening as she locked gazes with him.
Dante smiled a little seeing Alvie's success, blushing at her comment "I guess I got lucky." he said, trying to be modest "You're doing really good as well! I think you'll do just fine." he said in a cheerfull tone, smiling at her a little. He looked towards the other two kittens playing and turned towards Alvie, laughing a little. "Should we start teaching those two now?" he said. Those kittens really were cute when they were like that, he couldn't help but have a soft spot for things like that, perhaps he got that sort of thing from his mom? At any rate, he started to approach the two kittens playing carefully, but he stayed back a little, not wanting to interrupt them playing just yet, instead, he looked over to Alvie curiously "Which one do you want to start with?" he asked.
Alvie giggled when she noticed Dante approach the other two kittens, only to stop and look back at her. "I guess I don't mind teaching Felix." she said, moving to the other two kittens as well and sitting next to Dante. She reached out a hand and scratched the black and white kitten's head, only to receive a playful hit from his paw. She giggled and picked him up, placing him in front of her. She did the same thing that she did with the calico kitten, but Felix was being a bit more ornery. Every time she held up her finger at him, he would bat at it with curious eyes and without using his nails of course. Finally, after a bit longer, Alvie lifted her finger and watched as Felix lifted his paw. She reached out and shook it, her smile growing. Then, she watched as he pounced at the calico kitten, starting to play-fight him. "They're so cute and adorable..." she said softly, glancing over at Dante.
Dante laughed a little, seeing the Kitten paw at Alvie's hand a few times in a playfull manner before finally getting the hang of that trick, he smiled brightly seeing the two kittens playing with each other again. He turned towards Alvie and smiled at what she said "Yeah! I can see why my mom likes them so much!" he said cheerfully, it seemed he was quite happy at the moment, but, he grew a little more serious when he remembered what they were supposed to be talking about. "Hey... Is it just me or have people suddenly begun to... Notice me?" He said, looking a bit nervous about this, he was recalling what was happening at school to him and her, other girls seemed to be growing jealous of Alvie, and even starting to try and hang out with him... What was up with that?
Alvie laughed a bit and nodded, agreeing with Dante about the kittens. It was no wonder why his mom liked them so much. They were adorable! Then, when she turned to look at Dante, she noticed he started to turn a bit more serious. When he asked her about more people noticing him, her smile slowly fell until she sighed. "It's not just you...but it's a good thing, right? I mean, you'll have more friends now and you won't have to spend all of your time with just me." she said, forcing a smile although she felt pained about saying it. Alvie didn't know why she was being so selfish. She didn't mind if he had friends, but seeing how the other girls looked at him earlier had sparked some jealousy in her. Shaking the thought from her head, she tried taking on her optimistic air once more, to lift the mood. "Not to mention that some of the girls are noticing you too...that must be nice, huh?" she asked softly, letting her gaze fall to the ground as her smile fell a little, a dazed look taking over her features. What was she saying? The pounding of Alvie's heart told her that she didn't like the idea of other girls looking at him like that...but what could she do about it?
Dante looked towards Alvie with a sad expression, she knew what she said was supposed to be a good thing, but, something in his heart just couldn't accept it as just that... Strangely enough, he'd always liked it better before he had all this attention, when it was just the two of them and nothing else stood in their way, nothing but Antonio of course, but now, things were changing like they always seemed to be. He had averted his eyes from meeting with Alvie's for a moment before he finally forced his own eyes to meet hers again as he spoke, telling the absolute truth "It's nice but... I liked it better when it was just us." he said, smiling wryly, "I know it's supposed to be a good thing to get that much attention but, I would trade it any day if all that meant that we couldn't spend time together anymore." he admitted. It was true; as strange as it was, that's how he felt about this entire situation, it wasn't that getting more popular was bad, but it just felt like more trouble for him, for the both of them really, rumors spread like wildfire, both good and bad ones... Especially about more well known people, something he didn't want that badly, he would much rather prefer to stick with Alvie and brave through it than to let these new developments change him again.
Alvie felt her heart thump as her eyes widened when Dante said he liked it better when it was just them. It was almost a shock to her, and her jaw hung slack a bit before she closed it, regaining her small smile. Then, she continued to listen and felt her heart beat against her rib cage. She never knew he had felt that about the time they spent together. Alvie slowly nodded as she felt some sort of weight lift from her shoulders. The relief, she realized, created tears that glistened her amber eyes. With a deep breath, she laughed a bit from relief and averted his gaze for a moment. After a few seconds, she lifted her eyes back to his and locked gazes with him. "Thanks...I feel the same way. Those girls today, when they acted like that, I don't know what happened. Something in me wanted to shove them away. I guess it's because they're the type of girls that do anything to get even more attention for others. I-I didn't want to see you get used like that..." she said softly, fidgeting with her hands as she felt a slight blush rise to her face. Drawing in a breath, she smiled even more and saw Dante in her vision become blurry as tears clouded her vision. "I'm sorry...I really don't want to sound so selfish. I don't understand what's wrong with me. I should be happy that other people are taking notice of you, that you'll have the opportunity to make more friends. Maybe...maybe I just don't want others to change you..." she said, choking up a bit, causing her to stop.
Dante nodded at what Alvie said, there was a happy look on his face before he leaned in and hugged her tightly, closing his eyes this time "I guess we felt the same way... Even if we both didn't know that..." he said, not wanting to let her go anytime soon. He barely noticed them, but tears started to flow down his cheeks, not too many, just a few out of happiness "I'm glad..." he added quietly, not knowing what else to say, in this moment, he suddenly realized how deep of a connection they had. Was it normal? Maybe, or maybe not, but he didn't care which was the case, he liked it this way, he preferred not to change for the sake of others if it meant upsetting Alvie, all he wanted was for her to be happy in the end as that had never failed to make him happy too as a result.
