The Superhumans (Peregrine x Nemopedia)

[Peregrine]

Christian calmed down somewhat at Ella's prompt apology, but there was still a somewhat stubborn frown on his face. He certainly didn't agree with the girl's methods, and that made him disinclined to be helpful. However, it was also true that Christian cared about his grades. He was used to being grouped up with people who barely gave a crap, and having to do a large portion of the work by himself. Having someone to actually share the burden with would be a truly welcome change.

Just as he was about to agree, Christian suddenly caught sight of Leigh in the background, and his brain immediately snapped to the memory of who exactly Ella sat by, and who he regularly saw talking to the other woman. He froze in place. Surely he wouldn't...

"Who else would be in the group?" Christian suddenly asked, trying to keep his voice calm. It truly was too coincidental for him to ignore, and the last thing he wanted was to end up working on a group project with Leigh.

 

[Nemopedia]

She had brightened up at the prospect of Christian saying yes seemingly forgiven her trickery. There was still one more obstacle in her way, however, and as she followed her classmate's line of sight-- half twisting her upper body --she realised why that was.

Of course mister 'favour' couldn't keep himself out of it, endlessly curious to see the whole scene unfold. Leigh had to make it so much worse by waving over to the pair with his charming smile, as if mistakenly convinced that he had already won this round. This earned a deep sigh from Ella who knew that Christian's question only disagreed with that notion. She wasn't of yesterday, despite acting the ditz.

"Ah… uuuh…" she feigned a startled pause, as if trying to remember who she had asked before. "No one, yet," she sheepishly admitted as she furrowed her brows at him. "You were my first choice," she continued letting go of a timid laugh, wondering if that would be enough to convince him and agree.

"But that means we can both approve of any future members!" she bounced right back to her earlier cheerful attitude, a fist bumping into Christian's arm in an act of camaraderie. "How does that sound for a deal?" she winked.

 

[Peregrine]

Leaning forward over his desk, Christian buried his forehead in his hands, gently massaging the space between his eyebrows. He didn't bother trying to keep his exasperation or frustration hidden. After all, it wasn't as though he'd gone to Ella for a favor, and it didn't seem as though his temper would chase the girl off on short notice.

Lost in the blackness of his own eyelids, Christian deliberated. The benefits of having a team member who actually gave a crap, versus the risk of having to deal with Leigh's close friend. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't believe there was enough of a coincidence that Ella would suddenly seek him out right after their meeting last night.

Perhaps it was because he was more tired than he'd thought, but he was just starting to realize that there were just as many loopholes for Leigh in the deal they'd made last night as there had been for Christian. Leigh couldn't bother him in class unless it was related to schoolwork, but that didn't mean getting other people to bother him was off limits, so long as Leigh didn't tell them why. And, if he was in a class group with Leigh's friend, that undeniably put them in contact through the bounds of "classwork", especially if Ella asked for his help, whether he was a part of their group or not.

Of course, Christian could always just say no. He was very well practiced at distancing himself from people, and no matter how stubborn Ella was she wouldn't be able to push him forever. There was only one problem with that theory.

Christian did genuinely care about his grades. The entire reason he was here was to learn and prepare as much as he could, and Ella would be useful in that effort. If he said no just to stay away from Leigh, wasn't that guy successfully getting in the way of Christian's schooling without even having to break their contract?

That thought irked him even more. The entire process was unfortunately well thought out, and in his sleep-deprived state, Christian couldn't think of any way out of it.

"Fine," Christian agreed, sounding undeniably frustrated. His hands dropped back below the table, his eyes flicking open. "So long," he continued, voice slightly raised. "As you promise I get veto rights on who joins our team other than us two."

He might have walked right into Leigh's plot this time, but he still had absolutely no intention of working on a project with the bastard.

 

[Nemopedia]

Eyes widening along with her smile the shorter female nearly leaped over the table, a squeal of delight escaping her lips as she pulled the usually anti-social classmate into a tight hug.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, you are such a sweetheart!" Ella sighed as she let Christian go. Behind she could hear Leigh snicker at her display of affection, which often had been described as rambunctious but she cared little for what others thought.

"I promise I will uphold and respect the rules. No one gets in without our consent," she repeated after the male before she rumbled through her bag and dug.

Candy wrappers, papers, loose notes that she had taken in class when she couldn't find her notebook, along with a variety of ballpointers in all shades of pastels and neons appeared out of her bag before Ella found what she needed. A small dainty planner appeared, looking surprisingly neat and decent despite all of the loose items she had in her bag.

"Now, to get down to business. I'm thinking of meeting at my place," the female started giving Christian a raised brow as she raised her hands, "since- no offense - guy dorms are kinda disgusting. Besides, I conveniently don't have roommates." She didn't add in that she used to have a roommate who quickly filed for a different room a week later but that didn't concern Christian or the project. Not yet, at least and not ever, she hoped.

"Anyway, I'm pretty much always there, unless here or in another class, or you know," Ella continued, an uncomfortable scoff escaping her lips before she quickly brushed it off. "No crazy parties, at least. You won't see me looking like I dragged myself over the public road and never found my bed," the female continued, her voice gradually growing louder as she placed an emphasis on the last part.

"Name your day, sir," Ella finished uncharacteristically solemn for her character as her volume returned to normal. Planner open she picked up one of her gel pens as she gave Christian an anticipating look.

 

[Peregrine]

Christian all but flinched backwards as Ella hugged him, and if it wasn't for the fact that the legs of the chair were quite stably placed on the floor it was possible that he would have toppled himself over. Fortunately for him, or perhaps for both of them, Ella let go while Christian was still trying to figure out how to detach her from him as quickly as possible without resorting to Black Magic.

Clearing his throat slightly while straightening the collar of his shirt, Christian ignored Ella as she began to rummage through her purse, deliberating whether to add "no hugging" as an additional rule to their partnership. He certainly didn't want the effervescent young woman throwing herself onto him every time she got a little bit excited. However, before he could decide to broach the subject, Ella had managed to scavenge her planner, and she was speaking again.

He couldn't help but let out a burst of laughter at Ella's description. His mind immediately jumped to Leigh, and Christian couldn't quite help the amused smile that spread over his face. Unconsciously, the other woman's insult had caused his impression of her to rise a few notches, and made him feel a bit more assured about this whole group process. He was still certain that there was no way this meeting of theirs was unrelated to Christian and Leigh's encounter from last night, but at least he had some measure of assurance that Ella wouldn't allow Leigh to simply walk all over her in his attempts to cajole Christian into helping out.

Of course, the thought that Ella's description was just as appropriate for him at the moment as it was for Leigh didn't occur to Christian.

"Fine. Tuesday after dinner. We've never worked together before, so it's going to take some time for us to figure out how to merge our personal project with each other and the assignment for the week. That will also give the professor time to figure out who still needs group members and assign them." Christian paused, the thought that Ella might not just wait for the professor to assign 'leftovers' to their group suddenly occurring to him. "Or for you to find other group members," he conceded. Would this be the first time he'd have a proper group for these projects? "We can have an initial meeting then, and then a midway check in on Friday-ish to make sure we're all on course."

For all his anti-social behavior, when it came to schoolwork and projects, Christian wasn't shy. He was used to having to drive the groups he was in, and pick up slack wherever it appeared. Now that his conversation with Ella had settled back into the familiar territory of class, some of his natural reservations faded away.