Making their way to the dorm, when suddenly a male student rushed with red face through their group.
He slammed hard into Leevi, pushing him on to Emilié.
A muffled and hurried, "I'm sorry" was audible and that student was gone as quickly as he came.
Emilié deftly catched Leevi and was pushed some steps back, but astonishingly she did not lose balance from the weight put on her.
She then helped Leevi find his balance back and brought her slightly ruffled clothes in order.
Leevi startled from the sudden collision, came to himself. He nodded to Emilié showing his appreciation. "Thank you"
"No problem." She replied short and curtly.
It was not like she went out of her way to help him.
It was for herself too. Or should she just care, because he is her brother?
Time deludes feelings, and there were not many good ones left to remember of.
Leevi just luckily stood right in front of her and if she had not catched him, her body would have slammed on the floor with him. That would be a disgrace for all the years spent in training to end like a pancake.¹
The untouched Aria on the side, rushed to Leevi and asked, "Everything okay?", while patting his shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He said and looked to the direction that student came slamming into him.
"??" Leevi frowned.
The starkly blushing student came from behind a building. That place was a very secluded corner and many students could deprive themselves from prying eyes.
Leevi beckoned a male student to him that was just passing by.
"Jerome" He called the student by name.
"Y-Yes" The male student respondent hurriedly to Leevi.
"Do me a favor and bring the new students to the Flower dorm."
He actually has to hurry back to class, but THAT Leevi Evans asked him for a favour and he even knows HIS NAME!! What an honor for the model student knowing who a nobody like him was.
Jerome was one of the scholarship students, that was why he felt so honored being called out by Leevi.
If it was someone else in Leevi's peer group they would be respectful, but not that overly thrilled like this Jerome kid.
"...W-wait! New students?!" Jerome called out shocked.
However, Leevi ignored him afterwards and turned to Emilié and Aria with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, but something urgent came up. Please do go ahead and settle down first, I will catch up on a later time."
Emilié saw the fast turn of Leevi after the collision. She tailed his gaze to the building with the secluded corner, but other than bare trees, standing desolately there in the cold weather, she saw nothing else.
Emilié curbed in her curiosity and went along with Leevi's arrangement, he had for them. "Sure, no problem. See you later then."
Whatever it was Leevi had to do, when it does not involve her or her plan, she wouldn't give it a dime.
Leevi waited until they were out his sight, before making his way to where the male student, who crashed into him came from.
But half-way there, two girls happen to come out of the secluded corner, bumping into Leevi on their way.
Seeing them, Leevi's mood visibly darkened.
"Valentin, Christine."
Hearing their names the two girls looked up. The blond girl with arrogant features cringed hard seeing Leevi, and the girl with reddish-brown hair showed exhaustion for the 'incoming nagging'.
It's unwanted and not after the debacle from earlier.... well, and not before that either. Who the heck wants to be nagged?
If Leevi had not his stare boring fiery holes in her, she would roll her eyes a hard time. But she had to pull herself together resisting the urge, so he wouldn't get super mad and snitch her on her parents.
They were very strict to her in a loving kind, but often than none they pull the plug on her decision making.
And they trust Leevi taking care of their girl, so it's better to keep it between them three in a friendly way ....hopefully.
"If it isn't the honor student. What are YOU doing here during study hours? Skiving?" The blond one took a strand of her wavy hair, playing with it between her fingers, while continuing in a mocking tone, "Has the well-bred one in the family finally decided to rebel?"
"Spare me from your nonsense Valentin! Tell me. What shit did you stir up this time?" Leevi asked sharply.
"I do not know what you are talking about, my dear brother. But would you mind taking on a softer tune with me?"
She took a step behind her friend, Christine, cowering in a playful manner. "You're scaring your little sister right now, you know?"
"Do I?" He raised a brow disbelieving.
"Yeah, you do." She said, lying with open eyes. Her shamelessness provoking him more.
"Haha. Isn't your playful and fickle nature fault for my strictness? If I don't hold you back, than who is?! Your bird brain?" Leevi came on sarcastically to Valentin's mocking.
'huff' Her brother has this self-discipline stuff really edged on his heart, must be coming from their grandfather, Clyde.
Letting loose would probably mean for Leevi to have a dinner with friends in a posh restaurant!
Actually, wrong....
....it would be a BBQ place in the neighbourhood, but that is not relevant here.
"What was that with the male student about?" Leevi asked once more, but this time more direct.
"Male student? Which student?" She turned to Christine with a guliable look, "Did you see some guy?"
Playing along with Valentin, Christine pointed at Leevi, "The only guy I'm seeing right now is Leevi."
"Christine?" Leevi gasped, looking hurt. Even she tried deceiving him.
The sweet girl has been corrupted by the b!tchy Valentin! No doubts about that!
Or why would the angel in his heart, who always had latched herself on him and called him sweetly big brother, had such a major change?
She even played along with Valentin's ploy!
Then he turned back to Valentin with a larger bag of fury, "You're even bringing her to your dirty business now!"
Valentin stopped playing around putting on a more serious face, which was two part earnest and three part playful.
Not something to take very serious, but acceptable in her case.
"It was just a guy confessing his feelings. You happy now? Now stop b!itching like a child, as if you didn't know. It's not like the first time happening."
"And was it too hard for you to be truthful to me?" Leevi bursted out taking a step forward, his teeth clenched together he hissed. "If you only had the smallest bit of decency you'd be coming clean to me immediately, but no! You ALWAYS play around!"
Christine seeing his growing anger, put gently her arm on Leevi's shoulder, to stop him from stepping any further towards Valentin.
Since the last time these two had a dispute, Leevi almost sprung at Valentin.
Luckily that quarrel happened in the Evans mansion and Sasha was present, holding this lanky bundle of energy back, or it would have ended with a blue eye for the weaker side.
Violence is and never was a thing for Leevi, but he always had a weak spot for his sister, to the point his gentlemanly face falls down and he becomes uncontrollable.
He didn't know when it started, this hate, but one day such instability just sprouted in him when he was around Valentin.
If someone asked him, what the happiest day was they had as siblings. The answer would be plain, none.
After all the drama going up in their home, such thing as happily interacting and laughing together was long lost.
Sadly will Leevi only understand later-on, that this disarray of his feelings stemmed from a trauma from the time Emilié was taken. Till then he will struggle to sort out these feelings, to gain more control on them around his sister.
"Leevi, it's not like Val's fault for them to come to ask her out. He just sprung out from nowhere and confessed. We too were surprised." Christine spoke very softly, as if any louder would make him jump out of anger.
And just like that, with her touch and angelic voice, Leevi's anger lessened to a manageable point.
"Again? Will they never stop. Valentin is engaged to Kyle there is no way for her to date them. That's not possible."
"Everyone knows that Val is my cousin's finacé, but the love struck students don't care about that, Leevi." Christine shook her head.
Kyle Grandfield, Valentin's fiancé and Christine's cousine. He is the grandson of Seath Grandfield, aka old Seven, and also was Emilié's former fiancé.
With her kidnapping, old Seven found a hole in Clyde's arrangement they had made at the birthday party, and got Valentin to replace Emilié's part.
Clyde was mad having to put his beloved granddaughter in a compromising position.
However, his underground dealings laid under the danger of being disabled by the new uprising force, Silverlight, or even much worser, being detected by other fractions that want him down; they would level him to the ground.
So Valentin took Emilié's part and was formally announced as Kyle's fiancé to strengthen the bond between their two households.
Clyde's bragging over other potential partners was eaten down by him, slapping him SO hard, it even left an unstable wedge between their new formed partnership.
Old Seven would never trust him unconditionally, that easily at this time around anymore.
"And why aren't you putting a stop to their sprouting love? Tell them already you're not up in the market anymore." Said Leevi to Valentin.
In his mind, if anyone could stop these students unpredictable love confessions, then it would be no one else than the root of all this nonsense.
"They knooow~" Valentin rolled her eyes at him.
"But say. Who doesn't want to at least once in their lives, confess to their celebrity-crush and brag about it? They even think, there might be the possibility I would dump big brother Kyle for them. Those hopeless idiots!" Valentin huffed, whipping her hair uppishly.
"VAL!" Christine called out. That was another blatant provocation towards Leevi.
The anger in Leevi that regressed came back up, but this time joined by deep heartache. And his eyes tinged to a red, showing his emotional high strongly..
Valentin's derogatory way of talking about all the guys' love for her made him SICK!
Sick to the core. It reminded him of his unrequited love for the girl, that was holding him back right now.
Her soft green orbs looking at him did not show tenderness or affection towards him, just warryness and guarded that he would lose it at any moment.
How maddening it was!
His heart is being trampled over and over again by this lovesickness.
He ripped himself off Christine's grip. No longer wanting to feel her soft hand on him. She was affecting him too much and he started to dislike this cramping feeling in his heart.
"Pah! You are saying that so bumptious, yet we all know you're having fun watching them become broken hearted!" Leevi spat out of humiliation, unintentionally reflecting everything that Valentin sayed on himself.
Valentin sneered at Leevi and said to stir him more, "Maybe. Why, can't I?"
Leevi did not say anything further, he knows how this will end up, if he keeps on engaging himself with this devilish girl.
He nodded once to Christine as good bye and made his way out of there as fast as he could.
🐞
1 Oh honey~ you will end up softer than a pancake