Chapter [13]

My eyes have been distracted all afternoon, and I just can't seem to focus. "H-hello." I glanced at Stephan, who looked so small from my perspective. "Hi, how are you, Stephan?" I greeted with a respectful nod. "I'm fine, but how are you? You look exhausted." He seemed worried, and his fingers twitched in response. "Ah, yeah. Some townspeople rioted the tower last night- we had to deal with them till morning. A lot of us didn't get enough rest." I shrugged but continued rubbing my forehead of this enormous headache I have, "Would you like to come to my home for some tea or medicine? You could use some rest." His blue eyes sparkled, so sweet and lovable. My hand wiped my mouth, but I was mainly trying to cover my smile.

"Apologies, but no. I have to stay because of some events happening around town," I said, not wanting to regret his proposal. But, instead, his eyes seemed water as he looked away with a sad smile. "O-oh… That's fine! I just hope you feel better." He nodded, staring deep down one of the roads.

"But I do have something to tell you," I uttered, pulling out a sheet from under the stack of paper I held. "The school is opening up soon. They are looking for a literature professor to teach the kids and take care of the school library- I thought you would be good for the job." I handed it to him as he smiled. "Why were you at the school?"

I glanced left and right, "Okay, keep this a secret, but I have decided to enroll Josephine in the academics."

He awed, "Hosuh, you are a sweetheart." I blushed, caressing my hair. "W-why do you say that?" "Because… you took a homeless child in and gave her a roof over her head, and you protect the village- even after what they did last night." He explained, smiling in joy with rosy cheeks. "It wasn't the whole village- just some hooligans." I corrected, "Regardless, you are a wonderful man."

My heart wouldn't calm down- "I appreciate the compliments-" "Would you like to have dinner with me?" My eyes widened as his face reddened, full of panic and regret. "NO! I MEANT AS COMPANIONS! YOU MAY SAY NO! I APOLOGIZE IF THAT WAS INAPPROPRIATE!" "No, it's fine. I would love to have dinner with you." I responded. "Oh, let's go!" He ecstatically spewed, "I-" His glistening eyes and smile made me hesitate. I sighed; work can wait… "Very well."

Bell

"I said no." I was on the verge of doing something awful, "One dinner, anything of your choosing. No ill intent, no requests- only conversation. If you still hate it- we shall never dine with one another ever again." Beaumont explained, being sincere, but I still felt off about him. "How many times must I repeat myself? NO." I shouted again, but Beau seemed even more persistent till we heard a familiar voice.

"Which one?" A voice chuckled as Beau glanced back and immediately changed. His face was no longer a smile, and his eyes were slightly wide- pure but full of weary. I glanced at the sight; Hosuh and the librarian seemed to be together- happily.

I thought more about the idea and smiled, "Beaumont." I said as his attention wasn't entirely on me, but he was listening. "I changed my mind; how about drinks? On me?" "Mhm, Yeah." He gave me his attention, nodding as we began to walk once more.

\Word Count\: 589 (Story-wise)

|Dictionary|

Weary:

Impatient or dissatisfied with something (often followed by of)

Riot:

A noisy, violent public disorder caused by a group or crowd of persons, as by a crowd protesting against another group, a government policy, etc, in the streets.