A/N: Happy New Year! Sorry this chapter is two days late, it was a weirdly difficult one for me to write and edit so I apologise for that. Updates should be back on track from here on out so expect another update tomorrow and then Sunday.
I haven't actually watched season 3 yet because I'm at a friends house right now but I'm really excited to watch it. Is it good?
Heading back to class, I realised that it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. My realisation of my crush on Klaus had seemingly cleared my head and, even if I didn't really know what to do with this information, I was a hell of a lot less confused. There was something about coming to terms with your emotions that felt really freeing.
That was, until I stepped through the classroom door. I didn't need to lock eyes with Klaus to get the feeling that my stomach was about to drop out of my body. Just the image of him working away, the dull sunlight tumbling through the window and highlighting his curls perfectly, was more than enough to do that to me.
I resisted the urge to curse under my breath and instead made my way to my seat, hoping he wouldn't notice me sit down. But of course, as I passed him, he glanced up and smiled.
"Nice trip to the library?" He asked. From this angle, the light shone from behind him to create a halo effect. Of course it would, I thought to myself as my heart skipped a beat. My words seemed to escape me so I just nodded and sat down, trying to ignore the feeling of my face heating up. Luckily, sitting on the back row, I didn't really fall into anyone's line of sight enough for them to notice.
I tried to focus on my work, and did so successfully until it was time to share answers with the class. For this, I needed to look towards the board and, to do this, I needed to look past Klaus. Who knew one boy could be so distracting?
Every time Miss Bass asked for an answer, I kept my head down. I wasn't really a fan of contributing in class. I think the last time I did that, Carmelita started her cakesniffer chant and I vowed never to do it again. I'd prefer not to draw attention to myself where I can help it.
But Klaus was different. Even though he was relatively quiet, he seemed to gain a massive surge of confidence whenever he was reeling off information. Ask him about his day and he might say a couple words but, ask him about all the different types of penguins and he'll talk all day. That seemed to be the case in class as well.
Miss Bass would ask for an answer, Klaus would put his hand up, but then get ignored if Carmelita knew the answer. If Carmelita didn't know the answer, Miss Bass would choose Klaus. But every time Klaus would say an answer, even if it was correct, Carmelita would argue and Miss Bass would always listen to her.
It made me wonder why Klaus even bothered, but I guess his determination could be considered admirable. I mean, I admired him.
The thought made me cringe a little and I felt myself go red again. I need to get these flushes under control, I decided. The last thing I wanted to do was have my face making things awkward.
Today, Klaus offered an answer for all of Miss Bass' questions and it made me smile. Even after Carmelita argued with him 4, maybe 5 times, he still didn't back down.
Maybe I should tell him, I thought, that he's admirable.
It wouldn't be weird...would it? I doubt me just complimenting him would raise suspicion, I mean, friends support friends all the time.
I'll do it.
Class ended swiftly and soon it was time for dinner. It was drizzling outside so most of the students jogged or ran across to the cafeteria so they wouldn't get as wet. As for me, I took my time. I'd always liked the rain. There was something about it I really enjoyed. Nevertheless, I didn't waste too much time and quickly followed everyone else.
I was the last to my table and Klaus glanced up to meet my eyes. I smiled at him and prayed I wasn't turning all shades of pink, before grabbing some dinner and sitting down.
Duncan and Violet were in the middle of some sort of conversation that I didn't really know anything about. I assumed they could be talking about something that happened in class or one of Mr Remora's anecdotes, but I didn't bother asking because I didn't want to interrupt them. Instead, I focused on my dinner, pasta with a strangely thin and watery sauce, and it seemed like Klaus was doing the same.
Meeting his eyes, I realised he looked sad, or maybe he was tired? Anyway, the unexpected eye contact made me quickly look away again but even as I tucked into another mouthful of pasta, I could see out the corner of my eye that his gaze still fell on me. I looked up again and he looked away. I looked away too but, a few seconds later I felt him look at me again.
Is he staring at me? Am I staring at him? What's going on?
"What's going on?" Duncan's voice sliced through my thoughts. A look in his direction made him continue, "Have you both figured out how to communicate telepathically or...have you both just gone mute?"
"Just enjoying our food, that's all," was Klaus' explanation.
"You're enjoying Prufrock food? Now, that is weird," said Violet, "This strange game that the two of you are playing must've messed with your tastebuds."
A strange game? What is she- is she trying to tease us?
I ignored whatever she was implying and went back to finishing my dinner. I figured that no one would talk to me if I had food in my mouth but, then again, it seemed that Klaus and I didn't need to talk to embarrass each other.
Speaking of which, I decided that I didn't want to sit opposite him anymore because the amount of times we had awkwardly locked eyes was actually astounding.
I let Violet and Duncan get into a conversation before bringing up what was on my mind.
"Klaus," I said, and his head snapped up to look at me, as if he hadn't been doing that for the duration of dinner, "I wanted to tell you that I really admire you. You always try so hard in class even when you don't have to and I think that's really... cool."
As I finished my little confession I realised how dumb it sounded. In my head it had sounded a lot better but now, as it was out in the open, I realised it sounded kind of random.
The others must've thought that too because, as Klaus muttered a "thanks" and his ears turned pink, Duncan and Violet shared a look.
Violet cleared her throat slightly, "Isadora... can I talk to you?"
I don't know why but her question filled me with dread. I had no choice but to nod.
"Not here," she said, "but... maybe tomorrow morning? At breakfast?"
I nodded again, "Sure."
I tried my best not to think about why she might want to talk to me but my mind couldn't help but run wild. Even as we sat through Nero's recital, which usually destroyed all thoughts I had with one note of a poorly played violin, I still couldn't help but try to figure out what was going on.
In the end, I just had to squeeze my eyes shut and tell myself to stop. There was no point worrying about something that hadn't happened yet. I would just have to wait until tomorrow to see what she had to say.
