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Entry tags:
[Lightning Returns] Art of Coquetry (3012words) 1/?
Title: Art of Coquetry
Fandom: Lightning Returns
Character/Pairing(s): Noel Kreiss/Hope Estheim
Rating: PG-13 for insinuations
Warning: this is entirely about pick-up lines so ALL THE WARNINGS.
Summary: Noel's journey into acceptable flirtatious behaviour. Impressions-verse.
i-can-see-the-future: mabbe u just need 2 stop thinking 4 a bit
not-related-to-christmas: can’t. Midterms start in two days.
i-can-see-the-future: so hows studying going
i-can-see-the-future: nm ur here talking to me
i-can-see-the-future: ur not studying
i-can-see-the-future: talk 2 ur classmates
not-related-to-christmas: you’re not helping.
i-can-see-the-future: was i supposed 2?
i-can-see-the-future: go watch cat videos
.
.
.
from: Noel Kreiss <n.kreiss@academy.edu>
to: Serah Farron <kittycats@gpulse.com>
subject: HELP I can’t concentrate
Say you’re trying to get someone’s attention but they’re not paying attention to you and you’ve tried all the subtle manners and made their food into hearts and left them notes and all but it doesn’t seem to be working
What would you do?
.
.
.
from: Serah Farron <kittycats@gpulse.com>
to: Noel Kreiss <n.kriess@academy.edu>
subject: re: HELP I can’t concentrate
Shouldn’t you be studying instead of trying to seduce Hope again?
.
.
.
from: Noel Kreiss <n.kreiss@academy.edu>
to: Serah Farron <kittycats@gpulse.com>
subject: re: re: HELP I can’t concentrate
I am studying.
...up on seduction. ;)
.
.
.
from: Noel Kreiss <n.kreiss@academy.edu>
to: Serah Farron <kittycats@gpulse.com>
subject: re: re: HELP I can’t concentrate
Please, please delete that last email. I swear I didn’t mean to send it, it just looked funny when I wrote that and I was going to delete it and hit send by accident.
.
.
.
from: Serah Farron <kittycats@gpulse.com>
to: Noel Kreiss <n.kriess@academy.edu>
subject: re: re: HELP I can’t concentrate
You need better pick-up lines, Noel.
That last email is being printed and framed right now, and Snow is preparing a lesson plan for when the kids grow up involving that email on what not to do.
.
.
.
“So.” Noel fidgeted as he slowly pulled his bookbag over his head to rest on the opposite shoulder, watching his coach take notes on her clipboard while the others cleared out quickly from morning practice. While his teammates were nice and certainly boisterous, they were all more concerned about parties and booze and keeping their grades just high enough to stay on the team while impressing their fraternity of choice. His coach, on the other hand, was one of the most focused people he had ever met.
One of. Noel ran a hand nervously through strands of still damp hair, stalling for more time to think up the appropriate request.
“Better hurry along to class, Kreiss.” Oerba Yun Fang spoke up without so much as looking up from her clipboard, the very picture of unaffected. She made another note before sticking her pen into the messy bun of hair at the back of her head, and finally turning her attention in his direction and quirking an eyebrow. “Well?”
Those new to the team had all stuttered the first time they met their coach, daunted by her physique and piercing green eyes sharp under heavy lashes. Perhaps they hadn’t expected their coach to be a woman, much less one who within seconds proved that she could kick the asses of the entire team should anyone cross her, but after tales from Serah about her older sister… well, Noel had been exposed to a healthy dose of respect for the physical strength of women from an early age.
He pulled on the collar of his shirt uncomfortably. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. “Uhh…”
“Out with it, Kreiss.” She snapped, although there was no irritation in her tone. “What do you want?”
“I just wanted to ask you—” He made a futile hand gesture, pulling back when he realized that his actions were just adding to the confusion. “I mean, about the whole thing with, uh…”
She gave him several seconds to gather his thoughts once more, but when it looked like Noel was just continuously floundering, Fang sighed and shook her head at him sadly, the hand with the clipboard going to one hip. “I don’t date my students, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“No!” Noel flushed, feeling every inch of his lack of years as she gave him another curious, is bemused, look. Whoever thought eighteen meant ready for adulthood and knowing everything that came with it was lying. He tried to stand straighter for a more confident look, but her amusement deflated him pretty quickly. Noel was rather good at being confident around those his age, but… “I just wanted to ask about— well. I wasn’t asking you out, but I wanted to ask about asking out and. Yeah.”
She laughed, a sharp and strangely sweet sort of sound even as Noel heaved a breath at his utter failure to convey his idea with articulation and the style he somehow managed to dream up when he pictured this conversation with her.
“I heard a rumor from a little bird.” Her smile was wide and full of teeth, and Noel was reminded once again that his coach was actually good friends with the Farron family. It was likely that Serah had already told Fang about Noel’s dilemma. “Something about your pick-up lines being awful.”
Well. The worst of the conversation had to be behind him already, right?
“I just started learning.” Noel protested, rubbing at the back of his head sheepishly. “I’m asking for tips.”
That seemed to please her, as Fang nodded once in satisfaction before reaching over to tap his chest with the clipboard. “You don’t need lines. You need confidence. No more stammering, straighten up your back, and you’ll do fine. Chin up, find the right moment, and always look like you know what you’re doing.”
She paused, and her smile gentled a notch. “You’re a good kid, Kreiss. Good luck to you.”
.
.
.
“Yeah, so you walk into a room all confident and— what? What are you going to say?”
“I’ll figure that out as I go along!” Noel protested, shoving at Rigo as the older boy blew a raspberry at him. Childish. But Rigo was in his third year at the Academy and a varsity player on the team and also happened to be dating his year’s valedictorian… which was a huge thing at the Academy.
They also happened to share Anthropology class together, an interest for Noel who hadn’t known about the lax professor, and a passing elective for Rigo who had known and plotted just for this class. They were both sitting towards the back of the lecture hall, mostly because Rigo had pulled his fellow teammate with him in order to provide entertainment for himself during the slow lectures.
Which this happened to one of, seeing as Professor Mosani was once again fumbling around for his notes and probably would continue to do so for the next five to ten minutes.
“Hey, I’m not saying the coach ain’t right about that.” Rigo protested, laughing quietly as Noel shoved at him. “Confidence is an integral part of the process, you know? But say you’ve got the confidence.”
The redhead pulled back slightly, and then gave Noel a pointed look before straightening the imaginary lapels of his coat, nose up in the air snobbishly as he pretended to swagger while sitting down. “You’re confident, you’re cool, you walk up to that gorgeous girl, and…. well, confidence can only take you so far, my man. Then you’re going to have to open your mouth and actually form coherent words. That’s something you’ve not too good on doing in a pinch.”
“I can talk to people just fine.” Noel sulked.
“Sure you can. You’re great with people. I’m jealous. But that’s not the point— the point is, you can’t form words correctly the moment you’re actually talking to someone who matters, in a way you’re not comfortable with yet. You’re not good on the fly, my man. And that’s where pick-up lines come in.”
“I don’t need them.” Noel insisted, although the words were weak as he watched Rigo grin at him.
“See, it’s all about personality.” The older boy continued, ignoring that statement. “If a girl’s hot, she’s heard it all. Then you’re hard-pressed to come up with something original and entirely of your own flavor. There’s also reading the atmosphere and situation: see her sitting and laughing with her friends, drink in hand, and you might get away with cliched and cheesy, but endearing. Something cute and not dirty, and she might end up writing her number on the back of your end because you’re funny. Look, see, here, here.”
And at that, Rigo pushed himself right into Noel’s personal space and batted his eyes. “Did we take a class together? I could have sworn we have chemistry.”
Noel leaned back as Rigo laughed. “Oh my god. That was terrible.”
“To you!” The older boy grinned. “But I promise, it works! The trick is making sure it’s not too dirty because then you’re just a creep. Unless she’s into that kind of stuff, but then I’d worry about you. You’re obviously going to have to come up with your own good stuff, but hell, I don’t mind giving you some general tips.”
Noel flailed a bit in his seat. “I’m not going around picking up girls at bars!”
“You sure? ‘Cause I’ve got a few other good ones: ‘Is there an airport nearby or is that just my heart taking off?’ or even—”
Noel shushed the other boy as a few curious students turned to look at the two of them. “Rigo, I’m not going around picking up girls. I’ve— look, I’ve only got one person in mind, and they’re… they’re kind of not good at things like this, either.”
“Ahh.” The other nodded in acknowledgement. “Say no more. Don’t go for the good stuff, then. Something direct and cheesy. The classics always work. Something like… hey, I lost my number, can I have yours?”
“I already have his number.” Noel responded with a sigh.
That caused Rigo to stop for a bit, and the older boy made a thoughtful noise. “Hmm. Is the problem because it’s a ‘him’? ‘Cause I can work around that, you know. You know spaghetti?”
Noel narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “Yeah?”
“That’s straight, until things get hot!”
Noel very pointedly covered his ears until Professor Mosani finally found his notes again.
.
.
.
“Is he a geek? Hot at least? What am I talking about, everyone here’s a geek. Hey, Natarle, come here and help me with this one!”
“Rigo.” Noel insisted, holding up his textbook threateningly. “I’m not your pet project!”
They were finally out of class and Noel intended on using his two free hours before his next class to actually work on some of the research required for the mid-term paper. Unlike the others, he wouldn’t have any free time for things like that once his classes were actually over for the day.
Rigo ignored him, gesturing for a girl with bright bleached blond hair over to where they were sitting in the library (luckily, not the quiet section). “Girl, I need some good pick-up lines for geeky people.”
Strangely enough, the blonde didn’t seem to so much as blink in question. “How cheesy?”
“Hit me with everything you’ve got.” Rigo told her.
She smiled demurely, arms resting on the table in front of herself and leaned over to say, “Are your pants a compressed file? Because I’d love to unzip them. Wanna couple our equations tonight? In my bed, it’s perpetual motion all night long. How about you and me go back to my place and form a covalent bond?”
Rigo gave her two thumbs up, and then leaned over to Noel to ask, “Is it just me, or did she just get 200% hotter in the last thirty seconds?”
Noel moved to object, but then thought about it. He looked over to Natarle, who was still smiling sweetly. She was wearing a white cotton blouse that buttoned to the very top, and a dark tie around her neck which tucked into a loose but professional sweater that had buttons at her wrists. Overall, she looked every inch someone who might intern at Hope’s lab.
“...Does that actually work?” He asked cautiously.
Rigo gave him a look of wonder while Natarle just smiled wider.
.
.
.
They moved out of the library after someone had to come to their table (twice) and tell them to study quieter. Rigo argued that they should go and grab lunch (although Noel had already packed his own) and the three of them ended up sitting under the shade of a large oak tree down by the quad.
“Lesson one!” The redhead enthused, holding up a finger as the three of them gathered with their lunches. “Are the things you never, never say. Example.” He gestured toward Natarle, who nodded.
“Are you a booger?” She asked, counting on her fingers. “‘Cause I’d pick you. Too childish, too gross. You don’t want to have your significant other think of you as a child, nor do you want them to think booger when they think of you. Negative things are straight out.”
“My love for you is like diarrhea.” Rigo volunteered dramatically, one hand fisted over his chest and the other raised into the air. “I just can’t hold it in!”
“Lesson two,” Natarle continued, ignoring him, “never ever come on too strong. Don’t actually talk sex.”
Rigo took over for her there, leaning over suggestively with a winning smile to say to Natarle, “I may not go down in history, but I’ll go down on you. That shirt’s very becoming on you. If I were on you, I’d be coming, too.”
The blonde girl name a disgusted face, and shoved Rigo away from her. Rigo just laughed. “Ew. Gross. See?”
Noel could only agree, although… “How’s that different that everything you said earlier?”
“What I said earlier was funny. It was suggestive, and it appealed to the geek because if you think about it, there’s another meaning. It also helps a lot that Rigo and I already knew each other, and he knows I wasn’t actually hitting on him. Also, most of that was meant to be funny and as a double entendre rather than outright coming on to people.”
“I said it before,” Rigo reminded him, “Don’t be too dirty about it, or you’ll be a creep. There’s a difference between ‘do you mind holding my hand so I can tell my friends I’ve been touched by an angel’ and ‘nice set of legs, what time do they open?’”
“Wow.” Noel intoned dryly, shifting around uncomfortably. He was starting to think that maybe he opened a box he might not have wanted to open. “Maybe I don’t want to know more about this, after all.”
“You don’t actually have to use any of this.” Natarle assured him. She sat more comfortably cross-legged across from him, still looking professional and cool. “I’m just going to teach you what not to do. Most of this you’ll have to come up with yourself, but there’s a line between funny and endearing, and harassment.”
“Maybe I should just stick to not saying anything.” Noel suggested.
“We all say dumb things in the name of love sometimes.” Rigo told him, fingers laced behind his head. The older boy grinned reassuringly. “Don’t worry about it!”
.
.
.
’You’re like an angel without wings.’
Hope paused at the text message, and then checked the time. He was fairly certain Noel wouldn’t go out drinking even under peer pressure before 2pm, but…
He took a moment to excuse himself, mindful of Alyssa’s curious eyes, and then stepped away into his office where he leaned against the door so that any curious assistants wouldn’t be able to burst through while he searched out pictures of angels on his phone to send back.
After finding several depictions of biblical angels (a wheel with eyes, a ball of eyes with wings sprouting from every direction, a creature with multiple heads and arms and wings holding large weapons, and finally a ball of fire in the shape of wings covered with eyes), Hope decided to also link an article along with those images containing religious (fictional) examples of how human beings were unable to gaze upon celestial beings such as angels without burning out their retinas.
He ended the text message with several question marks on a new line, and sent it.
A response came back within the minutes.
’I meant modern angels! Like in books and television.’
Hope tapped a finger against his phone. ’So like a person, then.’
’What?’
’Those angels, but without wings. Like a person.’
The pause this time between messages was longer.
Yeah, I guess so.’
Hope was starting to have second thoughts about the drinking before 2pm thing. Maybe he underestimated peer pressure, but did that mean Noel was at least making friends at school? They couldn’t be very good friends, but it wasn’t exactly his place to say anything about it. He tapped his finger against his phone in thought, worrying at his bottom lip. What was he supposed to say to that? He didn’t want to allude to the dangers of drinking if Noel was having a good time.
’Thanks.’
Maybe it was a one time occurrence. Everyone had to learn at their own pace, after all. He nodded to himself, right before Alyssa knocked on his door to remind him that she had a project report waiting for him. He’d get back to work, but maybe he’d try to suggest to Noel that drinking was a bad habit if this continued.
.
.
.
On the other side of campus, Noel tried to smother an embarrassed groan in his hands inside the quiet section of the library.
Fandom: Lightning Returns
Character/Pairing(s): Noel Kreiss/Hope Estheim
Rating: PG-13 for insinuations
Warning: this is entirely about pick-up lines so ALL THE WARNINGS.
Summary: Noel's journey into acceptable flirtatious behaviour. Impressions-verse.
i-can-see-the-future: mabbe u just need 2 stop thinking 4 a bit
not-related-to-christmas: can’t. Midterms start in two days.
i-can-see-the-future: so hows studying going
i-can-see-the-future: nm ur here talking to me
i-can-see-the-future: ur not studying
i-can-see-the-future: talk 2 ur classmates
not-related-to-christmas: you’re not helping.
i-can-see-the-future: was i supposed 2?
i-can-see-the-future: go watch cat videos
.
.
.
from: Noel Kreiss <n.kreiss@academy.edu>
to: Serah Farron <kittycats@gpulse.com>
subject: HELP I can’t concentrate
Say you’re trying to get someone’s attention but they’re not paying attention to you and you’ve tried all the subtle manners and made their food into hearts and left them notes and all but it doesn’t seem to be working
What would you do?
.
.
.
from: Serah Farron <kittycats@gpulse.com>
to: Noel Kreiss <n.kriess@academy.edu>
subject: re: HELP I can’t concentrate
Shouldn’t you be studying instead of trying to seduce Hope again?
.
.
.
from: Noel Kreiss <n.kreiss@academy.edu>
to: Serah Farron <kittycats@gpulse.com>
subject: re: re: HELP I can’t concentrate
I am studying.
...up on seduction. ;)
.
.
.
from: Noel Kreiss <n.kreiss@academy.edu>
to: Serah Farron <kittycats@gpulse.com>
subject: re: re: HELP I can’t concentrate
Please, please delete that last email. I swear I didn’t mean to send it, it just looked funny when I wrote that and I was going to delete it and hit send by accident.
.
.
.
from: Serah Farron <kittycats@gpulse.com>
to: Noel Kreiss <n.kriess@academy.edu>
subject: re: re: HELP I can’t concentrate
You need better pick-up lines, Noel.
That last email is being printed and framed right now, and Snow is preparing a lesson plan for when the kids grow up involving that email on what not to do.
.
.
.
“So.” Noel fidgeted as he slowly pulled his bookbag over his head to rest on the opposite shoulder, watching his coach take notes on her clipboard while the others cleared out quickly from morning practice. While his teammates were nice and certainly boisterous, they were all more concerned about parties and booze and keeping their grades just high enough to stay on the team while impressing their fraternity of choice. His coach, on the other hand, was one of the most focused people he had ever met.
One of. Noel ran a hand nervously through strands of still damp hair, stalling for more time to think up the appropriate request.
“Better hurry along to class, Kreiss.” Oerba Yun Fang spoke up without so much as looking up from her clipboard, the very picture of unaffected. She made another note before sticking her pen into the messy bun of hair at the back of her head, and finally turning her attention in his direction and quirking an eyebrow. “Well?”
Those new to the team had all stuttered the first time they met their coach, daunted by her physique and piercing green eyes sharp under heavy lashes. Perhaps they hadn’t expected their coach to be a woman, much less one who within seconds proved that she could kick the asses of the entire team should anyone cross her, but after tales from Serah about her older sister… well, Noel had been exposed to a healthy dose of respect for the physical strength of women from an early age.
He pulled on the collar of his shirt uncomfortably. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. “Uhh…”
“Out with it, Kreiss.” She snapped, although there was no irritation in her tone. “What do you want?”
“I just wanted to ask you—” He made a futile hand gesture, pulling back when he realized that his actions were just adding to the confusion. “I mean, about the whole thing with, uh…”
She gave him several seconds to gather his thoughts once more, but when it looked like Noel was just continuously floundering, Fang sighed and shook her head at him sadly, the hand with the clipboard going to one hip. “I don’t date my students, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“No!” Noel flushed, feeling every inch of his lack of years as she gave him another curious, is bemused, look. Whoever thought eighteen meant ready for adulthood and knowing everything that came with it was lying. He tried to stand straighter for a more confident look, but her amusement deflated him pretty quickly. Noel was rather good at being confident around those his age, but… “I just wanted to ask about— well. I wasn’t asking you out, but I wanted to ask about asking out and. Yeah.”
She laughed, a sharp and strangely sweet sort of sound even as Noel heaved a breath at his utter failure to convey his idea with articulation and the style he somehow managed to dream up when he pictured this conversation with her.
“I heard a rumor from a little bird.” Her smile was wide and full of teeth, and Noel was reminded once again that his coach was actually good friends with the Farron family. It was likely that Serah had already told Fang about Noel’s dilemma. “Something about your pick-up lines being awful.”
Well. The worst of the conversation had to be behind him already, right?
“I just started learning.” Noel protested, rubbing at the back of his head sheepishly. “I’m asking for tips.”
That seemed to please her, as Fang nodded once in satisfaction before reaching over to tap his chest with the clipboard. “You don’t need lines. You need confidence. No more stammering, straighten up your back, and you’ll do fine. Chin up, find the right moment, and always look like you know what you’re doing.”
She paused, and her smile gentled a notch. “You’re a good kid, Kreiss. Good luck to you.”
.
.
.
“Yeah, so you walk into a room all confident and— what? What are you going to say?”
“I’ll figure that out as I go along!” Noel protested, shoving at Rigo as the older boy blew a raspberry at him. Childish. But Rigo was in his third year at the Academy and a varsity player on the team and also happened to be dating his year’s valedictorian… which was a huge thing at the Academy.
They also happened to share Anthropology class together, an interest for Noel who hadn’t known about the lax professor, and a passing elective for Rigo who had known and plotted just for this class. They were both sitting towards the back of the lecture hall, mostly because Rigo had pulled his fellow teammate with him in order to provide entertainment for himself during the slow lectures.
Which this happened to one of, seeing as Professor Mosani was once again fumbling around for his notes and probably would continue to do so for the next five to ten minutes.
“Hey, I’m not saying the coach ain’t right about that.” Rigo protested, laughing quietly as Noel shoved at him. “Confidence is an integral part of the process, you know? But say you’ve got the confidence.”
The redhead pulled back slightly, and then gave Noel a pointed look before straightening the imaginary lapels of his coat, nose up in the air snobbishly as he pretended to swagger while sitting down. “You’re confident, you’re cool, you walk up to that gorgeous girl, and…. well, confidence can only take you so far, my man. Then you’re going to have to open your mouth and actually form coherent words. That’s something you’ve not too good on doing in a pinch.”
“I can talk to people just fine.” Noel sulked.
“Sure you can. You’re great with people. I’m jealous. But that’s not the point— the point is, you can’t form words correctly the moment you’re actually talking to someone who matters, in a way you’re not comfortable with yet. You’re not good on the fly, my man. And that’s where pick-up lines come in.”
“I don’t need them.” Noel insisted, although the words were weak as he watched Rigo grin at him.
“See, it’s all about personality.” The older boy continued, ignoring that statement. “If a girl’s hot, she’s heard it all. Then you’re hard-pressed to come up with something original and entirely of your own flavor. There’s also reading the atmosphere and situation: see her sitting and laughing with her friends, drink in hand, and you might get away with cliched and cheesy, but endearing. Something cute and not dirty, and she might end up writing her number on the back of your end because you’re funny. Look, see, here, here.”
And at that, Rigo pushed himself right into Noel’s personal space and batted his eyes. “Did we take a class together? I could have sworn we have chemistry.”
Noel leaned back as Rigo laughed. “Oh my god. That was terrible.”
“To you!” The older boy grinned. “But I promise, it works! The trick is making sure it’s not too dirty because then you’re just a creep. Unless she’s into that kind of stuff, but then I’d worry about you. You’re obviously going to have to come up with your own good stuff, but hell, I don’t mind giving you some general tips.”
Noel flailed a bit in his seat. “I’m not going around picking up girls at bars!”
“You sure? ‘Cause I’ve got a few other good ones: ‘Is there an airport nearby or is that just my heart taking off?’ or even—”
Noel shushed the other boy as a few curious students turned to look at the two of them. “Rigo, I’m not going around picking up girls. I’ve— look, I’ve only got one person in mind, and they’re… they’re kind of not good at things like this, either.”
“Ahh.” The other nodded in acknowledgement. “Say no more. Don’t go for the good stuff, then. Something direct and cheesy. The classics always work. Something like… hey, I lost my number, can I have yours?”
“I already have his number.” Noel responded with a sigh.
That caused Rigo to stop for a bit, and the older boy made a thoughtful noise. “Hmm. Is the problem because it’s a ‘him’? ‘Cause I can work around that, you know. You know spaghetti?”
Noel narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “Yeah?”
“That’s straight, until things get hot!”
Noel very pointedly covered his ears until Professor Mosani finally found his notes again.
.
.
.
“Is he a geek? Hot at least? What am I talking about, everyone here’s a geek. Hey, Natarle, come here and help me with this one!”
“Rigo.” Noel insisted, holding up his textbook threateningly. “I’m not your pet project!”
They were finally out of class and Noel intended on using his two free hours before his next class to actually work on some of the research required for the mid-term paper. Unlike the others, he wouldn’t have any free time for things like that once his classes were actually over for the day.
Rigo ignored him, gesturing for a girl with bright bleached blond hair over to where they were sitting in the library (luckily, not the quiet section). “Girl, I need some good pick-up lines for geeky people.”
Strangely enough, the blonde didn’t seem to so much as blink in question. “How cheesy?”
“Hit me with everything you’ve got.” Rigo told her.
She smiled demurely, arms resting on the table in front of herself and leaned over to say, “Are your pants a compressed file? Because I’d love to unzip them. Wanna couple our equations tonight? In my bed, it’s perpetual motion all night long. How about you and me go back to my place and form a covalent bond?”
Rigo gave her two thumbs up, and then leaned over to Noel to ask, “Is it just me, or did she just get 200% hotter in the last thirty seconds?”
Noel moved to object, but then thought about it. He looked over to Natarle, who was still smiling sweetly. She was wearing a white cotton blouse that buttoned to the very top, and a dark tie around her neck which tucked into a loose but professional sweater that had buttons at her wrists. Overall, she looked every inch someone who might intern at Hope’s lab.
“...Does that actually work?” He asked cautiously.
Rigo gave him a look of wonder while Natarle just smiled wider.
.
.
.
They moved out of the library after someone had to come to their table (twice) and tell them to study quieter. Rigo argued that they should go and grab lunch (although Noel had already packed his own) and the three of them ended up sitting under the shade of a large oak tree down by the quad.
“Lesson one!” The redhead enthused, holding up a finger as the three of them gathered with their lunches. “Are the things you never, never say. Example.” He gestured toward Natarle, who nodded.
“Are you a booger?” She asked, counting on her fingers. “‘Cause I’d pick you. Too childish, too gross. You don’t want to have your significant other think of you as a child, nor do you want them to think booger when they think of you. Negative things are straight out.”
“My love for you is like diarrhea.” Rigo volunteered dramatically, one hand fisted over his chest and the other raised into the air. “I just can’t hold it in!”
“Lesson two,” Natarle continued, ignoring him, “never ever come on too strong. Don’t actually talk sex.”
Rigo took over for her there, leaning over suggestively with a winning smile to say to Natarle, “I may not go down in history, but I’ll go down on you. That shirt’s very becoming on you. If I were on you, I’d be coming, too.”
The blonde girl name a disgusted face, and shoved Rigo away from her. Rigo just laughed. “Ew. Gross. See?”
Noel could only agree, although… “How’s that different that everything you said earlier?”
“What I said earlier was funny. It was suggestive, and it appealed to the geek because if you think about it, there’s another meaning. It also helps a lot that Rigo and I already knew each other, and he knows I wasn’t actually hitting on him. Also, most of that was meant to be funny and as a double entendre rather than outright coming on to people.”
“I said it before,” Rigo reminded him, “Don’t be too dirty about it, or you’ll be a creep. There’s a difference between ‘do you mind holding my hand so I can tell my friends I’ve been touched by an angel’ and ‘nice set of legs, what time do they open?’”
“Wow.” Noel intoned dryly, shifting around uncomfortably. He was starting to think that maybe he opened a box he might not have wanted to open. “Maybe I don’t want to know more about this, after all.”
“You don’t actually have to use any of this.” Natarle assured him. She sat more comfortably cross-legged across from him, still looking professional and cool. “I’m just going to teach you what not to do. Most of this you’ll have to come up with yourself, but there’s a line between funny and endearing, and harassment.”
“Maybe I should just stick to not saying anything.” Noel suggested.
“We all say dumb things in the name of love sometimes.” Rigo told him, fingers laced behind his head. The older boy grinned reassuringly. “Don’t worry about it!”
.
.
.
’You’re like an angel without wings.’
Hope paused at the text message, and then checked the time. He was fairly certain Noel wouldn’t go out drinking even under peer pressure before 2pm, but…
He took a moment to excuse himself, mindful of Alyssa’s curious eyes, and then stepped away into his office where he leaned against the door so that any curious assistants wouldn’t be able to burst through while he searched out pictures of angels on his phone to send back.
After finding several depictions of biblical angels (a wheel with eyes, a ball of eyes with wings sprouting from every direction, a creature with multiple heads and arms and wings holding large weapons, and finally a ball of fire in the shape of wings covered with eyes), Hope decided to also link an article along with those images containing religious (fictional) examples of how human beings were unable to gaze upon celestial beings such as angels without burning out their retinas.
He ended the text message with several question marks on a new line, and sent it.
A response came back within the minutes.
’I meant modern angels! Like in books and television.’
Hope tapped a finger against his phone. ’So like a person, then.’
’What?’
’Those angels, but without wings. Like a person.’
The pause this time between messages was longer.
Yeah, I guess so.’
Hope was starting to have second thoughts about the drinking before 2pm thing. Maybe he underestimated peer pressure, but did that mean Noel was at least making friends at school? They couldn’t be very good friends, but it wasn’t exactly his place to say anything about it. He tapped his finger against his phone in thought, worrying at his bottom lip. What was he supposed to say to that? He didn’t want to allude to the dangers of drinking if Noel was having a good time.
’Thanks.’
Maybe it was a one time occurrence. Everyone had to learn at their own pace, after all. He nodded to himself, right before Alyssa knocked on his door to remind him that she had a project report waiting for him. He’d get back to work, but maybe he’d try to suggest to Noel that drinking was a bad habit if this continued.
.
.
.
On the other side of campus, Noel tried to smother an embarrassed groan in his hands inside the quiet section of the library.