she tried to picture the weekend Alex must have had. All that came to mind were a few scenes from some idiotic movie about a bachelor party in Las Vegas that her own cousin had insisted on showing her at the barbeque yesterday. As she imagined Alex taking part in antics like the movie portrayed, she couldn't help but laugh even harder, and ended up gasping as she tried to breathe past her mirth.
“Wow, I didn't think it was that funny!” Alex laughed along with her.
“No, no,” Elise gasped out. “No, it just reminded me of this stupid movie-” she was about to add more, but in her amusement, she didn't notice that she had dropped her hem. For a moment, lifting her hands to illustrate what she was trying to say, she felt like her old self; she forgot she was wearing her skirts. As she tried to stifle her giggles and catch her breath to explain, she tripped on the long garment, and staggered.
In a flash, Alex was there, his arm an iron band around her waist and his other hand holding her arm to steady her books. Elise gasped, frozen in shock at the abruptly intimate contact. She was unable to block out her uncomfortable awareness that her body was pressed to his from hip to shoulder, her curves molding against the immovable solidness of him, her layers of skirts doing nothing to protect her. “Careful,” he murmured in her ear, all trace of amusement suddenly gone. “We wouldn't want you to get hurt, now would we?” His voice was dark, and his tight grip around her waist held her against his broad chest, impossibly strong. His tone reminded her of the moment he had grabbed her wrist the first time he'd spoken to her. Just like then, he was holding her in place, leaving her no hope that she could escape before he allowed it. The aspects of him that had frightened her so badly that day had largely been absent from his demeanor since, but here they were again. Her pulse was suddenly racing, and a fine shiver ran down her spine.
“Thank you,” she muttered, jerking away from him without meeting his eyes. Purposefully gripping her skirts with shaking hands to keep from tripping again, she continued quickly down the stairs.
“Elise, wait!” He called, pushing past a group of girls who all cast him dark looks in response. He ignored them, catching up with Elise near the bottom of the stairs. “What's wrong?”
“Nothing,” she snapped, then took a deep breath, calming herself. He had just saved her from falling down the stairs, and embarrassing as that was, there was no reason to be angry with him for flirting a little during the encounter. After all, hadn't she decided that flirting was okay? Hadn't she been doing it throughout all their conversations since the second day of school-- including their date on Friday? Besides, it was her own stupid fault for being so clumsy and tripping in the first place. Reminding herself not to be ridiculous and get scared over normal little things, she turned to look up at him. “Really, nothing,” she said more calmly. “I didn't mean to get snippy; sorry.”
“No problem,” he brushed her apology aside. “I should have been more thoughtful,” he said carefully. “I've noticed you're not a big fan of casual touching.”
She frowned as she looked at him. She generally tried not to be obvious about such things-- but then, he'd already proved how observant he was. She bit her lip, trying to stop the tremors still rippling through her. “Thanks,” she said again, and straightened her shoulders before walking into class.
Elise didn't look at Alex for the entirety of the period, choosing to focus on Magistra's introductory lecture about the classical literature they would be studying. As she took notes on Virgil and Sophocles,
“Wow, I didn't think it was that funny!” Alex laughed along with her.
“No, no,” Elise gasped out. “No, it just reminded me of this stupid movie-” she was about to add more, but in her amusement, she didn't notice that she had dropped her hem. For a moment, lifting her hands to illustrate what she was trying to say, she felt like her old self; she forgot she was wearing her skirts. As she tried to stifle her giggles and catch her breath to explain, she tripped on the long garment, and staggered.
In a flash, Alex was there, his arm an iron band around her waist and his other hand holding her arm to steady her books. Elise gasped, frozen in shock at the abruptly intimate contact. She was unable to block out her uncomfortable awareness that her body was pressed to his from hip to shoulder, her curves molding against the immovable solidness of him, her layers of skirts doing nothing to protect her. “Careful,” he murmured in her ear, all trace of amusement suddenly gone. “We wouldn't want you to get hurt, now would we?” His voice was dark, and his tight grip around her waist held her against his broad chest, impossibly strong. His tone reminded her of the moment he had grabbed her wrist the first time he'd spoken to her. Just like then, he was holding her in place, leaving her no hope that she could escape before he allowed it. The aspects of him that had frightened her so badly that day had largely been absent from his demeanor since, but here they were again. Her pulse was suddenly racing, and a fine shiver ran down her spine.
“Thank you,” she muttered, jerking away from him without meeting his eyes. Purposefully gripping her skirts with shaking hands to keep from tripping again, she continued quickly down the stairs.
“Elise, wait!” He called, pushing past a group of girls who all cast him dark looks in response. He ignored them, catching up with Elise near the bottom of the stairs. “What's wrong?”
“Nothing,” she snapped, then took a deep breath, calming herself. He had just saved her from falling down the stairs, and embarrassing as that was, there was no reason to be angry with him for flirting a little during the encounter. After all, hadn't she decided that flirting was okay? Hadn't she been doing it throughout all their conversations since the second day of school-- including their date on Friday? Besides, it was her own stupid fault for being so clumsy and tripping in the first place. Reminding herself not to be ridiculous and get scared over normal little things, she turned to look up at him. “Really, nothing,” she said more calmly. “I didn't mean to get snippy; sorry.”
“No problem,” he brushed her apology aside. “I should have been more thoughtful,” he said carefully. “I've noticed you're not a big fan of casual touching.”
She frowned as she looked at him. She generally tried not to be obvious about such things-- but then, he'd already proved how observant he was. She bit her lip, trying to stop the tremors still rippling through her. “Thanks,” she said again, and straightened her shoulders before walking into class.
Elise didn't look at Alex for the entirety of the period, choosing to focus on Magistra's introductory lecture about the classical literature they would be studying. As she took notes on Virgil and Sophocles,
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