(Didn’t he already confess?)
Brook had always suspected that Alex had been acting weird recently. No sign of him yesterday, only a few texts here and there. No explanations, no warnings. He was a no-show. And today, he was distracted. He seemed to lose interest in her and his other friends overnight. Instead, he was preoccupied with a witch.
She lead the way to an old haunt, flanked by James and Sam. No one said anything at first, as Brook’s grim determination seemed to take hold of them. That is, until James adjusted his glasses with a curious expression.
“So… how do you guys think you did on the exam?” He asked.
Sam shrugged. “We’ll see. I’d prefer not to think about it.”
“We should think about other things,” Brook agreed.
They made out to the courtyard and congregated at the fountain in the center. Brook sat on the edge, setting her bag on the ground. James sat next to her, and Sam stayed standing, pausing to check something on her phone.
“Sam, can you text Alex? He’s not here, and he has some explaining to do,” Brook said, crossing her arms.
Sam looked at her, then up across the courtyard. “Uh— he’s coming.”
Indeed, he was. Alex jogged across the courtyard, zigzagging to avoid other students walking past. When he made it to the fountain, he was panting a little.
“Uh… hey guys,” he started awkwardly, but before he could continue, Brook jumped up, eyes dark crimson.
“What is going on with you?” She asked.
He threw up his hands in surrender, blinking in surprise. “Woah, slow down Brook. Listen, something came up… it made things complicated.” He sighed. “How do I say this…”
Brook furrowed her brows, crossing her arms again. James let out a sigh.
“Alex, you talking to a witch. You were done with the exam before class was even halfway over. It’s… not like you, if you know what I mean.”
“Yeah.” Alex felt his face flush and his vision tint pink. “Y— yeah, the witch. The witch…”
His friends shared a look. Sam put her phone in her pocket. “Alex, why are your eyes shining like that?”
“It’s… uhm…” He blinked, then looked away.
She walked up and set her hands on his shoulders. “Listen, whatever’s going on, we’ll work it out. We just want an explanation. Witches can be… well, you know.”
“He looked more like a halfling to me,” James muttered.
“Regardless,” Brook huffed, “you were hanging out with him and not us. Did he offer you some exotic blood or something?”
Alex looked back at them. “No,” he said quickly. “Nothing like that. I… I like him.”
The others shared a look again. Brook slapped her hand to her face. “That makes sense,” Sam nodded. “He did look kinda cute.”
“Well, good luck with that,” James shook his head. “You should be careful, though.”
“And please sit with us tomorrow?” Brook asked. “It was weird without you.”
Alex nodded. “Yeah, yeah, definitely. Sorry guys. It’s been… weird these past couple of days…”