After School Bonding

Eli honestly thought that Noah couldn't possibly get even cuter than this.

He was now beaming at her just like the adorable puppy he was. This wasn't the kind of expression he became known for, though. She could tell that it wasn't the same princely facade he had a hobby of wearing. His smile at this very moment was genuine and earnest, as if a mask had been peeled off at last. At this, she couldn't help but mirror his ear-splitting grin.

"It's already getting late, though. You should go ba-"

Noah then suddenly paused at the sound of his stomach growling, catching both of them off guard. Eli seriously thought that there's a lion secretly living in there. He didn't seem to be all that flustered about this as he only mustered a deflated look, figure slumped and spirits visibly dampened. His expression reminded her that he's the candid type of person who doesn't mind being seen like an open book.

"I should feed you first, then. Hal and the others will be here any minute now, anyway," Eli offered with a generous smile, much to his delight.

Then, with that, she began feeding him while his face only brimmed with childish enthusiasm in return. If it wasn't for her awkward position, which made her wonder just how their relationship escalated this quickly, she'd most likely melt in a puddle of goo at how cute he looked. She's already getting the feeling that he'd see her as a motherly figure from now on, but she didn't really mind since they'd no longer make a rivalrous exchange every time they meet. She could just also take this action as a form of reconciliation with him.

"Ah, wait! I forgot to ask something," Eli blurted out all of the sudden, lowering the spoon.

"Is the soup okay, Noah? I'm afraid it had turned out like the tea yesterday. I'm not really good at cooking."

"It's fine! I'm used to this taste," Noah enthused ebulliently, much to her relief.

"Mother used to cook for me when I was younger. She once suspected poisoning in my food when I got sick, so she decided to just make it herself. Mother didn't really trust many people that time, and not even the tasters who tested our foods got out of her radar. She only stopped doing it when she finally had the authority to replace all the staffs in the palace."

At this, Eli couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised by Venus's thoughtfulness, though she did think she also went a bit overboard with her trust issues. It wasn't mentioned in the book at all, which was quite a downer considering how precious this moment could turn out to be. Now, she recalled that the plot was basically structured to mostly revolve around the main characters. All of the Empress' screen times were always when she was acting like a pugnacious madwoman who did nothing but put her subjects in irons and obsess herself over world conquest.

"Now then, let's continue!" Noah chimed in, smiling a bit too blithely for someone who's supposed to be sick.

"Right," Eli simply replied before resuming their feeding session.

That's until the curtains around them suddenly fluttered open. Surprised, the two swiveled their heads to the side, only to find Hal, Zeke and Allen staring back at them in flummox. The spoon Eli was holding was still inside Noah's mouth while the gap between them was as good as gone. She had to sit on the side of the bed since her hand was shaking a little, and she didn't want to spill the soup by accident. Unbeknownst to both of them, however, this current position had inevitably generated tons of wrong impressions inside their heads.

"You jerk...!" Zeke bolted out after a moment of awkward silence, stomping towards Noah and grabbing him by the collar.

"How dare you enslave Ms. Claes like this?!"

"Don't be stupid, Mister. Just shut your trap and go out. You're disturbing us," Noah growled, eyebrows furrowed in miff.

"Ha...! As if I'd leave you like that!"

By that, what Zeke meant was their misleading position. When Noah was about to snarl back again, Eli finally decided to cut in and explain how he wasn't feeling good enough to feed himself at the moment. The blonde seemed to be not very good with words, after all. He also still had the guts to pick up a fight when hadn't even fully healed yet.

"Why are you playing house now, Eli? Aren't you too old for that?" Hal quipped with a teasing smile, yet his voice somewhat came out a bit rubbed off.

"Don't be like that, Hal. I was just feeding him," Eli retorted in annoyance.

"Exactly."

Bemused, she just stares at him as if she's solving a riddle to which he only sighs in reply. Allen, on the other hand, tried to snap the two first-years out of their mini debate on the laws of personal space. Though flabbergasted that the frail boy who was hanging by death's door earlier has now returned to his trademark vigor, he was also relieved that Noah seemed to have recuperated faster than before. His fever used to weigh him down for at least a couple of days after all.

"Thank you for looking after him, Angelica. It's already getting late, though. You should go home," Allen started, making everyone look to his direction.

"Yes, I think I should. My parents are probably worried by now. I did make a call earlier, but they seemed to be busy with work at that time," Eli replied before fishing out her phone and scanning through her contacts, only to find that there's still no message.

"And I might miss the bus," she added, veiling her disappointment.

"Wait... Bus? You're not living in the dorm?" Noah blurted out in surprise.

"Well, no. I can't afford that and my house is not really that far."

"But it's already this late. Have you tried going home around this time? Isn't it dangerous? How near is it then?"

Everybody else was confounded at Noah's sudden gushing. Undoubtedly, the wind has started blowing to another direction. Eli herself was still adjusting, but she didn't see the need to fuss over it. If anything, she's tremendously grateful that their relationship was slowly changing. The others, however, weren't quite faring well at the moment. They could see flowers and sparkles around the blonde as he eyed her with genuine unease and worry.

"It's alright, Noah. Thank you for your concern," Eli continued with a reassuring smile.

"No, he's right, Eli. Someone should walk you home at least. I do want to but as the leader, I really can't go outside the academy for security purposes," Hal voiced out apologetically.

"I can spare some time, Angelica," Allen chimed in to which she only grinned appreciatively in reply.

"Oh come on, guys. I'll be fine. Have you forgotten that Venus is with me? And Allen, aren't you already exhausted today? You also had the poison after all."

"I can give you a lift, Ms. Claes. My driver's here with me so we can get you home in no time."

Taken aback, everyone swerved their heads to Zeke who just dropped those words as if placing the highest price in an auction. He just tilted his head quizzically at this, wondering what's with their surprised stares. Noah then squinted his eyes at the young heir, seemingly deep in thought. As Eli was about to decline such a magnanimous offer, the blonde cut her off all of the sudden.

"Then, I'll owe you one, Mister..." he trailed off with a tamed look - the first one he showed him so far.

"Huh? I'm not doing this for you-"

"...But if you try to pull off something unnecessary, you'll really get it," the blonde taunted meaningfully before laying down on his bed and turning his back on him.

"Seriously, what's up with that?"

Gears started turning in Hal's head at their exchange. It appeared like Noah also noticed something about Zeke's perception of their upperclassman. Then, shrugging these realizations aside, he paced towards Eli and began dragging her away from the bedside. Flummoxed, she tried to retort to his abruptness, but he only continued pushing her by the shoulders with a nonchalant expression.

"Ezekiel, take this airhead home safely. Allen and I will stay with Noah," he ordered before taking the bowl of soup from her hand.

"Uh... Sure," Zeke answered with a nod, trailing after them.

"Hey, wait, Hal... Why are you kicking me out like this? Ugh... Then, I'll just see you tomorrow, guys! Get well, Noah," Eli rambled confusedly before eventually disappearing behind the curtains with the young heir in tow.

As the others bid their farewells, the two finally sauntered outside of the infirmary. For a while, they stayed in silence until they eventually reached the back gate of the academy. After everything that went down today, they're visibly enervated. But then, not even Eli's exhaustion could save her from gaping in awe and surprise the moment she saw her service for today. Zeke just contacted his driver who then parked a lavish black limousine before them not even a few minutes after he called. Not only the car, but the chaperone himself appeared spruce and well-dressed even though his young master called out of the blue.

Therefore, the quietude between them still remained even after they're already inside the vehicle, but this time, Eli's tiredness wasn't to blame.

"Thank you for the ride, Ezekiel. I'm really sorry for the trouble," she eventually started, thinking that it's quite rude not to thank him at least.

"No problem, Ms. Claes. Seeing that the road is already this dark, I'm glad that I took you home," he replied amicably, staring outside the tinted window.

"You're right... I never thought it'll get this dark around here."

"You never went home at this hour before? Or go out with friends?"

"No, I haven't. It's my first time staying at school this late, and I don't have any friends to hang out with in the first place."

Zeke then swivelled his head to her in surprise. Now that Eli said it out loud, she realized that she didn't really experience something like this before, not only the part that a boy with a limousine drove her home, but also when she bonded with friends after school hours. Though she always did that with Hal since she did have her library duties, this time's a bit special. For some reason, she couldn't help but smile at the thought that she spent time with them like this.

"You may call me Eli... Zeke," she blurted out all of the sudden, catching him off guard.

"H-Huh?"

"Ms. Claes is too formal. We're already friends now, aren't we?"

When she smiled at him with unmatched brilliance, the young heir could only blush and scratch the back of his head timidly. His flushed face could actually lit up the whole street. At his unannounced Blushing Fest™, his driver, who was watching through the rear-view mirror all the time, only smirked knowingly and nodded his head as if approving an unvoiced consent.

"Better tell this to Boss later..."