Invitation

After the snowball fight, lunchtime arrived.

The students of the grade school department, worn-out and cold, trod into the cafeteria, hoping some food and drink could warm them up. Blair was sitting alone at the table in the corner, making Cadmus's heart recoil with discomfort. No one had spared so much as a glance, much less offered some company.

'Ugh, why is this so hard to watch?'

Blair was slowly spooning soup into her mouth. Then, a gust of wind blew past her, and she violently shivered. Cadmus decided he had enough.

'What are you doing?! No, stop! Go back, Cadmus Mondragon! What are you thinking?!'

His friends turned to look at him when he stood up out of nowhere. Ignoring them, Cadmus walked to the counter where they buy their meals. He didn't need to read the menu to know what he wanted to order.

'GAHHH!!! I'M REALLY DOING IT!!!'

With the tray in his hands, he took care as he headed over to Blair's table. Cadmus could feel his heart thudding hard in his chest, and all he could do was try his best to ignore it.

"Uhh, hey."

She turned, snot dripping from her red nose. Even in such a pitiful state, she had the guts to pull a face.

"What is it now, Your Highness? I don't wanna play anymore."

Even with her snarky attitude back, he couldn't seem to find it in himself to get angry, and instead, his ability to speak instantly vaporized. He set down the mug he was holding, his cheeks as red as they could be when he felt her curious gaze on him.

"H-Here! For you!"

They both stared at the mug of hot chocolate.

It should go without saying that he had chosen the most expensive cocoa. It had a gob of whipped cream and a generous amount of marshmallows bobbing on the surface.

Cadmus had asked for more because he knew that Blair liked sweet things.

'Also, she kinda looked like a marshmallow when she was bundled up.'

Not that he would tell her that. That would be super embarrassing.

Blair sniffed the hot chocolate. She blew on the surface to cool it down, which should not be as cute as it was. Cadmus felt like he was about to faint.

She grinned up at him blithely.

"It smells good! Thank you so much, Your Highness! I like chocolate!"

He blinked down at her in wonder.

He would have to carefully store that information in that special corner of his mind. Right next to, 'Blair likes candies,' and 'Blair hates science'. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he pushed the thought away.

"You looked like you're about to suffer from hypothermia, so I thought you'd like something warm in this harrowing weather."

Hypothermia. Harrowing.

Those words sounded kind of smart. Good. He'd look smart in front of her.

"It's nothing special."

That's a lie.

It was literally the most expensive warm drink on the menu. Now, he's desperately trying to hide how flustered he was as the realization sunk in.

Blair happily took a sip before saying, "That's nice of you."

Just then, a gust of wind brushed past them.

He shuddered and rubbed his hands together instinctively. That's when he discovered that her table was right next to the cafeteria doors. She would get hit by the wind every time someone left or entered.

Cadmus cleared his throat then said, "It's so cold here. D-Don't you want to change tables? M-Maybe you should sit with me and my friends? If you want to."

It was so unlike Cadmus to stutter, especially in front of some commoner. He knew it won't be too long before it's established that he kept doing weird things around Blair.

His eyes fixed themselves on the marshmallows floating apathetically in the cocoa. Hers popped wide open and then started glittering like stars.

"If that's alright with you," Blair replied, and at that moment, Cadmus felt like soaring.