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You let out a sigh, exhaling the long breath through your mouth as you idly flicked through the school year book. It seemed like only yesterday you were a bright eyed and chipper freshmen. And now you were having a special graduation party for one of the best students to attend Ashford Academy. Milly had declared today Cupid Day for the special occasion. Throughout the entire day you had to run around wearing stupid hats that were shaped like a love heart. The aim of this event was to try and steal the hat of the person you liked, thus declaring you a couple. You thought the idea was pretty silly but you participated in the small hope that perhaps maybe, you could actually get his attention.
The odds weren’t in your favour. You had to capture his hat and so far he was a crafty guy and just dodged any attempt you made. It was also hard to keep up when he had a throng of women chasing after him. After a while you lost hope and decided to give up. You wandered off to the library and stayed there, stewing with your own nasty thoughts as you flipped through the school photo album. There were a lot of great pictures but none of them seemed to really interest you. You were too busy stuck in your own thoughts to notice the smiling faces staring back at you. If you had been in this reality you might have also heard the approaching footsteps from behind you. But no, you were still too busy having a pity party for yourself.
"What are you doing here?"
You suddenly shot up in your chair and nearly jumped out of your own skin as you let out a loud gasp. Your thoughts had come to a screeching halt as you whirled around with a surprised look etched onto your face. Your surprise quickly turned to embarrassment as you realised what had scared you.
"Oh Gino, it's just you" you breathed a sigh of relief.
You placed a hand over your chest, trying to calm your erratic heartbeat. It was hard when he was in the room with you. His presence alone could make you anxious. Gino was a pilot for the Tristan Knightmare and he was a Knight of the Round. He had only been coming to this school for a few short weeks but that was all the time you needed to become enthralled with him. He had such a gorgeous smile and carefree attitude that you became infatuated very quickly with him. His blue eyes glistened like crystals and his blond locks looked so tempting to touch.
Unfortunately you weren't the only one who had the hots for Gino. Half the female students either liked him or Lelouch. You admitted that Lelouch was attractive in a dark and mysterious way, but his personality just didn't chime with your own. You had your heart set on Gino and you were hoping that today you would finally get him. That plan didn't go so well. That's why you were still sulking in the library, trying to avoid everyone and everything. Gino placed a hand on his hip, cocking his head to the side with lazy a smile.
"Did I scare you that much?" he teased.
You shook your head with a small smile. You weren’t going to give him verbal confirmation that he scared the daylights out of you. His ego was already pretty big. You simply shrugged as you turned around to close the book. You shoved the book under your arm and went to put it back in its proper place.
"So what are you doing here?" you asked, trying to keep your mind distracted.
"I came to find you" Gino replied.
As you placed the book back you turned to him with a frown. You tilted your head, blinking rapidly in mild surprise. Did you hear him correctly? He came looking for you? Why would he do that? Your mind was already starting to race with the possibilities but you tried not to jump to any conclusion. You straightened yourself out and cleared your throat before speaking again.
"Why?" you inquired.
Gino shrugged, casually placing his hands in his pockets.
"You seem a little down today. Just wanted to make sure you were alright."
You smiled. You were a little surprised and a little flattered that he seemed to care about you. It made your heart flutter and your stomach erupt into hundreds of butterflies. You averted your gaze, trying to will away the heat rising to your cheeks.
“That's sweet, Gino” you replied. “Thanks."
The blond grinned at you, scratching at his cheek idly. "Don't mention it. But seriously, what's up? It's like you got a little rain cloud following you."
You let out a sad chuckle, a frown tugging the corners of your lips. "Is it that bad?"
You already knew the answer to that. Your mood wasn’t very cheerful and it was hard to hide your sadness behind a smile. That’s why you chose to sulk alone. At least then you wouldn’t affect anyone with your gloomy mood.
"So what is it?" Gino pressed.
Your shoulders slumped in defeat as you leaned against the sturdy bookcase. It was obvious he wasn’t going to leave you alone until you answered him. He would usually pester you until he got an answer.
"It's just this whole Cupid day” you said. “It's got me in a bit of a mood."
Gino tilted his head in curiosity.
"Why? Is it because you can't grab someone's hat?"
You didn't want to admit you had a crush but at the same time your heart was begging you to just tell him. You let out a small sigh as you nodded slightly.
"Saw right through me” you muttered. “Yeah, it's harder than I thought."
Gino scratched his chin in thought. "And you gave up?"
You frowned. "I don't really want to. I just didn't expect so much competition. I got pushed and shoved a lot and I think I'm starting to bruise. Plus the one I'm after just keeps getting away."
Gino smiled as he took a few steps closer to you.
"Well, I'm here now. So why not give it a try?"
You blinked rapidly in surprise as you stared at him, a dumbfound expression plastered across your face. Wait, Gino was aware of your crush? How did he know? And for how long? If Milly told him you were going to get your revenge on her. You told her that in confidence and she promised she wouldn’t tell another soul. Perhaps this wasn’t the best time to be thinking murderous thoughts when your crush was staring right at you. You cleared your throat awkwardly, your fingers tangling together as you absentmindedly played with them.
"You...knew?"
A wide grin spread across Gino’s face as he chuckled. "Of course I know. I may be blond but I'm not an idiot."
You sighed at his awful attempt at making a joke. But it worked and you cracked a smile. He held his arms wide, wriggling his fingers as he invited you. His bright blue eyes shone with mischief as he gave you a sly wink.
"Come on. Give me your best shot."
The thought was highly tempting. You were both alone right now and there was no one to stop you. Were you really going to let this chance go by you? You rose to his challenge and immediately lunged for him. He obviously anticipated your attack as he easily side stepped around you, dodging your feeble attempt to grab his hat. You almost went face first into the floor as you heard his airy laugh behind you.
"Too slow" he chimed.
You growled under your breath as you spun around on your heel, ready to attack again. You would not let him go so easily this time. You were determined. You tried to go for the hat again but you missed the damn thing by a few inches as Gino easily danced around you. His reflexes were good and it was starting to piss you off.
"Try again" he laughed.
You gritted your teeth. You had enough. As Gino was laughing heartily at your pitiful attempts you suddenly threw yourself at him, aiming for him instead of the hat. He let out a surprised yelp as you threw both of you off balance. You both fell to the floor in a tangle of limbs, crashing down with a loud thud. You landed on top of Gino and you both froze on the spot.
You could feel the sweat prick the back of your neck, your hands becoming clammy as you looked down at him. Gino looked just as surprised as you were. Neither of you made a move to get up. It felt like your heart was in your throat from the close proximity of his body beneath you.
You weren't sure how long you stayed motionless, just staring into each other's eyes but it could have been eternity. His lips were so close to yours and it was hard to resist the urge to lean just a few inches forward. You could feel his warm breath fan across your cheeks as he stared up at you, almost as if he was in a trance.
"Gino" you whispered breathlessly.
You didn’t want to resist anymore. You wanted to know if he accepted your feelings. It was risky but you decided to just go for it. You leaned down and he met you halfway. His eyes fluttered close as he pressed his lips to yours and you felt like you could just melt on the spot. His lips were soft against yours and you moaned lightly, tilting your head to deepen the embrace. Your hands cupped his cheeks, your fingers brushing his cheek bones before delving into his silky locks. They were just as soft as you had imagined.
As you parted from the kiss you snatched the hat from his head and held it up. He stared at it for a few seconds before his eyes flicked back to you.
"Gotcha" you smiled.
He couldn’t believe it. You caught him off guard. He could have been sullen about being bested but he was actually happy that you managed to out manoeuvre him. Before he could say anything you plucked your hat off your head and shoved it on his head, squishing it down before it popped back up. You stifled the giggle as he pouted at you. You were silent for a while, letting the reality slowly creep up on you. You were able to switch hats with your crush and according to the rules that now made you an item.
Gino grinned sheepishly at you. "So does this mean we're...?”
You smiled softly. "Yeah."
You squealed when Gino hugged your waist and suddenly rolled you over, pinning you to the floor beneath him. He grinned at you as the heat rose to your cheeks.
"Good. Because I've wanted to do this for a long time."
He peppered your face with kisses, leaving no inch of skin unmarked as he smothered you with affection. You couldn't stop the fits of laughter that burst from you.
"Stop Gino, it tickles!" you exclaimed.
Maybe Cupid's day wasn't such a silly thing after all. Thanks, President.