[IC] Human disguise (ThatWeirdChick x AutumnFrost)

[StarfrostedFox]

At last, Anna walked into the room, glancing in his direction and visibly startling. This troubled Cinead, This feeling increasing as she stumbled through a greeting and gave him a somewhat shy smile. Had he done something to upset or scare her? Tilting his head to one side in a way that made his curls slide across his forehead, Cin briefly but carefully studied Anna's face. "hello Anna. It's good to see you again." He settled on saying, offering a small smile. "would you care to sit together?" He then asked, walking over to an empty table and pulling out one of the chairs as an offering.

[ThatWeirdChick]

Anna chuckled a little. "Sorry, just wasn't expecting you to be right in the door." She had to actually focus on the world around her. She needed to learn how to balance La-La Land and the real world. She watched him offer her a seat and blushed a little as she sat down. Hopefully he didn't see her blushing. Things didn't need to get so awkward so quickly. She had to say something. "Yes, Thank you."

[StarfrostedFox]

Carefully tucking in the chair as Anna sat down, Cinead found himself wondering at the sudden coloration in her cheeks. That was... interesting. Wasn't the word for that called blush? He thought he remembered it was due to embarrassment in most cases. He hadn't meant to embarrass Anna. Deciding that it probably would be better to not mention it, Cin slid smoothly into the next chair, settling his bag down onto the table. "you said that you were in animal biology before this, correct? How did your studies go?" He queried, fighting back yet another yawn. It seemed that not even interesting company could take away his weariness.

[ThatWeirdChick]

Anna watched him go into the next chair. She got her stuff out of her bag, opting to keep it on the floor next to her seat. Hopefully the blush had faded by now. Anna looked up at him as he spoke, nodding to his first question before answering the second. "The was good, the class went by really fast for me today. What about you? How did your last class go?" She noticed some people were staring and others whispering. She guessed it was because of the height difference thing.

[StarfrostedFox]

With senses that were sharper then humans, Cinead had no problem catching most of what was being said around them, most of the conversations involving those who were snickering commenting on the obvious difference between himself and Anna. He had to fight off the temptation to level a glower at the offenders, A normal human wouldn't be able to pick up on what was being said on the other side of the room after all. Especially when they were whispering. Trying not to let the disapproval show in his face, Cin did his best to block out the others in the room, gaze focused on the woman beside him. "that is good to hear that things went well for you. For myself, I'm afraid I stayed up a bit later than I should have last night, so I found it difficult to concentrate. Hopefully my subconscience was able to absorb more of the lecture then I thought I did." He admitted, unable to stop The next yawn. "Hopefully there wasn't an announcement about a test date that I missed."

[ThatWeirdChick]

Anna was able to notice he was becoming increasingly bothered by something. His eyes really gave it away when they started to narrow but quickly opened back up again a few times. "Is everything ok..?" She whispered. It was most likely because of their onlookers. She agreed that they shouldn't have been so nosy, but they couldn't do anything about it. She moved her hand and accidentally brushed it against his when trying to moved her stuff over a little. "Do you wanna take a micro nap before the professer comes in? I'll wake you up." She offered with another very tiny blush on her face. Man she had to stop getting flustered so easily around him.

[StarfrostedFox]

Apparently, he hadn't covered up his reaction quite as well as he thought he had. Cinead Felt a little sheepish as Anna questioned him, But gave his head a small nod. "fine. Nothing to be overly concerned about in any case." He reassured, doubling his effort to ignore the people around him. He was distracted as he felt a brush of contact against his hand, unexpected tingles of something he could only describe as electricity transferring through the touch, and his eyes quickly focused on Anna's hand that had apparently touched his as she adjusted her things on the table. His heartbeat had picked up, a light coloring of blush once again touched her face, and Cin had the sudden realization that the blood rushing to her cheeks might have nothing to do with embarrassment. The idea made him blink twice quickly and he almost missed her next question, somewhat at a loss for words. "no... No, I'll be fine." He said Saufley, contemplative as he looked at her, Studying her features.

... Was this woman... attracted to him? He couldn't be positive, But the idea made his head spin a little. How could she be attracted to him, a dragon. Most people, most humans, avoided him like a plague, some attribute of magical fear he assumed that was connected to his species. Did she really see him as someone who could be a potential mate? And if that was the case, how did he feel about her? Cinead almost put his head down on the table, his thoughts were swirling once again, making him feel confused but not yielding any answers.

[ThatWeirdChick]

The short girl gave him a bit of a suspicious look, but dropped the subject. She was beginning to be a bit bothered by all the whispering herself. But there was no use in asking over and over if he was going to deny being affected in the end. As she asked her question she noticed he was looking at her quite intensely. His face was unreadable to her. What was he thinking? Was it because she brushed his hand? As he answered, she noticed he started to look very pensive about whatever was going through his head. "O-Ok then, Cin." She felt awkward about the atmosphere between them. Why did it have a pregnant silence to it? Maybe she should say something.

She jumped when her phone vibrated, the id showing the name of her friend, Alex. She was asking why she was sitting with Cin today instead of with her and their other friends. She typed back the response that she had just met Cin and they just became friends. Anna very briefly summarized what happened yesterday and her friend understood very well. She put her phone away and put her head down. If he wasn't going to do it, then she sure would.

[StarfrostedFox]

Brow furrowing briefly as the atmosphere between himself and Anna abruptly became awkward, her face expressing discomfort, Cinead immediately felt a sense of guilt. He hadn't meant to come off as abrasive or rude... As Anna finished writing a message on her phone and put her head down on the table, his guilty unease increased. Wanting to put things right, hoping to bring back the easy happiness and intriguing conversation between them, Cin reached out, collecting one of Anna's hands in his own and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Anna... I'm sorry." He murmured softly, leaning down so that his face was closer to her. "... I'm not used to sharing my negative emotions with others. I've never been close enough to anyone to feel comfortable doing so." He admitted, closing his eyes briefly as he breathed in her scent. "I can have a bit of a temper at times as well, So focusing on derogatory remarks and jokes of people talking about us would just get me in trouble. I am very intolerant of people speaking negatively of others, especially a good Woman such as yourself." His eyes opened, a hint of gold swimming in the irises for a moment before he offered a small smile. "I do hope that you can forgive my rudeness." He then said softly, giving the hand he still held another squeeze.

[ThatWeirdChick]

Anna had begun to adapt to their small silence before something completely unexpected happened. Cin took her hand and gave it a squeeze. His hands were so warm. She knew she was getting flustered again as he spoke. What did he have to be sorry for? Anna began to panic as she began thinking that he had figured out her crush on him. It was a bit obvious if he wasn't too dense. She brought her head up to properly look at him. She realized that this was a bad idea, because he moved his face and in their new position, their noses were almost touching. The taller boy would find that her scent smelt like vanilla beans. As he opened his eyes again, she felt herself grow redder and slowly nodded. God he had to know what he was doing at this point. If he didn't this was going to be even more awkward than before. "Th-There was nothing to apologize for Cin." She reassured.

[StarfrostedFox]

Her face had finally come up, her cheeks flushing an even deeper red, and Cinead caught the distinctive sent of her attraction below her natural fragrance and the smell of vanilla, could hear her heartbeat increase in Tempo, confirming his suspicions that she did indeed feel drawn to him. And once again he felt himself grow slightly confused, His understanding of human reactions opposing what he was experiencing now. Should he make an objection? Make it clear that he believed they could only be friends? He was a dragon for lands sake. Carefully and slowly moving back a few inches, but not breaking contact with their hands, Cin Felt as if he were in a heated argument within his head, His thoughts battling back-and-forth on the wisdom of pursuing a relationship with Anna. Was that even possible for him? Before he could lose the thread of the conversation, he made himself reply to her statement. "nevertheless, I feel that I must apologize for my lack of forthrightness and for acting aloof."

[ThatWeirdChick]

Anna had managed to calm herself after a minute. Who was she kidding with this stupid crush. Her reaction to him being so close probably a good enough sign of her feelings. She might as well write it on her forehead to make it any more obvious at this point. He looked pensive again and she just mentally sighed. It was pointless to try and hide it, but she might as well do it anyway. If he had to think it was more likely to be a no. "It's not your fault. Besides, you seem to like being a bit aloof." She joked lightly. "And tip for the future, don't do that to every girl you encounter." She added as she gestured to their hands and how close they were. "You could send the wrong idea to them or anyone else." She smiled a little and slowly removed her hand from his. She noticed that her hand felt a little cold because she wanted to continue holding his hand, but she ignored the feeling and put her head back down.

[StarfrostedFox]

The corners of his mouth quirked up as some semblance of her good humor returned. "Force of habit." Cinead said in the way of explanation to his being evasive in the details he shared. His eyebrows then lifted as Anna then offered some advice, gesturing with her free hand to their proximity and her hand still engulfed in his. He felt a distinctive, and rather surprising, sense of loss as she pulled her hand free a moment later, his hand somewhat colder than it had been before. Disguising the baffling sense of discomfort by tilting his head and lifting his eyebrows Cin leaned back in his seat the rest of the way, pulling his hand back into his lap. "that is good advice. If any other girl in the future should show a desire to be Friends with me, I will do my best to refrain from giving them the wrong idea." She had once again placed her head back on the table and he allowed himself one brief furrow of his eyebrows before he had to look away, the professor finally heading towards the front of the room and calling the class to order.

[ThatWeirdChick]

"Interesting habit." She chuckled. He seemed surprised by something when she gave him her small piece of advice and supposed it was normal. He probably thought she wanted more physical contact because of her crush or something. She usually preferred a small distance when it came to touching the person she had a crush on. The flood gates opened when and if they started dating. She nodded and chuckled a little. "Yeah, you don't want every girl you meet having a crush on you." She joked as she put her head down. She lifted her head soon after she heard the professor come into the room. She mumbled something about her car having a bit of trouble, which was why she was a little late this morning.

[StarfrostedFox]

If any other girl would even talk to me... Cinead thought ruefully as he pulled out a notebook and pencil from his bag, clicking lead into place and focusing his gaze onto the professor, who had started a lecture on what he assumed had something to do with muscle structures, if the diagram he had pulled up on the projector was anything to go by. But after a few seconds, he found himself blinking, having not taken in a word that have been said, his thoughts distracted. Attempting to focus his thoughts, Cin repeated the next several sentences in his head, putting pencil to paper and trying to discern relevant information. Gradually, his thoughts drifted once more however, casting a few surreptitious looks towards Anna. Absently, he doodled in his notebook, beginning to go over the benefits and consequences of pursuing a relationship with the woman next to him.

Before he knew quite how it happened, he found himself blinking down at a halfway decent picture he had drawn of a dragon rearing up on its hind legs, wings partially unfurled as a gout of flames shot from its open maw. Considering the image thoughtfully, wondering if his more instinctual side was trying to tell him something, Cin tapped an image standing behind the dragon, a young woman with curly dark hair, watching the dragon with the look of adoration... At that moment, he found himself coming to a conclusion. Perhaps, if he was careful, he could pursue a relationship with Anna. Though he hoped that the image he had drawn on the page before him never came true. Not even strong loving Anna would be able to look at him with any level of admiration if she knew what he truly was...

There was a sudden flurry of motion around him, People standing and collecting bags and books, chatting happily with their neighbors. It took several seconds for Cinead to register what was going on, why people were quite suddenly leaving the room. The lecture was over. Glancing back down at his notebook, not a single sentence having been written, he released a brief huff of wry amusement. He had wasted the entire hour in his own mind. Glancing towards Anna, he revised his thought. He had spent his time wisely considering The best decision to make on a serious situation.

"would you still like to go to lunch together?" He asked, hopeful that she was still in a good enough humor to go with him.

[ThatWeirdChick]

Anna had managed to push most of her thoughts away for the first half of the lecture. She had drawn a few diagrams and taken a good amount of notes. She did, however, start zoning out when the professor went on a semi-tangent and started talking about how she had met her husband over a muscle injury. Her mind drifted to why she felt so randomly drawn to the man next to her. Usually it took her longer to develop a crush. But she guessed a lot of things were different when it came to Cin. She never really met guys like him, not to mention as tall. He also had this way of being that seemed so foreign but also extremely intriguing(and admittedly a little alluring).

She had caught herself accidentally messing up a previously perfect picture of a muscle sprain with small doodles of hearts and small faces that were in a daze. Great. She really hoped she could save that particular diagram later.

Anna tuned back into the class for the last few minutes and managed to take a few more notes after that. Anna glanced over at Cin and wondered if he was gonna still go for lunch and was a bit happy when he did. She finished putting her stuff away and silently vowed to read the textbook chapter again as she smiled up at him with a nod. "Of course." The small girl felt a vibrate in her pocket and would check it while he was ordering or something.

[StarfrostedFox]

Collecting his things and placing them back into his bag, Cinead got to his feet and stretched, his back popping after having sat in one position for so long. Glancing down at Anna, he felt relieved as a characteristic smile touched her face. "excellent. Where would you like to go?" He inquired, trying to remember some of the other nearby restaurants. He thought he remembered there being some sort of vegan restaurant that was being advertised and silently hoped that Anna didn't have any desire to go there, he hated most vegetables. He heard her phone vibrate, but she didn't check it immediately, And Cin briefly wondered if her texting earlier had been the cause for her momentary display of depression.

[ThatWeirdChick]

Anna stood up after him, making sure she had everything before getting ready to go out for lunch. "Hmm, since we went for sandwiches yesterday, why not go for some pizza? There is this awesome place a bit farther than the deli, but I love it there." She explained, a somewhat hungry look flashing across her face. Having some good food would be a great distraction from her crush on him right now. That and she was just dying for an excuse to get a 3 cheese pizza from there again. It was heavenly the last time she ordered some. "It's called Buchelli's Pizza, have you been there before?" She asked as she started to walk out of the classroom with Cin.

[StarfrostedFox]

Following after Anna and then adjusting his stride to allow the shorter woman an easier time of walking next to him, Cinead considered the proposition of going to get pizza. He had never personally tried that particular food, not having found the idea of cheese covered bread appealing to his carnivorous appetite. And from what he remembered, they had a tendency to put vegetables on the top. He hated vegetables. But perhaps, in light of his recent commitment and the obvious excitement he could tell Anna had for the idea, he would give Pizza a try.

"No, I've never been. I have honestly never tried pizza before. But you sound excited about it." He said, working on being a bit more honest and open about his thoughts. " i'm not opposed to going."

[ThatWeirdChick]

Anna had been able to keep up with him, especially with his adjusted stride. She silently cursed his long legs but pulled out her phone to look at the website for the place. "Let us see what's on the menu, eh?" She giggled with glee. She had been about to rattle off the specials and general types of pizza on said menu but then he had mentioned that he had never tried pizza before. The shorter girl paused, looked up at him and gasped.

"Never had pizza?! What next?! You never had ice cream-no! Don't answer that! That's it! We are taking you this second to try some!!! The specials of the day are the Ultimate Meat Lovers and Hawaiian, but I can get you a normal cheese to see how you like the plain." She marched up to him, grabbed his wrist and started marching ahead of him with a determined look on her face. She had been so occupied with the idea of him needing to try pizza, she didn't even realize they were kind of holding hands again.