2. Don't praise him

And so the snow begins to fall, signing the end of November.

"...In order to finish this chapter faster, I'll have you to present explanations. Your project mate will be your seatmate."

Alice froze, jaw slacked. She dropped her pen.

Ace chuckled and hummed happily, turning to her with a smile.

"Yes...I'm so lucky, hahaha." He bent to stare at Alice closer. "Aww, we're having our first project together...Alice and I, together...! Hmm," he sighed, putting a hand on his chest. "My heart is running faster. Ahh~ the tension...the heat..."

"Knock it off." Alice deadpanned. She's used to Ace's antics in a week; he tended to tease her with romantic words, so often that she's gotten enough and bored.

"Ace and Alice, you'll gather information for human's blood circulation system." The teacher ordered, and the dark blonde nodded obediently, taking down a note.

~.X.~

Alice was forgetful, so she tended to work on assignments before she forget them. After school, Ace and her gathered in the cafeteria to work on the explanations. She had to get Ace to be serious most of the time, but eventually they finished the presentation.

"Hmm, this will be the first time I did a project with someone and actually finished it." Ace said happily, his breath steaming from the coldness.

"I did most of it though." Alice twitched, turning off her laptop and plugged out her flashdisk. "Now we only need to print this and the pictures. We need a big one. I've searched the pictures. Do you have a printer at home?"

Ace chuckled. "I don't even have a home, hahaha. I rarely went home, I sleep anywhere I want to."

Alice stared at him with a frown, deciding whether to take him seriously or not (in this freezing winter?), but she decided not too, and shrugged.

"Well, let's go and find printing shop."

"Ooh, is this a date?"

"N-No!" Alice blushed and rose from her seat. "Come on, just shut up and let's go!"

Ace smiled gently without her knowing. He followed her from behind and they entered the snowing weather.

He wasn't lying about anything he had told her; but he didn't want her to pity him. He just want her to stay the way she is. So he watched her as they explored the town to find a printing shop.

The first shop she'd usually gone to was taking a month of vacation. Alice calmly began to lead their way to the next ones. Until the third shop, and there was an error or out of paper, or out of ink, and Ace noticed the dark blonde beginning to reach her wit's end.

"Uhm..." she gulped as they exited the last shop. "There's still one more, thirty minutes from here if we walk. Let's go."

Ace raised his eyebrows. "Ookayy..." he shrugged.

He couldn't miss the way she began to sweat and seemed stiff, nervous about not being able to print. Ace almost had to tackle Alice before she frantically ran to get the last printing shop. The snow was piling high to their knees, and she was shivering.

"I-It's closed." Alice said numbly, glaring at the 'out-of-business' panel on the door.

She bit her lower lip, her eyes tearing up. "Umm...Uhmm...do you know anyone in our class with a printer?" she asked him, trying to hide her embarassment.

She wasn't close to her other classmates, that's why she'd go all this way to print on the shop. She's too embarassed to ask her classmates.

"Haha...Are you kidding me?" Ace laughed bitterly. "No one talks to me except you."

"Oh...okay." she swallowed her tears and took a deep breath. "Calm down, calm down...Umm...Alright, I'll handwrite all of those." She decided determinedly, and turned at Ace with a serious frown. "Let's buy big papers from the earlier shop."

And so, they went back to school.

It was already empty, and the sun was setting.

Alice had to write all the explanations on big papers, using markers. She did it carefully and neatly, doing her best to get her job done. Ace's gaze softened at her again. It was warming, yet heart-breaking to see her doing her best when everything else couldn't help her.

He wanted to help her as well.

Alice sighed and closed the marker with a cap. "I'm done..." she mumbled. "B-But...we don't have any pictures."

"Of course we have, haha!" Ace said grandly, and showed off several big papers. "We have!"

The dark blonde was surprised as she stared at the papers he's showing; Ace had drawn all of the blood-circulations and heart system neatly—clear enough to make out explanation. A smile grew on her face as she stared at his artworks. She inched beside him, close enough that he could smell her hair.

"You're better than I thought. These are amazing, Ace." She said honestly, looking up at him.

Ace's eyes widened at her words. Those eyes gazed gently and then, he pushed her down.

"He-Hey!"

"Aww, your heart might be beating faster, because I've just become your savior!" Ace chuckled, and pressed his right ear to her chest, and checked his wristwatch. "I want to check it...Let's stay this for one hour."

"It's one minute—and no!" Alice gasped, trying to push him off her.

"By the way, your chest is so fluffy, Alice. What's your size?"

"GET OFF ME, PERV!"

"But you said I'm amazing, hahaha...Do you know, not only drawing," Ace got off her chest, but straddled her on the ground as she struggled. He winked.

"I'm also amazing in bed. Wanna test that out?"

"NO."

I'm on time! Whee! Next update is on October 21st 2013! Kindly review if you have the time. :)