im not sure if ill continue this little storyline, quite possibly

the one where belle thinks there's quite a lot to say for gaining the upper hand

Belle breathed a shaky sigh of relief as the bell sounded, releasing her white knuckle grip on the desk, she bent down to gather her books, anxious to get back to her dorm room. She closed her eyes in a silent prayer that it'd be empty, there were some - ahem - things she had to take care of, and if her roommate was in, well, needless to say that just wouldn't do at all.

As she packed her books into her bag she idly wondered what Ruby would be doing after class, where those perfect legs would be taking her, then - of its own accord - her mind prompted the thought of 'what if she, too, is rushing back to her dorm room, what if she's in the same mindset as i am, what if we were to go together, what if-'

She was abruptly distracted from the heat coiling in her gut by a light tapping on her shoulder, followed by an a decidedly determined sounding "hi." She almost dropped her books.

Turning to face the very girl she had just been having decidedly not appropriate thoughts about, she tried desperately to connect her brain to her mouth. However, it wasn't going according to plan and the overall effect left her gaping like a fish, cheeks glowing a light pink for good measure.

Eventually, she managed to mumble out something resembling a 'hello' and was left staring up at a slightly confused looking Ruby Lucas, seemingly unable to think anything past 'oh wow she's tall.'

Belle watched as Ruby's face turned a little more serious, concern flashing across her features,

"Um, I know we've never really spoken but this whole lesson you've kinda been staring at me like I murdered your grandma or something, so, I thought I'd come over here and see, I mean, I just want to know, what's the deal? Have I offended you in some way, did you not like something I said?"

Belle was once again struck speechless as she watched the other girl talk, guilt and embarrassment mingling in her stomach as she noted the furrowed grown, the apologetic tone. Something in it pulled her back to reality and she began to smile.

"…I mean if it's something I've done I'm really sorry but I can't think of-"

"No!"

Ruby's head snapped up at that, eyebrows basically at her hairline. Smooth Belle, smooth.

"I mean, no, you haven't done anything wrong - and the apology's all mine…"

Belle took a second to collect her thoughts, thinking that if the floor were to open up and swallow her into some hell dimension right this second she'd probably prefer that over this embarrassment.

"I just, you were very interesting, in class today. It threw me a bit is all. I'm sorry for staring."

Ruby cocked her head to the side, a slow smile spreading across her features

"Interesting? Really?"

Taking a breath, Belle allowed her face to twist into a smirk. She would not be thrown by this girl's obvious gorgeousness, previous embarrassment be damned. It was now or never, and she was damn well going to give as good as she got.

It helped a little that the slow burn was still very much present at the bottom of her stomach, making her that little bit more courageous.

She took a step closer to Ruby, noting the way her wolfish grin seemed to falter a little.

"Really. You're quite brilliant you know."

Ruby shrugged at this, the slightest tinge of a blush showing across her features,

"I do try."

Another step forward.

"And you're awfully distracting, honestly."

Belle didn't miss the way Ruby's eyes flicked down to her lips, they were really standing quite close now. Nor did she miss the now unmistakeable blush. Another smug smirk, aha! triumph!

Ruby seemed to be the speechless one now, and looking awfully tense. After a good few seconds she managed to breathe out an "Oh?"

"Mmhm…" Was the sole response. Ruby, now a proper firetruck red, found herself in a bit of a staring match. A very heated staring match. Sweaty palms, dry throat, a definite lack of dryness in the- yup. Oh boy. She broke the gaze, looking down at her feet, and mumbled something incomprehensible.

Belle raised one eyebrow, giving the other girl a 'what was that?" look, prompting her to repeat herself. (And inwardly praying she was going to say something more along the lines of 'lets fuck right here on the desk' and less along the lines of 'I need to leave right this instant you creep')

Ruby looked up and cleared her throat, the determined look once again gracing her features

"It's Belle, right? Belle French?"

Belle nodded.

Ruby took a breath. "I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go out with me sometime? Y'know, like a date?"

The sudden urge to shout 'OF BLOODY COURSE I WOULD YOU ADORABLE IDIOT'' and jump around the room was one that Belle was incredibly relieved she could repress. Instead, she took a minute to appreciate the beauty that was an incredibly nervous Ruby Lucas, arranged her face into what she hoped was a coy smile, and simply said yes, she would love to.

She could've sworn that Ruby's grin took up about 90% of her face, in the most beautiful way possible, as the girl reached over, plucking the phone out of Belle's breast-pocket (Honestly she thought she'd been in the middle of some deeply inappropriate daydream before she realised why that hand was going there) and started to type, what was presumably, her number in.

Tucking the phone back into her pocket, she gave a wink. All traces of her previous embarrassment gone, she continued to grin down at Belle, who was currently having trouble working out at what point she once again lost the upper hand,

"Tomorrow night, okay? Call me." And then she was gone, practically bounding out of the lecture hall, and Belle was left - once again - a speechless puddle.

Oh dear lord, this girl is going to be the end of me.