AN: Sorry it had been ages since I've touched this series! But with the start of Lusorium, we will be diving back into the world of Jaimie and Seth Ayers. I wrote this drabble months ago and somehow missed it on my account so here it is! As always, all things Academy related belong to the genius that is CL. Jaimie and Seth are my babies. :D

Seth, Debonair Extraordinaire

I fidgeted in my seat as I waited for Mr. B to finish ordering our drinks from the pretty barista behind the counter. I watched as she batted her eyes and blushed as she flirted with him shamelessly, but Mr. B didn't seem to even notice. Women and girls of all ages appeared to be completely transfixed by him and it just seemed so effortless. And why wouldn't they watch him? He's attractive, polite, smart, and so poised. Too bad those girls didn't stand a chance with Mr. B. Even I could see that he loved Sang, just as the other boys did, and she was a million times prettier, smarter, kinder, and more loving than any other girl out there. Not that I was biased or anything, she just was.

Watching all of the attention he commands as he strides to where I'm sitting with our drinks reaffirms my decision to approach him with my current problem. I felt the butterflies that had been bouncing around in stomach pick up some as he settled into the both seat across from me and set my hot chocolate down in front of me. His silver gray eyes observed me with curiosity, probably taking in my extreme nervousness. I knew it was probably best to get started, as Mr. B most likely had a dozen more important things to take care of besides listening to my pathetic situation, but I couldn't seem to find the words.

"So, Mr. Ayers, what seems to be the matter? You don't have to be nervous, I am here to help you. Now what is the problem?"

I took in his slight concern and the promise to help that shone clearly on his face and felt myself relax. Mr. B had a way of completely assuaging all my fears and worries. He'll know what to do and he'll help out just like he promised. After all, I owed this man my life and the life of my little brother. He was the one who was responsible for removing Sir from our lives and for finding us a happy home. If he can do all that, he will be able to help me out now with no problem. Gathering my courage, I finally addressed the reason I had asked Mr. B here.

"Mr. Blackbourne, how do you woo a girl?"

Mr. B had been sipping his coffee as I asked my question and he suddenly started coughing a little. I think I might have surprised him a little and I felt instantly horrible. I didn't mean to just blurt it out like that. He wiped his chin a little with a napkin as he stared at me in confusion, his eyes probing and intense. His mouth twitched a little upwards at the corner and I think he was a little amused.

"Woo a girl, Mr. Ayers? May I ask why you want to know?"

I shifted a little at the question and avoided his piercing gaze as I felt a blush creep up my neck into my cheeks. "There's this girl…in my class that is, and she's really nice and pretty and I…Ireallylikeherokay?"

I kept my eyes averted as I heard his small "Ahhh," in response to my rushed confession and felt my cheeks burn brighter in embarrassment. I couldn't help but add the part that really killed me and the reason for my first question. "And she doesn't even like me and it sucks…."

"I see. What is the young ladies' name, if I may ask?"

I perked up in response to Mr. B's question, suddenly excited to talk about her. I grinned at him as I answered his question with enthusiasm. "Her name is Aisling and she's the cutest girl in the whole school! She's got really pretty blue eyes and her hair is a really light blond. It's not like Sang's hair, which is really pretty too, but it is so super light that it's almost a white color! And she's got these cute little freckles across her nose and when she smiles, she scrunches it up in this really cute way!"

Mr. B gave a light cough into his hand and I could have sworn I saw a smile flit across his face before he pulled it back into a carefully blank expression. "You really like this young lady then, Mr. Ayers? So why do you presume that she doesn't like you?"

I felt my excitement die down and depression well up in return. How did I know she didn't like me? It was completely obvious she didn't, but I answered Mr. B anyways. "Well, she'll stare at me and then she'll blush and giggle before whispering something to her friends. Or whenever I try to talk to her, she will go all quiet and finds some way to run away. Actually, she just seems to avoid me like I have the plague or something all the time. Why would she do that if she didn't like me?"

"Oh, I have no idea Mr. Ayers. Why would she?"

Something about Mr. B's tone tipped me off to his amusement and I looked up at him in confusion to see humor clearly dancing in his eyes. What did he find so funny? I felt myself getting a little annoyed. Here I was, sharing my misery and trying to ask advice and he seemed to be laughing at my misfortune.

"I told you, she doesn't like me, Mr. Blackbourne. That's the only thing that makes sense! And so that's why I'm asking you on how to make her like me."

He appeared to pick up on my irritation, because the small glimmer of amusement drained from his face and he regarded me silently for a moment or two before addressing my plea. "Well, what does Miss Aisling like? By that I mean, what is her favorite color? Hobbies? Does she have a favorite food? That type of thing."

"Her favorite color is teal, she loves to sing and plays the piano, loves animals and her favorite food is cake. She volunteers at the local animal shelter and she participates in the school choir. She wants to be a vet when she grows up and has tons of pets. She's the youngest of three kids and her older brother is in the year above us. She helped bake some cake and pastries for their bake sell last week and her food was amazing!"

Mr. B looked a little thoughtful as I finished up my gushing over Aisling and put his right hand up to stroke his chin a little. I let him think as I enjoyed my creamy hot chocolate, waiting a little impatiently for his advice. He seemed to reach a decision as he refocused his intense grey eyes back on me and pursed his lips a little.

"The first thing you should know about how to woo a girl is how to treat them, Mr. Ayers. All girls, young and old, are ladies and should be treated as such. You need to be a gentlemen who respects and treats ladies as they deserve, do you understand me?"

I nodded my head enthusiastically in agreement as I absorbed everything Mr. B was saying. "As a gentlemen, you are not to attempt to force your will, belittle, demean, or disrespect a lady in anyway. Treat every girl with the same amount of respect and humanity that you would your mother, Carol, or Sang. They are your equal in all ways and you will treat them as such. They may not always like you and you may not always like them, but you will respect them. If you confess to Miss Aisling and she ends up turning you down, you will respect her decision, even if it is a foolish one on her part."

I grinned a little at that last part, accepting it as the compliment it was intended to be. I felt a little flattered to have Mr. B talk to me in such a serious manner. He had never talked down to me as if I was a child, even though I was, but now I felt as if he was really talking to me as an equal.

"But do not confuse respect as giving into their every whim either. You have every right to stand up for yourself or others if a lady is not acting in a manner you do not agree with. You will not slander any women or use uncouth language in their presence unless they have made it clear they are comfortable with it. Never talk about a lady behind her back, especially in regards to what you do together. As they say, a gentlemen never kisses and tells. Also, always be honest in all of your dealings with a lady. That means to be honest with not only them but yourself as well. If a lady cannot take you as you are, they are not the right one for you.

As for "wooing", most girls appreciate some actions that are relatively small and easy to do on your part. Open a door for a lady, whether it be a car door or a door to a building. Offer to help carry things for a lady, especially if it appears heavy. When a girl is talking to you, make an effort to listen, even if it is not your favorite subject. Ask questions about things that interest them and be genuine. Keep your promises always and if a lady does you a favor, make sure you reciprocate and return the favor. Offer to do things that they enjoy or compliment them on their skills. If you can do all of these things, you shouldn't have any troubles with wooing your Miss Aisling."

He gave me a little wink at that last part before he finished off his latte. I smiled back in response, taking everything he had said to heart. I felt like Mr. B had just given me the secret on how to be as great a man as he was and I was going to take it seriously. I would start practicing all of these tips right away!

"And if all else fails, Mr. Ayers, flowers and chocolates are always appreciated."

I fought to keep my laughter inside as I took in the intensely focused and serious look on young Seth Ayers face as he appeared to absorb everything I said like a sponge. Not that I think he would need any of it to gain the affections of his Miss Aisling, but every little boy should have a similar lecture. I had given every member of my team one very much like it and it would only serve Seth well as he grew to be a man. Sang was completely in love with Seth and his little brother and always said they were completely adorable.

The sentiment appeared to be shared by all women and quite a few girls, based off of the reactions both of the Ayers boys got while they were out in public. It was actually rather flattering that Seth had chosen to ask me for advice on this current issue, though I wasn't sure why he thought I was the best one to ask. I could only be grateful he hadn't asked Sean, because heaven help us all if Seth grew up under Sean's tutelage. One flirtatious idiot was enough to deal with in my life, thank you.

"Thank you for everything, Mr. Blackbourne. I promise I will do everything you said. Thank you for the hot chocolate too. I think I'm ready to head home now, if that's okay?"

I accepted his gratitude with a nod and I stood to throw away our cups and watched in amusement as Seth opened the door to the coffee shop with a polite grin for the group of three 20-something women coming in to the shop. They all oooed and ahhhed over the young boy and commented on what a gentlemen he was. Seth perked up at the compliments and shot me a quick look as if making sure he was doing it right. I gave him a slight nod in response and he just lit up. I fought another urge to laugh as one of the women gave a blushing Seth a little peck on his cheek.

The drive on the way to drop Seth off was spent talking about how classes were going and how he was adapting to a new school. He and his younger brother appeared to be adapting nicely and it was a relief to see Seth talk about frivolous things after everything he had been through. Seth thanked me for the advice once more before he took off up the stairs with a wave. Tom answered the door and sent me another wave before he put his arm around Seth and directed the boy inside. It was heartening to see how quickly the two Ayers children had blossomed under the love and care of Tom and Carol.

As the week progressed and my life began to pick up with Academy and family business, I pushed the whole affair out of my mind. It wasn't until a couple weeks later when Carol and Tom were hosting our monthly family get together that I recalled the whole circumstance. Sang was toweling off a dripping wet Jaimie for dinner while Seth and my team were helping set the table. I remembered our coffee shop discussion and felt inclined to ask about how the whole situation with Miss Aisling turned out.

"So Mr. Ayers, what ever happened to wooing your Miss Aisling?"

Seth jumped a little at my unexpected question and flushed as a few of the guys stopped to pay attention to the young boy, growing smirks on their faces.

"Wooing a girl, huh, Seth? What's this all about? Are you kissing on the girlies?" Luke jumped in, a wide grin on his face as he stared at Seth expectantly.

"Uh, well, um…." Seth's voice trailed off as he soundlessly mouthed an answer.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I quite caught that. Want to repeat that, Seth, my man?" Gabriel joined in the fray, his eyes practically sparkling, they were so amused.

Seth's cheeks were cherry red by this point, but he seemed to gather himself and he glared up at the others before answering my question.

"I asked Aisling out last week and she said yes. I gave her a bouquet of blue daisies, which are her favorite. I'm taking her out to see a movie next Friday with her older sister. And as for the rest of you, it's none of your business! A gentlemen never kisses and tells." With that parting comment, Seth marched over to Sang and his brother and helped pick up the bag and towels that Sang had been carrying. She giggled in response as she hugged Seth to her and placed a loud smack on his cheek while tousling his hair. I felt my mouth pop open in surprise along with the rest of the guys around me as I took in the cheeky grin Seth sent our way.

'Touche, little man, game on,' I thought to myself, feeling a little jealous despite myself. Shaking my head in disbelief, I found myself grinning at the little punk, feeling a mixture of amusement and pride. He grinned back at me as he opened the screen door for Sang and followed her into the kitchen. I am afraid I had made a horrible, horrible mistake. We might have a baby lady killer in our midst and if we weren't careful, he'd show the rest of us up in no time. But then again, what else could I expect from my young protégé?