Antonio cheerfully greeted his students as they walked through the door. But he was really waiting for Lovina. He grinned when he remembered the tiny smile that most would overlook. But it had ever so slightly lit up her eyes in a way that made him desperate to see it again.

He was starting to get a bit concerned about his fascination with his student. But she was just so…well fascinating. He wanted to help her, get to know her, show her what she could be. He made it his goal to peel back all the layers and find the real Lovi.

Antonio stood up straight as he watched Feliciana trot in. If she was there, that meant Lovina couldn't be too far behind.

And sure enough, the young Italian trudged in, still trying to wake up. "Good morning Lovina!" he beamed when she walked past him. Lovina stopped and blinked before rolling her eyes at his eagerness.

"There's no such thing as a good morning" she mumbled before taking her seat. Antonio frowned at his failed attempt to see her smile again. But he just shrugged and took attendance after the bell rang. He'd try again soon. Antonio was not one to give up.

He began his lesson as usual, making sure to write everything out neatly on the board, book in hand. He turned around, hoping to see his students taking notes. But instead he just saw every pair of female eyes on him. Except for one.

His heart leapt for joy when he saw Lovina quickly writing down her notes after glancing at the board multiple times. He never thought she'd be the only one paying attention. That's when he got his bright idea.

"Lovina?"

Lovina whipped her head up nervously. "I was paying attention, I swear!" she whined. Antonio laughed and shook his head. "I know, chica. That's why I called on you." Antonio felt uneasy when he saw some of the girls glare at her and the boys snicker.

"What's an oxymoron Lovina?"

Lovina turned red and looked away. "A word describing another word that has an opposite meaning" she mumbled. Antonio smiled and nodded.

"Good" he praised. He smirked a bit as he leaned against his desk at the front of the classroom. "Now can you tell me what Romeo's oxymorons tell us about him?"

Lovina turned an even brighter shade of red as she stared at her desk. Her classmates stared at her and waited for a response.

"They show how passionate and strong Romeo is."

Antonio frowned and stepped forward. "Are you sure Lovina?" That was certainly not the answer she gave him the other day. She knew the right answer, she knew better than the silly girls in her class, so why was she playing dumb?

"You remind me of Romeo, Mr. Carriedo" one of the other girls chided. A few others giggled as he looked back at them. But Antonio's heart stopped when he glanced at Lovina again.

There it was. That small smile. Lovina had to cover her mouth when she finally looked at him.

"You're right Mr. Carriedo. How could I be so foolish?" she chuckled. "Romeo's an idiot. A wimpy little wuss who can't get over himself."

Some of the other students let out an audible gasp. Feliciana turned and gave Lovina a disappointed glare. "Sorella, haven't you learned your lesson?" she scolded.

Everyone was shocked when they heard their teacher laugh. "Very good Lovina!"

Some of the other girls glanced at each other nervously. "M-Mr. Carriedo, you do realize, she-"

"Si, she gave me the right answer" he interrupted. Another girl furrowed her brow and raised her hand.

"But Romeo is a heroic lover, not an idiot!" she protested. Antonio smiled and looked back to Lovina.

"Care to enlighten us chica?" he requested politely. Lovina nodded and continued to smirk, practically intoxicated by her newfound confidence.

"Romeo's a stupid pervert. He goes after a thirteen year old. She's basically a child, and he becomes obsessed with her. And they barely know each other. Plus, he knows they can't be with her. What kind of an idiot chases after something they can't have?"

Antonio gulped a bit. For some reason, her previous words made his stomach flip.

"That's horrible!" one of the girls scolded. Antonio plastered a smile on his face again and shrugged.

"It's the truth chica. Lovi's right."

The girl's eyes narrowed a bit. "'Lovi?'" she questioned accusingly. Lovina slunk back in her chair. Now her confidence was slowly going down the crapper.

The bell rang before Antonio could justify himself. He cleared his throat a bit and placed his book on his desk. "No homework this weekend. Enjoy yourselves!" The boys whooped and cheered as they filed out. As usual, Lovina was the last one on her way out.

"You did great in class today" he cut in before she walked out the door. He gave her a smile, but of course she didn't return it. Antonio stopped smiling, however, when he saw that she wasn't just not smiling; she looked upset.

"Please don't call me 'Lovi' during class" she responded softly. Antonio tilted his head and gave her a worried look.

"Why not, Lovi?"

She winced when he used the nickname. Lovina stared at the ground before looking up again. She was smiling, but Antonio didn't like it. It wasn't happy. It was pained and trying to hide something.

"It's just another reason for them to dislike me" she mumbled.

Lovina dashed out before Antonio could question her further.

(-)

Feliciana nervously looked around for her sister. She was working extra hard today for some reason. Feliciana weaved between tables before finally finding Lovina finishing scribbling down an order.

She anxiously pulled her aside and stared at her feet. "We have a problem" she mumbled. Lovina put her hands on her hips and sighed.

"What happened?" Lovina asked quietly. Feliciana's bottom lip quivered as she threw her arms around Lovina's waist.

"Nonno's sick!" she cried into her sister's chest. Lovina groaned and pushed Feliciana's shoulders back.

"Where is he?"

Feliciana glanced away and hesitated. "…In the kitchen" she whimpered. Lovina's eyes flew open before narrowing as she became furious.

"Are you kidding me?!" she hissed as she stormed over to Roma. Lovina slammed the doors open and glared at him.

"Idiota, what are you doing?! You want a health code violation or something?!" she snapped. Roma scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously.

"Now bambina, it's just a cold. It's no big deal!" he tried to assure her. But Lovina wouldn't hear it.

"Get your ass upstairs right now and sleep" she ordered. "Feli, Heracles and I can handle things down here."

"But-"

"GO!"

Roma pouted and trudged upstairs, not wanting his headache to be worsened by his granddaughter's scolding. Lovina rubbed her temples and sighed.

"Feli, go tell Heracles to help take orders. You're going to have to be fast today, ok? No chit chatting."

Feliciana nodded and paused before walking out. "Why don't I call Luddy? I'm sure he'd be more than happy to help" she suggested. Lovina rolled her eyes. Like she really wanted that potato bastard in her restaurant.

"Fine, but tell him not to screw up" she groaned before turning to the orders waiting to be filled. He had to get sick on a Friday night she complained to herself as she looked over the first order.

Lovina worked quickly and cooked with every ounce of skill she had. She had secretly been practicing for awhile. She had always been good, but cooking was one of the only things she really took pride in.

After an hour, she was starting to get tired. They had never been this busy before. But Lovina pushed on; just glad they were getting business. Feliciana slowly crept into the kitchen and waited for a good time to interject.

"S-Sorella?"

Lovina sighed and wiped her forehead. "I'm a bit busy Feli. What is it?" she tried to say as nicely as possible. Feliciana cleared her throat and forced a smile.

"The customer at table three wants to see you" she whimpered. Lovina groaned and looked away from the sauce she was preparing.

"Feli, I don't have time for that!" she whined. Feliciana shrugged and shook her head. "H-He said it was important. It's about his order…"

Lovina narrowed her eyes and stepped away from the pot. "Feli, watch the sauce" she ordered before storming out. Some bastard didn't like her food? Tough shit.

Lovina wanted to scream obscenities when she saw Arthur smirking and waving her over. She quickly stomped over and glared at him.

"What the hell do you want, I'm busy!"

Arthur chuckled and rested his elbows on the table. Lovina's eyes widened when she saw the near empty plate in front of him. He had actually ordered real food?

"I was worried when my favorite little spitfire wasn't here to bring me my coffee. So when I found out you were in the kitchen, I just had to seize the opportunity."

Lovina rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "And I must say I was not disappointed." Lovina groaned and gave him an exasperated look. "You called me out here to say 'congratulations, you're not that big of a fuck up'?!"

Arthur chuckled and bowed ever so slightly. "I wanted to say, my greatest and most honorable compliments to the chef."

Lovina scowled and shook her head. "Capo" she corrected. No one was allowed to speak a word of French in this establishment. "Screw the French" she added for good measure. Arthur cringed a bit and faced forward.

"Don't remind me" he mumbled dryly. Lovina decided not to dive further into his last comment and headed back to the kitchen. By the time she had returned, the orders were once again piling up.

This was going to be a long night.

Casual FrUk reference? It's more like an 'oh god, why do I put myself through this' FrUk. Spoiler; they're not going to be a pairing. Sorry if they're your OTP…BUT THIS IS SPAMANO, SO WHO CARES.