Get pumped

As for the Prumano Mr./Mrs. Guest, Antonio has no clue. Francis would suspect, but Gilbert didn't tell anyone. One, because he told Lovina he wouldn't and two because hey guess what? He's a teacher as well so that would be really bad if people found out. Antonio knew Gil and Lovi were close, so he really didn't think anything of it when she was there when he called.

Enjoy, kiddies!

For the first time in a long time, Lovina found herself staring at the clock during Antonio's class. She didn't know why, but she was just anxious to get home. She didn't even scowl when Bella teased her and she didn't pay as much attention to Antonio's lecture as she usually did.

Lovina sat up straight when she felt Bella kick her foot. Antonio was smirking a bit as he stared at her. "I said, can you tell me what's odd about the center of hell, Lovina" he repeated. Lovina cleared her throat and tried to keep her face from turning red.

"I-It's frozen?"

Antonio smiled and nodded. "Correct. Do you know why that is?"

Lovina gulped and shook her head. She hated when she couldn't answer his question. Antonio stepped forward and continued to smile when she bowed her head. "Don't worry about it Lovi. We haven't really talked about it yet. I was only curious" he assured her before looking over the rest of the class.

Antonio was a bit worried about Lovina. She seemed to be doing alright, but she did everything with more hesitation. He was afraid something might scare her or intimidate her so much she would panic or get upset.

"Dante made the ninth circle of hell completely frozen because it is sealed off from all light. Light not only means warmth, but also hope."

Lovina half heartedly scribbled down notes. She really wished Antonio would stop treating her like she was fragile or something. Sure, things had changed a bit, but that didn't mean she wasn't getting over it. He treated her like she was untouchable, like coming to close would cause her to shatter. It was really annoying.

Lovina immediately reached for her bag when the bell rang. "Please print off the study guides from online and bring them to class tomorrow. I know finals seem miles away, but they're coming up soon" Antonio reminded everyone as they shuffled out. He got a few grunts in response, but nothing to enthusiastic of course.

And as always, Lovina was the last one left. "How are you?" he asked quietly. Lovina groaned and threw her bag over her shoulder. "You asked me that when I walked in and the answer hasn't changed. I'm fine" she sighed. Antonio nodded and stared at the floor and folded his arms over his chest.

Lovina rolled her eyes and tugged on his forearm. "Hey, stop making that face" she pouted. Antonio lifted his head a bit. "What face?"

Lovina rolled her eyes yet again. "Your 'I'm stressing over other people because I'm a selfless bastard ' face" she huffed. Antonio looked her over once before laughing.

"I'm sorry, did you just call me a selfless bastard?" he giggled. Lovina smirked and nodded. "You are!" she protested. "You worry about me and then I worry about you and then you just get even more worried because I act like I'm worried but it's only because of you!"

"My brain hurts" Antonio whined, gripping his forehead. Lovina pouted and jabbed his side. "Idiot" she mumbled. Antonio just laughed and placed his hand on her shoulder, tracing small circles into the bit of skin peeking out above her collarbone with his thumb. Antonio immediately pulled away when he felt her shoulders tense.

"S-Sorry" she mumbled. Antonio quickly shook his head and lightly touched her forearm. "You don't have to apologize" he sighed. "I was being careless" he added bitterly. Lovina pulled her bag closer and glanced at the door.

"I don't want to be late. I have to meet with thing two during my free period" she grumbled. Antonio cocked an eyebrow and looked her over.

"Francis" she clarified with a small smirk. Antonio nodded and picked up his book from his desk and headed back to the board. "I don't want to keep him waiting. And I know you don't like him as much, but listen to what he has to say; he's worried about you too."

Lovina raised her hand in a mock salute as she trudged toward the door. "Aye aye, captain" she grumbled. Antonio smiled as he watched her leave. He'd probably always worry about Lovina.

(-)

"You know what I've realized?"

Lovina smirked as she refilled Arthur's cup. "What?" she snickered. Arthur picked the mug up and examined it once she finished. "I hate coffee" he dead panned.

Lovina leaned against the table glared. "Arthur, you've been coming here for at least three years for the damn drink" she snapped. Arthur shrugged and placed the cup back down.

"I suppose I didn't have much of anything else to do" he sighed. Lovina picked his mug up and groaned. "Well I'm glad you came to pester me out of boredom" she hissed.

"For the record, I do rather enjoy my time spent with you" Arthur mumbled, tinkering with the salt shaker on the table. The Brit perked up a bit when he turned to face Lovina again.

"I know you're not one for outings, considering you spend all of your time here" he started. Lovina shot him a glare. "Ha Ha" she laughed dryly.

Arthur let out an amused chuckle and leaned his elbows on the table. "But how about we meet outside of this restaurant?" he finished. "Have a little fun?"

Come on, let's have some fun.

Lovina involuntarily let the mug slip from her fingers. Arthur was ready to scold her, but the words died in his throat when he saw her frozen in place. "Lovina?" he called quietly. Worried, Arthur rose when she didn't answer. "Lovina, what's wrong?!" he asked, gently shaking her shoulders.

Everything snapped back into focus as soon as Arthur touched her. Lovina shoved him as hard as she could without even thinking, sending him stumbling back into the table. Lovina covered her face with her hands when she realized she had caused a scene. She could feel everyone in the restaurant's eyes on her.

"I'm so sorry" she muttered weakly. God, she couldn't control herself even around someone she had known for years. Arthur quickly recovered and slowly came closer. "Are you alright, love?" he asked quietly.

Lovina's head snapped up when she heard her sister whimper from behind her. "Sorella, why don't you go upstairs for awhile" Feliciana sniffled. Lovina just brushed past her and dashed up the stairs without another word. She felt completely ridiculous. She had embarrassed herself in front of Arthur, who already probably thought she was an idiot.

Tossing her apron onto the couch, Lovina groaned before storming into her room and slamming the door. She just paced in the middle of the room, silently chewing at the nail on her thumb.

Lovina nearly leapt out of her skin when she heard a quiet knock. "It's Arthur."

Lovina narrowed her eyes when she opened the door and looked up to the older man. "Customers aren't allowed up here" she hissed. Arthur clutched his chest and pouted.

"I'm nothing but a mere customer to you, love?" he whimpered in mock agony. Lovina rolled her eyes and walked back to her bed. But she didn't slam the door in Arthur's face, so he took it as an invitation.

"Your sister told me. I'm sorry, I should know better than to grab someone who's clearly distressed" he sighed before sitting beside her. Arthur leaned back when he heard her mumble a 'whatever'. "Are you doing alright?" he continued quietly.

Lovina groaned and scowled. "I'm tired of people asking me that" she grumbled. Arthur tilted his head and stared.

"Why?"

Lovina shifted uncomfortably and stared up at the ceiling. "I don't want people to treat me differently" she mumbled. More importantly, she didn't want people to see her differently. She wasn't so worried about people thinking she was promiscuous or quite simply trashy. She just didn't want people to think she was unapproachable. Or at least any more unapproachable as she had been before.

"Lovina, it wasn't your fault. It's never ever the victim's fault. I hope you realize this" Arthur stated firmly. Lovina nodded and smirked a bit. "I've got people telling me that 24/7" she sighed. Arthur smiled and lightly touched her shoulder. He let out a sigh of relief when she didn't flinch away.

"That means you've got the right people around you. And I'm honored that you're trusting me this much. Truly, I am."

"I'm just sick of people worrying over me, coddling me" she sighed. Arthur smiled and rose.

"I'm not worried about you" he chuckled. "Too many people underestimate you Lovina. I know in time you'll be fine."

Lovina let a small smile break through as she followed Arthur back down.

(-)

This was absolutely crazy. This was stupid and not thought out enough, but it was too late now because she had already rung the doorbell.

Lovina's throat went dry when the door opened, revealing a pretty woman with long brown hair not much lighter than her own and deep green eyes.

"Hi, can I help you?"

Here's the thing; Lovina had never actually met Elizaveta. She knew her stuck up fiancée, but she had never met the woman who was driving Gilbert crazy. "Are you one of Roderich's students?" she prompted when Lovina remained silent.

"N-No…well yes, but that's not why I'm here…"

Elizaveta tilted her head and looked the young woman over. "I um, I'm here because I need to talk to you" she continued quietly. Elizaveta gave Lovina one last skeptical look before inviting her in.

"I don't mean to be rude, but care to elaborate?" the older woman chuckled before offering her a seat. Lovina just nodded and looked around.

"Um, yeah. I know this might piss you off, but I'm here to talk about Gilbert."

Elizaveta froze before gritting her teeth together. "A-And he didn't send me, I swear!" Lovina added quickly.

"What was your name?" Elizaveta asked softly. Lovina gulped and stared at her hands.

"Lovina" she mumbled. Elizaveta's eyes widened as she looked over the girl for the millionth time. "You're Lovina?!" she exclaimed rather giddily.

Lovina nodded hesitantly. Elizaveta smiled a bit and looked off. "Gil used to tell me stories about you sometimes. Little things, like times he embarrassed you or when you'd try to beat him up" she chuckled. Elizaveta sighed and stared at her hands gently resting in her lap.

"Look, I know you must care about Gilbert. But I can't just leave my fiancée for him" she sighed. Lovina narrowed her eyes.

"If that's what you think he wants, you clearly don't know him at all."

Elizaveta's eyes snapped up to the annoyed girl in front of her.

"Are you kidding me?! You're supposed to be his best friend and that's what you think this is about?! Look, I see Roderich every day, and quite frankly; he's an ass. If he makes me want to shoot myself in an hour, I can't imagine how crazy he would drive you. Gilbert doesn't want you to drop everything for him. He wants you to do it for you. He wants you to be happy, for god's sake. Whether that's with him or someone else. And he really doesn't think the current 'someone else' is good for you. And if what he's told me is true, I don't think so either."

Lovina rolled her eyes and stood, ignoring the hanging jaw of the idiot in front of her. "Yeah, and ignoring him is a real bitch move. How would you feel if you had to find out the wedding date of your supposed best friend from a sleaze ball? All he wants to do is apologize and you won't even let him. I'm finding it hard to understand what he sees in you right now."

Elizaveta scrambled to follow Lovina as she headed for the door. But the latter scowled and turned abruptly to face her. "I thought I could come and at least try to figure out how you feel about this. But you don't even know what's going on yourself, so this was clearly a waste of time."

Lovina stormed out, off the patio and into the driveway only to meet Mr. Dickwad himself.

"Lovina, what are-"

"Can it, Edelpoop" she hissed. Roderich gaped for a moment before glaring.

"He told you that?!" he squeaked. Lovina smirked and nodded.

"Arrivederci, shithead" she mumbled as she headed for the car. That was the last time she ever tried to do something nice.

(-)

Lovina wasn't sure why she was sitting in Antonio's chair. Well, that's not entirely true; she did know she had wanted to sit in it for awhile. It was a spinny chair. Everybody loves spinny chairs. But besides that, Lovina supposed she was bored. Before she had time to ponder her vague decision, Antonio finally decided to grace her with his presence.

Lovina's heart did backflips when he smiled as he saw her. Dear god, that smile. "Amada, what are you doing?" he chuckled, coming closer. Lovina shrugged and spun around. "I'm not sure" she sighed. "But I'm bored."

Antonio laughed and shook his head. "What am I going to do with you, amada?" he cooed, leaning in with both hands holding the armrests on either side of Lovina. Again, the student just shrugged. Antonio continued to grin as he gently lifted her chin, brushing his thumb over her bottom lip. Antonio chuckled to himself before finally closing the gap, pressing his lips to hers.

Lovina didn't push away or resist in the slightest. Instead, she reached up and rested her hand on the back of his neck, slowly weaving her fingers through his hair. Lovina could feel him still smiling against her lips.

In that moment, Lovina was sure of two things. One; Antonio was perfect. Every single detail was perfect. The way he talked, the way he walked, laughed, smiled, and now the way he moved his lips against hers. Simply perfect. Two; something wasn't quite right. There was nothing wrong with Antonio of course. But there was a nagging feeling in her gut that wouldn't go away.

Lovina ignored that feeling and let Antonio pull her up to stand with him. That way, he could hold her properly. Antonio locked both arms around her waist, pulling her closer as Lovina threw her arms around his neck. Antonio's grip was getting stronger and the kiss was getting sloppier.

Lovina's eyes flew open when Antonio lightly bit and sucked her bottom lip, only to see that the bastard was already looking back at her oh so smugly. Her cheeks felt hot when he pulled away ever so slightly, still leaving barely an inch between the two.

"Lovi…"

Lovina frowned. That nagging feeling. She saw Antonio's lips move, but the word didn't seem to match up.

"Lovina…"

Something wasn't right, she knew it.

"Lovina!"

Lovina's head shot up as she blinked. Her head felt muddy and she had to glance around to figure out where she was. Sure enough, she and Antonio were alone, but they weren't standing in the middle of the room together like she remembered. Instead, she was at her desk and he was standing beside her, lightly touching her back.

He looked concerned as she rubbed her eyes. "What happened?" she asked groggily, smirking as she reached up to cup his cheek. She had been thoroughly enjoying what they were doing before, so she really didn't know why Antonio stopped. Antonio chuckled nervously and took her hand.

"You fell asleep during the last couple minutes of class. You looked tired when you walked in, so I figured I'd let you rest for awhile. But class is over…"

Lovina turned the brightest shade of red imaginable. She had been dreaming. About her teacher. During class. Lovina shook her head in disbelief. That was completely unlike her. In every way, shape and form. Antonio frowned and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead.

"Are you alright? You seem flustered…" he mumbled. Lovina stiffened and lightly smacked his hand away. "I'm fine" she squeaked. Antonio looked her up and down skeptically. But the bell for the free period rang before he could question further.

"Do you want to stay here? Or maybe you should go to the nurse's office…"

Lovina quickly shook her head and gathered her things up. She needed to get the fuck out of there, pronto. But Lovina halted when she faced Antonio. Her eyes wandered up to his mouth, and she briefly wondered what it would actually feel like…

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Lovina's eyes snapped back up to his as she nodded and brushed past him. Lovina muttered an awkward thanks before running down the hall to meet Francis. Lovina's face never stopped burning the whole way there.

I BROUGHT IT BAAAAACCCCKKKKK. LONG LIVE EDELPOOP.

And you're welcome