54. Stars (Prussia) [part 3]
xXx
There was no time to hide. You quickly settled back into a fake slumber, slowing your breathing down until you were sure you at least looked asleep. There was a grumble and a few snapping twigs to your right. Furthering your charade, you made a soft yawning noise and shifted in your 'sleep'.
Immediately, Gilbert stopped muttering. Slowly, he drew himself up another level of branches and looked around, surprised to find a figure already sitting in his spot! Or more like sleeping in his spot. Heaving himself up, he saw that it wasn't just anybody sitting there—it was the girl from earlier!
He was debating whether or not it was a good idea to push her out of the tree when the girl shifted in her sleep again. He was amazed by how stupid she was to fall asleep here in the first place. What if she fell and broke a bone or something? At this height, he wouldn't be surprised if she broke her neck from the fall.
He frowned. Just because she was annoying didn't mean she deserved a broken neck. He moved around a bit to make sure that the branches hugged her body in such a way that she would be secure. Even in a camp uniform (long red shorts and a white t-shirt), he noticed that she still looked hot.
Wait, wait, wait. What was he doing? Surely he wasn't just checking her out while she was sleeping? Damn, that's creepy.
But he couldn't help it, really. Peering closer, the Prussian welcomed himself to a better look of the sleeping girl, convincing himself that there wouldn't be another chance like this again. His eyes traced the outlines of her peaceful face, and he found himself wanting to wake her up to ask her for her name.
Gilbert breathed out, leaning back into the tree. What the fuck was wrong with him? And why was his heart beating to quickly?
"Need something, Gilbert?" a voice suddenly said.
"Holy crap!" he said, nearly falling out of the tree. "Y-You were awake?"
You finally opened your eyes and 'stretched'. "Yeah. Actually, I was awake the whole time. You're kinda creepy, you know."
To your astonishment, he didn't take the bait. Instead, he rolled his neck and popped his jaw a few times like this encounter meant nothing to him. "Y-You know it's almost midnight. At one o' clock, they shut down most of the building's electricity, which includes the keypad on your door. You won't be able to get back in until five."
You raised an eyebrow. "You're helping me?"
"Yeah. Got a problem?"
"…no, I'm just surprised. Thanks, I guess. What happened to hating me and spitting in my food?"
"It's not my fault you were being a bitch," he replied. Then he cursed to himself for sounding like an ass.
But all you did was laugh. "Yeah, I kinda was bitchy, huh?"
"Hey," he said after a while, watching as the dormitory lights went off one by one. "I heard from my brother that you're a level four. How'd you manage to do that?"
You sighed. "I don't know. I get into fights. But I'm probably here because my parents are being assholes and they hate me."
"Hmm. I think I've heard that story before."
Despite yourself, you smiled. "I guess I'm not the only one with a crappy life. What level are you?"
"Three. I don't care, though. They just can't grasp the true meaning of my awesomeness," he said.
"Suuure."
"Hey!" he pouted. "Don't be jealous just 'cause you're not awesome."
You sighed. "Could you stop using the word 'awesome'? It's really annoying."
"No," he said stubbornly. "I'll say whatever I want to say."
"Whatever."
The two of you fell into awkward silence. Picking at the ends of your shirt, you tried to come up with something to say. Conversation wasn't really your strong suit since you never really cared for small talk. It was all about banging fists and exchanging grins to you. But here, in this new prison-like school where everyone was some sort of 'bad kid,' it seemed like grinning and bumping fists was going to be highly unlikely the first few weeks.
Gilbert finally broke the silence. Looking away from you, he said awkwardly, "Look, normally I'd kick you out of this tree 'cause only awesome people can climb up here. But since you were here first, and I don't want West getting mad at me again, I give you permission to stay."
He nodded solemnly, and you felt the urge to roll your eyes, but you didn't. Instead, you gave him a small (small) smile and moved around in your seat a bit to face him.
"What?" he said, feeling a little uncomfortable under your stare.
"I guess you can be nice if you try," you remarked. Gilbert's face twisted into an expression of insult, and you laughed. Just as he was about to retort, you said, "Okay, I'm going back in now. See ya!"
Before you could slide off the branch, Gilbert seemed to remember something. He stopped you by leaning forward and putting a hand on your leg. "Wait! What's your name?"
Giving him a playful grin, you shook your head and continued to go down anyways. Landing perfectly on the ground, you casually brushed off stray leaves that fell in your hair. Above you, there was a grunt of protest.
"Just tell me your name!" he hissed/whispered.
"Not until you use the magic word!" you sung quietly.
Another reluctant grunt. "What are you, five years old?"
"Nope. I'm just me."
And with that, you left him in the tree to stare up at the stars alone.
xXx
