Summary:
Diana returns to Luna Nova with a whole new perspective and self view; Akko finds that Diana's absence didn't make her feel any less in love with Diana: Amanda shows up only to pester the blue team and jab at the returned Cavendish.
Chapter: The One To Wait
It's a bit awkward, but she manages to keep her poise, her face remained expressionless for the much part of her classes, she didn't get hounded by Hannah or Barbara like usual, rather, the two had been a bit distant. And as for the rest of her peers, no one had approached her, students just...threw odd looks her way.
It'd been a slow and awkward first day back for her.
Diana sighed out softly as she sat down at an empty table with her food, she couldn't help but subtly glance to where the red team typically sat, but to her surprise, found the table empty. She sighed again, her shoulders sagged a bit, she felt out of place, empty and lonely. She grabbed her fork and began to pick at the food in front of her, hardly even showing intentions of eating it.
"Cavendish, you're back, so soon?", came a sarcastic tone.
Diana closed her eyes for a moment and breathed deeply through her nose before breathing out through her mouth, "O'Neil.", she spoke broadly and uninterested, not ceasing the aimless stabbing of her food.
The rowdy witch sat a good arms length away from the Heiress, "Didn't that other girl get like...a month?"
Diana merely nodded, not exactly eager to look up from her plate.
Amanda scoffed slightly, "Lucky, you two, I wish they'd suspend me, shoot, I'd take a week.", the girl began to eat her food.
Diana hummed uninterested.
Amanda groaned in annoyance, "Oh c'mon, Diana. At least pretend you're listening.", the witch knew Diana must have felt utterly embarrassed by getting in trouble, but for the blonde to not jab back at her...that was just weird.
Diana turned to look at the witch that was bothering her and glared heavily.
Amanda shrugged, "That's more like it.", she said as she sat straight in her sat. "Anyways, remember that chip I gave you?"
Diana straightened her facial expression and nodded, "What about it?"
"Did you tell Akko about it?."
At the mention of Akko's name, Diana stiffened, she merely looked away for a moment, "Yes."
"Nice, you both owe me", Amanda grinned.
Diana frowned, "Sorry? Did we ask you to take it?", the heiress practically spat out.
Amanda's grin only widened, she was clearly getting a kick out of getting under Diana's skin. "Too soon for me to cash in?".
Diana sneered.
Amanda shrugged, "Wow, The Cavendish sure has bite."
Diana had enough, she stood up and grabbed her food, food she didn't even eat from, and threw it away, she then simply left, walking away from the annoying witch, chewing on the inside of her cheek.
Akko sighed heavily.
Lotte smiled softly, "Relax, Akko."
Sucy was silently chewing on her food.
The red team was eating outside, away from everyone else. Lotte suggested that they eat away from everyone else so that Akko could adjust. She knew that with Diana's return, the drama that was put on pause, may very well 'play' out again. And she didn't want Akko to get the butt end of it, not again.
Sucy sighed, "Honestly, are you sure you don't want me to-"
"Sucy no!", Akko whined and pouted, "I just wanna leave things how they are.", the girl crossed her arms over her chest. Sucy was made aware of everything, and surprisingly Sucy was bothered, annoyed even, so much so, she offered to paralyze or humiliate the blue team using certain poisonous mushrooms she had in her collection. Of course she told Sucy about the issue, and it was fine, she just told Sucy to leave it be.
Lotte smiled halfheartedly, "Avoiding Drama is the best thing right now, The last thing we need is for people to start speculating and instigating."
Akko nodded, "That's right."
Sucy shrugged, "I know you two want to think 'positive', but let's get real, this isn't going to exactly just vanish into thin air. Diana's back, and while she may not bring it up again, I'm sure when that other girl comes back, we're gonna have some problems."
Lotte hummed and brought a hand to her chin, "What should we do then?"
Akko listened on, her hands resting in her lap.
"While I know there is some...awkwardness between Akko and Diana. I think our first step, while we still have time, is for Akko and Diana to get their stories straight.", Sucy suggested, she turned to Akko, "If you two could get on the same page, it would be better."
Akko's cheeks warmed up, "But...I...I don't want to...talk to her", Akko looked away, she felt her chest tighten. "I just...I cant face her, not yet."
Sucy sighed softly, she wanted to help Akko, Akko wasn't the best Guinea pig if she wasn't being jolly and giddy. "Akko, you have to face her eventually. Sooner or later, and I think it's in your best interest if you get it over with now.", for once Sucy actually sounded somewhat concerned for the better good of the brunette.
Lotte looked between the girls, thinking about what she should also say to add to Sucy's advice. "I think...Maybe Sucy's right, Akko. I know you cut Diana off, but…", Lotte trailed off and sighed.
Akko hummed softly. "But?", she questioned.
"Don't you think you were being a little...impulsive?", Sucy spoke up before Lotte could finish her thought. No doubt referring to the fact that Akko cut Diana off.
Akko stiffened.
Lotte sighed out. She observed Akko and then spoke up. "You do tend to get Impulsive in confusing situations, Akko. I mean...you do care about Diana, and sure while Diana did do some things that didn't exactly...make her look good. She did seem to care about you too.", Lotte was clearly trying to get at something.
Sucy groaned in slight annoyance. "Right now, I want nothing more than to get Diana and her lackeys stuck in sleep paralysis courtesy of my experimental mushrooms I managed to grow in our room. But...maybe, if you two can just talk, like actually have a nice, deep, conversation, instead of a short one, you two can get on the same page."
"Sucy has a point", Lotte agreed, "You were in the heat of the moment and just did what you thought would help you, and that's not wrong, you did need your space, space that Diana didn't exactly give to you in the first place. But I know you didn't really mean what you said to Diana. Sure she messed up, but she was also in the heat of the moment when the situation began"
Akko took a deep breath, "So? What? I just go up to her and tell her, 'hey I still like you, but kinda hate you for breaking my heart, let's be friends again?'."
"Kinda", Sucy said softly and cautiously.
Lotte rose a hand and rubbed the back of her head, "Diana was practically moping around all morning, she's just as lost as you, Akko."
Akko's cheeks grew warm, her heart sped up slightly at the mention of Diana moping around. "T-That's her problem.", she pouted slightly.
"Don't be childish, Akko.", Sucy shrugged, "Just because you cut her off doesn't mean your feelings for her are just going to disappear. You like her just as much, if not a little more, than you did before, no?"
Akko cringed slightly, "So what?", she grew slightly defensive.
Lotte groaned, "I think what Sucy is trying to say is, Do you really want to let Diana go?"
Akko was taken aback, she slipped into thought for a moment.
Lotte certainly asked the right question.
Diana sighed as she closed her book on her desk, she tried studying again, and failed miserably. She simply opted to slump in her chair. Today was really a...shitty day.
Yes.
Shitty.
Diana sighed again, for what must have been the thous-
"Alright, that's enough!"
"Han, no, wait-"
Came those familiar voices, voices that belonged to the other two girls that were in the spacious room.
Diana began to turn around in her chair, and was quickly met with the sight of the red head staring at her.
"What's wrong with you?", Hannah asked as she stepped into Diana's space.
Diana rose an eyebrow and then frowned. "Nothi-"
"Don't, Don't, Just Don't.", Hannah rose a finger quite pointedly. "What's wrong with you?", she asked again.
Barbara stepped in wearing a concerned look, "Han...just leave it-"
"No, I can't just leave it. At least not without feeling guilty." Hannah sighed out heavily, she locked eyes with Diana, "You've been brooding, and moping all day, and something tells me that if I don't ask about it, you're going to keep acting like that."
Barbara nervously stood by, she understood where Hannah was coming from, but she'd rather address Diana's out of character acting, later.
Diana looked away and stood up, she was ready for this, no, Andrew just found out, she wasn't ready to let more people in on her inner conflict.
"It's about Akko, It's obvious." Hannah said as she stepped further into Diana's space. "You two haven't even made eye contact, you look her way, almost as if you want her to acknowledge you're back. You've been spacing out all day, and god, you sigh like every ten seconds.", Hannah sucked in a breath, "Honestly, What the heck?", she threw her arms in the air.
The blonde chewed the inside of her cheek.
"Before you left, Akko came here looking for you. We sent her your way, what happened?", the redhead asked, "She's avoiding you like a plague and you're just...off, spacing out, barely taking in a single thing that was taught today. Like...what happened? Did she catch up to you?"
Diana sat on the edge of her bed, she placed her hands on her lap, and spoke, "Akko and I had a short conversation before my leave."
"and?", Hannah pressed.
"She cut me off.", Blue eyes looked away.
Barbara and Hannah both gasped softly.
"Why?", Hannah asked with more calmness in her voice this time.
"She felt uncomfortable with me.".
Hannah frowned, her guilt was only building.
"It was my own fault.", Diana spoke softly, she rose a hand and ran it through her hair, "She needed space, but I just…", Diana pressed her lips together in a tight line instead of finishing her sentence.
"It's...not your fault.", Barbara spoke up, "if it wasn't for us…", Barbara trailed off and looked down.
Hannah leaned against the bookshelf that separated Diana's space from her and Barbara's own. "I can talk to her, if there's anyone she should be avoiding and out right cutting off...it's me and Babs."
Diana nodded, she had another plan, one she wanted to do on her own, "No, just...let it be."
"But-"
Diana looked up, her eyes were slightly watery, "Just let it go."
Hannah and Barbara both frowned sadly and nodded. They stepped back and put of Diana's space.
Diana sucked in a deep breath through her mouth and then released it through her nose. It was going to be tough to get back to where she stood with Akko. But she had faith that she would be able to do it, maybe even...be something more. She shook her head, No she thought to herself, she wasn't going to try and befriend the girl again, she was going to court her, she was going to woo her.
She, a Cavendish, was going to court the Clumsy witch.
These were her intentions, and she was willing to be the one to wait.
Sorry about the wait, I've been very busy and all.
Updates will start back up again!
Feel free to drop comments/critiques and or questions.
See you readers next week!