Despite the pain he felt all over from his little tumble, Dino's heart was in the most pain. He felt like an utter idiot after that outburst. Rosetta was right and he was trying to control her which only made him angrier at himself.
He glared at the clouds floating carelessly in the sky. If only he was one. Then he wouldn't have to deal with his sucky life…
Thinking about the clouds relaxed him a little so he let out a sigh and loosened his limbs before moving his arms to rest behind his neck. His hand happened to catch on a flower stem so he picked it and twirled the stem with his fingers, gazing at it dazedly.
While staring at the many white petals of the flower, Dino suddenly had a random idea. He didn't know why but he felt the urge to do something boys wouldn't normally think of doing.
"…She'll forgive me…" the young Cavallone muttered hesitantly to himself while plucking one of the petals off the flower's center. "…She won't forgive me…She will…She…" - he paused, sighing heavily - "Who am I kidding? She probably won't ever forgive me now…"
"VOI! The hell are you doing?!" He heard a familiar voice shout from behind before seeing the blur of a blade flash just inches away from his face.
Dino was lucky that the blade barely missed him but the same couldn't be said for his flower. The whole bud had been lopped off and was laying on his chest.
"Squalo?! What the-What are you doing?" He shouted as he sat up and faced his attacker, clutching what was left of the decapitated flower in his fist.
"Wondering if you're a sissy. Are you?"
The young Cavallone blushed and quickly threw the stem away. "N-No! What makes you think that?"
"I'm not stupid Cavallone. I know what I saw." Squalo said seriously. "I don't need an excuse to kill you. I can do that any time I want, but I'd say preventing you from playing that sissy game is a good one right now…"
"You came here…to kill me?!"
"Not necessarily but since I've found someone else in my napping spot…"
"Oh, sorry! This is just a coincidence, really! I wasn't paying attention to where I was running after my argument with Rosetta…" Dino explained, becoming sadder with every word. "Ever since she came to visit this past summer and enrolled here…" - he stopped and then corrected himself - "No, ever since I saw she had changed it's been driving me crazy. I was a nervous wreck at first and when I started to actually enjoy her company I had to ruin it by being stupid and insensitive. And now I've made it worse by conveying the wrong feelings. I'm just so confused right now…"
As he finished Dino buried his face in his hands and then ran them through his golden locks with a deep sigh. "…Is it possible…Could I be…in love with Rosetta…?" He suddenly asked after a few silent minutes of self reflection.
"How the hell should I know?!" The white haired teen exclaimed moodily, looking like he was trying to sleep instead of listening. "I'm not a mushy sap like you!" - he paused for a minute, seeing that the blonde hadn't moved - "Why are you still here anyway? I'm trying to sleep and you're distracting me. Leave..."
"And should tell her how I feel!" Dino finished with renewed determination. "You're right! - he stood up and turned to walk up the hill but stopped there before turning back around and sitting back down - "Who am I kidding? I can't do that. After our argument earlier I don't think she'll ever listen to me!"
Squalo could only growl in annoyance as he turned over to continue his nap.
At the same time Rosetta decided to go find her uncle after the argument.
"Rosetta? What brings you here?" Antonio asked with mild surprise at his niece who had just walked into his office. He then noticed her upset expression and continued in a concerned tone. "Is everything okay?"
"No. To be honest I just want to go back home right now." The brunette replied before taking a seat in one of the free chairs and sighing.
Antonio's eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "Why would you want to do that? I believed that you were doing rather well with your classes."
"I am but I realized that interactions with anyone other than my family is hard." Rosetta explained with difficulty. "I…had an argument with Dino. He told me he didn't want me spending time with Emilio and that offended me so I shot back at him. I mean he has no right to control my life, right?"
"That is true," her uncle agreed calmly. "Though perhaps the young Cavallone meant to say something else, but his feelings got the better of him which made him demand such things."
Rosetta thought for a moment. "…You're not wrong. I might be at fault too for getting angry too soon and not giving Dino a chance to explain himself." - she looked as if she realized something - "Maybe he made those demands because he thought I had replaced him with Emilio…What a mess this has become."
"Life is not without its messes." Her uncle explained encouragingly. "Like it or not this was bound to happen. Arguments may cause a rift between you two for a while but in the end your bond will be stronger once you make up. The question is which one of you will make the first move to do so."
Rosetta gasped with realization before quickly standing up and turning to leave. She stopped at the door however and turned back to her uncle uttering a, "Thanks, Uncle Antonio," before leaving.
She ran the whole way in the direction Dino had gone despite the pain rising in her chest. Finally she reached the crest of a hill and stopped, seeing Dino and Squalo struggling against each other at the base of it.
"I…told…you…to…LEAVE ALREADY!" The white haired male demanded angrily while trying to push the blonde away. "You're encroaching on my nap time!"
"No, I want to stay a bit longer! It's quiet here!" The young Cavallone stated in response.
"That's exactly why this is my nap spot and mine alone. NOW GO AWAY!" Squalo then used a hand to push at Dino's face, making him look up the hill.
"Ah, Rosetta." The young Cavallone commented after noticing her, making his companion turn to look up at her too.
In doing so the males noticed something…else too.
Dino blushed and tried looking away but Squalo faced her head on and dared to say, "I can see your panties, you know."
"What? No you can't!" Rosetta immediately shouted, blushing a deep red while bending over in an attempt to cover that area. In doing so she lost her balance and tumbled down the hill, falling right on top of her friend who had been abandoned by the white haired teen.
"Dino, I'm sorry!" She exclaimed after getting up. She then turned to the other male. "Squalo, how could you?!"
"Honestly I don't care what happens to either of you." The angered teen replied bluntly. "I'm done here now that I know that I'm not gonna get the rest I want."
He then turned and left.
Rosetta turned back to face Dino who asked, "Why are you here anyway, Rosetta?"
"I came here…to apologize." She answered. Before he could intervene with his own comment she raised a hand to stop him and continued. "No, don't say anything until I've said my part. I wanted to say sorry for the way I've treated you since the beginning. I never explained anything and ignored you which only made you confused and mad at me. And then I retaliated with my own anger without taking your feelings into account or giving you a chance to explain. I'm sorry…"
Dino silently listened and once she had finished it was his turn.
"I'm sorry too, Rosetta for the way I have treated you. I shouldn't have left you out when my popular peers included me in their hang outs." He stated sincerely. "I'm also sorry I snapped at you the way I did earlier. And I should clarify that Mariella was never my girlfriend."
"I kind of figured she wasn't considering you don't usually go for the clingy type." His friend said in response with a small smile. "I just didn't really like her."
"So…we're friends again?" Dino asked reluctantly with hope.
For a long while she stood and looked at him silently with a blank expression on her face. He took it a sign that she wasn't ready and turned away but at that moment he could feel her arms wrapping around his torso.
"Of course we can be friends again," Rosetta said, making him smile. "But I need to clarify something." She explained once she had finished hugging him and he was facing her once again. "You're gonna have to at least tolerate Emilio. We've actually become pretty good friends and I don't want your rivalry ruining it."
"Really?! …Well I guess I can't force you to stay away from him now that you're friends." The young Cavallone stated in response as the two of them started climbing back up the hill. "I'll try but only if he'll cooperate too."
"Great! And you know we should try and befriend Squalo too!" The brunette smiled with excitement.
Dino could only grin with worry. "I…don't think that's such a good idea…"