Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.
AN: Thanks so much for the reviews! Sorry if anyone thinks what happened was sudden…I'm not sure how long this will be going on for…BTW, I have a poll, vote for it! :) Hope you enjoy! (I was hoping to get the chapter up earlier, but I forgot and I thought that I had already posted it! :P)
Chapter 6:
Come the day after detention, and Ellie wonders what is wrong with Diego. Sure, he had detention, but the other four boys are laughing boisterously as they mess up yet another experiment, or calling to one another across the room, trying Ms Mitford's legendary patience.
Diego remains silent, distracted. He answers questions about Tartini and his music with limited resistance, fingers tapping some unknown rhythm onto his knee. Ellie stares at him as his eyes drift, almost unconsciously, over to where Shira is sitting with her group. The silver-haired beauty is fierce as she always is, nothing about her indicating anything new.
Sure, they had detention together. But just what had happened? There are no more crude insults, no more attempts to injure one another.
And, Ellie notices as Diego glances back at Manny to answer another question, Shira is doing pretty much the same thing. Her navy eyes slow wander the room, reaching the back of Diego's head almost casually, like she either isn't aware of it, or is very deliberately trying to be nonchalant about this.
Ellie notices though.
She notices the gentle way Shira watches Diego.
Something has definitely changed.
Maybe she should test the waters a little…? She shoots Shira a wink when the other girl's eyes drift over from Diego, and Shira quickly turns away again. Not quick enough to hide the flush on her face though.
Ellie grins to herself, though the smile drops when she notices Gutt staring at the two with a terrifying intensity, a dark look on his usually falsely cheerful face.
There is definitely something going on, but Ellie is not foolish enough to step into what might be the equivalent of a gang war right now. As she glances up at the clock and notes they still have over twenty minutes to go, she sighs. They have lunch next, and she can't wait to once again try and convince Diego to hang out with them so she can try and get to the bottom of this new change.
As if sensing her thoughts, her stomach gives a low rumble.
Diego arches an eyebrow, which Ellie replies with a sheepish smile. She turns back to her work. And then after lunch…she groans out loud, ignoring the strange looks she gets.
PE.
Diego has no idea why he is so jumpy as he heads to lunch, the food clenched tightly in the covered box. Coach had demanded that all his athletes be fed with a diet that he had overseen and prepared, meaning that their lunch was vastly different from Valley's. Which also explains why he and Shira had parted ways at the end of music, only to come together again.
He's completely not nervous.
Actually, scratch that.
He's terrified. He's having lunch with his pack's enemy's 'first mate' as said pack's second-in-command. He had managed to shake off the other three, but Soto's eyes are far too sharp, and his captain had cornered him shortly before the start of lunch, shooting him a warning glare while shoving lunch into his hands.
Diego merely smiles blandly at him, then disappears as some of his classmates turn up to distract the captain.
He enters the grove, putting on a smirk when he sees Shira already there. "Afternoon, kitty."
"Same to you, warrior princess."
Diego rolls his eyes, but takes a seat at Shira's side, tucking his legs underneath him out of force of habit. He pulls open the cover and takes out an apple, appreciating the crunch as he bites a chunk out. For the next few seconds, all is quiet save for the gentle scraping of cutlery on plate, and the consistent crunch that comes with every few bites.
"Aren't you hungry?" Shira demands.
Diego jumps, noticing her attempts to peer into the box. He grins. "I'm used to it." He finishes the apple and chucks the apple core into the bin nearby. "Besides, coach is very on-the-go. If its between food and training, you can be sure training is the way to go."
Shira gives a startled laugh, as if surprised herself. She eyes him sceptically though, and Diego can almost hear the thought that is being formed.
Instead, he offers her his box. Inside is a full meal, some bread, butter, a salad. All packed into neat compartments that he would have to return later to reuse. "Just so you know I'm not starving."
Shira huffs as she stares down at her own slices of pizza. "You're almost making me jealous."
"Almost?" Diego grins as he stabs a tomato with his fork.
Shira smirks back as she takes an obnoxiously large bite of her pizza. "At least I don't have to watch my diet."
Diego rolls his eyes but doesn't argue the point. She isn't wrong, after all.
It takes only for another few moments before Shira sighs and sets down her pizza, carelessly wiping her mouth with a napkin. "Alright. Why did you do it?"
"You'll have to specify," Diego says sarcastically. "I've done a lot of things in the last twenty-four hours."
Shira crumples her napkins and chucks it in his face.
Diego splutters, balling it up and tossing it behind him to the bin without turning back.
"Show off," Shira mutters under her breath.
Diego gives her an angelic smile, then returns to his food. His expression is thoughtful though. "I don't know," he admits quietly. "I just…" he carefully sorts through his meal, pushing food to and fro. Shira listens and doesn't comment. "It sounds pretty lonely, watching your back all the time." He rolls his eyes as she opens her mouth indignantly. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Gutt's got your back. But," he waves the fork at her neck, where well-placed concealer hide the finger marks. "That doesn't seem like the kind of guy to have your back."
Shira sighs. She hadn't been able to hide much from her parents, and had gotten away with the excuse that she had gotten into a scuffle with someone in PE.
"Well." Shira clears her throat. "Thank you."
"You know, you have a way of saying 'thank you' that makes it sound like 'drop dead'."
"It's a gift." Shira said sarcastically.
Diego sighs. "It's a great gift." Then, leaning back, almost as if it just occurred to him, he cocks his head at her. "Why was Gutt trying to strangle you?" His eyes are dark now, concerned as they focus on her neck.
Shira backs away instinctively, hunching her shoulders to better cover her neck. "No reason," she answers too quickly.
A raised eyebrow. "You're as bad a liar as the other herbivores."
Shira glares. "You're not exactly the fiercest carnivore out there, warrior princess." She sniffs. "Besides, herbivores," she rolls the name around in her mouth, disliking the implication, "can do tons of things carnivores can't."
"Like eat vegetables without gagging?" Diego inquires sarcastically.
Shira gives his salad a pointed look. Diego shrugs, then pulls out a piece of meat, chewing it pointedly.
"No," Shira says. "They can swim."
For a brief second, Shira regrets what she says immediately. Diego turns pale, his eyes wide and terrified as he stares at her words. Then he shakes it off equally quickly and sets his cutleries back down.
"Not all herbivores can swim, you know?" Diego closes his eyes.
Shira wonders if she imagined the whole thing. After all, she was already eating lunch with Diego - how much further did she have to go before she lost her mind…if she hadn't already?
"Anyways, where's Gutt?"
Shira scowls. "Replaced with the easter bunny."
"Fascinating," Diego drawls.
"Really, thanks," Shira rolls her eyes.
Diego shrugs. He opens his eyes and stares at her. Shira looks down at her meal. Suddenly, it didn't look very appetising anymore. Diego sets his food down safely on the bench, but Shira isn't wasting any time.
She gets up suddenly, Diego flinching at the sudden speed she does, then walks around Diego to throw her food away. Diego reaches out to grab her wrist, looking almost alarmed at the thought of her leaving - and doesn't that fill her with warmth? - only for Shira to try and yank her hand out of Diego's grip.
She couldn't stand to be in someone else's grip, not after yesterday.
Only she tugs too hard the same time Diego lets go, and her food goes flying in the air. She falls backwards as well, arm outstretched. Diego yanks her forward, but he mistimes it and she ends up half sprawled over him.
Shira unconsciously licks her lips, and inches closer to Diego. From this close up, she could see every individual eyelash of Diego's, could see his bright green eyes, could even smell the forest-like smell around him.
He was so close. Just an inch away.
She closes her eyes as she leans in, feeling Diego do the same thing. When their lips brush, the bell rings.
Both practically leap back as they mutter incoherent excuses, almost as if realising what they had done. Shira is quick to pick up her tray and flee the area, while Diego likewise slams the cover over his lunch box and sprint in the opposite direction to where the Half-Peak students left their lunches.
The one and a half slices of pizza lie there on the floor, forgotten in the moment.
"Partners. Yay." Manny mutters incoherently under his breath, scowling at his notebook. He refrains from glaring at the Spanish teacher (why did he take Spanish and not French?), and then sighs as the teacher drones on.
"Your partners have already been chosen for you-"
A wave of groans and disappointed mutters as students stop eyeing their friends, instead dropping their heads into their arms. God, some even start praying, eyes closed and heads tilted to the sky as the teacher opens the binder in the front of the classroom.
Manny only pays attention to some of the name listed, focusing mainly on his friends: "Raz and Gutt…Sid and Oscar…Crash and Eddie…Ellie and Zeke…Manny-" Here he pays attention, glancing briefly at Diego. Was his luck going to work out in his favour or was it going to damn him to several weeks with the boy he instinctively hated? Sure, they hadn't talked or interacted much since the other boy had confronted him, but it was still a daunting prospect. "And Soto."
Manny slams his head on his notebook. He raises his head an inch to balefully glare at Soto, who seems equally annoyed at this. Ellie sends him a reassuring tap on his arm, then gathers her things, almost as if bracing herself to work with Zeke.
"Diego and Shira…"
There are a few knowing looks and the whispers break anew as the two mentioned look horrified by their choice of partner, staring in disbelief first the teacher then back at each other. Quiet rumours had been spreading around from the moment that Sid had decided that both of them would make a great couple.
And the rumours had spread.
Manny notices Soto looking torn between amusement and annoyance, and settles for impassivity, staring flatly at Diego.
Diego narrows his eyes, initiating some kind of mental conversation, only for both to end it with a curt nod as the teacher finishes.
But for now, Manny couldn't care less.
He was stuck with Soto for the rest of the month doing the stupid project.
