Vald ran to meet Abraham and couldn't keep a stupid smile off of his face. Abraham commented on it but didn't care about his false explanation. They spent an hour at the mall looking at manga, video games, and getting something small to eat. Abraham ended up having to run to his next class and was still a few minutes late. Vald laughed at the lecture Professor Galen began giving Abraham before the door had shut behind him. Vald met up with Oliver and the two waited patiently for Oliver's mom to pick them up.

"Why don't you have your own car again?" Oliver asked him while staring at the pavement.

"It wasn't really important in high school, and my parents were too busy when I got my license to buy a car. They said they'd get me one for graduation but were gone by then."

"Oh."

They waited in silence again until Oliver saw the dream-catcher hanging from Vald's bag. "Where did you get that?"

Vald glanced over to see what he was talking about and smiled. "My professor gave it to me."

"The mean one you have a crush on?" Oliver asked for clarification.

Vald blushed and gasped, "Don't say it like that!"

"Then how should I say it?"

Vald didn't look at him or answer.

"Then how serious is it? Are you dating or something?"

Vald's face was now beet red. "Why would you think that?!"

"He gave you a present didn't he? Why else would he do that?"

"I… I haven't been sleeping well. Professor Halvir just thought about helping me."

Oliver raised an eyebrow at him. "And a dream-catcher will do that?"

Vald didn't reply and they waited awkwardly for Oliver's mother to come pick them up. She arrived within a few minutes with Liz. Apparently Liz was hoping to see the professor Vald had a crush on. She was pouting the whole way back.

"It's not like it's normal to just hang out with your professor," Oliver muttered to her after she stopped whining to Vald. "It'd be weird and maybe start rumors."

"Is it illegal?" she asked eagerly. "Is theirs a forbidden romance doomed to face society's persecution?"

"Just let them be," Oliver and Liz's mother said politely. "They don't want you bothering them."

"Awwww! But Mooooooommmm!"

Oliver smirked and Vald looked out the window. What she said made him think logically for a second. He had no idea if he was allowed to date a professor or not. Was it legal? Probably because he was over 18 and after that there's little the law can do to tell you that you can't date someone. But what if the school had some rule against it?

After the car ride Oliver decided to stay at Vald's house for a few more hours. He had left his bike there before and would just ride it home when he wanted to leave. After Oliver's mom had driven away and they had gone inside Vald asked the question.

"Is it possible for me to date my professor?"

Oliver seemed to consider it. "Well yes, unless the school has rules about it. You should ask a staff member since they would know that rule, unlike students."

"I'm not gonna ask him!" Vald replied hastily. "How on earth would I manage that?!"

"By asking him out? Lots of students meet with their professors to talk about school and stuff. Just ask him. Maybe get lunch with him or something. Don't you have questions on his subject?"

"Not really. He hasn't taught much, and a lot of it is straight forward if you know how to embellish your writing style to sound impressive. I guess I can think of something though."