Juliana's heart was pounding like crazy as they followed Clavell to his office, she began to cry a little but was trying not to make it obvious. Arven took her hand and gave her a comforting look. Once they got to the office, Director Clavell stood in front of his desk. Juliana and Arven faced him, waiting nervously for him to speak.

He began, "Juliana and Arven, it's wonderful to meet with you both once again, however there is an important matter we must discuss. It should be self-explanatory why I brought you two here. Is that right?"

Juliana paused a moment before answering, "Y-Yeah…"

"Yes sir." Arven answered quietly.

"Now I know that this is a rule that we don't really address directly, but it's still a rule all students must follow, nonetheless. It is in the student handbook that male and female students aren't allowed to be alone together in dorm rooms after dark."

Juliana's eyes directed toward the ground, tears forming in her eyes.

Clavell continued, "I am quite surprised at this. Both of you are excellent students who made life-changing contributions to the school, and to the entire region of Paldea, with that in mind I trust that there is a good reason for you two breaking this rule?"

Juliana couldn't bring herself to speak being on the verge of tears, luckily for her, Arven did the explaining, "There is sir, Juliana had been having nightmares about what happened in Area Zero. She was scared of being alone at night, and I just wanted to be there for her."

Director Clavell widened his eyes with concern, "Is this true, Juliana?"

Juliana looked at the director with tears streaming down her face, she realized Arven had given a pretty reasonable excuse and was looking at her to play along.

"Y-Yes, sir. That's right." She spoke with small sobs.

"Oh my… is that really the reason? I'm so sorry to hear that." His expression softened, "I understand completely though, what you experienced down there had to be nothing short of terrifying."

Arven protectively stepped closer to Juliana.

"Well, that's a relief to hear what this was all about. I'm not one to get involved in the personal lives of the students here, however I've heard from many that you two are now… what the kids say… an item? Now?"

Arven nodded, "Yes sir, we are."

Clavell smiled, "I knew it, the other students have been talking about the new 'power couple' in school and they kept saying 'Juliana and Arven!' or some variations of them. I was both intrigued but not surprised at all. I'm not so out-of-touch that I didn't notice the subtle signs of 'chemistry'. He chuckled before stating, "I am very happy for both of you!"

Juliana wiped her eyes and looked up, having calmed down, "Thank you Director, I'm very happy to be with Arven!"

"That's great news Juliana." Clavell grinned, "But I must continue to enforce the rules, you see? I was worried that there might have been some… foolishness… going on, if you understand what I'm implying by that."

Arven slapped his palm against his reddening face, "Ugh… first Nemona, now you Director…?"

Juliana buried her face in both her palms, "Director… it's not like that…" she spoke into her hands.

Director Clavell cleared his throat, "I apologize, I didn't mean to embarrass you two. Changing the subject… Juliana, if I may suggest, Nurse Miriam doesn't just treat physical wounds, she is also quite skilled at handling the mental health of students. I would highly advise you go visit her if you are having difficulty coping with trauma. I think that is something you can benefit from, as well as you, Master Arven.

"Thank you, sir…" Juliana muttered.

"Thanks Director." Arven replied.

Director Clavell nodded his head, "Also don't hesitate to come and see me if you feel the need. I may not be an expert, but I am always happy to offer my assistance. However I can't allow the two of you to be sharing a room. It's just how it has to be. Do you two understand?"

The couple nodded in response.

"All right, you two may go now." Clavell bid.

Juliana and Arven thanked Clavell one more time before exiting the office, in the hallway the two waited for a few seconds before they began to walk to the cafeteria.

"That's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me…" Juliana muttered.

Arven sighed, "Me too… You can blame it on me, I was the idiot that fell asleep…"

"No, it's okay." Juliana assured, "We didn't get in too much trouble at least."

"That's true, I guess we have so much good grace with the Director he decided to let us off the hook huh?"

"Heh… that and you came up with a really good reason…" Juliana chuckled, "Well, changing the subject, I actually have a class today at 10. Thank goodness I remembered that!"

"Oh yeah? With whom?" Arven asked.

"Languages with Mr. Salvatore." Juliana answered.

"Ah, that Professor. He's a bit eccentric isn't he?"

"Nemona will be there too." Juliana added, "So, I'll be speaking with her."

"That sounds good." Arven acknowledged, "That means for today I'll have plenty of free time to study. Director Clavell said I needed to do more of that. Ugh…"

"You'll be fine!" Juliana encouraged, "I'm sure once you get the hang of it, you'll breeze right along!"

"I hope you're right. Of course, I know I can always count on you for support."

"All right, I better go get ready. So, I'll see you later."

"Okay Juliana, love you." Arven smiled.

"Love you too Arven." Juliana blushed. They exchanged a hug before walking in different directions.

It was just before 10am when Juliana walked into the classroom, she took a seat in the second row from the front and opened her backpack to take out her language studies book. She set it down in front of her before checking her Rotom Phone, where she saw she had a message from Nemona.

The message read,

Hey Juliana! Are you okay? I heard you had to go to Director Clavell's office! Be very careful!

Juliana sighed. She put her phone away and opened her book to the chapter that they had left off on the last lesson and started to read. Just to get a glimpse of what they'd be talking about today.

"Hey girl, you okay?" Juliana looked up to see Eri approaching her.

Juliana set her book down, "Yeah, I'm okay. Thank you, Eri."

"No problem! You looked a little anxious, so I thought I'd check on you."

Juliana nodded, "I understand, I appreciate that. I'm okay though, some things happened and it wasn't the best way to start the day. But everything's fine now, no worries!"

"I'm glad to hear that, Juliana." Eri looked amused, "I keep hearing a lot of people talk about you. You're a bit of a celebrity!"

"If it's not one thing it's another." Juliana noted.

Eri put a supportive hand on her, "Hey, it's okay! Everyone is saying good things! Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go meet with Mellie. I'll see you around, okay? If you want to chat later, feel free to come and see me!"

"Thanks, I'll remember that! Bye Eri." Juliana waved as she left the room.

A few seconds after she left, Nemona walked into the room. She lit up seeing Juliana.

"Hey Juliana! Was that one of those Team Star girls? She looked so cool and tough!"

"Yeah, we were just talking." Juliana stated.

"That's great! I'm glad things are working out for everybody!" Nemona grinned, "Say, Penny and I are meeting at the café down in the Mesagoza later. Do you wanna join us?"

"Oh, that sounds great! I would love to!" Juliana agreed, "I actually wanted to ask you some things anyway."

"Sure thing!" Nemona replied, "I can't wait, I'm so excited! Just us girls!"

Juliana laughed. All the while other students entered the room and took their seats, class was set to start in less than a minute.

"Okay, I'm gonna go have a seat right here." Nemona hopped in the chair one row ahead of Juliana, "Look forward to today!"

"I will." Juliana assured, silencing her phone.

Seated next to her, a girl wearing a beret tapped Juliana's shoulder, when Juliana looked at her the girl whispered, "You seem really close with Nemona."

Juliana smiled, "We are, she's one of my best friends and I cherish our friendship!" Juliana knew Nemona could hear her, but she didn't care. She wanted Nemona to know how much she valued her as a friend.

"Aren't you afraid?" The girl mumbled, "She's really strong you know."

"So am I." Juliana replied, "But she's a good person! An almost angel!"

"Almost!?" Nemona whirled around, "Hey come on!" Prompting Juliana to laugh out loud.

Nemona impishly grinned, "But seriously Juliana, don't make me blush up here now!"

"Sorry! I'm just spreading the good word about you!" Juliana teased. The rest of the class chuckled, amused at what was going on. Before they could continue, the Professor of the class entered the room.

Mr. Salvatore stood behind his desk and greeted the class happily, "My dear friends! How ARE you all today? You certainly look fantastic! It's time for another one of Salvatore's Language Lessons! êtes-vous prêts -are you ready!?"

Everyone faced forward but no one responded. Salvatore's expression turned mildly annoyed as he stated with more assertion, "Ahem. êtes-vous prêts-are you ready!?"

Everyone responded with some variation of 'yes sir!' or 'Yes!'. Juliana responded with, "Oui!"

His expression turned happy again, "Très bien! Very good! My lessons are not a one-way street! Non non! I am très triste when no one speaks up! Very sad, that is!"

The classroom had a more lighthearted tone after that, thankfully.

Salvatore continued, "In our last class, I believe I taught you all how to say "delicious" in other languages, right? In le cours d'aujourd' hui-today's class-we will learn about a very special phrase that you can put to use when the time is juuuuust right!"

He paused a moment before continuing, "Ai shiteiru! Je t'aime! Te amo! Ich liebe dich! Does anyone know what those phrases mean?"

Students chattered amongst themselves, trying to get an idea. Juliana's heart began to beat faster upon realizing she knew what those phrases meant. She felt the skin above her cheekbones warm up too.

"Juliana!" Salvatore abruptly called out, "How about you, ma chérie? That face you are making tells me you know exactly what those words mean!" He smiled knowingly. The students turned to Juliana, looking at her expectantly.

She answered, "Um… Those phrases mean, 'I love you'." Her voice trembled only a little bit at the end.

Salvatore exclaimed, "Fantastique, Gosunoob! Correct! You deserve a médaille d'or-or a gold medal! These three phrases you may know, I think! Why? Because they're all quite famous ways to say, "I love you!"

Juliana glanced downward, she tried to subtly cover her face with one hand. She wasn't alone; the vibe in the classroom turned timid, everyone appeared to look away from the Professor.

"Oh my! Have I embarrassed you all, my friends? What timides little garcons et filles-shy boys and girls, that is! It's so very important to express your feelings about things to others, you know! This is ESPECIALLY true for positive emotions!"

Salvatore continued, "If you get married someday and argue with your spouse over some silly little thing… all you have to do is apologize and say "I love you" et tout ira bien-and all will be well, that is!" He smiled big, "I should know! Why, just last week, I had a big argument with ma femme-my dear wife, that is! But I was quick to say I'm sorry, and all was well!"

Some students chuckled nervously, Juliana placed her hand on her face, resting her elbow on her desk. She began to think about Arven…

"And now, apropos of nothing, let me give you all one of my wise words of advice! It's best to be quick to apologize when you have an argument with someone! That goes for your families, friends, AND your crushes! I know you can do it! I believe in you!"

Juliana wondered about that, she thought to herself, "I wonder… about Arven and I… We might end up arguing one day. I hope we'll make up quickly if we do…"

The bell rang, signaling the end of class.

"Our prochain cours-our next class- will be the midterm exam! Be sure to review what we learned in our lessons so far! Adios! Mata ne!" Salvatore bid the class. Everyone packed their belongings back in their bags and stood to leave the class. Juliana waited a few seconds more before packing her bag.

"Of course, we end up talking about love when I'm already so embarrassed about what happened this morning." Juliana muttered.

"Great job Juliana! You figured that out faster than I did!" Nemona complimented her.

"Thanks Nemona, I got a little embarrassed to be honest…" Juliana admitted.

"I could tell!" Nemona stated, "You were thinking about Arven, weren't you?"

Juliana admitted shyly, "I was, I think Mr. Salvatore could tell too."

"That's probably why he called on you." Nemona winked, "Anyway, I want to talk to you real quick. Let's go to my room!"

"Okay! To the Zona Nemona?" Juliana inquired.

"To the Zona Nemona!" Nemona responded with energy.

Juliana and Nemona walked together back to the Zona Nemona, for Juliana the day seemed to be a bit brighter now. Once they got there, Nemona closed the door behind her and began speaking, "So I heard about what happened this morning. Both you and Arven got called to Director Clavell's office."

"How did you find out about that?" Juliana asked.

"I was doing some tasks and I overheard it. I didn't hear all the details so I wanted to ask you. If… you're okay with sharing. I won't judge you."

Juliana took a deep breath, "It's kind of… well… sort of. Arven and I ended up spending the night together accidentally…"

"You guys did what!?" Nemona's eyes were like giant saucers.

"It's not what you think." Juliana explained, "He just fell asleep, and I didn't want to wake him up. We had such a fun day that… I just got caught up in the moment. I… I just wanted to stay by him…" Juliana blushed intensely, "Agh! I can't help it I just didn't want to leave his arms!"

Nemona laughed, "Oh Juliana, you're so sweet! Also, don't overdo it; you look like a Corphish! Take a deep breath!"

Juliana sat down on the bed and did deep breathing as suggested. Nemona sat down next to her, "You didn't get in too much trouble, did ya?"

"No, Arven came up with a good excuse. So we just got a light scolding, that's all."

"Oh good." Nemona sighed with relief, "I would hate to see my pals get in trouble."

"Thanks, Nemona." Juliana replied, "What time are we meeting Penny?"

"She sent me a message. She's asking if 2pm is okay, does that sound good to you?"

Juliana nodded, "I'm free for the rest of the day so, yes."

"Awesome!" Nemona cheered, "I'll let Penny know that you'll be joining us! I know she won't mind!"

Juliana smiled, "No, she won't." She watched Nemona tap on her phone. Then after waiting for a few minutes her phone pinged back.

Nemona looked at the message, then spoke, "She said that's okay!"

"All right then." Juliana replied, "I'm gonna go back to my room now. I'll see you at 2 okay?"

"Great! See you later, Juliana!"

Juliana grabbed her back and left to return to her own room. She sighed,

"Arven…"

Author's Note: Ah, poor Juliana just can't catch a break! Poor dear she got so much embarrassment! I hope you all enjoyed and are relieved that she and Arven didn't get in too much trouble!

See you next time!