Greek night was in three days. Aveline was prepared. Rehearsals had been going well. She and Gerald were making it through even though it was awkward, especially with Maxwell's jokes. The prep team was now here helping. Arno and Desmond had volunteered to help with the microphones and all that. Leo was also helping with the costumes. Today was one of the final rehearsals then it would be the dress rehearsal. Currently, everyone was in the auditorium.
"Okay everyone one more run-through and we are done" Gerald announced from the stage. He was so ready to be done with this. It pained him to see Aveline looking at Conner like that.
Maria and Evie were sitting together. Evie still felt weird after Spring Break when Aveline said she still liked Conner. At this point, though Aveline did tell her friends she and Gerald broke up. Evie leaned over to Marai and whispered "Hey can we talk after this"
"Sure" Maria nodded. A bit confused why Evie was being so secretive. During the rehearsals, Maria picked up on how good Aveline and Conner's acting was you could almost say they weren't acting.
The rehearsal ended and Evie and Maria walked to the student union together. "Did you see the way Aveline and Conner weren't acting" Maria did air quotes when she said acting.
"They weren't acting" Evie blurted out stopping and looking at Maria.
Maria then made a confused face "what?"
"I'll catch you up but let's get some food," Evie told her. They walked in ordered food and sat down at a table away from other people. Evie then told Maria what happened at Spring Break and everything.
"Now I feel bad" Maria put some fires in her mouth. "I was making jokes and shit but I didn't realize... damn"
"I just feel bad for Aveline. She just needs to wait at this point though" Evie took a sip of her milkshake.
"This play is going to be more interesting now. Have you told Elise?"
Evie shook her head. "I need to but she's busy with her own stuff and I don't want to bother her."
"I get it. Anyways I say we pay attention during the play and final dress rehearsal" Maria was now even more interested.
The two days went by fast. Evie and Maria noticed how Aveline seemed more reserved. Now it was the final dress rehearsal. Everyone was in the auditorium in full costume. "Everyone looks great!" Elise observed she was wearing a shorter white toga.
"I know I actually love my toga" Maria spun around. Her toga was long and with black and dark purple coloring and accents. She knew she looked great.
"Same I never thought I would wear a dress this comfortable" Evie admired her green toga. She also had her hair in an updo with fauna and flowers weaved in it.
"I look like a god" Jacob boasted coming up to them. He wore a shorter blue toga since he was Neptune. Evie rolled her eyes and Maria and Elise just chuckled.
Arno then walked up to them with the microphones "I wish I could wear one of yalls outfits they are so cool looking"
"We should all be Greek Gods for Halloween" Jacob's face lit up.
"That's so far from now" Maria pointed out. "Anyways how's doing Microphones and all that going for you Arno"
Arno was putting a mic on Elise and looked at Maria "It's okay just taking a minute to figure out. The only issue I have is if I accidentally hit a wrong button everyone will hear me and that would be so embarrassing"
"That does sound embarrassing" Evie agreed.
"You look dashing Jacob!" Maxwell glided over to Jacob wearing his toga. He was playing Zeus.
"Thanks," Jacob said flatly. Maxwell kept bothering him during practice and all that. Jacob was ready to be done specifically to get away from Maxwell.
Aveline then walked over "Is everyone ready to get started"
"Woah Aveline you look great!" Elise said looking at Aveline. She wore a pink toga and had flowers weaved in her hair. She looked like the goddess of Spring.
"Oh um thank you" Aveline blushed a bit. Conner then walked out and everyone looked at him. He looked amazing. He wore a shorter black toga that showed off his muscles. He also had black eyeshadow smeared on his face to have an underworld appearance.
"I had no idea he would look that good" Maria whispered to Evie. Evie just nodded, feeling even worse for Aveline.
Aveline took a deep breath. Conner looked like a god to her, and she was dying. "Okay... let's get started"
Conner was also dying a bit. Everyone was looking at him which made him nervous. On top of that, Aveline was stunning in her pink toga.
The final dress rehearsal started. Everyone was killing it. The finale then came and Aveline and Conner had to kiss. Every time they kissed it was fast and more of a peck. But they knew they needed to sell the story. Aveline leaned in as did Conner and they kissed. Conner really kissed her and Aveline kissed him back harder. The entire time Gerald was trying not to kill both of them. Maria looked at Evie and Evie looked at her not sure what to do. They finally broke apart and the curtains closed.
"Okay, we're good to go" Maxwell announced getting on the stage. "Everyone needs to meet at the main quad at 4:30! The play starts at 5 so just a heads up"
Behind the curtains, Aveline and Conner stood there. "Sorry for kissing you so hard" Conner blushed.
"It's fine." Aveline wiped her mouth. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow" she then hurried off ready to get the stupid toga off of her.
That night Aveline lay in bed unsure of what to do about her emotions. She hated them. When she saw Conner in that toga she swore her brain shot into overdrive. Aveline got up from bed and got a glass of water. She needed to calm herself down. There was no way Conner liked her. As Aveline was sitting at the table a voice shook her from her thoughts. "Hey, are you good?" Aveline turned around and saw Elise.
"Yeah I'm fine just can't sleep" Aveline took a sip of water.
Elise then took a seat "I don't believe that. You've been way too quiet spit it out"
Aveline knew there was no arguing with the redhead. So Aveline told Elise everything. Elise sat there and listened to every word.
"Wow, that's a lot" Elise was a bit shocked and felt horrible for Aveline.
"It's fine" Aveline shrugged "I did it to myself"
"Well I mean I think you should just let things play out. I mean I'm pretty sure Conner likes you too. That kiss you had lasted a minute, to say the least," Elise watched them kiss and could see the attraction. On top of that, their chemistry was amazing on stage.
"True" Avelie did not mean to kiss Conner that long but they both seemed to have enjoyed it.
Greek night was finally here. The entire main quad was transformed. There was a stage where multiple performances would take place. There were food booths and shops littered throughout. There were also other areas for students to give presentations on Greek culture and history. The entire school was excited for tonight. Aveline and they were all behind the stage getting ready. Arno was putting microphones on everyone. Right now, he was putting one on Conner and Elise was also helping out.
"Oh, hey by the way whatever happened about Dr. Cormac and Jensen" Conner asked while Arno was attaching the mic.
Elise spoke up before Arno could get a word in. "Oh my god, Conner it was crazy what we found out. It was because of a raccoon that they got together"
"Wait for real?" Conner looked at both of them.
Arno was still trying to get the microphone attached to Conner "Yeah, I know right a raccoon essentially caused two professors to sleep together. Craziest shit I've learned this year. This microphone is being annoying" Arno kept fidgeting with it.
"GUYS!" Aveline rushed over to them. "The mic is on!"
Arno, Elise, and Conner all looked at each other in horror. They knew a boatload of people were sitting in their seats waiting for the play to start. Arno then grabbed Conner's mic and rushed onto the stage to de-escalate everything. "Hello everyone" Arno awkwardly smiled. He then felt the blood drain from his face when he saw Dr. Cormac sitting on one of the audience and Dr. Jensen on the other. They both also looked embarrassed and pissed. "We were talking about a... tv show, not two people who work here" he then laughed awkwardly.
"Shay" Haytham turned and looked at Shay. "What in god's name is this French boy talking about" Haytham first heard them talk and thought it was a weird coincidence that he heard the name Cormac. He then looked at Shay and saw how shocked and uncomfortable he looked. Haytham then put two and two together.
"I have to go" Shay stood up and bolted out. He knew he looked suspicious.
Liam looked at Hope with horror "Are you and Shay fucking?" He was shocked but pieced it together epically after he saw Shay run.
Hope sat there wanting to die. She knew she was caught "Yeah..." she looked away. "I'm going to leave" she then got up and followed Shay. Liam stayed back unsure of what to do. He decided to wait until after the play.
Arno quit rambling on and got off stage. His face was beet red. "I'm dying"
"Well, we're getting into trouble" Elise sighed. At least they only had a month or less left of school.
"My dad is going to freak on Shay I feel bad for him," Conner said. Conner knew Haytham took this type of stuff way too seriously.
The play then finally started. Everyone enjoyed it and soon forgot about the mic incident except for Liam and Haytham. They sat there the whole time thinking of the obvious signs that they missed. Altair and Kadar had also arrived. Altair was proud of himself for getting Kadar here as a surprise. Kadar loved watching Malik on stage and was impressed with his acting skills. Everyone loved the muses and their energy. The play was soon wrapping up and it was now the grand finale. Aveline would have to kiss Conner again but at least it was the last one. Conner was dreading this for multiple reasons. First Dobby was sitting in the crowd. He knew it was a stupid play but still didn't want to hurt her. Second, he knew he didn't like Dobby like that and was going to enjoy kissing Aveline no matter what and that made him feel awful. The finale now was here.
"Persephone I truly care for you and your company please consider staying" Conner acted out.
Aveline then went "As have I. I wish I could stay here but my mother forbids it. She has already turned the land desolate in retaliation"
"I propose this then" Conner reached into his bag and pulled out the fake pomegranate seeds. "If you eat six of these you can stay with me here in the underworld for six months of the year the other six can be with your mother. Not even the gods can undo a curse"
"Alright, I will do it!" Aveline walked over and "ate" the fake seeds. "I need to return now but I will see you in six months I promise". She then leaned over to Conner and kissed him hard. He returned just as hard kicking himself. The curtain then closed, ending the play. The audience burst into applause.
Aveline broke away "you did well thank you"
"Yeah, no problem" Conne knew his cheeks were red. They both stood there for a second.
"Time to bow down!" Maxwell interrupted. Everyone then went on the stage and bowed down. The play was a hit, and everyone applauded.
"I can't wait to see Malik!" Kadar was clapping and turned towards Altair.
Altair smiled back "I know he's going to be so shocked". Everyone then came off stage. They were allowed to keep their costumes on as long as they returned them the next day.
Malik and Maria started walking up to Altair in their togas. They were both excited about the food and booths here and couldn't wait to have fun. "You killed it, Malik," Maria told him as they walked closer.
"Thank you too" Malik smiled at her he then looked at Altair and then saw Kadar?!. "Kadar!" Malik ran ahead and wrapped his brother in a huge hug. "What are you doing here?" Malik pulled away shocked.
"Well, it was Altair's idea. I wanted to see you perform and figured I can also tour the campus while I'm here" Kadar loved the campus so far. He had been once when Malik had lost his arm, but they did not tour or anything like that. "You must be Maria" Kadar looked over from Malik and saw the English girl Altair went on and on about.
"Yes I am!" she held her hand to shake his. "It's nice to meet you!"
"Same I can't wait to share embarrassing stories about Altair" Kadar loved joking with Altair. Malik on the other Kadar did not make fun of him.
Maria's whole face lit up "I would love that! You know He tried drowning me on Valentine's day". Everyone then burst into laughter except for Altair who gave them all nasty glares. Just then Arno and Elise swooped past them.
"What the hell?" Malik looked at them running. Everyone else shrugged.
"Sorry!" Arno yelled. He and Elise needed to find and . They both felt awful.
"They probably left" Elise pointed out as they were looking in the crowd.
"I don't think they did" Arno replied also looking. "There they are!" Arno pointed to them on the outskirts. It looked like Liam and Haytham were also beelining it to them.
"Come on!" Elise ran ahead. "Dr. Jensen and Dr. Cormac were sorry!" Elise ran up to them panting.
Arno then joined also trying to catch his breath "Yeah I had no idea the stupid mic would do that"
"Please don't expel us" Elise pleaded to them putting her hand together. She knew she looked crazy with her toga still on and her hair everywhere.
"Calm down" Hope asserted her tone. She was more so embarrassed and truthfully had no idea what to do.
"It was just an accident we aren't going to do anything," Shay told them. Both Arno and Elise looked frantic, and Shay figured that was punishment enough.
Just as Shay was about to say something else, he was interrupted when Haytham abruptly came up to him and Hope. "What is going on?" Haytham was just so confused at this point.
"Yeah, I could say the same" Liam walked up annoyed. He was more hurt that Shay and Hope were on good terms. Shay was his best friend after all.
Hope and Shay both looked like deer caught in headlights, so Elise came clean. "Okay this is going to sound weird but I'm a student here and I decided to stalk both Dr. Cormac and Dr. Jensen. I was bored and I dragged Arno in...and also Conner" Elise rushed in that last part. She figured Haytham might not punish them badly if Conner is mentioned.
"Wait what?" Haytham was just so much more confused. Haytham then pieced why Conner came over that one night.
"Did you not listen to what she said" Liam sneered. He hated Haytham. "She was bored and figured out these two were together before we did."
"Why don't we just forget what happened" Shay suggested trying to de-escalate the craziness.
"Yeah I agree" Elise added. Praying she and Arno would not get into trouble.
"I can't drop this," Haytham said rudely. "You're with someone in the Brotherhood"
"I agree" Liam added "Hope you're better than this"
"Okay Liam you're being dramatic" Hope sighed. "Listen Shay and I are staying together. Okay just ignore us or something"
"Yeah but you're my friend" Liam argued. "I just miss the three of us okay? It just hurt that yeah..." Liam admitted.
"Well, maybe you shouldn't have been a prick and made Shay leave like that" Haytham started "Come on Shay let's go" Haytham waved him over.
"Stop I'm not a dog" Shay glared at him. "Listen, Liam, we can talk and maybe make up with one another. I miss you also" Shay admitted. He did miss his best friend from high school.
"I would like that" Liam nodded.
"Okay well that's great but they're in the Brotherhood" Haytham once again stated.
"It's just a club Haytham" Shay looked at him. "I'll still do stuff, but I also need to work on fixing past relationships and all that. I think I'll feel better"
Haytham knew there was no winning "Okay if it means that much"
"Thanks. Anway's, Arno, Elise" Arno, and Elise looked at Shay praying that would not get in trouble. "You guys aren't in trouble, but you probably might not wanna stalk again"
"Yeah we caused a lot of issues sorry" Elise apologized.
Arno added "Yeah even though it was mostly Elise we're sorry" Elise lightly hit Arno on the arm.
Elise and Arno then walked away. Glad that their stalking adventure came to an end. It had been worth it since it did make their relationship stronger and closer. That night Shay, Hope, and Liam all hung out like old times and everyone enjoyed themselves. Shay was glad to have his friends back.
Alexios was nervous he was giving his presentation on Biodiversity in Greece at a booth. He was on in five minutes. He had a projector and screen and chairs were littered out so people could watch he was hoping his siblings and friends would come. He was glad he was now in the Brotherhood because if he was still a Templar, they would have skipped the presentation he worked so hard on. Five minutes went by and he walked out behind the Projector and saw many familiar faces. He saw Kassandra who was holding her phone face timing his parents. (Even if it was the middle of the night in Greece). Stentor was also sitting next to Kassandra holding his snake Pythagoras. His roommates except for Arno were also there. Jacob was still in his toga. Evie and Maria were also there along with Altair, Malik, and another kid that did not look familiar to Alexios. Then there were people from the Greek Community. Alexios started his presentation. At first, he was nervous but as he started, he got into the zone. He then finished and everyone clapped.
"Go baby bro" Kassandra cheered. She was so proud of Alexios for finding his way.
"That's my roommate" Jacob hollered.
"Pythagoras is proud!" Stentor smiled and held up the snake. Alexios started getting emotional. He loved this.
Professor Kesegowaase then walked up to Alexios "I'm proud of you that was a great presentation"
"Thank you" Alexios blushed.
"Alright, Alexios let's go get some spanakopita from Kyra" Kassandra walked up.
"Sounds good!" Alexios smiled and truly did smile. Jacob and Eivor also congratulated Alexios. He was proud of himself.
That night Alexios spent it with his siblings, and he loved it. He even saw his parents briefly on face time and they told him how much they loved him and how excited they were for him. He forgot about how much he loved the Greek fest.
Conner walked off stage wanting to die. He kissed Aveline way too long this time. Even worse, Dobby was in the audience. He quickly changed out of the toga and put on his sweatshirt and jeans. As he walked back to the festival he saw Dobby on her phone by the stage.
"Hey Dobby" he greeted her awkwardly.
She smiled back at him the smile not reaching her eyes. "Hey, can we talk?"
Conner felt his stomach drop "Yeah sure"
They then walked to the side to have more privacy. "You were really good in the play. Almost too good" Dobby's eyes went to the side.
"Wait Dobby I-"
"I get it. Aveline was the girl you liked at the beginning of last year. You guys had amazing chemistry on stage." Dobby saw them kiss and knew that he was not acting. "Also, Gerald told me you guys like each other". Dobby had been waiting for Conner to change when Gerald came up to her. He basically told her not to waste her time. Dobby was already feeling this and then Gerald confirmed. Every time she was with Conner he seemed so off in the distance.
"Wait what?" Conner started sputtering "I don't like her"
"Conner you're a great guy and an amazing catch and I'm clearly not what you want. Let's just save the heartache and break up already. I don't want to be the girl you settled for." Dobby was being honest as she knew that was the best course of action.
Conner stood there for a second unsure about what to do. He knew Dobby was right but did not want to admit it "But Dobby..."
"Please Conner" She tried keeping her voice even "I'll see you later" she then walked away leaving a standing Conner. He was now mad at Gerald and just everything. He then took a deep breath and decided to leave. As he was walking through the crowd he hared someone yells his name.
"Conner!" Conner turned around and saw Altair, Malik, Kadar, Evie, and Maria approaching him. "It's me, Kadar!" Kadar walked up to him. "It's so cool to meet you in person." Malik would sometimes facetime Kadar and let him meet his friends.
"Oh um hey" Conner knew he was being awkward.
"You good?" Altair asked noticing Conner seemed dejected.
"Yeah umm Dobby broke up with me" Conner looked away. Everyone then gasped.
"Holy shit" Maria whispered to Evie. Evie only nodded understanding everything.
"Why," Altair asked not meaning to intrude.
"It was probably because of the way he kissed the girl in pink on stage," Kadar said bluntly. Malik pinched his arm. Kadar was embarrassing at times. Maria tried not to laugh she loved Kadar's honesty.
Conner rolled his eyes "Yea he's not wrong. Anyway, I'm heading back to the dorm. I need to figure some stuff out." Conner also figured he could talk to Ezio about it. Ezio was a pro with relationship advice. He then walked away and everyone stood there unsure of what to do.
"I'm getting some Baklava" Kadar announced trying to make things less awkward. Everyone nodded and went with him.
Conner walked back and pulled his phone out and called Ezio. After a few rings, he answered. "Hey Ezio, sorry to bother you. I know you had to rush off stage for your date, but I need help"
Ezio was at dinner with Sofia but excused himself. "What's going on?" Ezio was concerned. Conner then explained everything. Ezio listened attentively. "Okay Conner what you need to do is wait. First, make sure she likes you. Then just ask her to see what happens and let it play out. Don't force anything"
"Yeah I can do that" Conner was now at the front of the dorm. "Thanks for the help. It means a lot to me"
"Of course," Ezio smiled. He loved helping others. Ezio hung up and Conner went to his room. He decided to play video games to get his mind off of everything.
"Aveline!" Maria, Evie, and Elise rushed over to Aveline who was looking at jewelry at a booth. Evie and Maria figured to recruit Elise to tell them about Conner.
Aveline looked at them and put the jewelry down "Are you guys good?"
"Conner broke up with Dobby" Elise panted. She had dealt with so much relationship drama tonight it was crazy.
Aveline then looked confused "Wait what?"
Evie then went "Okay so basically Dobby saw the chemistry on stage and was jealous. From what we picked up"
"You need to ask Conner out!" Maria added.
Aveline stood there for a second, shocked. "I don't know. I don't want people to think we cheated with one another. Plus, what if he's not ready"
"I mean Conner is seeing a therapist. Just try the worst he can do is say no" Elise assured her.
"I mean true. I guess we'll have to wait and see" Aveline told them. They all agreed. The boys then met up with them and for the rest of the night they ate food, danced, and laughed. Greek night was so much and everyone enjoyed excited for next year. Aveline, Gerald, and Maxwell also got an A on their Greek play.