Shout out to tokiluv, and Rachel Lyse Brook!
I'm sorry this is late, but I've been really busy recently. Things should slow down after the next few days though, and prompt updates should commence! :)
Enjoy!
As far as Alice was concerned, the next week went swimmingly. For an entire week, there were no more accidental kisses and no more accidental reveals. Better yet, there was no sign of her needing to escort a pair to her father for separation. Though in her opinion, the best part was how well things were going between her and Alfred.
A routine developed, one she was quite happy with. In the mornings he would come and pick her up, even if there was an early practice. Sometimes they listened to the radio, sometimes they chatted about random things with pleasant ease, and other times they simply rode in comfortable silence. Alfred started sitting with them at lunch, and Alice became a fixture at football practices. Usually she didn't watch, not really. Rather she would settle herself on the bleachers a few rows up, homework set around her. Mei joined her in the afternoons, though they didn't talk much. Then when the coach called it a day and the team made for the showers, Alice would gather up her things and go wait in Alfred's truck. He'd taken to leaving his keys with her after school so she could get the AC going for both their sakes.
As far as Alice was concerned, things were going quite well. The only blight in the week was what was later referred to as the 'Fencing Incident'. Alice honestly wasn't sure if it was more amusing or infuriating.
Word got around about what her cousin and his two friends had gotten into. In all honesty it didn't surprise her when she heard the names, though. On their own, Austin and Berwald were reasonable for mermen and were inclined to good judgment. Matthias was not. Then when you put the three of them together they gave the Bad Touch Trio a run for their money.
Before Alice could get her hands on them, someone beat her to it. The princess had abandoned her post on the bleachers and was stalking around the school, searching for the trio. It was still early, but people were starting to show up.
Alice found Yuki sitting at one of the picnic tables with Heracles, pausing to ask, "Do you know if the others are here yet?"
Heracles lifted his head. "Yes. Bella had a dentist appointment so she brought us early. Why?"
The princess opened her mouth, but before she could speak someone shrieked a wordless battle cry. All three turned in time to see Francis scramble around the building, running as fast as a merman still new to land could manage. He was getting along pretty good, Alice thought, considering he had never been the athletic type. Then again, it was amazing what a hearty dose of adrenaline could do.
"Get back here you pervert!" bellowed Joan, rounding the corner at top speed, rapier in hand.
Francis looked like he was angling to make an escape into the school, but then his eyes lit on the furious Alice. He course corrected, making a dive under their picnic table. Why he thought Alice would help him she didn't know.
Heracles had gotten to his feet when Francis had come into sight, now he slung his backpack over one shoulder and pulled Yuki to her feet. The human had squeaked, pulling her legs up when Francis had dove for cover. Now she watched in fascination as Heracles tugged her a few paces away, apparently not used to seeing the resident fencing champion in such a rage.
Alice folded her arms as Joan slowed, stalking over to their table. Joan Arc was a tall, athletic beauty that preferred skirts and dresses when she wasn't engaging in sports. Normally she was very sweet when she was off the field, as it were. This was the first time Alice had seen that level of aggression while Joan was wearing a skirt.
"Either get out here or I will make you," she growled.
"Eh, I would rather not," said Francis. "A little help, Alice?"
The princess pursed her lips. As much as she'd like to see Francis get what he no doubt deserved, she was still a princess. Oh the things she did for the title.
"What did he do this time?" she drawled, regarding Joan.
"That peeping tom and his friends spied on us yesterday while we were in the locker room. At least the others had the decency to own up to it. The Bondevik sisters are making sure the wall is repaired properly this time."
Alice scowled. "I'm afraid I'm not surprised. Have fun with him, Joan." With that she stalked off into the school, fuming. Before she even reached the steps a loud thud made her turn back around. Francis was scrambling backwards, rapier point aimed at his chest. Apparently Joan had flipped the entire table over, ignoring the scattering students as she cornered her prey.
Smiling to herself, Alice resumed her march into the school. She had a feeling she knew who the other two were. While she could see Austin and Berwald being apologetic, she highly doubted Matthias would be. Francis was the only outright lecher, but Matthias simply didn't regret anything. He was an oversized idiot in Alice's opinion, and not in the endearing way Alfred could be.
That said, she was genuinely surprised when she tracked them down. Austin and Berwald were smoothing the last of fresh plaster over what appeared to be an array of holes and cracks. The two were presided over by a scowling girl with waist length silver hair. Alice recognized her as the younger of the Bondevik sisters, Emilia, a sophomore.
Matthias was arguing with her elder sister, Lucy, a junior. Despite the fact her head only reached his shoulder the girl was squaring off against him, hands on hips as she fired off deadpan comebacks to his protests. Matthias and Berwald were both on the tall side for mermen, both standing at roughly six foot four when they utilized their legs. That said, Matthias's cheerfulness didn't negate the fact he was big and notably strong. This was usually enough to deter most people from trifling with him. Lighthearted goof or no, he knew how to throw a proper punch.
Knowing all this, Alice took a moment to appreciate the sight of Lucy, who was barely five foot six in platform boots, take on the Dane in a confrontation.
After appreciating the sight for a moment, she stepped forward. "Excuse me?"
Lucy's narrow eyed glower turned to her. "Beat it, Kirkland."
"Gladly, after these shrimp brains explain to me just what they thought they were doing."
"How is it any of your business?"
Before Alice could think of something, Matthias laughed. "I said I was sorry. Not one of the best ideas I've ever had, but not one I regret. Lu-Lu here-
The poorly began sentence was cut short as Lucy delivered a sharp jab to his diaphragm. Matthias doubled over, arms wrapped around his stomach as he wheezed for air. Lucy's scowl intensified to a fuming degree.
"If you're going to address me at least use my name, not a ridicules nickname," she snapped.
Alice started to back towards the door. Anyone who could render Matthias unable to speak was deserving of respect in her book. "On second thought I'll leave you to it. Let me know if they cause you anymore trouble."
With that she ducked out, Lucy scowling down at Matthias, who was still trying fruitlessly to talk.
BREAK*BREAK*BREAK
Later that day, when Alice was returning to the bleachers for afterschool practice when Tina pulled her aside. The petite girl wasn't any bigger than Mei, though she was a bit more stocky. She was on the school newspaper with Alice, as well as a member of the fencing team, so the princess knew her relatively well.
"Alice, can you help me?" Tina whispered conspiratorially as she pulled Alice aside, glancing furtively around.
They were out of the larger main halls currently flooded with students, meaning they were more or less alone. Normally Alice would think it was about something for the paper, but Tina had never looked spooked before. Frowning, she asked, "What's wrong?"
"You know Berwald, right? And Lucy said you came after them when you found out what they did. Does that mean they do what you tell them?"
Not sure where this was going, and not liking it very much either, Alice answered carefully, "Yes."
"Can you please tell Berwald to leave me alone? He's freaking me out!"
Alice blinked. "Berwald? Big, blond hair, doesn't say much? That Berwald?"
Tina nodded vigorously. "Every time I turn around he's right there! I think he's stalking me. He hasn't said anything, just stares at me. It's really creepy. I don't want to call the cops but he's seriously freaking me out."
To the best of Alice's knowledge, if you looked up 'gentle giant' in a Mer dictionary, it would hold Berwald's image. Yes he was big, and could be a bit intimidating when he wanted to be, he wasn't prone to bouts of violence like Ivan, or loudmouthed escapades like Matthias. He was quiet, kept to himself, and unless provoked wouldn't hurt a fly.
Then again, she had yet to see what happened when someone caught his eye.
"No need to call the police," she said hurriedly. "Um, I'm sorry he's scaring you, but I'm sure he doesn't mean anything by it."
"What am I supposed to do? What if he doesn't leave me alone? He follows me between classes, stared at me during lunch, and when I started to go to fencing practice he was going into the gym!"
Alice resisted the urge to smack her own forehead. All that time around few people but Matthias had seriously hindered Berwald's social skills, it seemed. "Okay, look, I'll admit that's creepy. But I really don't think he realizes he's doing it. Berwald was kind of like...Ivan back home. One real friend, not many others. Maybe if you talk to him he'll be less...creepy."
That much was true, and she knew Berwald to be reasonable. If he really liked Tina, he'd hardly want to scare her off. If this didn't work Alice knew she'd have to step in, and she really didn't want that.
"Are you sure it'll work?" asked Tina worriedly, chewing her lip. "He's so scary. What if he gets mad?"
"I don't think I've ever seen him get mad," Alice assured her, trying to make her voice soothing. "Trust me, if it doesn't work, just let me know. He's not that bad, just...he doesn't have very good social skills."
Tina hesitated, and then nodded wearily. "Okay. You're sure about this?"
"I'm sure. If it doesn't work, I'll be on the bleachers in the football field."
"Right. Thanks." Tina took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and marched towards the gym.
BREAK*BREAK*BREAK
Alice had discovered by this point that Alfred was just as bad in English as she was in math. That didn't make going over an essay any easier. She felt like a murderer, the poor thing was so red. Perhaps using a red pen to mark mistakes and make notes hadn't been her best idea...
"So, I heard from Yuki that Joan almost killed Francis."
The princess looked up as Mei sat down next to her, setting her Hello Kitty backpack at her feet.
"Almost? He's still alive then. Pity."
Mei pursed her lips as she opened her bag. "She held her sword to his throat until he swore never to do it again, whatever 'it' was. Then when he asked if this meant her window was off limits too she just beat him up."
Alice raised her eyebrows. Making a note to explain to Alfred in detail the difference between 'then' and 'than', she asked idly, "Oh? Did the frog have to go to the nurse?"
"No, actually he didn't seem to mind."
That made her look up again. If it meant his clothes getting messed up, Francis would most definitely mind. "I thought you said she beat him up."
"She did. He even has a black eye. Yuki said he had a smile like a Cheshire cat. What kind of cat is that?
Alice blinked a few times. This was actually an expression she'd heard of. Absently she explained, "It means he was very happy. Try watching Alice in Wonderland. The frog does realize that if he keeps behaving like a pervert she's never going to like him?"
Mei shrugged, making a note of the movie in her notepad. "I do not know if he has thought that far. How long do you think he'll keep this up?"
Alice shook her head slowly. "Francis might be a pervert and an annoying sea slug, but even he wouldn't get remotely serious about a human unless he meant it." She paused, and then asked, "When did Yuki tell you all this?"
"During lunch."
"Oh."
Alfred had been having her sit with him during lunch, wherever that might be. She would like to say he'd been asking her, but there weren't any requests involved. She simply found herself led along by the cheerful human the moment he found her after the lunch bell, and pulled over to one part of the cafeteria or another before she could protest. Today it had been with the geeks while they went over a particularly difficult batch of homework questions for science.
Alice was still musing over this, and the fact that she genuinely didn't mind it even though she felt she should, when Mei asked, "Did you do the history homework yet? It doesn't make any sense to me."
BREAK*BREAK*BREAK
Friday afternoon, while making her way towards the parking lot, Alice mentally checked off her resident subjects. Most were in sight as they gathered and/or made their way towards the parking lot. Three whole days without incident- not bad.
Alfred caught up with her about halfway to the truck, bouncing to a stop next to her. There was a game that night, hence the lack of practice. "Hey, Iggy, can I ask you something?"
Alice glanced up at him, but kept walking. Today was particularly steamy and she was eager to get the truck's AC going. "You just did."
Ignoring this, Alfred plowed on. "I know we still have a few weeks, but I was wondering if you had any plans for Homecoming."
That time Alice stopped in her tracks. Yes she knew what Homecoming was, only last year she'd spent it going to the movies with Yuki. Yes she knew it was two weeks away, she'd been the one to help put the two week notice in this week's paper. She had vaguely wondered what she would do, but hadn't put much serious though into it yet.
"Err, no, I'm afraid not. Why?"
"I was wondering if you'd like to go, with me I mean," he said, scratching the back of his neck nervously. Wait, since when did Alfred get nervous?
Feeling more flustered than she thought she ought to, Alice said, "Yes, I'd like that. But I should warn you, I can't dance worth a damselfish."
Alfred broke into a relieved grin. "Don't worry, I can't either. So you'll go with me?"
"I see no reason why not."
"Great!" He started to move forward, but stopped. "Is it okay if I kiss you if I don't do it on the lips?"
Alice blinked. That wasn't something she'd considered before. "I suppose...
Alfred dipped in, pressed a kiss to her forehead, and then trotted towards the truck. Alice stood there for a moment, feeling her cheeks heat. When she noticed Elizabeta walking hand-in-hand with Roderich, the mermaid grinned, giving her a thumbs up.
Feeling her blush darken, Alice followed Alfred to the truck at a brisk pace. She had thought he'd meant for future reference, not that he'd planned to do it in the middle of the parking lot! Still, she was pleased he'd remembered her request. And he had asked her to Homecoming.
Despite the fact her face was still warm from something besides the heat, Alice felt decidedly happy when she yanked open the passenger door of the pickup.
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