This chapter is especially dedicated for Boris X Alice's fans!
Welcome to Dodo Academy for the Gifted!
None of the songs here are mine. NONE.
Something More?
Alice was taking a note, coughing once in a while as she did, while her old best friend, Gray, was lying on a sofa. They were pretending to have a consultation session in a psychiatrist's office. Grandma chuckled as she left after serving tea.
"So, Mr. Ringmarc, please sort out your feelings lately."Alice said after he explained the situation.
"I feel...tired but refreshened at the same time." Gray said, his eyes glaring at the ceilings. "I mean, I'm tired because I can't sleep, but I feel refreshened because I'm excited."
"Then...? What do you think of Vivaldi, our subject?"
"She's strong, brave and a funny tomboy...but she's very beautiful...her eyes, they were like gummy bears, her lips were so cute like strawberry Jell-O, her cheeks were blushing pretty pink like cotton candies..."
"You should stop to describe anyone with your Candy Phrase, Gray." Alice deadpanned, as she swallowed hungrily.
"Sorry, just this once...her eyelashes were so neat and long like Pocky sticks...I can't forget about her since the dance, Alice!" Gray groaned and sat up, frowning at the girl. "I had never had a girl that close to me! What's happening to me, Al? Am I going mad?"
Alice narrowed her eyes and nodded. "Yes, Gray, unfortunately yes. You're mad...bonkers...off with your head!" she sighed and put down her noteboard then paced around the living room. "The symptomps are critical! You've lost your nocturnal ability—you don't even sleep! You're using poetic Candy Phrases to describe things, and your mind is filled with one girl..."
She stopped, and then turned at Gray sharply. "I'm afraid to tell you what's happening, Gray...this is very...terrible...I'm so sorry for you, Father."
Gray stiffened. "What, tell me what's happening to me, dear Daughter!"
Alice coughed and sneezed, before pointing her pen at him.
"Dad, you...are infected by cooties!"
~.X.~
It was chilling November, the trees were sleeping, though Mr. Gowland had made some firepit from the falling woods his student had collected on the yard. The boys were surrounding the warmth of it, but Pierce was avoiding it like a plague.
"What if it snapped at me and—and burns me!" Pierce squeaked from afar, hugging himself, his teeth clattering from cold.
"Let him be, he'll froze and die either way." Boris nonchalantly said as he rubbed both of his hands.
"F-Froze!? Oh no...oh no...oh no...I'M SCARED!" Pierce started to hyperventilate.
The exhibitionist sighed and rolled his eyes as he went to drag his cousin to the warmth. Julius was near, but he's sitting on his usual spot under the tree, while Ace was waving a stick on fire like a pyromaniac, and chased Nightmare, who ran away, rolling on his wheelchair.
"I'll mark you with this fire of hell, you sinner!" Ace laughed.
"Aaargh! Leave me alone, Ace!" Nightmare shrieked. "I'll tell Alice you've been bullying me! And she'll get mad at you!" he finally threatened. Ace stopped dead on his track and dropped his fire stick.
"Pfft! What a snitch!" Ace chuckled, and stomped on his stick to put out the fire.
"Shut up!" Nightmare blushed.
"Where's your bro, Gray?" Ace asked, carefully approaching Nightmare and slowly pushed his chair, bringing them back to the firepit.
"He's locking himself in after visiting Alice last night. He said...he got...sick..." Nightmare said unsurely, scratching his chin with a finger.
"He visited Alice?" Ace and Boris chorused in shock.
Nightmare twitched and nodded. "Gray and Alice shared the same weirdness and they understood each other. Whenever Gray gets some weird things happening to him, he'd talk to Alice, and it was the other way around...But usually they ended up misunderstand things further and create chaos..." the silver head sighed.
"Or maybe he's just get the same fever..." Julius prodded in, reading a text in his cellphone. "Because Alice is still not coming today. She's sent me a message."
"What!?" the boys quickly surrounded Julius, but the wallflower stuffed his cellphone to Boris and told them to back off. The other boys gathered to read the message together.
Fr: Alice
Jule, I'm not goin 2 school 2day. Say hi 2 the others...n remind them 2 do Nightmare's practice. I'm feeling worse, Mum is coming 2 take me 2 D hospital. I'll B back by evening, tho. Hope 2 see u 2morrow!
"Oh noo...poor Princess!" Ace frowned.
"Oh yeah, we should continue to teach him to walk!" Boris pointed out, and everyone turned at Nightmare, who looked determined.
"I want to be able to walk today...so I can show to Alice when she comes to school...Please help me out, bro...I'll work hard!" the silver-headed boy said out loud, slowly preparing to come off his wheel chair.
"That's the spirit!" Boris grinned, and turned to Ace. "C'mon, Ace, let's do this."
Ace was staring at Julius' cellphone for quite a while, then glanced at Julius, who noticed something. The brunette wasn't smiling, he just handed the navy-head his cellphone back. Boris and Pierce had gone further to start training Nightmare.
"Since when did she gave you her cellphone number?" Ace asked in a low voice.
Julius stared at him for a while, then returned to his book while pocketing his cellphone.
"She asked mine first." Julius muttered.
Ace hummed silently, then turned his back as he walked away.
"Alice won't tell me, and she even refused to know mine..." he mumbled. "Where did I do wrong again?" he muttered to himself.
"Maybe you should stop being a dumb prat and grow up a bit." He heard Julius spat from behind.
Ace chuckled happily as he shoved his hands into his pocket and continued to walk away.
...Grow up a bit...
~.X.~
Alice sneezed and shivered as she closed her curtain and curled in her bed. Her temperature had gone down much better, but she still felt cold. The winter was coming after all. Her wounded lower lip was plastered with a band-aid, and she was paler than ever.
However, she felt she's better for tomorrow's school! Mr. Gowland had instructed her about tomorrow's Biology Class. She had prepared for the blood's test. Alice knew her type was AB, but she was curious of the process of Blood type's Test.
When she was about to wrap herself in the blanket, someone was knocking her window. The girl gasped, but pondering quickly, she decided to open her curtain. Boris was grinning outside the window, waving at her as he was standing firm on the patio. Alice quickly opened her window and he jumped into her bed.
"Whew! It's so cold outside!"
"Boris, why are you sneaking into my room at ni—choo!" Alice quickly covered her mouth and Boris reached knowingly for a pack of tissue on her study desk, then offered it to the girl, who took one gratefully.
"I'm just seeing how you're going...Everyone is worried! But hey, it's been a while since I'm playing here...I heard you spent a day with Blood Dupre yesterday and saw my cat given birth!"
Alice nodded with a weak smile. "Ohh...yeah, I'm going to take one with me. Blood's going to take one too, are you okay with that?"
Boris laughed. "I'm more surprised by the fact that prat actually likes cat, though! It's fine, I have Hatter, Baron and Accio with me, it's so crowded in the house right now, with all those kittens..." he curled on her bed while Alice sat up. He watched the girl for a while, since she was busy wiping her runny nose.
"Alice, what's with your lip?"
"Oh...this? Everyone keeps asking." Alice sighed. "I tripped and hurt my lip, that's all." She shrugged, thinking that something bad would happen if she told Boris that Black tripped on her. (He's her 'brother', after all)
"Aww you purr thing..." Boris grinned, ruffling the girl's head affectionately. "Your body is too warm...It must be cold for you now, huh? Here, wear this." He took off his sweater and toppled it onto Alice's head, revealing his sleeveless shirt.
Alice stared at him with a frown. "You're the one who gets cold now, idiot."
"No, I've told you times! The less I'm wearing clothes, the healthier I am~ Now, wear it, quick!" Boris said as he jumped off the bed and locked the door, then jumped back to the bed while Alice stuffed herself into the sweater.
"What are you doing?" Alice asked, as Boris was opening the window again, and the cold wind entered, but Alice realized it wasn't so cold now that she wore Boris' sweater.
"Let's get out~! I wanna show you something!" Boris grinned at her, offering a hand, but then he glanced around to reach for a scarf and took off his own muffler, before stuffing and wrapping Alice with them.
"Now it's warmer, right? Let's go!" He chuckled and climbed out, then offered his arms to catch her.
Alice shrugged and followed suit, but then hesitated when she was about to climb out, glaring at Boris.
"If I get hurt from doing this..."
"I won't even let a scratch on you, Alice." Boris smiled at her determinedly and took her hands firmly. "Trust me?"
Alice's eyes widened, her face heating up, despite it was already hot from fever. She grinned and took his hand, and carefully climbed out, into his arms.
~.X.~
The two were running through the crowded district in the starry night. The district was filled with city lamps, and adults were everywhere, making it difficult for Boris and Alice to move, but he held her hand firmly, making sure he wouldn't lose her.
"Where...are...we...going...hh?" Alice panted miserably.
"It's nearby...Oh, you're not used to run, Al?" Boris stopped, staring at her in concern.
"Sorry...hh...I'm very bad at sports..." she heaved gratefully because he stopped dragging her, but suddenly he took her arms and wrapped them around his neck, then bowed so she'd be on his back.
"B-Boris!"
"It's OK~! You look like you can use a piggy back, Al." Boris chuckled as he then took Alice on his back and walked past the crowd again. Alice smiled and wrapped her arms tighter around him.
"I'm so lucky to have a big bro like you, Boris..." she mumbled.
Boris' heart pounded faster for no reason, he was smiling but blushing at the same time. It felt weird that he was happy and embarrassed for no reason.
They arrived in the park, where it was even more crowded than the district, people were gathering around something that appeared to be a stage. Boris tiptoed, trying to get a look, but then he carefully put Alice down and stood on the edge of a fountain.
"Oh, it's started already!" he whined.
"What is it?" Alice asked curiously and followed suit Boris, standing on the fountain, then gasped. "Oh! A concert!" the girl flushed in excitement, her turquoise orbs glimmering.
Boris chuckled and stared at her, then smiled affectionately as he wrapped an arm around her small shoulders.
"They're an indie band from Richford...I gotta admit, they're so good, huh?"
Alice glanced at him, then raised her eyebrows. "But you're also a great singer, Boris. I like it when you sing."
Boris laughed and blushed harder, pushing her face to look at the concert.
"...This night is sparkling, don't you let it go, I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home...I'll spend forever, wondering if you knew..."
Suddenly, Boris tugged her hand, and she looked up at him, while he jumped off the fountain edge.
"May I have this dance~? I didn't have the chance last Hallowe'en..." he smiled cutely.
Alice laughed and nodded, jumping into his arms, and they started to do their child-dance, swinging away from the crowd near the play grounds.
"...Please, don't be in love with someone else...please, don't have somebody waiting on you..."
Their dance slowed down as the silver-haired singer sang this part of the song. Both Boris and Alice looked down, still swinging, but blushing at the same time.
"This is awkward." Alice blurted out.
"Y-Yeah..." Boris heaved, but his hand on her waist tightened.
"Um...It's so awkward, I can't take it anymore, bro—"
"No, I like it this way!" Boris blurted out, hugging the girl to prevent her from straying away.
Alice's eyes widened as she was muffed in his broad, warm chest, wrapped in his skinny arms, as he controlled their dance in his own pace. This was weird...what's wrong with Boris? He only liked her as a sister, right? This was...normal, right? Brothers hugged their sisters right?
Alice unsurely hugged him back. Please, she thought, Please let this be a sibling-thingy...not something else...
"...This night is flawless, don't you let it go...I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone...I'll spend forever, wondering if you knew..."
"I was enchanted to meet you..."
~.X.~
Boris was leaning on her window frame, staring at Alice dreamily with a smile on his face as he watched her drank her medicine and got up the bed. She was about to take off the sweater, but Boris shook his head.
"It's OK, Alice...You can borrow it some more time." He said cheerfully.
"Um...Okay." Alice put down her hands and pulled her blanket, staring back at Boris. "Thanks...for tonight, Boris. I think I'm feeling much better...And...Um..." she was at loss of words.
Boris seemed very content by just staring at her, he didn't say anything, his mind was completely somewhere else.
"Boris?"
"Huh? Eh? What?"
"You're...the best brother I could ever ask." Alice finally said, praying in her heart it was the right thing to say.
Boris' expression faltered, and his eyes were down to the blanket, his smile slowly faded away.
"...Y-Yeah? I'm...glad that you think so." He reluctantly patted her head again.
"I hope...I can be your sister...forever." Alice swallowed, picking her words carefully.
Boris' hand on her head stopped. He then sighed and pulled her blanket to cover her head and laughed.
"Of course, silly. I'll be your big bro forever and ever and ever!" he grinned while she groaned and pulled down her blanket of her head,then he was startled as she put up her pinky finger.
"Promise? Pinky promise?"
Boris took quite a long while to stare at that pinky finger, then stared at Alice quickly before grinning and took out his own pinky finger.
"Of course, duh." He interwined his pinky with hers and then they shook it as they sang together;
"Pinky swear made, whoever breaks the promise has to swallow a thousand of needles..." Then they pushed their thumbs on each other's together. "Sealed with a kiiiisss...!"
They laughed and let go of each other's fingers, and Alice turned off her table lamp. They stared at each other again, and then Boris chuckled, pulling up her blanket again.
"Now, go to sleep, little sister...I'll sing a song for you!"
"Yay...! Thank you, Boris..." Alice yawned and wrapped her shoulders with the blanket and lied down as Boris started to sing.
"Caterpillar in the tree...how you wonder who you'll be...can't go far but you can always dream..."
"Wish you may and wish you might, don't you worry hold on tight..."
"I promise you there will come a day..."
"Butterfly fly away..."
~.X.~
Boris was frowning deeply as he closed the window of Alice's room and carefully climbed down the second floor and slipped off the patio easily. He stared up at her window with smoldering eyes and then looked down, looking at his pinky finger.
He was wondering if he could stand being her big bro forever and ever...But that's all she wanted, and she made it clear to him.
What if he wanted something more? In fact, he realised he was beginning to wish for something more...
"Hah, maybe just a stupid fling!" Boris scoffed and walked out of the yard casually, crossing the street to get to his own house.
Although, he couldn't ignore the annoying warmth still trailing on his pinky finger.
Extra: Earlier This Morning...
Gray's eyes widened as Alice loudly revealed the ugly truth.
Cooties! ...Cooties!? This is terrible!
"Oh no...Oh no, Alice...I'm dying!" Gray groaned and facepalmed, slumping into the sofa again.
"Don't worry, Daddy, I know just how to eradicate cooties!" Alice said firmly, crossing her arms. Gray perked up a little and glanced at her through his fingers on his face.
"Really?" He asked hopefully. "How? Tell me."
Alice cleared her throat. "But I warn you, Dad, this will be so hard, because the subject is Vivy!"
"Oh, just tell me! I don't have much time!"
"Fine...To heal your cooties, you have to kiss Vivaldi, somewhere on the face."
Gray was silent for quite a while, Alice frowned at this response. Suddenly, Gray scoffed and shrugged, laughing miserably.
He laughed and slowly started to whine.
"Yep, I'm dead meat."
And thus, began Gray's adventure of stalking Vivaldi Verona Dupre...