He's not avoiding her. He's not. He's simply going about his life and his daily schedule. Sure he may be going to class earlier than he normally would, and may be not standing at his locker longer than he usually does. He may have also skipped the day he and Madeline have chosen for dancing. That doesn't mean anything though. He does take a moment to bang his head against his locker before heading to class. He's in desperate need for a distraction.

History however is almost worse. Now he just wants a distraction from class. His mind wanders to the one thing he's been trying desperately not to think about, because it doesn't matter. It doesn't really matter the way Madeline felt in his arms, warm and soft. It doesn't really matter that her smile is bright and sweet and Lovino has never really received such a gentle expression in his life. That doesn't matter at all. It also doesn't matter the way her eyes sparkle when she looks at him. She probably looks at everyone that way. It's just in her nature really, to be soft and kind and fucking perfect.

Lovino bites his tongue hard. This doesn't really matter. He had a brief friendship with someone he barely knows and doesn't care to get to know. This is not a big deal. People come and go all the time and this is no different. He sighs. He's never cared for much in his life. Very few things have ever captured his care long enough to be important. His friends, when they still wanted to hang out, he had cared for them. When they stopped wanting to be friends, he stopped caring for them. It didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. This though, is making his stomach sick, and he's annoyed by it.

He jolts in his seat when the bell rings. He leans back in his chair and waits for his classmates to leave before he does. He's got no where to be and it's a Friday. He can afford to take it slow this time around. He mindlessly packs up his things. He exits the classroom. A small part of him hopes he didn't stop too long in the doorway to be noticeable. Madeline is standing by his locker, fiddling with her fingers. He walks up to her with a neutral expression. She jumps a little when she sees him.

"Lovino.." He grits his teeth and opens his locker. No one has the right to sound that sad. He glances at her. She's staring at him with an understanding expression that puts him on edge. He goes back to glaring into his locker.

"Please talk to me, it's kind of sucked not being able to talk to you," She tells him and he slams his locker shut with more force than he intended. It makes her jump. He regards her coldly even if all of his instincts are screaming at him to hold her tight. He doesn't care.

"Why?" Is all he asks her. She blinks and looks down at the ground. Lovino waits for her to respond. She's scuffing her boots against the tile.

"Well, I thought we were friends. I like talking to you." Lovino inhales sharply. Madeline peeks up at him, her purple eyes doing nothing to mask her concern for him. He closes his eyes tight. This isn't a thing. This isn't happening. He opens his eyes. Madeline is just a hint closer to him. Lovino takes a step away. He's not scared and it doesn't hurt to see the pain in Madeline's eyes. It doesn't matter. Her turns away swiftly and walks home. His thoughts are racing.

Back at his house he stomps upstairs. Feliciano questions him and he ignores the calls of his name. He can't do this. He slams his door shut and locks the door. He puts his CD into the machine and cranks it loud. He dances to the music, letting it fill him up. The distraction works until his mind puts Madeline dancing in his arms. He trips over his feet and catches himself on the small table. He's breathing heavily. He starts the song over again. He gets halfway through till his mind shows him Madeline smiling up at him. He stops and kicks the small table.

"FUCK," He yells out. He runs his hands haphazardly through his hair. He doesn't care. He doesn't. It doesn't matter that Madeline likes being with him and talking to him and went out of her way to be near him. It doesn't matter. They're friends. Or they were. Lovino kicks the table again. He glances his cork board. He stomps over and rips the picture from it's pin. He stumbles back to his bed and stares down at the picture of Madeline. He doesn't care.

He places the paper in his lap and digs his palms into his eyes. He rests his elbows on his knees and breathes slowly. He doesn't care that she smiles at him. He doesn't care that her purple eyes are now his new favorite color. It doesn't matter that he may have hurt her. She's just another person. Just another face around the school. It doesn't matter. He doesn't care.

He takes a deep breath and feels the soft tears pricking at his eyes. He grits his teeth together. He stands and kicks the table one more time. His feet stomp downstairs and his hands yank on his hoodie. He tugs his boots on tight. Feliciano asks him where he's going, he just responds by slamming the front door shut. The snow crunches underneath his footsteps. He doesn't walk quickly. He'll get there eventually. It's giving him time to think of what to say. Sorry comes first. Then maybe an explanation of his trying not to care too much. Maybe it is to protect himself. He's never needed it before. Maybe he's just careful. He doesn't know. Madeline probably will. Next he'll tell her about the way he feels when she smiles at him. Fuck.

He cares. He cares so damn much about someone he just met a month ago and it pisses him off. How did someone he barely see get under his skin so much. How did some random girl manage to confuse him and make him so happy just by seeing her. He grits his teeth. He's annoyed by how much he wants to apologize. It annoys him so much that he didn't just talk to her about it in the first place. Fucking stupid.

He approaches the Jones house with caution. The last time he came here is cause Amelia hosted a party for the end of the year, last year. It also ended up being the night she asked Lovino out on a date. He shakes that thought from his head. It doesn't matter why he came here in the past. Now he's here for Madeline. He knocks on the door harder than he means to. Sort of. Amelia answers the door, her megawatt smile beaming.

"Oh," She says, her smile slipping away to a grimace. She crosses her arms. "What do you want?" Lovino huffs.

"Where's Madeline?" He asks bitterly. He doesn't want to put off his apology any longer than he has to. He's annoyed he let it get this bad in the first place. He should have just talked to her to begin with. He can beat himself up over that later. Amelia raises an eyebrow at him.

"Why should I tell you?" She sounds just as bitter. Lovino groans and runs a hand through his hair.

"Please? Can you just tell her I'm here or something?" Lovino almost regrets how desperate he sounds. Right now he's got more important things to care about. Amelia uncrosses her arms with a scoff. She puts a hand on the door.

"Why should I? It's not like you care."

"I do care. I care so fucking much and it pisses me off how much I actually give a shit. I'm here to fucking apologize can you please just tell me where she is?" Lovino snaps at her, gesturing madly with his hands. He's got a exhausted expression on his face. He is tired. Tired of pretending he doesn't give a damn about Madeline. Amelia stares at him wide eyed. Lovino gulps.

"Please." He asks once more. He can feel angry tears at the back of his eyes. He blinks hard to get rid of them. Amelia shifts uncomfortably on her feet. She snaps her eyes to him.

"She's at the lake." Then the door is slammed in his face. Lovino takes a step back and a deep breath. He turns away from the house and walks towards the lake. It's frozen over by now. He stomps through the snow. He's cold now. Fuck. He shakes his head. All this trouble over some girl and he's actually going through it. He kicks at the snow. The last thing he needs is to worry if Madeline will just reject him now.

He scans the lake when he gets closer. He can see her. Her blonde hair swirling about her. She's skating across the thick layer of ice. Before he gets too distracted, he finds her things placed on a bench. He makes his way over to it and takes a seat by her backpack. He watches her silently. She's graceful on the ice, just like she is when she dances. Her moves are practiced and effortless. It takes him a moment, but he recognizes the pattern she's skating. It's the tango he taught her. He swallows the lump in his throat. She comes to a stop in the center. He watches as she rubs at her face. She starts the dance again.

He sits in the cold for another ten minutes, just watching her move. It's beautiful to say the least. She's more comfortable on the ice, it's easy to see. She slides with ease like she's been doing it all her life. Who knows, maybe she has. Lovino wants to find out. He wants to know everything. He doesn't even know her favorite color. He wants to know. He takes a slow breath of the frigid air. It's been so long since he's wanted to know someone, since he's cared so much. It scares him.

Madeline skates a few slow circles around the lake, a few twists and jumps here and there, and then she's skating his way. He sits up a bit straighter. She steps off the ice and into the snow. Finally she looks up to see him there. He keeps his expression blank. She pauses. He can see her take a deep breath, her expression morphing into frustration. She stomps through the snow to her bag. Lovino stays quiet as she removes her skates and quickly puts her boots on her feet. Her simply stares at her as she stands, shoulders her bag, and moves to be in front of him. They just lock eyes for a moment. Then she hits him in the head.

"HEY, what was-"

"Don't you dare ask me 'what was that for' you know darn well what you did." She folds her arms across her chest with a huff. Lovino rubs at the spot she hit him. His neutral expression breaks away to a small glare. He stands up and towers over her, by at least a few inches. She doesn't let his size affect her own glare at him. She groans.

"Why did you avoid me?" She demands from him. He opens his mouth to speak but he really doesn't have much of a logical answer. He closes his mouth with a grimace. Madeline scrunches up her nose with annoyance.

"You kiss me then you just avoid me like you're pretending you didn't. That hurt." Madeline scolds him, her voice breaking way for the pain she felt. Lovino glares at the ground. He knows he deserves it. He hates that he caused her to hurt. That's the worst of it.

"I just.. You made me feel like you really liked me. And then, you did that." Lovino peeks at her. She's still got her face twisted up into annoyance, but the threat of tears is coming. Lovino stands up straighter and softens his expression. She sniffs and rubs at her nose.

"I really like you too and that just sucked you complete doofus!" She suddenly pushes at his shoulders, knocking him back into the bench. He blinks at her. She's rubbing carelessly at her face now, trying to remove her tears and sniffling. Lovino's breathing catches. He stands once again and steps closer to her. She huffs and looks up at him, her eyes getting red around the edges. Lovino leans forward and kisses her softly.

"I'm sorry," He whispers against her lips. She sniffles in response. She's still glaring at him. Lovino can't help it. He smiles for a second.

"I'm not good with feelings," She scoffs, he rolls his eyes. "I tried to tell myself this doesn't mean anything. It doesn't matter, I don't care. Fucking hell was I wrong. I care a lot. I'm actually annoyed by how much I care." He confesses quietly. He stills sounds sour, but he feels like it won't matter. He said most of what he needed to say. Madeline sniffs again.

"You're an idiot," She tells him. He actually laughs. Softly and breathy, but he does. He looks down at her. She's still pouting at him. He kisses her again.

"I should have said something sooner."

"You really should have." She tells him taking a step back. For a second his heart stops thinking she's going to leave him standing there in the snow. She drops her bag to the ground and throws her arms around his shoulders, hugging him closer. He inhales sharply and hugs her back, burying his head in her hair. He's clinging to her, but she's clinging back, so it's okay. She pulls back and kisses him then.

"Don't you ever do that to me again or so help me I will drown you in syrup." She whispers to him. He holds her tighter at the threat. She laughs gently in his ear. It's more than he could have hoped for. She pulls him out of the snow, her bag once again over her shoulder. They hold hands on the walk back to her house. It's quiet between them. He doesn't mind. Her hand is small but warm in his.

He sees Amelia glaring from the window as they approach. She tells him to wait outside, so he does. She runs inside. Five minutes later she reappears in different clothes. She takes his hand one again and they continue walking down the sidewalk.


AN: Any of you think there was going to be a dramatic falling in the ice hospital rush?