Aladdin's day off finally arrived. She was still behind on schoolwork, so she took the chance to do some makeup work. She got up early and showered. She dressed in black harem pants and matching crop-top. She pulled on a royal blue hoodie to fight off the chill of the rainy morning. She braided her hair back and tucked it into the sweatshirt, carefully applying the usual makeup, adding a gloss to her lips instead of a moisturizer. She grabbed a large cross body bag and filled it with her notebooks and laptop. Most of her school stuff was online, but working through some things on paper helped her process new material quicker.

She locked up behind her, double-checking that she had cash in her wallet. She exited the building, choosing to walk the several blocks to the coffee shop rather then call a cab. She pulled up the hood of her jacket, not wanting to be recognized and not wanting to get wet from the sprinkle that had started.

She ordered a caramel latte, giving the name Ali, and sat down at a table in the back corner. She opened her laptop and started looking through the assignments she had to do. She was technically homeschooled –enrolled in a special program Solomon had designed for her when she had signed to the label. When she was younger she had skipped a few grades so even though she was sixteen she was at a high-school senior level of academics. Solomon's program was designed to maximize learning in a minimum amount of time, taking into consideration the way Aladdin learned best and the like. He spent several weeks with some of his best workers to design the program for her. She really appreciated it.

She started working on the French exercises. She would need to study the vocabulary now and test herself on it later. She was almost fluent in the language, her biggest problem was she never seemed to know enough vocabulary to say what she wanted to, but her grammar was excellent. She had just finished the first set of exercises when the barista called her name and she retrieved her coffee, resuming her work. She moved onto math quickly. It was her least favorite subject. It took her a really long time to get the numbers to make sense. She just didn't get it.

She scribbled madly in her notebook, trying to understand how to get the answer. Nothing she tried was working. She was so focused on trying to understand the new math lesson that she didn't notice the pair of arms that circled around her until they were holding her against someone's chest, one of the hands taking a pen from the table and moving across the notebook, clearly writing out the steps of the problem until coming to the answer and laying the pen down.

"It seems as though you struggle with numbers, Chibi."

"Judal! What are you doing here?"

"Getting coffee. Why else would I be here? You should eat something. Do you like croissants? I bought two. You have to eat one."

She was surprised. He was here, he helped her with her work, and he offered her food. What the heck was going on?

"Um, okay. If you insist. I didn't know you were good at math."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me. Aren't you a little young to be doing calculus?"

"I skipped some grades when I was younger. Technically I am a senior. Why did you do that here?" She was pointing to one of the steps he had written out. He explained it to her. She asked more questions, he kept explaining. "I actually get it. That's amazing! It normally takes me hours to understand new concepts. Thanks!"

"Sure Chibi. Happy to be of service. What's next on the agenda?"

"What do you mean?"
"It looks like you're settled in to stay for a while, I assume you are working on educational things today. So, what subject are you working on next?"

"Um, history. Right now I'm focusing on ancient cultures, and I just finished China so I can move on to Japan now. Or testing French vocab."

"French. Let's get that out of the way first."

"Let's? Are you staying?"

"Unless you have someone else to help you through your lessons, Sinbad maybe?"

"No way, Sinbad just confuses me. He doesn't make any sense. And Jafar is way to technical. You are the best so far."

He smirked, taking the list of French words she wanted to be tested on. She expected him to read her the English translation, but instead he described the objects in French. His accent was gorgeous. She answered him every time, stumbling over a few of the terms. After finishing the vocab test she reached for the list, but he kept it in hand starting to talk to her in French. Basic conversation, comments about the weather. He liked to hear her speak French, it was pretty.

"Onwards to history then, Chibi?"

And the two sat in the coffee shop for several hours. Judal and Aladdin taking turns to get more coffee. Aladdin caught up on all the lessons she had fallen behind in. She was amazed. Judal had helped her every time she had been confused, which sped up her work pace exponentially. She was so happy.

"What's next Chibi?"

"That's it. I'm all caught up now. Actually, I'm kinda ahead now. Thanks Jugemu!"

Aladdin blushed; the nickname had just slipped out without her thinking. Judal smiled, so the girl was comfortable enough to nickname him, huh? Well, he had been called worse. Aladdin looked at the clock on her laptop. She had been at the café for eight hours. She stood up and stretched, not having moved much in the past few hours. A yawn escaped her.

"Should I drive you home?"

Had he just offered what she thought he just offered? "You don't have to, I can walk."

"Chibi, it's pouring outside. You will get soaking wet."

"A little water never hurt anyone."

"A little water never hurt anyone, sure, but that is a lot of water. Get your shit together and let's go."

She just listened to him, to tired to argue. She put her things back into her bag and joined Judal, who had ordered yet another round of drinks for the two of them. He handed her a set of keys.

"The black mustang right outside. Don't ding it, it's a rental."

She hurried outside and climbed into the passenger seat of the car. She pulled off her now-wet hoodie and leaned back, relaxing in the seat. She let her eyes close as she listened to the pattering of the rain outside. Judal had waited inside for the drinks. When he climbed into the car, he found Aladdin sleeping. He put the drinks in the cup holder and pulled the keys from her hand gently, turning on the car and putting the heater on high. The crop top she was wearing left a few inches of skin visible. Judal averted his eyes, not wanting to be drawn in to the girl's brightness. He didn't want to wake her up but he couldn't remember how to get to her apartment building. He settled to take her to his hotel instead.

He left the car with the valet, slinging the girl's bag over his shoulder, her sweatshirt over his arm, and the drinks very carefully into the bag, wedged against the books. He picked her up bridal style and carried her through the lobby, up the elevator and to his room. Shit, he couldn't hold her and open the door. He saw a maid coming out of a room down the hall and called over to her. It was the same maid who had cleaned his room the day before. He had left her a huge tip. She smiled at him when she recognized who he was and opened the door for him. He placed Aladdin on his bed and pulled the blankets around her. Watching her sleep for a while before he walked into the kitchen, taking her drink and putting it in the fridge. He drank his. He had wanted to talk her into playing piano and singing with him again. He hadn't stopped thinking about her since the day they had met. He pulled out her phone; entering the password he had seen her use earlier. He entered himself into her contacts. He wanted to see if she would call. She kept surprising him. She knew French, she liked science and mythology, and she wasn't shallow or uneducated like so many other celebrities he had dealt with. She was actually trying to continue school; most celebrities gave up on education once they became popular.

He felt himself yawn too. Screw normal courtesy, it was her fault for falling asleep in the first place. He slipped under the covers and wrapped his arms around the girl. She was warm. He fell asleep soon after.

Aladdin woke up in an unfamiliar place. She could tell it wasn't her bed, but it was comfortable. She was really warm. She opened her eyes slowly and looked around. A hotel room? She turned her head to the side and saw Judal's sleeping face. He looked so vulnerable in his sleep. She felt his arms around her, and she blushed a deep red. She was in her supposed crush's room, sleep next to him, and he was holding her. Her heart started beating really loud. She wasn't sure what she should do, so she just wrapped her arms around him and snuggled against him, pressing his face into his chest. She felt his hands running through her hair. Judal must have taken out her braid.

"You are awfully cuddly aren't you, Chibi?"

She was so embarrassed. Her cheeks were burning. She didn't move or say anything.

"I know you are awake Chibi."

"What do you want me to say? This is a really awkward moment for me. I've never been in a situation like this before."

Judal laughed. "Chibi, you are so innocent. It's adorable."

She smiled a little. Adorable. She was happy. He just kept playing with her hair.

"What are you doing tomorrow Chibi?"

"I have to record part of a music video. And I'm meeting a friend who just finished shooting a movie for breakfast."

"Hmmm. You should call me when you are done. I'll take you to dinner."

Did he just ask her out? Did that really happen or was she making this a bigger deal then necessary? She really hoped this was a date.

"If it isn't too late, then sure. What time is it? I should get home."

"It's seven forty. Give me a minute to wake up then I will drive you home. I couldn't remember how to get there earlier so I brought you here."

That made sense. He rolled over and got out of bed. She stood up after a minute and walked out of the bedroom area into the living area. She put her shoes back on and stuffed her sweatshirt into her bag. She was ready to go when Judal came back out with a coffee cup that he handed to her. It was hot chocolate. She drank the sweet drink in the car, listening to him sing along with the instrumental music that was playing in the car. It was nice. When they got to her apartment he walked he to her door and said goodnight before leaving.

She really liked him. She would admit it. Her heart beat faster then normal around him, and she got this warm feeling inside. Yeah, she really liked him.

Hello!

This chapter took forever to write. But I really like it. I love writing Judal when he is around Aladdin. But I feel like he is OOC. I want to write some more chapters where he and Sinbad interact so I can show that eviler, more cynical side of him.

Anyway yeah. I'm super excited for the next chapter, it should be really cute too. Get ready. :D

Until Next Time!
-Kizuna