Giving Drayton her number was probably one of the best decisions she's ever made.
Alysa was once used to her phone occasionally giving off alerts in the morning. Her parents were considerate enough to inform her of they being away for the entire day, though such an admittance was usually followed by them wanting her to clean up the house or do some other tedious chore when they were gone. Of course, there were many days where they left, and she hadn't a clue of their whereabouts until they had come back.
From the day she woke up and made the trek herself to Galar's airport in Wyndon, to the following day where she awoke in her dorm room here in the academy, her phone has never rang in the morning again since. Until now.
At first, Alysa was confused as to what the sound she just heard came from. The blinking light within her smartphone clued her in, and full of curiosity, she turned on its screen to see who had sent her what.
The Drayster: [ Good morning~ ! ]
Seeing what she set his contact name to last minute before going to bed last night, made her giggle all over again. But it paled in comparison to the sheer amount of joy she felt at seeing he send her the first greeting of the day. Sitting up, Alysa's fingers fired away at the device's digital keyboard. Her Altaria, stirred awake by movement on the bed, stretched his neck and watched her.
[ Good morning! ]
Was she supposed to attach an emoji? Would that be weird? What emoji would she even use? Alysa shook those questions off as she stood up to get her pokemons' feeding dishes out from one of her kitchenette's cabinets. While she was spooning out a serving of Tari's feed, her phone pinged yet again.
The Drayster: [ Whatcha havin for breakfast? ]
Elated over having a conversation like this with Drayton, Alysa got to filling out the rest of the dishes and calling all of her pokemon out to eat their shares. She stood, about squished between her Salamence and Rapidash, bouncing on her heels.
[ Just a bowl of cereal ]
Speaking of which, she was running low on the couple of boxes she had. A survey of her mini fridge revealed she was almost out of Moomoo Milk as well. The rest in the bottle was enough for one more bowl, at least.
The Drayster: [ That's all? You got nothin else? ]
[ Not really. I've been meaning to stop by the school store soon. But how about you, what are you having? ]
After ensuring all of her pokemon had food, she grabbed a bowl and spoon before sat down at the counter to have her breakfast. It wasn't much, but she could always count on cereal to start her day off right. It was easy to prepare and filling, all the girl could ask for really.
The Drayster: [ My usual spread! Pancakes, waffles, and these little sandwiches 2 ]
Impressive! Way better than her simple choice. However, something about his choices made her squint and a laugh to bubble at the back of her throat. She had to check...
[ Those sound good! Did you cook all of it yourself? ]
... ... ...
The Drayster: [ Nope! My trusty old toaster and microwave did all the work ]
So those had to be the frozen, heat-up-in-a-minute-or-two types of foods. Of course. Drayton persistently had the energy of a Slakoth, he taking time to prepare anything in depth would be very odd. Still, frozen pancakes sounded real good. And frozen waffles. Maybe she should make a shopping list at this point.
Sometime later, Alysa fully cleaned up and called her team back, then departed from her dorm to homeroom.
The freedom she had in the evenings to do whatever she wanted was nice, but classwork always took precedence over her leisurely hobbies. At least hanging out in the clubroom proved to usually be a fun or chill time, and she felt less awkward doing it since she was actually a part of the league now. Things were more lively today compared to other times, as more club members overall had been stopping by more often. Alysa has wondered if the recent tournament is to thank for that, but the place hasn't gotten chaotic, so she doesn't mind the increased activity.
Lacey, Crispin, and Carmine talked amongst themselves while Alysa was further down the table, scribbling answers down on a worksheet while occasionally referring to her textbook. The table in general was much less cluttered now, thanks to Drayton's many snack bags and the large box they belonged to being absent. When Alysa entered earlier, Lacey made a comment on how she had the boy finally throw away the junk since one club member found mold in a bag, plus the box in general was long past its expiration date.
She cringed at that, but did find it funny that Drayton went out after to the school store on the hunt for new snacks, right before she arrived. Alysa thought little of it, until her phone received a new message.
The Drayster: [ Whatre ur fav candy & snacks? ]
A...random question. Quirking a brow, she sent her reply.
[ Idk, don't really have any. Why're you asking? ]
... ... ...
The Drayster: [ To get u some ofc! At least name one thing u like ]
He wanted to buy her favorite snacks for her? Alysa's heart fluttered, but confusion made her brow furrow. Why was he trying to do that? Just to be friendly? Made sense she supposed, but it wasn't necessary at all in her eyes.
[ You don't have to do that ]
... ... ...
The Drayster: [ I know. I want 2! ]
She couldn't argue with that logic. Humming out a sigh, Alysa let it go and thought of something she often liked eating whenever given the opportunity.
[ Oook. Then, I like gummy candy, like fruit snacks n such ]
His response was an 'ok' emoji.
"Who're you texting, Alysa?"
She looked up to see Lacey's inquisitive stare, while Carmine seemed very unamused. She really didn't like the look on Crispin's face though. In sharp contrast to Carmine, the rookie chef held such a cheeky grin and knowing look.
"Uh- Drayton."
"Oh? Do tell."
Now Lacey's expression changed, growing into something more subtle but carrying the same energy as Crispin – her little smile making her squint. Carmine's frown grew even more somehow.
"You have his number? Really?" She tsked. "You're really proving those rumors right, ugh!"
"...What?" Alysa blinked rapidly. "What rumors?"
"The ones talking about how you and Mr. Minty Fresh are dating."
"Huh?" It statement slowly dawned on Alysa, turning her expression into one of horror. "W-We aren't dating!"
"Yeah? Interesting you say that." She sipped from her nearby drink, uncaring about what she just tossed into the air.
"People have seen you two sitting by each other a lot, especially in the cafeteria. Have you not been doing that?"
"I...! Well...yes, we have..." The grip on her phone tightened. "But what does that have to do with anything? We're just friends."
"Sure you are." Her eyes rolled. Scrambling for some kind of response, the girl chose to turn to the two elites.
"Have any of you two heard these rumors?"
"Yeah. A lot." Crispin bluntly answered. Lacey hummed, clasping her hands and looking off to the side.
"I may have heard such assumptions, yes. Drayton is fairly popular in the school, you see, so many students are keen on gossiping about matters like this." Lacey's gaze fell onto her.
"It's...not that I don't believe you Alysa, but with how you've been getting closer to him, I honestly can't help but wonder..."
"Wonder what?"
"If you are actually crushing on him. Or vice-versa." Carmine interjected. Alysa looked to Lacey for clarification, desperation twisting her face. The fairy specialist had little reaction.
"That's more blunt than I would put it, but yes."
She was dumbfounded. "What...? Why does that even matter?"
"I can't speak on your own feelings towards him. But I have known Drayton for a long time now. Since we both were children, in fact." Lacey began, tone taking on a more thoughtful feel.
"I can wholeheartedly say that he prefers to not care about what other people think about him, leading to he being as stubborn as he is now. However, haven't you noticed that he brushes himself off, keeps himself clean when he's around you?"
"...?" No, she has not noticed that. At all. Seeing her confusion, Lacey just smiled.
"I find it intriguing that, despite his stubbornness, he seems to care about your opinion of him. I think that may be sign of something on his end...that's all."
"I...I don't know about that. Drayton is just...himself, around me." Alysa denied Lacey's logic, unable to wrap her head around it. Her heart did quicken though, at the idea of Drayton feeling something towards her that may not be purely platonic in nature.
He sure stares at her a lot, but surely that wasn't tied to anything. Maybe Drayton just likes watching other people. That wasn't the weirdest or most unusual thing in the world.
"Man...talk about being dense." Carmine scoffed, head turning away. Alysa squinted.
"Dense?"
"Just try to pay closer attention to him, from here on out. I have a hunch that your mind will get blown." Carmine made a shooing motion with a hand in her direction. Her puzzlement only grew stronger, and the beating of her heart quicker. Whatever else Alysa could've said was stopped by a new arrival in the room. The doors closed behind Drayton, who was carrying two boxes multicolored boxes.
"Hey, I'm back. What did I miss?" He looked around the containers, grinning.
"...Nothing much." Lacey didn't bring up their previous topic, and Alysa was eager to let it die. Thankfully, no one else spoke of it either, but Carmine and Crispin repeatedly looked between her and the teen.
"Are you going to monitor your snacking this time?" Lacey's voice put out its traditional chiding tone that she seemed to only use for Drayton specifically. He went around the table to place the boxes on the corner he habitually liked sitting at.
"Sure. I'll be more mindful." Nonchalant as ever, he merely smiled at Lacey. It was clear she didn't believe him, but she didn't press him on it.
"So, I got you the candy you said you liked." Drayton addressed Alysa next, and at that instant, she realized how this must come off towards their observers because of what they had just been talking about. Now her nervousness grew, but she fought to keep it off of her face. Especially at the sharp stares the others sent right her way.
"Figured I'd get a box, so you can always have some easily available in here." Drayton opened the green one in question, and pulled out a baggie to slide over the table to her. She pulled it closer, willing her heart to stop racing. Everything happening between them now felt...different.
She did not like that. Alysa also did not like how her heart jumped when Drayton, after opening his box of snacks to grab a bag, dragged a chair closer to her using a foot. He plopped down in it, and their shoulders brushed against each other's.
"Gee Drayton, you got Alysa a whole box?" Crispin called out from his seat, innocent cheerfulness being unexplainably annoying in the moment. "How much BP did that cost?"
"Not too much. Wouldn't have mattered even if it was a lot, though." Golden eyes flicked to meet her gaze. The hint there that he'd buy her anything, cheap or expensive, made her want to curl up into a ball in her chair. She was so sure he was just being friendly, but at the same time, the paranoid part within her was daring to entertain the possibility his kindness was coming from another place. Such an act was playing with fire though; there wasn't any solid proof.
Did she want there to be...? Alysa tried to get back to her homework, like an answer to her question could be found in it. Meanwhile, Drayton had opened his bag to pop miniature doughnuts into his mouth. Unconsciously, her eyes rested upon him, watching his movements. He noticed in seconds, eyebrows raising in curiosity.
"Did you want one?" Assuming her attention was drawn by his confections, he took one out to offer to her. Caught in the act, Alysa prioritized saving face, going along with the out his inquiry provided.
"Sure..."
She was going to reach out to take it from him, but she was frozen in place when Drayton moved it closer to her lips. His half-lidded eyes and smile non-verbally requested she to open her mouth enough to where he could insert the doughnut himself. He even pushed it into her mouth with a finger, and Alysa almost stopped breathing.
"These are pretty good. On my top 5 favorites list." Oh so carefree, the sound of his voice changed in her ears. It was warmer, softer.
She was imagining it though, and the toe-clenching way his focus laid solely on her. Definitely. Her mind was playing tricks on her. He just fed her unprompted, but it didn't mean anything. Definitely.
She ripped the doughnut apart with her molars and swallowed without completely tasting it, close to choking in the process.
"You like it?"
"...Mhm, it's good." Sweat welled on her brow. He chuckled, sending her already fractured composure collapsing even faster.
"You're welcome to my box of goods, whenever you want. Might help keep Lacey off my back about not finishing boxes too."
She half-heartedly laughed along with his jest, quieting down and gluing her eyes to her textbook. Today has quite the weird day. First the talk of rumors before, then this! Drayton! Just...Drayton! She already missed when she just accepted his behavior as it was; now she was thinking about it, about what it could truly mean. And she thinking a lot about 'what ifs' was almost always dangerous for her own mind.
Their time together yesterday was eye-opening, but even it had an alternate light on it because of today. She was spared by the others not knowing about their planned picnic outing, Carmine would've gone off on that, but who knows if she would get through it without feeling like she was going to explode from self-consciousness. Even now, she saw out of the corner of her eye how the two elites and Carmine were talking at a more hushed volume, occasionally glancing at she and the dragon specialist.
It would just be them, at least. Them sitting at the table, while their pokemon hopefully played together or relaxed in the warm air. It should be a peaceful time.
Key word being 'should'. Alysa had her uncertainties.
