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“I don’t think I’m going to be swapping my proper versions for them any time soon,” I respond without taking my attention off Cethin. A small part of me wants to go over and sit with him, but I don’t think Nati will be okay with that.
“You could just ask him on a date,” Nati says.
“What?” I look at my friend.
She rolls her eyes. “Cethin. You spend most meals watching him.”
“You’re making me sound creepy.” I sit down on one of the empty benches, purposefully making sure my back is facing Cethin so I can’t look at him. I regret it almost instantly.
“It’s fine, he’s clearly into it.” She sits down beside me and grabs one of the croissants from the gluten-free plate.
“And that makes itnotcreepy?”
She shrugs and ladles an obscene amount of jam onto her plate and starts tearing the pastry to pieces so she can dip it into it. “I’m just saying. You could save us all the hassle of watching the two of you yearn for each other if you just ask him on a date. I’m surprised he hasn’t asked you.”
“Maybe he doesn’t want that,” I say, my mind going back to the other night.
She snorts. “Yeah, and I don’t have snakes for hair. I’m so certain that if he says no, I’ll cut Frank’s head off.”
An alarmed hiss comes from the nest of snakes.
I let out a bemused chuckle. “She doesn’t mean it, Frank.”
“Oh, I do.” She stuffs a piece of croissant into her mouth.
I take the opportunity to get myself some of the delicious-looking pastries. It’s times like this when I’m particularly glad I don’t have Nati’s dietary restrictions.
“Where would I even go on a date?” I muse.
My friend gives me a look that says she’s got me.
“I’m being hypothetical,” I murmur, even though it’s a bit of a lie.
“Uh-huh. Like youhypotheticallycame back to the dorm after curfew wearing his blazer the other night?” Amusement fills her voice.
I groan. “I told you, I was sleepwalking and he found me.”
“Which is an inventive excuse, I’ll give you that.”
“Nothing happened,” I respond. “He made me some tea, we flirted a bit, but then he shut down and ran off. Hardly the behaviour of someone who’s interested in me.”
“Maybe. Or he might have had a good reason to run away. Did you talk about forever, or anything dumb like that?”
“Of course not.”
“Maybe he was just trying to control himself.”
I frown and tear off the outside of my pain-aux-raisins so I can eat it. “I don’t know what that would even mean.”
“He’s a dark warlock, right?”
I nod. “That’s what he said.”
“I’ve heard rumours about what happens when they lose control. It’s not pretty.”
“Oh?” I eat some of my pastry, trying to work out why the ominous statement doesn’t fill me with much dread.
“If you want to know more, you probably have to ask him,” she says. “I don’t really know much more than rumours, but I’ve heard people around the academy talking about it. Their eyes glow and everything.”
