Romanticism

Milan paced around, studying the vivid portraits only half-heartedly. They were set against such rich colorful backgrounds, yet today they looked bored and studied her warily with half-interest. She wondered if they could hear her and how they would react to her conversation with Malachi. She hadn't talked with him since the summer before her first year, but she subconsciously recalled him mentioning the portrait galleries as a meeting place. Still, she wasn't sure if he would show up. Maybe she should've done it on a day when she wasn't in a negative mood.

When she finally saw him approach from the distance, she snapped "Malachi!" She instantly blushed, her voice softening. "Sorry, I've been having a bad day." Considering she was broaching what was probably a delicate subject, she figured she should probably try not to make him mad beforehand. "So, how's your third year been?" Milan asked tensely, trying to break the ice with some small talk.

She wanted to know, though, because otherwise the question would be left burning with her. "Do you love someone Malachi?" she asked bluntly. "The rumors say so, but I don't quite believe them....what do they know about that stuff." She gave a little chuckle and turned away, facing the paintings who were now watching them with keen interest. Uh oh. They were bound to start chattering at any moment, but she only focused on their soft details. "Have you ever been in love even while you wonder if it's love, and when you bury it for some reason?" Great. Now he probably thought she was crazy and/or hitting on him. "I know it's really not my business to ask, I was just curious because of the rumors. But why do we have to listen to people about love?" she smirked, turning back to face him. "It must be easy for you, though. Everyone loves you." Milan gave a sad smile. "I can see why."

Though Malachi spent most of his time in solitude, working on some sort of project, that didn't mean he never liked to be around people. In fact, he loved interacting with others. He was just often too shy to start most conversations and never good in large groups. He had recalled meeting Milan more than a year ago, but the interaction had been pleasant and Malachi was one to remember every face he encountered. When he had received invitation to meet up with her in the portrait gallery, Malachi graciously accepted and made note to be there at the designated time. Unfortunately, he found himself a bit late, having to stay after class a few extra minutes in order to ask the professor some questions about the day's lesson which he was too shy to ask during class.

The red haired German hastily made his way to the gallery and smiled as he heard Milan call out his name. He didn't think much of it, but when she claimed she had been having an off day, he frowned slightly with empathy. "I'm sorry to hear that, Fraulein. Do you want to talk about it?" He offered. Kai was an excellent listener. In fact, he loved listening to people talk. He found people fascinating.

"Third year is pretty strenuous," Malachi started. "But I don't mind. It's sort of like a new adventure," He finished. "How are you liking second year?" He then questioned, feeling it only polite to do so.

Malachi wasn't expecting the next question and his cheeks matched his hair color for a brief second. Where did that one come from? A portrait featuring a tea party of four elegant Victorian women stopped their chit chat and was listening keenly to their conversation. "Ummm, I love Mama and Papa?" He offered, but he knew she meant loving another not as family.

"R-r-rumors?" He questioned with a burning face. Suddenly he remembered his encounter with Ryan. Was the whole school talking about that? It did happen in the Grand hall, a very public area, but surely they also heard that it was only the effect of a love potion. "What rumors?" He asked, his voice tiny and timid. He wasn't ready to be thinking about these things. He could hardly handle school sometimes!

"It's fine to be curious I just...why?" Malachi asked in response. "Don't you think you are well liked as well?" Honestly, he wasn't aware that he was considered likeable. He did treat everyone nicely, but that was just his personality and people often liked nice people. But it was the way she looked so sad when she spoke that made him worry. "You really are having a bad day, aren't you?" He finished and then pulled her in for a hug. Hugs always made things better.

Milan was a bit reluctant to tell her story for fear she would tell it wrong, but it didn't hurt to share a few details. "Well, me and my friend were at the library and we were talking about her crush who happened to be overhearing our conversation. He made fun of her about it and she ran away so I kind of got revenge on him. I didn't end up causing any physical harm but I'm pretty sure my friend's embarrassed of me now. And I guess I kind of went overboard with the revenge," she added sheepishly. She didn't add how Malachi knew both her friend and the guy.

"I guess second year's fine for the most part," Milan shrugged, feeling sure Malachi had only asked to be polite. "My roommate's nice and I only recently made some enemies."

"Well, the rumors weren't just about you," Milan insisted, which she knew would be little comfort. "It's mostly about Ryan since he started it, but some people don't believe it's a love potion. They think there's been some chemistry beforehand and the whole thing in the Grand Hall was some kind of double or triple date...." She saw Malachi's embarrassed face and added, "I told them it wasn't true, but I don't think it was very convincing."

"Yeah, but no one will ever love me the way they always do you," Milan replied truthfully. "At most they can say I have a good sense of humor, pretty tough, and no more friendly than anyone else." She embraced his hug but when she stayed there for a bit, the portraits started gossiping loudly. They were going to attract unwanted attention. Pulling away, she sighed. "It's so hard for me to attract people and know what they want. If they act like a jerk and I act like a jerk back, I'm suddenly the big jerk!" She hoped she wasn't confusing him further.

Malachi frowned as Milan explained why her day had been trying. Drama. He wasn't one for drama and always tried his hardest to avoid it like the plague. However, he wasn't about to condole her actions. It did sound like she was just standing up for her friend to a bully. "You didn't hurt him, did you!?" Malachi couldn't help but say. He didn't know who it was and the guy must've been a jerk, regarding how he acted to spur such actions, but he didn't like hearing about people getting hurt.

Malachi's face burned as Milan told him his worst fear. People did know about the Grand Hall kiss, and much to his displeasure, they were gossiping about it, saying that it wasn't just love potion. Malachi's reaction probably didn't help his cause much, but it was Milan he was talking to, not some stranger, so he was sure she'd understand why he was so flustered. "It's not! I hardly knew Ryan before the incident!" Malachi replied sharply. How did he end up in all this drama? He slouched his shoulders as he knew telling it to Milan wasn't going to help him at all.

"What do I do? I don't love Ryan and I didn't even want to kiss him in the first place! I wanted my first kiss to be something special, but thanks to that love potion..." He trailed off, then sighed in disgust. He was trying to forget about the whole thing, but somehow it kept coming back to haunt him.

He allowed her to talk and didn't respond until she pulled away from the hug. "Well maybe you don't need the whole school to love you. Maybe you just need one or two people to really care about you," Malachi suggested. "And if people think you are a jerk, then they aren't worth your time. You deserve to be loved for being who you are, right?" Malachi added. There was no point in changing oneself just to please others.