time to crack the whip

to theodore, the spare activity room was, first and foremost, a hideout. not that he had the tendency to hide from most things but, could anybody blame him for sincerely believing that his sister was an ogre's child? she was a menace and the absolute terror of the school. especially since she had the tendency to target him for whatever reason. then again, why wouldn't she be jealous of his good looks and fabulous personality? not everyone was as blessed as him in these departments. or any department, really.

but all things aside... the point was, ever since he was a small child, the brunet had developed this habit of picking fights with his sisters from far away and then running off once they started to approach him. because chances were, they always wanted to give him a round of beatings... which was especially the case with his third sister. besides, staying in lizvette's presence for too long was most certainly going to contaminate him altogether.

and if there was anyone who was even remotely worthy of 'contaminating' him-

he blinked when, upon opening the door of a spare activity room, a certain student council president fell into his field of vision. his eyes widening, he could almost feel his heart skipping a beat. there was a sudden need to walk right back out and close the door, but instead, his feet decided that he had to venture further into the room.

theodore was quick to recompose himself, then, as he approached the blonde. one hand raised to hold his own forehead, the junior presented his best million-watt smile, "why, who's this breathtaking beauty i see before me?" he said, his other hand taking out his cellphone to quickly snap a selfie, "me, of course." a laugh, though he almost wanted to kick himself as soon as the words left his mouth. nonetheless he turned the screen of his phone to the student council president, an eyebrow arching expectantly, "what do you think, rilo? is it instagram worthy? maybe if you took it for me, hm? or better yet, with me? what do you say?" he suggested in a tone that was probably a bit too enthusiastic.

the junior found himself staring, almost dumbfoundedly, at the girl with the honey blonde hair (or dirty blonde? was she a dirty blonde? well, according to the god awful roots that needed to be retouched, anyway?). it took him a second or two to realize that she had fallen out of her chair. but, wait a second: she fell after noticing his presence. she fell because he was there. upon noticing this fact, theodore's left hand flew up to cover his mouth. cheeks stained a bright pink, his vision was suddenly blurred by welling tears. he could feel a jolt of... something shot up his spine and he shuddered.

"sorry. am i too much? i didn't know. i'm sorry. sorry that i'm so dazzling. it's a bad habit of mine, really. but you have my permission to grovel at my feet any time you'd like. anything for you, rilo." the brunet said, almost stuttering given how soft his voice suddenly was. with a thick gulp, the mouth-covering hand moved to quickly wipe at his eyes. "alright, well, that is true. how thoughtful of you. but no wonder, student council president and all. of course you're a much better person than lizvette. ah but, just a minor correction: teachers really don't mind me using my cellphone as long as i take good selfies with them and tell the principal how great they are at their job."

with a laugh, the sixteen-year-old gave his phone to the blonde but, only to retrieve his hand again before it came in contact with hers. however, the same hand shot forward a second time to snatch the phone right back, "on second thought, don't touch it until you've washed your hands. that is, unless you didn't, in fact, see or come in contact with lizvette today." brows furrowed as he stared at the elder girl intensely. he could feel the skin under his left eye twitching ever so slightly.

then, without waiting another beat, he reached for her hand again. grabbing her fingers between his sleeves, he began to wipe at his palm with the fabric, "let's sanitize it first. it's disgusting," ... wait. his eyebrow quirked as his vision shot up to the senior. that wasn't even what he'd meant to- "just like those roots of yours really." he shuddered in dismay. left hand left to touch the top of her head despite the sweat that was starting to form on his back. maybe he just had to brave through it. maybe, if he just...

fingers tugged at a strand of her hair, theodore scoffed, "would've mistaken you as a peasant, given how cheap of a dye job this is."