(TWST Idia/Cater) so i'll dance with Cinderella

Dialogue Skipped

Idia's heart skipped a beat at Ortho's words, and, moving faster than he had ever done in PE, he sprinted over and yanked the computer's cord out of its power strip. The holoscreen monitor dimmed in seconds.

He had no idea why he had just done that.

Idia didn't meet his brother's eyes as Ortho hovered backward and asked, his voice dripping with concern, "Brother, what in Twisted Wonderland is wrong? You've been acting stranger than usual since I got back."

"Nothing, nothing's wrong—dialogue skipped, remember?" was all Idia could say.

Ortho's eyes flashed as he put his hands on his hips and floated several feet above him. "Surely, Idia, you realize that saying 'dialogue skipped' means that there are things that need to be said, but you don't wish to go through the trouble of actually saying them?" When Idia didn't respond, he crossed his arms and declared, "I think you need to go outside."

Idia recoiled. "And touch grass? Ortho, do you even know me?"

"I do, and I wouldn't suggest it unless I thought it would help—you know that, brother. You need to clear your head and order your thoughts and for once, I don't think playing games and moping around in your room will help." Ortho hovered over to the window and pulled open the shades, flooding the room with bright sunlight. Ignoring Idia's hisses, he scanned the area outside and promised, "There's no one on campus grounds right now, since most classes are in session, and Coach Vargas' Flight classes are indoors this week so he can teach proper broom maintenance."

Not even swayed by that, Idia shook his head. "No way." Even though Ortho's scans were always right, there was still the prospect of someone ditching and wandering around campus, just waiting to prey on his poor, socially-anxious soul.

"Yes way, Brother." Suddenly, Idia felt Ortho's cold hands around his shoulders, pushing him toward the door. Idia, who had the muscle strength of a turnip, could not stop him, although he did voice his protests. Loudly. "Trust me, I'm doing this for your own good!" When they were at the threshold of their bedroom door, Ortho paused and looked very focused for a second, before finally pushing Idia out into the hallway. "I just received a report from the W-E-DIS satellite: all readings say that there's a high chance of heavy rain in the next hour. Be sure to grab an umbrella from the stand in the lounge."

Idia, who was already in full mope-mode, did not hear these last few details.

At first, Idia thought he could placate Ortho by simply wandering around the corridors of the Ignihyde dorm building. However, there was always the chance that Ignihyde students going to their rooms would meet him in the hall and attempt to strike a conversation with their housewarden, and by the gods, he couldn't have that!

And so, he decided to trust Ortho's reading and head outside. As it turned out, there really was no one around, and he almost felt as if he had the whole campus to himself.

The sun wasn't too bright, and the clouds hid most of the light. It was a nice day for a walk. Even though he was mollified by this, Idia couldn't help shake the twitchy and dampening gloom that seemed to ensconce him ever since his run-in with Cater earlier that day.

He still couldn't believe it—the school's reigning social media king and SSS-tier extrovert was somehow also the fun and easy-to-talk-to notJustGirls! It was a juxtaposition to the n-th degree. notJustGirls and he were friends! Pals! Buddies! Confidantes, even!

Idia had told them—him—some things that he had never even told Ortho! And in turn, now he was privy to the deepest secrets of Cater Diamond! Cater Diamond!