Anything But Toxic (Atticus x Reader)

Just Hanging Out

> The song is meant for a bit later in the story. <

  For the next few days, the two of you meet up often, hanging out like friends. You go out for lunch together, play video games together, paint each others' nails, and just chat in general. A few days after your picnic, the two of you are back in Atticus's dorm room, painting your nails. The two of you had been chatting about random things, before Atticus brought up something.

  "If I do recall, thou hath spoken of training in the ways of the ninja. For how long hath thy been training?" He asked, seemingly genuinely curious. You thought for a second before responding.

  "Hmm. I think since I was about five, but I'd have ask my mom for the exact time," you respond. He thinks for a second, before you can see a lightbulb go off in his head.

  "I do believe there is an obstacle course in the schoolyard on the roof. Woulds't thou like to accompany me to the training area? We could train together," he asked, sounding a bit shy with the last part.

  "That sounds like a great idea! We should go now!" You respond, enthusiastic. You enjoyed spending time with Atticus more than your other friends, and you hoped that your not-so little crush wasn't showing. He didn't seem to notice as he stretches and gets up from where he was sitting, being careful to not mess his nails up. He held a hand out to you, helping you up from where you sat on the floor. The two of you then made your way to the schoolyard.

  As you approached the schoolyard, you noticed that there weren't many people in the yard, only a few familiar-looking students minding their business in a corner together. The two of you continued to mind your own business. Atticus grabs your wrist, leading you up to the obstacle course, your stomach joining the contest for most convincing vivillon impression for another shot at winning top prize. It started with a line of logs sticking up out of the ground, which Atticus hopped up on, letting go of your wrist. You follow him, crossing the logs with relative ease, and making it to the next segment, which was a balance beam. Atticus started along it, focused on his balance, but as you were about to follow, you noticed the other students from before walking up. You recognized Mela, Eri, and Penny, all walking over towards you. Atticus had not noticed their approach yet.

  "Hey Y/n! Hey Atticus!" Mela shouted, despite being only about 30 feet away. This startled Atticus, and he started to fall, but you grabbed his wrist, helping stabilize him.

  "Whoops! Didn't mean to startle ya!" Mela said.

  "Sorry, Atticus. Are you okay?" Eri asked, ever the big sister of the group.

  "Yes, I am fine, thank you kindly. I merely overbalanced." Atticus answered, having regained his footing with your help. He turned to you and softly thanked you. "I thank thee for rescuing me from my fall."

  "No problem, pretty boy. You caught me at the cliff, anyways, so now we're even." You muttered to him, mostly for a reaction. He turned red and looked away, hiding behind his hood. Penny, who was standing decently close to you, raised an eyebrow, looking at you in a knowing way.

  "What?" You inquired, and she shrugged, smirking. The other two had apparently not been paying attention, as they were now talking to Atticus about his Star base and other things. You and Atticus sat down on the balance beam, and you and Penny started up conversation, and the five of you just sat there talking for a while. Eventually, the conversation lead to the topic of new Team Star members joining.

  "More people have been coming to the bases and joining Team Star ever since Y/n defeated us, I think folks are finally startin' to see that we aren't so bad!" Mela remarked.

  "And Director Clavell. I dunno why he decided to disguise himself and tag along," Eri added, and you chuckle. It wasn't much of a disguise, you thought to yourself.