Love at First Sight

Chapter 2

Adeline took a seat at the table across from her ymbryne, Miss P sending her a warm look for a moment before her usual professional facade covered it.

"Go ahead and start eating." Alma says, Adeline biting her cheek slightly as she looked at her plate. Knowing the ymbryne was keeping such a close eye on her, she used her fork and took a small bite, finally making the woman look away.

"When are you going to tell her?" Adeline looked over at Emma with a slight glare.

"Keep it down for birds sake." She hissed out at the girl, not wanting Alma to overhear.

"Why? She's sitting all the way down there, she can't hear me." Emma says and takes a bite of her food.

"She has that super mom hearing, don't tempt her powers." Adeline says with a slight eye roll and Emma shrugged.

"If anything, you not eating is going to draw her attention in." Emma points out. At this Adeline stole a glance at the raven haired woman, her cheeks turning a slight pink when she seen her gaze already on her. "I'm honestly surprised she hasn't caught on without you admitting to it."

"I plan to keep it that way." She says, clenching her jaw as she stole another glance at the ymbryne, this time holding her gaze with the woman's. Miss Peregrine raised an eyebrow slightly as she kept her eyes on hers, Adeline looking at her features for a moment before shaking her head slightly to snap her out of it.

"You should work harder on not doing what that just was if you plan on keeping it that way- ow!" Adeline stomped on her foot from under the table, sending her a sharp glare. "What was that for?"

"For being a dumbass. Keep it down, airhead."

"Dickhead." Emma mutters back.

"Sorry." Adeline says quietly and Emma picked at her food.

"I'm not offended." She shrugs and takes another bite.

Lunch soon ended and Miss Peregrine sent the children to do chores, Adeline about to leave with Emma and Olive when the ymbryne held her back.

"I need to speak with you first, dear. Miss Bloom, you may leave." She says when she spots Emma lingering behind. She sent Adeline a small smirk before leaving, muttering things to Olive when they did.

"What is it, A-Miss Peregrine?" She asks, almost using her first name. The woman noticed the slip up but didn't mention it as she looked over the woman.

"Is there a reason you didn't eat much at lunch?" She asks and Adeline shook her head. "I barely seen you touch your plate."

"Well maybe you were too focused on yours you didn't notice." Adeline says and went to leave.

"Dear, if something is going on as your ymbryne I would like to know."

"It would be nice if you wanted to know without thinking it's your duty to do so, Alma." She says, a bit irritated at the woman's persistence. Her gaze softened slightly when she realized what she said but Miss P only looked her over for a moment.

"My apologies. I shouldn't be prying into your business." She says, her tone a bit off. "It's Miss Peregrine." She corrects and Adeline nods, the older woman noticing the small ferns that started appearing on the woman's hands. Adeline noticed and quickly walked away, not noticing Almas questioning and slightly concerned look as she left the room. She hurried to the garden, ripping the ferns out despite the small pain as she tried to calm her mind down. She sat on the bench by the orchids, gently ripping and pulling off the rest of the plant on her hand, the pain easing her mind. She wasn't supposed to do so, Miss Peregrine had told her so when she first came to the loop. Whenever she was stressed or anxious, the stupid ferns and buds would curl around her fingers from her palm and she would pull them out. One day the ymbryne caught her doing so in her room and gently took her hand, scolding her lightly to not do it. To instead calm herself down and then they will go. But Adeline didn't have that patience and she hated seeing the plants sometimes.

"Are you doing that again?" Fiona asks and she spotted the girl by the morning glorys across from her. She walked over to the woman, confusion shifting into her concern as she took the woman's hand, tracing her finger over the small wounds.

"It's a habit. I never truly did stop." She says gently. "But you cannot tell Miss Peregrine, she'd have my head if she found out I've been doing this again for so long."

"What if they get infected?" Fiona asks once more, meeting her eyes. "And wouldn't this make using your peculiarity painful?"

"Pretty things often stem from pain." Adeline says quietly, more so to herself as she looks over the small cuts on her palms. She grew a small rose in her palm, carefully taking it in her other hand. "That's what makes them beautiful."

"But not everything needs that pain." Fiona counters and Adeline shrugs.

"If you say so, flower." She says with a small soft smile. "Now continue with your flowers, I'll leave you to it." Adeline says and stands, leaving the garden a bit more relieved than when she came.

She spotted Miss P speaking to Claire in the hall and tried to walk away without her seeing her palms, not caring the woman's gaze moved to her as she rushed upstairs, back to her bedroom. She wasn't out often, really only if somebody persuaded her to go downstairs and eat, but Adeline had more important things to tend to.

She sighed and went inside her room, pulling her hair up in a high ponytail before heading into the bathroom. The ymbryne had no clue what the woman was going and why she didn't eat much. She didn't know how insecure she was around the ymbryne and how she hoped maybe she would notice her. But at the same time, she didn't want her to. She was worried if she told her how she felt, her heart would only be broken.

Besides, you can't break a heart unless the person knows.