Mr Not So Perfect - Haikaveh

21

Alhaitham entered the committee room, his presence immediately commanding attention as the members shuffled around the table, settling into their seats.

"Good morning," Alhaitham greeted them, placing a neat stack of files down.

"Good morning," the group echoed in unison, all eyes now fixed on him, awaiting instructions.

"Before we dive into the plans for the end-of-year dance, let's quickly review recent events," Alhaitham began, his tone professional and precise. "This week, the second-year students had their university visit. Tighnari, how did that go?"

Tighnari, who was jotting notes down in his planner, looked up. "It was successful. The feedback was positive, and we're seeing a noticeable increase in interest from prospective students."

"Good to hear," Alhaitham acknowledged with a nod before moving on to the next agenda items. He efficiently recapped exam updates, club activities, and other school events from the past few weeks.

"Now, onto the main point," Alhaitham said, pausing as he picked up a whiteboard marker and faced the group. "In three weeks, we'll be hosting the third year's end-of-year ball. Preparation needs to start immediately. I'll be assigning roles today."

He turned to Tighnari first. "You mentioned some issues with transportation arrangements?"

"Yes," Tighnari replied, folding his arms. "I've discussed the travel logistics with the principal, but there are a few complications we need to check out. It might take longer than anticipated."

"Understood. I'll leave that to you then," Alhaitham said, writing Tighnari's name next to the 'Transport' task on the board. "Next, we need to assign someone for decorations. Who's taking that?"

Before Kaveh could react, Tess eagerly spoke up. "Kaveh and I can handle the decorations together."

Kaveh blinked in surprise, glancing between Tess and Alhaitham, unsure of when he had agreed to that.

Alhaitham's brow furrowed slightly. "Kaveh, aren't you already working on the posters? That's a lot to take on."

Kaveh caught off guard but quick to adapt, shrugged lightly. "Tess can't do it alone, and I'm happy to help out. I'll manage both."

"Are you sure that won't be too much?" Alhaitham asked, his tone tinged with concern.

"It's fine," Kaveh reassured him. "We'll get it done together."

"Alright then," Alhaitham relented, though he still seemed a bit hesitant as he jotted down Kaveh and Tess's names under 'Decorations.' "For catering, who's willing to take charge?"

The discussion continued as each committee member volunteered for their roles, the tasks gradually being assigned. Once the planning was complete and all responsibilities were distributed, Alhaitham dismissed the meeting with his usual efficient manner.

As the room began to empty, Kaveh lingered, intending to talk to Alhaitham, but before he could approach him, Tess grabbed his arm with a bright smile. "Kaveh, let's chat about the theme for the decorations now."

Kaveh's eyes flicked briefly to Alhaitham, who was busy organizing the remaining documents, before turning back to Tess. "Sure, we can discuss it now," he agreed, gently pulling his arm free from her grasp.

"Great! Let's go," she said, gesturing toward the door with a tilt of her head.

Kaveh shot Alhaitham a quick look that silently conveyed, We'll catch up later, before following Tess out of the room.

As they walked away, Alhaitham watched them leave, a flicker of something unreadable in his expression before he turned back to the task at hand.

As Tess and Kaveh walked down the hallway, the buzz of students' chatter filled the background, but Kaveh's mind was elsewhere. Tess, completely oblivious to his distraction, was already rattling off ideas.

"So, I was thinking we could go with a starlit night theme," she said excitedly. "Dark blue and silver tones, with fairy lights hanging from the ceiling to give it that dreamy, elegant vibe. What do you think?"

Kaveh gave a nod but his response was more automatic than genuine. "Yeah, that could work."

Noticing his lack of enthusiasm, Tess tilted her head. "Kaveh, are you even listening?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry, I was just... thinking," Kaveh admitted, running a hand through his hair in a classic sign of distraction. His thoughts had drifted back to the committee room, particularly to Alhaitham. He had something important to ask him, but the opportunity had slipped away when Tess dragged him off.

Tess didn't miss the distant look in his eyes and tried again. "Okay, let's focus on colors then. What do you think about adding some gold accents? It could really make everything pop."

"Gold accents? Sure, sounds nice," Kaveh replied absentmindedly, his tone polite but distant. His thoughts wandered back to Alhaitham's behaviour during the meeting. Something had seemed off like Alhaitham was holding back from saying more when Kaveh offered to take on extra tasks. He wondered if Alhaitham was annoyed or concerned—or maybe even something else entirely. The guy could be so unreadable sometimes.

"Kaveh!" Tess's voice snapped him back to reality. She was frowning slightly, clearly annoyed now. "You're barely contributing here. Do you even care about this theme?"

Kaveh winced at her tone and sighed, realizing he had been drifting too much. "I do care, really. It's just that I have something on my mind. But look, the starlit theme sounds perfect. I'm sure we can make it look good with the right touches."

Tess seemed to soften a bit at his words. "Okay, but if you're not feeling this idea, just say so. I don't want to be the one making all the decisions."

Kaveh gave her a reassuring smile, hoping to smooth things over. "It's a good concept, I promise. I'll brainstorm more tonight and we can solidify the details tomorrow. I just need to clear my head a bit."

Tess studied him for a moment before nodding. "Alright. But don't overwork yourself, okay? I know you're juggling a lot right now."

"Thanks, Tess. I'll be fine," Kaveh replied, his tone a bit brighter this time. He did appreciate her concern, even if his mind was miles away.

As they neared the end of the hallway, Tess seemed to hesitate for a moment before finally asking, "So, Kaveh... do you have anyone in mind to go to the dance with?"

Kaveh blinked, caught off guard by the question. "Uh, no, not really," he lied. In truth, there was someone on his mind, but he wasn't ready to admit it, not even to himself. Besides, asking Alhaitham to the dance was out of the question. The guy would probably give him some logical explanation about why dances were a waste of time, or worse, he might just say no outright.

"Oh." Tess's expression brightened a little like she had been waiting for that answer. "Well, I was wondering... would you want to go with me?"

Kaveh paused, his thoughts swirling. Tess was sweet and easy to talk to, and he didn't want to hurt her feelings. But as much as he tried to push it away, that nagging feeling kept pulling his thoughts back to Alhaitham. Kaveh couldn't deny he'd imagined what it would be like to ask him—to see his reaction. But he quickly pushed back the idea, knowing full well how unlikely it was that Alhaitham would even be interested in going with him. He could practically hear Alhaitham's voice in his head, saying, There's no practical benefit to attending a dance, Kaveh.

Realizing he was overthinking things, Kaveh forced a smile and nodded at Tess. "You know what? Sure, I'd love to go with you."

Tess's face lit up with a genuine smile. "Really? Great! I was worried you'd say no."

Kaveh chuckled lightly. "Why would I say no? We'll have fun."

"Yeah, it'll be a blast," she beamed, clearly excited now. "We can figure out the details later, but I'm really glad you said yes."

I have no memory of if they are in their second or third year so let's just act like they're in their third year because I can't be bothered to go through the whole fic to find it

1333 Words