Unyielding Resolve - Cecilia Alcott x OC

Chapter 8 - That Makes Two

Bold: Time/Location
Italic: Character Thoughts/Internal Monologue
Underline: Author's Note(s)

Academy Gym - Cecilia's POV

I was on my way to the gym to put some effort into keeping my perfect figure. I didn't pass many other girls on the way there, I prided myself on being the earliest to rise in the mornings. After a few minutes of traversing the hallways, I noticed the doors to the gym had already been opened meaning that someone had beaten me to the punch. I slowly walked to the door, hearing grunts and groans coming from one of the two males at the school. Peeking my head past the side of the door, I watched the very handsome figure of James dueling with multiple Wing-Chun dummy robots. I silently stood there, mesmerized by his display of hand to hand combat while he wore nothing but a black tank top leaving little of his upper body to the imagination. It was a wonderful display of martial arts, his toned white skin glistening under the lights while he attacked and redirected the metal poles that spun around the drones with each hit. As the fight went on, I notice he started to incrementally increase the speed and force of his jabs. After a few more moments of watching, I began to notice something about him when I watched his face. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he was gritting his teeth. "He looks...angry...like he's in pain..." I commented to myself. It was such a deviation from how he normally carried himself. I looked him over further, my eyes finally resting upon the various scars that lined his arms. Seeing those on my poor James caused me to gasp in shock as I placed a hand over my mouth, sadly alerting him that I had been watching.

As I gasped, he ended the fight by striking straight through one of the drones with his metal hand, the drone soaring through the room from the force and hitting the wall with a loud crash sending bits of destroyed metal everywhere. The drones deactivated when he gave a hand signal, returning to their alcoves in the wall. He looked over to me in the doorway, where I just stood frozen. "Good morning Cecilia." was all he said to me as he picked up a small white towel from a nearby bench. I felt warm and tingly when he greeted me, but not enough of that to outweigh the emotions of shock and concern I had from just a moment ago. I walked into the room to address him, pressing my hands together attempting to put on my best facade of innocence. "Good morning James dear! How are you this morning?" I cheerfully asked him. "I am fine. Yourself?" he inquired in response. "Oh simply delighted that you are the first person I get to speak to today!" I smiled as I said while continuing to walk toward him, finally stopping a few feet away from him as I observed him dry his neck and face with the towel. "Why might that be?" he asked me. The smile on my face began to fade into a fake one even though I did my best to maintain it. I struggled to come up with an answer without revealing how I truly felt. "I...umm...no reason!" I practically yelled as I felt my face heat up.

He simply stood there watching me, blinking a few times. "Understood." he said in his usual monotone voice as he hung the towel around his neck. "Pleasant day Cecilia, I'll see you in class." he said walking by me on his way to the door. Something inside me really didn't want him to go, so I called out his name. "Wait, James!" I yelled with my right hand stretched in his direction. He turned around with an eyebrow raised. Becoming extremely flustered, I began poking both of my index fingers together in front of me, averting my eyes from the man I began to admire. Even though I really wanted to ask about why he looked so tense, I decided not to pry quite just yet. "Would you care to join me for some relaxation today?" I looked up at him filled with tension as I awaited his answer. He looked at me for what felt like forever, and answered "I don't mind. Was there any particular place you had in mind?"

I didn't expect him to agree to my request, so overjoyed didn't seem like a big enough word to describe how I felt when he answered yes. "Meet me in the cafeteria after training today, I hear they will be throwing a party to celebrate Ichika's promotion to class representative." I giddily responded, still not believing James agreed to share his time with me. "I see. I will meet you there after today's training." my mysterious hero agreed.