Ashen

Friends

Augustus had never been more bemused by a girl. She was arrogant, perhaps, but she was smart, he could tell, and different. She was bold. He'd had to hide his surprise when she marched over to him and stuck out her hand. Fortunately, he was an expert at hiding his emotions, and clearly, hers had already gotten the better of her by the time she arrived next to him.

They had only gotten halfway through their heated conversation when he came up with a plan. Knowing his social circles had, for once in his life, proved useful. Most everybody knew who the Ciceros were, and he'd immediately recognized her in the stands. He knew he had to walk her home.

Standing tall and graceful, she'd not only captured his eye but his utmost curiosity. The way she bit her lip every time the lion neared the prisoner made him blush.

Now she was brushing her soft chestnut hair behind her ear and returning her hands to tight balled fists. Clearly, she was not going to talk first.

"Do you read?" He asked.

Poppilia glanced over at him. He noticed the edge of her lips move in a slight curve upward, her eyebrow raising a notch. Clearly, she knew she was about to prove all his presuppositions about her wrong.

"Yes, I read. Plato is my favourite, but I enjoy Aristotle too." She made a point of looking directly in his eyes as she said the famous philosopher's names. "Do you read?"

Two could play this game.

"I myself prefer Socrates. I find Plato and Aristotle simpler. Less interesting." He couldn't help looking smug. His companion looked about ready to burst. Immediately, he regretted it.

You've had your fun. If you really want to get to know her before she slams the door in your face, be a gentleman.

"Poppi." He stopped walking. "You should slap me for that. I've been an arse."

She stopped dead, raising an eyebrow. She turned her head. "Don't call me that. And You're right, I should. But I'm a woman. And women don't slap men, even if they are self-professed arses."

He couldn't help but smile as he put his hands up in surrender. "You win," he admitted.

˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜

Poppilia let the smile tugging at her lips have its full effect. So he wasn't a complete boor. Good.

Poppi. She mulled over the nickname. No one had come up with Poppi before. She somehow liked the way it sounded. Of course, she didn't let him know that. 

Now that he'd done away with his intentionally aggravating manner, she had a question. "So. Do you actually find Socrates more interesting than Plato and Aristotle? I find him extremely boring." Adding slight emphasis to the word "extremely," she turned and looked up at him, this time with only an air of inquiry in her eyes.

Her companion laughed. "Insufferably. I only got through one page of his first dialogue before I fell asleep."

Poppilia joined his laugh.

The two bantered over whether Aristotle or Plato had the correct view on ethics. Augustus sided with Plato, while Poppilia stood firmly with Aristotle. Time almost passed quickly. The two looked up to find her house in front of them. "Oh, here we are," she said with little expression.

She stepped onto the first stair leading to the entryway and faced Augustus. "Thank you...for mending things. You turned out alright." She said this with a grin and he smiled softly.

"Does this mean you forgive me?"

Her cheeks dimpled. "Don't get too greedy."

He accepted her challenge. He would have to earn her forgiveness. "I'm Augustus, by the way."

"Augustus." Poppilia said out loud, as if pondering it. "I like that."

A/N: Well, things are turning out okay between the two after all. Yippee!

Thank you soooo super much if you've made it this far! I've been writing up a storm and will try to publish more soon. I'm going on a two week holiday in a few days, so add this to your reading list if you don't want to miss the next update :) Happy reading!