Hot and Cold

High School

        "Get up, time to get ready, mon cheri!~" Francis spoke, drawing the curtains of Madeline's room open so that bright sunshine filtered through the window. A muffled sigh came in reply. The Frenchman 'tsk, tsk'ed, and walked over to her bed to take the covers from her. "You're going to be late if you dawdle all morning. Breakfast is downstairs!~" He chuckeld at her reaction -- curling up in a ball and gripping her pillow tighter -- and flitted back downstairs. It had been a few days or so since she was allowed to live with Francis again; Arthur had told her that she could spend the school year with him, and come back to his residence for holidays if she 'needed a break from the frog', as he put it.

        This was her first day of high school however, and she was not really looking forward to it.. middle school had been bad enough. Even though she got good grades, she was repeatedly accused of being a teachers' pet so there wasn't much favor in that.. the other kids would also pick at her for no reason or even went to great extents to pretend she wasn't even there. It was quite depressing for her, but Vanya -- or Ivan, he had told her she could call him by Vanya if she wanted -- was always there for her and she was always there for him. He was bullied almost as often as she was. Madeline shook her head, floating back to reality from her thoughts, slowly got out of bed and put her glasses on. She saw an outfit laid out neatly on a chair and smiled a little bit.

        Francis had probably done that while she was still asleep. She walked over and picked up the shirt, her cheeks instantly turning a shade of dark pink. It was rather low-cut and quite revealing, but cute.. the skirt was the same. Madeline headed over to her dresser and searched for a pair of leggings and a camisole to go with it, quickly slipping them on along with the outfit Francis had picked out for her, and pulled her socks on shoes on lastly. She grabbed her backpack, heavy with school supplies, and walked down the stairs. The warm and comforting smell of pancakes greeted her as she peeked around the stairwell and continued her way into the dining room where there was a small stack of them along with some scrambled eggs and bacon. Francis was sitting across from her, looking at her outfit with a pout. "Okay, maybe it was a bit showy.." He said with a small laugh and went back to eating his breakfast.

        "A little, yeah.." Madeline said with a faint smile, taking a seat and starting to eat her breakfast.

        "You'd best hurry up, or you'll be late on your first day!~" Francis chided her, and she ate a little bit faster.

        "Watch it!" Somebody shouted after roughly shouldering past a her in the crowded halls of the school. Madeline gasped, the force of the impact knocking her books from her hands and scattering them on the floor. However when she went to kneel down to pick them up, someone else shoved past her and she fell. Tears started to prick at her eyes but she bit her lip and simply got up, making her way over to the wall with an occasional 'sorry' guiltily mumbled from her. Madeline pressed her back against the wall until the hallway was pretty much clear. She then went to go pick her books up quickly, as the bell would ring any moment now. As she knelt down again to scoop them up, somebody else's shadow cast over her as they stooped down, hands reaching out to gather them up before she could. Madeline looked up, confused, but straightened up as the other person did. It was a tall boy with spiky, sandy blonde hair, slightly narrowed dark green eyes, and a small scar above his eye. He observed her for a moment, then handed the books back to her.

        "People at this school can be real jerks. I'm no exception, I guess, but whatever," He muttered, walking past once she had taken her books back. She looked after him with curiosity, but stiffened as the bell rang. What was that all about -- oh no, I'm late! She clutched her books to her chest and ran down the hallway to her first class.

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Author's note;

I'm so, so sorry that it took me this long to update, and that it was short, but I will start updating more often. I've just been super busy. Thank you for reading, as always! ♥