Masks

Chapter 18

You can't see what's deep within,
The suffering they hide.

~~~

  "Good morning!"

  Quinn smiled and waved at his friend as she came out her front door. She waved to the maid Irene, her closest friend in the Waters' House, before she left with Quinn for school.

  "You seem to be in a good mood." Quinn commented. "Anything happen last night?"

  "Well, I guess since I'm not tutoring Olivier anymore, I have more time to rest. Man, I've been needing that for ages." Violet sighed in relief.

  "Good to know you're finally getting some more sleep. You've been out of it for quite a while." He said. "Even if your homework starts piling up, just make sure you rest for the day, and maybe work on it before school. I can go to the library with you in the mornings if you need it."

  "Might take you up on that offer." She laughed.

Quinn simply smiled. "I'd be glad to help. Those A.P. skills may actually come in handy for once."

  "Ugh, A.P. kids, always trying to find ways to show off." She joked. "Just teasing."

  "For a second there I thought you actually saw me as some show off." He sighed in relief. Violet chuckled.

"Rest is one thing," She grabbed onto his arm without warning. "but I'm also glad mornings are gonna be walking to school with you again, talking like this."

  His cheeks turned pink at the sudden contact, but still smiled. "Yeah. Same here."

  They walked the rest of the way in silence, but it wasn't a bad thing this time. Just being together was all they needed after those long days of not being able to see each other.

  ~~~

  How exactly should I go about this...

It had been three days since they had made up and began talking on a daily basis again. Without a doubt, they had both brightened up, which did not go unnoticed by the people around them.

As much as they were content with being able to talk normally with each other, there was one thing that lingered in both their minds: whether or not they should confess.

They didn't want to believe it, but after receiving some explanations, it was almost as clear as day that they both had feelings for the other. Of course, they both went through denial at first, refusing to accept that they could ever have feelings for someone in the first place, especially within just a few weeks. It was probably over the days that they didn't talk to each other when they finally decided to accept it. Except, the feelings of one had always been left unrecognized by the other.

These feelings of theirs had already began to show through in their interactions. Seeing each other was enough for both faces to go pink, which would have made it difficult for them to talk to each other if they weren't already friends. It was especially harder for Violet, since she was the more talkative one in their relationship.

However, since neither were experienced in love or any type of relationship, they were completely oblivious to each other's actions. For instance, Violet was especially flustered once Quinn hugged her the day they made up, but only saw it as a friendly gesture to calm her down. Even though that was one of the reasons why he embraced her in the first place, the other, more dominant reason was quite obvious, in Quinn's eyes at least.

Neither seemed to notice that they were getting weird looks from the people around them as they arrived on school grounds. Whispers could be heard from everywhere past the school gates, many expressing either shock or jealousy. They eventually did realize that people were acting strangely around them, but being as clueless as they were, they didn't realize it was about the pair themselves. That is, until someone had finally decided to approach them about it.

"You—You're the Violet Chatelain from Paris, right?"

"Y-Yes?" Violet thought that the news about her used to being a model was already a known fact throughout the school.

"And you, what's your name?" The enthusiastic first year asked eagerly.

"Q-Quinn?"

  "How long have you guys been going out?"

  "Going out...?"

  It was then they realized what had been going on. They looked at each other, each becoming blushing messes before they both jumped away. The first year girl still stood there with the same eagerness.

  "N-No! I-It isn't like th-that, w-were just f-friends." Violet explained.

  "Really? I don't think clinging onto someone like that is considered "just friends."

"W-What do you mean?" Both Quinn and Violet were completely confused.

It became clear to the first year—and everyone else watching the situation go down—how oblivious they are just by looking at the two in that moment. She figured there was no point in prying if they truly didn't know just what she was talking about, so she just accepted the answer she was given.

On their side, Violet and Quinn sighed in relief. They looked at each other for a moment, then began laughing uncontrollably.

"Wha-What just happened?" Violet said in between giggles.

"I wonder, really."

In the midst of their laughter they found that they had been giving people the wrong idea to their peers this entire time. Sure, they had their lack of knowledge in friendships to blame, but that wasn't something they could just tell the entire school. They both internally promised to themselves that they should look into it to prevent misunderstandings, and to make sure the other wouldn't feel uncomfortable. They would have completely gone red if they weren't already laughing, which is exactly what happened once they parted and made way to their first classes that morning.

"Just friends."