(OOC: And the jackasses are the ones to get all the UST! *sobs*)

Orien-

"Are you sure?" I said. "I think we really should ask the owner. We can think up some reason for wanting to find out who he is. If you're uncomfortable about it, I can do it."

(OOC: But their UST is so funny! :P)

~Yvanna~

'No, no,' I said hurriedly. 'Don't worry about it. We'll have enough other things to be doing. Like buying your dress and visiting that girl.'

(OOC: I know! And what's possibly even funnier is Tahl's reaction.)

Orien-

"Don't change the subject," I said firmly. "In fact, with me as the only object of gossip around here now, you've given me an even stronger motive for seeing you dating a fellow."

"Yvanna has a fellow?" asked Mrs. Dwyer with interest.

"Not now," I said, giving Yvanna a significant smile.

(OOC: ...Which is why we kept doing more UST... It's a never-ending circle! :P)

~Yvanna~

'Orien is trying to fix me up with some random guy,' I explained. 'Probably because she doesn't like everyone talking about her dating Somersby's science teacher. But, since she's going with him to listen to their school orchestra, I'm sure the boys in Somersby will be talking about it too.'

(OOC: Well, they do seem to be getting closer and closer to actually doing something about it. What would make it truly never-ending is if stuff kept happening for them to fight, convince themselves they can't be together, etc. Then Tahl would probably break her computer in frustration.)

Orien-

I glared at Yvanna. She just had to spill the details, and in front of most of the staff and some of the students too.

"The orchestra?" said Mrs. Dwyer, obviously impressed. As the Music instructor, she would be.

"Somersby's science teacher?" said Miss Hopkins from all the way at the other end of the table.

"You mean that new fellow," said Miss Winters, sitting down with her tray off food. "What's-his-name... Anderson?"

"Emerson," I muttered, flushing bright red.

(OOC: Hehe... That could be quite amusing... :P)

~Yvanna~

I smirked at Orien; I knew much more about gossip than she did, so I knew exactly what to say to stop people becoming interested in this guy I supposedly liked.

'The one who was at the Winter Dance with the boys,' I added.

(OOC: Yes it would. ;) Poor Tahl.)

Orien-

"Enough," I said, though Yvanna apparently didn't hear me. The teachers all made sounds of interest, and I even overhead the Headmistress admitting stiffly that Somersby was "a good school".

"Have you kissed yet?" asked Miss Winters cheekily. The older teachers tittered or looked on disapprovingly.

"No," I said, quite annoyed now. "He just invited me to the orchestra the second coming weekend... I don't see the big deal..."

(OOC: We're so mean to her... :P)

~Yvanna~

'I know it's not a big deal,' I said, shrugging. 'But really, besides exams, what else have we got to talk about?'

(OOC: No we're not! We started pairing Raylinn and Oliver because of her ship. She should be happy!)

Orien-

I sighed. "Good point." I looked at my soup. I didn't really feel hungry anymore. But surely that had to do with everyone's teasing, and nothing to do with Emerson's letter that was burning a hole in my pocket.

(OOC: Yes, but we're deliberately not making them kiss yet! :P)

~Yvanna~

I noticed that Orien wasn't eating her soup anymore. 'Eat up,' I said in an undertone. 'Haven't you got the upper-sixth for your next lesson?' Everyone knew that the older girls in the school were often the worst when it came to niagging them about exam revision.

(OOC: I know. I really have no idea when they'll ever kiss, or even what kind of a kiss it will be. Tahl will be uber-disappointed if we make it stupid. ^_^)

Orien-

"Please don't remind me," I said, grimacing. "Besides, all of that group were at the Winter Dance, so they're dismissed from the exam. Which means they'll be an absolute nightmare, if they even bother showing up."

(OOC: We can always keep it to kisses on the hand/cheek/forehead until we decide how and when they're going to do it properly. If anything, that'll wind Tahl up even more. :P)

~Yvanna~

'Well, if they don't, I have a free period next - my only one of the week - so I'll be in the staff room,' I said, then lowered my voice to the Headmistress couldn't hear me. 'Or, you could just not turn up yourself...'

(OOC: lol! Or even almost-kisses, which will wind her up more than that. XD Though so far this relationship has been developing quite spontaneously - we haven't really planned anything out at all.)

Orien-

I perked up at that idea. "Well... I'll give them fifteen minutes," I replied in an undertone. "I don't want to push my luck, even if the dragoness thinks that Somersby is "a good school"."

(OOC: Good point. We've both been avoiding the actual kiss without even planning to. :P)

~Yvanna~

I shook my head in mock-despair. 'Skipping your own lessons, Orien. Tut tut,' I said, grinning.

(OOC: And the shirtless scene was a spur-of-the-moment "Hey what if" decision; and the almost-kiss in bed was similar, just thought up as payback for the winecellar spooning; and Oliver's two kisses (the forehead kiss, and the Death kiss) were unplanned by me, and their confession of love in the prison cells was pretty spontaneous and had been building for some time. But despite everything that's been going on, they haven't had a kiss on the lips where both of them were actively participating! ^_^)

Orien-

"And who suggested that in the first place?" I said archly. The warning bell chose that moment to ring, and teachers and students began to rise, grumbling, from their chairs.

(OOC: And that's probably why Tahl is so annoyed with us! :P)

~Yvanna~

I just gave her a grin, then picked up my tray and headed over to where the other teachers were stacking theirs.

'Have fun,' I said, as Orien followed me. 'I'll see you in the staff room in fifteen minutes, then.'

(OOC: What, she's not satisfied with the drunken snog? Or this kiss while Raylinn was in Death? *innocent!blinkig*)

Orien-

"Maybe," I reminded her, then headed to my classroom. I waited a full twenty minutes before deciding that my girls weren't going to show up. Besides, they could probably use the extra period for revision - though only a few of them would be doing that. At their age, I would have been doing that - but then that was the kid of girl I was. Which probably explained my complete lack of social life right now at age twenty-two.

I sidled into the staff room. Yvanna was reading the paper, and the new chemistry teacher was grabbing her coat from the wardrobe. "We're going to try to make chemical explosions in the courtyard," she explained to me brightly, and I nodded, trying to look enthusiastic. I watched her leave, and then sat down by Yvanna.

"You can make perfectly decent explosions with Charter magic," I muttered.

(OOC: I know! And the fact that they're now kind of admitting their feelings! Seriously, Tahl, what's wrong with you? :P)

(OOC: Btw, when I first mentioned that new Chemistry teacher, it was a reference to my cousin - who frequently updates her Facebook status with 'has blown up another class of year 8s' or something similar. And she usually brings random chemicals to family get-togethers so she can... uh... do experiements in pub gardens...)

~Yvanna~

'I bet,' I said, grinning. I had been expecting Orien to come back without teaching her lesson. 'So, what style dress are you wanting to find?'

(OOC: That... is too cool.)

Orien-

"Honestly? I have no idea," I sighed, leaning back, grabbing a section of the newspaper, and putting it over my face. "I was never interested in that sort of thing."

(OOC: My cousin is not cool! She nearly got us thrown out of a pub because she burnt a small patch of the grass in the garden!)

~Yvanna~

'Well,' I said, taking the newspaper off her. I idly wondered if there was anything on that girl's - Cariel's - arrest in there. 'Do you want it long or short? Low-cut or modest? Floaty or heavy? You must have some preferences.'

(OOC: lol! Okay, That... is too dangerous.)

Orien-

"I don't want to show too much skin," I said turning my head to frown at Yvanna. "I'd feel... exposed. And what's the proper attire for seeing the orchestra anyway? My family's idea of a concert is getting all the neighbourhood musicians together in the town square and opening a few casks of ale. I have a feeling this is going to be different."

(OOC: Exactly! She's a bloody liability sometimes... I have no idea why anyone would trust her to teach children how to blow things up...)

~Yvanna~

I tilted my head to one side, trying to imagine the dress I thought Orien should wear. 'You don't want to go too over-the-top,' I said. 'Maybe something about knee-length? And it's cold, so you'll want something with short sleeves.'

Orien looked at me, puzzled. 'Don't you mean, long sleeves?'

'No,' I grinned. 'Because if you get cold, he can give you his jacket.'

(OOC: She'll teach them to blow things up properly, so they won't blow themselves up. *nods* Yes.)

Orien-

I groaned and covered my face in my hand. "You think of everything, don't you," I muttered. "Besides, we don't even know what sort of dresses we'll find in Wyverley. This could all be pure speculation. What if every single dress has long sleeves? What will you do then?"

(OOC: We can only hope...)

~Yvanna~

'Cut the sleeves off,' I said, with a smug grin. 'Yes, I do think of everything. I have nothing better to do, after all.'

Orien-

"I can never win, can I," I said grumpily.

~Yvanna~

'No,' I said, grinning broadly. 'But that's why you like being my friend. Because otherwise, you'd have to look to Andrea for fashion and dating advice. Not that I'm experienced in the dating scene, mind you...'

Orien-

"Oh really? I'm glad you reminded me why I was your friend, because I seemed to have forgotten," I retorted. "And Andrea has a fiance, so let's just agree that she's more experienced than either of us in that department."

I got up and grabbed two sheets of paper from the side table and a pen, and sat back down.

~Yvanna~

'Hey, I haven't pissed you off, have I?' I asked, raising one eyebrow at Orien's behaviour.

Orien-

"No," I sighed. "I'm just... not used to all of this attention. But you can make it up to me by helping me write a reply to Emerson." I tapped my pen on the first sheet of paper.

~Yvanna~

I smirked. 'How about... Dear Llew, I would absolutely love to come and listen to the orchestra with you. How about you buy me dinner afterwards? See you soon, Orien.'

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