Closed Bothering You With Nothing Better to Do

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis had only recently noticed his sister apparently had a boyfriend. They had their own separate lives, and he knew Giulia wasn't that much younger than him, but it had still taken him by surprise. It made him realize he wasn't spending a lot of time with his sister, maybe not enough. Next year, he would have graduated and Giulia would probably miss him hopelessly. And he was bored today, so he decided to seek her out and bother her. He found her in the library, and immediately dropped into the seat next to her. "Giuuuliaaa." He said, putting an arm around her. "I'm bored, entertain me."

 

[Giulia Alcott]

It was a lot more time consuming than Giulia had expected, having a boyfriend. When she wasn't with Akihiro, she was thinking about him. It made it harder than ever to keep up with her studies, and she had made the reluctant decision to actually spend an afternoon without him, trying to get through an essay that was only a little overdue. So naturally, naturally this was the time Louis chose to interrupt her. She groaned in frustration, pretending that she had been making far more progress than she actually was as she sat up and elbowed him in the side. "I'm busy!"

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis grunted as Giulia elbowed him. "Ouch. "He muttered, rubbing his side. "So cruel." He said, looking at her with a slight pout. "You're not busy, you're just doing homework." He told her, glancing at the essay. He wrinkled his nose. "Looks boring too." He told her, then grinned. "Lucky thing I'm here to be not-boring."

 

[Giulia Alcott]

Giulia wrinkled her nose in disgust, looking away from Louis and back at the essay she quietly thought was the most boring thing she'd ever seen. "You've never been not-boring in your life. Let me guess, none of your boyfriends will listen to you going on about the amazing throw you made in practice?" She teased, looking back at him with a raised eyebrow.

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis scoffed. "How can I have multiple boyfriends and be boring? You're contradicting yourself." He told Giulia haughtily. He leaned back in his chair. "And everyone wants to listen to me talking about my throws in practice. I'm just kind enough to spend time with you." He told her, grinning as he puts his arms behind his head. "Speaking of boyfriends, since when do you have one?"

 

[Giulia Alcott]

Giulia rolled her eyes. a She snorted. She felt a flush rush to her face as he brought up Akihiro, doing her best not to let a stupid grin take over her face. "Officially, since October's wedding." She said primly, failing to keep the grin entirely in check. "But we've been going to dances together for ages. He actually likes me. So there." She couldn't resist adding, still bubbling with happiness.

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis couldn't help grinning at the blush and grin on Giulia's face. Weird as it was that his sister was dating, he was happy for her. He laughed. "Of course he likes you." He said, rolling his eyes. "He'd be an idiot not to. What's he like? I actually patrolled with him last year, but I don't know him that well." He paused. "Is he a huge nerd like you?"

 

[Giulia Alcott]

Giulia flushed when Louis complimented her, feeling a little mean for picking on him before. That feeling evaporated immediately when he got to the rest of his sentence though, and she stuck her tongue out. "He's cool, actually, and he's very nice. He's popular." She added, trying to better explain why it was surprising that he liked her.

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis snorted at Giulia's words. "I know, I just told you I know him." He said with a slight grin. "You know, it's really not that hard to be popular. Just say things people like." He told her. "It's easy." He ran a hand through his hair. "Do I have to do the whole... I'll hurt you if he hurts you thing?" He then asked, grinning slightly.

 

[Giulia Alcott]

Giulia choked in disbelief. "It's not hard?" She stared at him blankly, before bursting out laughing. "Oh, it's not hard! Just say things, why didn't I think of that?! You mean I could have been popular all this time?"

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis stared at Giulia uncertainly. "I mean, yeah?" He said, unsure why she was laughing. "You know, be nice and friendly and social..." He frowned. "I suppose Quidditch helps."

 

[Giulia Alcott]

Giulia snorted, giving Louis a disdainful look. "Yeah, Quidditch helps." She said pointedly. "And so does being handsome, and liking things the rest of the world doesn't think are stupid. You really think I'm going to make lots of friends talking to them about Blake's Seven?!"

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis knew Giulia was trying to make a point, but he got stuck on one thing she said. "Ha, you called me handsome." He said, grinning as he ran his hand through his hair again. He tilted his head at her next words. "What's that? Some sort of Quidditch move by Blake van Houten?" He asked, though he doubted it was that.

 

[Giulia Alcott]

Giulia ignored Louis' comment, unsurprised he'd focused on his own looks and her implication about her own. The less time she spent thinking about her own looks the better, as far as Giulia was concerned. His next comment was so stupid she couldn't help just staring in disbelief. "Is - NO!" She nearly screamed, quickly lowering her head and hoping the librarians hadn't noticed who was making so much noise. "It's a sci-fi show! This is exactly what I'm talking about!"

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis huffed in annoyance, quietly thinking Giulia's reaction was a bit much. "Jeesh, how was I supposed to know that? You never told me." He said with a shrug.

 

[Giulia Alcott]

Giulia scowled. "You saw me watching it, years ago!" She snapped. "This is what I'm talking about though! People don't listen when I talk about what I'm interested in, they think it's stupid! That's why I'm not popular!"

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis held up his hands. He shushed her. "We're in a library." He reminded her. "And you're not actually mad I don't know the name of a show I saw you watch years ago, are you?"

 

[Giulia Alcott]

Giulia sighed in frustration. "No!" She snapped in a whisper. "I'm frustrated you don't understand that it's not that easy for most people."

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis frowned at his sister in confusion. "I just thought... you didn't care about that stuff." he said, not sure what to think now. "It's not that hard to pretend to be into Quidditch or whatever. If you really wanted."

 

[Giulia Alcott]

Giulia sighed heavily. "I don't want to be liked because I pretended to be someone else!" She said firmly. "You're you, and people like you. I have to choose between being liked and being me. It's different."

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis looked at his sister in confusion. “I mean, not everyone likes me.” He said with a shrug. “I’m sure there’s plenty of people that like the things you like that think you’re cool.” He wasn’t sure what she was getting so worked up about.