This Bugs Me

[Xavier Jeffreys]

Xavier had become more of a recluse than usual during the past year, both due to stress he felt surrounding school and his growing feelings for Signy. It was simply easier to spend time digging in the great lawn for worms, inspecting trees along the lakefront for beetles and collecting aphids from roses in the gardens rather than focusing on classes he no longer had energy and interest for, and what he was sure was an unrequited crush that could ruin one of his close friendships. No, being outside with bugs was much easier than dealing with anything else, keeping his mind on what was in front of him rather than his thoughts that caused him nothing but stress.

This was why it surprised Xavier more than anyone, that he was spending the night of the yule ball, actually going to the yule ball and with Signy no less. It was a decision on a whim to ask her to be his date with the pretense of catching up on each other's lives, the both of them having been too distracted with other things to spend time together like they used to, and a decision he worried would cause problems when he blushed profusely and caught himself staring at his friend for longer than was 'normal' for friends. But it was a decision that had been made that required Xavier to show up on time and dressed up to the best of his ability so he knew he could not go back on it. When he arrived to the great hall that evening, he spotted his friend Kauri and waved towards him before making a beeline for the snacks table. He figured Signy would know him well enough to be able to find him there, so he occupied his time and attempted to calm his nerves by eating chocolate while he waited for his friend to arrive.​

 

[Signy Forstrom]

Signy glanced at herself in the mirror again, she tugged on the edge of the dress in various places, she liked it, she thought it looked nice, but she was nervous. nervous about what Xavier might think, what others might think about what she was wearing. She thought it was a good dress, fitted her, was as modest as she had wanted for it, but the girl still found herself nervous over it. Andi had always been the more confident one of them both, and Signy while her confidence hadn't ever really been lacking, she could get nervous about things easily. This yuleball was more important than most, for one, she like Xavier a lot and rather than just running into him at it, they were going together. She didn't particularly think he felt as strongly about her as she did about him, but she was just happy for the time they would spend together. She knew that if she didn't hurry up she'd end up being late to meet him, but Signy still took the time to carefully look over herself in the mirror and then finally leave.

The great hall was already fairly busy by the time Signy reached it. Her gaze shifted around knowing she would be meeting him inside. It was just a matter of finding him within the hall. Eventually she spotted him, it didn't take too long, she had expected to see him at the food table and he was in fact there. Signy walked over, a nervous smile sat upon her features. "Hey Xavier," she greeted him, keeping her expression as free of the nervousness that she felt as she could. "Fancy seeing you here," she joked with him, a smile appearing on her face. They would have fun and she would enjoy spending time with him here at this event.
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