Closed Totally Oblivious

[Arvel Ayers]

The weather being so nice and the student lounge being so dull, Arvel had decided to take his homework outside and work on a bench in the courtyard. It was a bit awkward, not having a table to lean on, but he'd brought a book out to give himself a solid surface for writing. A gentle breeze tousled his hair, and every few minutes he had to push his glasses up his nose. It felt good to absorb himself in studies. History essays were a great distraction from a broken heart. He'd decided he needed to step back for a while, to give himself time to heal, as silly as it sounded. Nixon had never been his boyfriend. He'd never been his anything. It was just one kiss. How could a single kiss be so devastating?

Anyway, none of that mattered now, because Arvel was going to get over him. He was naive and optimistic enough to think that he could will himself not to like Nixon any more, and maybe he could. All he had to do was avoid him, think of other things, distract himself with work, and the feelings would gradually fade away. The process had already begun; he just knew it.

 

[Dominique Malone]

Ever since the disaster with Tristan, Domi had only had one boy on her mind. Arvel was kinda weird, she supposed, but the thought of how noble and chivalrous he had been, saving her from Tristan, was enough to make Domi swoon. It was like something out of a classic movie, the kind Domi had grown up watching with dad. Domi knew Arvel was a knight in shining armour, deep down, and she wasn't the kind of girl to sit around waiting for the knight to come to her. She hadn't thought twice about choosing a pink rose to send him, to let Arvel know what she was thinking, but it was a little disheartening not to have heard anything back yet. So again, Domi decided to take matters into her own hands. She would be more subtle with Arvel than she had been with Tristan, but she still wanted to make herself clear, hurrying over as soon as she spotted Arvel and sliding into the seat next to him. "Heyyyyyyyyyyyy, Arvel!" Domi said cheerfully, sitting as close to him on the bench as possible. "Did you have a good Valentines?"