Claude returned the smile, his much softer as he looked at Kalen. “I’ve got to return my books soon. Flirted my way out of a late fee last time, but that librarian got sacked and this one hates my guts.” He shrugged nonchalantly, thinking over how many books he had to bring in. “I have.. three out right now..” Claude was thinking out loud at this point, voice a low mumble.
“You flirted your way out of a late fee?” Kalen tilted his head, his next sentence was supposed to be teasing but it didn’t sound like it. “I can’t imagine you being flirtatious.”
“Yeah, me neither, but it worked well enough, evidently.” Claude laughed, shooting a quick glance at the librarian’s desk. “You see her? If looks could kill, Kalen, I’d be dead where I stand.”
“Oh no that would be a shame.” Kalen rolled his eyes, the same bright smile still on his lips. “She doesn’t seem that bad if you ask me, kind of reminds me of a jealous lady at a ball when the man of her dreams is dancing with another woman.”
“Well, now, who’s the other woman? The previous librarian? Or perhaps, somebody else?” Claude made eye contact and gave Kalen a sly grin, before shaking his head and laughing. “Ugh- that was godawful, I’m sorry.”
Kalen paused for a moment before having to turn away, chuckling, covering his mouth. A laugh threatened to disrupt the silence of the library and he didn’t want to be banned on his first day——not without reading all those books. Was that Claude being flirtatious? Well it was certainly charming.
Claude knew it wasn’t good whatsoever, but seeing Kalen’s reaction was amusing enough for him. He gave him a stupid, doggish grin, before looking back up at the librarian- who was watching them like a beady-eyed hawk.
Kalen regained his composure and cleared his throat, a lopsided grin was plastered on his lips. “Do I have to speak to her if I want to take this book out?” His eyes went from Claude, to the librarian, to the book, then back up to Claude. He didn’t exactly like the idea of having to talk to the lady at the desk.
“Afraid so. Just give her your full name and student ID number, and then you’ll be on your way.” Claude kicked at the hardwood floor with the heel of his dress shoes. “You’re probably fine, though, considering your clean slate and all. Don’t worry about it.”
Well that was reassuring. Kalen dragged himself over to the librarian’s desk and gave her the information she needed. It was a tedious process but soon enough Kalen was hurrying his way back over to Claude with the book in his hands, and a bright smile on his face. “So! Shall we continue the tour?”
“I believe so. Where did I say we were going next? Did I say a ‘next’?” Claude thought for a moment, but he couldn’t remember. “Well, let’s just go outside, then. You’ve got a sweater or something, right? December air’s real cold, especially here. Not a lot around to block it.”
“I don’t I’m afraid…” Kalen wasn’t exactly the type to wear jumpers, even in the winter. “I’ll be fine though, I’m from the north so cold is pretty much what I’m used to.”
“Oh? Well, alright. If you get cold, just let me know, okay?” Claude patted Kalen’s shoulder before letting his hands fall to his side. “The garden isn’t too nice right now- winter and all, it’s dead- but it looks impressive in the spring.”
“Just because it’s dead doesn’t mean it won’t look pretty…” Kalen murmured, his smile faltered for a moment. While gardens usually were at their prime during spring and summer, winter gave nature a new kind of beauty——one that it would appear only Kalen appreciated. “I’d still like to see it, if it’s okay?”
“Yeah, if you want to. It’s huge, an Italian Renaissance Garden I believe? Or, rather, inspired by one, anyway. That’s the style.” Claude shrugged, leading Kalen outside.
When they reached the outside garden, Kalen sighed happily with a gentle smile. Very few flowers blossomed during the winter as the frost would immediately freeze the roots of anything trying to grow, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t still a beautiful picture. A light dusting of frost and snow coated the sculpted bushes, making the garden itself look a little eerie compared to what it would have looked like in the summer. “This looks like an amazing place to paint, don’t you agree?”
“I suppose so.” Claude nodded, breath billowing out in small clouds. “I can’t say I’d considered it before, but you’re right. I normally only paint spring and summer scenes, but winter would be a nice change of pace.”
Kalen looked up at Claude with a slight frown. He was still trying to figure out what kind of person Claude was, but the more they talked the more he became confused. Usually people had one clear personality, but it was difficult to find out what Claude's was.
The garden was beautiful in Kalen's eyes, but it was getting a little chilly even for him. He hugged the book close to his body, consequently hugging some sort of warmth into his body. "You don't sound convinced about the garden."
“I’ll be honest- I’m not. Winter is my least favorite season, so I don’t think I’ll ever see it like you do. If I try to find some beauty, I think I could, but for now I just can’t see it.” Claude sighed. He stared at the garden with an almost blank expression behind his eyes.
“Are you cold? We can go in if you need.” He looked down at Kalen, rubbing his hands together for warmth.
"I'm not cold," Kalen lied, something resembling sadness shone in his eyes as he glanced away from Claude. The blank expression in the latter's eyes was one that Kalen was all too familiar with… "However I shan't force us to stay out here if you don't like it."
He fell silent for a moment, just listening to the breeze, and everything was quiet until his stomach growled. Immediately a blush consumed his face. God, how embarrassing!
“No, it’s alright, I don’t mind— are you hungry?” Claude cocked his head, his tone bordering something of concern, but not quite. He checked his watch. “It’s about lunch, if that means anything to you.” The boy adjusted the collar of his uniform, fixing his necktie while he was at it.
"I mean I won't say no." Kalen shrugged, though what he really wanted to do was confidently say 'yes I am hungry, and yes lunch does mean something to me'. But he wasn't that rude, especially not to someone he had only just met. "Would you mind showing me were the dining hall is?"
“Not at all. This way.” Claude beckoned towards the large brick building with his head, slipping his hands into his pockets as he began to walk away. His pace was slowed, waiting for Kalen to catch up. “There should be a lot of people in there right now, so just prepare yourself. It gets loud.” The boy’s eyes were focused in front of him most of the time, although every so often he would look over at Kalen.
Claude wasn’t kidding when he said it would get loud. Kalen visibly flinched when the noise of the dining hall hit him, and was half in mind to cover his ears. With the ceiling being tall, it was only expected that the noise would be magnified, not that it made Kalen feel any better.
A little away he found the boy who had shown him to Claude——he was sat with some others——and looked up at the latter. “Is that Wilhelm? Are we going to sit with him?”
“That’s the plan.” Claude made his way over to the table, pulling out two chairs- one for Claude and one for Kalen. “Kalen, this is Quincy, Ivan, Enoch, and.. Victor. You’ve already met Wilhelm.” Claude definitely seemed to be the calmest of the group- two of the boys were arguing, the other three egging them on.
“They’re certainly a lively bunch.” Kalen states, remaining standing. He wasn’t exactly comfortable with just sitting down. This wasn’t his friend group after all, he didn’t know them on the personal level that Claude did.
“They are, you’re right.” Claude seemed to command the attention of the table when he sat down, the argument rotting away and the boys falling back into normal conversation.
“This is Kalen. Some of you’ve already met him, some of you haven’t, but he’ll, with luck, be spending time with us for the time being.” Claude laced his fingers behind his head, leaning back in his wooden seat.
A small, mouselike boy, presumably Quincy, gave a quick wave to Kalen, beckoning big to the empty seat. “Are you going to sit? Chair’s out.”
Kalen nodded meekly and hesitantly sat down in the spare chair. He clutched the library book closer to his chest and smiled the brightest smile he could muster at that moment—which wasn't very bright because anxiety took over. "Nice to see you all." his eyes flickered over to Wilhelm, and he gave a little wave since he was the person Kalen recognised the most out of the group besides Claude.
Quincy's yappy voice chattered on, animatedly miming out the story he was telling. Claude raised his eyebrows as he listened, looking over at Kalen with a slight, wry smile every to often. He placed a hand under his chin, leaning forward on his elbows. He mouthed a simple "wow" when he glanced at Kalen. It really seemed like Quincy never even stopped for breath during his monologue.
Kalen forced himself to hold back a chuckle when Claude mouthed to him. While Quincy's story was interesting, Kalen was finding it hard to focus on everything the boy was saying. Someone was staring at him from another table, and he didn't look at all happy with anyone at Claude's table. Kalen leaned towards Claude, not daring to make eye contact with the other boy, and whispered. "Over there, there's someone staring at us. Who is he?"