#anu rambles

He huffed, trying to maintain his cool facade. “I really don't understand the appeal” he mumbled, taking a bite of his food. You two were sitting in the hospital cafeteria, eating lunch with a group of your friends and you and your friends kept on giggling about the resident who'd taken a seminar before lunch.

“Of course you don't” you say, still giggling, cheeks flushed pink in a way that very nearly tempted him to lean closer and take a bite into them. He shook his head to dispel his absurd thoughts. You were his friend. That was all. “Even you must agree, he made the session worth it. I've never felt so grateful I prepared well for microbiology ” you say.

Even Zayne had to admit, the resident had perfectly mastered how to secure his audience's attention by testing their knowledge of the topic based on their level. But he really didn't understand what was so special about this man.

You seemed to notice his confusion and sighed, even though the flush hadn't left your cheeks.

“It's just he's so smart. Intelligence is just-” you sighed again, this time dreamily and zayne damn near squished his cupcake in annoyance.

“-and the way he asked the questions like he wouldn't accept any errors. It's attractive, okay? I wouldn't expect you to understand” you tell him.

“I'd consider myself somewhat smart, you seem rather indifferent to me” he mumbled under his breath, without thinking it through. You whipped your head around to look at him, because of course. The one time you were supposed to not hear things on the first shot you heard him.

You blinked, before a wide smile stretched across your lips and zayne was once again struck with the absurd thought of biting you. He needed to be sedated. Put out of his misery. You leaned a bit closer, not a difficult task considering you were sitting right next to him.

“...Zayne. Are you jealous?” You asked, eyes shining like a child who'd just been gifted an entire box of donuts. Zayne shifted in his seat, clearing his throat.

“That's absurd” he mumbled, gently pushing away your face with his hand, but you weren't deterred. No you still looked as smug as a goddamned cat.

You gasped, and if anything your cheeks seemed to flush with pleasure at his discomfort. “Oh my gosh. You so are!” You cackled, as if this was the best thing to occur to you all week. Zayne ducked his head and he knew the tips of his ears would be flushed with his embarrassment.

He focused intently on his cupcake, ignoring his best friend watching him like a cat with a canary. You suddenly leaned back in your seat crossing your arms, still looking so infuriatingly smug.

“Never thought I'd see the day. And here I thought you were supposed to be the king of nonchalance.” You teased.

“Good to know i amuse you” he gave you a sideways glance before returning to his cupcake.

“Oh very much so” you say happily and zayne finds himself pouting, just slightly. You notice and your tone softens. “I was just teasing. You can't really be jealous of me giggling over a JR, surely” you chuckle dismissively.

“.....And if i was?”

You go still. And zayne can see from his periphery, the way you blink rapidly, obviously flustered.

“You hardly mean that” you say, taking a bite of long cold food. Lunch hour would end in fifteen minutes and zayne would probably be witness to you shoveling the entire half of your leftover meal with the speed of a vacuum sucking up dust.

Zayne huffed. He should shut up. Leave it where it is. He finishes his cupcake and takes a sip of his drink, glancing at you. “I might”

“Because it hurts your ego” you laugh weekly. “You know I think you're smart. It's just, you're zayne. He's a senior. It's novelty more than anything” you try and zayne can see the way you're scrambling for words. He should let it go. He should. But.

It's his turn to tease and he wants to, but your wide eyes stop him. He's pathetic when it comes to you. Laughable how easily he gives in.

“Perhaps I don't enjoy sharing your attention” he says and your eyes damn near bug out. Stop it, they seemed to plead. He should. He should.

The bell blares though the cafeteria, signaling the end of lunch hour and saving you from the rest of his words. He ducks his head, chair scraping back as he stands.

You sigh in disappointment and grab the small smoothie you'd gotten, knowing there was no time to salvage the rest of your meal. By the time you've finished the smoothie he's already gotten your bag on hand and he smiles, at the look on your face.

He gently pats your head. “Don't think about it too much. You might think yourself into a headache” he teases, even though the rest of his words are on the tip of his tongue as you two head for the next class.

I can be rather possessive of the people I love, don't you know?