#calmshipping

So I’ve drawn something that is not IVKai for once.

For the past few weeks, all Kaito ever heard from Chris was 'Droite this', and 'Droite that'. And he really, really wanted to shove something in his mouth to make him stop talking. Kaito had the never-ending pleasure of sharing most classes with Chris, and for most of said classes, he sat with Chris. And if he didn't have a class with Chris or didn't sit with him, Chris would be sitting with Droite. It was sort of painful, actually; did she know about his feelings? He was pretty normal around her, but the moment she was out of sight, Chris would be very, very creepy. Chris had been asked before why he didn't just as her out instead of secretly and creepily pining for her. Firstly, he was way too low on the social ladder for that - he wasn't ugly, but he hung out with a total nerd, which bumped him down a few ranks. Secondly, a girl like that certainly had a boyfriend. Thirdly, her best friend Gauche would surely knock him out if he even tried to talk to her. But that didn't mean Kaito was slowly losing patience with Chris. Oh well, he had a plan anyway. Even if it didn't go the way he wanted it to, at least it might make Chris stop talking. Or it could make it worse. He was willing to risk it. Chris was told to wait in the school library for Kaito, by the science section. But Kaito was a little late, and Chris was quickly running low on patience. It was rare that Kaito was late for anything. It wasn't like he was ever held back for bad behaviour. Chris looked down at his watch. He would give Kaito five more minutes before-- "Hello." He jumped a little, before turning around. What he was expecting was Kaito. Instead, he was faced with Droite. In that moment, he realised what Kaito had planned, and Chris was going to kill him. He cleared his throat and pushed away all of the teenage hormones and feelings. Not right now. He didn't need this. "Hello, Droite," he greeted with a kind smile. Secretly, he just wanted to escape to choke the life out of Kaito for this. "Kaito said you wanted to ask me something," she said. Her eyes felt like they were staring into Chris' soul, silently judging him. "That's...that's right." Dammit. He needed a lie. He couldn't ask her out now, it wasn't right. He looked around for a second. Science books. Perfect. "Would you like to work on the science project together?" he asked. She didn't say anything. Instead, Droite reached into her bag and ripped out a small piece of paper from one of her books. She pulled out a pen and wrote something down on it, handing it over to him. "I'd love to. Call me on this number, and we can arrange something. I'll see you later," she said, before leaving. Chris stood there for a minute, staring at the number. This was the number of a cute girl. He held in his hand the number of a really cute girl, and her best friend (probably) wouldn't kill him for having it. Things were finally going his way! ...he was still going to kill Kaito, though.

Droite and Chris didn't really talk too often; Chris was often busy mentoring Kaito, and Droite had her own training to do. Though, once in a while when he was free, she would demand a duel. After all, Chris was one of the best she knew, and duelling him would have certainly been a challenge. Though no matter what, no matter how hard she would try, she would always end up knocked to the ground as her life points counted down to zero. When Droite looked up, he would be there, offering his hand with a warm and friendly smile. She would have been lying if she said she hadn't grown even a little fond of that smile of his. Chris would gently take her hand and help her up, before offering some pointers to help her improve. Droite knew she was foolish when she felt herself getting attached to Chris. Even though they did not exchange many words outside of duelling, she still couldn't help it. Her distractions didn't go unnoticed by Gauche, and whenever he asked about it, she would brush it off. Although best friends told each other everything, there had to be some things she could keep to herself, right? "Droite?" Chris called to her. "Are you alright? It's your move." She was pulled out of her thoughts and let a slight gasp escape from her lips. Of course; Droite had returned to reality. She nodded. "Yes, don't worry about me," she assured him. Droite treasured these duels they had, though she tried to treat them like she was duelling anyone else. But Chris always knew there was something off about her when they did duel; her focus was elsewhere, but her determination seemed to grow along with her skills. Finally, she was coming along as a duellist. They had duelled one last time and, once again, the life point counter had reached zero. Once the dust had settled, the field showed Droite as the winner, leaving her as the only one standing as she tried to catch her breath. Though she was exhausted, she approached Chris with her hand was outstretched. A flash of surprise shined in his eyes, before switching to something that could have been considered happiness. He took her hand and she helped him up, just as he had always helped her up. "Well, it's about time, isn't it?" he asked with a small chuckle. Droite nodded. "Maybe I was just lucky this time," she said. "Or maybe you've grown as a duellist. It could also be a mix of the two." Realising she was still holding his hand, she tried to let go, but he didn't. Her heart raced as she realised just then why she had grown so attached to this young man. If she could, she would have ran away just then, but his grip on her hand kept her anchored there. Neither of them said anything, and no sounds could have been heard outside of the room. Droite gently squeezed Chris' hand. That was all of the encouragement he needed. Using her hand, Chris pulled her close before letting go of her hand, letting him wrap both of arms around her waist. With a sigh, Droite wrapped her arms around his neck. She was certain he could have felt her heart thundering. And yet, she didn't care. Still, no words were exchanged as they stood together for those few moments. Chris was the first to let go, and he was the first to leave the room. He slammed the door behind him, leaving her alone once again to her thoughts. Chris certainly was an odd person.

Whoever invented group work, Chris figured, should have been shot. Especially so when half of the group didn't turn up when they were told to come to Chris' house, eventually leading to inconvenience. So of course, he and Droite were the only ones who were there, since they seemed to be the only ones taking this group assignment seriously. Admittedly, he didn't mind this too much, despite the fact they would have to do all of the work themselves. Well whatever; they would just put their own names on the work and leave it at that. At least, he could hang out with a pretty girl who he may or may not have had a huge crush on. That didn't make the other two abandoning them okay, though. The two of them were awkwardly sitting in his room, looking through all of these textbooks for information and writing out notes. His attention wasn't on the books, though. No matter how much he tried to force his gaze onto the pages filled with boring and horrible long passages of text that he truly could not care any less about, his interest, for once, was not on schoolwork. Chris couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed over this. This meant Droite was doing more than half of the work, which most definitely was not fair or okay in the slightest. "Would you like another drink?" he asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Though, uncomfortable conversation wasn't all that much better. "That would be nice, thank you." Droite didn't look up, highlighting some sheet she had printed off. It was an escape from the awkwardness of sitting in his room with her. When he finally got out of there, he cursed his teenage hormones, and damned his socially awkward phase as well. Chris boiled the kettle and began to make coffee; black for him, milk with one sugar for her. He didn't notice the other person walk into the kitchen, having completely forgotten they weren't home alone. "It's not like you to bring girls home." That voice was all too familiar; he could practically sense the smirk probably plastered on the other's face. Chris didn't find it fair that he was less awkward than him, as well. All that with a pinch of arrogance thrown into the mix made Thomas - Chris' least favourite of his two brothers. But that was fine, Thomas hated him back anyway. At least the older one made an effort to be civil, despite trying to cover up the rolls of his eyes whenever he was around. "I'll have you know we're working on a school project, Thomas," Chris said as he grabbed the kettle. He refused to call him 'Tom'. That would indicate they had some sort of bond. Well, it felt like that to Chris anyway. "Sure, whatever. So, what? You two are going to dance around the bush and totally pretend you don't have the hots for each other?" When he turned around, his younger brother was smirking at him, and probably was the entire time. It seemed like Chris was right again. "Yeah, I figured it out." "There's nothing going on. I know very well she likes Kaito, and--" "And that's a cover up. Here I thought you were smart. Take it from me, it's not Kaito she's after. But, who am I to butt into your personal life, right?" With that, he left, leaving the oldest brother alone in the kitchen at last. Urgh. Thomas was infuriating at the best of times. Though a part of him - the narcissistic part, of course, which was much larger than he liked to admit - did believe there was some truth to his idiotic words. Chris shook his head. There was no chance that idiot was anything but wrong. Why should he trust him when he gave his oldest brother nothing but grief, anyway? He grabbed the two cups of coffee and made his way back into his room. When he handed Droite her coffee, she nodded and took it, taking a sip before putting it back down. Back to silence, the scratch of her pencil being the only thing clawing them out of absolute silence. He wanted to speak, but what was there to say beyond the horrible phatic talk? 'There, you see her, sitting there across the way.' He stirred the contents of his cup, watching her. They were nearly done with the work, at least. Then the awkwardness would be over.  Droite would go home and then everything would go back to normal, until she came over the next day to work on the actual presentation of their project. 'She don't got a lot to say, but there’s something about her.' He sipped his coffee. She wrote the last few words, and then they would be done with gathering information. All they had to work on was presentation after this, of course, and then-- 'And you don’t know why, but you’re dying to try, you wanna kiss the girl.' That was it. Chris had enough. He got up from his bed and swung open the door, only to reveal Thomas standing by the door. "Disney classics? You must be joking," he said. There was some venom in those words, venom he had to hide as he had a guest. "The classics are a great moral compass or whatever you want to call it. They tell you to be strong and fight for what you believe in, to not judge a book by his cover and, shit, what was the other one? ...oh yeah, to kiss--" Before Thomas could finish, a hand was placed over his mouth, instantly silencing him. If his mouth wasn't covered, he would have surely been scowling. "Leave me alone." There was something about those bright blue eyes that, for once, forced the younger brother to back down. The hand was moved off, thankfully, before he licked it, because Chris knew he would. "Tch. Whatever. Your dumb little romance thing isn't even that great. But hey, good luck with what looks like your never-ending quest to keep your kissing virginity intact," Thomas said, before finally leaving. Before he left, he did manage to catch a glimpse of the eldest Arclight's face reddening, either with anger and embarrassment. Either was great, but it would have made the younger brother's day if it was both. Chris had to resist the strong urge to slam the door before sitting down on the bed with Droite again. She had finished the work, neatly arranging the sheets into an appropriate order whilst she waited for her friend to calm down a little bit. She finished her coffee quite quickly, planning to leave; she didn't want him to feel awkward after all that. "We're done for now," she said, placing the papers beside her. "I'll be back tomorrow." "I sort of hope the other two don't show of, you know." Shit. The words came out faster than Chris had wanted, and before he could stop himself, they were already out there. Droite looked over at him and frowned a little bit. Oh God, leave him to die. This was too much. "Why do you want that?" she asked. Lying would have been an easy option, but that would be something Thomas would have done, most likely. So instead, not wanting to be like his younger brother, he decided on a different approach. "Well, you're good company, and, quite honestly, the other two are a bit annoying," he said. Okay, it wasn't a lie, it was just omitting facts. That didn't make it any better, though, and he recognised that. Somehow, this answer seemed to displease her. "I see." As Droite grabbed her things, he realised he was making a mistake. Maybe he should tell her. But then what if tomorrow is even more awkward? The same thought pattern of 'I will but I won't but maybe I might but possibly not even thought I should no I definitely will maybe but probably not' constantly raced through his mind as he watched her. Finally, she had zipped up her backpack and was about to throw it over her shoulder. This, somehow, was the moment Chris deemed as appropriate. He cupped her cheeks with both of his hands, causing her to drop her bag from shock, landing on the floor with quite a weighted thump. He paused for thought for a moment, with thoughts of this being a mistake stopping him from taking action. Droite soon got sick of him doing nothing. She grabbed fistfuls of his shirt before pulling him close, their bodies touching. They both brought their faces closer to the other, their lips coming together. It was only a peck, and it barely lasted long at all. Even though they were both disappointed, they figured it was their own fault for not pushing to kiss for longer. Droite let go of him first, and quickly made sure nothing in her bag had broken. Thankfully, everything was intact. "I should-- I should go." She slung the backpack onto her shoulders. "You can still make it tomorrow, right?" He didn't want to push her, but they did need to finish this project. "I think so," she said. When Droite left, Chris was left to think about the day. So he had finally managed to kiss a girl, despite being pretty damn awkward. She seemed to like him too. God, he hoped so. He stored the work in a safe place and, in the background, he could hear Thomas talking to him. "I told you so!" When Chris finally recovered from what just happened, he would certainly choke his younger brother.

It certainly was an interesting experience, taking a gap year together. There were so many memories and photos gathered of the two of them together, tucked away in a photo album online whenever they got the chance to post them and sent to family and friends. Of course, some comments weren't as nice as others, specifically from Chris' younger brother, Thomas. But, it didn't matter. The year was coming to an end. Soon Droite and Chris would have to return home to tell the tale of their journey across the world, one most people would have been interested. They had gathered a plentiful amount of memories throughout the journey. Admittedly, it wasn't without its faults. They argued a lot, they got lost, they got dirty, they got hurt, and sometimes they got in danger. But by the end of the day's adventure, Chris could fall asleep with his arms loosely draped around Droite's waist as she nuzzled into his chest. No matter what, when it came to sleep, that was when they were at their most peaceful. The journey had its unforgettable moments. Like the café in Holland, where they had gone in for a laugh. And boy, did they get a laugh. Droite kept trying to steal his cake and he kept it away from her, both giggling like maniacs. Or when they got something to eat in Japan, and Chris couldn't hold a pair of chopsticks to save his life. He was lucky Droite was there to save his butt, as per usual. Through going home, they could finally rest. Even on the plane ride back home, Droite didn't sleep. But she did have a rather large and heavy boyfriend fall asleep on her, who she shifted to make her feel comfortable. She didn't want to sleep, not yet, not until she got home. In the meantime, it did give her some time to think. She spent the best year of her life with a person she loved dearly, and was sure the feeling was mutual. The thought alone was enough to crack a smile through her usually calm face. Droite took a bit of her idiotic boyfriend's hair and twirled it softly in her fingers. It had long since lost its beautiful shine from use of products and God alone knows what else, but it still felt nice to feel; it was still nicer than her hair. She didn't mind. It was kind of adorable how vain he could be. That was one of the many things she liked about him.

Working for Faker was exhausting, and called to stay up until impossible hours. Though sometimes, Chris was allowed to go to bed at a reasonable time. At first when this happened, he would crash instantly. Though, as the months went on, he became use to late nights and early morning, and often found himself unable to sleep when allowed an early night. He had taken up walking through the nearly-quiet streets of Heartland, until he decided he was tired enough to return and go to bed. Because of this, he only got an extra hour or two of sleep, but it was better than nothing. This night was no different to Chris. He had been allowed to stop working for the day, which meant taking a walk to help himself go to sleep. He pulled on his coat as he left the building, but he saw a familiar young girl from the corner of his eye, looking up at the sky. "Droite?" he asked, not sure if it really was her. She jumped and looked over at Chris and relaxed a little. Oh good, a familiar and kind face. "Chris?" "Why are you out here?" As he spoke, he took a step towards her. She lifted a leg, about to take a step away, but put it back down. It was only Chris, but still, she didn't know him or trust him too much. "I needed some air," she said. He paused for a moment, thinking, before smiling at her. "Do you mind if I join you, actually?" "I don't see why not." They stood together in silence, not one daring to make a sound. The peace was too soothing to disrupt. Together, they watched what little amount of starts hung above the polluted sky. They kept glancing at each other, unsure. The moment was right for something, but neither Chris nor Droite could figure out what. Something warm wrapped around Chris' hand. When he looked down, he noticed it was a hand; her hand. Droite looked away from him, up to the sky, pretending nothing was happening. How was he supposed to react to this? Admittedly, his romantic knowledge was inadequate at best. He gently squeezed her hand, and for a moment her face was dusted with a light pink, though he could have been mistaken thanks to poor lighting. "I should go back inside," she said. She didn't let go of his hand yet, though. "That might be a good idea," he replied. Neither of them moved. "...but I think I could stand out here for a little longer." "That's fine as well." They didn't know how long they were outside for. All they knew is, by the time they got back inside, they were both ready to fall asleep quite quickly.

"Don't exhaust yourself," Droite said, before leaving him to his work. "Don't worry about me," Chris called out after her. He wasn't going to listen. She knew that, but still. She knew exactly how this was all going to end. Oh well. She couldn't really tell him how to live his life after all, she supposed. Chris knew as well that he was going to overwork himself. But he needed to work. Deadlines wouldn't have been reached, and he could have gotten in a world of trouble. Urgh. He partially just wanted to throw it all to the floor and do something more fun. Being employed sucked but at least the pay was good. Still. Being responsible was awful. An hour later, Droite knocked on the door. "Would you like something to drink?" "Hm?" Shit. He sat up, wiping the drool from his face. He was already starting to fall asleep. Rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hands, he worked to keep his voice steady and awake-sounding. "A coffee would be nice." He swore he heard her make a disapproving groan before heading back off to the kitchen. When she came back, he was still rubbing his eyes, willing energy into his body. Droite shook her head before placing the coffee on the table, kissing the top of his head. He was such a nightmare sometimes. She went to check up on him two hours later. His coffee sat on the desk, half-drunk and stone cold. There was no way Droite could have carried him to bed alone. Instead, she grabbed a pillow and a blanket, placing the pillow under him and the blanket over him. Before turning the light off, she wrote a quick note she was sure he would see when he woke up. 'Next time, you should listen to me.'

Prom night, more like a night filled with embarrassment, possible underage drinking, and getting some action afterwards. Though, in Chris' case, he would have been lucky to even get his hand held by the end of the night. He didn't even want to go to prom. But his father insisted, saying it would be good fun, and adding a cheeky wink at the end. Good God, that made him feel so dirty after seeing that. Plus, he might have found the love of his life and all that stuff. But this wasn't a film, so that would not happen. Plus, he didn't want to listen to the awards they were giving out, especially since some were ridiculous, such as 'Person you would least want to be trapped down a well with'. Chris knew who he would have voted for that but, sadly, that person wasn't a potential candidate for the award. Despite all of this complaining, it wasn't as if he was date-free. He managed to gather enough courage to ask Droite to prom and, by some miracle, she was date-free and accepted. It was hard to hide his happiness when she accepted, but he guessed she probably knew. But, in present times, it was more awkward than either of them would have imagined. They stood together, watching other people dance. It wasn't as if they didn't want to dance with each other, it was just that, well...how were they supposed to ask? No one seemed to ask, they just grabbed someone and danced, and that somehow worked. That didn't seem like such a bad idea, actually. What did Chris have to lose, beyond an already non-existent chance at some action? Just as a slow song came on - he cursed his cheesy and cliché timing - he grabbed her hand, gently leading her to the dance floor and away from the side. Droite didn't resist or argue, she simply followed, knowing what was going to happen. They had to dance at some point, anyway, right? Neither of them knew how to dance, but that was fine. She wrapped her arms around Chris' neck, and he wrapped his arms around Droite's waist. Much like everyone else there, they swayed quite happily to the music. They were incredibly close to each other, the warmth of their partner being strangely soothing. They could barely even hear the music any more, and to them, it felt like they were in an empty, quiet hall for just the two of them. Droite moved her head closer to his, hesitant. Was it too soon? Too late? She wasn't rejected so far. As she moved closer, she could feel his warm breath on her face, and she thought, for a moment, that he was breathing a bit heavier. Maybe he was nervous, too. She was certain he would have been able to feel her increased heart rate, but he did a good job at not showing it. Their lips were so close, barely brushing together. The music stopped. It changed to some awful pop song. They mutually decided to separate, looking away, both of their faces red. Maybe kissing would have been a bad idea, anyway. Droite couldn't help but feel a bit stupid, though. She shouldn't have tried that. Though, when Chris turned back to her with a warm smile, offering another dance, she felt a lot better, and nearly instantly accepted. Maybe the rest of the night wouldn't be an utter wreck.