#ridjami

Anyways, on one fine day after a major exam, Jamil is absolutely exhausted. On top of making sure Kalim actually slept instead of staying up to secretly study extra hours on the night of the potionology exam, he himself also had another exam to study for on top of that. (Never mind how trying to stop Kalim wound up turning into a dormwide late night study session. It's a miracle someone managed to wake up early enough to alert the rest.)

Thankfully they still had Riddle's notes which they'd traded with Floyd for a ONE OF A KIND, precious gemstone. Jamil doesn't think he can work up the nerve to even find out where THAT ended up. Nonetheless they still had Riddle's notes- who probably didn't even know they had them in the first place. Yeah, he was probably going to have to deal with that later.

Back to the point, Jamil could've passed out right then and there as he walked out the exam room whilst internally praying to the Sorcerer of the Sands that he somehow passed. Well, of course he knows he passed but it didn't hurt to hope. Sevens knows he'd need some divine intervention for the post exam party Kalim would probably start planning (if he hadn't already) as soon as the day's over.

Lost in thought while mentally resigning himself to his fate, he can hardly register the voice behind him until there's a hand grabbing his wrist and instinct forces him to fall back on to old habits and grab the hand that dares to grab him. Only, he's greeted by slightly stunned steel gray eyes that cast him a wary once over rather than the usual gaze of ill intent that's followed him since youth. It takes a moment for him to put a name to the face and he releases the innocent hand while muttering a soft apology lost in the bustle of the halls.

Jamil can feel the weight of a few curious glances that eventually leave one after another to focus on their own lives. Riddle on the other hand, seems to have heard his apology and gives him a sympathetic smile. It's a smile he doesn't like one bit. A smile like that can only mean one thing- he's been careless. Rather than the sympathy the boy seems to be trying to convey, all Jamil feels is pity. It sparks a small flare of irritation within him, but he does his best to smooth it over with a tired smile of his own tinged with awkwardness.

Jamil doesn't quite register what happens next as Riddle seems to be saying something that all feels like a muddle of words to his sluggish mind. Sevens, what was wrong with him. Riddle seems to be displeased with his unresponsive state, which is a shame since he could really care less about it right now. However, the next thing he knows, the boy starts to kneel down and Jamil can only watch as- oh.

He's fixing his shoelaces. Jamil can only stare blankly as his laces are taken care of by Riddle, and he distantly wonders if this is the sight Kalim had grown used to only with Jamil in Riddle's place. How could that boy have ever thought they'd have been friends if this was their dynamic on a daily basis?

Then again, there was a reason power corrupted. Yet when it came to Kalim, all it seemed to do was blind him. Sometimes he wonders if it'd been easier to hate if Kalim were more like his relatives. The type who snuck poison in his dinner when he wasn't looking. The type that let a child writhe in debilitating pain, saved only by another's sacrifice. Maybe then he'd have fit in more at Night Raven College.

Maybe then it wouldn't have hurt as much to know that the source behind his pain actually meant it.

He wonders how others react to the sight they make, the infamous red-rose tyrant kneeling before a lowly servant like him. It's almost surreal like a fever dream where he doesn't even know if he wants to wake up. The moment doesn't last however, as the boy gets up after tying the knot and Jamil's forced to snap out of his staring by the loud gasp of an over eager familiar voice.

Kalim, who'd apparently witnessed the entire scene from around the corner and now felt obligated to set them up on a date for some benign reason. A date was out of the question, and thankfully Riddle was of the same sentiment but that unfortunately didn't stop Kalim. From then it was a futile effort trying to ignore his efforts in trying to set them up. It didn't help that Cater and Azul of all people caught wind of Kalim's plans because Sevens forbid he keep something to himself for once. Those two soon got it into their heads to start "helping" Kalim out as well.

Cater he could understand somewhat though that made it no less confusing, whereas Azul was an open book. It was clear to Jamil at least, that the cephalo-mer thought he could some how sabotage Riddle's reigning hold over first place by setting him up with someone. A ridiculous idea for an equally ridiculous plan if you asked him. He sincerely doubted that someone like Riddle would get distracted by love, much less throw everything away to be with him anyway. Not that Jamil was asking, of course. That would be ridiculous.

Anyways, when push came to shove the two eventually gave in and conceded to only ONE date. It should've been just one date but surprisingly enough, it wasn't so bad. Granted, it was set up by Kalim so of course it wouldn't be some shabby old set up. But that should've been the end of it. Instead, they wound up forgetting why they were there in the first place and miraculously enjoyed themselves. By the end of it, a second date was scheduled and it was too late to cancel when they returned to their respective rooms only to wake up at midnight in their dorm rooms respectively flustered or mortified. Maybe both.

So then comes the second date, which somehow leads to a third, then a fourth.. huh. Were they dating now?

Riddle was the last person to answer that question. He'd hear off handedly from Cater that one date didn't mean you were automatically lovers.. But then what did that mean for him and Jamil? He'd lost track of all the dates they'd been on (7 official dates, 31 spontaneous meetings, 56 phone calls that ranged from a couple minutes to a few hours past midnight, and 2 group projects that led to the two finding themselves undertaking the burden, yet Riddle found himself not minding it as much as he probably would have alone.) if you could even consider them dates. Sometimes they'd start off as coincidental meetings turned into private chats or study sessions. More often than not did they find themselves partnering up for projects that they would otherwise lead to choosing someone else.

Well he couldn't go ahead asking Cater, as only the Queen knows just how horribly that would turn out. The last time he tried turned into 5 hours wasted with Floyd of all people.

So Riddle asked Jamil.

Jamil who also found himself undergoing a similar crisis but trying to rationalize all the dates they'd been on as platonic meetings between fellow students. That's all it was really. But Riddle asks him the question as they're taking caring of the hedgehogs because it was Riddle's shift and Jamil just so happened to be there for tea. Let it be known that it was a completely innocent meeting to discuss interests over the Scalding Sand's famous tea blends imported back from home. So what if Riddle just so happened to be interested because he'd never tried any tea blends outside of the Queendom?Jamil was simply doing him a favor that was long overdue is all. Plus, he still needed to find the time to return those notes. Eventually.

Yet when faced with that maddening question, Jamil could've said they weren't. He could've flat out said no and rejected him right then and there. In fact, he really should've, and yet..

This was fine. They weren't really dating. Jamil was just using him. Riddle would get over it eventually and Jamil would leave just as quietly. They'd part ways on amicable terms once Riddle realized he was being an idiot falling for someone like him and that would be the end of it. So, Jamil would simply use Riddle's favor to do- something.

Riddle was the son of two famed magical healers from the Queendom after all, and if rumors were to be trusted then they'd have to part sooner or later. This was just, a fling. Of sorts. There was no way Mrs. Rosehearts would just allow a servant- someone like him to be with her son. Even if he resolved himself to be better, their statuses just couldn't work out. Not if he was stuck with the Asims for the unforeseeable future. Not if he was sure Riddle would never abandon everything for him. For as long as there were rules to abide by, then Jamil was certain their "fling" would be nothing but a fleeting memory. A mere footnote in their stories.

Even if the pure elation on Riddle's face was one he was sure to remember for years to come. It would be fine.

Sevens, he really hated Kalim.