“Hmm.” Victor dropped his gaze from Airlia’s uneasy features and to her bag - apparently the object keeping her there - instead. He knew perfectly well she was desperately trying to escape, the poor girl wasn’t very subtle, and Victor had no intention of helping her out of her misery. “How troublesome for you.” He looked at the girl again, a serene smile on his face.

Perhaps, maybe, he was secretly getting a kick out of seeing her so terribly uneasy. And he knew perfectly well the reason behind it - the same reason he hadn’t seen her since that night. And in all honesty, he was just surprised she remembered still. He’d been certain everything after they sat on the couch together would’ve been a blank for her. Perhaps he should use stronger firewhiskey next time.


Vianna rolled her eyes at Ned’s comment. “It’s too early still for so much sass,” she declared half-teasingly as she pulled the goblet away from her lips to place back on the table.

At Ned’s following words, Vianna smiled genuinely. Just because she didn’t often get along with the boy didn’t mean she didn’t appreciate compliments. “Really? Thanks, Hall. You look nice too,” she replied, grateful for the kind words but obviously not taking them with as much emotion as she would’ve if the compliment had come from Peter instead.

Anyway.
Now that Ned was finally here, Vianna had no desire to lounge about wasting time. She had a date to survive, and the sooner they were done with it, the better. She was already dreaming of heading back up to the girls’ dormitories and returning to bed. “All ready to go, then?”