Free Web NovelChapter 100: Chapter 100
Henri was dropped off in his room, and he decided then as he stood in the midst of a small army of balloon animals that he had had enough interaction for a day.
He chose to have his dinner brought to his room instead of heading down to the dining hall. He didn’t care if Louis suffered an aneurysm because of this.
Angrily, he stomped through the balloons, sending them flying everywhere, he needed to undress and take a bath before doing anything else.
Now that he got the chance to decompress, memories from the day he had, came tumbling back into his head, including memories he would rather never remember again.
Henri had to swim through his unwanted army of balloon animals again to get to the landline on the dresser by his bedside to ring up a cook. He could get rid of the balloons but they weren’t that much of a nuisance, plus they had been won for him by his friends so he would keep them for a little while.
Classes would resume the next day and it would be business as usual till the weekend when they would have to travel to Omega Institute for the Sports Ball to conclude the event.
Balls were Henri’s sworn enemies so he wasn’t looking forward to the ball but he would attend nonetheless. Perhaps it would be less pretentious if it were merely filled with teenagers just having fun.
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Louis took Henri’s decision to have his dinner in his dorm room quite well, heading off to the dining hall with Dio without protest.
It would also seem that the rest of their friend group had decided to have dinner by themselves because they had walked past Valentin and Audie sitting together at a different table than the one they all usually went for.
Nael and Errol weren’t there either which was even less surprising. This meant that Louis and Dio were eating alone for perhaps the first time since they got to the academy.
Granted, there were other students that joined their table but they weren’t required to have conversations with them so it was just the two of them quietly eating. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Dio had his hair up, something he did more frequently now, his mismatched eyes tracking Louis’ movements. "Want me to help you cut up the turkey?" He offered.
Louis faltered at this, he had just been about to offer to help Dio. When did the tables turn?
Dio took his silence as approval and helped him do the cutting, his slender fingers handling the knife with ease.
It felt like every time Louis paid full attention to Dio, he was seeing him through new eyes. "Thank you." He said timidly.
They both fell into silence as they ate, this was the usual with them. Dio didn’t like to speak much and Louis accepted that without judgment. So much so that they could have proper interactions without even having to say a word.
But now it felt like they had lost what they used to have, Dio was more outspoken now, he had even addressed a complete stranger. For comparison, before they got into the academy, he spoke to no one but Louis. Not even Louis’ mother had been able to coax him to say a word.
So although the silence was the usual with them, it felt uncomfortable, like Louis should be saying something. But what could he talk to Dio about? Growing up with a mute friend meant that Louis learned to speak enough for both of them or not at all.
"So you... um... you got into the Archery club?" Louis said stiffly, wincing at how awkward he sounded.
Dio looked at him intently like he was trying to gauge his emotions. "Yes, Captain Ivan said I was in."
"So will you leave the Cooking club?" Louis asked, "Whatever decision you make is fine," He quickly added. "It’s just... I understand that it can get difficult to juggle two clubs at once." He found himself rambling, biting the inside of his cheek to stop the words from coming out.
Dio propped his head on his elbow so he could get a proper view of Louis’ face. He had never once considered leaving the Cooking club, it wasn’t like he did much, to begin with. The pros were too good to pass up on, he would get to be with Louis and also eat his cooking.
"Does Lou want me to stay?" He asked, very serious.
Louis looked down at his half-eaten plate of food. When Dio didn’t ask for his opinion, he felt disappointed but when Dio did ask, he felt bad that his friend wasn’t making independent decisions. It was an endless cycle.
"I think... that... you should do what you want." Louis looked back at him with a soft smile.
Dio cocked his head, bending even closer to the table. He had asked because he wanted to know what Louis thought, if Louis thought he was a nuisance then he would leave the Cooking club right away.
"I want to stay in the Cooking club because of you, is that fine with you?" He decided to ask in a straightforward manner.
Louis gulped, it was quite the task to keep up with Dio switching from his usual adorable self to an articulate smooth talker. "B-Because of me?" He repeated, thinking it over.
It was what Dio wanted but it involved him, did that still mean that he had some measure of influence on his decision?
"I did say you should do what you wanted, of course, it’s fine with me." He shrugged, returning to his meal. It was more stressful than he thought to hold eye contact with Dio.
Fortunately for Louis’ sanity, there were no further conversations between them. The atmosphere was also a little less tense than it was at the start. He never imagined that he would ever have a hard time eating a meal with Dio, it was almost comical.
What changed between them? Or was it one of them that changed? Two of them? All three possibilities?
"Watch your step." Dio’s voice intruded on his thoughts, the Alpha pulling on his hand to move him out of someone else’s way.
"Sorry!" Louis called to the person he had almost run into, mentally smacking himself over the head for not paying attention.
"Are you alright?" Dio asked in concern, still holding him.
"Yes," Louis said absently, even more distracted than before.
Dio could do everything for himself now so much so that Louis needed his help. Would Dio need him anymore now that he could do everything for himself? He had to be useful or he wouldn’t be needed.
