After 2 hours of classes. <12:30 A.M>.
Raven is now in the cafeteria with Eve and the others.
"There's so many people, annoying."
Raven mumbled with a frown after seeing the cafeteria is packed with people, be it students or staffs.
It's his first time there, and as a matter of fact, Raven wouldn't come to the cafeteria if not for Eve forcing him.
Though Raven found Eve's invitation to be weird, he didn't think about it that much as he thinks it's bothersome.
"Do you hate people, Raven?"
Blake then asked Raven.
Alec, Adelle, and Aoi are curious about this too.
Curtis is just walking with Eve and he really doesn't care, while Eve is timing her walking pace with Raven's.
Raven scanned every corner of the cafeteria, then he shook his head without looking at Blake.
"I hate everything all about the same."
Raven's voice and tone doesn't seems like he's not joking, so the others frowned at his answer.
"Especially tiring things."
Raven added in a small voice.
"Then do you hate us?"
It was then, Adelle asked Raven with a teasing tone.
"Hmm."
Raven looked at her and the group, he massages his chin as if he's thinking about something hard.
Then after a while, Raven opened his mouth.
"You guys are weird so I like y'all."
He said and shrugged his shoulders.
His answer made the others frowned.
'As we are saying, you're weirder than any of us!'
Eve, Alec, Aoi, Blake, and Adelle thought in unison.
Raven, easily predicting what the group is thinking, spoke again.
"I'm not weird, I'm just so fucking special that you guys thought that I am weird."
Now the others have a complicated expression on their faces as they don't know how to respond to Raven's words.
"If your special, then what am I then?"
It was then Curtis proudly and sarcastically asked Raven.
Raven glanced at him for a second then looked forward again.
"A virgin who doesn't know how to flirt."
Then he blantly said what's in his mind.
"You bit–!"
Pfft-!
Curtis was about to say something but he heard a laugh.
He looked at the group to see who laughed.
But all of them have their mouths closed and puffing their cheeks as they struggle to hold their laughter back.
"Who the fuck was that?!"
Curtis angrily asked.
Pfft-
Then the same laughing was heard.
"It's you isn't it?!"
Curtis exclaimed while pointing at Raven.
Raven's face remained unchanged since entering the cafeteria, so he looked at Curtis and shook his head.
"I didn't laugh, why would I? I didn't even tell or hear a joke."
"YOU!!!"
Curtis took Raven's words as a provocation and was about to channel mana to his fist.
Pfft-
But he heard the laugh again, he's looking at Raven, and Raven didn't opened his mouth.
"Told you."
Raven lazily said and looked forward again.
Curtis frowned and started to look at the other members of the group to find the one laughing.
And while that was happening. They reached a table for them to sit.
Oh, the one laughing was Eve by the way, she's in front of Curtis so he can't see her face, also Curtis didn't thought of Eve laughing, he even barely see her smile.
Though Raven saw Eve was the one laughing, he didn't tell Curtis because he thinks it's annoying to talk with Curtis.
Anyway, they're sitting in the middle of the cafeteria.
Raven looked at Eve and spoke.
"So? What do you want?"
Raven asked, he was brought here by Eve, Eve told him that she need his help at something.
Raven thought that it might be connected to the story so he came with them.
Also, the group didn't stop to look at him worriedly.
So he thought that there's something really bad happening.
'But why in the cafeteria? Are they hungry or what?'
As Raven is thinking of that.
Eve took out a lunchbox from his spatial storage, the lunchbox is fairly big, maybe the amount of foods you can put in it is for 2 person.
"Help me with this."
Eve said while her hand is placed on top of the lunchbox. She's looking at Raven with pleading eyes.
"How exactly?"
Raven asked looking at the lunchbox with a frown.
"Damn, you eat that many? Good job not getting fat."
Raven unconsciously muttered looking at the lunchbox.
His statement made the others shoot their eye wide open. Eve is annoyed inside but is still smiling kindly, but inside her mind, she's beating the shit out of Raven.
Curtis was about to yell at Raven but Eve stopped him by punching him on his side.
"Why? Do I look fat to you?"
Eve asked while smiling, hiding her hostility to Raven.
Raven frowned at Eve's words and looked around.
"No, you have great figure, if you are considered as fat, then there will be a lot of people who are gonna be called hippo."
Raven answered honestly, though his tone seems he's uninterested of such topic.
His answer might be weird, but it's definitely a compliment.
It surprised the group, even Eve, they thought that Raven will say something stupid, but he actually complimented Eve.
(Well it's really stupid though, the way he complimented Eve.)
"Thanks."
Though Eve feels weird thanking Raven, she did it anyway.
"Why the thanks? I'm just saying the truth."
Raven replied tilting his head and looking at Eve like he's looking at something weird.
"No..just... You know, whatever."
Raven's actions today might have caught Eve off guard but she's still gonna go with her revenge.
Anyway, Raven's mood is just good because his body feels light.
"So anyway, I'm learning how to cook."
Eve said looking at Raven and acting shy.
Curtis saw that, so his head snapped to his side.
"Bastard! What did you do to Eve?!"
Then he asked with a loud voice, if glares can kill, Raven might be dead now.
"Shut up virgin."
Not that Raven care as he casually muttered,not even looking at Curtis.
"You!"
"Shut up Curtis."
Curtis just shut his mouth when Eve told him to. Though he's still glaring at Raven.
Eve sighed, then she looked at Raven again.
"I heard that you're very good at cooking."
Eve asked while acting a bit shy.
Not that Raven notice as he just nodded his head unenthusiastically.
"Yeah, people do say I'm good at cooking."
Raven confidently answered. Raven's confidence felt rather unpleasant for Eve, but she just brushed it off and started acting again.
"You see, lately, I'm learning how to cook, and um... I want you to taste one of what I cooked and have your opinion."
'Nailed it!'
Eve thought as she thinks her acting was top notch.
The others who knows that she's acting felt admiration to her acts. While Curtis is now really dying of jealousy, the other students who are in the cafeteria are jealous too, they can hear Eve and Raven's conversation. Which is Eve's intention.
'Now Raven, how will you react?'
Eve then excitedly looked at Raven to see his reaction, but she saw Raven looking at her calmly. This made her frown inside.
"Is that all?"
Raven asked in a rather confused tone.
Eve nodded her head.
"Yeah, sorry if I bothered you."
She apologized in the most sympathetic voice she can.
"Well, you really did bothered me."
Raven immediately answered.
Crack-
Eve's fingers cracked as she clenched her hands so tightly because of Raven's remark.
Curtis is about to do something but Eve stopped him again.
"But if it's only that, then sure."
But surprisingly, Raven agreed immediately.
His answer is unexpected to them as they're sure Raven will frown before being forced to agree.
But Raven actually agreed in a rather calm attitude.
"I didn't know, you'll agree immediately, because aren't you like, doesn't want to eat somebody else's cooking?"
Eve asked Raven.
Raven thought how Eve knows that, but because she's friends with Adelle, he didn't think much for him to know the answer.
Raven shrugged and opened his mouth.
"It's you who made the food, not just 'somebody else'."
Eve frowned at Raven's answer and guilt hit her a bit, but she ignored it.
'Calm down, it's all planned out, there's no more going back.'
~~~~~
[Drei05]: Any thought about the chapter?