Uncomfortable, I found myself squirming just a tad bit. It wasn't enough to be noticeable from the outside, but I was definitely awkward.
At the same time, I thought Charlotte was acting awkward as well. She usually had a calm, dutiful boldness about her that would sometimes erupt into strong-willed outbursts, but she lacked that entirely. She was oddly silent as we walked down the sidewalk. On top of that, she was compensating me so much...It made me feel weird.
As we stopped at a crosswalk, I could feel Charlotte looking at me. Actually, 'look' is far too light of a term for what she was doing. It's more like she was staring, no, gazing, no, scrutinizing, no! Damn it English! All these synonyms and not a single one for the situation I'm in!
The sheer intensity of her gaze was tangible, causing the hairs on my arms to stand on end. For as long as it went on, she didn't say a word.
I glanced sideways at her, trying to appear casual, but instead of meeting her eyes, I noticed something weird. Her posture... It was... Odd? Yeah, I guess her body looked to be a bit odd.
Her shoulders were tilted ever so slightly, her weight shifted unevenly between her feet. It was subtle, but it made her silhouette look...
An idea sprouted in my mind just then... Then again, a lot of ideas sprout in this twisted head of mine. Not all of them have the same level of validity. I should do my due diligence and get at least a bit of evidence for this idea. I mean it's... No shot I'm right.
My eyes darted down and back up again. Yup, her hands were clasped in front of her dress in a way that seemed staged, as though she were consciously trying to appear natural, which ironically made her look anything but. The slight sway of her hips, as she adjusted her stance, confirmed my suspicions.
Was she... posing?
Why in the world would she ever- I mean, I guess she is wearing that new dress. It looks a little pricey too... Should I say something? Is she waiting for me to say something? Why would she be though? Actually, does she even like me at all? If she is waiting for me to say something I'd assume she wants a compliment of some sort. If that is the case...
Does she... LIKE like me?!
"Is something wrong?" Her voice snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts. Her words were as sharp and precise as a surgeon's scalpel.
"You've been staring at me a lot. If something is wrong then you should say it. It's not like we're complete strangers."
I should be the one saying that!
I straightened myself out before I spoke. "Alright, woman. Since we've already faced peril hand in hand once before, I suppose I shall indulge your request."
Covering my left eye with my hand, I shoved my index finger directly against the tip of Charlotte's nose. Taken aback, she took an uncoordinated step backward.
No time to sweat the small stuff. I'm gonna go for it. One of the pros of acting this way is that I can bring up dumb topics like this after all.
"For the duration of your sudden guest appearance, I haven't been able to get my mind off that dress of yours! The dress by itself would be reason enough for my behavior, but your blatant attempts to show it off have only added fuel to the metaphorical fire."
Charlotte's cheeks flushed instantly, the light pink hue stark against her pale skin. Her eyes widened, and for a split second, she looked like a deer caught in headlights. When she finally caught herself she took a giant step backwards. Her hands flew in front of her body as though she were attempting to shield herself.
"Wha—What are you even talking about?" she stammered. "Calm your perverted gaze, I wasn't trying to-!"
"You'd really deny it? It was clear as day from where I was standing. Don't tell me. Deep down, you're actually a cute maiden aren't you."
I said the word 'cute' by accident, but lucky for me it didn't seem as though Charlotte had a chance to notice.
Charlotte straightened her posture, her expression shifting from flustered to annoyed, though her blush still lingered. "This dress cost me a lot of money," she said, her tone exasperated. "I bought it for that stupid field trip we were supposed to go on—the one where the principal was making a big deal about how we didn't have to wear uniforms and all."
"Oh yeah we did have something like that.", I murmured.
I skipped school that day and didn't go. Instead, I think I spent that day bonding with Cacophony.
As I thought about that trip some more, I remembered something else.
"Didn't the dress code turn out to be way more strict than expected?"
Charlotte's eyes widened as though resonating with my thoughtless statement. "Exactly!", she snapped. "All that stuff about freedom of student expression that he went on and on about was complete and utter BS. That same day he sent a whole list of rules about what the girls could and couldn't wear. You would never understand how much effort I put in just to find a nice-looking dress that didn't break any of those dumb rules. I mean, one of the rules was that the skirt had to be well below the knee. Another one was that the patterns couldn't be too distracting. Worst of all was the rules around how much cleavage you could show. That one even came with hand-drawn diagrams. I mean, are we still living in the twelfth century?"
Charlotte was animated as she spoke, it was to a degree that I wasn't expecting. As she spoke, she maintained direct eye contact, something she was unable to do before. Slowly, it seemed as though she was returning to normal. Well, this was beyond normal. Is this what she's like with her friends? Naw, I've never seen her like this at school.
"Alas, school regulations can be just as cruel as a pilgrimage through the demon continent. Still, at least you got to have fun and wear it."
"Nope! I never got even a single chance to wear it. Instead of going on that field trip, I sat in a stuffy classroom by myself."
Standing up straight, Charlotte cleared her throat and calmed her flushed expression. Replacing it was a look of serious annoyance, the expression that I was most used to seeing on her face.
"So, yeah, forgive me for wanting someone to recognize how cute I look in this dress. Even if that person was you."
For a moment, the air between us was still. In that one moment, my heartbeat was still and my lips were sealed shut.
Then, unable to stop myself, I smirked a devilish kind of smirk. It was one that befitted a Dark King. "Well then Violet Haired Wonder, I'll let you have your way this one time."
"You do look good in it," I said casually.
Her eyes widened slightly before she turned her head away with a huff. She did her best to look disinterested, but there was some kind of emotion on her face, even if I couldn't tell what it was.
"Took you long enough."
Behind us, a few cycles of traffic had already passed us by. While I wouldn't be able to confidently call the two of us friends, I feel like I've gotten to see a different side to Charlotte.
Under her breath, Charlotte whispered something.
"For some reason, it seems I have quite an affinity for conversation near crosswalks."