After Klaus finished his polite chitchat with the teachers in the faculty room, they both finally exited. I sighed, my social battery wholly drained, as if I were the one who did the talking.
"You okay?" Klaus gave me a worried, sideways glance.
I nodded, though my face was visibly stressed.
"Not used to it, Ms. Vermillion?" He asked.
Once again, I nodded.
"How can you do that?" I looked at the ground tiredly.
Klaus waited for me to expound, but I didn't. He gave me a weary laugh before answering me.
"It's one of the things you learn to do as a student council president."
This caused me to stand up straight, reminding me of the shocking revelation of his position in the school hierarchy.
"I didn't know you were the student council president." My tone was accusing for some odd reason.
Klaus chuckled.
"I don't expect a first-year to, and I was voted into position a semester before you entered, after all."
I could only nod again, unsure how to respond to what he said. There was a long silence between them, and it seemed that even Klaus's natural conversational skills did not match my extreme awkwardness.
"Thanks, Klaus." I was the one who finally broke the silence.
"Sure! Anytime, Ms. Vermillion." He smiled again. This seemed like a default expression on his face.
"Like some sort of NPC," Death grimaced.
"Aren't the student presidents usually the main love interests in popular media?" I pointed it out.
Death didn't answer me because he knew that I was right.
Even Death seemed to act like any regular human. he also didn't like accepting that he was wrong.
"Evangeline," I corrected.
"What?" This surprised both Death and Klaus.
"Just call me Evangeline."
"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!" Death shouted at the top of his lungs, as if the younger me could hear him.
Sadly, the current Evangeline (me) could, and I covered my ears with my hands.
Klaus's blue eyes widened in delight, a huge grin spreading on his lips.
"Thank you, Evangeline!" He replied enthusiastically—a bit too enthusiastically for Death's taste. "You can call me Klaus if you'd like."
"I would rather call you Santa." I teased.
"Sa—" He spluttered incredulously. With a defeated sigh, he replied. "Okay."
"Y-you don't have to agree, Klaus." My sweat dropped, taken aback that he was playing along with my antics. "I was just joking, you know."
"O-oh," Klaus's face was redder than a tomato's. "But I don't mind it. I want it." Shyly, he looked away, and his voice turned softer. "I feel like we have an inside joke just between us."
"Isn't this everyone's inside joke with your name?" I cocked an eyebrow.
It's not like I was aware of anyone making the exact joke. I didn't talk that much to many, or rather any, people back then to be part of anyone's inside joke.
"Even until high school?" Death asked.
"Even until high school," I said.
It felt like an obvious joke anybody with the shallowest sense of humor would make.
Klaus shrugged.
"Probably. But it's different when it's from you."
There was a part of me that wanted to ask what Klaus meant by that, but there was also a part of me that knew if I did, something would change. I also felt that Klaus was dangling his sentence before me, waiting for me to pounce and ask what it meant.
I didn't want to give him the satisfaction.
"Well, since it's lunchtime, I'm gonna buy food now," I said. "Bye, Santa."
Klaus looked visibly disappointed that I didn't take the bait.
Death gave me a pointed look.
"Fine!" I admitted. "Klaus can be a little manipulative."
"Just a little?'"
I just folded my arms, not wanting to accept defeat. I'm human, after all.
"May I join you?" Klaus asked suddenly.
"Why?" Death demanded, his voice booming in the hallway.
"Because it's lunchtime?" I suggested.
"I know that!" Death rolled his eyes at me. "But why must he join you?"
I shrugged.
"A-are you sure?" Even the younger me was unsure of his intentions. "You want to come with me? For lunch?" I added the last part to ensure we were on the right page.
"Yeah?" Klaus smiled, though his eyes looked a bit confused. "But if you don't want to…"
He donned his puppy eyes, and they were watering for some reason. It looked very unusual for someone of his stature.
"See!" Death shouted. "He's trying to guilt trip you!"
I looked hesitant to agree but ultimately felt indebted to him for helping me.
"If you insist,"
"No!" Death shouted in disapproval again.
"Death, please." I pleaded, rubbing my temples in annoyance. If you could get a headache once you're dead, I'd probably have it now. "They can't hear you."
"Awesome!" Klaus beamed. "Let's go! I know a place with delicious and surprisingly affordable food."
"Judging from his words, it seemed he had it planned from the start." Death tutted, crossing his arms. "Manipulative prick."
"Does that mean we have to go outside the school?" I asked.
Klaus nodded. "It's just a five-minute walk from here, maybe less if we ran."
"Are we even allowed to go out during lunch?" I frowned. "What if I'm late for my next class?"
"Don't worry," Klaus winked at me teasingly, not seductively. "You're with me. I'll make sure we get back here before the bell rings."
"POWER TRIPPING!" Death yelled.
"Goodness gracious, Death!" I exclaimed in exasperation. "You're too invested in this memory! And not in a good way!"
Death merely huffed, not even bothering to refute me.
Before the young me could say anything, Klaus grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me along the hallway to the place he was talking about.
"You're going to love the food!" Klaus promised.