selene was never one too assume. her reliance on factual information was a by-product of her education—of being told by her professors under her major classes that as future medical practitioners, they should not act only on the basis of their assumptions. after all, they deal with the ever so precarious thing that is life. as such, they must always be led by their rationale.
yet when matters of emotions were at consideration, she finds that it has been hard trying to shrug off the telltale signs of interest. while she keeps a cool head on for most days, the way her heart would beat an ungodly amount per second every time he steps foot inside the hospital wing would remind her that she is not quite in control of the situation as she hopes to be.
selene doesn’t like to assume but whenever he comes in, she cannot help but hope that maybe she’s right.
it got easier after the first time. the interactions flowed more smoothly, even if he was laying down in an old rickety bed for the most of it. the sense of familiarity remains and was strengthened every time she has to reprimand him first for ending up in the wing again, followed by conversations on anything and every thing. all the while, she tried not to think too much of it. he’s just friendly, she’d tell herself every time he makes her laugh. maybe he’s just clumsy, would be her affirmation as she passes him a healing potion or patches up a cut somewhere.
it was all this mental work of nothing but denial, denial, denial that resulted in her absolute surprise when he finally asked her out.
there is a level of comfort now; a sense of understanding between them after a month of having known and seen each other constantly. selene cannot deny that she feels ten times lighter than she used to, knowing that someone out there seems to be looking forward to meeting her every chance they get. while his attention was flattering, his interest in the things that she does held more ground.
as she walks up the path that leads toward the front doors of borealis, seeing him waiting for her already elicits a smile. “hi,” she greets him, finding it completely normal by now the way he throws out these random french words. “nice pronunciation! better than the last time.” she may not have said it yet but she appreciates his efforts immensely. “thank you.” she says, blushing as she steps inside the building. remind her to thank her friends for helping her look well put together that night. “you look great too.”
the temperature inside borealis was decidedly warm compared to the freezing centigrade of outside. as she shrugs off the coat she was wearing, selene leans in closer to ask. “who are we seeing again? i wanted to do my research before coming here but i decided i’d like to be surprised.”
he likes to tell himself his hard work had paid off. a mental pat on the shoulder if you will — maybe it was a little bit pathetic for him to go to such lengths to get selene’s attention, but had he not, would the two of them be at borealis together now? probably not. their potential could’ve come to a grinding halt in some alternate universe where barom had thrown in the towel too soon and given up, the two of them destined for other things, people.
it’d been a time barom didn’t realize was so uncharacteristic of himself to do. had he really told his friends to hurt him on purpose just to see her? there was never a girl in the past he had ever thought to fight so strongly to see. admittedly, even compared to girls he’d been with in the past, selene might’ve been the girl he was ever the most excited to see again.
he could’ve sworn the world had slowed down for even just a fraction of a moment when his eyes fell on her as she made her approach; her lingering perfume only makes him want to stand closer. so he does, and he’s glad that his chivalry helps him hide his boyish shyness underneath his shaggy bangs. that is, of course, until he’s still too close and selene is suddenly turning to look him dead in the eye. he’s caught off guard. “u-uh,” barom stammers and immediately mentally slaps himself for already tripping up so early. having her in such close proximity in the infirmary was one thing, but here — in an environment actually meant for getting close — was a whole new ball game.
he’d forgotten the band’s name. “... i can’t remember,” he smiles sheepishly down at her, finally bringing himself to look her straight on again. the bar was so packed tonight that it was inevitable they’d be shoulder to shoulder with each other for the rest of the night. it was the best he could’ve hoped for.
a spot opens up at the bar, and barom jumps on his first opportunity. “what would you like?” he asks as he casually swings an arm to just barely touch the center of her back and guide her forwards to the open bartender. internally, he’s proud of himself, but on the exterior, barom plays it all off like it’s nothing at all. “order whatever you like. it’s on me.”
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