"My name’s Noctis," he said, still unsure of this girl. Vanille seemed nice, but her benevolence was overwhelming. He’d thought that the moment she admitted she’d followed along behind him just to say hello. It felt like an extreme just to introduce herself.
Maybe that was how she worked, though, on the “extreme” end of the spectrum. As odd as she seemed, he was still intrigued. She already stood out in the crowd of students, and her personality seemed to mirror it, with her bright orange-red hair, the brightly colored clothing, and the even brighter beads. Not to mention the strange furry half-skirt that he pretended not to wonder about.
"Are they an enemy you face often?"
Noctis couldn’t help but smirk. She was clever, he had to give her that.
"Oh, yeah, all the time," he said. "I try to get in that first strike, but they sometimes just beat me to it."
When he turned to walk away from her, he’d seen the disappointment flash across her face. It was that look, that disappointment, that ate at him and made him stop. He wasn’t much for pouring himself out to someone he barely knew, and he also found most small talk to be tedious, so he was content cutting conversations short and moving on his way.
But this girl—Vanille—felt different. She’d gone out of her way to talk to him, and even if he wasn’t fond of the idea, he also didn’t have a heart of stone either. He didn’t care what people thought of him, but he also couldn’t bring himself to intentionally upset or disappoint people if he could help it.
She seemed to brighten up a little, though, when he did stop. She pointed in a different direction, saying she lived that way instead, but acted more than willing to tag along anyway. Noctis couldn’t decide whether he was mildly annoyed or fascinated by her friendly attitude.
He did wonder, though, why she preferred to be outside. He didn’t ask, at least not out loud, but it crossed his mind. So many other students seemed to like staying indoors with their technology or books or whatever it was inside their homes they preferred the company of. She didn’t seem to fit that cookie-cutter teenage mold, though. At least, it was what his first impression shouted.
Noctis pointed as they started walking, motioning straight ahead, “Nah, not that far from here. My neighborhood’s just up that street, to the right, and near the bottom of the hill.”
Of course, he might’ve been speaking jibberish to her. He had no idea where she came from, how long she’d been in the area, or if she even knew the places around.
"Where, exactly, do you live?" he asked.
She’d pointed in the general direction, but he wanted to know, just to see exactly how far of a walk she was in for, especially if she went with him first. Plus, it never hurt to know where fellow students came from.