Two goals with one present (Private)

[Kyerin]

Thank goodness for Haruka and her computer skills... he had been able to get information about the entire Student Council, considering that it would definately help their activities. However, he had an ulterior motive reading through it the prior day, stemming from the dance, and going further into the class: he felt bad about betraying Nicolette's trust, though he did tell her that them being friends wouldn't affect how things between the Student Council and the SFF would go. Still... he had found a way to help get things back on the friendly path.

The boy breathed out slowly, reaching into his pocket and making sure that the small box was there. According to the school records, Nicolette's birthday was today... and with a call to Ayla, along with the use of a phone with a built-in camera, he had hopefully acquired a proper birthday/apology gift... that is, if she would actually talk to him, and would accept it.

There was only one way to find out. Kyerin took in a deep breath, raised up one hand, and lightly rapped on the door in front of him. Hopefully, she was in her room... if not, things would just feel wasted.

[Nicolette]

It was Tuesday afternoon, a few hours after class, and the female sat alone in her dormitory. So far, she had been lucky enough to be blessed with a room without a roommate. A gentle melody travelled through the living room as the blonde haired girl sat on the couch, her eyes focused on the math homework on her lap.

The moment she had gotten to her dormitory, she had stripped herself of her uniform and went to her closet to find more comfortable clothing. She had finally decided on a pair of capri-length, leopard print pants and a black, V-neck, sleeveless top that came down over her hips. Her blonde locks were tied back in a low ponytail to keep them from falling over onto her homework while she worked.

Sure, it was her eighteenth birthday, but it didn't matter to her... She was in school and she needed to focus. Henri had dropped by that morning to give her a new hair band for her hair (she loved hair bands). Her mother had called her during lunch to wish her a happy birthday and to tell her that her gift was coming in the mail. She had yet to hear from her father...

The knock at the door confused her and she moved her homework off her lap, getting up and walking toward the door. She wrapped her slender hand around the handle of the door and pulled it open, raising an eyebrow as she looked up, her odd-colored eyes gazing through glass to look up at brown ones.

"Monsieur Saito... This is quite unexpected..." She said, her tone professional.

[Kyerin]

Kyerin, to be blunt, was very nervous about this entire situation; he had never really been in such a situation with a girl, going to her room where only she lived (that was something else that he found out from the records) and give her a gift... it was something that he hadn't done... well, ever. Guess there was a first time for everything... it was probably because he actually got to talk to her, and enjoyed spending time with her as a friend. He had really only done that with Ayla... and he had spent time with her for all of her life, so she didn't count.

As he was wondering if he had just come at a bad time, the door opened, revealing a slightly disheveled, but still quite impressive Student Council president. However, considering that she was wearing a sleeveless shirt along with her pajamas, it made his cheeks turn a light pink. However, her stoic tone caused him to realize his place, and he coughed, shaking off the nervousness; it was now or never.

"Hello, Miss Nicolette," he said, before feeling like an idiot considering that it was a really lame opening statement. He managed up a small smile, his hand still in his pocket. "I was stopping by to wish you a happy birthday; how is it being eighteen?"

[Nicolette]

The girl... Well, now woman, gazed up at the male in front of her, never faltering under his gaze. However, as he wished her a happy birthday, her eyes widened a little and her cheeks turned a soft pink color. Had he really come all the way to her room (all the way on the nineth floor of the girls' dormitories) just to wish her a happy birthday? She suddenly felt horrible for the thoughts that had come to mind in recent weeks, considering how horribly betrayed she had felt.

She swallowed hard, her multicolored eyes dropping for a moment as she thought of a response. She brought one hand to gently touch her other arm, wrapping around it as she looked back up.

"It is a little odd to think of myself as a legal adult now." A faint smile slipped on her lips before she bowed her head to the male. "I thank you very much for the birthday wish..." Her eyes gazed back up at him curiously. "Though, I do have to wonder how you know it."

[Kyerin]

It obviously took her by surprise that he had known about her birthday; that was fine, considering that he was pretty sure that no one knew when his birthday was, which was perfectly fine with him. Still, he was glad that she was in a better mood now; it was starting to really wear him down with her negativity, and he couldn't really escape it, considering they had so many classes together.

Kyerin couldn't help smiling lightly from her question, lightly tapping the side of his head. "It pays to listen and know things... isn't that how the Student Council keeps track of everything?" It probably was against some rule or another for the SFF to get such information... then again, it was also against the rules for a boy to be here in the girl's dorm. Fortunately, he had timed his movements to avoid the faculty members, and also received some help from a few girls he knew, mainly from the SFF or Tennis club to avoid being caught. It was risky, but things seemed to be working out so far.

"But I also wanted to apologize about the dance; it wasn't personal, but I saw how much effort it took for you to take care of it... so, as an apology, and as a gift from one friend to another for your birthday, I got you this." Taking the moment, he reached into his pocket, and held out the small box, opening it. It was a small silver necklace, the central focus of the jewelry being a silver rose with an amethyst in it. Nothing too big or fancy, but it was rather nice.

[Nicolette]

Nicolette gave the male a look when he wouldn't reveal how he had gotten the information on her birthday, but she decided to let it slide; he probably hadn't done anything too serious to get it. Maybe he had even spoken to her brother and somehow found it out from him. She would have to ask the younger boy later.

At the mention of the dance, she did give a little wince, but she did feel a bit of comfort in him saying it wasn't personal. His next comment, though, confused her and she gazed curiously at his hand as he brought it out of his pocket, along with a box. She blinked as he opened it and she let out a small gasp as her hand flew to her mouth.

The necklace was gorgeous. The silver rose was beautiful enough, but the gem at the center was her birthstone. This had to be quite expensive! She looked up at him in surprise, letting her hand move down a little to expose her mouth so she could talk.

"Y-you... You are too kind!" She managed to say, a smile sliding onto her lips as she looked back down at the box. She slowly extended her hand to take the box from him, holding it gingerly in her hands as she examined it closer. "Oh, you really did not need to get something so beautiful and so expensive."

[Kyerin]

Kyerin couldn't help smiling a bit more as he saw that the girl was forgiving him more with each statement; this was going a lot better than he could have imagined. Of course, half of those thoughts had begun with her slamming the door in his face, not even giving him a chance to talk. Still, he had done all that he could do, so it rested on how she would take it all.

Things looked really good when she gasped, and took it, looking carefully at it. He was glad that she liked it, considering that it had taken the best part of an hour to pick out a proper one that wasn't too expensive, but still looked really nice. The gemstone was a bonus, considering that it was the birthstone of February; Ayla had said that it would be a good bet.

The boy smiled, his cheeks pink again as he scratched the back of his head, feeling embarrassed from her compliments. "It made me think of you, and besides, you only turn eighteen once," he simply replied, not sure what else to say; for one of the few times in his life, Kyerin wasn't quite sure what to say.

[Nicolette]

The young woman looked up at the male in front of her before she remembered how horrible clothed she was. She flushed a little and moved out of the way, motioning for him to come inside. She knew it was against the rules and she should be punishing him for breaking the rules.... But she supposed she could let it slide. Once he was inside, she shut the door. It was times like these that she was glad she didn't have a roommate.

"Ah, please make yourself comfortable. I shall be right back." She turned and quickly rushed off to her bedroom. She shut the door behind her and went to her closet, taking out a black, form fitting black v-neck shirt and a pair of jeans. She stood in front of her mirror and slid her new present around around her neck, admiring how beautiful it was. She pulled her hair from the hairtie, letting it fall down her back.

She turned and left her bedroom, coming back to the living room area, her eyes seeking Kyerin.

[Kyerin]

Kyerin was surprised when the girl gestured for him to come into her room; he had been sure that he would be able to avoid being punished on the rules, but he had figured that it would be due to her pulling a couple strings now and helping him leave after giving her the gift. Nevertheless, he accepted the invitation and stepped in as she closed the door behind him, and excuse herself to try it on.

It was actually a decent size room, having two different spaces. Maybe it was just the floor or her year or her being a girl, since he only had a single room, though it was spacious. He'd have to look into that for next year. But it was very neat, and well furnished, with a fair amount of decoration. It was definately a room that had class.

Kyerin had just placed himself in the closest chair when the girl came back in; as opposed to earlier, she was fully dressed now, and was wearing the necklace. He smiled, raising back to his feet, feeling awkward being the only one seated. "It looks quite lovely on you," he commented, feeling both proud of himself and grateful to his sister for helping him out.

[Nicolette]

Nicolette blushed lightly at the compliment, swallowing hard as she came to the living room area. She motioned to the chair he had previously been sitting in.

"Ah, please... take a seat... Could I get you something to drink, perhaps?" She wanted to be a good hostess. It was something she often remembered her step-mother doing whenever they had guests, even if they were staying for just a couple of minutes.

She wanted to discuss something, anything, with Kyerin at this point... Yes, she still felt hurt deep within her heart... But she knew it was nothing personally against her. She had been so stressed out and worn out from the dance, though, that she hadn't quite been able to think it through... But being able to talk to Kyerin earlier and seeing he had no hard feelings about it, and that he did seem very sorry for having offended her...

She felt like she could forgive him. How did he do that...?"

[Kyerin]

Seeing that she had given him the okay to sit back down, Kyerin resumed his seat, though he didn't shift around to make himself really comfortable. "I'm fine right now, thank you. If you want something, feel free though," he said, knowing that she might feel awkward drinking something considering that he had just refused a drink. As nice as it would be to sit comfortably and enjoy a drink, that would make him very tempted to stay here for a long time... and while he didn't have a problem with it at a basic level, it could end up in an awkward situation for both of them... probably mostly for her. And after already causing trouble, he didn't want to cause more, especially when he had come to make amends for the original fault.

She seemed to have warmed up to him quite nicely, despite their relationship just minutes prior; he would have to admit, it was all through meaning it, and just his natural charm... with a bit of help from his sister. He could have used his ability to give her mind a nudge into making things easier- maybe a lot easier, considering that she also had mental abilities, which may make his more potent- but he hadn't even considered that option. It could be that it had never occured to him... or it could be something about the girl.

Kyerin cleared his throat softly, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself (though now he was slightly regretting not accepting that drink invitation). "You seem a bit stressed... classes getting to you?" he inquired, trying to make some smalltalk while still being friendly and helpful. His classes were rough, but not unbearable... though he wasn't sure about her senior schedule.

[Nicolette]

Nicolette walked over to the couch, which was across from the chair that her 'rival' sat in, and sat down. Her eyes were careful as she watched him. Somewhere, deep in the back of her mind, there was a hint of paranoia; was this a ploy in order to make the Student Council look bad? He came to her room rather than requesting for her to meet him somewhere, or speaking to her earlier... Could that have meant that he was planning to make up some story about them in her dormitory room?

She shook the thoughts away as quickly as they had appeared. It was stupid to think such thoughts. He came to apologize and he had been so sincere in doing so. So what if he was the leader of the opposing organization in their school? Just because previous leaders had shown they could be horrible and cruel, didn't mean that Kyerin was going to be the same way.

For now, she felt like she could trust him. She relaxed in her seat, letting her back rest gingerly against the couch, though she kept a formal sitting position, with one leg draped over the other at the knee and her hands folded neatly on her lap.

She seemed slightly surprised at his question, but the surprise disappeared as she quickly formulated a response. She tucked some loose strands of ash-blonde hair that had slipped past her ponytail behind her ear as she swallowed and opened her mouth to speak.

"My classes have been fine. Of course, I am in twelfth year classes, so they can be a little difficult, but I make sure to pay close attention to the lessons, to make my homework and the quizzes I receive easier."

Her multi-colored eyes faltered for a moment. She hadn't quite answered his hint at questioning as to why she was stressed. Was it really that clear in her body language? Or did he possess more special gifts than she thought he had?

[Kyerin]

Kyerin nodded a bit, reaching up with one hand and carefully pushing his glasses back up his nose, to make sure they didn't fall off. It was true that he didn't consider using his abilities to alter her thoughts; however, he did have it on at its lowest setting, letting him pick up her base emotion and topmost thoughts. With that, it was easy to pick up her stress; he wouldn't say anything though, that any use of his power publicly known made people worry.

The boy nodded, knowing that she hadn't answered his question; still it would be rude to hound the point, so he had to think of another line of conversation to follow for now. "Have any plans for spring break? That's coming up soon. Going to spend it with your brother?" He didn't have any plans at the moment for the break, but maybe he would call back home and spend it with his sister. The Japanese school system should be having a short break then before their next year, so she would be off from school as well. Oh, it would be nice to spend time with her again.

[Nicolette]

The question caused Nicolette to pause for a moment. She pressed her lips together as she thought of her Spring Break plans. Yes, it was true that there wasn't any school for two weeks, but she wasn't entirely sure if she would be caught up in all of her school and Student Council work.

She settled on a small shrug.

"I am unsure at the moment..." She said, her voice quiet. "I do not know if I am going to be staying at the school for the break, or if I will be going back to France."

This break, her father would be taking them... However, if she missed out on this break, then Henri would be going home to England during the month of June, and she would go to France... They'd be separated, unless Henri stayed at the school during one of the breaks or something...

[Kyerin]

Kyerin nodded, thinking about it; he would make sure that all of his work was completed before the break, both in terms of school work and with the SFF. It was a break, after all, so he shouldn't have to work over it. It made basic sense. However, how he would spend his break was still unknown... which meant that altering his plans at the moment was quite easy.

"I have no plans, at the moment, but I am thinking that I will return home to Japan for it... if you have no other plans, and if you so wish, you are completely free to join me," the young man offered, considering that her response to his question had been halfhearted at best. "And if he doesn't have any plans and would like to, your brother is invited as well." It would be polite to extend the offer to the younger de la Fontaine as well, and besides, it would be less awkward for him to explain to his parents and his sister if both siblings came instead of just a girl who was a year older than him.