Help Clear My Head

Winter break was almost over, and for the lack of better things to do, Mizuko spent her recent days in the library, reading English books to help herself get better at the language, and sometimes, like today, torturing herself with algebra and geometry.

She hated math, or in a sense, math hated her. And while it felt horrible trying to solve mathematical problems and ending up screwing it all up, she preferred this kind of mental torture to the kind that's been bugging her for a good number of days now.

Wesker had kissed her. And that happened right after they both almost fell down the stairs, which made the moment back then more head-spinning than it probably should have been. Her heartbeat had been so loud, and her body melted at the feeling of the young man's lips on hers...

Mizuko shook her head rather violently, effectively snapping herself out of her memories-- even though her lips have become so conscious, yet again, of the ones which have touched them; and even though her face was once again helplessly burning. She was alone in a small discussion room in the library, an algebra book opened in front of her on the wooden table, and a couple more books-- history, literature, geometry-- were neatly stacked in the edge of the table against the wall. She willed herself to concentrate, even though she had such a hard time trying to comprehend math on her own.
@Nightstripe

They were bound to meet again, sooner or later, and Mizuko wanted to be ready for that. She just didn't think they'd see each other again this soon, and hearing the familiar voice, her eyes shot up to the doorway, quite surprised, if nothing else.

"Senpai..?" She stood up and bowed as a greeting. She wouldn't deny that she still hasn't entirely composed herself from what had happened, but fortunately, she wasn't as scatterbrained anymore either. Although her face hasn't stopped burning just yet.

"Mm," she nodded, her eyes returning to Wesker's as she did so. Her right hand found its way to the opened book on the table, though not quite certain whether to close it, or to continue reading. "I always have a hard time with these so... I'm just trying to go over them again."

She sat down, still not knowing if she should continue with what she's been reading, or maybe wait for a few moments... And maybe Wesker will go away? She didn't exactly want him to just leave, but if he was in the library, then that meant he had something to be busy with as well, right?

"Anou... What about you, Senpai? What brings you here?"
@Nightstripe

"Really..? But there's not much to listen to in a quiet place..." Mizuko turned her gaze towards Wesker then. But he was too close, at least for her, and for a moment she worried he could sense some heat radiating from her face. So she quickly turned back to the book, her fingers fumbling at its edges.

Better focus on her studies than on the stubborn memories and feelings forcing themselves into her consciousness.

"Eto..." She pointed at one of the few formulas on the page facing them. It was simple algebra, but the exponents and the parentheses in this problem were making it a little bit complicated for her. "Over here, I'm confused..."
@Nightstripe

"Oh, I guess there's mystery in silence." The girl shrugged at Wesker's remark before shifting back her focus to the problem she's been trying to solve. "Do you mean I have to... break it down to smaller parts?"

She worked on the parts in parentheses first, just as Wesker advised her to. But the way she solved them wasn't the most correct, and confusion soon enough returned to Mizuko's face, knitting her brows.
@Nightstripe

But Mizuko felt differently. Her body, as if on instinct, immediately went rigid as she felt Wesker move closer. She moved her hand away from the paper, resting both on her lap. She tried to focus, and listen, but even with her eyes watching Wesker's explanation closely, her ears were unable to hear his words. She could only hear her own pulse as it slightly quickened. And for a moment, the memory of their kiss returned to her.

She sighed absentmindedly. Wesker was so composed all the time, to the point that it bothered her. And these thoughts were all getting mixed up in her head, which led to her zoning out eventually.

"How..?"
@Nightstripe