Whatever floats your fireflies

An Nam Il

Oh wow... She's so cute when she laughs. Nam Il hadn't ever had a crush before but if he were to stop and really think about it for a moment, he might have been able to see that this was exactly what a crush was. He couldn't help but stare a little as he sipped at his straw. Who knew that somebody's face could simply transform like that, as if the sun had opened right up from behind the clouds?

He nodded in a way that could have been called absent if it weren't for the fact that Nam Il was actually desperately hanging onto her words in order to keep the conversation going. They had only just met! Who knew if they would talk again? The Academy was just so big and everybody got hit by Pressure eventually. He wondered if it would have been weird to ask for her phone number.

"Oh, so you cast spells?" Nam Il latched onto that. "Are you a witch? Or would that be a sorceress or a mage or something else? What sorts of spells can you do?"

An Nam Il

"Oh?" Nam Il leaned in with genuine interest at the mention of her spells. Heat Metal was one that sounded pretty painful but he supposed that since people didn't just go walking around in full suits of armor these days, it'd be a good way of getting people to drop things like knives and guns before they could do any harm. Besides, Alessa seemed like a nice girl who wouldn't go out of her way to hurt people so it probably really was just for self defense.

"Does there seem to be an interpret-able pattern to the gibberish?" He asked. That was one thing that Nam Il was good at, following sequences and already established orders. "Because if there is, it seems like it would be super useful for stuff like, um. I don't know. Passing information? Really important stuff!" Briefly, he contemplated letting her in on his adventures with Gen. But maybe Gen wouldn't like that? Ultimately, he decided just to wait it out.

"But, those seem like pretty useful spells," the boy said thoughtfully. "I can make lanterns out of almost anything smaller than a certain size. It's good for when it's dark but it also tends to draw a bunch of spirits and ghosts out, too."

An Nam Il

There it was! Seeing the opportunity for what it was, Nam Il, grabbed the uneaten cherry from his float. "I could make a lantern out of this, too, if you'd want me to," he said, in unusual confidence that was still tinged with nervous terror. His powers had never failed him before and he knew more or less how they worked. But what if I can't do it now? The little voice of doubt in his head was already trying to talk him out of it. Come on, let's not do anything too strange too quickly.

He licked his lips, still tasting orange there. "Well, I mean, it might bring some spirits, too. If you're okay with that sort of thing."

An Nam Il

He hurriedly stuck the cherry into his mouth and simply ate it, as if doing so would erase the fact that he had ever made the suggestion. "Oh, yeah," Nam Il said, covering his mouth with his hand as he chewed. "We can do it any time you want!" Of course she wouldn't want to do it right then, what was he thinking? She had probably just been minding her own business and intending to enjoy a float for a while before leaving. She probably had other plans.

Other plans. Now that was something that made Nam Il feel a little uneasy. "Um, do you have a phone?" He asked, feeling shy. "I can give you my number and then you can call me any time you want." With emphasis on any time. He hoped he wasn't sounding desperate, because he really wasn't. Not yet anyways.

An Nam Il

"O-oh, you meant later as in, um. Still today." Frantically, Nam Il backtracked to review everything he had said up to that point. Oh, God, he was saying all of the wrong things today, wasn't him? Just what was wrong with him? This was why he never tried to be so confident in anything.

Then, pausing a moment, he remembered the glow of Alessa's smile. It was worth it. Not even a real question there.

When she offered him her phone, Nam Il's heart skipped a beat. As fast as possible he put his number in, taking just a moment to look over her own and memorize it.

"S-so do you have any place in mind, then?" The flush was back on his face, full force.