Teach me to love? Go teach thyself more wit.

"Hi."

I, chief professor, am of it.

"Hi," she turned to him with a bright smile, hugging a book close to her chest. She'd seen him many times before at dances hosted for both Henley Hall and Welton but he'd never taken the time to speak to her. She felt his eyes on her as she looked down shyly, her cheeks going red as she backed up into the wall. She expected there to be more space but she overestimated. She giggled to herself before looking back up, he smiled.

The god of love, if such a thing there be, may learn to love from me.

"Girls at Welton? I thought I'd never live to see the day," Charlie took in Marvette's gaze as she shyly got off the wall. Her eyes went to the end of the hallway, watching the other girls beginning to walk to a different section of the school. She wondered if she would be left behind but she was too focused on the conversation to walk off.

"Really? I was sure I've seen a girl when we walked in," her eyebrows furrowed before her eyes widened at the line almost ending. "Even winked at her to show that I thought she was cool. She looked really pretty, I'd die for hair like hers. I ought to be her friend."

"I could introduce you two if you'd like," he put his hands in his pockets before turning his neck in the direction she'd been looking at, "And I meant new girls at Welton. With strict traditions and all I imagined Welton being strictly male until the end of time...or at least until I was well out of here. It quite refreshing, I'm Charlie Dalton."

"Marvette Ford," she put a hair behind her ear before looking up at him, "Look, I've got to go. It was great talking to you Charlie, we've got roll call but I promise to come back to finish the introduction," she tried walking off but her book fell to her feet.

He reached down for it the same time she did, she gasped as their hands touched on top of the book before she quickly stood up and apologized. He shook his head, forking over the book in her direction. "How about I walk you?"

"Charlie, that section's only for girls," she took the book, hugging it again as she started walking.

"I've been trying to make new friends," he joked while following close behind her. She let out a small chuckle before grabbing his wrist and going to the back of the line.

door to Sigrid and Knox's dorm had been locked since the ceremony ended. Neither of them could land on an agreement, which led to Knox being strayed outside and being accepted into Peter Benjamin's room. Peter's side of the room was eerily neat, it was almost like he didn't live there. Knox realized he'd have a fun time when Peter Benjamin pulled out monopoly, but it also meant whatever Sigrid and Richard were going to argue about was going to take at least half a day.

Richard, desperately wanting female validation, realized that Sigrid had noticed something wrong and she was trying to use him as bait. Sigrid, knowing he was correct with his assumptions, tried to foxtrot around the lie to form a narrative where she did peak an interest in him. The thought, though it shouldn't have, made her vomit a little in her mouth.

"Sigrid Taylor, I think you're great and all but you've got to stop acting on impulse," Richard mumbled.

"Richard, I think you're great," she sat down on her bed, signaling Richard to sit down next to her. "Come on, you helped me and possibly gave me the biggest warning I could ever ask for. You care," she watched as his eyes slowly trailed back to her, "I know what I'm doing, you've shown more care for me than he has since August, god it's nearly November! It has made me realize that maybe I'd rather be in your presence than his."

"You're a horrible liar, you know that?" Richard squinted, "Knox would believe you...smooth talking and all but you forget that I've known the Dalton's since I was born. I could tell a lie like it's written on the newspaper. You're an amateur, and you know, I really did like you but I don't appreciate you trying to manipulate me. Tell me it how it is."

"I'm not manipulating you!" her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Unsurprisingly, that sounds like something a manipulator would say," he rolled his eyes. "I understand where you're coming from: suddenly feeling insecure but you're thinking with your heart, all girls do that, and it's just not going to be that easy. Charlie is his own person and I think it's wrong that you assume he'd so easily give up on you after seeing one girl. If you doubt him that much you're not at all are doing what you think you are. If you doubt him this much you shouldn't even be with him because the key component to a relationship is trust. Let me ask you this Sigrid Taylor, are you two even a thing?"

"Has he asked me to be his girlfriend you mean?"

He nodded slowly. She pursed her lips, "Well it was never a verbal thing but I think it's implied that we're way more than-

"Friends?" He interjected. She nodded, confused. He let out a laugh. With malice intent. "Have you ever stopped to think of doing something yourself, Sigrid Taylor? If there's no verbal agreement then there's nothing tying you two together. In this instance I don't see anything wrong in a little smiling, it would be a different thing if he had asked you or you had asked him out. Instead of asking me out...I say go talk to him! Slap him straight and let him know how you feel. Or he's going to continue flirting with Marvette and you'll be nothing but a fling he had for three months."

"He already knows how I feel! I've made it so overwhelmingly obvious and he told me he liked me as well. I wouldn't have snuck out with him to have a normal date out into town if I wasn't so insanely infatuated with him. I wouldn't be screaming at you right now, begging you to help me be part of this plan to make him jealous, if I didn't feel hopeless at the thought of being without him. I could give up now, seeing Theresa doesn't necessarily take a liking to me but I'm trying to push that aside."

"By what? Because it still sounds like you're trying to get me to say yes."

It was completely quiet, Richard felt like he had won. As much as he wished upon the day her and Charlie would separate so he could barge in between (Richard was also a bully flirt but it came off as more of an attempt to make you feel self-conscious than mindless teasing); taking advantage of when she felt most vulnerable was not the way to go. He told Charlie he didn't care about Sigrid. He told Charlie to leave her alone. He did so much things to get himself in a hole so deep he was sure he'd never see the daylight again.

But the truth was that he cared so much it made him scared. Like he was scared of caring for Neil. Oh how he worried for the poor boy, he just couldn't pinpoint why. He could, however, pinpoint what was wrong with this girl. And he was fixated on helping her any way that he could.

"Have you felt so truly hopeless?" her words danced on a wire that separated despair from vexation. "A type of hopeless that really makes you feel sorry for yourself? In a state where you want to believe there's good out there in the world...it's truly the worst. Most of my life I've lived with the back thought of being someones wife. My mother told me not to focus on those things but my father was so adamant on it. He said that if I wasn't thinking of a future where I'd have to serve to a man I wasn't living my life for the right purposes. Those point of views don't disappear just because you have a daughter, and I find it kind of funny how he never looked at my mother that way. My first boyfriend was a prick, I'd admit that with no problem. He only shared his ideals with my father every chance that he got," she laughed as she looked over at Richard.

"I remember clasping onto that relationship as if it was a piece of glass and the slightest movement would cause it to break. It didn't do me any good. I was so fully submissive I couldn't even remember the reason I said yes. My boyfriend was such a prick I became afraid to say yes. The thought of saying yes made me fear every second I was near a boy I liked. When I met Charlie, like truly met him I wanted to get closer. I wanted to have the privilege to know how he truly was, what drives him, what inspires him. And for a moment, I'd like to believe that I could say yes to him," he had never seen her so distance from reality. Staring into the distance felt like she wasn't even in the room. "Dating now? Well that's for the universe to decide because there's so much things tearing us apart. I don't want Theresa to hurt me anymore, I don't want to live in fear. Asking you out, I suppose, became an out in my head. So I'm sorry if I rushed you. I wanted to hear someone say yes to me at least once. So I know," she let out a shaky sigh, "Mr. Blythe is never going to come back and haunt me."

She felt like a breeze, hissing through the trees. Trembling branches. Swinging tires hung by a rope.

She was the most distraught beauty.

"Mr. Blythe?"

He couldn't form any other words, interested by this character he had never heard named before.

"Yeah," she blinked to avoid the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks, she hated that fact that cried over anything that caused her to remember. "My father didn't know we had a little entanglement going on - that's what he called it; an 'entanglement'. He had a fiancé, I don't know why he looked at me that way that makes me feel pretty. I guess I always fall for the jerks. The ones that crawl back when you least expect it."

She didn't need a reason to lie, Richard truly felt horrible as he scooted closer to hug her. Sigrid immediately accepted, gripping onto him tightly. She sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder. "You can't seem to catch a break, huh?" he said lightheartedly as he rubbed circles on her back.

"You're not funny, Richard."

She smiled anyways as she separated from him. He wiped a tear from her face with his thumb before poking his cheek with his tongue in thought. "If I were to agree...with the new information that's been provided to me of course. What would the boundaries be? I'd assume you have half a list of things."

The tension in the room was slowly fading, he looked around again as she thought of what to say, He secretly predicted she wasn't planning that far ahead, again: Sigrid is a woman of impulse. He noticed several things he hadn't before. He wondered why some dorms didn't have windows and why others did, he asked if he could take off his coat, she nodded shortly. He sighed in relief.

"The normal boundaries, you know...getting to talk to each other more, the hand holding, the kisses on the cheek. Whatever it takes to make it seem real," the word real had never sounded so disgusting to his ears.

"Good boundaries," he retorted sarcastically, "Hypothetically, if I were to accept this more than fair proposition; do I get to set my own rules? I'm hot and I bet you can't resist me once I let you in."

"Hot?" She laughed comically, "Richie, you're lukewarm."

"Richie?" he raised an eyebrow, "Oh, so I'm Richie now? The perks of possibly being your boyfriend. They feel glorious," he exaggerated as he threw his arms out then placed his hands where his heart was.

"Is this you accepting?" She grinned as she watched him slowly take down his uptight suit and slip into a regular teenager with intentions of welcoming a new friend. She liked this new Richard, the smiley Richard.

"Maybe."

"Well, I can't get a maybe," her hand safely rested on his knee, trailing the part of his pant leg that he'd purposely dent to straighten out when he was nervous. He looked down at her hand.

"I'm feeling like I don't really have boundaries right now, feeling very...seduced with the knee rubbing," her cheeks went bright red as she realized her actions. They both let out a bark of a laugh, "But still 'maybe'. That's a whole other conversation we need to have because now that I'm leaning toward my answering being yes. Boundaries, compromises, and all that boring shit is going to be a conversation for weeks on end. It's more trouble. Which gets me to 'maybe' because that talking and possible screaming in my ear makes me want to say no."

"And just like that she fumbles the ball," she narrated under her breath like she was playing football.

"Narrating like a football game, appropriate."

"Why don't we just make-out and call it a night?" She said suddenly, not wanting to stretch out the conversation more than it already had. "It could convince you, and if it does it'll prevent us from being awkward when we have to do it in public."

"Is this an excuse just to kiss me? I knew you were holding back from me," he said smugly. "Lay one on me."

"Ew! You can't just say 'lay one on me' and expect me to still kiss you."

"Fine," he rolled his eyes. "What do you want me to say instead? Throw fairy dust at my face and make me feel like I'm in heaven? I'm bad as it is. I don't want to use a shmancy word to describe swapping saliva."

She sighed before reaching upward to caress his cheek, simultaneously swinging both of her legs over his lap. He, as a reflex, put one of his hands on her leg to pull her closer to the bed. Her thighs were much fuller than his, but the way his arm flexed to keep her hoisted made her feel more secure. She never thought she'd live to see the day she'd feel comforted by his hand on her thigh.

His eyes closed slowly, he really needed that touch of affirmation. He hummed as he rested his cheek on her palm, he didn't want to open his eyes. "Are you okay with what I'm about to do?" she whispered. "We can stop if you want to."

He bit back saying her full name, he knew she didn't like it, "You really don't have to kiss me. We're still unclear on whether or not he's going to pursue her."

"Richie," she whispered again, her hand coming up from his elbow to his shoulder. She'd been repulsed by his presence a couple minutes before, now she found herself staring at his bright lips. "It's a yes or a no. Please give me an answer before I continue."

He whimpered, her hands were so hot against his flesh. Scorching. He leaned forward, lips grazing hers but he feared hurting her with sudden movements. "Yes," he answered shortly. He could feel her sigh in relief before she leaned as well. Her lips moved against his without a pause.

It was slow at first, hesitant as Richard responded choppily and Sigrid tried finding a good pace. Sigrid usually kissed with full passion, it was unfamiliar to her to kiss just to explore how it would feel. Richard liked the slow pace, a pace where he would feel like a breeze and grab the other person by the chin. One word could only describe how they felt: awkward.

A few seconds passed of contemplating who should lead before Richard impulsively wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her impossibly closer, "Oh?" Was muffled with his tongue sliding into her mouth. She sighed in shock before happily responding. Their tongues slid harshly against each other, feeling primal. "No no no," he mumbled between kisses even though he clearly didn't intend on stopping soon, "That's a little too much."

"Richie I don't know," she responded. "I think I like this pace."

He opened his eyes to look at her, now her eyes were closed as she panted. "Slower," he kissed the corner of her mouth before trying again. She moaned softly as he kneaded her shoulder with every peck. The tension in the room was making her burn intensely, she separated again with a nervous laugh.

"How about little pecks instead? I don't think I could handle this."

She was far too hot and bothered to be in anyone's presence right now, he removed her legs from on top of his lap before nodding. He stood up, almost ready to leave, "Calling it a night here?"

"If we could find a normal way to kiss, sure," she teased. They looked at each other as they both stood in the middle of the room. "Just know I don't actually like you like that."

"Yeah yeah," he rolled his eyes before trying one last time, hand lightly caressing her cheek though he missed the dominance in having it around her neck. He really needed to catch some air. One moment he was there on her chapped lips and the other he was gone.

"Now that right there, was a good friendly kiss."

"Much more appropriate, don't you think?" He couldn't deny the blush. "I think this is the part where I leave. I've stayed longer than necessary."

He reached for the door as she took off her cardigan, pearly in sweat from the condensation in the room. The windows were starting to fog up.

"From friend to another, you did better than I could have ever expected you to," she opened the door for him, he stopped on the other side of the doorframe as she leaned against it.

"Really?"

She nodded with a smile. "In a very platonic way, of course. I might just stop bullying you the way Charlie and Knox do."

"And bully me the way girlfriends do when they're pissed off but won't admit it?"

"Maybe."

Todd was walking back from the library in direction to his room. He stopped at the end of the hallway as he watched the peculiar way Richard and Sigrid were interacting. Richard has made it clear to the rest of the boys how much he detested her, and to Todd's understanding the feeling was mutual.

"Well I can't just get a 'maybe' from you now, can I?" he looked down at her lips, "Just one last time, knowing I'll have another shitshow to go through tomorrow."

"Promise not to tell anyone?" her eyebrows raised as she got off the doorframe.