𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐍- ★彡[ᴀɴʏᴀ x ᴅᴀᴍɪᴀɴ]★彡

𝙑𝙞𝙚𝙧

The next day, Anya walked through the school gates alongside Becky as usual, yesterday's depressing events almost completely forgotten as they chatted about her papa.

Becky was practically frothing at the mouth as Anya described yesterday's events as well as her outside endeavor with him. Suddenly they were interrupted by-

"Could I talk to you?" Damian strode up to the two of them, staring awkwardly at Anya. His green eyes were softer than usual yet still retained their air of superiority. His eyes were a mix of green and yellow, a full and lush meadow in the supreme of spring. She had never noticed that his eyes were two different shades...

"Earth to Anya," Becky poked her and she snapped out of her gaze.

Anya nodded slowly. "Sure."

Damian reached out his hand, prompting Anya to shake it.

"PFFT!" Becky snorted, then quickly walked away and left the two of them. "Have fun, you two."

"Come this way," Damian practically snapped, supposedly upset about something... but she didn't know what.

Anya trailed behind him, making sure to maintain a decent distance in order to not upset him. She had no idea why he was asking her to accompany him, but she figured that it was just to scold her for her brash behavior yesterday. If they managed to mend the awkwardness between them, it would allow her to get closer to him, therefore meaning she could make her papa proud.

He pulled her towards the small garden area towards the back of the school, looking around to make sure that they were in complete privacy. Damian placed down his bag and rummaged through it in an effort to look for something. Anya tried to avoid reading his mind, distracting herself with observing the luscious garden that surrounded them.

Anya observed the garden. It was full of white and red roses as well as chrysanthemums which were beginning to bloom. The Eden Academy was such a wealthy school that having a garden area this quaint was almost surprising, if it weren't for the fact that there was a much larger one on the other side of the school. She guessed the reason Damian picked this area was due to the fact that next to no one came here.

When she turned back to face him, Anya saw the last thing that she would have ever expected. In Damian's hands was a large bag of peanuts, bought fresh from the convenience store. He looked bashful and his face was slightly red, causing the situation to look more like a confession than whatever it was supposed to be...

"I'm sorry for making you cry," he muttered under his breath, "and I know that you said you preferred peanuts to flowers, so I just thought... Ugh, I don't even get why I'm doing this! Whatever. You weren't smiling like usual yesterday, so I was slightly worried. Only slightly, like less than one millimeter of worry was in my body. I wanted to apologize... well, no, not apologize... actually, it would be apologizing... but I can't do that to a commoner, so... here."
Damian gently placed the peanuts into her hands.

"This is one of the first times I've ever dared to go inside of such a lowly store, so I hope these are good enough for you."
"Caramelized peanuts?!" Anya's eyes widened with joy. "Thank you, Damian! I love these!"

She grabbed his hands with a joyful expression on her face.

"This is the nicest thing you've ever done for me! Thank you, thank you, thank you! It's exactly what I wanted!"

Damian's face was the color of a tomato. His brain was experiencing a mental overload as the stress of her hand clutching his was causing it to practically combust. Her fingers were soft, delicate, and gentle as they were wrapped around his hand. The warmth of her palm seeped into his fingers and made his heart pound even faster.

"Ah, sorry, I grabbed you without thinking," Anya let go of his hand with an embarrassed laugh. "And I called you by your name- I'm sorry."
"It's not like I... hated... it..." Damian murmured, not willing to meet her gaze. "It was cute."
"Cute?" Anya's eyes widened. He's never said it to my face before.

"NO! You're just a commoner, there's no way you could be c-cute!" he spluttered, shoving his hands in the pockets of his pants and turning around. "Anyways, I'm done here so I'm leaving."

Anya felt a surge of confidence course through her. There was no way that Damian didn't hold any sort of interest in her due to his reactions, so it would be best to strike while these emotions were still adamant in his chest.

"Damian, let's hold hands," Anya smiled and held out her hand, causing him to abruptly turn around.

His eyes widened and he fell silent, doing nothing but staring at her outstretched palm.

"Are you crazy? We're not five, we can't hold hands without people getting the wrong idea." His tone was harsher than intended, yet he knew better than anyone what a bad choice it would be to openly hold hands in front of all the students. While his reputation would probably only take a slight blow, Anya's would be completely demolished. People went after Damian, whether it was for money or genuine interest was such a blurred line that he didn't dream of pursuing romance. But this girl in front of him was looking at him so earnestly... She must be a fool- yet even that was endearing.

"I've always been seen as weird," Anya replied, "so it doesn't bother me. I hear people saying horrible things about me every single day. I know it's foolish, but I'm saying this because I want to. Is the prospect of becoming closer with me such a horrible thing?"
Her eyes were beseeching and inviting as she stared at him with a twisted smirk on her face. Damian was unknowingly being backed into a corner, unable to formulate words to refuse nor accept her offer. To think he would be rendered speechless by her was unthinkable.

He asked the first question that popped into his head. "Do you have an ulterior motive?"
Most girls would have lied in this situation. They would've insisted that it was purely out of their own wanting for him even though it was purely for money and status. But Anya was a terrible liar, and so she said;

"Yes, I do."
Damian was taken aback. He had never expected her to so openly admit it, much less for disappointment to be welling up in his chest at her words. There must be something wrong with me.

"What would I gain if I said yes to you?"

"Hmm," Anya tapped her finger on her chin, "I think you've already figured that out. What's the point of asking me? Do you just want me to openly say that you would no longer have to deny your feelings?"

WHY IS SHE SO BOLD?!?! AM I HAVING A FEVER DREAM?

Damian was malfunctioning, unable to process the sudden switch in demeanor from Anya, the seemingly pure and innocent girl.

"I don't have any feelings for you," he replied.

Her smile grew. "I never said that the feelings were for me."

"IT WAS IMPLIED!"

Anya knew what she had to do. In order to accomplish the lifelong task she had from her father, she would get into a closer relationship with the son of the man her father meant to target. By whatever means necessary she would accomplish this task. This motivation within her fueled her to act far more shrewd and apprehend everyone around her so long as it meant she could repay her father for everything he had done for her.

He saved me, so it's the least I can do.

"Damian Desmond, I request that you go out with me. Romantically."

Her plan was set in motion.