Just A Casual Nose Bleed (A Hemlock Grove/Roman Godfrey Fanfiction)

Chapter 1 - Cookies

"Done what?" I question, looking at both her and Shelley.

"He never smokes outside unless he's already outside" Shelley replies through her phone. 

"Yes, I've asked him sometimes to smoke outside when he's around younger children, but he refuses" Olivia adds, now standing up. I shrug and open the cookie tin.

"Want one, Shelley?" I offer one to Shelley and she takes it after typing a thank you through her phone. I smile and bite into my own cookie. Hearing the door open, I jump and nearly choke on my cookie. Shelley starts laughing and I glare at her.

"What's so funny?" Roman asks, sitting next to me.

"Cortelia just jumped a mile and nearly choked when you opened the door" Shelley types.

"Not my fault, I'm really bad with jump scares in horror films too" I retort crossing my arms, defensively. Roman glances at me and chuckles. "It's not funny" I grumble.

"Anything else we should know about you?" He asks, raising his eyebrows. Shelley looks at me.

"Well... I'm 17,I have social anxiety, I'm scared of spiders... and my full name is Duchess Cortelia Victoria Anne Louise Windsor" I rush, staring down at my hands.

"You're scared of spiders?" Roman questions, snickering quietly. "And you're a duchess?" I look up to see his mouth hanging open and try to contain a laugh.

"Don't judge her, Roman. You're scared of clowns" The voice from Shelley's phone announces and Roman's face falls instantly.

"Yep... I'm a duchess. Duchess Cortelia of Windsor, hence my surname" I watch both of them for a reaction. Their eyes widen and they look at each other before looking back to me. "So... how old are you two?" I ask, attempting to break the slightly awkward silence that has built around us.

"I'm 15" Shelley types.

"Oh, my younger brother is 15. You guys will get along great" I smile at her and turn to Roman.

"I'm 17. We're in the same year of high school. I hope to see you in some of my classes" He responds. His piercing eyes staring right into mine. I blush heavily and look down at the table. Damn, this is awkward. Cortelia, it's alright. Just try not to embarrass yourself. I reprimand myself. Shelley stands up.

"I'm gonna go read" The voice from her phone speaks. I turn and wave to her as she walks out. The room becomes silent. I start to pick at my nails whilst Roman pulls the cookie tin towards himself. Looking up I spot him study the contents before pulling a cookie out and taking a huge bite out of it. A smile spreads across his face and his eyes close as he chews and swallows. Then his eyes open.

"Where did you get these?" Roman asks, hurriedly. I laugh and a blush steadily spreads itself across my cheeks.

"I made them" I awkwardly mumble, gazing down at my hands.

"These are the best cookies I've ever tasted" He exclaims. However, I continue to look down at my hands and blush. A smile tugging at my lips. I glance around and see that Olivia is nowhere to be seen. She must've left when we were discussing books. Crunching sounds emanate from Roman's side of the table as he continues to eat through the tin of cookies. I drop my gaze back to my hands, lost in thought. 

"Umm... I kind of ate all of your cookies" Roman waves his hand in front of my face. None the less I continue to stare blankly at my hands, still deep in thought. Not noticing. I am only taken out of my thoughts when he places his hand on mine and carefully shakes my hands. 

When I jump backwards away from him in fright the chair that I am sitting on decides to join in and threatens to crash, with me still sat on it, to the ground. I close my eyes and embrace for impact after letting out a high-pitch scream.

But I don't hit the ground.

Slowly opening my closed eyes I see Roman. His arms are holding me, stopping me from falling to the floor and the chair lays flat on the tiled ground. I study his face and my eyes begin to admire his features. His broad, straight nose, his perfectly shaped, plump lips, his flawlessly pale skin and his eyes. I stare into his murky green orbs and immediately become lost at sea. I have to blink a couple of times to recover, but then I come to.

My breathing begins to pick up and my heart rate accelerates. I start to shake uncontrollably. Roman looks down at me with a confused look and my hands attempt to push him off of me whilst my shaking becomes more noticeable and my breathing more erratic. His eyes widen as he realises that I'm uncomfortable with the current situation. Briskly he pulls the chair back upright, lifts me up slightly and places me onto the chair. He slowly returns to his seat. His eyes watching my every move.

"I'm sorry. You won't hear me say it much, but I'm sorry... I didn't think" Roman speaks, still watching me. My shaking begins to subdue and my breathing calms down along with my heart rate.

"I-I-It's alr-right... Th-th-thank you" I stutter and gasp, trying to calm myself down. Eventually, after what seems like forever, my breathing becomes normal again. "That was like some crazy trust exercise" I laugh. I always try to make a joke in awkward situations. No idea why. He chuckles lowly and winks at me. Did he just wink at me?

Yes, he did.