kicks her feet idly in a pond, watching the wildlife around her.
falls out of a tree behind her.
jumps a little as she hears the thud behind her and turns around quickly. And immediately lets out a sigh when she sees Paolo. "'ello.."
laughs and walks over to her, sitting down."Ciao bella~"
Ugh, she knows those words at least. Turns just a little pink. "What were you doing?" Looks back at the tree.
grins and puts a finger to his lips. "That's top secret, bella~"
sighs softly. "Okay, if you insist." Paddles her feet in the water a little. "...you didn't hurt yourself, did you?"
laughs. "Nope, heheh~ When you're an old nation like me, you don't fall out of trees."
Zoe
gives
him an odd look and then just looks back down at her feet. "I'll take your word for it."
grins at her knowingly. "I know because I'm older than you, bella~"
Augh, stop calling her that. It's making her blush a little again. "Yeah, I know. That doesn't mean you're always right though."
can't stop, it's only good manners, after all. "If you say so, heheh~"
"I do say so." She's pouting a little at the water, until she realizes she's doing it and forces herself to stop. "I haven't seen you in a
while." Ack, that sounded awkward, didn't it? Buuh..
laughs. "Did you miss me, heh?"
goes just a little more red. "A little, I guess. You're interesting to be around." Busy not looking at him.
pauses before grinning that all knowing grin again. "But you aren't old enough for me to hit on you yet, bella~"
Ugh, she hates it when he says that. Splashes her feet hard in the water. "I'm older than you think I am," she mumbles.
shakes his head. "No, you aren't~"
looks at him, frowning a little. "How would you know that?"
laughs. "Because you've only been around for about ten years, si?"
suddenly seems very self-satisfied. "Only officially." Makes little swirls in the water with her toes, smiling a little. Yay! She'd been
right about something!
hums and starts taking off his shoes. "Well I've been around officially for almost fifty~"
huffs a little... "That's how long I've been around... uh, in total." Fifty-one years, actually!
laughs and dips his feet in the water. "But I've been around since the 900s~"
grimaces slightly. "I know..." He really is so much older than her. And ugh. Just stares at her feet some more.
lays down with his feet in the water. "So you're still young~"
rolls her eyes. "I know!" That came out sharper than she'd meant it... she just doesn't like being... young.
glances over at her, wondering if he'd hit a nerve. "Don't worry~ I'm sure you'll be old enough for me soon~"
And there she goes turning pink again. Picks at her pants idly. "Sure, I guess." She doesn't just want him to hit on her though and...
sometimes she hates being a girl. Emotions are confusing.
laughs and kicks his legs in the water. "And then I'll hit on you all the time, heheh~"
kicks some water at his leg. "I'm sure you will." Pause. "Along with a bunch of other girls," she adds in a mumble.
grins. "Heheh~ I like when girls come to visit me, I have to be nice to them~"
"Yeah..." Tries to stop being so glum about this. He's not even gonna start flirting with her for... a while. "...so why are you here? Or is
that a secret too?" Looks back at him.
tilts his head. "What's a secret?"
blinks. "You said earlier that.... what you were doing was top secret...!"
pauses. "Oh... si~ Heheh~"
stares at him. "So... why are you here?" Figures she needs to restate the original question now.
laughs. "As you said, it's top secret~"
rolls her eyes and just falls back onto her back, looking up at the sky. "Fine. I won't ask again."
smiles over at her.
doesn't notice. She's busy looking at the clouds. "... did you know... there's another me at my house right now. It's... strange."
laughs faintly. "Another one~? That's interesting."
nods. "He's a boy. Like... me if I was a boy... I guess." She's okay with believing it, even if it is weird.
nods. "Oh." He might think she means a new micronation and he might be disappointed that it's another guy.
kicks her feet a little again. "He seems pretty nice. And he likes painting too. We painted together the other day."
might be jealous now.... He was the only who was supposed to be good with the ladies... "I paint~"
looks at him. "You do?" Doesn't remember ever seeing him paint.
nods. "Si~" He was just trying to impress her...
"You should show me something you've painted sometime then!" Smiles at him before looking back up at the sky.
laughs and nods. "Si, I will~"
smiles up at the clouds. "Maybe... you could come over and paint with me?" She'd like that...
grins. "Si~ That sounds fun!"
Ack. Silently tells her stomach to stop knotting up, you're being silly. "Great! Um, just whenever you're free then, I guess..."
nods and smiles at her, not even worrying about the fact that he really couldn't paint.
lifts her feet out of the water. "Mmm. I like being outside." ...she's mostly kind of muttering to herself at the moment.
laughs. "Are we going to paint outside, then?"
looks at him. "We could. Painting outside is really nice." Smiles.
smiles back at her, tempted to hit on her but being good.
can feel her face going a little red again. Dammit. Looks away from him quickly.
stares at her, enjoying the blush.
fidgets her toes a little. "..." Darnit. She can't think of anything to say.
keeps staring, possibly, maybe enjoying unnerving her.
looks over at him and jumps a little. "W-what? What are you staring at...??"
just grins wider. "Top secret."
"..." Huffs! And sits up. "What are you, a spy or something suddenly?"
laughs and sits up too. "Why, do you have something to hide, heheh?
"No! Of course not!" And yet her face is getting red again. Why can't she handle pressure like this easier? >_<
smirks and sits closer to her.
Her first instinct is to scoot away, but... just stays where she is, huffs softly, and looks away.
had been expecting her to move away. He pauses before scooting even closer, seeing how close he'd have to get before she moved.
doesn't look at him, doesn't look, doesn't... Glances at him. And jumps just a little. "...what are you doing?"
scoots away just a tiny bit.
laughs loudly. "Nothing, heheh~"
frowns softly at him. "I don't think you ever actually do 'nothing'..."
just keeps grinning at her.
"...you're being weird on purpose, aren't you?" Relaxes a little. Because this is just how he is, right? -_-;
might be.... "Hmm? I'm not weird, heheh~"
"You are. It's okay, that's what makes you.. interesting." Back to not looking at him, but looking at her knees instead.
"So you think I'm interesting, heh?"
sighs softly. "Of course I do. I wouldn't spend time around you if I didn't."
grins. "Okay, bella~"
goes red. "Why do you call me that??" Glares at him. Just a little, though.
"Just because you're too young to hit on doesn't mean I can't think you're pretty, heheh~"
narrows her eyes a bit and then just swats his arm lightly. "Fine..."
laughs. "You're never going to get a boyfriend if you keep hitting guys~ You have to try hitting on them instead."
sighs! "I don't know how to do that.." Fidgets a little.
"Just be really nice and funny~"
"Um..." What's the exact definition of nice and funny? "I try to be nice all the time..."
tilts his head. "You do?"
blinks. "Of course..! I mean, it's better to be nice to people..." Eh, she's usually not quite as nice with Paolo, but... that's because
it's Paolo, and she likes him, and it makes her feel weird.
Paolo
thinks
that's her normal way of acting. "Maybe you should try harder, then?"
frowns a little. "...alright. I'll try to be... extra nice then." Pauses. "Not that I really need a boyfriend." Suddenly remembered that's
where this conversation started.
nods. "Si, you're too young~" He'd probably try to scare any potential boyfriends away with weirdness anyways.
"That's not the reason! I'm plenty old enough for a boyfriend." Pouts a little. "I just... don't need one."
"Because you're too young for one~"
huffs! "No! That's not why...! Paolo, are you even listening to me??"
nods. "Si~"
"I don't need a boyfriend. That doesn't mean I don't want one. And that doesn't mean I'm too young for one. Understand?"
"You don't need one because you are too young but you can still want one~"
brings her legs up to her chest and buries her face in her knees. "... okay, fine. I'm too young." Ow, that almost hurts to admit, even if
she doesn't really believe it.
blinks at her and pauses, not knowing what to do. He pats her back. "It's okay~ Everyone's too young sometime in their life~"
promptly scoots closer and leans against him a little bit. "It's not fun. Not when you're trying to be just old enough.."
wraps his arm around her. "It's okay~ I used to be too young, too and all the girls would ignore me." He was still a bit too young to get
attention from adults but he was oblivious to this and thought himself to be popular with the ladies.
snuggles into him. Just a little! "I don't think anyone could ignore you, Paolo..." He's too... uh... loud.
might just possibly have fidgeted out of nervousness... "They used to, heh...~"
"I can't imagine that." Just... stays there. He's warm and he smells nice, even if he does smell a little like ketchup...
doesn't know what to do, girls didn't normally let him touch them at all... "Heh~ Want some ketchup?"
blinks. Then makes a face. "Not really..." She hesitates and then moves away a little, sitting up on her own again, but not pulling away
from the arm around her.
moves his arm away and pulls some ketchup packets out of his pocket and offers them to her. "Sure~?"
sighs and shakes her head. "I'm sure. Unless you have something to put it on..."
stares at her in shock. "What?"
"...like a piece of bread or a hot dog." Feels like she shouldn't even try here...
keeps staring, unable to speak.
shakes her head a little. "Never mind... I'll take some." Grabs one ketchup packet.
passes her another one.
"..." Stares at it. "Fine." Takes the second one too.
smiles. She did say she'd take some, after all and one was not some.
opens one, sniffs it, and then eats a little. Ugh, not her favorite flavor.
didn't think she was going to eat it right then but he smiles and starts to one as well.
Zoe
is
just trying to make him happy with this. Munches idly. "It's not... too bad."
laughs. "It's good~"
"Mmm. Yeah." Smiles at him.
reaches out and dabs at her cheek.
blinks. "...did I spill some?"
nods and smiles before eating the ketchup off his finger.
... blushes a little. "Sorry..."
laughs. "Don't apologize~"
"Okay..." Sticks the end of a ketchup packet promptly in her mouth.
smiles at her and finishes his own ketchup.
manages to eat one packet before she's disgusted by the thought of eating it by itself. "Thanks for that."
laughs. "No problem~"
hesitates, then... "I should probably head home." She's starting to feel a tiny bit awkward being around him too..
nods. "Okay. Need me to walk you home?"
stands up and brushes herself off. "I don't need you to..." Pause. "But if you want to, you can..."
stands up too. "Alright, I will~"
looks around and then points. "It's this way."
nods and starts walking. "I know, heheh~"
glances at him. "You do...?" Follows after him, but quickly takes the lead by a couple of steps.
nods. "Mmhmm~" And it's probably better not to ask how he knows.
figures he's just being weird again. "Um.. what have you been doing lately?" Glances back at him. She can try to make small talk, can't she?
hums to himself. "Ummm... stuff, heh~"
"That's informative..." Maybe she just shouldn't even try. Nnn..
laughs. "Heheh~ What have you been doing?"
shrugs a little. "Normal things. Like painting and sketching and thinking."
nods. "Sounds fun~"
"It is." And normal. And a little boring. She's actually glad to be seeing other people again.
might just pop in on her sometime, then~ "That's good~"
adjusts her smock a little. "Yeah, um..." Why is she so bad at this? Maybe silence is the best way to go??
"Um what?"
"Nothing..." Pauses and then... grabs his sleeve and looks away. "I think I should keep a hold on you... so you don't wander off."
glances at her hand. "...Are you hitting on me~?"
turns very red. "I told you, I don't know how to do that..." But yes.
laughs. "Are you trying then, heheh?"
Zoe
is
very quiet for a few moments, then... "Maybe..."
pauses before laughing more. "You're doing pretty good then, heh~"
tightens her grip on his sleeve slightly. "Oh... good. I mean, thank you."
"I almost believed it~"
blinks and looks up at him. "Almost believed it...?" That was a confusing statement...
"I almost believed you were hitting on me and not just practicing~"
"..." Stares at him. Then tugs his sleeve hard. "I wasn't just practicing."
stares back. "Oh. So it's top secret then?"
blinks at him. "No... I was..." Looks away. "Never mind." Lets go of his sleeve.
keeps staring at her, confused now.
just clasps her hands behind her back, not looking at him and walking silently now.
starts to worry that he upset her and fidgets, trying to act normal except that his grin ends up creepier than normal.
glances back at him and her eyes widen a little at his creepy-grin. "...are you okay?"
looks at her. "Mmhmm, heheheheh..."
comes to a stop. "You're acting weird..."
smiles. "No~"
"...yes. Not that it's weird for you to act weird, but... it's still weird." Why is everything with him so confusing?
hums. "Ummm, nope~ I don't think I am, heh~"
frowns a little. "Alright..." Turns away to start walking again.
"..." He starts to follow. "So you were trying to hit on me, heh...?"
blushes immediately. "...it doesn't matter, does it? I'm too young, remember?" She can't bring herself to just tell him 'yes'...
tilts his head. "You aren't too young to hit on people, just too young for me to hit on you."
fumes just a little. "That doesn't make any sense..."
"You're just not old enough to understand yet."
Grrrr. "Then, yes, I was trying to... to hit on you." She started out strong, but her voice is dwindling by the end of it.
pauses. "Okay..." Almost has a serious expression on his face for a moment there. "Well you can't get good at it unless you practice, heh~"
frowns at her feet. "I don't want to practice.." She just wants it to work. Though maybe she could be convinced to treat it like art.
laughs. "But you just were~"
sighs. Arguing with Paolo is just so pointless. "I guess I was.." Pause. "Could I practice some more?"
grins. "Sure, heheh~"
hesitates... then reaches out to grab his hand. "Maybe you can give me some tips..." This is the smart way to do this, right?
Paolo
is
probably the last person she should ask for this kind of advice. "Heheh, sure~ I'll help."
But she's basically just asking for advise on how to flirt with him, so... Tugs his hand softly. "Is hand-holding okay?"
looks down at their hands. "Well not with people you don't know well, but we've known each other for a while, so it's okay, heh~"
supposes that's a good enough answer. Takes a couple slow breaths. "What about, um... uh... kissing? Is that too forward?"
tilts his head. "Um, well..." He'd never kissed anyone before so he wasn't even sure. "Heheh, well I'll kiss a girl's hand or cheek, maybe."
"Hand or cheek." Repeats the words diligently. "Like this?" Tugs his hand up to kiss the back of it. A little awkwardly.
stares.
looks at him, a little worries. "...is that something only boys are supposed to do to girls?"
laughs nervously. "Heh, si.."
"Oh..." Maybe the cheek, then? Tiptoes up to kiss his cheek. "What about that?"
steps the tiniest bit away. "H-heh... that might be the same as hand kissing..."
looks a little sad. "Oh... So, I can't kiss someone to hit on them?"
might just possibly have blushed.... or it was just ketchup. "W-well, there might be some guys who would like that, heheh..."
looks down. "What kind of guys? Maybe I should find them and try it." She... might be trying to see if he gets jealous or something.
laughs nervously. "No, that doesn't sound good, you might get hurt."
"Hurt...? Is a boy going to hurt me for kissing him?" Gives him a confused look.
frowns. "Maybe... It's not a good thing for girls to kiss guys they don't know."
huffs quietly. "What if I did know him?"
pauses. "Well I guess that's okay, then, heheh~"
looks thoughtful. "Maybe Peter will let me kiss him. Or Zack. Just to see how they react..." Experiments are fun.
doesn't know who Zack is but doesn't like the idea of that at all. He twitches faintly and grins more creepily. "I don't know about that~"
looks up at him and frowns a little. "What do you mean?" And he looks weird again...
might be jealous now. "Maybe you should wait until you're a bit older to hit on people..."
pouts! "But you already said I was old enough to hit on people!"
laughs. "Maybe old enough to practice but you don't want to embarrass yourself hitting on other people yet, si?"
stares at him. "Embarrass myself?" ...tugs her hand away from him. "I don't really need your permission to hit on people, Paolo."
starts to panic. "O-oh, sorry..." He fidgets and glances away. "Uh... I think... think I have to go... rearrange my ketchup..."
frowns at him. "You're not going to walk me home anymore?"
"This is a life or death mater, Zoe, heh!"
blinks. "I... what? Your ketchup?" Now she might be mildly concerned.
Paolo
was
just panicking. "S-si!" He starts to make like an Italian and run.
stares after him. "Uh... s-see you later then...!" Calls after him awkwardly. Then glumly makes her way home.