|
Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 15, 2023 0:13:39 GMT
While Bella had been doing decently in the friends department, Utena always felt like she could use a little nudging. And a school pizza event was the perfect opportunity. So while Utena went to hang out with her friends, she instructed Bella to be social and mingle. Bella knew her sister meant well, but once she was by herself, she started frantically scanning the restaurant for a familiar face. She'd feel a lot more at ease with a friend than strangers.
|
|
|
Post by zuyuri on Jun 15, 2023 0:20:38 GMT
“Bella! Over here!”
A flash of pink hair caught Zuko’s attention as he turned away from the soda fountain, a fresh fizzy drink just poured out. He hadn’t really planned on coming to the pizza fundraiser, but his stomach had other plans. He had planned on hiding in the corner, but at least maybe he could hide with someone else.
|
|
|
Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 16, 2023 2:02:42 GMT
Bella turned at the sound of her name and her face instantly lit up. "Zuko, hi!" she greeted as she hurried over. Thank goodness someone she knew was here. "How are you? Are you doing okay after the whole hydra thing?" she asked. That had been a pretty crazy experience, and a bit gross. Bella swore it took forever for the hydra gut smell to get out of her hair. Luckily, nobody had any lasting damage and the city was bouncing back from the whole ordeal too. The students involved had gotten glowing praise, especially from Pocahontas, and Bella felt proud to have done so well.
|
|
|
Post by zuyuri on Jun 16, 2023 13:27:37 GMT
Oh yes, the hydra. Zuko couldn’t forget that fight. The near death experience and the gunk being everywhere sort of dampened his pride, but afterwards, he felt like a hero. The city was safe, both the people and the buildings, and one less monster to deal with. “Let’s just say after a very long time in the shower, I felt much better. How about you?”
|
|
|
Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 18, 2023 21:39:46 GMT
"Same," Bella replied. Nothing some shampoo and Bath and Body Works stuff couldn't fix eventually. "Hey, it looks like that booth is empty over there," she said, gesturing to one in the middle of the restaurant. "Want to sit down?" Might as well snag it before someone else took it.
|
|
|
Post by zuyuri on Jun 19, 2023 3:34:12 GMT
Zuko followed Bella’s pointed out booth. Yes. That would be a perfect spot to sit. Students were mingling and chatting, but outside of Bella, he didn’t know anyone that was there. He still needed to apologize to Ruby after all. “Have you gotten your food yet? I can hold the booth for you.”
|
|
|
Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 21, 2023 0:11:20 GMT
"Oh, not yet," Bella replied. "Let me get it, it should only take a sec." It looked like the restaurant had plenty of pizza on hand and ready to go so people wouldn't be waiting endlessly in line. And they seemed to have quite a bit of variety too. Some were piled high with meats, others had lots of veggies on them. And one seemed to have four different types of cheese. Bella couldn't resist and grabbed two slices of those before hurrying back to Zuko.
|
|
|
Post by zuyuri on Jun 21, 2023 1:33:40 GMT
Zuko smiled to himself and settled into the booth that he and Bella picked out. She always made his day seem brighter and less dull. Ironic given his powers over fire which was supposed to give light and warmth. Bella returned with two slices. “Nice, nice. Guess I’m up.” He got up and looked at the pizza laid out. Hmm, what to get? The placement of sausage and pepperoni made him snicker to himself. After careful selections, he made his way back with several slices.
|
|
|
Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 22, 2023 23:55:38 GMT
Zuko soon returned with his own pizza, but now that they were settled, Bella wasn't sure what to say. She hadn't thought this far ahead. But this was Zuko, she could relax. "I'll be happy if this a catastrophe-free event," she said. "I need a break from the action." Although she supposed she would have to get used to it eventually. Soon, she'd be doing hero work fulltime, and she didn't want to get burned out.
|
|
|
Post by zuyuri on Jun 23, 2023 14:14:00 GMT
“Tell me about it. No one said that being a hero and having a part time job could tucker you out so much, at lest they never did in the movies.” Zuko picked up a slice and chewed thoughtfully. How did people find work life balance in the superhero business? There had to be a class about it, right? Maybe the teachers could put their insight in, unless they retired from heroing and took the job just to keep the lights on at home.
|
|
|
Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 30, 2023 1:08:23 GMT
Oh, right. Zuko worked part-time at the Coffee Cafe along with doing classes and superhero stuff. Bella felt like she'd explode if she had that much pressure on her. She hoped Zuko didn't work himself too hard. "How is work going?" she asked since they were on the subject. "A little less busy I hope." She remembered the last time she'd gone there and how crowded it had been.
|
|
|
Post by zuyuri on Jun 30, 2023 3:12:39 GMT
Work. That was always on Zuko’s schedule, even on weekends. The spring summer crowds were big, but luckily they almost always ordered ice, meaning that his heating skills usually were done around the afternoon.
“Every time I make a floral based drink, I think of you.”
It was honest. Every rose milk tea or lavender latte always had him picturing the sweet, shy, but nonetheless badass young girl growing the petals that made the drink. Sure a lot of it was straight up sugar, but it was still a pleasant memory that made making them less annoying.
“And, uh, how’s your music and book journey going?”
|
|
|
Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jul 4, 2023 20:35:45 GMT
Bella found her face turning red as she gave a little embarrassed laugh. She wasn't sure what to say and the idea of Zuko thinking of her gave her butterflies. But honestly, she thought about him too, wondering how his day was going and hoping that no customers were giving him a hard time. Zuko changed the subject though and asked if she'd come across any new books or music lately. "Been doing some stuff with glee club," she replied. "It's kind of small though. I guess it's kind of low on the popular clubs list." She still felt like they sounded good though. Dorothea more than made up for it with her voice and outgoing personality. Bella always felt a little more comfortable when she was around.
|
|
|
Post by zuyuri on Jul 4, 2023 23:11:19 GMT
Bella's face immediately turned red. Not the kind of red where something bad happened. Zuko felt a tiny swell of pride knowing that he had made her feel that way, but at the same time, confusion sparked wit it. He was being nice. Wasn't that what people did when they were being nice to their friends? Say that they were thinking of them? Luckily, it pingponged to Bella's time in the glee club, which was apparently not very big. "Maybe having it small's a blessing in disguise? LOt less...drama, in lack of better words." He remembered the last play troupe he had last seen, which yeah wasn't a glee club, but still performing was peak at it, was tiny but everyone seemed so connected.
|
|
|
Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jul 6, 2023 23:27:01 GMT
"True. Don't want any drama behind the drama," Bella acknowledged. Some glee club members could get really competitive with each other and friendships could be easily broken if someone got a part that everyone coveted. Having a solo still spooked Bella out a little though. She was content singing in harmony with the others. "I sometimes wish we could put on a musical though," she commented. "That'd be a lot of fun."
|
|