Chapter Text
Damian Desmond was what many would consider to be the embodiment of perfection, his heritage from his maternal grandmother traced all the way back to an aristocratic house of nobles that claimed to be descendants of a goddess, while his father belonged to one of Ostania's oldest and most influential families.
His well kept and dark brown locks of hair perfectly framed his face like a renaissance painting, his hazel eyes contrasted wonderfully with his skin, making him very easy on the eyes, especially for the young ladies of eden academy. Safe to say he inherited his looks from his mother.
But he wasn't just all looks with an unrivalled intellect, situational awareness and the talent to speak, it was no surprise to anyone that he was the Imperial Scholar of Cecil hall and the president of the debate club, Damian had joined just to follow in his brothers steps but he truly did enjoy debate, It was like a back forth game of information and presentation both of which he was very good at.
With all the elegance Mr. Henderson could ask for (except when dealing with a certain someone) he was the perfect student, the perfect gentleman and the perfect heir.
And yet,
"Sy-on boy!!" She said, "Where'd you go? I was looking for you… "
Anya Forger, the bane of his existence. Damian's world would've been perfect if only she didn't exist. Not that he would ever wish for her to leave but Anya Forger was an anomaly.
She was like a walking natural disaster, unstoppable and seemingly impossible to predict. Clumsy yet bold, so childish yet perceptive. She was in many ways his antithesis.
She frowned. It was like she could just tell what he was thinking, he needed to work on his poker face.
Damian took a simple deep breath, "Imperial Council."
"What?"
"It was half an hour ago Forger, If you had bothered to show up to the last one then you would've known I'd be here" He swiftly closed the file he was reading.
"But it's always so boring. Anya gets sleepy when she attends."
Damian recalled at least three instances of Anya Sleeping through the meeting or just disrespecting the sanctity and honour of the Imperial Council and their new hall.
The new building was constructed nearly a year ago to accommodate the Imperial Council. Only the Imperial Scholars were allowed to use the upper floors for their meetings and tasks while the lower floors were a hall of fame for previous Imperial Scholars showing who they were and what they achieved.
It was truly the pinnacle of Eden.
She made a bored face… Was he really that obvious? Somehow this… pink peanut enthusiast who randomly switched between first and third person was qualified to be here. He wouldn't discredit her achievements, he was above that, but he could comment (as would Mr. Henderson) on her… quirks.
She was simultaneously the only Imperial Scholar to receive more than 4 Toniritus bolts and the youngest student to ever receive a stella. She wasn't calm or methodical; she was impulsive with the intuition of a devil. Elegantly inelegant
She was like a paradox. So simple, just so confusing and complicated. Damian looked back into his file. She was so pretty…
Anya stopped for a second, taking a deep breath and looking out the window towards the garden. He looked up again to continue what he was saying only to be frozen. The way her pink hair flowed down her body till her waist
She looked out of the window with a simple smile, the tiniest hints of pink on her cheek, Damian had noticed, she blushed every time she was genuinely happy. He followed her gaze to see what had caught her eye, nothing. There was nothing except the clear blue sky outside his window on the fourth floor.
She immediately spoke up, as like she could smell his irritation because as much as Damian's heart was pulled by the tiniest little actions of hers, She was childish but at the same time she was endearing and kind, She'd gotten most of her stella through acts of kindness, helping out at an orphanage, raising money for a relief fund after an earthquake, organising a blood donation camp. (Unsurprisingly none of her stella were through academic achievements, mostly co curricular activities and goodwill.) But still he'd rather feign annoyance than to admit that he had a soft spot for her in any way shape or form.
He had been a very arrogant child ( the punch was deserved) but even if he had mellowed out over the years it didn't change his years and years of upbringing.
"Sy-on boy, it's about the martial arts club"
Right… He almost forgot that about her, she was the co-founder of the Eden martial arts club along with Becky Blackbell. One would be pardoned for mistaking the girls' thin arms, small body for a sign of weakness, because they could hit, and they could hit hard.
He remembered how Anya had received her 8th stella, by neutralising a thief attempting to steal some important documents from Mr. Henderson's cabin. Damian wasn't usually afraid of individual people but those two girls terrified him.
Now he knew from personal experience that both the girls knew how to throw a punch and that Anya was abnormally strong. But he had made sure to keep a safe distance from the two of them while engaging in their daily banter. He knew that antagonising either of them could be disastrous.
Damian opened the file on the table, he already knew what this was about, Becky and Anya were holding some sort of self defence class for men and women alike, it was decided that proper self defence should be taught to all the students to remain physically healthy as well as prepared if god forbid they ever needed to throw a punch.
Mr. Henderson agreed on the condition that the class be elegant. Now he didn't exactly know what the most elegant way to defenestrate someone was but that wasn't his problem to solve.
" Right. I'm able to reserve one and a half hours next Friday " He filled out a form that was already stamped with approval, "Get it signed by both Blackbell and Mr. Henderson by monday…"
"Okay." She gave him her usual smile. Anya sure liked to smile a lot.
It still wasn't like the smile he saw just then, did he miss something in the window? He looked back just to double check.
"What're you lookin for? "
"Huh?" He got startled by nothing and immediately thought of a reply, " Never mind that, why aren't you coming to the meetings? "
The Imperial council was set up as a symbol of student representation in the decision making of Eden academy. The imperial scholars of each year and hall were a part of the council and it supervised many events. It gave the Scholars management and leadership experience and was therefore very valuable.
There was also the fact that many teachers in Eden Academy were very prideful and older gentlemen, while they were all talented teachers, no one was perfect, often talking about problems or trying to solve them was met with the tonitrus bolt for disrespect.
Mr. Henderson was fine, but a few others were very old and difficult to convince. There was a clear hierarchy between the students and the teachers. The job of the imperial council was to act as the bridge between the student body and the faculty. This gave them a degree of authority and the responsibility to organise some cultural events.
"Aw, did Sy-on boy miss me?" She teased while helping herself to an apple on his desk.
"W-what?" He Sputtered. He'd known her more than a decade and still wasn't immune to her whimsical teasing. " Of course not! You being absent just deteriorates the reputation of Cecil Hall. "
"You know those meetings are boring" She justified, "You wouldn't go there if you weren't secretary"
"I would."
"They don't say nice things about you…" Anya trailed off.
Damian scoffed " I'm well aware stubby-legs "
"Hey my legs aren't stubby"
The imperial council itself was founded by Demetrius Desmond. In that way He had left a permanent mark on Eden's history, even becoming an imperial scholar just wasn't enough.
There were rumours that Damian had only become an imperial scholar because of his older brother pulling some strings and that he didn't deserve his general secretary position. Not to mention he was planning to run for president next year just like his brother, it appeared really suspicious that Damian became an Imperial scholar the year that Demetrius set up the Imperial council.
The reason he attended all of those meetings was because he wanted to prove to himself and others that he had made it till here on his own.
They'd started with their daily banter again, He couldn't even remember why. Maybe it was because of her repeated absence at the meetings or the fact that he called her stubby legs.
That didn't really seem to matter anymore. As much as Damian enjoyed debate he'd rather just not try Anya. She was childish, whimsical in a way that made her difficult to deal with or understand. He felt like the straight man to her funny man (woman? Girl??)
Eventually she remembered something and began to leave, " Oh right I almost forgot, one of the guys from Cecil hall got into trouble today, you should probably look into it."
"Hmm?" He looked at her with a puzzled face, "isn't that your job?", "Is she too lazy to do even that?" It wouldn't be unexpected for Anya but a disgrace for an Imperial scholar.
She suddenly got defensive, " I need to manage the event with Becky and I have a tennis match today thank you very much "
"Okay then. Who is it this time? Another Blackbell stalker? " Lord knew how many of the boys still pinned for her after her notorious track record for getting in and out of relationships, Damian would never understand how so many people would find even Blackbell pleasant to be around, much less to date her.
"No… It's Emile."
"What?"
"You absolute moron!" Damian slapped his forehead, "What were you thinking?"
Emile just looked away from him and Ewen, his head bowed down in shame, "look… it was her idea, okay?"
"The only thing that'll do is get her a Tonitrus bolt too… honestly you… " Damian sighed heavily, Emile had been caught in an area forbidden for the boys. The Eden academy girl's dorms, as if that wasn't enough on its own he had been caught in possession of protection.
It was easy enough to put the pieces together. Eden academy was already very strict about relationships, the kids came from very influential families and petty squabbles and relationships could have long reaching adverse effects… not to mention it was scandalous and most of the teachers advised the students to wait for graduation to court their lovers.
But that didn't deter those who really wanted each other. Lord knew how many times he and Anya had busted a couple, usually older than them (but sometimes younger) having intimacy in an abandoned classroom.
Honestly a lot of the rooms were rarely used so it was pretty easy to sneak in and have sex, but it almost always earned the couple two Tonitrus bolts each.
Eden had a lot of empty rooms like for example When the art gallery was made the old art room was simply abandoned. When it needed to be cleaned out to serve as the room for Anya's self defence/ martial arts Club, Anya and Damian had stumbled upon a butt print on the dusty table. It was clear what the old art room was really being used for.
Emile had really messed up, it was one thing to be caught in the act, but going to the girl's dorm? He'd added two offences on top of each other. He'd probably get at least 3 Tonitrus bolts.
Considering he already had three he wasn't too keen on doubling them and had been panicking. No wonder Anya sent him to see this matter… he'll thank her later. For now he needed to focus on saving his friend from the consequences of his own actions
"I'm sorry I just… she insisted on it, cause the first time we did it there she said she got a big thrill… "
Damian froze, " Pardon? "
Ewen, " Just rubbing it in aren't you? " He sulked, unlike Emile who seemed to be surprisingly adept at handling the ladies even more so than Damian. While Damian was at least (so obviously) in love with Forger, he was left alone.
"IT'S NOT THE FIRST TIME?? " Damian shouted, " What's wrong with you? You can get expelled over this! "
" I know I'm sorry… Please help me, Lord Damian!! " Emile bowed.
Damian had told both of them to stop calling him that, it just felt incredibly pretentious and he didn't want to be put on a pedestal by the few he considered friends.
"Stop that okay? Let me think… you haven't told anyone right?" He tried to think of a few ways to reduce his punishment. " That it's your second time? "
"Fourth actually" Ewen interrupted knowing fully well how Damian would react, he could at least mess with Emile for being so popular.
"EWEN!! DO YOU WANT ME TO GET EXPELLED?" Emile snapped at his friend.
"... Is this really happening? " Damian said with disbelief, " Oh my god, my friend is gonna be expelled "
" No!! Please don't say that boss man! " Emile begged again for help.
"... Is there anything else you've not told me? " Damian asked with a glare.
"... It's not against the rules if we do it off campus right? "
"… " Damian took a deep breath, " It's not. "
"She's not the first girl I've…"
"NOW YOU'RE JUST SHOWING OFF" Ewen shouted,
"EWEN YOU, STOP BEING JEALOUS YOU-"
"ENOUGH" Damian raised his voice, " That's it you're on your own!! "
"NO!! NO!! PLEASE BOSS MAN NOOO" He latched onto Damian to keep him from moving.
"Ugh! Get off me!" He tried (unsuccessfully) to shake him off.
" Please I don't wanna be expelled! "
" Then shut up, both of you! No fighting… honestly… thank god Forger referred you to me."
Damian sat down to think properly.
Ewen and Emile also sat down in silence, not wanting to annoy him more.
"... Plead guilty."
"What?"
"Tell them you were only going to sneak in because… she called you. And that you had protection in your wallet because you engage in those activities outside school. " He sighed, " It'll still get you a bolt or two but you won't be expelled. "
"Damn it… that's the best we can do huh?"
"Language" Damian hissed. "That's not appropriate for Eden students."
"Okay, thanks boss man."
Damian just sighed, " Next time either don't do it on campus… but if you do want to engage in suicidal behavior don't get caught, I won't bail you out again. "
" Yeah! I promise! "
"Good."
Damian had missed almost the entire first half of his day trying to bail out his friend. Principal Henderson was not pleased by this, but lying by omission was not against the rules even if it felt cheap to help someone who was clearly at fault.
He would never do it again. He sighed heavily and walked towards the gymnasium, he'd been freed just in time for the Tennis matches to start. By the time he was back Ewen and Emile were sheepishly looking away from him while Anya was busy picking out members for her team.
She wore a simple cyan T shirt on top of a simple white skirt. The boys wore shorts instead. It was the standard Eden outfit for sports, but it looked anything but standard on her.
God, her legs must've been carved by the gods or something. Serves him right for calling them stubby, it was undeniable that Anya's curves were very… eye-catching.
Damian saw some of the boys just stare shameless at her while she stretched like she usually did before a game. He shot a glare towards them but even that only deterred some of them…
Not that he didn't understand why they were so entranced. Even his eyes were frozen and focused on her as she tied her long hair into a high ponytail so it didn't get in the way, or how she delicately held a hair pin in her lips while she adjusted her beautiful locks of hair. Her lips looked so soft and delicate.
She was just… effortlessly beautiful, almost like she didn't even realise how pretty she looked. Her voice was lovely and the way she smiled sometimes made him fall over.
Damian cursed himself internally while Anya randomly blushed, you'd think he'd be over his stupid little boy crush by now but it seemed that the universe was having too much fun making him feel so strongly towards her.
He'd figured out a lot about himself, he was definitely attracted to her but could you blame him, Anya Forger was nothing short of gorgeous. Not to mention hot as all hell.
He remembered how he denied Anya's cuteness for so many years, he'd rationalised that attraction and having a crush (that Balckbell insisted he had) were very different. This realisation helped him a lot, still it became less effective each year as she'd get increasingly pretty each passing year.
She'd really bloomed into her body. Her short stature worked perfectly with her thin delicate hands that could cut through glass if she wanted to. Her eyes were so gentle and warm, like an ocean he could see himself getting lost in… or her legs. God damn her legs.
The way she moved while serving, the way she tucked her hair behind her ear every so often. The way she moved and the way she grinned whenever she got a point.
Anya was sexy as all hell.
She abruptly turned to look at him, her face red. Her mouth moved, as if to speak but she didn't even get a single word out before swiftly turning away from him.
Crap. He'd been caught staring.
"You know it's not appropriate for an imperial scholar to ogle at a girl for so long" Becky slyly remarked while tying her own black hair.
" I'm not-"
"Save it for someone else Desmond." She cut him off, " Hey Ewen, can you hold these pins for a second? "
"uh sure… "
"Blackbell." Damian sighed at his bad situation, he needed to talk his way out of this fast, "Maybe you shouldn't throw out accusations left and right, it's not appropriate for any Eden student to behave with such an attitude."
"Oh please, maybe you should stop staring at my best friend since she repulses you so much." Beck had made it perfectly clear that even if she supported Anya and the fact that she wanted to befriend him, she couldn't stand the way he had treated her for the longest time.
"I'm not staring."
" Yeah keep telling yourself that " She scoffed, " Oh thank you Ewen" She took the last of her pins from him and tied her hair up perfectly.
"Have you signed yet?" He asked, trying his best to shift the conversation onto something else.
"No, I will afterwards. Don't think I don't see what you're doing Desmond. "
"I have no idea what you're talking about. " He sighed, " Maybe you are just Overthinking what I said. "
She just scoffed and left to join her best friend who was still red on the indoor tennis court. Damian was still left embarrassed to be put on the spot like that, she was right it wasn't appropriate for him to just stare but what else could he do? Ask for permission?
Damian had learned a long time ago that the solution to his problem with Anya Forger was to simply dissociate his feelings of attraction, once they were seperated he could simply ignore them instead of denying their existence. It had worked for him for almost 2 years now but that didn't mean those feelings just stopped existing.
Sometimes they flared up really high until they couldn't be ignored any longer…
"Forger's playing sloppy today" He thought, She immediately improved her game so maybe it was just her having a slow start but still weird considering she was the most athletic person he knew.
She'd received a Stella for winning a national swimming competition, then she got one for teaching little kids how to swim over the summer and another one for tennis. She tried running marathons but she didn't really like those, Becky however really liked the marathons and made it to the national level too.
And now they started their self defence club after Anya efficiently took down a grown man easily twice her size, receiving her last stella, it was in response to the fear in the students after the thief had been arrested.
In many ways you could forget that Anya was an imperial scholar. She smiled a lot, mostly just being goofy, but she had a certain charm, she just knew how to make people happy, to cheer them up. Everyone had feared her when she'd started her school life by punching him.
But now she was much more beloved between the girls and the boys, especially the boys, unlike other imperial scholars Anya was significantly easier to talk to, she might now be as academically gifted as him or others but her social and emotional intelligence was unrivalled. The fear factor was still there because they knew how easily she could kick their rich asses, but that didn't stop the guys at the sports teams from looking at her…
Damian knew that talent didn't just come in one category. Anya Forger was a force to be reckoned with, a force which you'd rather have on your side. not that he'd ever admit that.
Their daily banter made it too prideful. It would be like admitting a loss and Damian never lost. He didn't like the fact that he was so concerned over her being so popular with the guys. Some still tried to insult her by calling her a commoner, however that was when Damian needed to step up.
He knew how hard she worked to get there, they had no right to question her abilities as an imperial scholar, she was weird and she more than deserved to be there. Only he was allowed to make fun of her, no one else.
She was simple and refreshing, like a breath of fresh air after being trapped in a stuffy ballroom. People could appreciate that.
Heck Damian could even see a few ladies looking at the match with a very peculiar interest… that kind of scandal would be disastrous for her family. And of course there were those who hated her guts.
Anya just seemed to ignore them for the most part. Blackell however took great pleasure in antagonising them.
She was totally concentrated into the game now, completely focused on the ball, while the racket acted on its own, like an extension of her body. Her porcelain skin glowed in the light bringing his eyes back to her. The helm of her skirt fluttered while she ran, his eyes traced down her legs until they reached her shoes that made a sound with each powerful step she took to receive the tennis ball. Pink shoes. It was so on brand for her.
"Boss you're staring again " Ewen whisphered.
"No-uh- I'm not!"
It was a doubles match. Anya and Bill Vs Albert and Becky. Bill Watkins was in a sense a rival to Forger ever since their first match up in dodgeball, while Albert was either Becky's current or ex boyfriend.
Blackbell jumped between relationships faster than Emile and was always a hot topic among his peers. Damian didn't have the will nor the energy to care about her antics and was always a few steps behind on her goings on.
Albert was athletic in his own right, being a year older and being the Eden tennis team captain, so it was a very even match.
It was a long battle that was actually interesting to watch, not just because of Anya, but something really unexpected happened when the match finally ended.
Anya cheered in joy when they won by the skin of their teeth, however Watkins was much much more excited than her, he'd apparently had a bet with Albert over the position of captain. Watkin jumped in joy over his victory, this was expected, but then he picked up Anya forger like a trophy.
What.
Apparently he'd gotten too excited and was shouting thank yous at her while he did it, Anya was laughing too so she didn't seem to have a negative reaction. There were so many people wishing they were Bill Watkins right now.
Of course it was over really quickly, Bill didn't wanna risk a Tonitrus bolt, he apologised sincerely but Anya didn't seem to mind. She said it reminded her of her father picking her up when she did good as a child.
He didn't really know Loid Forger that well, but from what he did know, him being a loving father was perfectly in character. He still had a vivid memory of how he'd been hired a few years ago to conduct a mental health session with the students. He'd been called every year since then.
He'd met her a few times, during vacations sometimes her mom brought her friends after their weekend sports matches, Yor Forger was clumsy and freakishly strong, sounds about right.
Blackbell ran over to Anya and started with their usual talks about… whatever they talked about. Even if Desmond, unfortunately, knew both of them very well, he couldn't fathom what those two could possibly talk about. Except the "Love in Berlint" show which he totally didn't binge over the weekend because Emile passive aggressively recommended it.
It reminded him of the scene from the last episode where the main character carried his lover like that…
Anya suddenly turned to look at him, their eyes made contact for a few seconds. She still blushed when she remembered what happened earlier. Damian could tell he was starting to blush too. Blackbell turned to look at where her friend was looking and gave him a dismissive and bored look.
Damn it, he was caught staring again.
They both continued their conversation as if nothing happened. Damian was fine with that, nothing happened, he felt nothing and he wasn't jealous at all.
"Boss, are you okay? " Emile finally spoke after what felt like an eternity.
"I'm fine! " Damian said loudly and began to walk away from the crowd.
Damian Desmond didn't have a crush on Anya Forger. He will never have a crush on Anya Forger. She was the one who wanted to be his friend so if anything she should be the one put on the spot.
He told himself repeatedly while he stormed out.