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Anya Forger was a force of nature, that was the first thing Damian learned about her.
They weren’t in the same class, but he had learned about her a lot in their years together at Eden. It was impossible not to hear about her. She was the first in their batch to be awarded a Stella Star after helping to save a kid from drowning. She was even an Imperial Scholar, also the first from their year to attain the coveted status. She was brave, kind and always took the number one spot in every exam in Classical Language.
He had aspired to be like her, to join the ranks of the Imperial Scholars so easily. His older brother, Demetrius, was a prodigy just like Anya was. He tried and tried in his first years at Eden, but he just couldn’t measure up. Eventually, he had given up the hope of becoming one, of just accepting he wasn’t someone who could get any Stella Stars, because he had crushingly realized that receiving that special status wouldn’t even draw his father’s attention. But seeing her get awarded for all her selfless deeds had inspired him to take up the challenge once more. To actually try and do good in this world for no other benefit, not just to do good to get noticed for it.
Damian had always meant to introduce himself, but he kept getting dragged away by Ewen or Emile or any other stupid obligation he had. Despite all general assemblies, schoolwide events and Imperial Scholar mixers, he wasn’t able to ever get a chance to talk to her or even confess his feelings.
This was finally his chance.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Damian looked at himself in the mirror. Tried to fix his hair. Pushed it around. Hated it. Left his hair alone. Brushed off the nonexistent lint on his shoulders. Straightened his already straight posture. Slapped his face lightly with his hands. Adjusted his wrinkle-free Imperial Scholar cloak. Ran through his speech in his head. And then ran through it again for good measure.
He can do this.
Damian opened the door and stepped into the empty classroom.
There she was.
Anya Forger was looking out the window, sitting at the desk of her chair. At the sound of the door opening, she turned to look at him and Damian felt his breath catch as the brightest and biggest green eyes in the world stared at him. She was so pretty in the sunset light that bathed everything around them in soft shades of oranges and yellows. She looked at him with an intense stare that he couldn’t find any words to describe.
Damian felt her gaze and immediately turned his eyes to the ground to hide his blush. He took a deep breath and steadied himself. He walked forwards, putting one foot in front of the other and prayed to the gods that he wouldn’t trip and make a fool of himself.
He then stopped, leaned forward in a slight bow and kept his hands at his sides.
“Forger! I’ve been wanting to tell you something for a while… I really like what you do, and I’d love to be closer to it. To you. I mean-I just think I’d fit really well with you,” he confessed.
The seconds after he spoke felt like centuries. His hands shook. His mind was racing. Fuck, he messed up his speech.
Did she hate him? Had she noticed all the times he spied glances at her around campus and thought he was a creep? He was so sure he was discrete, hiding behind columns and bushes. He was just gathering information about her, he wasn’t a stalker or anything! He just wanted to know more about her and maybe ask around if she had a boyfriend already. She had enough fans in the student body to warrant this suspicion. This was a disaster. He should just apologize, accept his losses and head back to the dorms. He looked up from his bow to speak.
Anya blinked and then gasped.
Her right hand turned into a fist and she slammed it on her open palm. She quickly turned to her bag and rifled around. She tossed out peanuts and handkerchiefs as she dug around and finally fished what she was looking for which was a piece of paper.
She handed it to him with a blinding smile. “Here you go!”
Damian felt his jaw drop a little and mechanically accepted the paper. He stared at it.
It was a hand-drawn flyer saying: ‘Join Eden Academy’s Spy Club! Welcome to a World of Intelligence, Secrets & Espionage~’.
As far as he knew, Eden Academy didn’t have a spy club. Or, at least one that was approved. This was his first time hearing about this. He looked at the paper more closely.The flyer featured a crayon drawing of Bondman from Spy Wars, an old cartoon he remembered from his childhood. There were also sketches of guns, masks, and grappling hooks all around the border of the flyer. Also, why was she giving him this? His mind short-circuited.
“Wait, no, I didn’t mean-” he began to sputter out.
She stood up and clasped her hands over his. Damian stared dumbly as her eyes sparkled with enough stars to fill a galaxy. “This is great! With you joining, we’re up to three members! If we get five, then we can-”
Damian felt his ears whistling since all he could focus on were her hands over his. He staggered a few steps back to get some air. “This isn’t about the club! What I meant was that I liked y-” he began explaining.
Anya wasn’t listening. She picked up her schoolbag and swung it over her shoulder. In a smooth motion, she grabbed his hand again which immediately made him shut up. “C’mon! It’s time for your first club meeting, recruit!”
Then she dragged him out of the classroom and into the light.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Damian stepped off the school bus as Anya waved goodbye to the bus driver and everyone still on board.
After running out of the classroom and the hallways together, she had led him to the school buses. Dumfounded, he had followed her in. He had spent the bus ride sitting perfectly still and staring forward with Anya seated next to him. She chatted to anyone and everyone around them while he spent it trying to regulate his breathing.
What was going on? Was she kidnapping him? Why couldn’t they have the club meeting at school? How was he going to get back to the dorms later? He’d told Ewen and Emile that he’d needed to take care of something that afternoon but he didn’t specify what. They’d cover for him if he was missing for dinner and curfew, without a doubt. Hell, even if he was absent for tomorrow, he’d be safe. But still, this was a wrench into his regular schedule.
He was shaken out of his thoughts when Anya poked him.
“Recruit, you okay?” she stared at him.
Damian got to his knees on the pavement and grabbed his head with his hands. “Am I okay? You just dragged me here from school without explaining anything! How am I going to get back? Why’d I even get on the bus with you! I’m not here to join your club. I was trying to tell you that I-”
Anya crouched right next to him and patted him on the back. She closed her eyes as she nodded. “All will be revealed in due time.”
He stared disbelievingly at her.
She grinned like the devil. Then, she walked forward and gave a glance back at him, obviously beckoning him to follow.
Damian put his face in his hands and inwardly groaned. Well, he was already here, wasn’t he? He slowly stood up.
He brushed off the dirt on his pants. “Alright, where am I?”
Anya tilted her chin, put her hands on her hips and huffed. “Our super secret headquarters, of course.”
Damian looked around the street. Stores, restaurants and apartment buildings. “Is it just your home?”
“Yes.”
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Damian cautiously walked into the apartment. “Sorry for intruding,” he called out.
The apartment was small, but obviously well-furnished. He could see the living room, the kitchen and dining area and a hallway. It wasn’t impeccably well-designed like his home and those of his friends, but it was obviously well-lived in. There were pictures frames of Anya and presumably her parents tastefully scattered about and souvenirs of a life well-traveled. There wasn’t anyone around.
Well, there was a dog.
Damian stared at the massive thing.
Anya petted the dog. “Bond, meet the new recruit!”
“Hello, Bond,” Damian said. He could not believe his life right now.
“Borf!” Bond said.
Damian nodded, as if that was a thing that just happened. The dog then walked away.
Anya pointed to the couch. “Sit there, recruit! I’ll prepare your badge,” she said and then went into one of the rooms in the hallway.
Damian carefully sat. He placed his bag on the floor.
Racking his bed, he tried to analyze the situation. He just confessed to his crush. She didn’t recognize the confession at all. (His fault, really.) But he’s held her hands twice. And shared a seat on the bus together. And now he’s in her home!
Damian ran his fingers roughly through his hair. This wasn’t the plan! In the case that Forger accepted his confession, he was supposed to ask her out on a date. Maybe to a cafe or a walk in the park. Not immediately skip to meeting her parents! He didn’t even have a gift, didn’t have a well-written speech prepared and was absolutely not prepared for this!
He had no clue what her parents would like or if they would like him!
Getting an idea, he frantically looked around the apartment from his seat. Maybe a clue from the photos or the knick-knacks can give him some information. He laced his hands together and began zooming in on the items around him. There’s some medical books under the coffee table and a government-issued typewriter on a desk. Maybe one of her parents was a physician and the other worked in an office?
Also, he tried to recall the times he’d seen Forger’s parents before.
They, of course, showed up to all the Imperial Scholar mixers. Given that Forger’s been an Imperial Scholar for a few years longer than him, they moved with a grace through all the people at the mixer that not all parents had. That was his first impression when he had attended his first mixer. His own parents, of course, were already familiar with all the people there. Demetrius being an Imperial Scholar and all that. Hm. He wondered if his parents were close at all to Mr. and Mrs. Forger. Come to think of it, he did find it odd that his parents spoke longer with Forger’s parents than they do to any other couple there. His mother even chuckled a few times. Were they close?
He was too busy focusing on the items around him and what little memories he could recall when he heard a door and footsteps coming back. His head turned to the hallway.
Anya returned in casual clothes and was holding something in her hand. She tilted her head while she stared at him. She blinked.
“Practicing your spy skills already, recruit? Good thinking,” she smirked and leaned against the wall.
“Huh?” Damian furrowed his brows.
She nodded in approval and sauntered to sit on one of the armchairs. Leaning back, she tossed something on the table with a cocky grin. “You earned this, recruit.”
Not really knowing what else to do, Damian grabbed it. It was an ID badge. He looked closer. It stated: “Badge No. #00003. Desmond, Damian. Agent of Eden Academy’s Spy Club.” He squinted. Why was this oddly well done? When did she have the time to make this? He was half-expecting something made of construction paper, based on the flier earlier from today.
He looked at Anya. “Huh?” he repeated.
She was chewing on a toothpick. “Gonna need a badge if you’re going to be out on the field, recruit.”
Damian resisted the urge to yell. “What field? This is a fake spy club. It isn’t real!”
“Not yet!” Anya fought back and stood up on the armchair. “If we get to five members, Mr. Henderson has to give me permission to start the club! I just need more recruits!”
“Why would you want to start a spy club?!”
“Because being a spy is fun!” Anya said.
She hopped from the couch and onto the floor. She landed gracefully and spun in a circle before facing him. She then pointed and smiled at him like he was the only person in the world that mattered.
Damian felt his breath be taken aback at her grace and force of personality. Tried to memorize the way her hair spun through the air like ribbons and that the light sparkled in her eyes. Noticed the way her lips curved into a mischievous smile, between a cartoon trickster’s grin and a spy’s secret signal that trouble was on the horizon. Felt his anger be infuriated by her audacity, but not caring all the same.
Already knew that he was a goner.
“Being a spy is all about helping people! Shooting baddies, finding secrets and saving the day! Who wouldn’t want to become one? To be like Bondman on TV! To stop war and achieve world peace! Isn’t that what we became an Imperial Scholar for?!” she said passionately, an arm pressed to her chest while she gestured wildly.
Damian could only stare in awe. He’d followed her because he wanted to clarify his confession, not to join a renegade club. Fuck it, maybe he’ll find the time to confess again some other time. Maybe in another club meeting.
“So, would you join my spy club, Damian?” Anya asked with a smile.
Damian’s gaze softened. “Yeah, that sounds nice.”
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
(OMAKE)
“So, what time are your parents coming home?”
“Huh? Oh, they’re on a really important missi-, I mean trip. It’s just us here, but don’t worry, I can cook a mean omelet!”
He felt his mind shut down. He was alone with his crush. Her parents weren’t coming home. They were alone in the apartment. What was going on in his life.
Damian counted to ten and tried not to scream in frustration.