Chapter Text
Young IFWOT attendees take a break from their convention activities to rest and recuperate before the next set of scheduled activities commence.
Young Gilbert Park sees this break time as his chance to stop by the restroom facilities, but he doesn't want to leave his bag unattended, so he asks one of his classmates sitting nearby for help, "Hey, Raine! Would you mind watching my bag for me while I stop by the bathroom?"
Raine puts their fist over their chest and slides Gilbert’s bag under their chair with their feet, "I will guard it with my life!"
Gilbert chuckles at their bard classmate and dashes off to the bathroom, “Thanks, bud!”
Raine sips at their juice and swings their feet nonchalantly when a Glandus student approaches them abruptly.
"Hey! Whose bag is that?"
Discovering the backpack owner's name is more difficult than the boy expects with Raine guarding the backpack, "Who wants to know?" Raine asks cheekily.
The Glandus student huffs, "I want to leave the owner of that backpack a note."
Raine raises a suspicious eyebrow at the boy's request, "No way. I take my guard duty very seriously."
The boy becomes flustered as the owner of the backpack could return at any moment, "Aw! Come on! You're standing in the way of love here! Haven't you ever encountered someone so cool that you want to get to know them better?"
Raine crosses their arms as they consider the boy's words, "I guess you could say I've got my eye on someone currently."
"The little red head girl, right?"
Raine's eyes widen before they turn their head to the side, embarrassed by how transparent they've been with their staring.
"As I'm obviously correct in my deduction, how about we do a little trade then?"
"I'm not sharing my juice with you," Raine rapidly responds.
The boy waves his hands wildly, "No, no! Trade information!”
He points his finger in the air, offering his insight, “I happen to know the little red head girl is feeling pretty down right now about her performance at IFWOT. I'm sure she'd appreciate it if someone cheered her up.”
Raine curls a finger in front of their lips in thought and narrows their eyes at Harvey, “You do realize you already gave me the information I needed? You no longer have anything of value to trade.”
Harvey raises his eyebrows and balls his hands into fists at his side, cursing at the floor, “Ah! Dang it!”
The boy holds a folded piece of paper in his hands, "Could you at least give this note to that boy with the dark, evergreen hair when he returns?"
Raine smirks, but admires the boy's determination, an endearing trait of Glandus students, "Hmm, fine. You have a deal, kid. I'll introduce you to Gilbert."
The boy perks up, lifting his head as his eyes widen, "Gilbert? That...That's such a cute name..."
At that moment, Raine sees Gilbert heading their way out of the corner of their eye.
"Hey!" Gilbert shouts as he walks briskly over to Raine, "Thanks for guarding my stuff, Raine."
Gilbert picks his bag off the floor and sets it on a table nearby.
"EEP!" Gilbert quietly shrieks with surprise as Raine pulls him over to where the Glandus student is standing nervously.
Raine gestures to the boy standing in front of them, "Gilbert, this is my new... friend?...um..."
"Harvey!"
"Harvey! Yup! That's it! He wanted to-"
"HI GILBERT! IT'S NICE TO MEET YOU!" Harvey says as he hoists his hand out towards Gilbert.
Raine and Gilbert stare at him awkwardly, "-shout in your face…"
Harvey feels his face flush, "Oh! Sorry! Was I shouting?!"
Raine smirks, "Still are, buddy."
"Ah! Sorry..."
Gilbert notices Harvey's outstretched hand is shaking and clasps his hand with his, "It's okay to be nervous, Harvey. It's tough making new friends."
"Oh! Right! Yes...friends..." Harvey repeats, trying not to reveal his true feelings, and discreetly slips his love letter into his back pocket.
Raine giggles at Harvey's expense and taps him on the shoulder as they pass him with a wink, "Well, I'm gonna go make some more friends you two. I'll see you on the bus later, Gil!"
"Okay!" Gilbert happily waves them off.
Raine smiles when they glance backwards and sees the two students chatting effortlessly and hopes their own encounter with their love interest fares just as well, or better.
They turn the corner that's covering a small hallway and hears the little red head girl, who is arguably taller than them, mumbling to herself.
Raine takes a deep breath, adjusts their glasses, and slides their hand through their hair.
Be cool, be cool…