𝟷. 𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚍𝚞𝚌𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏.

𝟸. 𝚃𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎.

𝟹. 𝚃𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝙲𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝙱𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍.

𝟺. 𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝙱𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝙰𝚜 𝙰 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗?

That's what it was written at the whiteboard. It would have been a piece of cake if it weren't for a bunch of children kicked in one room and was now sitting on the ground with space in the middle of the room because children would introduce themselves in the middle of the class where people could see them.

Of heckin' course.

Isabella was not impressed to say the least. It was embarrassing to be in the middle of strangers who would eventually know your name and information.

And children here were fancy. And not just fancy, the snobbish kind of fancy. The students and their best friends looked excited and they looked like they were competing with other children to see who could introduce better.

How could someone introduce better? Is there any better way to introduce yourself than... Just introducing yourself like a normal person?

Probably.

Isabella just doesn't understand, to be honest. She doesn't understand how introducing yourself could be so exciting.

Making yourself known in front of so many people was scarier than she would have thought.

What's worse was that the best friends go first, not the students. Isabella would have liked it if Nicolai went first but, alas, she can't do anything about it.

"You're going to be fine." Nicolai whispered despite the loud chatting in the room caused by children and teachers.

Isabella rolled her eyes. "I know that, Nico." She answered him before giving him a worried glance. "Are you going to be fine?"

"Well, my ex-friend's been staring at me for I-don't-know-how-long but apart from that? Yes, I'm fine."

Isabella gave him a look of grimace. "You mean that Valentine's boy?" Isabella asks, secretly looking around the surprisingly spacious classroom that has been cleared of seats and desks for students to sit on the ground.

Nicolai hissed. "Don't call him Valentine's boy."

She scoffed at him. "I'll call him whatever I like, thank you very much. It's not like I'm going to remember his name if you say it. All I would remember is that he's trash and a jerk. Did I mention that he's jerk?"

"Hey now, don't be mean here. I'm the one who got hurt." Nicolai playfully nudged her shoulder but Isabella could see how sad he was when he mentioned how he was the one who got hurt.

Isabella gave him a pat on the shoulder for comfort.

"That's going to change the moment I get my hands on him." Isabella gave him a toothy grin that's so innocent. Her words, however, held some seriousness in it. It was a promise. "But, I don't see him and you're not pointing where he is so you're not being helpful with my quest."

"You'll charge at him like a bull!" He scolded her. "I'm not going to let you get in trouble."

She rolled her eyes at him. "It's worth the trouble."

Before Nicolai could argue with her statement, the teacher enthusiastically called on the first person to introduce themselves in front of everybody.

"Are you nervous?" Nicolai asks her.

She shakes her head. "A little." It was the truth. She wasn't as nervous as she was before. Maybe it was because she slowly realized that nothing scares her more than her family and the world that they live in, that she's just surrounded by kids.

Nicolai held her hand, unafraid of the judgemental looks that some people gave them. He held on no matter what. He didn't say anything because he knows that just holding her hand could calm her down, even if it's just only a little bit.

The round of introductions continued. For some reason, some kids couldn't answer the fourth question. They would stutter for an answer that doesn't make sense or they would just be silent until the teacher would let them sit down. Some students could actually answer it but she could count the people, who answered the number four question with sense, on her fingers.

That continued until it was time for Isabella to do it. Nicolai was reluctant to let go of her hand, even when she stood up, he still held her hand.

"Oh, someone here doesn't want to let go of their best friend." The teacher teased loudly and some of the teachers in the room cooed while students chuckled and laughed at that.

"Now, now, Nicolai, you have to let your friend introduce herself in front of everybody." The other teacher coaxed.

Nicolai ignored them all and gave Isabella a look that she immediately understood. She gave him a smile, wanting nothing more than to kiss the back of his hand but she she just patted it instead.

"I'll be fine." She chuckled and he gave her one last longing look before letting go. He looked sulky, like he wanted nothing more than to hold her hand the entire way.

Isabella walked towards in the middle with her heart beating in a steady rhythm. She could feel all eyes on her and that could have made her nervous because she wasn't used at the attention but she wasn't nervous or scared at all.

All she wants is to go back to her seat and talk to Nicolai about whatever topic they could come up with.

Isabella smiled, the way that Anthony smiles to  people that he doesn't know or want but still needs to show his kind side.

"It's very nice to see Nicolai's classmates and teachers. I'm deeply thankful to have been asked to come here. To be honest, Nicolai kidnapped me to come here and I'm being held hostage so, if you will, please call the cops before it's too late." She said jokingly, causing people to laugh softly at her words. She's setting her tone to how Anthony would have done it. Kind and caring. She joked in the end so that she wouldn't sound too formal, maybe like how Elois would have done if he he'd be the one introducing himself.

"Well, let's get started, shall we? My name is Isabella Sofia Torres, it's nice to meet everyone."

The people in the room were silent once again. She didn't stutter like other children, or went straight to introducing herself. Anthony said that it was always good to start with a greeting. He also said that tone is important when communicating with other people.

"I definitely like cookies and milk but I've been recently banned in eating that because, let's be honest, my teeth are rotting." Everyone laughed at that again, causing her to chuckle but she wasn't as happy as people would have thought. "Hmm, what else? Ah, I like my family, my friend, Nicolai, I like my house and my teddy bear, Ms. Fuzzy——"

"Lame!" Some kid called out.

"Teddy bears are for kids!"

"Mike and George!" The teacher scolded the two kids.

"What? It's true!" The kid continued. "She must be lame if she still likes toys."

Isabella could see Nicolai standing up and she immediately spoke up. "I don't like bullies." She exclaimed before pointing at the them and then she looked at the class. "Do you think that owning a teddy bear is lame? That bear was actually a precious gift from my brother when I was still a little baby and they're just telling me that that's lame."

Nothing is more embarrassing than announcing their actions in front of the class and making them feel guilty for their own words.

The teacher gasped in awe. "Aww, that's... That's wonderful, Isabella. You must have cherished it very well."

The children, seeing how their teacher reacted, began scolding the two kids, saying that it was rude to interrupt Isabella and that they should be ashamed for saying such things.

Isabella secretly smiled smugly. Nicolai immediately noticed that and he rolled his eyes but there was a grin on his face. The two boys saw the smug look on her face and they glared at her.

She continued on with her introduction, making her audience laugh and be touched by her words. It's exhilarating how much she could charm the crowd with just a few words.

And she finally landed on the last question.

𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝙱𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝙰𝚜 𝙰 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗?

"Nicolai. He's been a good friend to me despite kidnaping me here." She smiled at her friend. "He said that I was always the one who made his life more colorful, like a rainbow! I'm probably his rainbow. His sun and moon." Isabella winked at him.

"But I don't think that's true. Nicolai's the one who shines the brightest in my eyes. The glowing star in my life.  Nicolai's been there no matter what and he's always my voice of reason, the one who made me become braver. He always encouraged me and he always believed in me. He's always there when I needed him to be and I think that that's what made me become confident and brave and I think that that's amazing and because he's amazing. He's my knight and shining armour and also the damsel in distress!"

Everyone giggled at that.

"He must be your princess too!" Some kid teased, making Nicolai glare at them.

"He isn't a princess." Isabella beamed. "He's my dearest queen!"

Everyone laughed at that and Isabella took that as a cue to bow theatrically. "Well, thank you very much for listening."

Everyone clapped at her and she thanked them for that.

She then finally sat down next to Nicolai and the boy immediately headlocked her. He ruffled her hair and she tried to escape his death grip.

"N-Nico, I know that you love me but please don't kill me yet. I have a f-family!" Isabella said, patting his arm.

"You embarrassed me." He grumbled, much to everyone's amusement.

"I never did! I just declared my undying love for you!" She helplessly answered him. "Okay, I can't breathe. Seriously! You're gonna kill me and then you won't hear my undying love for you——"

"Good!" He snarled.

Just when she thought that she was going to die, he lets her go, causing her to scramble away from him with a glare ready for him to see.

"You monster."

He smirked at her. "I thought I was your friend."

"Yeah, I said that you're my friend but then you're also my kidnapper so, let me repeat my words again: you monster."

Nicolai laughed quietly at her and she couldn't help but grin at him.

The round of introductions continued and Nicolai had his chance to embarrass her when it was his turn to answer question number four.

"She said that I'm a kidnapper but I don't think that's true." Nicolai started, which earned him amused laughter from the crowd. He chuckled in amusement. "I think she's the criminal here."

"Hey!" Isabella said, laughing nervously. "Are you trying to expose me?"

The group laughed at the two of them.

Nicolai rolled his eyes before he continued. "Why do I think she's the criminal? Well..." He then looks at the ground, looking shy all of a sudden. "She... well, she stole my heart...She stole me." A pretty blush formed on his pale cheeks. "She's also a murderer. A murderer for killing my loneliness, my sadness. She's a stalker too. A stalker for always being there, even when I don't want her presence."

Everyone went absolutely ballistic at that. They screamed and cried that Nicolai wasn't single anymore and that Isabella's a criminal because they stole Nicolai from them.

The teachers just blushed at the confession. It was like out of a freaking movie and it's absolutely cute and they love it.

"In a friendly way." Nicolai glared at all of them which caused Isabella to snort.  "But, it's true. She's the thief and the criminal here for always stealing my light and my thunder——"

Isabella looked panicked. "Wait, hold on here, Nico——"

"She's a witch sometimes and she's cruel——"

"When was I ever?" Isabella sounded shock. "Wait, are you angry at me or some——"

"And she's a child of murderers." He said, causing people to laugh, thinking that it was a joke but Isabella and Nicolai knows the truth behind his words.

Isabella sighed, wanting to hide in a hole while Nicolai snorted.

"She always gets things her way." Nicolai confessed and Isabella was just looking at him, not knowing how to react at his words. She didn't expect him to confess but he should have given her some warning if he was going to do something that could get him killed later.

"But, she's got my back. Isabella's the first and last best friend that I'll ever have and I don't know what I'll do without her. She always pushed me to my limits, pulled me out of my comfort zone, always giving me those comfort cookies and milk that always makes me cheer up. She's there. She's just there to make my day brighter. She's shaped me into someone who I could actually be proud of. That's my best friend. That's Isabella for me and I love her."

It was probably weird to confess how much you love a person in front of so many people but he wants everyone to know that he loves his dearest friend, that he's not ashamed to say it out loud.

Isabella beamed at him and opened her arms for him.

Nicolai couldn't help but run towards her awaiting embrace and he sighed happily when he felt the warmth in her hold. It was familiar and comforting, like it always was.

"I love you too." Isabella mumbled.

Everyone cheered at that.

____

Who's got no Bella and Nicolai?

Me. I don't have that. Where can I get that? ;_;

I'm dying at their freaking sweetness, what the heck?? ರ_ರ

Well, I hope you liked it XDXD