AT FIRST ELLA HAD thought she had heard him wrong, but of course she hadn't. The last time she had heard Sebastian say something sensible was approximately ten years ago, when he had decided he wasn't going to run away from home to pursue a career as a young DJ. That decision had mostly been made for him however, because their mother had heard him and her smile alone had been terrifying enough as she told him he should just try it. Suffice to say, he didn't.

On some level she wasn't surprised by what he had said though. She knew he had been in love with Faiza ever since they had met, even if he for some reason never had thought him good enough for her. He always had kept that distance, to protect his heart, but now they were together she had to admit he was happier than she had ever seen him. There was something calm in him which she brought out, which was a feat on it's own, seeing as for a long time no one had thought Sebastian even had some semblance of quiet in him.

"You've only been dating for a couple of months," Ella said," are you sure, Seb? You shouldn't hurry in things like this."

"You're being nice about it," Sebastian frowned at her," I expected you to shout at me that I was crazy, I had already prepared a whole speech in response yesterday in the mirror."

"I was about to get to that part," she said," so get that speech of yours ready."

"There's the Ella I know," Sebastian grinned," and here I was thinking falling in love had softened you."

"Have you seen the guy I like?" she said, raising an eyebrow," I sometimes wonder if he has a conscience underneath that adorable robot mask of his."

"You have strange preferences," Sebastian said," my girlfriend is a goddess straight from the heavens, so I will not question my blessings. I know what I want and that's her. Why should I wait when I know these feelings won't change?"

"You're twenty," Ella said.

"Romeo and Juliet were like fifteen or something," Sebastian said," everyone adores their love story."

"They both die at the end, don't take that as an example."

"Know-it-all."

"No, you're just illiterate."

"What are you two talking about?"

Will popped out in between them, an innocent smile on his face. Somewhere along the way both her and Sebastian had upped their pace until they were almost at the front, both of them too competitive to slow down, but Will easily kept up as they passed the people at the head of the group. Alex had been there first, but he had been tackled by Levi, the both of them now running around as Levi cursed at him.

"Of all things lavender?" Levi shouted," I hate lavender!"

"So does everyone," Alex yelled back as he jumped across one of the logs he had dragged to the field," you're not special!"

"What point are you even trying to make?" Levi exclaimed.

"I am not trying to make any point, I just like talking!"

Ella chuckled, glancing at Will. "We were talking about how Seb doesn't think anything through, but that seems to be a recurring theme with the people in this school."

"Thinking things through is for boring people," Sebastian huffed," I will simply do whatever thought comes up in my mind and enjoy life."

"I think it's fine as long as it makes you happy," Will beamed.

Sebastian's eyes widened, looking touched as he placed a hand on his heart.

"See!" he exclaimed," Will gets it."

"Will has no idea what you're actually talking about," Ella said.

"I am just happy to be here," Will smiled.

"What are you doing here?" Mia asked, turning towards them with a confused frown, cheeks red from the exertion.

"What are we doing here?" Sebastian asked, equally confused as he looked around.

They had picked up the pace so much they had finished the lap and caught up to the group at the same time, now passing the people in the back, where Ava and Mia were. Ella knew for a fact Ava could run harder than this, because she had seen the girl chase Alex before in anger and she was going thirteen miles per hour on heels. She also knew for a fact however that Ava thought putting in effort for PE was useless, so here she was, flashing her a lazy smile, not out of breath at all.

Mia was not looking like she was having a good time though, Ava teasingly nudging her with her shoulder.

"Do you use the limousine too often, Miss Ryder?" she said.

"No," Mia panted," I just don't leave the house."

"Valid."

"If you want to take a break and sit, we can," Will offered, expression warm.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to trouble you," Mia said, raising her hands as she blushed," it's fine."

In response Will held out his hand towards her, not saying anything to put pressure on it as he smiled. When she took it he easily pulled her away from the group, to sit down on the grass somewhere far from Levi, Alex and the wreckage they were causing in their game of Pacman.

"I found the answer to my problems," Sebastian said.

"Oh no," Ella said, already knowing it wasn't going to be good.

Following his gaze she saw who he meant, Clarkson running amongst the other kids in the middle of the group as he discussed job prospects with a few of them. He was many things, but invested in this school and the students was one of them. Sebastian's grin widened as he pulled Ella along, easily making his way through the group until he was beside Clarkson.

"Can we talk?" he said.

"Are you going to ask me for career advice?" Clarkson said, looking suspicious of how nice Sebastian was being, with good reason.

"In a way," Sebastian nodded solemnly.

"What way?" Ella frowned.

She was too late though, because Sebastian already had his arm hooked through Clarkson's as well, pulling the both of them along as students jumped out of the path. Their principal looked bewildered and Ella unfortunately shared the sentiment. Once they were back in the front again Sebastian started running faster to create some distance with the group, Clarkson and Ella on either side.

"So," Clarkson said," what did you do, Sebastian? Did you burn something down?"

"Why was that your first thought?" Sebastian blinked, before adding," and I don't think I did... yet."

"Don't add yet to the ends of your sentences, that sounds ominous."

"That was my intention."

Clarkson raised his eyebrows, but instead of continuing to talk or prying anything out of Sebastian, he waited for her brother to talk in silence. Ella had to admit that was the best tactic if you wanted Sebastian to get to the point, because he could change the subject within a second if people started talking to him, his attention span so short he usually forgot everything he had planned to say. Sure enough, Sebastian's babbling died down when Clarkson didn't reply, until he finally nervously looked away, breathing in.

"You're married, right?" he asked.

"I am," Clarkson said.

"When did you know she was the one?" Sebastian said, glancing at Clarkson," I mean, were you dating for a long time?"

Clarkson's face softened, but despite how kind he looked all Ella could think of was how she was running beside two fully grown men in fluorescent Adidas tracksuits while they talked about love.

"I think a part of me always knew," Clarkson said then," infatuation starts when you see her in your dreams, but I knew it was love when I could only see her in my future."

Sebastian stared at him for a moment, something undecipherable flickering in his eyes.

"I -" he began, before continuing," I think a part of me also always knew. That she was the one for me, I mean."

"Do you want to marry her?" Clarkson asked him.

"I do," Sebastian said, no hesitation in his face," I honestly do."

"Then what's holding you back, son?" Clarkson said, patting him amicably on the back.

Sebastian's eyes widened at the word, not having heard it in a very long time now. Their mother had called him mijo when he was younger, but it was their father whose only consistent exchange with Sebastian had been fondly calling him son. Ella didn't remember a lot about him, but she remembered how warm he was. She knew Sebastian hid it beneath all the teasing about Clarkson, but for some reason their principal always had made him felt welcome as well. After all, he never would have bothered a teacher he didn't like this much.

"Does that mean I have your blessing?" Sebastian said, a half-smile on his lips.

"It does, Sebastian," Clarkson said," you know I would support whatever you would do. Even if that means giving me nightmares as St Joseph's new PE teacher."

"I think you mean especially when," Sebastian grinned.

He breathed out then, a new determination in his eyes.

"Now I just have to tell my mother," he said.

"Good luck," Ella said sincerely.

"Please, it's been more than four laps, can we stop running!" one of the students shouted, sounding out of air.

"Oh right, I forgot about you all," Sebastian said, turning around towards them," gather, I'll think up something fun to do now."

Levi was dragging Alex back to the field as the latter pretended to be dead, Ella chuckling as she walked towards them.

"I can see you breathing, Farrow," Levi said.

"Why is he making noises like a robot breaking down?" Ella said.

That actually was the only way to describe the high-pitched, incomprehensible sounds Alex was making as he lay in Levi's arms with closed eyes. Levi was pulling him along as if he was going to hide a corpse, Alex' legs dragging across the field.

"I have no idea," Levi said," but I have decided ignoring it would be the best option."

"Cruel," Alex coughed, but Levi simply dropped him before he could start his speech.

In response to the betrayal Alex slowly turned himself from his back to his stomach, lifting his head to look at Levi one last time as he let it dramatically fall towards the grass face forward afterwards. Levi however didn't even nudge him, instead going over to Ella.

"By the way," he said, taking her hand in his," before you forget, our date is this weekend."

"How could I forget?" she teased," you'd prove to me how good you're at planning things."

In response Levi's lips tugged up in a small smile, a twinkle in his eyes.

"You're going to have fun," he promised.

Oh, this couldn't be much good.

She was already looking forward to it.