i gotta feeling ;; bri

[romeo valentino of italy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 520px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] SHE WAS THE PUREST BEAUTY BUT NOT THE COMMON KIND Tagged: gabriella nicole of england Outfit:here Status: complete. Today, Romeo just had no interest in his classes. Actually, he never had interest in any class period, but as the dutiful student he was, he did not skip. Perhaps he wasn't so dutiful, in truth; the real reason he was going to classes was because a certain English princess shared his European History class with him during second hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and today was Thursday. Instead of paying attention in class, Romeo was scribbling lightly on a spare piece of paper, a grin forming on his lips. Starting trouble was his specialty, but irritating others he was also great at; the victim, this time, was Gabriella of England. It wasn't that he was trying to make her mad -- he just wanted to get her attention. So, after writing 'After staring at it for the past half hour, I must say that the back of your head looks fantastic today.' in his surprisingly neat handwriting, Romeo carefully lined his hand up with her desk surface and gave it a throw. Thankfully, it landed near the very edge of her desk, and Romeo let a proud smile grace his features. It would be a lot less difficult trying to talk to her if the Serbian princess, Nada, was not sitting in between the two of them, and he wasn't about to ask her to help pass the note, because he doubted the girl wanted to miss anything the teacher was saying. He leaned to the left so that if and when Gabriella turned around to look at him, she could see his entire face. Romeo didn't know why he was trying so hard to talk to her during class, but he supposed it was because ever since their horse riding excursion a month ago, he had not been able to have a word with her, at least in person. He'd caught her on IM a couple of times, but the rest of the few weeks after they had spent a couple of hours talking, he'd been so busy with Kings and he was sure she'd been so busy avoiding Dante that they hadn't really seen or been able to talk to each other outside of classes. He practically begged -- okay, he insinuated to -- his teacher to partner them up for the project over countries, but he was not a female professor to be charmed by Romeo, and had refused, instead pairing her up with Viktor. Viktor, incidentally, was his close friend -- and unlikely pairing -- and Romeo had immediately tried to ask if he could come along to their sessions just to mess with her. The Slovakian prince, however, knew how to control Romeo, and refused, much to Romeo's chagrin. Okay, so it would definitely be raising questions on why he was working so hard to talk to her, but that was Romeo; he was always bold, always persistent, and so his friends had gotten used to the fact that he did outrageous things to try and get a hold of people. Throwing notes was not outrageous, but he figured it was a least annoying enough for her to write a reply. There was just something about her, though, that had him interested. He didn't have feelings for her -- he'd only ever talked to her a few times, after all -- but she was definitely attractive, no question. It wasn't only her beauty that had him intrigued, though; there was a fire in her that made him curious, a fire in her that he certainly appreciated. It wasn't the same fire that girls like Aubrey possessed -- that kind of fire was wild and potentially harmful. No, the fire in Gabriella was deep and burning, much like himself, and he wanted to know more of it. He wanted to know more about her. Romeo would be a liar if he said he hadn't flirted with her before, because he most definitely had, but that was Romeo's personality; he was a flirt, a jokester, a playful guy. It didn't make her any less special, though. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[gabriella nicole of england]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] i see sparks fly ( WORDS ) 1050 ( TAGGED ) ROMEO VALENTINO OF ITALY ( STATUS ) COMPLETE It was almost the weekend, for which Gabriella was extremely grateful. She had been given an unusually large amount of homework the previous week, and since she wasn’t one to rush getting her assignments done Bri still had a few to get done this weekend. One of her major projects had come from her European History class, which she was currently attending despite how uninterested and unfocused she was today. The project consisted of learning the trading history of your assigned country, including which allies it traded with and what its major imports and exports were. Following a short presentation by each pair, their teacher had decided to hold mock negotiations by introducing various problematic scenarios that the “delegates” would have to sort out and solve. As much as Gabriella admired his enthusiasm, she was almost certain that Mr. Abrams’ “lively debate” was in reality going to be nothing short of a bloodbath. His pupils had been trained almost from birth in the art of politics, and since there was a tantalizing unknown prize for the best pair, most of the class had been putting an unusually strong effort into working on the project. Usually Bri would have been one of the students taking notes, but for some reason her mind just wasn’t focused today. So far her colour coordinating pens had been used more for doodling in her notebook than they had been for writing down what the teacher was saying. In fact, for most of the class her attention had been focused on the unseasonably bright sunshine coming in the windows and wishing there was an alternative to sitting and listening to the lesson. As it was the patch of warmth that landed on Bri’s hair was making a nap an almost irresistible idea. And their teacher was so absorbed with talking she was sure he wouldn’t notice if the entire class was asleep. Still, focusing on what he was saying would pay off on the next term test, so she settled for resting her head on her right hand and half-heartedly paying attention as she doodled with her left. A piece of paper settled very abruptly on the corner of her desk, jolting Gabriella out of her comfortable state. While the teacher’s back was still turned, Bri subtly moved her hand over the folded up page, hoping that no one had seen her jump in surprise. Knowing that Nada sat behind her but wasn’t the type to pass notes in class usually left Gabriella with only a couple of suspects. Dante wasn’t desperate enough yet to try talking to her via handwritten notes –not to mention the fact that he was currently sleeping in the back corner on the other side of the room- and Victor was much more fond of texting her in class. After near silently unfolding the sheet she found a message written in unfamiliar handwriting. Gabriella turned her head slightly to the side and found her suspicions were confirmed. She could see Romeo sitting two seats behind her, grinning like an idiot, and though Bri rolled her eyes in response, she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from turning up. Trust the Italian prince to pick the day when she was completely distractible to bother her. Well, if she was going to be distracted at least it was an attractive distraction; one that would not and could not go past an unlikely friendship, even if she wanted it to. Despite bracing herself for whatever Romeo might have written Bri found herself gaping at the paper. Well, she certainly hadn’t been expecting that sort of a note. Is he trying to be funny? she thought, raising a hand to smooth her hair down at the back. Nope, there wasn’t a tangle to be found, nor was there a hair out of place. Ever since the two of them had gone riding together, it had been difficult for Gabriella to forget the Italian prince. Sure they barely knew each other, but she did know that he was fun, had a sharp tongue like her, and that he understood her situation more than anyone else she knew. One couldn’t really call it a bonding topic, because Bri had no intention of ahem, bonding with the dirty blonde haired prince, no matter how handsome and charming he might be. They hadn’t spoken since then, thank goodness. Despite instant messaging a few times they hadn’t had a real conversation since riding their horses together, and that had been over a month ago. Would it have been fair to say she was craving another conversation? Yes. Did that mean she was bold enough to start asking people where he liked to hang out? Definitely not. Besides, the places everyone knew were the ones where the Kings hung out as a group; nobody really knew where each of the Kings went to have alone time, besides the rooms of different girls. After a second’s thought she decided that he’d been using sarcasm in an effort to be funny. That was easier for her to accept than the alternative, which was an impossibility. Bri figured that two could play at that game, so she pulled out one of her brightly coloured pens and tried to figure out what to write back. After focusing for a couple of minutes and still not having a clue how to respond to that, she neatly wrote out ‘You know you’re not making focusing easy for me Romeo.’ Bri paused, considering for a moment before adding a smiley face on the end. Pleased with her handiwork, Gabriella took care to make sure the teacher’s back was turned while she crumpled it into a ball. She rolled it on her desk when he turned around for a second, but the instant he was facing the blackboard again Bri lobbed it up over her shoulder in an arc above Nada so that it bounced off Romeo’s desk once before hitting him in the chest. Unable to control a small giggle at his expression, Bri whipped back around in her chair just in time to avoid being caught by their teacher. Maybe she and Nada should switch seats haha table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0

[romeo valentino of italy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 520px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] SHE WAS THE PUREST BEAUTY BUT NOT THE COMMON KIND Tagged: gabriella nicole of england Outfit:here Status: complete. This project was surely going to kill him. While he enjoyed the fact that they would be able to go up against each other in debates and really experience what it would be like once they all became rulers, it was still a drag. Thankfully, he was paired up with Sebastien, though that had been the last person he ever thought he’d be paired up with. It had taken a month, but finally Baste was growing out of the “awkward” phase of avoiding Romeo, due to the fact that Baste had pretty much broken his sister’s heart when they broke up. But, no matter; Romeo cared for his sister, but she was strong, and it really wasn’t his business anyways. He hadn’t expected Baste to be so nervous around Romeo – as if Romeo was going to snap him in two for ending his relationship with his younger sister, please – but then again, Baste was the sensitive, kind-hearted type. Well, it was better being paired up with one of his best friends than someone he didn’t know, in truth. He would have literally screamed if he’d been paired up with Aubrey, who was lounging in the back painting her nails, but he supposed their Euro History teacher had a lot more tact than he let on. Smart man, that one. Right on time, Gabriella turned around to look at him, and Romeo grinned playfully. He could see the smile was begging to form on her face, and this made his grin widen. Okay, so he most definitely had a bit of a crush on her. But how could he not? She was certainly more interesting than anyone else he’d ever met, and she was gorgeous. He waited rather impatiently as she turned back in her seat to write a reply, the minutes slowly ticking by. His eyes glanced up at the clock; twenty minutes left until next hour. Only one more hour of their next class, and then it was lunchtime. After that, Romeo had another hour of class, a free period, and then he was off for the day. Truthfully, he had no interest in going to any of his classes today – it was just that kind of day. Mid-October and Rexford was already under snowfall, something Romeo was not exactly thrilled about (he was more of a warm weather person), and so this chilly weather only made him want to lounge inside his suite all day. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he really had no intention of going to any of his classes the rest of the day. A wicked grin settled on his lips as he thought of his next idea. He was broken out of his thoughts, however, when Bri chunked the paper at him, hitting him square in the chest. It definitely took him by surprise enough to cause him to laugh, but it was her giggle more than anything that made him cover his mouth to keep from cracking up. His eyes crinkled as he bent over his desk, opening the ball of paper. Romeo read her rather neat, girly handwriting – something he had definitely expected her to have – and a charming smile played on his face. Immediately, he began to scribble in reply. ’Dearest Gabriella of England, That was my plan. And judging by the way you’re half-heartedly writing things down with those ridiculous colored pens, you were looking for a distraction anyways. So here I am, at your service. Forevers yours, Romeo Valentino of Italy P.S. Nice aim. Played baseball with Dante when you were younger?’ He quickly added a winky face – it was his signature smiley face, apparently – and, this time, aimed the note for her lap as the teacher turned back to the board. It landed just to the side of her chair, and thankfully did not fall off. He definitely didn’t want their professor to pick up the note and surely embarrass the two of them. This was a private conversation, after all. While he waited for her reply, his eyes roamed the room, and he locked eyes with Viktor, who was giving him a questioning look. He only winked. It was apparent, however, that a few of their classmates were no longer paying attention, but instead watching the two of them and their throwing of notes. Well, Romeo didn’t want the entire class looking in their direction, as that would be suspicious. He’d, unfortunately, have to ask Nada to pass the note. He didn’t know if the Serbian princess would be on board for that, but he did have a rather charming disposition and a persuasive tone to his words. And, she was nice, so it was worth a try when Bri gave him her reply. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[gabriella nicole of england]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] i see sparks fly ( WORDS ) 1081 ( TAGGED ) ROMEO VALENTINO OF ITALY ( STATUS ) COMPLETE At least no one could say that the major assignment Gabriella’s class had been given was going to be boring. Bri had overheard Aubrey talking to her partner in the girls’ washroom the day before. They were going for the seductively sweet approach, though Gabriella didn’t think any of their classmates would believe the act for a second; everyone knew the Belgian princess at this point, and how she operated. The two of them had shallowly been discussing which outfits would best help their cause, at which point Bri had decided to leave before her sarcasm decided to make an appearance. Many of the others appeared to be going for a tentatively peaceful approach and Bri admired that. She and Victor had decided to go along with that, but at the same time they weren’t going to allow themselves to be pushed around either. She had a feeling that the teacher had assigned the two of them one of the more powerful countries in order to give them an opportunity to show what they could do when they made up their minds to. Normally Victor was one of the quietest people in their class, but as Gabriella had gotten to know him better it quickly became clear that he was very underestimated by his peers. He could be loud and opinionated sometimes, not unlike herself, but they got on very well and were making a good team so far. Bri didn’t quite know why she was bothering to take a European history class in the first place; she wasn’t the one who was going to rule a country, after all, and would have almost no need for such skills after school. Still, it was interesting to learn about –usually anyway, and the only reason it wasn’t today was because an attractive distraction had presented itself. Or rather, himself. When she turned around to look back at him, ignoring the strange look on Nada’s face, Bri could see the familiar scheming grin on Romeo’s classically handsome face as clear as day. Still avoiding the eyes of the Serbian princess, Gabriella turned back to the note and wrote out her reply, tossing it back with surprising accuracy at the Italian prince. An instant later their teacher had wheeled back around to check one of his points with what the textbook said, and Bri uncapped yet another of her pens, pretending to be diligently copying everything he’d written on the blackboard. Apparently Romeo had been writing a reply while she fought to maintain an innocent expression, managing to catch up just as their teacher turned his back to them again and the paper landed on the edge of her seat. Had one of her friends told her that they wanted to melt into the floor every time a guy smiled at them, Bri would have told them they were crazy and/or being a sap. Unfortunately this was exactly how she was starting to feel every time Romeo looked at her, not just when he was smiling, though that did seem to exacerbate the feeling. She unfolded the paper with utmost care, barely making any noise and focused on what he’d written. Within seconds her ears had heated up along with her cheeks as her coffee coloured eyes stared at the words ‘Forever yours’ he’d written on the page. Now under normal circumstances Gabriella was usually very good at deciphering the meaning behind things boys said and did, but this time she was at a total loss. Romeo kept catching her off guard with his charming smile and sly comments that felt like hints of some sort, but couldn’t possibly be. Within a minute or so she’d neatly written out a response to his odd miniature letter. It took her a little longer than it should have because she’d decided to alternate pen colours for each sentence, just because he’d called them ridiculous. O Romeo, Romeo! Okay, I’ll admit that I don’t really want to be here right now, and that I’m not looking forward to being stuck in class for the rest of the day. My pens are amazing and you know it! The truth is I don’t believe in doing things halfway so I use them to colour coordinate my notes. I’m not in the mood for learning today though, so yes, I was day dreaming if you must know. Affectionately, Gabriella Nicole of England P.S. Of course! We played all sorts of sports during the summer, though football was definitely our favourite. Winter was the worst because we got in way more trouble for having spontaneous pick-up games inside the palaces! Bri recapped her pen, re-crushing the paper into a ball again. This time she threw it blindly over her shoulder, hearing it make contact with something but not knowing just what that something was. Now that she was aware of some of their classmates were looking at them Gabriella’s eyes turned self-consciously back to her paper and the diligent note taking continued. Pretending they weren’t all staring at her and Romeo’s antics wasn’t going to make them stop, but maybe they’d get bored. There were only fifteen minutes or so of class left anyway. aw, so cute! table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0

[romeo valentino of italy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 520px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] SHE WAS THE PUREST BEAUTY BUT NOT THE COMMON KIND Tagged: gabriella nicole of england Outfit:here Status: complete. He had begun to drum his fingers while waiting for her reply, a sly grin still on his lips. Nada was so totally in the way; he could have had a way better chance at talking to her if they were not separated by a seat. Then again, he was supposed to be paying attention to what their teacher was saying, because chances were, the information was important. Romeo cast a side look to the right and spotted Baste giving him a nosy look, but as he peered a bit more, he could see there was quite a bit written on the paper in front of the Austrian prince, indicating he had, at least, been working somewhat diligently. Romeo, on the other hand, was too wrapped up in desperate conversations with one English rose. And a rose she was -- she was certainly beautiful, extremely so, but that wasn't the only reason why he was currently doing his best to keep her attention on him. It definitely helped things, though. Of course, good looks were not hard to come by at this school, but Bri was what Romeo would call very fair. There was something delicate about her, but there were thorns underneath that pretty face, just like a rose. Not that that was a bad thing -- Romeo didn't mind having to dance around her complications. The challenge was welcoming. There was a sudden commotion that caused Romeo to turn away from his partner's direction, and he bit his cheek to keep from guffawing at the rather irritated expression the Bulgarian princess was currently wearing. Poor Gabriella hadn't made the best shot this time around, and Mira had had to pay with a ball of paper in the head -- but judging by her dark, glittering eyes, the Bulgarian princess didn't mind too much. It seemed everyone was all too happy to be presented with a distraction, but Romeo didn't want everyone in his and Bri's business. Mira tossed him the note with a smirk -- not without teasing him first by acting like she was going to read it -- and Romeo unraveled the paper, absorbing what was written. The colored words were definitely a surprise, but he liked that she'd mocked what he'd said by doing so. Having some healthy competition in this game was a breath of fresh air -- most girls just tried to be cute and sweet (or worse, overly sexy) when flirting with him, and Romeo was often bored by that. And yes, they were totally flirting, and he -- and everyone else -- knew it. "See, how Gabriella leans her cheek upon her hand! O that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek! Well, since we both don't want to be here...I would be honored to have you join me in skipping the rest of the day. I mean, it's a far better alternative than day dreaming about me for the next few hours... P.S. That's what snowball fights are for. We could team up against Dante! Oh, wait, you two aren't talking...bummer... 0;)" With a smirk, Romeo aimed once more, though like Bri, he missed entirely and the ball hit the floor next to her chair. They really were the center of attention now, but Romeo refused to let it throw him off; he did somewhat revel in the attention and curious looks, after all. He was a mysterious guy with a mysterious agenda -- everyone thought they knew him, but they really didn't. They only knew what they idolized him to be: a charming womanizer, devilishly mischievous and always up to no good. That could be somewhat true, if he really thought about it, but there was a lot more to him, just like anyone else. He was certainly easy to talk to, and yet he didn't tell many people his innermost feelings or secrets...except for Bri, of course. In the short month they'd exchanged IM messages and whatnot, he'd told her more than he thought he had, but he felt like he could trust her -- she was going through the same thing he was, so it was easier to talk to her since they identified with each other. But he was done with talking online, not that he'd been afraid all of this time to get to her in person; they'd all just been so busy, not to mention she'd been avoiding the Kings consistently, so catching hold of her this way was the only option he had left. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and Romeo was dying to get to know her. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[gabriella nicole of england]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] i see sparks fly ( WORDS ) 832 ( TAGGED ) ROMEO VALENTINO OF ITALY ( STATUS ) COMPLETE Bri had tossed the note without realizing how much time had passed, and noticed there were only five left in the hour. Thank god for that, she thought, recapping her series of pens and only leaving the plain black one ready to use on her desk. The rest went quietly back into the case, which was then slipped into her bag. Their teacher was so absorbed with his lecture notes that he wasn't noticing that half the class had started packing up already. The instant the bell rang it was a sure bet that there would be a stampede of students racing for the door. Gabriella wasn't ready to leave just yet though; she wanted to know exactly what the purpose behind Romeo's notes were. They'd IM'ed before, but this was different, was more personal than that and Bri was intrigued by his playfulness in a way that she definitely shouldn't have been. Especially given that her fiancée was currently in the same room while they were passing flirty notes back and forth. When her shot missed and hit Mira instead Bri flinched and mouthed an apology, but when the Bulgarian grinned at the two of them both girls ended up giggling about Bri's terrible throw. The realization that she was indeed flirting with the Italian prince was a startling one for Gabriella. She'd never considered herself a cheater, but had decided that since her engagement to Dante was basically a formality at this point it didn't count. In any case, even if Dante had the guts to say something to her about it he was the last person who should have been pointing fingers, given all of the other girls he'd seen during their "engagement", and that was even before one took Vivien into account. So all in all Bri could have cared less whether she got in trouble at this point. The attention of their classmates was embarrassing though, and her slight blush hadn't gone away thanks to all of the curious looks she noticed pointed in their direction. In an effort to forget about their curious audience Gabriella turned her head so she could get a better look at her new pen pal, who was writing on their shared note with an adorable look of concentration on his face. His hair was a little messy today, but there was no hiding his sigh-worthy good looks. He knew it too, which was something Bri found oddly attractive. She normally didn't get flustered by overly confident boys, but this one was different. He was the right amount of confident without coming across as arrogant, and currently knew more about her than most people because he was just so darn easy to talk to. It was almost maddening how sweet and magnetic he could be sometimes, and even more so because even Gabriella wasn't immune to Romeo's charm. Another few minutes passed while she reluctantly turned back to her patchy notes and the window, which was casting a warm glow into the room. She'd almost gone back to daydreaming when the paper ball bounced against her foot and drew her attention back to the classroom. Within a second Bri had leaned over, her hair falling in front of her shoulder like a curtain while she grabbed the note and opened it. If the teacher hadn't been standing mere feet from where she sat the princess would have laughed as she brushed her hair back over her shoulder again. As it was she grinned in Romeo's direction and gave a little nod. Because she was feeling bold (and because Dante was sleeping and wouldn't see it) Bri also tossed a teasing wink in his direction along with it. Would it be wrong of her to keep the note? She knew it was never a good idea to keep evidence when doing something you shouldn't be, but in this case it was impossible to resist. Thankfully they only had to wait another minute or two before the bell rang, interrupting their teacher mid-sentence, who abruptly dismissed them all. It turned out he'd noticed Dante sleeping in the back corner so he took the opportunity to call out a lecture about the risks of falling asleep in class as the students all hurried out the door. Shoving her binder and pages into her bag as fast as she could Bri followed the masses out into the hallway, which was swollen with people pouring out of the rooms and heading for their next classes. It was easy to lose track of a person in such a crowded and chaotic atmosphere, which exactly what had happened to Gabriella, who had lost track of the attractive boy in the rush. "Darn it, where'd he go?" It was safest to move along with the flow, so she chose to head in the direction of the dining hall, figuring that at least if she'd lost him she could console herself with food. Haha, wherefore art thou, Romeo? table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0

[romeo valentino of italy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 520px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] SHE WAS THE PUREST BEAUTY BUT NOT THE COMMON KIND Tagged: gabriella nicole of england Outfit:here Status: complete. Five minutes left off on the clock, and Romeo's mind was set on the day ahead of them, especially now that Gabriella had agreed to go with him. He wasn't looking to go anywhere, really; he just wanted to skip class, because honestly class was boring him. He skipped often -- it wasn't an uncommon thing for the Italian boy -- and so the teachers probably couldn't care less at this point. He'd had the same teachers, pretty much, since his first year at Vineheart and they knew him all too well to try and keep him locked up. Dante, thankfully, was the object of distraction this time around as their professor spotted him dozing off, and Romeo knew he'd have to, eventually, thank him for staying up too late doing who knows what -- it definitely made it easier for him to slip out of the door along with the rest of the class and with no questions from his friends. All of the Vineheart classes, unfortunately, were located on the first floor -- though in different hallways leading off from the main hallway -- and so all students in attendance at the school needed to get through to their next class, which was always a bit of a challenge every day. This caused Romeo and Gabriella to be separated, and, skilled as he was, Romeo meandered along through the crowds, his relatively tall height making it easier for him to look for the flow of chestnut curls he'd been staring at for the past hour. Finally, he spotted her, and she seemed to be looking for him as well, a decidedly cute expression on her face. He tried to make it through the throngs of royals to get to her, but she gave up quickly, muttering something to herself, and then turned to head in the direction of the cafe. Romeo playfully rolled his eyes and charged after her, catching up to her in no time and gently grabbing hold of her wrist. He pulled her off to the side and to a dip in the wall as the crowds began to disperse and disappear to their classes. This would keep them safe from hovering teachers, for now, though this was not where he planned to lounge for the rest of the day. Finally letting go of her wrist, he grinned, running a few fingers through his already messed up hair. "Are you okay? Talking to yourself is a sure sign you need to see your doctor," he teased, his Italian accent thick through his words. Romeo leaned back against the wall, his piercing eyes settling on her face. "Ever skipped class before?" He asked with a smirk. She had spoken of her "bad girl" days before, and so he figured she probably had, but still -- she didn't seem like the type of student to just skip all of the time, whenever she felt like it. He was pleased, though, that she'd decided to join him; he was always persuading the Kings to make it a day with him, but they always refused to for whatever reasons, though Baste did tend to skip with him a lot. She was much better, or more interesting, company than the boys, though, and he was glad he got what he wanted. There was nothing wrong with his intrigue in her; there was a certain air of mystery to her that he was ready to solve, no matter how long it took. Romeo leaned over to check the hallways as the bell rang through the speakers, and he saw that the coast clear. Perfect. As it was, it was a relatively nice day outside -- there was certainly snow forming on the ground (one thing that always bothered him, as it was mid-October), and it was a little chilly, but with a coat it was nothing too bad. So, shooting her a sly grin, he took off across the hall at a leisurely pace towards the front doors, his eyes trained to look every which way for oncoming trouble. When you were a King, you learned to spot teachers and administration and anyone else quickly, and he used this to his advantage every time he skipped class, which was at least once a week, give or take. It was amazing that he even kept up his grades; more than once, Dante had been frustrated with him for being "one of those people" that did nothing but still earned high marks. Well, he didn't do nothing -- Romeo did study, more than he let on. He just didn't particularly like class, and learned better from reading books in the library. Once they got to the entrance doors, Romeo pushed through them, making sure to not make much noise; he held the door open for Bri, and then sat down on the top step, patting the area next to him for Bri to sit down on. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[gabriella nicole of england]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] i see sparks fly ( WORDS ) 1140 ( TAGGED ) ROMEO VALENTINO OF ITALY ( STATUS ) COMPLETE Thank goodness class was finally over; Bri had been fidgeting nervously for the final minutes, as antsy as a thoroughbred in the starting gate. Now that she’d made up her mind to skip out on the rest of the day to hang out with Romeo –consequences be damned—there was nothing she wanted more than to just get out of the classroom, which was currently full of prying eyes and ears. The expression on Mira’s face had almost given Gabriella an inner heart attack, but her composure on the outside had appeared barely ruffled. She’d mouthed a hasty sorry to the Bulgarian before turning and abruptly facing the front, embarrassed that she’d let Romeo’s compliment throw off her game. What she and the prince were writing about was nobody’s business but their own, so when Mira had mimed opening the paper ball Bri had narrowed her eyes and inwardly groaned. If anyone ever saw the note the two of them were going to be in so much trouble it would make World War 2 look like a schoolyard brawl. Okay, so maybe that was a teensy bit overdramatic, but needless to say the result wouldn’t be pretty. Gabriella only noticed that she and Romeo had gotten separated in the crush of people at the door once she’d entered the masses of students headed for their next classes. Under normal circumstances she would have waited right there for him to find her, but she instead found herself unwillingly being swept along by the current of bodies. Luckily Romeo found her before she’d been pushed along too far and Bri let him pull her after him into a nearby alcove as soon as she felt his warm hand over her wrist. There were several such alcoves spaced out along the length of the hallway and the ones connecting to it, all of various sizes. The one they’d chosen was barely big enough for the two of them, built for a single student looking for an out of the way place to study. The small space meant there wasn’t much extra room, and Bri knew they couldn’t stay here long but it would keep them out of the hawk-like gazes of their teachers, hall monitors and the principal, should any of them happen to be looking down their particular hallway. Acutely aware that Romeo was still holding her wrist, Bri tried to play it cool and pretend her heart hadn’t just sped up by rolling her eyes at him. “Ha. Ha. Very funny Romeo.” Her tone was thick with sarcasm as she shifted her bag on her shoulders slightly and grinned up playfully at the tall boy. “I’d say you’re the namby one for writing me notes in class when Aubrey and Dante are both there. You’re just lucky neither of them were paying attention.” Yes, thank goodness for the fact that Dante had been either bored or tired enough to sleep through that portion of class, and where would they have been without Aubrey’s disgustingly large sense of vanity that had prompted her to paint her nails during class? If they each hadn’t been doing what they had been though, Bri and Romeo would have already been busted. She made a face at him. “Of course not; I just… haven’t done it in a while.” It wasn’t overly unusual for Gabriella to skip class, but she ordinarily had a better excuse than wanting to spend time with a boy. No, she didn’t skip class with other people; Bri skipped class to be alone. She hadn’t in a while because it was irritating having to explain to her parents what she’d been doing, and Bri’s plan had been to soften them up by behaving well so they might be more open-minded about calling off her engagement to Dante. Since that hadn’t worked out so well Gabriella could see no reason why she needed to behave at the moment –or at all for that matter. So long as no one suspected they’d skipped out together everything would be fine, and Bri was planning on just telling her teachers that she’d been feeling ill. Yet another reason why she shouldn’t have been following him towards the door right now. They were going to be in so much trouble if they got caught; somehow the thought only made doing it seem like a more attractive option than before. Gabriella took a second to admire the fine view as Romeo casually strolled to the front door. And what a fine view it was Bri thought to herself as she sauntered after him. It was her right as a female to check him out, and what kind of girl wouldn’t appreciate watching the tall, handsome prince’s muscles flex beneath the blue shirt that she’d discovered complimented his eyes? If there was such a girl –which was doubtful—it certainly wasn’t Gabriella. Her once over had ended up focused on the masculine hand currently holding the door open for her, but only for the second it took to walk past him, uttering a quick thanks and a shy smile. It wasn’t every day a guy held the door open for her because, contrary to popular belief not all princes were sweet and gentlemanly. Bri wasn’t surprised this one had though; she’d decided that most of the school had him pegged wrong. At least it was their loss, not hers. It was chilly outside, but the snow made everything look prettier and cleaner, even if the layer was thin on the ground. Gabriella loved the snow but hated the bitter cold that came with winter. The summer here bothered her more though; it was too dry for her liking, despite the fact that thunderstorms frightened her and she usually ended up curled up in her bed for their duration. While most people found rain depressing Bri loved the sound of it, and warm summer rain was the best kind. In England it rained a lot, but thunderstorms weren’t nearly as common; it was more common for them to have a light drizzle or fine mist than actual storms. At least snow didn’t make noise coming down. She waited for Romeo to sit first, dreading the feel of the cold stone but wanting to be closer to the warmth he offered more. Bri’s body settled in a respectful distance away, but the distance seemed less when she turned and angled herself to be almost facing him, giving a tiny shiver as the cold penetrated her shirt. Do they have lockers or something? And do they all wear their uniforms all the time? table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0

[romeo valentino of italy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 520px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] SHE WAS THE PUREST BEAUTY BUT NOT THE COMMON KIND Tagged: gabriella nicole of england Outfit:here Status: complete. Romeo grinned, giving a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. "And they'd think what? There's nothing wrong with passing notes, I don't think engagements restrict that," he teased, though he was confused by her accusation. Aubrey probably wouldn't have given a damn what he was doing, much less passing notes to another person, especially since she was currently dating his servant; Dante would have thought they were plotting against him, and nothing more. So why was she so nervous about it? Unless she thought there was something more to this, and then he wouldn't be alone in that factor. That had to be it -- she had to be flirting with him, totally and completely, or else she wouldn't have a guilty conscience. He let his gaze train on her face for a moment longer before he smirked, taking off in the direction of the doors. So she hadn't skipped in a while? Shocker. In the past few weeks, he'd noticed how diligent she was in class -- mostly because he spent all of his time not diligent, and instead observing her, as creepy as it was -- and how she always was just a little bit turned to the left so as to not have Dante in her peripheral vision. She was definitely avoiding the Spanish prince still, and from what Romeo could see, she was trying to be the perfect student in doing so. Everyone had different ways to get something off their mind, and he guessed not letting her mind wander was how she coped with it all. He thought that was an awful way to forget about something, but that was because he didn't really like school all of that much. Soccer, golf, and riding Paris kept him busy as it was, but Romeo didn't always run from his problems, either. His smoke breaks didn't allow that; smoking alone resulted in deep thoughts swarming his mind, so he was always forced to confront his issues. If only it were so easy with Aubrey, he thought grumpily -- she seemed less inclined to speak with him than ever before. It took two to end an engagement, at least an arranged one, so he was going to have to make it his mission to get ahold of her if he wanted any luck at all. He watched as she sat down, noticing the small shiver that ran through her. Damn, he thought; he'd forgotten that girls at Vineheart were forced to wear navy blue skirts as part of the dress code, though in wintertime they were allowed stockings. They were certainly a blessing for the boys, but a curse for the girls, and he felt bad that he'd decided to draw her out here, where though it was not yet wintertime, it was still chilly. Thankfully, Romeo always had a spare coat stuffed in his backpack; it took up a lot of room in the backpack, but then again, Romeo didn't care a lot of books, mostly because he never paid attention. He rummaged through the bag and pulled out the wool coat, handing it to her with an apologetic grin. "Here, take this," he offered. "Sorry, I forgot girls aren't so lucky when it comes to the uniforms." The students at Vineheart were allowed to wear whatever they wanted outside of classes, but in class and during assemblies, they were expected to wear the uniform: navy blue polos or sweaters and light khakis for boys, and a white button down and navy blue skirt for girls. Most of the girls tended to skip the button-down part when it came to the shirts and wore rather low-cut tops, but Romeo couldn't say he minded all that much. Today, he'd been rather naughty -- all of his khakis were in the wash, and so he'd decided to wear one of his spare pair of jeans. So far, the violation had gone unnoticed, but currently he was not in class, so he supposed it was all right. Never mind the fact that he was technically skipping. Romeo sighed and wrapped his arms around himself, turning to Gabriella with a peaceful grin. "Much better out here than in class, no?" He asked, looking at her intently, studying her face. He seemed to do that a lot whenever they were around each other, but he couldn't help it; her reactions were always so intriguing, and he found he could read quite a bit into her expressions and guess what she was thinking. He always had a penchant for reading body language, but it seemed that with Bri, her body language was different -- she wasn't hard to read, but it wasn't easy figuring out what she was thinking and feeling either. He supposed she was a bit of closed book, but then again so was he; the mystery was fun, though, and he gladly accepted the challenge. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[gabriella nicole of england]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] i see sparks fly ( WORDS ) 1169 ( TAGGED ) ROMEO VALENTINO OF ITALY ( STATUS ) COMPLETE Normally Gabriella could be counted on to be cool as a cucumber, but Romeo was so calm it somehow made her more worried than usual, as if she had to worry for the both of them right now. At his comment about their engagements not restricting note passing, Bri couldn’t help but slowly smile back at him. It almost sounded as though he was justifying what they were doing –whatever that was. “I know, just… it’s not exactly like we’re friends.” Her forehead wrinkled and worry pulled her eyebrows together as she hastily corrected herself. “I mean, we are friends… just nobody knows we are.” Her voice went up at the end of the hesitantly spoken statement, as though it wasn’t a statement at all but a question. It wasn’t like her to be so unsure of herself; Gabriella was ordinarily the one who stayed comfortable in strange situations. Not at all sure that the statement had come out the way she’d wanted, Bri’s nervousness had spilled out and she found herself still talking. “Didn’t you see the looks on all their faces? They thought it was beyond odd.” Remembering Mira’s expression when she’d gotten the wad of paper in the face was enough to almost send Gabriella back into giggles again, but the intense expression on Romeo’s face had made her too nervous for that. Thankfully, he turned away after a second, his long strides quickly carrying him to the doors leading outside. If Gabriella was being honest with herself she would have realized that Dante could have cared less what she did, or whom she did it with. After all, he hadn’t had a problem sleeping with Vivien –there was no doubt in Gabriella’s mind that that’s exactly what had happened—so even if she had slept with someone it wasn’t any of his business. Not that she was planning on sleeping with Romeo, or anyone else for that matter, but there was no denying the Italian prince’s good looks or charming personality, and if she had wanted to sleep with him, it was totally her prerogative. She shook off thoughts of the Romeo’s appeal -partially because she was unsure how many of the rumours about him being a player were actually true- and followed him out the door and onto the steps. The stone was an ice cold temperature that immediately permeated her clothes and made her shiver. Hopefully he wasn’t planning on the two of them spending a lot of time out here, because Bri hadn’t brought a coat, and if they stayed outside for long her teeth were bound to start chattering. Her skin crawled with goose bumps from almost the moment she sat down, her only distraction from the cold being the boy sitting beside her. When Romeo began rummaging through his bag with purpose, she took the opportunity to watch him curiously, studying his features until he found what he had been searching for. To Gabriella’s surprise, he was offering her a winter coat made from a wool fabric, which felt soft and warm in her hands as she pulled it over her shoulders gratefully. “Thanks,” she said, her eyes darting to the grounds and buildings in front of them. “It’s a little chilly out here.” Was she so nervous that, for lack of knowing what to say, she’d been reduced to stating the obvious? She sincerely hoped not; Romeo was bound to get bored if things continued in this manner for long, and for some reason the thought of that bothered Gabriella. The look on his face was oddly… quiet, considering that it was Romeo who was wearing it. His normal devil-may-care expression was oddly absent, but Gabriella discovered that she didn’t mind. Mysterious shouldn’t have been attractive for her, but here she was trying to decipher the one who was arguably one of the most mysterious people currently attending their school. At the same time he was open and closed, playful and serious, familiarly close and frustratingly out of reach. It was driving her mad. What game was the prince playing with her? Bri didn’t know what set of rules he was playing by, nor did she know how this was going to end but curiousity and rebelliousness was tugging her along. Why had he taken an interest in her all of a sudden? She could appreciate that at the moment their situations were similar, and maybe it was simply because the boy needed someone to talk to, but Gabriella was suspicious as to the prince’s motives for wanting to spend time with her. This was unusual for her since she wasn’t normally so guarded, but his nosey questions from their trail ride lingered in her mind, putting the girl on edge. Bri found herself having to refocus her attention, as he’d started speaking to her. "Much better out here than in class, no?" The coat he’d given her was warm, and there was an attractive scent coming from it, masculine like Dante but somehow different. Better. Much better. She smiled happily at him and breathed into her cupped hands, turning to face the same direction he was. “Absolutely, anything to get away from Dante, even if it’s cold out here.” Her eyes sparkled, enjoying the snow falling lightly on and all around them, despite the coldness it brought. Gabriella wasn’t a fan of the freezing cold temperatures, but at the moment it was barely below freezing. Hopefully they would have another warm spell over Halloween; if not, the scantily clad female students were certainly going to suffer. She was smarter than that and had chosen a costume with marginally more material than the average girl would wear, mostly because she wasn’t looking for that kind of attention, but also simply because she didn’t feel comfortable wearing something quite that… bold. Even the school skirts sometimes felt too short, like it had just now when she crossed her legs at the knees, before realizing how much the material had ridden up, causing her to immediately uncross them again. Her attention was temporarily caught by a fluffy snowflake that was gradually floating towards her lap, and despite the chilling temperature Gabriella’s hand darted out from inside the coat in order to catch it. She held it in her palm at eye level in order to see the perfectly formed crystals, before the heat from her skin began melting it. Watching snowflakes melt on her hands had always seemed like something to be both a happy and sad about; they were beautiful to look at, but they didn’t last nearly long enough. “It makes everything so beautiful,” she said, itreferring to the snow. Her eyes were quiet and perhaps a little sad as her thoughts drifted through her current predicament, running through the various options she'd thought through many times before. “” Blinking as a few more flakes fell gently into her hair, Gabriella realized that Romeo had fallen silent and was now watching her. Knowing someone was watching her normally made her feel uncomfortable, but she felt relaxed enough that it didn’t particularly bother her. The cold however, was bothering her, so she scooted closer to Romeo, just a little. If he wasn’t cool with it then she’d gladly move away again, but if he was then she fully intended to take advantage of the warmth emanating from him; or was it emanating from her because of him? Aw, she's trying to cuddle without seeming like she's trying to cuddle! table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0

[romeo valentino of italy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 520px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] SHE WAS THE PUREST BEAUTY BUT NOT THE COMMON KIND Tagged: gabriella nicole of england Outfit:here Status: complete. The class' reaction to their flirty note passing did not concern Romeo as much as it should have, he knew that. But he just couldn't bring himself to care that much, not really anyways. What did it matter what they thought? For all they knew, they could just be friends. And they were, weren't they? Just friends. Oddly enough, a squirming inside Romeo's stomach told otherwise. This was no ordinary friendship, if it was that. "They just thought it was far more interesting than whatever Professor Gordon was droning on about," he insisted, though he knew there was some truth to her words. They'd quickly gained an audience while throwing notes back and forth, and their constant muffling of laughter hadn't helped either to keep the attention away from them. Well, no matter trying to dwell on it now. The students would talk regardless, and Romeo found he wasn't so upset about it. Did he want the entire student body budging in on his friendships and relationships? No. But he was sure that by the end of the day, they would forget about it. Worrying only complicated things, especially if he wasn't even sure there was something to be worried about. She was good at keeping up with him as he swiftly made his way down the hallway, and he found he rather enjoyed the idea of doing something bad with the English princess. Never would he have thought she would be another person to add to the list of people he'd want to get in trouble with, but from what he could see so far, if trouble did find them she was clever enough to get them out of it. Granted, she seemed to worry a bit more than was necessary, but it was a healthy balance with Romeo's apathetic stance. He also figured that, if his easy charm didn't work in busting them out of detention, her responsible demeanor would. After all, she was the victim of Dante's wrongdoings, all the more upholding her in the faculty's minds. The thought almost made him laugh, for he knew that all that had happened back in the classroom was a near sign of rebellion against her restrictions. Was flirting with other boys out of the engagement contract? Gabriella seemed to state the obvious, and Romeo perceived this as a possible sign of continued nerves. The least he could do was make her more comfortable. "Really? I'm sweating," he joked, his teeth flashing as he grinned. It was actually pretty cold, but Romeo had far more items of clothing on than she did, unfortunately. Or was it fortunately, in this case? He couldn't help but let his eyes drift to her rather exposed legs. She'd told him before that she played soccer, and he would have to thank the sport for giving her a nice pair of limbs. Normally, Romeo was bold enough to say something like this to a pretty girl, especially if he was flirting, but he held back this time. It wasn't that he saw Bri as a feminist, per se, but he had a hunch she had far more pride than to be complimented for her body, especially when she almost seemed embarrassed by how short the skirt was, judging by the continual shifting she was doing. He watched, curious, as she reached out to let the snowflake fall into her palm. The flakes had started to lodge themselves in her soft brown hair and he thought it made a nice touch. She was beautiful as it was, but something about the cold and the snow seemed to draw out a natural vulnerability to her facial features. Romeo remembered her outburst the previous weeks ago in his secret hideout at his suggestion, and he smiled inwardly; such a contrast with the innocent, almost angelic aura she seemed to give at this moment. He did not miss her subtle shift in his direction, and though he said nothing about it, a tiny, tiny smirk passed his lips and he barely leaned closer to her, partly to give her the warmth she obviously desired and partly because he just wanted to be nearer to her, for some reason. Silence had fallen, but still Romeo didn't say anything. Instead, he leaned his head back and stuck out his tongue, letting one of the snowflakes drop and instantly melt onto it. Grinning, he turned to look at Bri. "We don't get a lot of snow in Rome. Just cold rain," he commented. After five winters spent at Vineheart, he knew he'd miss then pretty blanket of white once he returned to Italy, for good. "Have you ever been to Italy?" He asked suddenly, interested in what her answer would be. The royals traveled many places, so he wouldn't be surprised if she had, though usually when another royal was visiting his country his family would be told. Vivien had been there before with Aubrey back in third year, and Dante came often, but he had never thought about the second English princess. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[gabriella nicole of england]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] i see sparks fly ( WORDS ) 750 ( TAGGED ) ROMEO VALENTINO OF ITALY ( STATUS ) COMPLETE Thankful to be out of the disinfected air of the school, Gabriella had inhaled several deep breaths after stepping through the doors. The air outside was simply cleaner, fresher and felt better than the same stuff inside, even if it was more than a few degrees colder. If anything, the stone steps were even colder than the frigid air around them, but the coat Romeo had given her was helping some. Being closer to him would help even more, which was what had prompted her to move just a bit closer to the boy. He didn't seem to mind; in fact, if she wasn't very much mistaken the prince had leaned just a little closer to her. Another few inches and their thighs would be touching and she'd be able to lean against his warm body. Those inches might as well have been miles though, for all the distance they had between them. Bri wasn't one to push into the personal space of others very often, unless she felt very comfortable with them. Unfortunately -or was it fortunately?- Romeo was one such person, though she couldn't for the life of her figure out why. Under ordinary circumstances she easily made friends with boys, but Gabriella had enough experience with such matters to know that the fluttery feeling she was having right now just sitting beside him was more than just simple friendship feelings. Oh yes, this was anything but simple. “Well he could have gone for something a bit less long winded.” It wasn't that he was a bad teacher, it was just he was so out of sync with the students and the fact that he was technologically challenged sure wasn't helping the man out. So long as their classmates quickly forgot about their little flirtscapades it wasn't a big deal at all, though in hindsight she wasn't exactly sure what there was to be worried about, besides incurring the wrath of Aubrey. As Romeo joked about the temperature the serious look faded from her face, replaced with a cautious smile, which gradually widened. Gabriella's attention shifted to the snow falling around them, which caused her to completely miss the look the prince shot at her legs. She did stretch them out for a second, pretending she was trying to find a more comfortable position while in reality managing to close the distance between her own body and his. If either of them so much as took an overly deep breath their bodies would touch. Their legs were a hairsbreadth away from touching, but Bri resisted the temptation to press against the warmth emanating from his body, waiting with bated breath to see what his reaction would be, carefully observing Romeo's reaction from the corner of her eye. She smiled to herself as Romeo playfully caught a snowflake on his tongue, secretly enjoying the way his face relaxed when he wasn't aware he was being watched. Enjoying the peaceful feeling, Bri adjusted the coat over her shoulders, tugging it tighter around herself before gently breathing on her hands again. “I know what you mean. It's like that in England too.” At least she could grin over their countries shared lack of snow and over-abundance of rainfall. His question drew her eyes off the steps in front of her and back to his face, where they darted from his eyes down to his gorgeous mouth and back again before answering his question. “I've never had the pleasure, sadly. I've always wanted to though.” Her face turned to stare into the space in front of her as she envisioned the panoramic landscapes and cities she'd only seen in pictures. When she'd taken a course on Ancient Civilizations last year she'd found the Romans among the most fascinating of all the cultures they'd studied. The history, the architecture was just incredible. “There are many historical monuments I'd like to see. And the culture is supposed to be incredible." She smiled sheepishly at him, embarrassed to admit that her travels hadn't taken her to as many places as she'd have liked. Spain, Serbia, Ireland, Scotland, and France were all places she was familiar with only because of various charity events her mother had sent her to, or because she had been invited by friends, or simply because of the close proximity they had to her own country. Not to mention the fantastic food the Italians were known for, and the fact that Venice sounded like one of the most romantic places Gabriella could imagine. table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0

[romeo valentino of italy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 520px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] SHE WAS THE PUREST BEAUTY BUT NOT THE COMMON KIND Tagged: gabriella nicole of england Outfit:here Status: complete. His skin prickled where she had almost, barely, touched him and he cast her a sidelong glance, watching her as she slowly pushed closer and closer to him. To anyone else, it would have gone unnoticed, but Romeo had the decency not to out her for her lack of subtlety. Instead, he shifted slightly, so slightly it almost seemed like he hadn't moved, but as he caught her gaze in his peripheral vision, watching him so carefully, he knew she would notice. Now their legs were very much touching, and through his jeans he could feel the burning warmth of her skin. Just the close proximity to her was enough to keep the chill at bay, and he smiled softly, her stormy eyes meeting hers directly for a brief moment. It was hard not ignore the odd tugging he felt inside of him, and honestly Romeo didn't really want to. If he felt something more than friendship, why should he hide it? There was nothing wrong with this, not really. This was nearly harmless, were it not for the voice in the back of his mind telling him it was not a good idea. Eh, Romeo rarely listened to that voice. If he had, he wouldn't have the reputation he did, would he? He was not really all that surprised Bri had not been to Italy yet; surely he would have remembered her visiting, right? Those warm brown eyes, the pretty smile -- that was not something anyone forgot, friend or not. But her idea of Italy was very general, very tourist-like, something he would expect from someone who had not lived there for eighteen years. He'd probably be the same way with England, were it not for the fact that Aubrey had dragged him to London a few times during third year to hang out with Vivien. Still, he didn't know all that much about the English culture, so he couldn't judge. Instead, he grinned and bit his lip, turning to look at her. "Monuments? Eh," he commented with a shrug. Certainly the architecture of Rome and all of the Italian citizens were unbelievably breathtaking, but Romeo had a different idea of beauty. "Sure, they're nice. I can appreciate them. But they're just buildings, really," he said, the corners of his lips quirking upwards. Suddenly, a mischevious grin passed his lips. "You want to know a secret?" He paused, twisting in her direction. His voice dropped to a whisper. "If you look hard enough, my name is inscribed on each one." Oh god, if anyone else knew about that, Romeo would be severely punished. Inscribing your name into the side of a worldwide celebrated landmark was probably a capital crime, but Romeo was so clever and careful that he'd done it in places not many chose to look. It had taken many a late nights to sneak around the guards and carve his name into the classic stones. The grin dropped and in its place formed a thoughtful look. "No, the best part of Italy are the things no one thinks to do," he said. "Cliff diving, bathing in the hot springs of Saturnia, festivals in the smaller towns, playing games with the local kids in the square," he listed off, his eyes locked onto his hands in his lap. It was fine to go and experience the typical Italian vacation, but he knew better. There was far greater beauty to Italy than what the rest of the world believed. It was in the smiles of the children when he came to race them every Saturday over the summer, the fun dancing at the smaller eateries with confident, Italian young women, the feeling of freedom as he hiked along the rocky edges of higher grounds overlooking the beautiful ocean. Romeo appreciated a lot of things that Italy held, but what he appreciated most were the little things that made him love his country, more than anything. If not for the people who stood by him so dearly, Romeo would surely have paid for a ticket and boarded a plane to somewhere where he could be lost forever. His eyes darted up to meet her gaze. "In the end, no one is going to care about the classic architecture. Only the little memories count," he said with a small smile. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[gabriella nicole of england]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] i see sparks fly ( WORDS ) 683 ( TAGGED ) ROMEO VALENTINO OF ITALY ( STATUS ) COMPLETE It felt as though there was an electric current running through Gabriella's body, freezing her in place. What if he moved away? The thought had barely had time to form when a shock ran through her body as warmth blossomed along her hip and leg. Cautiously looking sideways at him, their eyes caught for several long seconds, leaving Bri's cheeks tinted pink and her insides a pile of mush before she could get a grip on herself. The way their flesh was currently pressed against each other was anything but innocent, as was the look the pair of them exchanged. Thankfully the moment didn't last too long and her gaze returned to the steps neutrally in front of her, the teeth nibbling on the inside of her lower lip the only clue of her inner turmoil. At his words, Bri wasn't sure whether to laugh or not. For a second she was sure that he was joking, but after looking into his eyes and seeing a flash of seriousness there she was forced to accept that he was being completely honest, and had, in fact, written his name on a series of historical monuments. She laughed at him, bumping her shoulder against his and said, "And my parents think Victor is a bad influence," with a roll of her eyes. Her tone was joking of course, but it was true that her parents so far hadn't completely approved of her new, close friendship with the Slovakian prince. Gabriella suspected it had to do with the fact that most people knew next to nothing about the boy, thanks to his quieter nature. They were aware that his parents had been considered non-conformists by some, and even though Bri considered non-conformity a good thing, she was sure her parents were more concerned with Victor possibly giving her ideas about rebelling against her arranged marriage. She smiled. Well, that part had actually happened, but between Romeo and Victor, there was no question that Romeo was by far the more dangerous of the two. She watched carefully as his forehead wrinkled slightly in thought, secretly enjoying the way his eyes looked far away, as if he were actually back in his home country. Even his accent was attractive, though his voice also felt as though it came from far away. It was difficult to catch her breath, despite the fact that he wasn't looking at her at the moment. It all sounded like so much fun, and though Gabriella truly was interested in the old monuments, hearing Romeo speak about another side of Italy -his side of Italy- made her want to see it even more. “That sounds pretty brilliant," she said softly, followed by a shy smile. The pride in Romeo's voice was obvious, and it reminded her of the way she felt about her own country. She loved that she could go for a drive, stop in small towns and window shop without anyone bothering her. The restaurants, pubs and the football matches were extraordinarily fun, especially when watching the football matches in a restaurant or pub. She had especially loved Pancake Tuesday's, and had always gone out to nearby hamlets to celebrate with the regular people, all of whom had the day off, as the people of her country were generally friendly to strangers. Her drifting attention became anchored again just in time to catch Romeo's second sentence. Reaching to scratch an itch on one of her overly exposed legs, she smiled agreeably at him, her blood running both hot and cold through her veins. "What about you? Ever visited England?" Her head tilted curiously to the side, trying to recall if she ever remembered him visiting the palace. It wasn't something she would have likely forgotten, but then again, for the most part she'd been preoccupied with doing her own thing. The only times she'd made an effort to stick around for visitors was when her mother forced her, so when Vivien's friends showed up Gabriella had tried to steer clear for the duration of their visits. When the doors behind them closed with a snap, her whole body went tense, abruptly pulling away from the contact between Romeo and herself and hoping to goodness it wasn't a teacher. did we want them to get in trouble, or shall I move them along? he still hasn't met Todd yet, which could be cute XP table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0

[romeo valentino of italy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 520px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] SHE WAS THE PUREST BEAUTY BUT NOT THE COMMON KIND Tagged: gabriella nicole of england Outfit:here Status: complete. sure! meeting todd would be cute He grinned, giving a nonchalant roll of his shoulders. "They don't call me the bad boy of Vineheart for no reason," Romeo commented, a sarcastic edge to his tone. Bad boy. All of the students' thoughts about him for so skewed. Okay, so he definitely got into trouble the majority of the time. And so maybe he had a tendency to be a bit of a huge flirt. So what? It was just how he was. He was bold, witty, always up for a good time; but like everyone else, he had a darker side, a different side. They weren't all black and white, for that was too cliché to think. He certainly had his faults, and lots of them. But his reputation proceeded him, especially now, when most traces of bad boy Romeo were not present. He found that his serious side was presented to Bri far more than anyone else, and he had a silly urge to make the fun side of him come out a bit more. He'd flirted with her, sure, but everything they'd talked about had been very serious, very conversational. Skipping class was risky, but there were far more fun things they could currently be doing than lounging on the front steps, talking about home. Oddly enough, his mind had latched on to her mention of the Slovakian prince. So she was hanging around Viktor, most likely for the project. There was no wrong in that -- Viktor was one of Romeo's closer friends outside of the Kings, and he enjoyed his presence. As snobby as the guy could be, he was intelligent, and Romeo appreciated being able to relax and have an interesting conversation with him. Still, her parents had become aware of her friendship with the Slovakian prince, as Bri had said, and for some reason this interested Romeo. Were her parents noticing the friendship because they didn't want Bri's eyes wandering? Were they trying to keep her away from boys? And what would they think of her now, skipping class with the devilish Italian prince? If there was anyone Romeo had the urge to impress more than Bri, it was her parents. He didn't know why he wanted to impress them so much, but he did. Anyone who had raised such a fascinating daughter deserved major respect. "I've been a few times," he answered, his lips turning to a frown. Probably not the reaction she'd expected nor wanted, but there was a reason for it. "Once, over the summer before third year to visit Aubrey while she was with Vivien. I was really trying to get her attention, and she was playing hard to get," he recalled, not being able to suppress the roll of his eyes. God, he'd worked so hard for Aubrey and had royally screwed that up. In the end, that had probably been best, though he was paying for it to this day. "A second time with Aubrey to visit Vivien for New Years Eve," he continued, shaking his head. Had he really not been on his own, just for the hell of it? Well, no. When you were a royal, you had to either be invited or have an agenda in order to visit another ruling country. He'd never been invited to England except when he had been dating Aubrey. "We only ever stayed in London, and I didn't get to see much of the city," Romeo commented. Unfortunately, being with Aubrey meant only visiting the best shops and the best parts of town -- not the quaint English countryside he heard so much about, or the sweet little treasures on the small areas. "I would like to see more of England, though," he said, a double meaning to his words. He definitely did want to travel to England, but he realized now that it was not just because of the country -- he had an agenda now. He had someone he wanted to see, someone he wanted to get to know. There was a still a small smile on his lips when the doors made a loud clang shut, and he, out of instinct, immediately jumped up and in front of Gabriella. He was large enough to block her body, and he supposed his first thought was that if anyone was to get in trouble, it would be home. Realizing nobody was there, though, he stepped to the side and shook the snow off of his uniform. "Someone's been spying," he stated with a smirk, but he grabbed Bri's hand and tugged her to the side. "Come on, let's go this way," he said, pointing to his right. "No one ever checks that side of the school." created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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