Xaviers!

The campus was so busy, but here it was quiet enough for him to reflect. Playing whatever he felt like for a moment from behind his classic Rayban shades, he looked every bit the part of a smoky blues bar musician save invisible.

But as it did, the music eventually took shape into something recognizable and a voice students were becoming familiar with began to ring out.

"Hey, woman, you got the blues
'Cause you ain't got no one else to use
There's an open road that leads nowhere,
So just make some miles between here and there
There's a hole in my head where the rain comes in
You took my body and played to win
Ha, ha, woman, it's a cryin' shame
But you ain't got nobody else to blame."

Colette slipped her pencil-skirted self down smoothly and quietly beside Basil upon the piano bench, pressing gently to his side. She thought about remarking how he was like the opposite of Ray Charles, but decided against it and kept quiet, just listening.

Basil kept playing, but stopped singing. He'd continue on like this for quite a few bars before speaking. He still wasn't happy with her but it was clear to him by her closeness she wasn't aware of it, and sat up against him it was hard for him to be as cold as he'd like to be.

"Good day Colette."

Yes, that will show her. Good job, imbecile. He admonished himself.Why are you so weak to women?

Basil's somewhat cold and aloof reply just came across as... British, to the naive girl.

"Play it once, Sam. For old times sake?"

Of course Basil knew what she meant, and he complied. He was still silent however.

Colette hugged her arms around Basil's waist in a sickening display of public affection.

"Of course you would know zis one. Such a classy gentleman to indulge a silly girl's whims."

The grab caused him to miss a few keys, and Basil held in the reflex to chuckle, which meant he still wasn't responding verbally.

"Oh, my poor Basil is trying to be professional and I am embarrassing him in public, no? Very well, I shall be a good girl." Colette sat up and kept her hands neatly folded upon her lap, idling letting her legs swing as the dangled over the edge of the piano bench.

"No love. You're not embarrassing me." He replied in a quiet, melancholy sort of tone.

"I just don't know what to say to you. I thought I knew what I wanted to say, but I guess I really don't."

Colette looked up at Basil with her brow furrowed and lips pursed in an all-too-familiar expression; that of confusion.

"Well, what did you zink zat you wished to say?"

Basil stopped playing abruptly and sat silent for a moment before speaking.

"Why don't you trust me?"

Colette was silent for a moment as well. One might have called it a stunned silence, if one had been there to call it such.

"Why do you believe zat I do not trust you? Have I not... shared wiz you more zan I have anyone else?"

"You didn't believe me when I was injured by the Mongols that I wasn't just being paranoid or a knob or something.

When the police took me in for questioning after that assassin attacked Chase at Tahiti, you immediately believed my mother that I had been arrested and asked me what I did wrong.

You tell me that you don't want to consider us 'a thing' because you don't believe it like somehow I am putting you on or going to tell you this was all some elaborate and incredibly time consuming practical joke and you'll barely admit that we are to other people because of it.

And as recently as yesterday you told me I lied to your face when I most definitely did no such thing, and then went on about your business with that girl as if it were nothing. As if what you had said was some kind of factual statement in your mind, akin to 'Basil breathes'."

Basil replies, his verbal pace increasing steadily as he spoke. He was obviously getting worked up as he did, which might have been why he paused again. To collect himself.

"I was so confused as to why you would say such a thing.

And while I didn't care when she was making fun of me when it was just the two of us, when she made fun of me again and you ignored what you had said about me and the two of you just kept talking like I wasn't there except to insult and accuse, I just kept getting angrier and angrier.

That's why I excused myself.

And as I calmed down, I started to realize that it wasn't the first time you showed me you didn't trust me, and now I'm just....

Hurt." He admitted in a pained tone that suggested he didn't want to.

Colette shrank back from Basil the more he spoke, feeling for the first time in a long time that her company was not welcome. He was hurt, but so was she. She couldn't even remember saying or doing half of the things he mentioned. But wasn't that the way it usually went? The bully never remembers what they did wrong and is surprised they have hurt or offended someone.

"I... I had no idea...." Colette was too stunned to be upset. Had she really been that awful of a person?

Basil noticed Colette's fear response and sighed.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. Forgive me."

"No!" Colette was loud, loud enough that others turned to look at the two, which was very odd for her. She was staring at him intently, both hands grabbing at one of his.

"Basil, your feelings have worz. Do not apologize for zem!" Her stern expression softened to sadness, as one might have expected. "I... I wish you had told me zis sooner. I had no idea I made you feel zis way. If I had known... maybe I could have...."

Basil let her grab his hand.

"It's my fault."

"No Basil." Colette stressed the first word for a few seconds. "No it is not. If somezing upsets you, it is not your fault for being upset. You are allowed to have feelings."

Basil's sleeves began moving about awkwardly. He was fidgeting.

"I am sorry zat I said zings zat hurt you, and made you feel zat I do not trust you. In truz, I have trusted in you more zan anyone else I have ever known, ozer zan my parents of course. If I am hesitant to tell ozers or even you zat you are my -" Even now there was a pause. "- boyfriend, it is not a reflection on you Basil. I... I still have trouble believing zat anyone could ever have feelings for me. So saying it to you, to ozers, I worry zat I will somehow... what is ze word? For when you say somezing and because of zis ze worst zing happens?"

"Jinx." Basil offered, still fussing with his empty hand on his forearm.

"But..." He added, the stuttered out, unsure he wanted to finish.

"But... I must try harder, yes?"

"I... Guess?

I understand if it's because you don't want to be more than my friend, but if you do...

It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, isn't it?" Basil paused, unsure if Colette understood what he meant.

"I mean, think about this for a moment: You are refusing to commit to me out of fear I will leave you, but if you don't see us as committed to each other then where is my incentive to not? There's no reason for me to stay focused if there's nothing to focus on."

"Oh Basil,I wish you had told me zis before. I have been absolutely dreadful to you. In truz, I often worry zat zese feelings may just be an infatuation, but I also fret zat I may be overzinking and worry over nozing, and in ze process lose you."

Colette gave Basil's hand a squeeze. "But I do know zat I want zis, I want you, and as much as it scares me, I want to... go furzer."

Basil appeared, wearing the goofiest looking grin on his face. He was still wearing his shades, which he must have been wearing still for some reason.

"Silly girl. The infatuation is the best part, and you're wasting all those happy warm fuzzy feelings second guessing them.

Now who's the Vulcan?"

Colette's cheeks turned a darker shade of pink, that goofy grin just what she wanted to see. To her it meant that everything was alright again, even if they still had a lot of talking to do before things were truly sorted out.

"I suppose if one does not have a heart, zere is no risk in it getting broken, no?" It was an odd statement that normally would have sounded pessimistic had she not said it in such a bubbly tone. "So I have nozing to fear, even if you were ze type of boy to do zat. Which we boz know zat you are not, and have known zis entire time.

"Will you forgive me, Basil?"

Basil reached to push up his shades onto his head, revealing the dark circles under his eyes, likely from a hangover. His face got more serious, and he obviously had something worrying on his mind.

"Only if you'll forgive me.

I said something insensitive about you last night. Not intentionally... but another boy made a reference to a shape-shifting gelatinous creature. We were sharing our woes together, and I made a vague reference to the fact my problem was one in the same.

It didn't really occur to me until I sobered up how that could have been taken, and I don't want someone else telling you I said it.

I'm sorry..."

Colette let out a little sigh before she rested her head on Basil's shoulder.

"I zink zat I probably deserved it. So of course you are forgiven."

"Well..." Basil said, leaning his cheek against her forehead.

"It wasn't meant as a hateful statement and more of a drunk observation. Still though, I know how much you hate it when people bring it up, despite the fact I find the thought of your pseudopodium dragging me to your mouth appealing."

He was making that doofy face again.

Colette let out a little snort. "Silly boy."

Basil tilted his head a bit, peering at her with one eye closed as if he were inspecting her closely.

"Hmmm. Too much? Or have I accidentally set a precedent the last time we were here together that I'm only allowed to flirt with you musically in the music room? "

"It is not mandatory. But it is effective."

"Hmmmmm." Basil replied thoughtfully, pulling his shades back over his eyes to block out the light. He'd had a secret weapon he'd been holding onto for awhile now, since the last time he'd done this for her and she was so impressed. He'd intended to use at karaoke night, but he wasn't sure how she'd take it then with so many people listening in. Now seemed like the time to spring it on her however...

Somewhat out of the norm for him, Basil played a song that wasn't British in origin, but spent quite a bit of time in radio circulation on this side of the pond.

Of course, like Killer Queen, Basil left some portions of the lyrics untouched and had altered portions to make it sound like the song was about them personally. He went through the first verse unaltered, but then interjected his changes-

"Waste time with a masterpiece, please waste time with this masterpiece
You should be rolling with me, you should be rolling with me, ah
You're a real-life fantasy, you're a real-life fantasy
But you're moving so carefully; let's start living dangerously

Talk to me, baby
I’m going blind from this sweet sweet craving, whoa-oh
Let's lose our minds and go bloody crazy
Ah ya ya ya ya I keep on hoping we'll eat cake by the ocean
Walk for me, baby
I'll be Greg if you'll be my Rosie, whoa-oh
Let's lose our minds and go bloody crazy
Ah ya ya ya ya I keep on hoping we'll eat cake by the ocean

God damn
See you licking frosting from your own hands
Do I want a taste? I'm begging, yes ma'am
I'm tired of all this candy on the dry land, dry land, oh-"

He continued on with the rest of the song as normal save for reiterating his altered bits.

When he was done, he stared at Colette over his shades, smirking deviously at her.

"Ha! That time I did plan it!" He stated smugly, looking like the cat that ate the canary before even bothering to see how she reacted to it.

Colette's eyes were large, pink (of course), and practically sparkling. She was being serenaded with a song written for her! Maybe not from scratch but still that was more than most women got. She hid her face in Basil's side once he'd reveled in his accomplishment a bit, flustered by his efforts.

Yup, it worked.

"Uuuhhh... whoops. Aimed too high I guess." Basil commented at the Colette buried into him. Basil lowered his voice a bit as he put his arm around her. He didn't smell so heavily cologned today, but there was definitely an odd smell upon his jacket.

" I might be invisible sometimes but I'm never intangible. Where exactly do you intend to go when you do this love?" He chuckled.

Colette answered basil's question by hiding her face more, the girl still flattered and embarrassed.

Basil poked her in the arm gently with his free hand, trying to get her to respond.

"Oi.

So I have this problem. I seem to have ended up in symbiosis with this curious lifeform and I don't know what to do with a mutualistic amoeba, love. " Acting like it wasn't her they were discussing even though it clearly was.

"How do I take care of it? I think I might be smothering it." Upon the word smothering he started intentionally leaning into her.

"It may need mouth-to-mouth" said a tiny voice.

"Ooooooooohhhh." He replied playfully. "Is it an emergency situation in which I should perform that immediately or am I supposed to take it somewhere it can be comfortable before performing life saving medical procedures?"

"Boz?" Colette asked after a pause.