xp_logs | Shiro & Alex, Wednesday evening

After receiving an e-mail from Clarice, Shiro heads straight to Alex for advice. Alex proceeds to have a laugh at Shiro's expense, but pulls himself together long enough to calm Shiro's fears and get him to stop going ballistic.

Shiro just about slammed his laptop closed when he read the short e-mail from Clarice. She was asking him out. Again. A stream of profanities left his mouth as he leapt from his chair and quickly headed outdoors, where he knew Alex was. He didn't bother to put on a coat despite the below-freezing temperature, and instead just activated his power the moment he stepped foot outside. He quickly caught sight of Alex and approached him, his gait visibly different than normal. "Alex," he greeted, his skin glowing underneath his golden aura.

After landing a 180 off one of the ramps, Alex brought his board to a stop at the bottom of the ramp, looking over to where he'd heard his name being called. He wore just jeans and a hoodie, his own whacked mutation masking the cold. He frowned slightly as he caught sight of Shiro and could tell one thing: his best friend was pissed. "Dude, what's up with you?"

Shiro was fidgeting with the hem of his sleeve. Shiro was never fidgety! Swearing again under his breath, he let go and looked around to make sure that they were alone. "Tasukete. Help me."

Now Alex was seriously confused. Nothing made Shiro nervous...well except...nah that couldn't be it. "Dude, I'll help you with anything. What's up bro?"

Shiro glanced around them quickly again, and walked up to Alex until they were just a foot away from each other. "Clarice asked me out again," he said, his voice a conspiratory whisper. "To that dance Doctor Bartlett is planning. She knows I am no good at dancing. What the fuck do I do?"

He tried, he really did. But Alex just couldn't help it. He burst out laughing, so hard that he had to step back so he could double over. Oh this was priceless, simply priceless. He kept laughing for a few minutes, finally getting it under control enough to speak, tears in his eyes showing his restraint. "DUDE! She likes you! I totally told ya so!"

It took every single ounce of restraint for Shiro to not blast Alex clear across the grounds. He just stood by, arms crossed over his chest, tapping his foot impatiently as his best friend (his best friend!) laughed his ass off at his expense. "Are you quite finished?"

Sniffling, Alex nodded, unable to open his mouth at the moment because the look on Shiro's face was priceless and made him want to burst out laughing again. Finally, he took a deep breath and spoke, still smiling. "So you’re going to say yes right?"

"Fuck if I know!" Shiro blurted out. He was wigging out so much that his entire style of speech was off; his English was never normally this crass and rude. "Dude . . ." His eyes widened when he uttered that word, and swore again. Alex's effect on him was obviously adverse. "I do not know what to say."

Now that earned him more giggles from the blonde. That was the second time Alex had ever heard Shiro use the word 'dude' and he planned to memorize every moment. "You really are shaken up about all this to sound like me. Come on, let's go inside and I'll make hot chocolate. And while we walk, you can start about telling me how you feel about her." He kicked his skateboard so it popped up into his hand and started for the mansion.

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Shiro followed Alex back inside. "I do not think that I feel anything for her. Clarice is nice and fun and generous, and Leyu-chan certainly likes her. She is a good friend, and that is all." I think. I hope.

"But you have fun with her, right?" Alex asked raising an eyebrow as he held open the door for Shiro before heading down to the kitchen. He suspected Shiro felt otherwise, but first Shiro had to admit to himself that someone actually liked him. "If you have fun with her, what's wrong with going and having fun with her? And it gives you an opportunity to find out exactly how she feels about you and you can tell her exactly how you feel about her."

Shiro's aura dimmed to a faint glow as he stepped inside; he was too uppity to totally turn it off, but he tried to keep his powers under tight control until he could calm down. "I enjoy what time I spend with her, yes. But I also enjoy my time with you, and with Lorna, and with my sister. I don't think . . . Fuck, what do I do if she does like me like that? What if she tries to, anoo, kiss me?" While he all but mumbled those last two words, he didn't quite sound as if it would have been such an awful thing.

Alex had caught the lack of disgust one would expect from Shiro, but didn't say something, only smiled as he turned away to gather ingredients and a kettle. "You tell her how you feel. If she truly likes you, she'll respect your decision. But dude, would it hurt you to try? You might like it, ya know."

Shiro took a seat on a stool by the island and buried his face in his hands, growling in frustration. "My track record with romance is barely existent. I had one girlfriend back in Tokyo, and that lasted for all of a month or two. When I came here, there was She Who Must Not Be Named who quite splendidly mind-fucked me. And that is it." He threw his head back and sighed loudly. "If I do like Clarice, and I am not saying that I do, I would be clueless as to what to do and how to act. I am a far cry from the ladies' man that you are."

That caused Alex to snort. "Right, me ladies man. You do know I never had a serious relationship before I met Lorna? Sure I dated in Hawaii and stuff but I don't think I ever really liked any of them, ya know?" He mixed ingredients in the kettle then let it sit on the stove, joining Shiro at the island. "It's not anything you specifically do or way to act...you just do what comes to you, as sappy as that sounds."

A snort escaped Shiro, and he rolled his eyes. "Sure. I will discuss the latest Kurosawa remake with her. That will be stimulating conversation. Kuso." He looked down again and shook his head. "This ordeal, this possibility of an ordeal, is more frightening than facing Baymax back in August."

"Hey she might be interested, you never know. Plus, do you know how much Philosophy I have to sit through when I spend time with Lorna? To tell you the truth, I only took the class in the first place because the teacher was hot." Alex shook his head. "She might listen just because she wants to spend time with you and is that so bad? And why is this so frightening seriously? I don't understand why you’re so worked up."

Shiro stared at his glowing hands for a minute, not saying a word. He sighed again before he finally came up with an answer. "Clarice is one of the few people at this school whom I genuinely like. I tolerate a majority of the residents, but I consider her a friend, and that is an important status in my eyes. Assuming that I am not misinterpreting her intentions, and assuming that I do agree to some sort of - of trial run, I suppose, how can I be assured that I will not fuck things up? If I make a mistake, then I will lose a friend."

Alex was about to turn around to check the kettle of hot chocolate, but that last comment made him turn back around and give Shiro a firm look. "You will not lose a friend. You will not fuck things up. Good grief, you have witnessed Lorna and my relationship right? It's not going to be perfect but if you’re both friends, you'll get through it, relationship or not. Trust me." His voice had softened by the end, hoping Shiro would believe him.

Alex using the Firm Voice meant that he was saying something important. Maybe not truthful, but significant nonetheless. "I am just . . . not equipped for this. Give me a dozen mercenaries out for blood or a dragon and I can handle the situation. Give me a purple-skinned girl with a penchant for fencing and I am incompetent."

"When it comes to women, no man is." Alex said truthfully before turning away to pour two cups of hot cocoa, then turned back, handing one to Shiro and taking a seat across the island from him. "Dude, you can do this. I have faith in you that you won't screw up nearly as bad as you seem to think you will."

It was obvious that Shiro was not entirely convinced, but the fact that he was no longer glowing at all at least meant that he was not freaking out anymore. "This fear will all be for nothing if it turns out that this is entirely platonic in nature. And then I'll make a fool of myself."

Rolling his eyes, Alex took a sip of cocoa. "Will you quit that already and try to be positive for one?" then he smirked. "And you almost sounded disappoint there for a minute..."

"Well, if I am going to make such a significant emotional investment, then you can be sure that yes I would be disappointed," Shiro replied logically. "Baka."

Alex shook his head. "Is it bad I'm almost pitying Clarice right now? Dude, just don't over analyze it alright? Try to have some fun to..."

"Not a word of this to anyone, right?" Shiro warned, sipping on his hot chocolate. "Not your brother, not Lorna, and certainly not Leyu-chan. Yes?"

"My lips are sealed man. As long as I get all the juicy details first." he smirked to show he was kidding. "Stop worrying!"

"Alright alright!" Shiro threw his hands up in defeat. "No more griping. I will reply to her and tell her that I would like to go with her, and we will see how things progress. That is all."

"Good boy." Alex continued to smirk at him over the mug of cocoa. "So tell me how your portfolio is going?"