Luciano Ribeiro
A week later and Luciano stood in front of the school on the 14th of February—Valentine’s Day. Every other year it wouldn’t have been that significant of a day to him, but he had filled out that survey that was supposed to tell him of his top romantic matches. He knew he shouldn’t put much stock in the matchmaking skills of the cheerleading team, but he couldn’t help but feel a slight buzz of anxiety as he walked into the school with Aline. She was talking amicably about Valentine’s and trying to engage him in a conversation about her possible matches, but aside from nodding and murmuring noncommittally, he wasn’t really paying attention.
Luciano had always been more covert about who he liked than Aline, but she always knew, whether he told her or not. He knew she knew now, but he also knew that she knew him well enough to know that he wouldn’t want to talk about it or anything related to it. She was trying—and failing—to distract him from it, but he appreciated the effort.
The text came when they were at their lockers, Aline still chattering away. The two of them took their phones out in synchronicity, the message opening on both of their screens at nearly the same time. Luciano masked his face well, but he couldn’t hide the sharp intake of breath he made upon seeing Gio’s name as his top match. Other notable matches were his ex, France at #3, and Dominic, a friend on the soccer team, but Lui couldn’t keep his gaze from travelling back to the number one spot.
Giovanni, he thought, his eyes still glued to his screen. Isn’t he straight? Could it…?
Interrupting his daze was Aline, who snatched his phone out of his hand and replaced it with her own. His first thought was to grab it back from her, but he gave up pretty easily when he realized he was curious to see who she’d gotten. He held in a bout of laughter at seeing Tala at her number two, subtly rolling his eyes with Dorian at number two. Maverick at the top… he didn’t think she knew him that well, but apparently they were compatible so there’s that.
“You got Gio?!” Aline squealed, pushing him. “Lui!”
He shrugged, barely managing to suppress the smile that tugged at his cheeks. “It doesn’t mean anything, Line.”
“It means everything,” she replied, shaking her head at his stupidity. “Look, he’s over there!” She pointed at where his friend was, a bit away from where the two of them were. “Go get your man,” she grinned, shoving him in that direction despite his protests.
He let his feet lead the way, not really thinking as he moved. His heart was beating a mile a minute and he tried to get it to slow, to no avail. This is just a friend of yours, Lui. Nothing has to be different, he attempted to reassure himself.
Gio didn’t see Luciano standing in front of him until he almost walked into him; Lui had clearly taken him off guard. “Lucy-” his friend said, obviously startled. Luciano smiled at the nickname; Gio was one of the few people who called him Lucy and he liked it—though he would probably like any nickname that came from his mouth.
“Hey,” he said breathily, a hand scratching the back of his head. He paused, unsure of what to say. “Uh, happy Valentine’s Day,” he added with a smile. “I, um.” te queiro te queiro te queiro te queiro, his mind screamed at him. “I just wanted to catch up and stuff. So… how’s it going?” He laughed slightly at his own awkwardness, wanting to just ~not exist~ for a few moments there. “I’m being so weird, sorry. Guess I’m still on edge after getting that whole survery thing.” He paused, baiting him.
@CerealKiller throws a book at you 'cause you don’t suck at writing smh 
Aline Ribeiro
Valentine’s Day was a day that excited her, the idea of romance and having that one true love has always been an idea that she loved since she was a little girl. Every Valentine’s was always an anticipated day for her, regardless of whether she was actively dating someone or not. This year she wasn’t, but that didn’t dull any of her excitement.
She had been wondering aloud about who her match results were to Lui, their mom and even her younger sisters for like a week now, but now that the day was finally here, she was still finding more things to say about it. Aline was rambling on to Luciano as they walked in the school and while he wasn’t really paying attention, she didn’t mind, it helped her sort things out in her head just to talk about it.
Besides, she knew very well that his thoughts were plagued by a very special someone.
The text came as they got to their lockers, and Aline whipped her phone out just as Luciano did, eager to know who she’d match with. Her top was Maverick, whom she vaguely knew as her brother’s soccer friend, but didn’t really know personally. Well, she thought, Here’s a reason to get to know someone! Tala, her close friend was second, which surprised her. She couldn’t say that she ever thought of her that way—though she couldn’t deny that Tala was hot and, objectively, she wouldn’t be opposed to spending a night with her… Aline coughed, clearing her mind.
And third was Dorian. He was hot and she’d gotten the opportunity to get closer with him, physically. Their relationship was never anything but casual, but perhaps having a reason to not be casual would make it blossom into something deeper.
After squealing at Luciano’s top match and shoving him towards his crush, Aline moved on from their lockers, walking along the halls. Dorian came up behind her, placing his hand on her waist and turning her to face him. She smiled as her eyes met his, replying, “Mm, good morning.” He apologized for not speaking to her as soon as she got back—which, to be honest, had briefly bothered Aline—and then he presented her a bouquet of roses. Her hands flew to her mouth, her eyes widening in shock at the pretty gift. “Oh, you’re definitely forgiven for not reaching out the second I landed,” she said, reaching out to take the roses. Aline buried her nose in them, inhaling the lovely scent they gave off. “They’re gorgeous,” she breathed, looking up at him. “Thank you, and happy Valentine’s to you too.”
Aline couldn’t help but wonder what the roses meant, as their relationship had been fun-based and they definitely hadn’t been giving each other surprise gifts. This line of thinking made her gaze at Dorian with slight suspicion. “What are these for, anyway? They’re beautiful, but… why’d you get them?”
@astxrism
