Ever since he and his father performed an obligatory visit to the school of witchcraft, Andrew had found himself doing a number of things he wouldn't dare dream of. Defying the will of his father, defending the witches who he once scorned alongside him, and going out of his way to place his faith in people his father would've insisted were beneath him. Before that visit, being acquaintances, let alone friends, with someone like Akko Kagari would be utterly unthinkable.

Andrew had sort of assumed being friends with a girl would end up awkward. He knows how haughty it sounds, but frankly, he didn't need yet another girl in love and fawning over him. He had plenty of those. And Akko had all but admitted she thought he was very handsome, but to his surprise, she never really went beyond that, barely ever acknowledging that they were different genders anymore. It reminded him of when he first became friends with Frank, back before his father began expecting more out of him to uphold the family name. Just simple friendship, innocent and unconditional. It was…well, it was nice.

Akko insisted they were "bros." She ignored his own insistence that as a girl she could not be a brother. "Bros are more than that!" she would claim.

It may not make sense to someone raised in the fine, uptight society of aristocracy and statesmanship, but Andrew found that such things no longer bothered him. Akko wanted everyone to love magic and she did, and Andrew was, well, bewitched. And so, here he was. Sitting on a fountain in town next to Akko, just eating ice cream and talking about whatever fit the mood.

To Andrew, talking to people was a skill to be mastered. Words had deeper meanings and ulterior motives to them. There was an expectation of gain in a conversation, and people did not engage with the elite members of society such as the Hanbridges without hoping to gain money, prestige, or both. Andrew had spent many years learning these lessons. He had been trained to seek out double meanings in a sentence, to negotiate, to not relinquish any more power than he needed to while keeping both parties satisfied. Andrew had spent his whole life understanding the full power of words.

In stark contrast to the heavily weighted conversations he had in the halls of high society, conversations with Akko were…not pointless, per say, but weightless. Like the buttering up and preamble to some important deal that never came. Sweet words and pleasantries with no consequence. They sat and spoke almost unthinkably of whatever they wanted. They talked of Akko's odd collection of Chariot cards, they talked of Andrew's piano lessons, of silly anxieties they had and funny things they saw on the way here. Akko's words had no significance other than to simply have a good time with her friend.

Ironic, given the whole "Awakening the Words" thing she spent the school year doing, but if he said that, Akko would accuse of him of making a pun and subsequently, would never let him live it down. Though, it was odd how little the light-hearted teasing bothered him when he used to bristle at the implication of a stain on his name.

"Things sure have changed since you turned me into a donkey, hasn't it?" He teased the witch. She scratched the side of her head, embarrassed.
"Hee hee! You really…don't need to bring that up again…" Akko clearly wears her heart on her sleeve.
"Okay then. Things have changed since you brought that love bee to my party."
"That one's even worse, Andrew! That was really embarrassing!"

Andrew chuckled softly and rested his hand on the smaller girl's shoulder. "That evening was certainly…undignified. I don't think I ever really apologized for putting you on the spot like that."
"It wasn't like it was your fault, anyway. B-besides, it was sort of nice having people have a crush on me you know?"

Andrew disagreed, being so out of control of his thoughts like that was anything but nice, and with what his relationship was like with Akko now, it just seemed awkward in hindsight. "Well, I'm glad you think so. It hardly seems appropriate to be so obsessed with someone like that."

"Aw, it's not so bad, you know?" She said with a smile.

Andrew turned and raised his brow, and Akko's eyes went wide, frantically waving her hands as if to erase her last sentence.

"I-I mean, l-like how I'm obsessed with…uh- magic! Yeah, I really like magic, you know? I just…magic is so great, you know? Can't get enough~" She tried to play it off and sing, but Andrew didn't need to see the growing pink on her face to know she was a terrible liar.

"Akko, do you have feelings for someon-?"

"NO!" She all but shouted directly in his face, and Andrew couldn't help but jump back. Akko seemed to at least realize she had overreacted, and sat back down with an innocent smile and red cheeks. "I mean, no. Of course not. That's so…heh…Boy, this is good ice cream, isn't it Andrew?"

How strange, Andrew thought. She ignores all the scorn and ridicule people throw at her, but the implication of romance gets a reaction like this…

Akko was always quite bubbly and talkative, and spoke what was on her mind pretty much to a fault. But he couldn't think of any specific person she talked about excessively besides Lotte, Sucy, Diana and her other classmates. He couldn't exactly place who she would be obsessed with except…

"Your crush isn't Chariot, is it?"

"What? Of course not! She's my teacher now, Andrew."

Andrew thought about pressing the issue. There was no denying he was curious who the type of person to catch Akko's eye would be. But when he found the idea of Akko thinking he was handsome uncomfortable, she had backed off. And he had just been musing that they enjoyed simply having more friends to talk to without expectations pressing down on his shoulders. It was just curiosity, not his business. If she wanted to be all romantic with someone, that was on her.

"So Akko." He said, trying to lift the now awkward mood. "You had said you were working on firework magic. How is that go-." Suddenly, she snapped her fingers and pointed at him, keeping her finger right in his face.

"A-and for the record!" She said. Was her voice shaking? "I'm not obsessed, okay? It's just a…crush, is all."
"...Okay." He had no idea why she was defending herself, he was trying to drop it.
"And I'm young! This is my thrilling journey! I'm allowed to have crushes, you know! So don't act like it's so weird."
"I apologize for making you uncomfortable."

She turned and looked ahead, her eyes not really focusing on anything in particular. In fact, she kept fidgeting and looking back at him.

"…Look," he said flatly. "Do want me to ask who it is or not?"
"N-no! I don't."

Problem solved. What had he asked about before? Firework magic. She said she wanted to learn so she could put on performances. Akko made it clear she had trouble in a lot of areas of magic, but Andrew saw a very real talent for spectacle in what little he had seen. Akko's magic commanded attention, and putting it on display seemed like a nice fit for the girl. "So," he began again. "About your firework magic."

"Okay fine!" Akko interrupted him again. "I uh, I'll tell you if you don't tell anyone else, o-okay?" Honestly, this girl needed to make up her mind.

"W-well, okay so...there's this…girl?" She looked at him to judge his reaction, and when his face didn't falter, she continued somewhat less hesitantly. "Y-yeah. So there's this girl, and she's really pretty and smart and stuff and she's a Luna Nova student too, and she's basical-"

"Wait, you don't have a crush on Diana Cavendish, do you?"

"GAH! How did you-?! Don't do that!"

They hardly seemed like a good match for each other. Akko, by her own admission, had no magical history in her blood at all, and Diana's family had been very prestigious. At one point. Diana was practically the opposite of Akko. She was haughty, hard-working, no-nonsense and very uptight. How could she and Akko even stand to be in the same room?

…But then again, hadn't Andrew been described as all of those things as well?

"Well then," Andrew said. "I suppose love is blind."

"Don't be mean! Diana is really nice when you get to know her! It's just…" Akko's eyes cast downward, suddenly very interested in her boots. "Well, I just don't really know how to talk to people about crushes. And Diana is practically perfect at everything while I screw everything up. I'm surprised she even talks to me, sometimes. I could never tell her that I have a crush or anything…"

Andrew found his hand going to her shoulder to comfort her. Yet another thing he never would've thought of doing only months ago. "You don't screw everything up, Akko. Aren't you the school hero now? Almost everyone saw you stop that missile." Akko met his gaze again, but hardly looked more like her confident self.

"Yeah, but she helped me with that, remember? Because she's perfect at everything!" Andrew could think of quite a number of faults he had with Diana, but he wasn't cruel enough to mock a girl's crush to her face. Still though, Akko had won over Andrew's friendship with her steadfast and virtually blind determination. Just seeing the bright bubbly witch so uncharacteristically sullen put a huge damper on his mood. No, he had to do something to fix this.

"Well…" he thought aloud. "Maybe, I could try talking to her, try and see how she feels? Maybe I could even put in a good word for you…" He looked back over to his friend, and her expression had changed to wide-eyed admiration.

"You...would do that? Really?" And just as soon as it had left, Akko's happy disposition had returned. "Yay! Andrew, that'd be amazing! I mean, d-don't tell her I have a crush on her yet or anything, but if you gave me something to work off of…!"

"Hey," Andrew smiled. "That's what…bros do, right?"

And so, after dropping Akko off and saying their goodbyes, Andrew found himself making a detour to knock on Diana's door. These things may not be his expertise, but if he could get Diana looking in the right direction, Akko would be over the moon. His hand rapped against her door, and after a moment, Diana herself opened it, and her eyebrows raised.

"Andrew? This is a surprise."

"Ah, hello Diana. I was hoping you we-"He found himself interrupted by an ear-grating shrill noise. Gazing past Diana's (now tensed) shoulders, he spotted her two dorm mates practically attached to each other, looking quite elated to see him. This might make things awkward. Not only was he hoping to talk to Diana more privately, but frankly?

He had no idea what the girls' names were.

"A-Andrew Hanbridge?!" the red-headed one squealed.
"Oh my god! W-what brings you to our room?" The darker haired one squeaked out.

Yes, he thought to himself, this will get awkward very fast.

"Ah, I am actually here to discuss something with Diana." He explained, turning back to her. "Do you have a few minutes to spare?" Diana gave a beautiful, practiced smile Andrew recognized all too well.

"Of course. Please come in, Andrew. Make yourself at home."

He politely thanked her for her hospitality, and did his best to ignore her teammates' insistence that he could sit by them. He really had been hoping Diana would step out so she wouldn't have to do this in front of them.

"I had just been polishing up some school work when you stopped by," Diana explained, taking a seat at her desk. She gestured to an extra chair adjacent to her for him to sit to while they talked. "You're not one to usually visit Luna Nova, so I was surprised to see you. What do you need to talk about?"

Andrew found his mind momentarily blanking. He was hoping to come in here, get her opinion on Akko, talk up her qualities and get Diana interested, but now that he was here, he had no idea how to start this conversation and steer it where he wanted to go. Obviously he couldn't just come in and ask her about romance out of the blue, that was completely untactful. So what should he talk about…?

Ah, that could work.

"I haven't had the chance to speak with you after you stopped that missile. I thought I should stop by and see how you were holding up."

Diana smiled politely, using her wand to tip a teapot and pour herself a cup. It seemed excessive, all things considered, considering she had two working hands.

"Yes, that was quite the adventure. Of course, I was hardly the one doing most of the work on that."

"Of course, of course. There were quite a number of you on that broom. Though by the end, it was just you and Akko, wasn't it?"
She gave a soft hum and she sipped her tea. "Akko's teammates as well as Green Team were invaluable to our efforts, but in the end, the whole thing was Akko's doing. She was really quite impressive."

As expected of his upbringing, Andrew had spent many years learning how to read people, a vital skill for anyone in a leadership position. Diana had grown up quite similar to Andrew, with eyes upon her, judging her family name by her actions. Just as she could read him, she also knew as well as he did how important it was to remain neutral and controlled. A childish, emotional outburst would reflect poorly on a household, after all. But everyone had tells that could give themselves away, and if Andrew hoped to establish what Diana thought of Akko, he just needed to keep pressing, looking for her buttons until he got past her defenses.

She offered him tea. He declined.

"Yes, everyone was quite amazed when we saw you two up there. But it was all Akko's doing, you say?"

"Akko was the one chosen to wield the Shiny Rod. The final shot that destroyed that thing was her magic, all I did was help to steady it. Besides, she was the one that inspired the rest of us to take action.

She was giving Akko all the credit, which was a good sign. Of course, there's still no way to say whether this was simply being friendly or if Diana found Akko inspiring in a deeper sense, but still, she was amicable towards her. If nothing else, it was a good start.

"Akko has done quite a bit to impress me, ever since I first visited with my father some months ago." Andrew offered. "She certainly has a talent for it." How to phrase this, how to phrase this… "She…said she wishes to be a performer and show everyone her magic, right?"

Diana turned and looked at him more directly. She was surprised, but was it because she hadn't known that, or she didn't think Andrew knew that?

"I-yes, that was always Akko's dream. She wants to be like Shiny Chariot, and show the world magic as she sees it." She looked down at her tea. "She's very…ambitious about it, isn't she?"

Okay, so she broke eye contact. Her voice sounded fond. Andrew's read about embarrassment, and Diana seemed embarrassed. This was a good sign, indeed. There could be something more than friendship there, he just needed to keep pushing.

"Hmm." He hummed innocently. "What do you think of Akko, Diana?"

Her brows furrowed, and she gave him an odd look. From across the room, Diana's teammates, who had been pretending not to eavesdrop, whispered to each other. Andrew winced. Laid it on too thick.

"I mean," he tried to recover, make it less awkward. "You two didn't seem like that good of friends when I paid a visit to your home. I'm just curious."

"I…suppose we weren't. Akko surprised me quite a bit that day." Andrew gave a quiet hum, trying not to sound too interested. Diana was beginning to suspect there was more to this conversation, and Andrew needed to choose his words more carefully. Akko wouldn't forgive him if she blew this for her. As long as Diana didn't look too deeply into this, he could get out of this and work on a game plan, which shouldn't be too har-

"Andrew." Diana spoke up, interrupting his train of thought. "Why…exactly are you asking me about Akko?"

"Oh well…I…"

Not good.

His mind was racing, trying to think of something convincing to say, to throw Diana off his trail, but his thoughts were coming up blank. The strange look Diana gave him from above her tea deepened, and he swore he could feel her teammates' eyes staring at the back of his head.

Come on Andrew! You're a Hanbridge, the top student at Appleton Academy! You've spent your whole life learning how to speak clearly, and now Kagari's counting on you. Just think of something to say!

His thoughts still jumbled in his head, but he was not so young and immature to let it show. Quietly clearing his throat so Diana couldn't hear him collecting his nerves, Andrew lied crisp, clean, and politely.

"You see, I was planning to ask Akko out on a date."

Why.

From behind him, he could hear Diana's teammates fainting in shock, and Andrew felt like being unconscious sounded very nice right about now. As if it couldn't get worse, he had been too busy mentally slapping himself to even notice Diana's initial reaction, and by the time his mind caught up with him to look, she already had a mask of perfect, un-opinionated, neutrality decorating her features. If the lie was able to get her to reveal her true feelings, he missed his chance.

"I see." She said.
"Yes." He agreed.
"Well, I wish you luck with your endeavor." She said.
"Thank you." He agreed.

They exchanged short, polite goodbyes, and Diana turned back to her work as Andrew found his way out the door.

Upon leaving Diana's room, Andrew made his way to Akko who couldn't wait to hear of his progress.

"Akko, do you remember how you once said you had trouble speaking in public whereas I don't make those mistakes?"

"Yeah…?"

Andrew used his many years of lectures in proper dictation and etiquette in order to phrase what he wanted to say in the most simple, concise, and elegant manner possible.

"Well, I fucked up."