Understanding

[Felix Nicholas]

Felix almost thought she'd throw him out of the room there and then, as soon as he'd made such a personal observation of her; But she remained where she was, her gaze locked to his, and she spoke. Her voice was calm but held a quiver, the emotion she was no doubt forcing as far down inside her as she could was clearly starting to take it's toil, making itself known in the way her words shook.
The radio host couldn't prevent the hurt from entering his gaze as she spoke, but he didn't drop it from her own; She honestly thought that of him, that he was only making an effort with her because he was using her as a replacement Erika? He hoped for a moment she'd said that as another one of her verbal attacks on him but but was clear from the way she'd said it that Elsa spoke with conviction; Felix knew she saw herself as being in her sister's shadow, always believing herelf to be in second place to her sibling... But to actually believe that he would only come to her and falsify care just to forfill his own needs...
"Elsa, I-" He began, but she continued, asking for him to explain himself, to explain his reasoning for coming to her in the first place.

Had she truly hardened herself so much to the world that she couldn't see when someone was simply by her side, not through obligation, but because they saw a human being, saw what they did, how they struggled, and simply understood...
The radio host took a deep breath, sighing as he averted his eyes downward a moment as the conversation fell into momentary silence; He knew what he wanted to say, and although he feared not being believed, she had asked him and he had nothing to hide.
"Elsa, I'm not pretending," He spoke gently. "As stupid as this maybe sounds to you, when you... When I, well, confessed to you... Since that moment since even before I found out that... Well, it was you and not Erika... I've felt as though I SEE you. Truly see you." He trailed off, realising that was likely a little too vague; He bit his lip, furrowing his brow as he thought on exactly how to word what he needed to say. "What I mean is, I've seen all that you do, now strong you are, how much you sacrifice for all of us at Bellefonte... But I also see how much of a front you put up, Elsa, how afraid you are... And I care. I care about how you feel, and I want you to know that." He then raised his eyeline to meet hers, giving her a small smile. "Even if you don't believe me."

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Hurt slid into Felix's eyes; Elsa saw it, and felt that it nearly echoed her own. What was going on here? Her heart skipped another beat as he said her name, and she inwardly berated herself yet again. The hurt had to come because she'd gotten close to the truth, surely. The whole event had confused Felix far too much, jumbled his feelings much as they had jumbled Elsa's own. Elsa found herself taking a deep breath, calming slightly now that she believed she'd figured it all out.

A beat of silence followed.

Not pretending? Elsa felt her heart quicken for a moment again, and he continued and---it almost sounded like something out of a romance novel. I confessed to the wrong girl, but now I'm wondering if things hadn't gotten jumbled in the mix. There was a bit of guilt or something in there; a sort of "how could I know it wasn't you. But that was the thing: it wasn't "how could I know it wasn't her," at least, not the way Elsa heard it now.

Seen her? She blinked, not certain what he was trying to get out of this, still looking for something, some hint of what was going on here, something that would tell her what was actually going on in Felix's mind. Again she felt lost without her powers, all the more aware of her overreliance on them now. Sacrifice and---

I care.
Their eyes met.
He smiled at her.
She believed him.

Elsa's mind stopped working for a few seconds, a phenomenon in and of itself. Her hands went up slowly, cupping Felix's head, almost seizing it, as if not wanting him to flee her. Her face turned toward him, and her lips touched his. She could feel them pressing against his for a few moments, shoved there by some emotion or some deed or some reason that she couldn't understand and wasn't sure she really wanted to right now. She kissed him for several long seconds before her brain skipped back on.

Then Elsa released him, looking into her eyes, wondering what the hell was coming next, just trying to... understand it all.

[Felix Nicholas]

Felix wasn't sure if she would actually take his words as truth. They very much were, but this was Elsa; She overanalysed, and had already expressed the opinion that Felix was using her to "replace" Erika. She didn't seem to think anyone would want to be in her company over her sister's, and to most, this was likely true... But the radio host, after everything he'd seen, everything he'd thought on regarding Elsa and her methods, the way she tried to cope... He saw through her cold, sharp exterior. Although just because he saw through it didn't mean she wouldn't still inflict it upon him, as evidenced by her previous verbal daggers... And in this moment, after he'd spoken his reasons for coming, he still expected her to flare up her defences, to likely banish him from her room.

But she didn't.

The silence fell, although Felix wasn't certain how long it lasted; He was focused on her gaze, hoping she believed him. Her eyes almost seemed to soften for a moment, causing his heart to feel as though it had a sudden uplift. She... She must believe him, he-His thoughts however trailed off there, blinking at the female as she drew her hands to his face, her touch strong, as though hoping, praying, for no resistance, but anticipating it none the less; And she moved forward, her lips meeting his, pressed to him for a few seconds. Felix's mind seemed to falter, as though it had paused; He felt his eyelids hang heavy before closing, drawn by the warmth of her lips and some other sudden emotions he wasn't quite acknowledging just yet. As Elsa drew her lips from his however, and the radio host opened his eyes to lock gazes with her once again, the full realisation of the past moment hit Felix.

Elsa Bellefonte had just kissed him.

He stared, a few thoughts managing to pierce the fog in his brain, telling him he needed to speak; He needed to say something, anything... But he had no idea what the heck was supposed to come next. This was Elsa, the woman he'd loved's sister... Her twin, none the less. But in this moment, having known all she'd done and how much she was surely suffering behind her hardened heart,
Felix felt a flurry of sudden admiration; He felt compelled to want to ease her feelings of insecurity, to attempt to quell her fear.
"W-Well..." He mumbled, still staring at her, a small warmth tinting his cheeks as he ran a hand through his hair. "I take that as you... Believe me?" What was he supposed to do now?! He shouldn't be doing this, kissing Elsa, what would everyone think?! She was Erika's SISTER. Like Dirty Laundry needed more fodder...
And yet despite these valid reasonings, Felix found himself beating them down until they didn't seem important anymore. Those were all issues outside of this room and for once he wanted to just... Not think on the bigger picture. He wanted... To make this woman, this woman who deserved so much, feel cared for. A warm smile spread across his lips, and he leaned in closer to her, returning her kiss with one of his own.

This wasn't what he'd come here for; He didn't come here to make some sort of romantic play for Elsa, hadn't come here with any other ulterior motive, He simply wanted to speak to her... And in all honesty, he'd expected her to latch onto her cold demeanour with full force throughout the meeting, since it was her defence, her wall against the hardships of the world; But here she was, Elsa Bellefonte, the supposed "Ice Queen" of the Academy, letting him in... Letting him see her vulnerable. Perhaps the moments in this bedroom wouldn't pass the threshold of the door, but seeing the fear behind her steely gaze... He just simply had to attempt to rid her of it, however slight. It seemed to hurt his heart to know how much she truly hid her fears.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Believe... Elsa stared, still not certain that she'd actually done that, let alone what she actually thought about doing that. Her mind still worked to catch up, filling her in on all the details and flinging more and more information and details at her, most of which amounted to "this is a bad idea" in nearly every version imaginable. Her lips moved to say that in some or fashion, only to find that they were very much occupied with something else:

Felix kissed her.

That surprised Elsa more than her kiss had. She hadn't thought that, well, he'd actually want to kiss her back. She still hadn't quite figured out why she'd initiated the kiss or anything, but there he was, kissing her back, and, well, he wasn't horrible at it either. Elsa nearly felt her legs giving way, emotions flooding her chest for a few moments. She knew everyone called her some kind of Ice Queen (though she thought that Ellen had earned that title from DL), but this almost felt... melting. Elsa didn't want to melt. She, well, she didn't mind people sneaking into her icy fortress and prodding at the vulnerability underneath, but melting? Elsa liked being icy; it wasn't just a shield, it was how she liked herself.

Right now though, she liked kissing Felix more. She let him do it for far, far longer than she should, since she should've been pushing him away. Something very sharp popped into her mind though, and she pushed him away. "Oh God," she said, moving away, turning, since looking was obviously a stupid idea. She rubbed at her head. "This is--oh God, Erika is going to--" she took a deep breath, whirling on Felix. No, looking bad, because looking resulted in feelings. Look over his shoulder, that should work.

"This never happened, this---" she sighed. She should just tell him to leave, but, well, he wasn't exactly great at doing that, now was he?

[Felix Nicholas]

Of course Felix's mind was desperately trying to flare up what he already really knew, that what he was doing was a very bad idea; His thoughts were playing catch up, trying to get through the emotion he'd acted upon, trying to reason with his logic... But the radio host found he didn't care. At least until the kiss ended.
The mass of feelings regarding his current actions flared violently as Elsa pushed him away, returning with vigour. He blinked at the Bellefonte, feeling instantly a wave of embarrassment sweep him; He'd made perhaps an even bigger fool of himself then he had previously... What was he doing?! Giving in to his emotions had so far proved to be nothing more then a big infliction upon him and everyone else, and it seemed he;d gone and done it again... "Oh god..." He mumbled, running a hand through his hair, clutching at a few tufts of it as the heavy implication of what he'd just done hit him like a ton of emotional bricks.

He'd just kissed Elsa.

Nevermind what that gossip ridden blog would declare now... He'd dealt with a number of her cruel posts regarding himself and he couldn't care less what she thought or what she said about him. He was far more concerned for Elsa... The last thing she needed to hear circulating around the Academy was that Felix Nicholas had kissed her out of some desperation to replace Erika, no matter how violently untrue it was. Gossip was a cruel hand, and Felix had no intention of putting Elsa through that, even if she did believe him.
Then there was Erika.
What would she think?! That he was acting on the rebound? Never mind the fact Elsa was her TWIN... A line that generally was seen by society as one you did not cross. He'd made himself out again to be a complete fool.
As Elsa looked at him, the radio host felt that flurry of emotions surge, the desire to make her feel cared for... But he ignored it, bowing his head at her words.
This never happened...
That strangely seemed to hurt perhaps a little more then the cruel comments she'd made earlier, but Felix refused to let it show, instead gathering what resolve he had left and nodding slowly. "I'm... I'm sorry, Elsa..." He spoke, lifting his gaze to her as he held up his hands defensively. "I... I overstepped my boundary... I just... I'll..." He glanced towards the door, knowing he needed to leave.
He couldn't stay here and risk giving in to those confusing emotions again... It wasn't fair on Elsa. And yet he remained where he was. "... Shall we... Shall we forget I even came?" He spoke, trying not to allow any hint of sadness in his voice. This wasn't how he'd wanted this meeting to go... His relations with the Bellefonte were likely in a far worse state now then when he'd arrived. Now she'd surely want to avoid him... The whole thing felt like another idiotic series of actions on his steadily growing list.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Times like this, Elsa almost wished she were some kind of empath instead of a mind-reader. Would certainly make things easier on her. Or would it? Considering how Felix looked right now, she couldn't be sure. She wanted to reach out with her mind, figure out what was going on there, what worked behind those hurt eyes. She could even feel her mind stretching toward him, and she practically had to slap the metaphysical fingers, berating herself for even thinking that was a good idea.

"I moved the boundary first," she pointed out, not wanting Felix to take all the blame. She couldn't say for certain why; it probably would've been easier to just lay all this at Felix's feet. He was the emotional one, the one prone to kissing Bellefontes and all. Yet Elsa felt she should... what, let him know that she had feelings for him? Fuzzy, ill-defined feelings likely due at least in some small part because of her close connection with her twin, but he didn't need to know all that.

Elsa paused after he asked about forgetting he ever came. Tempting yet again, especially considering what the blog would say. But the blog wasn't in this room; this hadn't exactly been a public display of affection. So... should they? Should they just...

"we shan't," Elsa said with confidence, though her voice shook slightly. She met Felix's gaze, uncertain what else, but, she felt... she'd wanted to kiss him, and she'd wanted her own Felix when he'd confessed his feelings... Elsa shook her head. This was just too much to process right now. She turned toward her room, her arms folded across her body, feeling small, for some reason, especially right then, especially right now.

[Felix Nicholas]

Felix was surprised by Elsa's admittance to her overstepping the boundary first, but he didn't let this show. He had expected her to simply place the blame all on him, despite her kissing him first, and he would take it. If it made it easier for her in this situation, he'd take all the blame. He was used to taking the blame.
As soon as he'd spoken up the idea of him simply leaving and both parties forgetting what had just transpired ever occurred, the radio host felt a sicking in the pit of his stomach; And he remained where he was, making no attempt to get up and leave the situation. Despite perhaps that being the simplest solution, the easy exit, it felt like the last thing in the world Felix wanted to do.
He kept his head bowed, his brow furrowed as Elsa replied with a single word, although spoken with steadfast confidence, Felix could pick up on the slight quiver to her voice.
We shan't?
What exactly did she mean by that? That she didn't want to just forget this meeting? Felix raised his gaze, unsure on what he wanted to say, their eyelines locking. Then she shook her head... Clearly feeling as confused, unsure, as uncertain as he felt... He'd never seen her, Elsa Bellefonte, appear as emotionally weakened as she did now. Seeing her, the academy's pillar of strength, looking so... Defeated, so small... It very nearly broke the man's heart. How could he leave her like this, knowing he'd caused her
to fall into this state?
Without a word, the radio host gently moved closer to the young woman, wrapping his arms around her form, holding her close to him. "I'm sorry," He spoke again, his voice barely a whisper; He wasn't however sorry for what had occurred, but more so sorry for making her feel as he had done.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Of course he wasn't leaving. Leaving would make this whole mess easier to deal with, make the problem go away. So of course he had to keep standing there, looking at her and just... being Felix. She felt the emotions bubbling up and again cursed Erika, absolutely certain that at least half of them came from her more unruly sister. She was tempted to inform Felix as much but he'd already started speaking first. Saying... sorry?

"What do you have to--" she began, only to stop as he wrapped his arms around her. First a hug, now this? She stiffened, tight and hard as a board in his arms. People did not hug Elsa Bellefonte. Erika did and... that was quite literally it. Elsa's parents hadn't hugged her for years not. The Bellefontes were just not a huggy family. And there was Felix, hugging Elsa, and she could only stand there stock still for several seconds, trying to figure things out.

"Felix, you're making me uncomfortable," she finally said. It didn't have quite the bite her words usually did. It was true, as much of what Elsa said was. She just... this felt like too much for some reason. She was tempted to push away, and she almost wanted to chew him out or go away. Instead she was...

Oh God, now she was trusting him to respect her boundaries. Erika was going to get an earful if Elsa made it out of this with anything resembling dignity and respect.

[Felix Nicholas]

Felix felt her tense almost instantly, and although a part of him hoped she would relax, however slightly, by his hold... But Elsa remained stiff, unmoving, her dislike towards the act not lost on the radio host. He'd only wanted to attempt to comfort her, but it was clear she didn't take comfort in the same manner he did. Once again, Felix had acted on his emotions and it left him far worse off then if he hadn't. At her words he moved away from Elsa as though her touch had burned him, feeling a flurry of prickled heat of embarrassment as he did so, mentally cursing himself for not thinking before he acted. The last thing he'd wanted to do was make her feel uncomfortable.

Felix bowed his head, holding his hands up to his chest defensively, meaning to apologise again; But the words got caught in his throat. He'd already apologised repeatedly, what good would it be to say it again? He'd already made things far more then awkward,
and the slightly confusing emotions writhing within him weren't exactly helping. He needed to leave, needed to leave the poor girl alone before he made this entire situation any worse then he already had.
"... Elsa... Elsa thank you for letting me speak to you," He spoke calmly, casting the woman a small smile as he ran a hand through his hair. "I... I didn't mean to make you feel..." He trailed off, sighing a little as he let his arm flop to his side. "... Awkward. I'll just... Well, I'll just... Leave you to it."
He slowly moved towards the door, the exit from this situation... And yet he didn't want to leave; But he knew he needed to. He needed to stop acting so recklessly on his emotions... It wasn't fair on those he acted upon, and so far it resulted in nothing but emotional awkwardness. He stopped as he placed his hand on the door's handle, looking back at the female. He cast her a warm smile. "If... If you ever need someone to talk to, and you don't feel you can speak to Erika. I'm... Well, I'm always there if you need me, okay?"

[Elsa Bellefonte]

"It's not you," Elsa said as Felix talked about the whole awkwardness of it. She waved a hand. "I just---I'm not a hug person, that's all." Why did she keep saying this? Better to just let him think she was the cold, unyielding bitch. after all, she'd spent quite a bit of time cultivating that personality and shaping it to make certain that everyone knew exactly who was in charge.

Now he was leaving? He had to have the worse timing and sense of how to work this that there could ever possibly be. He looked awkward too, probably because he hadn't thought things through and, well, he was dealing with the Bellefonte that required at least a little forethought. Okay, that just wasn't fair. Then again, it wasn't as if she'd told him off or anything like that.

She had to smile at the thought of there being pretty well anything that she wouldn't share with Erika. You'd think that Felix of all people would recognize something like that. Still, she nodded as he finished, meeting his gaze when he finished. Part of her wanted to smile, but that just felt... off. It wasn't her. She wasn't going to change for him, irregardless of whatever was going on in her mind. She wasn't. "I'll keep that in mind," was what she ended up saying, though her tone was actually light for a change, almost airy.

[Felix Nicholas]

Felix found himself surprised by the calm manner in which she was acting towards him despite his invasion of her personal space, a sharp contrast to the cold, sharp tongued Bellefonte she'd gotten a reputation for being. She was being considerate, explaining her reactions as opposed to delivering a cruel comment or providing him with no explanation whatsoever, have the reason for her reaction simply fall on the steadfast cold reputation she'd built up for herself. But she wasn't...
Despite this, Felix still felt as though he needed to leave. Her explanation for her stiffness during the hug calmed his worry slightly that he'd far overstepped the mark, but he didn't want to risk making the situation any worse. He needed to step back, and actually start to THINK before he acted on another emotional impulse. So far all it had done was damage relations between him and the other participate, or made things awkward, and right now the last thing he needed was more relationship rebuilding.

His smile grew slightly as Elsa replied to his comment, her answer almost... Lighthearted. While he knew very well that there was next to nothing she wouldn't tell Erika, he was offering her an excuse to come to speak to him if she felt she wanted to.
He nodded sightly, his grip tightening on the handle of the door but he remained stood there a moment, still not really wanting to leave; He knew he couldn't just ignore what had happened between them, but at the same time he knew the last thing either he nor elsa needed was emotional drama. Felix felt as though he'd had enough for a lifetime... But that didn't stop him from hovering by the door, the built up mix of emotions in his chest desperately begging for him to stay. But to stay and do what? Make things even more awkward? He didn't want to put Elsa through that...
"... Well... Well I'd better let you be," He spoke softly, before opening the door with some reluctance although he kept a bright smile on his lips, and finally leaving the room, closing the door slowly behind him.