Nothing Left To Say. }{ Coraline S.

[Valeriu Ladislau Vladescu]

Valeriu couldn't even recall why he had invited her out for coffee in the first place. He was finished with his classes for the day and could have easily went home but something was stopping him from doing that. Or more like, there was some issues at home that he didn't want to deal with right now. As the heir to the throne, he had more responsibilities than most. Add in his college classes, the current crisis in France and the number of french vampires relocating to Romania; he wondered how his parents were coping with it. Granted, they've had years of experience under their belts but still, he couldn't help but find everything overwhelming. If he was barely coping with the news, how would his sisters feel about it? Mia would probably carry on with her bitter life, either ignoring or reluctantly making friends with the Fortescue's since they were more around her age. Valeriu could also see her hatred and distrust of human kind intensifying as she learned of their stories. Dara, on the other hand, being the happy little girl she was would welcome them into her life with open arms and a huge smile on her face. Then again, what did he know? He had more important things to deal with rather than figuring out his sisters feelings towards events that were to come.

Instead, he was sitting inside a coffee shop on a beautiful afternoon, in a booth nearest to the entrance with his back to the door. All that was before him on the table was his book that remained open but untouched. His right cheek was being held up by the palm of his right hand, and his facial features in deep concentration. Valeriu was practically in his own little world, unaware of his surroundings while waiting patiently for Coraline to show up. Again, he didn't know why he chose her of all people but it was done with - his actions having been a spur of the moment kind of thing. Besides, he liked and tolerated her more than most. It may have helped a little bit that he's known her for a while now having shared many classes with her - and that she reminded him a bit of Dara.

[Coraline Anne Sciuto]

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Coraline waved good bye to her friends as she set off down the crowded street. She had just left the college library where she was studying for an up coming Political History exam. She didn't mind her academic choice, granted she liked dancing more, but she had to actually concentrate with her Political Science major. Dancing just came naturally to her.

The college freshman glided over the cobblestone sidewalks as she neared one of the local Coffee Shops. She was supposed to meet Valeriu Vladescu. She knew the guy decently. She'd had homeroom with him in the eighth grade, and they'd shared a few classes in High school. They even shared a few classes in college. But the two were admittedly in very different social circles. So why, in a random talk, had he asked her to meet him at the very coffee shop she was headed toward? Cora didn't know, but she didn't mind. She liked Valeriu. He was cute and funny from what she'd seen and his little sister Dara had told her.

The bell above her head rang as Coraline entered the shop. She recognized the man she was to meet immediately. She sat down across from him. The girl leaned over the table slightly, mimicking Val's position as if they were mirrors. After a few moments she whispered so only he could hear her. "What are you thinking about?" she said, noticing the clearly thoughtful look upon his flawless face and light eyes.

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[Valeriu Ladislau Vladescu]

Valeriu was startled out of his stupor by the sound of a woman's voice, Coraline's voice. How her soft tone had managed to reel him back to Earth, he didn't know but he was glad for it. He only hoped that he hadn't kept her waiting for a long time. The male stared at her with an apologetic smile on his face while he straightened his posture. "The future, life, things I have no control over..." was his reply to her question as let out the breath he didn't know he was holding in. But, enough about him. "I do hope I'm not keeping you from anything important?" He hadn't bothered to make sure when he had asked her in passing earlier. Coraline hadn't disagreed with him so he took that as an okay, not that he gave her the opportunity. He had been heading in the opposite direction then. Now that he was relaxed, Valeriu took the time to really look at her. He felt the corners of his lips starting to twitch at the sight before him. "Aren't you a vision in white, Miss Sciuto. I almost feel selfish keeping you in here with me and away from the world." The predominant thought in his mind was that he had never seen her as angelic as he was seeing her now. Then, he thought about how graceful she moved when she danced and seeing her now, it all fit.

Valeriu recalled the times he had gotten the chance to see her dance. She moved rather gracefully for a human, almost like she was floating on air whenever she followed the flow of music. And just as quickly, his musings came to an abrupt stop. His eyes turned harsh for a second, not liking where his train of thoughts were going. Letting out a cough, he stood up from his seat and asked as politely as he could to make up for any rudeness, "Can I get you something to eat or drink?" It was the least he could do for seeking her out. Valeriu just needed someone to talk to, someone with no connections to his duties - a distraction.

[Coraline Anne Sciuto]

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Coraline smiled sweetly at him. "I don't think about them too much," said the woman. "I do on occasion. But why worry yourself about things that are just going to happen?" Coraline Sciuto was a strange person to almost everyone. She lived in the moment, she'd learned from her mother's death that yesterday was passed and tomorrow was only a possibility. Today was definite. No one knew how many tomorrows they had left.

The girl smiled at Valeriu. "You're not selfish," she said, her smile still clear. It wasn't an overly happy one, but it was a sweet and caring smile. "I didn't have anything planned. There's no class today and I'd already finished studying for the exam tomorrow. I probably would have ended up in the dance hall, watching the seniors practice." Cora looked away for a moment. Almost embarrassed that she was that into dancing. Val probably had enough with dancing at home, what with one sister who adored it more than life itself and the galas his parents were known to host.

Cora was a little shocked at the speed with which he stood, but wasn't surprised. Dara was just as fast, if not faster. "Um, just a coffee," she said. "Want me to come with you?" Coraline didn't mind the secretiveness that clouded Valeriu. It had been there since before she could remember. A very little part of her hoped that someday he might open up to her. Tell her what he thought, or what bothered him.

Though no one had ever known it, even Coraline tried denying it in school, she'd always had a small crush on Valeriu Vladescu. But it had always seemed that he tried, and mostly succeeded from her observations, in avoiding any kind of romantic relationship with human girls. Coraline supposed she'd have to settle with friends.

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[Valeriu Ladislau Vladescu]

Valeriu pondered over her words carefully while he stared straight into her eyes, as if waiting for the answers to life to suddenly appear in them. “I suppose when you put it that way, it does make life seem less stressful. Although, I can’t say I understand how you do it, he told her, the uncertainty evident in his voice. She did look happy and untroubled for the most part every time he saw her so whatever methods she used had to be working for her so far. If only, he could be so lucky. He had his books, swimming and soccer to help distract his thoughts but all it did was manage to delay his worries for awhile.

“Thank you, that makes me feel somewhat better. I’d hate to think that I was keeping you from your studies, especially with the exam being tomorrow,” he said before letting out a breath of relief. Valeriu hadn’t been serious with his previous comment but it was really nice of her to try and make him feel better. Unnecessary but welcoming nonetheless. The mention of their exam tomorrow had made him think about his own studying, which he’d have to get to as soon as he got home. Not that Valeriu was worried about the exam. Other issues that weren’t directly his but affected him in some way made it seem trivial if anything. Just touching upon their current topic made him question her choice of major and remember about the ball his parents were hosting – something he had immediately pushed aside since it had been made known to him. He wasn’t going to mention it yet but he planned to much later.

“Coraline?” he started, his voice and facial features turning serious while trying to get her attention. “Please don’t take this the wrong way but why did you choose to major in political science? Even I can see how much you love to dance.” They never really talked in depth before today (it mainly being his fault) but from what he could remember, dancing was basically it for her. Since, Valeriu had always assumed that she would’ve stayed on that path. Seeing her in couple of his classes at the beginning of the year had been a surprise but he hadn’t bothered to question it then.

Or, maybe it was because of his habit of stopping anything that could possibly help in the slightest in tearing any of his walls down. It didn’t help that he had gotten to know her over the years. It didn’t help seeing and learning little by little that she was an honest and good person. And, it especially didn’t help to hear his little sister’s thoughts on her – which only served to reinforce the former. So, Valeriu settled for just being friends with her which wasn’t always easy because he didn’t know how to simply be friends with someone like her. Valeriu had friends of both the male and female persuasion but that didn’t necessarily mean that he actually liked them. For the women, some were easy to ignore, push away or leave at that, just friends. Coraline just had to be in the ‘not’ group and probably the only one in there too, which was why he chose to avoid her for the most part before he started to actually like her, as a person and as a friend. But he was a fickle person and when it came to needing someone to talk to, even about the most mundane things, he chose her. Now, he was changing his mind again and it was telling him to get away. “That’s really your choice,” he muttered quickly before moving towards the counter to get their coffees.

[Coraline Anne Sciuto]

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Coraline shrugged lightly. "It's just who I am I suppose," she said. "But I guess dancing helps, it's something I'm passionate about. Don't you have something like that? Something you love to do no matter what? You have to have some life outside your political and royal image, Your Majesty." Cora liked picking on him every now and then. Of course he'd know she was joking a little by adding the address that almost no human used, at least, she hoped he would.

"No problem," Coraline said with a smile. "Don't want to make you feel guilty about anything." The girl sat there for a few moments thinking about his question. Her reason for taking Political Science wasn't really that noble. It wasn't like she wanted to be a Politician or anything. She wanted to be a dancer, you didn't need to know how to get votes to do that. "That transparent, huh?" Coraline finally asked looking down at her hands, which she had began messing with, scraping at the silver nail polish absentmindedly. "My sister, actually. Carrie. Um, she's never really been the type to be alone. She doesn't want a whole lot of people around her, but she can deal with almost anything when I'm there," explained the girl. Carrie Sciuto was the exact opposite of Coraline. The only thing they had in common was their looks, being identical twins. "I guess I took it because she was, and her dreams, they're more important than mine. I can always go to Bucharest and dance. But, her's are more in the here and now."

Coraline shrugged again. The girl knew he wanted to spend as little time around her. At least right now. She nodded and stayed sitting where she was. A way of letting him know that she knew he wanted to be near someone, without having them around the whole time. Sometimes, Valeriu reminded her of Carrie.

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[Valeriu Ladislau Vladescu]

Valeriu was content right now and it showed. She was unknowingly proving yet again why he liked to talk to her of all people. “Of course, but I find that it hardly helps me. Perhaps I’m too much of a worrier for any kind of distraction, passionate about it or not, to be able to subside it,” said he, planning to not go any further about it since he didn’t want to bore her. “Nevertheless, I’m glad you managed to find a system that works for you, my lady,” he added sincerely with a formal tone, ignoring the way she had addressed him. Valeriu had long since gotten used to her way of teasing him. At first, it had made him feel uncomfortable thinking that she had been mocking him but he had gotten over it quickly. Nowadays, the male no longer bothered to tease her back and simply resorted to replying courteously. Although, sometimes he did try to go for charming instead of considerate since he was secretly hoping to affect her in some way. His reasoning for the latter was that he was doing it for the sake of his male pride and ego, which was more or less only half true. The hardcore truth was that he was trying to flirt with her without really openly showing that he was flirting with her, if that made any sense at all.

His eyes were fixated on her, watching her features as she sat there in deep contemplation. It was as if he was studying her, trying to find her silent cues thinking that it would help him understand her better. It didn’t and neither did the response that came right after. As far as he was concerned, Coraline didn’t act or think like a normal person. Valeriu couldn’t wipe the frown of his face as he analyzed certain aspects of her personality. “Huh...” was the only word so far that managed to escape his lips as he eyed her, practically drilling a hole into her body. “That is- that’s awfully selfless of you.” He didn’t know what to say to her comment without sounding insensitive so he settled for pointing out the obvious. It was Valeriu’s belief that all beings in the world, humans and vampires, were naturally selfish. Coraline was messing with that idea and it annoyed him a bit. There had to be another reason for her choice, one with an egocentric undertone to it. On another note, he understood her reasoning which annoyed him further because if it was necessary of him, Valeriu would do anything for his sisters. Still, he saw Coraline’s predicament as much different for many reasons. “Who said that? Who said her dreams were more important than yours? I apologize in advance if I end up offending you but your sister is being selfish for not pushing you to follow your own dreams, especially if she’s willing to sacrifice how many years of your life just to get ahead in hers. If she cannot deal with people on her own, I don’t see how she will manage in this field of study,” he told her slightly angry. He didn’t even know or understand why he was angry all of a sudden.

He was pleased when he saw that she had chosen to stay behind. Valeriu saw this as his opportunity to shake off the random feelings that were overwhelming him. After ordering, he hesitated before pushing himself to walk back to their booth with the coffees in hand. Taking his seat, he placed the items in their respective spots in front of them. For the next couple of minutes, he didn’t utter a single word as he drank his coffee in silence. Valeriu then lifted his eyes to hers and said indifferently, “I don’t know if you’ve heard, unless Dara told you already, but my parents are hosting another ball. Will you be attending?”

[Coraline Anne Sciuto]

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"Maybe you should try to find something that can distract you. Everyone needs that at times. If you don't want to think of what goes on in your family, find a distraction that detours from that," said the girl as if it was the simplest thing in the world. Coraline smiled at the man across from her. She believed everyone needed a distraction from life. Dance was her's. Acting was her older sister's. Even Carrie had one. Valeriu needed one. "I can always help you find a distraction," she offered. "What do you like to do in your spare time?"

Coraline continued to look at her hands. "Um, thanks," she said, not knowing what else to add. "I guess." Cora fidgeted in her chair after he spoke again. No one had ever said that Carrie's dreams were more important. It was just that silent message in the air. It was like the pink elephant that followed the Sciuto twins around. Everyone had just always put what Carrie wanted above what Coraline did. "I guess it was just how I was raised," said the woman finally. She didn't really want to get into the fact that her mother had died and how her life had changed. Carrie hadn't taken the woman's death easily, nor did she take moving to Romania easy. "After my mother died, my father moved up here. I guess I didn't take it as hard as Carrie did. So when it came to things between us, she was always put first." Coraline didn't know why she was telling Valeriu all of this. She was sure he didn't want to hear about it.

Looking up to him finally the girl smiled softly and said, "Sometimes you have to make your own mistakes to learn from them. I know Carrie won't fare well in the world of Politics, she can't handle the people. But she wants to do it. I've told her what I thought, but she doesn't listen. All I can do is be there for her and help her pick up the pieces when the battle is done."

Coraline sat in silence as Val moved away from her and toward the counter. She took a second to read a paragraph in the book he was reading before he returned. Smiling softly she quietly thanked him for the drink before taking a sip. The woman let Valeriu be the one to break the silence. Sort of like giving him control over the conversation. "No, she hasn't mentioned it," she said softly. "But your family's held a ball every year since before I can remember." Coraline thought for a moment. She'd never attended the Masquerade Ball that the Vladescus had held every year. "I don't know, maybe," she said.

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