[Even if he was trying to keep his gaze firmly on the empty space in front of him (not out of nervousness or anything), every so often it flits back her way, especially when she starts talking. This time, he actually catches that small, not-nervous-tic.
...Why is she doing that? Not that he particularly cared enough to watch at length, but girls often did that little tic/move/thing when talking to, say, Toudou or Shinkai. The "popular" guys. Like everything else here, it makes him feel more unsure about this.
It meant nothing, he's being a gigantic moron, and there's something more worrisome here anyway.]
Ah? You're starving?
[Hungry and ignoring it out of unwillingness to change it sure, but outright starving was something he could actually, for a brief moment, show more concern about-
until he realizes that once again, he's being played. Jerking his head away from her to focus on the floor, one of his hands shoots out to (surprisingly gently?) land on the top of that red mop of hair before he can even think about it.
It's definitely not a hair ruffle. It's an... aggressive... pet....?]
Don't make jokes about serious shit like that! And don't tell me what I am either!
[Whether or not he's going to admit it to her (or himself, right now), he is exactly the type of guy who'd have invasive thoughts about a stone-faced girl, hungry by herself.]
no subject
...Why is she doing that? Not that he particularly cared enough to watch at length, but girls often did that little tic/move/thing when talking to, say, Toudou or Shinkai. The "popular" guys. Like everything else here, it makes him feel more unsure about this.
It meant nothing, he's being a gigantic moron, and there's something more worrisome here anyway.]
Ah? You're starving?
[Hungry and ignoring it out of unwillingness to change it sure, but outright starving was something he could actually, for a brief moment, show more concern about-
until he realizes that once again, he's being played. Jerking his head away from her to focus on the floor, one of his hands shoots out to (surprisingly gently?) land on the top of that red mop of hair before he can even think about it.
It's definitely not a hair ruffle. It's an... aggressive... pet....?]
Don't make jokes about serious shit like that! And don't tell me what I am either!
[Whether or not he's going to admit it to her (or himself, right now), he is exactly the type of guy who'd have invasive thoughts about a stone-faced girl, hungry by herself.]