Chapter XIII

Be aware of switching POV's.

Nico’s POV

The sun glimmered off the glass from the various shops and restaurants that edged the streets of downtown.

For a day in the middle of February, it was quite a nice day.

I whistled a little tune to myself as I strolled down the pavement. Amorei was on break.

A flash of midnight hair catches my eye.

Esteire.

But what was with the professional getup?!

She was wearing a tailored dress jacket with a mid-thigh pencil skirt, black tights and high heels. She carried a dark mahogany attaché case.

My mouth opened to call out her name but then I closed it.

She wouldn’t tell me what she was doing anyway, so I decide to follow her.

I trail her as she goes around a corner, hiding behind people and buildings as one word echoes in my head over and over: Stalker.

Esteire suddenly halts and I scramble behind a nearby SUV.

Great. Now I look like a car hijacker.

I peek around the silver vehicle.

She’s gone.

Wait, What?! Where’d she go?! Don’t tell me I followed her for-

Then I spot her.

She’s walking up the steps to a...

My eyes widen.

The building, no the mini skyscraper rose tens of stories high with sea-foam glass stretching from the bottom up only separated by lines of silver steel that marked each level. The entrance boasted an enormous, perfectly see through automated doors with white marble pillars that melted onto a flight of polished black flecked stairs.

The Sylanite Corporation. Headed by Mr. Sylanite himself; the king of entrepreneurs. From finance to television to education and recreation, he was the creator of the biggest names out there. You name them, he found them.

After his projects take off, he leaves them on their own and starts other businesses. Possibly the most connected man of all enterprise and this, was his first building.

But what was she doing there?!

Esteire floats up the steps and passes through the sliding doors and into the pristine lobby. She’s soon out of sight as she disappears behind the closing elevator.

---

“Esteire!”

Her black hair swishes artfully as she turns to face me.

“Yes?” she says.

I walk up to her.

“May I ask you something?”

She smirks at me,“You just did.”

“Oh,” I laugh nervously, “Something else I mean.”

“Of course,” she smiles.

I look around us and motion to a more secluded area.

“I saw you this weekend,” I finally say when there’s just us.

She stiffens at the last word.

Carefully, she responds, “Is that so?”

“Yeah, you were going inside the Sylanite building.”

Her eyes darken, “Ah, I see.”

Getting a little uncomfortable my voice gets lower, “Um, I was just wondering why, that is...”

I trail off into silence as my eyes observe hers that looks cautiously at me.

Finally, she sighs, and her eyes close as if collecting her thoughts.

Regarding me, she replies, “I guess I would have to explain sooner or later. I work there.”

“Huh?” I gape.

“I. Work. There,” she repeats.

“No no, I get that, it’s just... I’m surprised I guess,” I say, rubbing the back of my head nervously.

“Um,” I continue, uneasy, “...Why?”

She stares at me, then looks away and says hushed, “I’m leaving in two weeks.”

I stand there dumfounded.

...What?!

“What are you saying?” My voice unintentionally hitching.

“I’m leaving France to the U.S. in two weeks,” she says now facing me.

My expression questions for me.

“Because I must find him,” she adds.

“Him?”

To my alarm, I sound almost accusing. She ignores this and answers.

“Because,” she whispers, “I’m tired of waiting.”

Her eyes look mournfully at me before she turns and starts walking away.

“Wait!” I say louder than I had meant to, grabbing her arm.

She stops, her head down, not looking at me.

I want to say something, but I can’t seem to find the words.

She stays patiently, listening.

“I-”

“HEY! What’s going on?!” yells a voice in front of us.

Our head snap up.

It’s Mikael.

He storms over and glares at my hand that still held her arm.

“Oh,” I murmur and let go.

He looks back and forth at us, neither of us speaking.

“Will someone please tell me what’s going on?” he says angrily.

After a moment’s pause, Esteire slowly walks away.

“Nothing,” she says.

Eren’s POV

I watch her gaze impassively out the window; the sea blue eyes never wandering from the clump of leaves on the outermost reach of the nearby oak.

Her profile isn’t too sharp, sculpted to be be gentle yet fine while soft wisps of hair curve down by her ear. Swathes of dark hair flow across her shoulders as she props her head upon her palm, the fingers settling across her jaw.

What do you think of love?

I wonder why she asked me that. Was it because she lost the one she loved? I wonder. What does she think now? I knew Mikael liked her, most likely more, and then there was Nico. I could see it in his eyes too. And me?

I sigh.

Yeah, I wasn’t in the picture, and I’m not about to get my heart broken again. She probably thinks of me as a friend if anything at all.

She blinks, the long lashes coming down slowly and up like she’s...

No wait, she is!

Her eyes start drooping, and then they’re closed.

I look at the teacher. A few minutes pass.

He doesn’t even notice!?!

Her eyes are still shut. She looks so peaceful, but I don’t want her to get in trouble...

---

“Hey, wake up,” I murmur to Esteire, bending over near her ear.

“Huh?” Her eyes flutter. “Yes?”

“Class’s over,” I say, straightening.

Her mouth forms an ‘o’.

As I walk out of class as I watch her get up and float aimlessly pass the desks and through the doors.

Something’s wrong. Even for her, she doesn’t fall asleep in class, and her movements are too languid. Something was definitely up.

“Hey,” I say, tapping her shoulder.

She spins around, startled. Her eyes hit mine squarely in the center, matching dark blue to green.

I’m shocked. You don’t just startle a girl like Esteire by tapping her shoulder.

Not only that, but I realized that was the first time she ever looked at me straight in the eye. Before, even when she introduced herself to me, she was looking a little to the right, and before that, in the corner of her eye or a little above mine.

Why hadn’t I noticed that before?

Even now, she’s looking a little to the left.

I try catching her gaze again, my head swiveling side to side and bobbing up and down. She stares at me.

Still looking to the left of me!

“Ah, what are you doing?”

I stop, abashed. I probably looked really strange doing that just now.

“Um, sorry about that. It’s just, is something wrong? You seem a bit down,” I say, recovering.

“Oh, ah,” she mumbled.

Mumbling as well?! Oh man, something was wrong.

After hesitating, she dodged the question, “It’s nothing...really.”

That statement alone was suspicious, never mind the sleeping, ambling or mumbling.

“You can tell me, you know,” I say assuredly.

“Heh, well I already told someone else and they got kind of upset...” she trails off, staring at the floor.

“Try me,” I say.

She looks up, her mouth parted slightly.

Urk! Why am I noticing that ?!

I want to turn my head away, but I want to hear what she says even more.

“Ahh,” she starts and surveys the hall.

Only a couple kids are around, I note.

“I’m going to leave in a few weeks.”

“Huh?” I focus back on Esteire.

“Huh?” I repeat, confused.

“I’ve only been here awhile, so it shouldn’t matter much,” she says.

You stand out like crazy! Are you kidding me? People would definitely notice.

“But what about your sister?”

She cringes. I seem to have hit a sore spot.

“I haven’t told her yet.”

“What?! But she’s your sister!” I proclaim.

She’s silent.

“Sorry, I have no right to get into your affairs like that,” I apologize.

“It’s alright, Eren,” she replies with a forced smile.

Yeah, right.