Enid is moving across the world to attend university. Away from all that she knows, she soon finds herself at the center of three men's unyielding attention. Three men who are her professors. Inexperienced and innocent, she is the exact opposite...
And stop letting that god-awful night ruin her life.
"Hi." Enid tried to smile normally as she stepped into her friend's vision.
Emilia's eyes darted up to her face and her jaw dropped.
Yanking the headphones from her ears, she proceeded to nearly crush Enid in her arms.
She held in a wince, her body still sore from training with Dante.
"Hi? You disappear for a week and don't even let me know that you're okay and you have the audacity to come up and say 'hi'?! I swear, once I make sure you're alive and okay, I'm going to murder you. God, I think I'm getting grey hairs already with all the worrying I do over you." Emilia held the smaller girl at arm length as she looked over her for signs of injury or issue.
Enid giggled softly at her dramatic antics, her heart swelling with how much her friend cared about her.
"I'm so sorry, Emilia. It's been a really long week, but that's no excuse. I hope you're not too mad at me..." Her azure eyes dropped to the ground in remorse.
"Hey, none of that. I'm not mad at you, just worried sick. And I should be the one apologizing, I should have never dragged us into investigating this. I can be so pushy sometimes when I get excited about things and I completely bulldozed you and... I'm so, so incredibly sorry." Emilia pulled her in for another hug.
"It's not your fault! I told you I left the bonfire that night because someone spilled their drink on me. You didn't know that I had any connection to him. I should have told you; I just couldn't figure out how to." Enid assured her.
"I just can't believe how this all happened. He did that to you and now he's missing. Good riddance if you ask me." The two girls sat down on their bench, the tension extinguishing into the normal ease they found in each other's presence.
She tugged her beanie back down over her ears and tucked her gloved hands into the pockets of her coat.
Winter was coming and it was going to be a frigid one.
"I think we should still continue with our article." Enid spoke quietly.
"What? No! I'll tell Dr. Romano we bit off more than we could chew and that we're going to do an article on the Halloween festivities next week. Actually, you picked a really good day to miss on Monday because he wasn't here either." Emilia exclaimed.
"Yeah, it was a wonderful coincidence. But I just... I want to know what happened to Patrick. He did a terrible thing, but I feel like we must finish this. I want him to be found. For his family and friends. And that way I can file a report against him and he can learn from his actions." Enid fiddled with the ring on her pointer finger.
"Jesus, I think you might be the most wholesome and kind human ever born. Are you sure you want to do this?" Emilia glanced at her with concern.
"Yes." She replied confidently.
"Okay. But I'll do the majority of the fact digging, okay? I don't want this to take up much of your time. Promise me that at least." The brunette girl looked at her sternly.
She was struck with how much Emilia looked like Fiona in that moment.
Motherly concern was universal.
"We can meet up next Monday and divide up tasks." Enid nodded in consent.
"Well, with all of that aside, I have some news." Emilia bounced slightly in her seat.
"What is it?" She asked, grinning at the excited look on her friend's face.
"You know Jake from our lit class? Well, he may have asked me out on a date on Monday when class was canceled. And I may have said yes. And I may or may not have had the most fun I've ever had with a guy which is impressive because I am an absolute hoe and I've been on so many dates." She rambled happily.
Enid's mind flashed to the classic college boy she had met on her first day of classes.
He seemed nice enough, if not a little odd.
"Wow! That's fantastic. Do you have plans for another date?" She asked.
"Yeah, we're going to an arcade in the city tonight. And don't worry, Jessie and Sarah did a thorough stalk of his social medias and he seems like an actually decent guy." Emilia giggled.
Enid grinned at the mention of the kind girls Emilia had introduced her to the night of the bonfire.
"How are Jessie and Sarah?" She tucked her jacket more tightly around her as a large gust of wind sent the leaves at their feet flying down the sidewalk.
"They're good! They'd love to see you again. Sarah still talks about how cute you were. If Jessie weren't so confident in their relationship, I'd be worried that she'd get jealous." Emilia nudged her with her elbow.
"I'd love to see them again. Maybe we can all grab lunch one day." Enid suggested shyly with a soft smile.
"Yes! Or brunch. I love mimosas. I'll figure out a day for us to go and let you know." The taller girl pulled out her phone and sent a message to the couple.
"We should probably head inside; class starts in ten." Enid checked the watch on her wrist.
When they entered the classroom, Enid grinned as she saw her friend's face light up.
Jake jumped from his seat to pull out a chair for Emilia, a large smile stretched across his face.
Which would have been very lovely and chivalrous, if it weren't for the fact that the chairs were connected to the desks by a metal bar that kept them in a certain place.
Enid and Emilia giggled as he came to the realization and his cheeks darkened in embarrassment.
"M'lady," He played it off, giving her a dramatic bow, "You look simply divine today."
Emilia flushed as she glanced at the two students who were already in their seats.
Marcell, the boy with the afro and a fear of snakes, was hiding a laugh behind his fist.
Sophie, who still didn't seem to like Enid very much, was rolling her eyes.
A few minutes later Dante's long frame entered the room with his usual flourish.
"Hello, my dear disciples. I'm sure you missed me on Monday." His trademark smirk alight on his face.
Enid grinned as his eyes met her own.
It felt good to be back to normal.
✿ ✿ ✿
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The girls are back on track.
I probably won't be on again until after Christmas, so happy holidays to all of you who are celebrating!
