Third viewer's perspective
His whole room was made out of glass, be it the door, the table or even the simplest of decoration. He felt a sense of satisfaction as he looked around. Seeing things in a clear light without having to stray in the dark was just efficient.
As he stepped towards a shelf, he scanned the file which was recently brought to him.
Elle Melliot. The name was written in a bold font, next to it a picture of her face. Long dark hair, almond-shaped eyes with a slight tint of hazel. So this was her. Zero's infamous soulmate.
His lips formed into a wicked smile. Fate sure was a cruel thing. This boy had run away from his soulmate all his life, trying not to involve her in this business, just to drag her into this mess himself. It was quite ironic. The man knew that Zero tried to get her out of this again but that boy surely forgot one important thing.
Once someone has already entered the lion's den, he surely couldn't just walk out of it again.
Another wicked smile curled his lips. Was this the feeling of getting a present after a long time?, the man thought while watching his reflection in the room full of glass. Blue eyes stared right back at him, showing slight wrinkles around his eyes.
Finding the girl felt like a God's given.
Zero was already strong and moreover, a notorious enemy of SKIA. But how much better would it be with a soulmate's power combined? Using that girl would surely be a great benefit. It was the best bait he had gotten in his hands in a long time.
They didn't know yet but sending that one girl back home was the first step of his plan. The first step which marked the start of a new chapter.
* * *
Elle's POV
A month has already passed since the last encounter I had with Zero. And to be honest, my time had been dragging since then. It got even worse when the short vacation period started, having no distraction anymore.
There wasn't even one day when I didn't think of him and it frustrated me. Why was I wasting my thoughts on him? At first, I thought that I would be good at surpressing my emotions but I soon realized that this actually didn't apply to this issue. Well, too bad. I sighed.
"Is something wrong?", Jess asked me. Her curious eyes watching mine. "You've been weird recently. More stressed out, I guess?"
I only shook my head. "No, it's just... I've been thinking about a lot lately. But nothing serious." I gave her a reassuring smile to which she lightly nodded.
"Do you want some good news then?", Jess asked, a teasing smile wrapping her lips. I raised an eyebrow.
"You know that I'm working in some restaurant, right?", she started, fidgeting her fingers. "It's already been a few months..."
Her eyes started to twinkle as her exitement started to grow. I laughed. "Yeah, you told me."
"There was this really, really hot guy working with me, you know." Jess started to grin mischievously. "And well... I just wanted to tell you that we've been dating for a while already. I just forgot to tell you."
My eyes widened. "Again?", I bursted out while laughing. She sure was something. Always falling in love too fast and jumping from relationship to relationship.
"Relax," she said while grinning from ear to ear. "He's different."
I rolled my eyes. "Sure thing. John was different, as well, don't you remember?" And then he cheated on her with Georgia, the girl Matt dated at the time. We were in college but this whole high school drama sure seemed to follow us.
"John is history," Jess stated as she snapped with her finger. "And this guy... he's just dreamy." She exaggerated by waving her hands around to which I only sighed.
"Well then, congrats, I guess. I hope it lasts longer than four months this time." I started laughing as I saw her eyes narrowing.
"You should get a guy. Then you'll know how wonderful life can be." Then she put an arm around my shoulder and dragged me into a café.
"I'm not really interested."
"You're never interested, Elle." Jess said while pursing her lips.
"That's not it," I replied curtly. My memory wandered to a certain pair of grey eyes. But I immediately shook these thoughts away.
"But what are we actually here for? You told me you wanted to show me something important."
Jess started to grin again as she pushed me into a free booth. Loud chattering could be heard left and right.
"Well," she started, raising my suspicions. "I'm going to introduce you to my new boyfriend."
After ending her words, she excitedly clapped into her hands.
"Damn, that's sudden. Why didn't you tell me before?" I laughed. This girl was far too random.
" 'Cause it's a happy surprise." She grinned and suddenly waved at something behind her while her eyes started to sparkle in a clear blue. I turned around just to see a blending figure walking towards us.
His platinum blonde hair lightly fell onto his forehead while the intense blue eyes glimmered in a dangerously playful light. And then he grinned, showing a perfect set of teeth as he closed the distance between us - one hand in the pocket of his leather jacket.
I froze as he looked at me. The same intensity I've already seen twice. It was him. The guy with the dangerously weird vibes. Don't tell me -
"Nate," Jess waved. "This is my best friend Elle." The guy instantly increased his smile - if that was even possible, flashing his perfect white teeth at me. I shuddered. No way in hell. A slight glint of something unfamiliar was glowing amidst the blue of his eyes as he intently stared at me.
"Nice to meet you, Elle." He rolled my name on his lips as he reached out his hand.
"Likewise," I mumbled while reluctantly shaking it. To be honest, I didn't know what to think right now.
Each fiber in my body screamed that this guy was more than just trouble. But why was he with Jess? It seemed lika a very strange coincidence.
He smirked as he took a seat next to Jess, laying an arm around her shoulder to which she started to blush.
"You know, what's really awesome?", she said while laughing. A pearly sound filling the room. I put on a smile, trying to ignore Nate's intense stare. Why was this guy always looking at me like that anyways? It was just creepy.
"What is it?", I asked.
"Nate has connections." A bright grin spreading out on her face again. I raised an eyebrow.
"To whom exactly?"
"Elle - he is Alessandro's acquintance! The Alessandro, did you hear?" She nearly squealed as she said that, looking at Nate with shining blue eyes.
Alessandro was her favorite celebrity. Some Italian guy. But as far as I knew, he had an agency contract with SKIA. So how was Nate acquinted with someone like that?
I tensed up as I thought about it. Didn't Zero say that SKIA was actually covered by the government? But then again, it was clearly stated as an entertainment industry. This left me with only two options: SKIA being an entertainment industry was a farce or Zero lied.
And to be honest, I couldn't differentiate between truth or lie with the lack of information I had and it surely frustrated me. So many questions but no answers.
"Elle?" I jerked up from my thoughts. "Yes?"
Jess looked at me, her eyes slightly worried. "Are you alright? Maybe I shouldn't have dragged you here on such a short notice. Maybe -"
I immediately cut her off with a reassuring smile. "No, I was just kind of lost in thoughts - just the usual."
As I said that, she slightly narrowed her eyes, knowing that there was more behind it than I showed. But then again, she knew me too well to not press things any further.
Jess was actually a very smart person although many people wouldn't judge her as one. Her bubbly and excited personality made others think that she was just a sweet blonde who didn't have any worries in her whole life and was living as an absolute airhead.
But that wasn't true. She had already proven herself for years to be one of the best people I had ever met. However, the only times when she really was not the smartest person was when she was dating some guy. She was the type to give her heart away far too easily and it worried me.
So seeing her with someone this suspicious was just nerve wracking. Especially if he had connections to SKIA. I actually didn't even know anything about SKIA myself but after hearing Zero talk like that, it made me unsure. What if there really was more to SKIA than I knew?
I suddenly remembered the dream again. When I was inside his head, I could feel his emotions and what shook him most was the mentions of SKIA. He was resentful towards them. I remembered feeling that exact same anger he felt. Something must have happened as it wasn't a normal amount of hatred a normal human being would live with. But what was normal anyways?
Moreover, knowing the fact that I was actually in his mind back then was still really weird to me. Even after one month had already passed. Coming to terms with something like this sure was hard. I asked myself how long it would take to just be able to forget about all these memories. My college life was already exhausting enough.
"So, I went to this huge mall in Verona," Jess faced the guy while making a wide gesture with her hands. "And it was literally the best shopping experience I've ever had." Her eyes twinkling from this memory. I knew what she was talking about.
Back in high school there was a school trip to Italy in which we were allowed to go shopping along the way. I could still remember her excitement and the multiple bags she carried. Jess even had to pay extra fees at the airport. And this only for the baggage she wanted to bring home. I smiled as I thought about it.
"Guys, I need to go to the bathroom for a minute. Have fun!" A bright smile curved her lips, as she suddenly stood up and walked around the corner of the café. I sighed, finally looking at that guy. So Nate was his name, huh.
"Lovely, so it's only us now." He smirked while rubbing his lips with one finger. I only scoffed.
"I don't like you." When these words left my lips, he pretended to be shocked.
"Well, dear, what did I do to make you dislike me?" While his lips still contained a playful smirk, the cold blue in his eyes narrowed slightly.
I couldn't say anything to that. It was only an instinct that I felt something dangerous from this guy.
"What was in the bag?", I asked after a short while. Nate bursted out in a small laugh.
"Curious?" He said as he raised an eyebrow. I scoffed.
"You can't tell me the truth?"
"Well, I could but I'm not sure if you like it," Nate shook his head, still grinning.
"Spit it." I didn't know where I had got the courage to speak in such a rude manner, however I just had a bad hunch about this guy. He began to smirk even more now. If he continued doing that, his mouth would surely split open after a while - was what I thought.
"You know," Nate closed the distance between us by leaning forward. "It's supposed to be a secret but I like you. So you're gonna be a lucky exception." Another smirk.
I inwardly cringed as he said that. Why couldn't he just talk normally like any other person?
I only stared at him as I waited for him to continue his words. Even if I always saw him grinning, smiling and all that stuff, his eyes were always the complete opposite. Still looking at people like they were toys. Like they were mere things to use to one's pleasure. How could Jess fall for a guy like that?
He then waved with his hand, indicating to come closer. "Lend me your ear, Elle." I rolled my eyes as he said that but still did as he wanted. There was the saying that curiosity killed the cat. But well, whatever.
His lips curled up as he suddenly grabbed my arm over the table and pulled me closer. I didn't even have any time to react as his breath already hit my ear.
"It was a dead body." He whispered after a slight pause, a glint of something I couldn't define lighting up in his eyes.
I immediately pulled back. "What bullshit." Just what was wrong with this guy?
"It's a secret though, so don't tell anyone." He gave me a wink, as Jess suddenly came around the corner again.
"Damn, there was a whole cue in front of the women's bathroom," she groaned as she sat down again.
"Well, now you're here again, babe." Nate smiled at her while shoving a lost strand of her hair behind her ears, making her blush. No, no, no.
After giving him her sweetest smile, she finally looked at me again. "Let's order, guys."
* * *
The sun already started to set as Jess and I finally walked home. Nate had left before as he had a sudden business to attend to.
"Jessica." I started. She immediately looked at me with widened eyes.
"No, no. Why are you calling me that?", she asked, throwing her hands up in the air. I only called her with her full name when it was serious, so she knew that something was up.
"Not trying to be rude but that guy isn't the one for you." I didn't like beating around the bush. Saying it straight up was more like me. Jess abruptly halted in her tracks, looking at me in disbelief.
"Why do you think so?", she quietly asked.
"I know, it's weird but something about him just feels wrong." I sighed. "And do you remember that guy I told you about? The one in the alley with the bag? That's him."
Her eyes widened again. "Well," she began. "Maybe he was delivering food. He told me he had multiple jobs."
"I know, Jess, I'm just telling you to be careful. This guy could be dangerous and -"
"But you don't know him, Elle. I've been with him for almost half a year already and he was always the sweetest person I knew. Except for you, of course." Jess slightly grinned as she said the last sentence. I returned her smile. She really was an airhead when it came to love.
But damn, almost half a year with this weirdo? I did know she was going out with someone - but with him? As I looked back, I realized that the first time Nate and I met was also nearly half a year ago. It was actually the very start of the semester back then. What a coincidence.
"Is he going to our college though?", I asked.
"No, he said he worked in a company but still does some odd jobs here and there because he has to make money for his little sister. Isn't it cute?" I raised an eyebrow. So he wasn't going to our college but I still met him on campus the first time I saw him.
Were they already dating at that time? But what was he doing outside when I had one of my "attacks", not searching for Jess back then? No matter how much I thought about it, something didn't add up.
"Did you already know him at the start of the semester?", I asked her. She looked up as she pondered about it, strolling along the way.
"Nah, it was actually far after that. At the end of spring, I guess?" Jess smiled again and halted as she stood in front of her home.
"You should still be careful, I have a bad feeling about this," I insisted but she only laughed.
"I know you want the best for me but you always say the same about all the other guys, too. Alright, you were kinda right back then... but I promise you, it's really different this time. Please, trust me." She reassuringly smiled as she gave me a warm hug. I only sighed and returned her embrace.
"Remember that we're going to a party next week, alright?"
I raised an eyebrow in amusement. "That's the first time I've heard of this plan."
"Well, Nate invited me and told me you should come, too." Her soft blonde curls bounced left and right as she made a small turn. "Isn't he nice?"
I sighed. I already didn't trust him and now he was inviting us to shady parties?
"Come on, try to get to know him better. Give him a chance," she said. "He's really sweet to me." Her words made me sigh again.
"Sure, I will go." I smiled at her while we waved each other good bye. After I crossed the street and walked a few meters, I arrived at my house.
I looked back to where Jess was standing before but she already went inside.
A few minutes ago, I was just pretending to be fine but my mind was actually racing.
If they met at the end of spring and he didn't go to our college - then what was he doing on campus back then? This didn't add up at all. And his weird character didn't really do anything to relieve me of my worries, as well. Especially not after our talk at the café.
"It was a dead body." I still heard his whisper in my ear causing my heart to thump in my chest again. Maybe I just had bad luck with meeting weird people this year. But the problem was that Jess was involved with him right now.
I sighed as I stepped inside the house. A bad premonition lingering in my mind.
___
Hey guys, ♡
this time around it's kind of a filler chapter to get the plot moving. However, it'll be an eventful party yet again. I don't know why, but for me it seems like the best place to start some drama and action. :D
So stay tuned and feel free to comment and vote if you'd like to!
Yours Christine ♡