Hey there, my beloved readers! I really hope you are all healthy and fine!
I don't own OP but I do own the extra characters.
I don't own the picture! I found it on twitter. (AHHH DADDY LAW I CAN'T HANDLE IT! ISN'T HE A CUTIE PIE?!)
Enjoy and have fun <3
The atmosphere was thick enough, a knife could easily cut through, though silence dominated inside the room with the only sounds those coming from the flipping pages of their books and their breathing.
The afternoon sun that had already shown its pinkish face, filled the doctors' office of the small clinic in a warm light that could convert even this plain room into the coziest place to study in the world. The view outside of the window was no less as the icy ground looked like a sea of red, orange and magenta in front of Swallow's island sunset.
If it was another day, Law would had preferred to take delight in this magnificent view with the said girl by his side, walking towards their way home and even though he wanted to pretend like everything was just a bad dream, well... it was not.
And he still found himself here drown in paperwork in an effort to make his mind forget of his previous discovery.
The town's tower clock's bell rand 5 times signaling the time. It was already 5 o'clock and the two young doctors didn't seem neither to move from their seats nor even rise their heads from the tasks they kept their minds busy with.
It wasn't like they could focus though as Law needed to read a sentence 6 times already to understand this patient's symptoms and put his signature for the needed exams and Elga kept looking the same page for 10 straight minutes.
The girl leaving an irritating sigh, was the first who snapped out of it and decided her brain was in no shape to function today and so she closed the said book without being able to remember anything of whatever she read the past hours. She glanced on the boy a few meters away from her own desk who was still glued upon his papers, with a deep frown on his face.
The sunset's orange rays, colored his face with the warmest colors but still his expression seemed colder than a North Blue's snowstorm in the middle of the winter. The events that happened previously the same day must had really gotten under his skin telling from his attitude as she had many days to see him this annoyed by her presence.
He didn't exchange any other words with her after he came back from his break. Though the girl should admit she didn't do any efforts to open a conversation as she thought the best choice would be to give him some peace and quiet.
Law had put his word for her so as to take the seat of the new doctor in the clinic and she really disappointed him for a stupid argument.
*Ahh, why did I have to say something like that! I should have kept my mouth closed!*, she thought and rubbed her tired eyes. She tried to lay back a bit and rest her aching back too, making the chair create a cricking sound.
This though woke Law from his thoughts and raised his eyed so as to take a look at the girl in front of him. Her features seemed peaceful and relaxed having her eyes closed, but he knew she surely troubled her mind for a silly issue as arguing with that patient's caretaker.
He always admired her for her bravery, though sometimes this characteristic of her personality would put her in troubles. However, if you asked him, he would never change anything on her even though many times this girl would be a handful. He was proud she stood for herself on this argument and wished he could find the right words to support her on this moment of need.
It was like an invisible wall was built around his feelings for this girl like a defense mechanism to protect his poor heart from breaking in the future. He wondered if she would still have this peaceful expression as now or she would be disgusted by his decisions and actions.
Elga like sensing him thinking about her, opened her eyes and pierced his own stormy ones with her dark chocolate orbs. He didn't turn his gaze elsewhere. He immediately found the comfort he was seeking those past few hours only by a look of hers and his heart felt warm like this afternoon sunset light.
And then she smiled at him, a gesture meaning that everything will be alright and he wanted to burn this image on his tired brain like many other of hers, a small source of endorphins on his blues.
He should be the one to comfort and support her not the other way around and yet he found it impossible to beat his own demons and fears at the moment and make this one step closer to her. He felt that weak, like his whole body had frozen in place at the thought of the possibility this girl will eventually wreck those secure walls of his.
At the very thought of him being emotionally vulnerable and bare in front of her disapproving expression.
A warm hand on his cheek returned his focus on present time and these two emotional chocolate orbs seemed closer to him this time.
When had she approached him? He didn't even hear her footsteps coming closer but it wasn't the sudden physical touch that startled him, it was the dread of her finding out about his thoughts. She was looking at him like trying to figure out whatever troubled his mind with a concerned face and Law turned his gaze sideways so as to avoid hers.
"You seem like you have something bothering you. Are you still mad about the previous event?" Elga asked worried.
"No, I am not mad.", he blankly answered and removed her hand from his face.
"You know you can talk about everything with me right?"
Law didn't answer but just stood up from his seat and started collecting his things so as to leave from the workplace.
Elga followed his moves with her gaze patiently, waiting for a reply. Had she really lost the game with him?
No, she wouldn't allow it! She wouldn't let another one favorite person of hers leave her life for stupid reasons!
The brunette grabbed rather tightly his wrist, stopping him from placing a book in his bag and gained his attention.
"Law, are we still friends? Do you still want me in your life? Because I really want you to be a part of mine." she exclaimed with honest eyes that looked right through his.
The boy was taken aback a bit from her words and just studied her face for a while.
The dark shades under her big eyes, a pale face with dry skin and this anxiousness on her voice.
He wanted more than anything to shout out of his lungs that yes, of course he needed her to be a part of his life.
*But would you have asked the same question if you knew about the real me? About my past decisions and what I have done?*
Elga saw his hesitation and pulled a bag out of her purple sweatshirt's pocket.
She took one Bepo's handmade cookie and handed it on the boy in front of her.
"Take this and put some glycose in your brain, dummy. You don't have to answer me now. Just... just think about it ok? And when you are ready answer me!"
Law took the cookie and gave it a bite immediately feeling his brain starting to work again from its frozen state.
"It's good, though it has sugar." he said and the girl smiled proudly.
"Well it is Bepo's after all!"
"You should eat one too. You know dark chocolate is very nutritious, it consists a powerful source of antioxidants, it can improve blood flow and lower blood pressure, it raises HDL and protects LDL from oxidation..."
"Yeah ok ok mister know-it-all!", she answered and leaned forward taking a hold of Law's hand and opened her mouth slightly, biting on the spot of Law's bite.
The boy widened his eyes for a second and decided to hide his obvious blush under his infamous spotted hat.
"Hmm, indeed delicious!" Elga commented with a smile and made a gesture she was ready to go.
"Let's go! Are you coming home with me?"
The two of them closed the office's door and walked down the empty corridor.
~...~
Walking outside on the snowy ground, there was silence between them but not around them as they could hear a constant whining. Firstly they didn't focus on the source, trying to mind their own business, until it got louder and louder and now they could hear clearly the other people talking.
"Look at her, she acts all innocent and nice"
"Who would have thought we entrusted her even to be a doctor in our town!"
Elga listening to the conversation raised her head and glanced at the direction of two women at her right.
Immediately the two Pleasure town's citizens turned their backs at her so as to hide their faces.
"Oi keep your voice down! Do you want her to murder you too?!"
The girl thought she misheard so she didn't give any further attention on the situation.
"Oi! Isn't this that girl who also works in our clinic? I heard she was a serial killer before she comes here and also threatened another girl by cutting her tongue!"
"Wow this is awful! Why hasn't Officer Larry still caught her?"
"Don't look at her, she might get angry and slice your throat!"
"Do you think she hides behind that girl's murder?"
"I bet so! No one would suspect her working as a doctor!"
The brunette's jaw fell open from what she just heard and unconsciously stopped walking, having her gaze pierced on her feet.
Law stopped beside her too and looked at the girl shocked.
The brunette just looked at him and laughed awkwardly.
"They wouldn't talk about me right? Hahah, I must have heard wrong."
The boy didn't reply but just placed a hand behind her back and pushed her slightly forwards, as a gesture to tell her to keep going towards the house.
He would have enough time to search about what happened once they got home where the girl could wait there safely. Maybe Shachi or Penguin had heard of any details. Even though curiosity overwhelmed him, he trusted Elga and knew that the girl would never kill another person.
They were both about to leave the town and head towards the forest's path when Officer Larry stopped them.
Law just glared at him, throwing cation signs in the air with his displeased expression but the older man just smiled.
"Elga-san, did you finish working for today?"
"Ah, yes Officer! Me and Law-kun are heading back for now."
"Give my greetings to Volff, will ya?"
"Of course! He will be happy to know we met you!" she sweetly replied with a smile.
"Elga-san, I would like to have a talk with you tomorrow! Come at my office around 10 in the morning."
"I don't find any reason to come there sir. She is not allowed to interfere with the investigation anymore." Law responded and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder bringing her closer to his body.
"Ahh, it is not directly about this case, though it is only natural to say that we still search for suspects, but for this...", The dirty blonde, mustachioed man said and took out of his coat's pocket a piece of paper.
Law took it in his hands and unfolded it, revealing a wanted poster of a young girl around Elga's age with the same characteristic long brown/redish hair of her dancing around her torso while the said figure was covered in blood and stood right above a lifeless body.
It was a cruel image but the doctor didn't lose his focus and caught on some details that could lead to a clear misunderstanding.
"Well, the picture is blur and looks like it had been taken from afar, so the face is not clear enough to tell it is Elga-ya."
"The name written on the wanted poster is 'The bloodthirsty Mary Pearcey', is that your true name Elga-san?" the Officer asked looking at the girl who was clearly confused by the situation.
"To be honest I don't know..."
The older man pierced his eyes on her features, puzzled by her answer.
"You don't know..."
"Well, I mean I don't remember. I have amnesia."
"Huh? Isn't that convenient?" the dirty blonde huffed and raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean by that Officer-ya? With all respect I don't..."
"You don't think what Law-san? I don't interfere with your patients so don't be nosy on my suspects. What do you know about Elga-san?" he rudely responded to the pissed young boy but Law maintained his composure.
It was true that Law didn't know anything about Elga's past but this girl on the wanted poster couldn't be the same with the one who shared her onigiris with him about 1.5 years ago.
"You don't have any further proofs and I find it naïve to turn this case in a wrong direction. The true suspect is still out there and Elga-ya is certainly not the one." he explained coldly and took the girl from her shoulder so as to guide her towards their heading route.
"Then, let me ask one more question." Officer Larry spoke again and the two teenagers turned their attention to the said man again, hopefully for the last time. "Where were you the night of the latest murder? The murder of Belle Lerrez, the girl you insisted to do the necrotomy, logically to hide important evidence, and you wanted to help me solve the case, so as you could easily direct the case towards an innocent citizen of our peaceful town!"
"I was at the festival." she blankly replied thinking of that night.
"There are witnesses who saw you leaving the place rather early, it was if I am not mistaken before the fireworks so it must be before 9 o'clock at night. Also, If I remember right your friends were searching for you the whole night which means you didn't go home." he explained with a satisfied smirk.
"Uhm..." Elga just glanced at Law who was also waiting for an answer.
He wasn't quite sure if the girl was indeed with Blake that night and though he wouldn't like the thought of her finding support on the red head's shoulder, right now he wished it was true so as she can have a good alibi.
"To be honest I fell asleep on the woods." she said the truth and Law sweat dropped at the silly reason of her absence.
It was the easiest way for Elga to lie but she didn't want Law to think she had another boy in mind. Yes their relationship wasn't in the best shape lately, she was still pissed about his stubborn attitude and yes she wanted to find that mysterious boy of her past but above all of these she decided she couldn't neither forget her feelings for Law nor his efforts. So she didn't care if they would stay friends, coworkers or just roommates, Elga wanted this boy to be a part of her life because he grew to be too important for her.
"Y-You fell asleep... In the forest... alone?" Officer Larry couldn't believe he found a suspect so easily and so he mentally thanked his secret informer for that. "I will wait for you tomorrow at ten o'clock. Don't leave the Island and don't get late." he added and left the two teenagers behind.
Law turned to look at the girl beside him and he could sense the feeling of worry, growing once again in his gut.
In what situation have you get yourself again Elga-ya this time?