a/n:
Secrets, secrets are no fun, I wish I could tell everyone.
f r e n c h
k i s s e s
Love is complex in design, it's a concept that cannot be singlehandedly defined due to its variability. There are several different types of love, for instance, there's love for individuals and love for things. Places.
Every day I fell more in love with Paris, from the architecture to the ambiance, I loved everything about Paris. I could never possibly get tired of exploring the city, therefore, it was only necessary that Ellie and I explored while she was in town.
Over my first few weeks in Paris, I quickly learned that the best way to explore Paris was by simply diving in. While I had briefly seen the Eiffel Tower, an inescapable sight, I hadn't yet visited many other renown tourist spots. It was Ellie's first time in Paris and she had made a list of places she hoped to visit on this trip. While it was Ellie's first time in Paris, the spring semester acted as my fourth time in the city. Although I had previous trips to Paris, they were often times trips centered around my parents business affairs. Seeing Paris through hotel windows and taxicab windows simply could never suffice, I vowed to come back to the city for an extended period of time instead of for two days. And so I returned.
Luckily Ellie had two weeks in Paris, her new semester starting a little after mine. Although I started school during her visit, we still ensured that we would find time to explore the city together. Once school began for me, Ellie dedicated her free time to working on her portfolio and graphic design jobs. Having my best friend in the city helped me acclimate to the new environment, if only she had the chance to stay.
After speaking to Zac on her first night in Paris, communication with him carried on smoothly. Or perhaps as smoothly as it could, neither of us mentioning his delayed trip again.
Our conversations typically were short and there would be the occasional silent moments where neither of had anything to say. From our conversations, I learned that Zac's job was both time-consuming and taxing. With every conversation, it was as if Zac became more worn out. Zac was becoming a shell of his previous self and I could only watch.
I couldn't help but think about Zac, although Ellie acted as a good distraction for me. Unfortunately, Ellie had to leave, leaving me to my own accords and thoughts. Her last day came far too quickly and she needed to do some last minute souvenir shopping for her family and friends.
One by one we visited souvenir shops, collecting keychains and trinkets for Ellie to take back to the states.
As we walked out of the last souvenir shop we saw a glimpse of someone who appeared to resemble Laurent, however, instead of sporting a cheeky grin he had a black eye with a few other cuts and bruises. In addition, his hand was neatly wrapped in bandages. I stopped in my tracks and stared at him, trying to decipher if it was, in fact, Laurent or merely a doppelgänger.
"Arden, you can't stop in the middle of the sidewalk," Ellie stated, gesturing that I should continue walking.
I slowly began to walk, still keeping an eye on the man that had caught my eye from a distance. He was at a newspaper stand across the way, looking at a magazine casually. Between the crowd and the distance, I couldn't figure it out.
I stopped walking again, looking over my shoulder at the stand and tapping Ellie on her left shoulder. "Hey, can we go check out the newspaper stand over there? I would like to take a look at the new issue of Vogue."
She nodded and followed me as I crossed the street, closing the distance between myself and the person of interest. As I walked up to the stand he paid no mind to me, completely engrossed in his reading. At a closer look, I realized that it had to be Laurent.
His height was that of Laurent. His hair color was of Laurent. His outfit was of Laurent. But, his injured appearance was not becoming of Laurent.
Ellie had never met Laurent, let alone seen an image of him. She had only heard about him from me, therefore, she was clueless about my investigation. Instead of snooping on the affairs of another, she was flipping through a visually appealing magazine.
I strayed away from Ellie and made my way towards Laurent, knowing that I wouldn't have any of my questions answered if I didn't ask them. In addition, I hadn't talked to Laurent for a few days, catching up could be nice.
The moment I was only a foot away from Laurent he coincidentally looked away from his magazine, making eye contact with me.
"Arden," he murmured.
"Laurent," I said.
We looked at one another for a moment, not stating anything else. Laurent closed the magazine he had been reading, giving me his undivided attention.
Taking a chance, I decided to start the conversation. "How are you?"
He placed the magazine back into its nearby compartment, clearing his throat before opening his mouth to respond.
"I'm fine."
"Hardly do people mean that they're fine when they reply with the word. You're fine? Your bruises and cuts say otherwise."
Laurent stared at me, not offering a friendly smile like he typically did.
"What if they're simply a result of stage makeup?"
"What if."
"Could be."
"You wouldn't mind if I check out the makeup up close then, right?" With the end of my question, Laurent's expression changed.
Laurent stayed silent and I began to inch closer to him, his hand stopping me before I could examine his face. He placed his right hand on one of my shoulder's to keep me from coming any closer.
"It's not makeup," he confessed, dropping his hand.
"What happened?"
Before I could get a response Ellie walked up to us. "Arden, you said that you came here for Vogue and yet you're chatting a guy up. Do you two know one another?"
"Yes, we do know one another. Ellie, this is Laurent."
Her eyes widened ever so slightly with the name "Laurent," however, she instantly fixed her expression in order to avoid looking suspicious. She extended her hand to Laurent.
Laurent slowly extended his, shaking her hand cordially.
"I'm Ellie, Arden's best friend."
"Ellie... Yes, I've heard quite a bit about you. I'm Laurent as introduced by Arden."
"Arden mentions me? That's sweet." Following her comment, Ellie walked towards another magazine and checked it out in order to give us some time alone.
"What happened?" I repeated, genuinely concerned about Laurent's new state.
"As I was putting away some luggage on a shelf at home one of them fell from above. Luckily I walked away with only a bruise and a few scrapes," he explained with ease as if he had rehearsed his response in the time between his introduction with Ellie.
"You got a black eye from luggage?" I asked, disbelief laced in my voice.
He immediately nodded, sticking to his explanation.
My expression continued to show disbelief as I thought up what to respond. "Laurent, you're truly one of a kind. I have never heard of anyone losing a fight with luggage.
"Shall I take the first part as a compliment?" he questioned, making genuine eye contact with me for the first time.
"Of course."
And with that Ellie returned to my side, checking her watch as she stood next to me.
"I should get going and let you two return to your shopping," Laurent stated.
I nodded and Laurent lingered for a moment, taking one last look at me before turning around. Before he could fully walk away, Ellie's voice interrupted.
"Do you want to join us for lunch?" Ellie asked.
Laurent turned around slowly. "Thank you for the offer but I've got business to attend."
"That's too bad, it's been nice meeting you."
"And you," he started, glancing over at me before continuing, "and it's always a pleasure to see you, Arden."
And with that, we headed our separate ways, furthering the distance between Laurent and I.
For every time that we progressed one step, we had to seemingly regress two steps. It was as if we were dancing in an unconventional way. Our motions were constantly out of sync and we kept stepping on each other's toes.
When would dancing come naturally for us?
* * *
The time finally came when Ellie had truly fallen in love with the city of Paris itself, when her taxi pulled up to the cobblestoned road it acted as a reminder that she would have to go on her flight home. Convincing Ellie to enter her taxi was a difficult task, Ellie extremely reluctant to say goodbye to both the city and me.
"I could always fly out later this week instead, I have a few days before my classes start," Ellie bargained, standing at the front door with her luggage.
"And pay for a new flight? As much as I would love it, you can't stay here any longer or else it'll be even harder to say goodbye. Also, you need time to adjust to the time difference and to prepare for the new semester."
Ellie sighed, knowing that I was right. "Fine, I'll leave for now."
With that she picked up her luggage handle and began to roll it down the hallway, I followed her with her carry-on luggage. She pressed for an elevator and gave me a pouty face. After a short elevator ride and a few more steps, Ellie was ready to leave in the taxi she had called earlier.
Before entering the taxi Ellie set down her luggage and approached to hug me, my arms open and myself not ready to let her go. If I could have my best friend in Paris, Paris would almost be perfect. She wrapped her arms around me with her incredibly plush jacket. "See you soon, Arden."
I wrapped my arms around her in return, sad to say goodbye to my best friend.
"By the way, you should check on Laurent. I don't like to call people liars, however, I can't help but feel Laurent isn't telling you the complete truth of his accident. Luggage falling on him doesn't explain his wrapped up hand," she stated, hearing about Laurent and I's conversation from me an hour ago.
"See you soon, Ellie. I hope you have a safe flight. Text me when you reach New York," I replied, hardly acknowledging her second point.
"I will, now you do what you need to do."
I would text Ellie like I would check on Laurent. In time I would find out the truth.
And the truth sometimes hurts.