"Whereabouts' did you park your car? What road?" questioned North quietly, peeling out of the apartment complex and on to the main road.
"Kensington Avenue. It was about two streets from where I ran into you guys." She replied, just as quietly. She noticed North give her a side-glance and wondered what he was thinking. Why not outright ask him? "What are you thinking?" she asked out loud, turning to face him. A small smile appeared on his otherwise expressionless face at her inquiry.
"I was just thinking about you."
"Me?"
"Yep."
"What exactly were you thinking, dare I ask?"
"I was just thinking about how we've known you for like an hour, yet it seems everyone is infatuated with you already. I mean, we won't really be seeing you again will we?"
"About that... Victor kind of promised to give me piano lessons every now and then so you might be seeing me more often than you'd like, sorry." She said, not sounding apologetic at all. She watched as North digested the information.
"You wanna learn piano?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Sang let out a sigh. She knew he'd probably laugh or give some patronising retort if she told him what she'd told the others about her love for classical melodies without words and so she decided not to reply. When she didn't answer, North looked over at her.
"Sang?"
"Hmm?"
"Why did you take up our offer to bring you to our apartment? We could have been creeps for all you knew. How could you just trust us like that?"
"I guess I have good intuition. I just knew that you wouldn't make any dodgy advances and would genuinely help me. You guys definitely don't look like criminals"Sang snorted internally. But I know looks can be deceiving, pretty-boy, you're lucky I know more about you than you know about me, Sang thought bitterly.
"I see. Well you should be careful about who you trust next time."
"What do you mean?"
"There are a lot of bad people in the world, Sang. Girls like you shouldn't be so naïve as to trust any random guy. Guys who would've been much nastier than us could've caught you - like those guys that were trying you chase you."
"What do you mean 'girls like me'?" she asked, her temper rising. North sensed her change in attitude and swore under his breath.
Letting out a sigh he said, "You know, pretty girls; girls who just look so innocent with their beautiful hair and beautiful smiles that can light up any room. They're so pretty and they don't even know it, yet you see their eyes and they carry such a sadness that you never know if anyone will be able to make them whole again."Sang knew he was talking about her. Beautiful? No one had ever called her that before. This was the second time she'd been complimented today, what on earth was going on? She looked up at North from under her lashes, and caught him blushing. It was so bizarre to see a guy like him blush; you'd think under all that hard façade he wouldn't have the capability to be bashful, but here he was, somewhat embarrassed by his little speech. Sang bit her lip as a small, sad smile crept onto her face.
"Don't give me that look. I just...I just mean that sometimes you get this faraway look in your eye, as if you're detached from the world, detached from everything going on around you. It's just you and your thoughts. What I wouldn't give to know what you're thinking right now." He spoke softly, shaking his head to clear his own thoughts. Sang was surprised by what he had said. It was very perceptive of him to pick up on these little aspects of her personality and appearance; she thought she was the only other person who saw things like that. She thought she was the only one who could pick up the slightest change in a persons entire demeanour yet it seemed that she had found her match. She wouldn't have pegged him to be the observant type. In all though, she had to admit that what North had said was true. Despite how happy she felt at times, there was always that constant longing and lingering feeling for more. This became somewhat fulfilled as she joined TIBI, as she felt it gave her a sense of purpose, however she yearned for something deeper, something she hadn't found yet.
"North I-"
"Don't worry. Just leave it. I don't even know what came over me, sorry." He cut her off, attempting to dismiss the conversation.
Sang smiled, remembering what Gabriel had said when she kept apologising earlier. "A smart guy once told me I shouldn't apologise for things that fascinate me. I think the same applies to you. Just because you keep up this whole 'tough-guy' exterior from the outside, doesn't mean you can be secretly deep at heart. Don't apologise for things that don't need apologising, North." North smiled. Finally! There's the reaction she was looking for!
"And don't worry North, I won't tell anyone your secret." She promised.
"You're really something, huh?"
"I was taught by the best."
"And who might that be?"
"Gabriel."
They both laughed as North drove on, turning into Kingston Avenue. She spotted her car parked on the right side of the road. Luckily, it was still intact and no one had tried to steal it so she guessed she was safe.
"It's just that car over there. I'll just jump out, you don't have to wait for me." She said, indicating vaguely to the various parked cars on the right side of the road. She didn't want North or any of the Academy guys to know which car in particular was hers in case she had to tail them later on and so she hoped he would just drop her off and leave. Thankfully, he didn't ask too many questions, as he must've been in quite a rush.
"You sure you don't need me to stick around? I can wait till you're in your car before I go..."
"No it's fine honestly, you can go." She flashed him a reassuring smile and opened her door. "I guess I'll see you later, North."
"Drive safe. By the way, your hair looks nice." He grinned at her, and she grinned back.
With that, she exited the vehicle and started walking towards her own car. She walked slowly, making sure he drove off and was out of sight before she got into her own car. She set her bag on the passenger seat and sat for a few moments to gather her thoughts. In all she believed today had been successful and she now had a list of some things she knew about The Academy for sure. Firstly, that her particular group had struck up a deal with the local drug ring to invest in their new and improved brand of synthetic weed called JH-15. Secondly, that all members were present for this particular transaction except Gabriel, who had come late. She had to find out why Gabriel was late and not with the rest of them while they were at the warehouse. There was something there that Sang just couldn't put her finger on and she was suspicious as to why. Lastly, she could conclude that the guys were so far unaware of her background and knew nothing about her relating to TIBI.
