Back to you.

Chapter 1.

VALERIE
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"Yes, Emily, I'm in France, of course I'm in Paris, dumbass! Where else would I be?" I sighed into the phone call, looking around the airport.

Surprisingly, the airport was a bit .. empty. Despite our plane just landing almost 15 minutes ago, you'd think it'd be a bit more crowded. I look around a bit more and noticed a fairly large crowd surrounded around something — or someone — with phones out.

"HEY — Why are you quiet?!" An all too loud voice screamed in my ear, breaking my thought process.

"Shut your loud mouth, will you? I think there's some celebrity here, people are gathered around someone with their phones out." I whisper-yelled into the phone.

"GO TAKE A PICTURE THEN IDIOT!" Emily screamed, once again, making me regret this phone call in the first place.

"That person is clearly not interested in taking photos, their bodyguard keeps yelling that photos aren't allowed." I whispered into the phone, quickly bidding Emily goodbye as I got out of the airport and got into a taxi.

I opened my phone, opening google translate — Yes, I'm in France and I can't speak French, sue me. — Showing the driver what I wanted to say and the street I needed to go to.

   It was about a short 10-15 minute ride when I finally got to where I was supposed to, where my supposed hotel would be located but, I saw nothing.

   There was no grand hotel, and when I asked around, people said it never existed.

   I just got scammed in a foreign country.

   Panic started to hit and my breathing speed up as I dialed Emily's number once again but who am I kidding? Emily is in America she can't do anything when I'm in an entirely different continent. Hopelessly, I put my phone back and sighed.

   In spite of the panicking I'm feeling right now, I decided to walk around to ease my mind and I stumbled over the cutest looking café I could imagine.

   It was a pastel colored café with smiley faces on the windows and some encouraging phrases in multiple languages. It was called "Le café du bonheur".

   I decided to enter the café and I think I turned a bit gay just by looking at the cashier.

  She looks like an angel, everything about her is just so.. ethereal. Her beautiful long blond curly hair, her emerald eyes and her perfectly sculpted nose that compliments her gorgeous features. Not to forget that smile, it's the brightest. She's everything i've dreamed of being.

   I shyly approached the counter and god I can't stop staring at her. She's awakening the little gay in me and it's embarrassing.

   "Bonjour!  Qu'aimerais-tu commander?" She spoke, smiling brightly at me.

I froze for a while and then I realized. I'm in France. I can't speak French. I tried to register what she was saying — since Italian, Spanish and French are similar in a way — but I ended up just staring at her awkwardly as I felt my cheeks heat up.

She giggled softly then she spoke again, "I said, Hello! What would you like to order?"

   "Well, I'm kind of in a situation so, the cheapest but the most delicious thing you have ...?" I responded, feeling my face heat up even more as she smiled and nodded.

   "I'll get you our famous hot chocolate, take a seat, it'll be ready in a while!" She responded, flashing her gorgeous smile at me once again as I went to sat down at one of the tables near the windows.

   While my hot chocolate was being made, I tried to brainstorm what I could do, I couldn't tell Emily since I know she'd panic and she wouldn't be able to come to Paris to help me but my main priority was finding a place to stay, then figuring out how to go from there to my university here.

   In the mid of my brainstorming, a cup on hot chocolate was placed on my table and the cashier sat down across from me.

"Hey, I noticed you were sitting alone so I asked my dad for a break and I'm here to keep you company!" She smiled brightly at me, then she extended her hand. "I'm Elise Dumont, but you can call me Elise or any nickname you like!"

I shyly shook her hand and responded. "I'm Valerie Rossi, but you can call me Val or any other nickname you can come up with."

"You said you were in a situation earlier, would you like to talk about it? I'm sure I can help you." She asked, worry filling her beautiful features.

"Well, as you can tell, I'm not from here, but I'm here for a fashion designing scholarship, I booked a hotel before traveling and when I got to this street, I found out that the hotel I booked never existed and I got scammed. Now I'm panicking since I barely have any money, and I have no idea where to stay." I sighed, staring at the hot chocolate, which was also the cutest hot chocolate I've ever seen. It had small smiley face marshmallows floating on top of it, which made me smile as well.

"I think I can help you." Elise responded, making me look at her. "I can pull a few favors for you, but would you be okay staying with a guy? In separate rooms of course."

"As long as my privacy is respected then sure." I responded, shrugging.

"Don't worry, he's barely home from how busy he is." She said as she grabbed her phone, dialing a number.

While Elise was on the phone I decided to go to the bathroom to freshen up a bit, I washed my face, put on some simple makeup just to not look brain dead. After about 10 to 15 minutes later, I walk out and I see Elise talking to a very tall man, but I could barely see his face since Elise's long blonde curly hair was up in a bun, hiding the man's face.

As I walked up to Elise, grabbing my hot chocolate from my table, the man she was talking to, had left the café.

"Oh there you are! I was just done talking to the guy you're staying with, he agreed for you to stay with him, but he'll be out for the next hour or so." She said, linking her arm with mine. "I'll keep you company until then, I'll go change out of my work clothes and we can go out for a walk alright?" She smiled at me as I nodded, watching her walk away to the backroom of the café.

Maybe things aren't so bad after all.