You're the one // Peter Ballard

Pt. 4: First day

The night passed with no dreams, and you were up, putting on your uniform in no time. Your first day anxiety made your stomach turn so you skipped breakfast and instead took a walk around the facility once more to get familiar with it quicker. It wasn't fun, all the corridors looked the same, bleak, but it had to be done.

While walking around you heard people talking behind some doors and saw some workers walking around. You passed the dining room, where everyone was eating and eventually you ended up by the door to the rainbow room, where a fellow worker told you to go in and get prepared for the children. All you had to do was check if the toys and other things in the room were where they're supposed to be.

While looking around and making sure everything is as it should be, the children started pouring into the room, ready for play time. You had to admit, even this "fun" room looked dull, the toys were boring, the rainbow on the wall had no charm, the lights were too intense. Still, it's a hospital after all, so you brushed it off and focused on smiling at the kids and observing their play time. Some of the youngsters played chess, some walked around seemingly unsure with what to do and some went to a corner to draw pictures.

"Good morning, how is it going so far on your first day?" A beautiful and now familiar voice asked.

"Morning, Mr. Ballard. It's okay so far, trying to make sure I do everything right." You said politely.

"Mr. Ballard?" He asked.

"Doctor Brenner referred to you by your last name and I thought I should do so too. I don't want to make you feel weird or unprofessional." You said, almost as if you were apologizing.

"I'd like to be more than just a colleague to you, so please, call me Peter." He reassured with a smile that made you blush. Trying not to make it too obvious just how much you like him you looked down for a second to gather yourself quickly.

"I'd like that too, Peter." You finally replied. "It'd be good to have a friend."

"Yes, a friend." He said with a voice just above a whisper. "I'll take some of the older kids off your hands to see Dr. Brenner now, and after 45 minutes or so someone else will come for the rest of them."

"Got it." You smiled and he walked off with more than half of the kids with him.

The rest of the time passed by fairly quick. Another worker came in about 30 minutes after Peter left but he didn't try to have a conversation with you which felt strange. Truthfully you couldn't understand the atmosphere between the workers here. Obviously, the doctors were talking all the time, discussing various things whenever you saw them. Dr. Brenner was also chatting up people left and right but being the boss all that was to be expected. However, everyone else seemed closed off, offering nothing more than a smile or work related talks. You couldn't tell if they were the weird ones for doing that or if Peter was the odd one out.

Once the time in the rainbow room was over and there were no kids left you picked up after them and tidied up the room for the next time. You were not sure what to do with all the drawings the younger ones left so you decided to put them neatly next to the games and books in the corner to maybe give a more cozy vibe to the room.

"That's not allowed. Please throw them away." Said the man in white you completely forgot about.

"Oh, sorry, didn't know that. Maybe I could keep one of them? As a decoration?" You replied, trying to make conversation.

"Not allowed." He said coldly, not even making eye contact with you.

You threw the drawings out and finished cleaning up in silence. The mood was odd, and you didn't enjoy the company of the man but there was nothing you could do. Maybe they were just not as open as Peter and would warm up to your presence in a while.

The rest of the day you had odd little things to do here and there, walking from one end of the building to the other, getting to know the ways much better. You managed to miss out on lunch so by the time dinner came you were starving and more than ready to chat with Peter since nobody else wanted to talk today. You chatted with one of the kids for a bit, complimenting their drawing skills before you sat down in the same spot as yesterday. Not long after that – Peter came in, proudly wearing that perfect smile on his face.

"Glad to see you chose to sit next to me again." He said sitting down.

"Oh, I didn't know I could just sit where I want." You joked.

"See anyone else you'd rather be next to?"

"Not really, guess you're stuck with me."

"Good, I hope that doesn't change anytime soon."

"I doubt it will." You said and chatted about how your first day went, opening up about the lack of friendliness from others. It wasn't bothering you just yet, but it felt odd, so you thought you'd share.

"If anyone makes you feel uncomfortable – tell me." He replied, voice deeper than before. "I'll deal with it, promise."

"I'm sure it'll be fine, it's just my first day after all."

"You being new doesn't give anyone the right to be disrespectful." He said, putting his hand on top of yours. "I just want to make sure you enjoy working here, that's all."

You were not sure what to say to him in a moment like that. Sure, he was just being nice, looking out for you and all but his big hand on top of yours was distracting. You hadn't noticed before just how big his hands actually were, fingers thick and long and so flawless. You started imagining just how good they'd feel in some other place, but Peter spoke again.

"I also want to make sure you have a good time once you're done with your work, just so you know." He said quietly, making you feel his breath on your neck.

That's it. That was all you could take, you were at your limit. You really, really didn't want to read into it too much in case he was just being friendly but having his hand on yours, feeling his body heat so close in this cold place made your body react. You closed your thighs without a single thought in a response, your body starting to ask for more contact, more of Peter. God, how embarrassing this all felt. A desperate girl, feeling weak after such a slight, innocent touch. You couldn't make yourself care though, you couldn't feel guilty, not with those blue eyes staring at you, watching your movements, obviously noticing the way you react to his words and actions.

"It's a cold workplace, it can get tense, if you ever need help unwinding or calming down I'd be glad to help." He whispered again. Now he really had to be implying something. There was no way you were imagining things.

"I'd... I'd like to hang out for sure if that's what you mean, Peter." You answered, putting on the most normal voice possible.

"Good. I'll come by later tonight then." He smiled and put all of his focus on the food in front of him. However, your appetite was gone, replaced by something different.