Exemplary [Peter Ballard]

004

007 didn't know why she agreed to join the orderly as they made their way down the hall, or even how he managed his way out of the rainbow room in the first place.

When his fellow orderly, a woman with dark curls and thick lashes, scowled at him, he just smiled demurely after her. Now they were out in one of Hawkin's many fluorescent corridors, the air conditioning strong enough to make 007's arms prickle from the chill. After turning yet another corner to an equally identical passage in silence, the tension that had building up in 007 since their previous conversation finally snapped.

"I do not understand you." she said, her voice coming out shakier than she had planned. More vulnerable.

The orderly laughed, catching 007 by surprise when it was tinged with genuine amusement. "Would you believe me if I told you you were not the first to say the say this?"

His voice was warm and teasing, rolling over 007's shoulders and settling in her stomach. She stayed silent. She didn't, and wouldn't, believe anything he told her. It was the number one rule at Hawkins when dealing with authority figures, a mistake the younger children still had yet to learn. Realizing this, the orderly finally seemed to consider her discomfort.

"What is it you don't understand?"

The way he posed the question was unassuming. Strangely enough, it felt genuine. It seemed the man truly wanted to know what 007 thought of him without the threat of repercussions. And with his open face and reserved posture, 007 found herself wanting to answer him.

"You approach me. You speak to me often since your arrival. Yet, I feel as though you.." she trailed off, unable to finish as the words caught in her throat. Socializing had never been part of training, and the children did not play together. Trying to vocalize such a complicated feeling made 007's mind fizzle like a live wire. The orderly seemed to feel it's charge. She felt him move closer, leaning down to her height in what seemed to be an attempt at appearing more approachable. It just made 007 feel small.

"It's all right," he said in a mild, sympathetic tone. "There is no need to be shy, 007. As one of your caretakers here, I want you to trust me."

007 did not think she had ever had to hold eye contact this long with another person besides Papa in a long time. The orderly didn't seem to have much trouble at all, looking at her beneath his golden crown of curls like the epitome of earnestness.

He was so close that she didn't know where to look. She could feel herself beginning to flush, the tension in her chest bubbling up to her throat and spilling out into words.

"I feel as though you dislike me," she exhaled, unable to handle the pressure of his expectant regard any longer.

The orderly looked at her, his forehead creasing into a little perplexed line that pushed 007 to continue. She folded her arms tightly in attempt to kill the shake in her voice and the tightness in her chest that came before tears.

"This has never happened before." she said quietly. "Yesterday, you told me I lived in a 'bubble'. I do not understand, as my scores of the day were flawless. So, since your reprimand was not task-related, it must be because of your personal feelings toward me. This is why you must...," 007 heaved another shaky breath, "resent me."

For a moment, 007 could have swarm she saw a spark of amusement in the orderly's face, but it was gone in an instant, replaced with shocked concern.

"Oh, 007," he murmured, his repentance saint-worthy. "I am a fool for not realizing it sooner. If only I had known. That was much too callous for you, wasn't it?" Gently, he wrapped his hands around her own for the second time that day, clasping them to his chest as if he knelt before royalty. "Won't you forgive me?"

007 sniffed, unable to look away. His eyes, wide and blue and hurt, compelled her to understand. She shook her head, dazed.

"I still do not know what you mean," she mumbled.

The orderly laughed, friendly and welcoming as ever, but softer, like he was embarrassed.

"I'm afraid i'm my attempts to speak with you, I may have given the wrong impression." He said, looking away bashfully. "You'll have to excuse me for this, I often forget that subjects in the position such as yourself tend to be...sensitive."

007 scoffed, her cheeks heating. Subjects such as herself were meant to be calm, cool, and collected, and she no further comprehended his point than she did his other actions.
Trying to hide her offense and confusion at the remark, she simply asked, "What is it you want?"

The orderly looked at her then, beaming in a way unlike the small, reserved curls of his lips that he usually showed her. The heat in her stomach turned to scorching coals. His smile was so sweet it was downright angelic.

"I would like nothing more than for us to be good friends," he murmured, his breath ghosting against her fingers.

Of all the things he could have said, this was what 007 had least expected. She did not know how to respond in the slightest. In fact, 007 was not sure she had ever truly had a friend to begin with. Subjects at Hawkins were to see each other as competitors, and while it may have been good to develop beneficial relationships, 007 did not think any of her peers would smile at her the way this young orderly did now, as if she were the only person worthy of his focus.

Was that how friends looked at each other? The idea of such a thing made 007 feel strange.

A lot of things about of him are strange, she realized.

Mainly, his desire to befriend the likes of her. It did not benefit him in the slightest, not to mention, there was a key component to the idea of friendship in which he had completely overlooked.

"I do not even know your name!" she exclaimed, pleased with her diversion. He was too close, his observance too intent. It was making 007 feel like a different person entirely.

The orderly chuckled, his serious regard finally loosening as he raised his eyes in thought.

"Well," he hummed, his voice as smooth as taffy.
"That can be easily remedied."

He rose to his full height once again, returning to his flawless posture as he looked down at her. He grinned; Affectionate, beatific.

Lucifer.

"You can call me Henry."