Into deception

Familiar rooftops

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He keeps finding me, looking at me, talking to me and it's driving me into endless hoops of insanity.

"What's wrong?" he asks with worry in his tone but there's always a tinge of anger that follows closely by, as if he's always ready to switch that off and turn to anger at the second I name the issue.

I blink, glancing down back to my phone that I re-read for the third time.

Unknown - Dear Mia, I'd hope to talk to you in person but it seems finding you is only possibly if it's on your terms, very well. I noticed you've chosen a side tonight yet I don't think that's quite as true as you let yourself to believe.

Unknown - You'll find all that you need to change that mind of yours in Paris, I heard you grew quite fond of a little restaurant there so I trust you'll find your way without issue.

"Mia-"

I hand him the phone; he hesitates at first but takes it anyways. It only takes him a couple of seconds to read through it before nearly smashing my phone in his bare palm.

"How did he get your number?" he asks very simply.

I shrug.

"Mia?" Max joins us in the corridor, his eyes bounce between me and Bane trying to figure out what is happening.

"Can you come to Paris with me?" I never ever wanted to go back there, hell I wanted to burn the whole country to the ground just to get the memories out of my mind and now I'm being sucked back into it all over again.

"Yeah but what's going on"

"Vikram wants to meet"

"With you?"

"Apparently he's found something on Bane and is using it to get me to switch sides" as I say his name he stiffens, I can't tell whether he's mad or hurt I said Bane and not his actual name, but if I ever say his name I'd lose myself in the process. Just like Paris it holds too much pain over me, too much memories and way too much sadness.

"So his obsession with you is about to start a full blown war and yet he's taking you to Paris of all places to start it" Max chuckles shaking his head "I'd love to hate him I really would but he's actually a little funny"

"Max" I mutter quietly, he's being mean to one person in specific and I'd be all for it if not for the timing "he's not taking me to Paris, I'm only going because whatever he's got better off being in my hands than in someone else's. Imagine the damage if someone that hated him got a hold of it, and when I say imagine it's not that hard since everyone in the world has it out for him"

Bane steps closer into our little gathering "right here by the way, but I highly doubt he's got anything of on me"

I glance at Max who's already looking at me, he switches gazes finding Banes "is there any way someone got past you, took something you weren't aware of?"

"Like what?"

"Like a file, disk" he trails of until his eyes grow a shade too dark "maybe another little secret flash drive we don't know about"

Bane stands even taller than he was and I shoot straight in between them without another thought.

"Seriously?" I snap pushing Max slightly back as he begins walking closer, as if I'm something he can just walk right through "I'll drop the both of you, that way it'll all be very much even"

They stay calm, standing face to face just seconds away from becoming something I wouldn't be able to stop no matter how much I tried. Finally, Max steps back even further and Bane smirks standing exactly where he stood from the very start.