𝓓𝓸𝓵𝓸𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓼| ᴀ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ x ʟᴇᴏɴ ꜱᴛᴏʀʏ

2. ᴍᴇᴇᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴇɴᴛᴏʀ

Your POV:

I get out of the car and grab my backpack and second bag, I still can't believe that these are now officially the only belongings I have, and to be honest half of one bag is filled with reading material, what can I say, once a bookworm always a bookworm.

I smile at my fellow recruits, the rest all male and a little older than my own twenty one years. I'm not intimidated though, I may be young but I've been dreaming of this for so long, already I've been doing my own kind of training; martial arts five times a week and I visit the shooting range at least three times a month, that was all I could afford.

The forest around the compound is all oranges and reds, and though it's raining I'm not cold, but I know soon the temperature will drop. I take in my new home, the different buildings are simple yet slightly intimidating, it looks exactly how I pictured a special agent training place to look, old and massive with a bleak edge to it.

"You'll be taken to your rooms where you'll have an hour or so to get familiar, then at dinner you'll find out more information about your training. I wish you all the best of luck." A man says, I spaced out on the introductions but he looks important, so I nod and smile, following the other recruits who give me strange looks as I follow behind.

We're given a short and sweet tour of the place, then taken to our individual rooms. Unlike how I predicted our rooms are fairly homely, since I discovered the compound was built around an abandoned mansion, with add ons built around it to make it bigger and accompanying.

My room is located upstairs compared to everyone else's, they all grumble as I lead off from the group, following the directions I was given. I stare down the multiple corridors and doors, already forgetting which direction I'm supposed to be heading towards. A man steps out of one of the rooms, his blonde hair as perfect as a models, for a second my mind blanks, until I call out.

"Hey, sorry- excuse me, do you know where room 207 is?" I ask, adding a sweet smile after. The man turns and looks at me, his blue eyes scan me from head to toe then his eyes widen slightly as if in surprise, but then they narrow and he points to the room opposite the one he just came out of.

I frown slightly and walk to the door, seeing the number 207 slightly carved into the wood, well that wasn't very obvious. I turn to thank the man but he's already halfway down the corridor, and I'm sure he'd mumbling to himself.

"Thank you!" I sing song, he stops and turns his head to me.

"You should work on your sense of direction, it's shit."

I stare open mouthed as he huffs and continues on his way. Rude.

I head into my room, glad that at least it's homely and not some concrete box. It's got a single bed and a posh looking nightstand next to it with an antique looking lamp, as well as a wardrobe opposite me and a fireplace that looks ancient. The window has a nice view of the compound if it wasn't for the heavy rain making everything blurry. I collapse onto the bed, grinning up at the ceiling.

Home sweet home.

Almost an hour passes and I quickly fix my hair and decide to keep my outfit on, I don't know how often I'll be able to do the washing. Cursing the man from earlier I do indeed get lost again, but find myself in the dining room just in time. I'm shocked that it looks so...normal. I once again presumed we'd be living like cavemen, cooking porridge over an open fire, okay well maybe not porridge but-

"Ah, you're the last one here. Take the last seat of you will." The important man from earlier says to me, I suddenly have the name Kingston flash in my head, and now I remember he's the top dog of this place.

I take my seat at the long table, my eyes rapidly scan the room as I watch the recruits all talk amongst themselves, as well as a few older people I don't know. I frown that I'm the only female here, I don't know whether to feel proud or slightly on edge. In the end I decide on both.

"Now you're all here I guess I should begin," Kingston says from the top of the table, I can't help but to think this is like some James Bond movie, it's ridiculous. "In order for us to be efficient, the president has suggested that each new recruit be teamed up with a working agent as a kind of mentor, you both will train together but inevitably the missions you may do will be on your own."

I nod, the idea seems logical enough. Kingston pulls out a piece of paper from his pocket and begins reading out names, teaming people up together. I soon notice a pattern that each recruit are sat opposite their mentor. With the newfound knowledge I turn my head in front of me to see...fuck no.

The blonde man from earlier. Mr grumpy-is-my-middle-name.

He looks just as impressed as I do, and I'm wondering if he was forced into this, because I couldn't imagine him willingly spending his time with me, especially after our awkward interaction earlier.

"And finally, Y/N will be working with Leon. Now that's over, let's enjoy our meal and get to know each other, we will be spending a lot of time together after all." Kingston jokes, holding up a glass.

I look at him in disbelief, but force a smile anyway. Waiters begin bringing out dishes of food, everyone has the same meal and I'm glad this isn't like some weird feast, because I'd surely laugh and call this whole thing a prank.

At first I just eat in silence, occasionally looking up to see my mentor Leon just nibbling his food angrily, his eyes averted from everyone, but as I listen to everyone talk and laugh, I begin to feel like I'm missing out.

"So, you're a special agent huh?" I ask Leon, he looks up at me and gives me a murderous glare. That was my fault, it was a stupid question.

I clear my throat and try again, "What's your favourite colour?"

His eyebrow raises and I swear his lips move just the tiniest bit, but then he sighs and puts his cutlery down. "Look, we're not friends. I don't even know why you're here, you're young and couldn't even follow simple directions. If the training doesn't kill you then your first mission will."

My jaw drops, I wish I could hold back my anger but..."Well thanks, mentor," I sarcastically smile, "but I'll have you know that I'm not useless, and despite my age I bet I'm smarter than half the new recruits." Leon gives me a pointed look as if he doesn't think so, "I'm ready for this, so you can be pissy all you want but I'm not going anywhere."

Leon's jaw hardens, his fists clench then he suddenly stands up, earning the attention of the table. Kingston opens his mouth to say something but Leon is already storming out, gone within seconds.

I blush feeling humiliated, Leon and I are supposed to be a team now, and already I'm failing at that even when it's not my fault.

I sit through the rest of the meal in silence, barely noticing that everyone has gone other than Kingston. He comes over and sits beside me, putting a hand on my arm comfortingly.

"I wouldn't have put you with him if I didn't think you could handle it. Truth be told I did it more for his benefit, he's losing himself and I guess I wanted to remind him that there's still good in this world. He was your age when he began his training, fresh out of Raccoon City, I suppose you heard about that?"

I nod, shocked from the revelation. No wonder Leon has a chip on his shoulder, if he survived that, he must've been through hell and back.

Kingston explains more about Leon, and weirdly enough I relate a lot. "Thank you for telling me, I should get to bed." I mumble, standing up as Kingston smiles. "He's still an ass though." I add.

Kingston laughs and shrugs, "I give it a month before you begin to make an impact on him."

I look to the empty doorway, wondering if this will work out. It has to, I've got nothing else.