Her Eyes

Ten

They hugged, only the soft sniffles of Esmae being heard through the silent hallways of the university. Nikolaos' hold on the young woman only tightened with each small sob that left her. He felt knives stabbing at his heart at her sadness, hating how she was upset without understanding the emotion herself.

Esmae hugged him back, clutching onto the thick black turtleneck sweater he wore, her tears dampening the fabric. She didn't like how she felt; an unusual and unsettling ache in her heart that wouldn't go away no matter how many tears fell from her eyes.

Her eyes fluttered shut with exhaustion after her long cry, and her body relaxed into Nikolaos', his warmth surrounding her. He was so warm. Warmer than the hottest days of summer, yet he wasn't as harsh as the sun. His arms wrapped around her felt like the blanket she snuggled in at night when she lay by his side but was better. The feeling of his heart beating gently in his chest gave her solace and his hands that drew circles around her back tickled her slightly, a foreign feeling erupting in her chest.

She was supposed to protect him, but instead, he was protecting her. It should've made her upset, but she rather liked it: the feeling of protection.

"Nikolaos? Is that you?" asked a new voice, interrupting the tranquility between the two beings.

Nikolaos' body stiffened at the familiar voice, and he raised his head to see who it was.

A man seemingly older than Nikolaos, but similar in age was walking toward the pair with a wide, boyish grin on his face. His hair was an extremely light blonde and his eyes were a piercing blue, almost grey. He wore a windbreaker over a hooded jacket and light blue jeans.

"I knew it was you! How's it been, bro?" He was now a few feet away from the two and Nikolaos' grip on Esmae lowered, his expression growing blank.

"Noah, what are you doing here?" Nikolaos asked, his tense stature softening. Noah Barrett was a friend of Nikolaos; one of the few close ones he had. He was the exact opposite of the Greek man: loud, extroverted, always smiling, and extremely social. It was a wonder how the two became friends when they were so different, but they'd known each other since Nikolaos first came to England. They have been stuck together ever since.

Noah's smile fell flat and he sighed loudly, groaning. "I go to school here, dummy. You should know that; we opened our acceptance letters together," he said, ignoring the glare Nikolaos threw at the small insult, "I've been trying to reach you since a month ago, but you barely replied and when you did, it was always a 'fine' or 'okay'."

Esmae's eyes were now open, blinking repeatedly at the new human. For once, she wasn't excited to meet them. Her minutes of crying tired her out and with negative memories swarming her head, she just wanted to go home and sleep. She stuffed her face closer to Nikolaos' chest, her hold on him tightening.

"I've been busy," Nikolaos lied, "I'll hang out some other time, but not now."

Noah stuffed his hands in his pockets, huffing. "When are you not busy, Nik? And who's the new girl? I've never seen her around before." His sudden change of topics stunted Nikolaos and Esmae flinched when her presence was noticed.

"Not right now," Nikolaos declined, "I'll introduce her later," he added after seeing the expression on Noah's face, knowing he wouldn't let it go until he said something.

The blonde friend put his hands up in defense, backing away from the two who still had their arms around each other. "Okay bro, if you say so," he teased singsongingly, a smirk on his face. His eyes went to Esmae, his smirk growing. "If you lie, I'm stalking outside your house until you tell me. I know where you live." He pointed at Nikolaos, threatening him jokingly, and strolled away, his head held high with the new information.