Haunted - A modern Astarion AU

Chapter Three

If it had been summer still, I would see the sky turning brighter, since I've just left the library at about 4:30am and I might've fallen asleep at the desk for a second. It was still snowing a little bit and by now the fresh snow was about 2 inches high. I loved winter and I loved snow, especially in the early morning hours, since it had always given me a peaceful feeling but that wouldn't last for too long. "You shouldn't be out here alone at this time", Astarion told me, as he stood up from one of the benches and I saw that he had a cup of coffee in his hands. My glare instantly returned, and I took in a deep breath, knowing he won't leave me alone. "I think I can make those decisions for myself.", I answered, hugging myself a little bit as a chill went down my body. Maybe I should've put on another layer of clothes. From the corner of my eyes, I could see Astarion taking a step closer to me, as we both just walked towards my apartment, but I didn't say anything about that.

"I wouldn't be so sure. I seem to remember you getting lost on the way back to our cabin at summer camp.", he reminded me, his voice for once sounding soft and...somehow sad, and for a split second I felt a smile tugging at my lips. Quickly I forced those reflexes to a stop, but I did see Astarion offering me his coffee cup. I was not above accepting a hot beverage in this cold, so I took the cup out of his hands, and I slowly took a sip. He still drank his coffee the same as I did, which somehow made me feel sadder about how everything had turned out. "Thank you.", my voice was quiet as I handed the cup back to him and Astarion gently nudged his arm against mine. "Look at us being civil, Evelyn.", he then said and this time I didn't force the smile off my lips, even if this hurt. "Yeah, but that's an experience only for tonight.", I added and this time I heard Astarion chuckle. This whole situation felt good but also weird, because I knew we would go back to fighting very soon. Still, I wasn't going to let this get to waste. Carefully, I got a little bit closer to Astarion and I was tense. Yes, he had gotten closer to me before too but maybe I was pushing this too much. My doubts were quickly taken from me, when I felt Astarion's fingers brushing against mine, leaving me breathless. Maybe it was a mistake because it would only hurt me even more, but right now I wanted to pretend as if nothing had ever happened.

"Did you get everything you were looking for?", his voice was quiet as he asked me this and all I could do was nod. "After you were done distracting me, I got through the book. But I already took two more Biographies, just to see if there's something the other one was missing. How far along are you with your presentation?", I told him but only because this moment felt like a truce. Usually, I would have never told him about this, but since I didn't have any friends that also studied English literature, it felt good. Astarion simply gave me a nod and it looked like as if he was about to answer, when someone calling my name interrupted us, and I wanted to die.

The sound of his voice still made me flinch and I instinctively stepped closer to Astarion, who had his arm around my shoulder within a second and then I saw him already.

Ryan jogged over to us, with a fake smile on his lips and all I wanted to do was punch that smile off his lips. He was taller than me but a bit shorter than Astarion, had brown hair that grew out to the tips of his ears, and he had the build of a hockey player. His blue eyes met mine and underneath that fake smile, I could see the hatred and malice in his face. "Oh, you're with Astarion now? Thought you guys hated each other after everything you told me about him.", he of course dropped the bomb and it took everything in me, not to start yelling at him. "I'm just walking her home. It's still dark and while I do hate her, I don't have to be an asshole about this.", Astarion then said before I could say anything, and it calmed me down a little bit. Sure, he does hate me, but I was happy he was taking my side in this. To my surprise, Ryan just smiled at Astarion and gave him a nod, but his eyes were trained on the arm around my shoulder. "Well, I just wanted to talk to you alone, Evelyn. Talk about us.", Ryan said, finally looking at me again and I couldn't hide my scowl anymore. I felt myself tensing but then I also felt Astarion gently squeezing my shoulder, pulling me a bit closer to him. "After everything you've done, there is nothing to talk about. Leave me alone, okay?". My voice was steady, but it didn't feel like it. I wanted to die on the spot. It had been about a month, since I finally broke it off with Ryan and he still scared the shit out of me. Once again, I saw Ryan's mask slipping a little, but he quickly acted as if he was okay with it. As if my words had hurt him. "Well, I tried. I'm sure we will see each other again, sweetheart. Sorry, it's a bad habit. See you, Evelyn.". He could've been the perfect actor. It even sounded like as if calling me sweetheart had really been a mistake, but I knew better than that.

With a faked smile on my face, I gave him a nod and Astarion made me continue walking. He gently pulled me with him, his arm still around my shoulder and he didn't let go of me. "Are you okay?", his quiet voice broke the silence and for the first time it felt like as if he was still my best friend. It took everything in me not to tear up, before taking in a deep breath. "No, I'm not.". Once again, Astarion squeezed my shoulder, and he did walk me home in complete silence.