'Til Death We'll Be Freezing

Chapter 6 - "My Emotions Feel Like Explosions When You Are Around"

❄️Song to listen to while reading❄️: "hate to be lame" (Lizzy McAlpine)
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Walking down the hallway, Maylin rubbed her hands together trying not to freeze everything in her path when she slowly heard the beating sound of running footsteps coming towards her.
"Maylin! Wait!"
Bernard.

She felt a jolt of something– panic? Irritation?– as she froze mid-step. Slowly and painfully, Maylin willed herself to turn around.

Behind her was a strange sight of a rushing Bernard. In his hurry, Maylin watched as he collided with a smaller elf and listened to the thud of them hitting the ground.

"Sorry! Excuse me!" Bernard's voice rang out before his hurried steps resumed. He had come for her.

She almost wished he hadn't.

"Maylin!" He called again, his voice echoing off the walls. Maylin turned her head in the direction she had been going. For a moment, she considered walking on and ignoring him.

But then, Bernard's voice softened as he reached her. "I forgot to tell you," he continued, slightly breathless, "my office is downstairs, towards the center-back wall of the workshop. You can't miss it."

Maylin felt a pang in her chest. It was a small detail, one anyone else would've just brushed off. She knew what it was– an attempt to be helpful. And no matter how much time had passed, no matter how hard Maylin tried to bury the past, she couldn't help but react.

Maylin nodded stiffly, her mouth dry. "Thanks," she said, her words coming out too quickly, too awkward. She hadn't intended it to come out like that– like she was avoiding him. "I... I appreciate it," she added, her voice faltering.

There it was again. That chuckle. Soft and warm, the kind that had always made her heart ache. "I just figured I'd let you know since..." Bernard trailed off, and when he spoke again, his tone was light, but there was an edge of amusement beneath it. "You seem to have a knack for getting lost around here. I mean, I was looking for you for 10 minutes! Where were you going?"

Maylin froze. It was an innocent question, but it felt like a needle, pricking at something she had buried deep inside. Where had she been going?

Her mind raced, but the truth was, she wasn't sure. She'd left the meeting abruptly, trying to escape the pressure of it all, and she'd ended up wandering aimlessly, looking for something to hold on to. "I... Uh... I left a few things in my room." She muttered, her voice losing its edge. "Just thought I'd find them... Whatever direction that is."

His gaze was on her now, like he was trying to decipher her response. It made Maylin's skin prickle and her urge to escape grow.

"Well, I can find someone to show you the way if you'd prefer." Bernard said, his voice shifting, like he was thinking this through.
Before she could protest or even reply, he'd already flagged down a passing elf, giving them a quick set of instructions, and nodded to Maylin. "Follow them." He said simply, as if he'd never been a part of the conversation.

As the elf led her through the extensive hallways, Maylin's mind wandered.

Had he meant to suggest he walk her? The thought made her stomach churn. The last thing Maylin needed was to be alone with him in the workshop's extensive corridors, their shared past hanging around them like a fog. She couldn't bear the awkward tension that followed them everywhere. Perhaps it was best he hadn't suggested to walk her.

And yet, as much as she told herself she should hate him,– as much as she carried so much hurt– that wasn't the truth, was it? Maylin had told herself for years that she hated him, but now– now that she was standing so close to him once again– it didn't feel so simple.