Play Me (Christoffer Schistad - Skam)

Part 7

A/N: Listen to the song while reading!

Pretending that nothing had happened turned out to be a lot more difficult than planned, and not because Elin wasn't good at lying or pretending, but because of that sneaky little shit Christoffer who kept winking at her when no one was looking, poking his tongue out of his mouth, biting his lips and even played footsie with her to drive her mad. At some point she kicked him and he had to pretend to choke on his water to explain his odd behavior.

"So, have you two known each other long?" Chris' dad asked, looking at Elin for an answer.

"A few months only. I only moved in this summer," she explained.

She was good, Chris thought, she was really good. She had this smile and this whole nice girl vibe going for her, and parents in general must dig it. He didn't have the slightest idea where that came from because she never used this sugary voice with him. Was it because she didn't feel the need to sugar coat her words with him? Or was she simply being subtle about not liking him? She had to feel something though. He didn't imagine that kiss, he knew he didn't have it in himself to make this up.

"Oh? Where did you live before?" Chris' dad continued to make conversation.

"In France. I was born in Olso, then we moved to France and I wanted to come back. I was too young to remember anything from Norway so I wanted to see where I came from," she said before digging in her plate.

"That's great! To be able to travel at such a young age. Chris has never set a foot outside of Norway, after we found out he was airsick, we stopped traveling abroad!"

"Dad," Chris simply grumbled. "Do we really have to mention this?"

"It's fine." Elin shrugged. "I'm seasick, and claustrophobic too. It's not like we have control over our phobias."

"And so," his dad resumed. "You speak French I suppose?"

"Yes, I'm fluent in French, Norwegian, English and German," she said proudly, and Chris nearly fell of his chair. "You knew it right?" Elin directed the question at Chris.

"You left out German last time," he said.

"That's impressive!" His dad exclaimed. "Why so many languages?"

"My mom is French, my father Norwegian, and when they met the only language they could communicate in was English. Now they are fluent in each other's language, but at the time when I was born, it wasn't yet the case. Oh and, we lived near the German border, so learning German was mandatory in my school."

When she put it like that it made perfect sense and almost – almost – sounded easy.

"It's incredible! Your parents must be so proud of you! Are they finding their bearings in Oslo? It must be so different from France!"

At this, Elin paled. Chris had been watching her so intently that he noticed the slightest change in her expression, and upon seeing how uncomfortable the question made her, he decided to answer for her.

"Elin lives alone. Her parents stayed in France," he stated simply, earning the attention of everyone at the table.

"And... aren't you a bit lonely?" His mom worried. It had been so long since Elin was at the end of such a motherly gaze that she would have excused herself and gone to the bathroom until she was sure she wasn't going to burst in tears if Chris hadn't once again answered for her.