The Peacock And The Bee (Chloe Bourgeois × OC)

~6~

"I'm going to find the real Chloe."

"... Say what now?" I tried my best to remain calm, but deep down, I was panicking. I really didn't want anyone knowing how pathetic I was, especially not my enemy. I tried to steady my pacing mind but ended up stuttering almost as badly as I did with Steel Peacock. "There is- I mean- this is as real as it gets, dammit. You're so fucking weird."

"What? You don't want to be found?" He rose a hand and touched my cheek, frowning when I shrank away from his touch. His smirk returned to his face in only a moment, making me wonder where this sudden burst of confidence had come from. I could feel his eyes on me but I couldn't tell; he seemed to be avoiding my eyes for some reason.

"No. No, I don't." He frowned and I facepalmed. Dammit, all those acting classes were for nothing, huh? I waved him off when he reached out for me, once again surprised by his boldness. He retreated, a slight pink hue covering his cheeks and I struggled to hold back a chuckle. I stood up and walked over to the fridge, realising at that moment that I was starving and I had no butler. I couldn't even strike a match myself, I had tried when I was younger, burnt myself slightly and my dad made sure he never let me near the stove again. I understood that he wanted me safe but it was a bit too much in my opinion, though after mom left him, he clearly wanted to make sure I was always happy. He spoiled me a lot but I loved him, even when he didn't pick up my calls because of a meeting or emergency of some sort. Eh, I wouldn't have eaten anything, anyway. I grabbed a bottle of cold water from the fridge and poured some into two cups, handing him one and setting myself down as I drank my own.

"Chloe-"

"Anywho, let's change the topic!" He shrugged and I let out a small sigh of relief, folding my arms in front of my chest and resting my head on top of them on the kitchen counter.

"You do know this is the middle of winter, right?"

"You do know that you're in my bloody room, right?" He chuckled at my response.

"Feisty. I'll be taking random pictures of you when you least expect it. That's going to be my project." I rose an eyebrow, letting out an anxious chuckle in the hopes that he was joking around.

"Stalker, much? Yeah, that's not insane at all-"

"Is it insane, Chloe? Or is it just that you don't want to be found-"

"Stop asking me stupid questions. We don't have to do this together, right? You submit yours, I submit mine. Separately."

"Well, first off, we can't do that. The teacher said we should express what we see in the other person and we can't exactly do that without getting to know each other, first." I scoffed but I knew he was right. Dammit, whoever that woman is, my daddy is so getting Mr Damoncles to fire her for this stupid assignment. Knowing I would never actually bother doing that, I pushed the thought away and noticed the look he was sending me. Yet again, he was worried just because I had floated off into space for a little while. "Second, you didn't look so good when I came, are you alright?"

"At least I don't look like you, monkey butt." He snickered and I rolled my eyes, struggling to hide my smile. How did he never get insulted? I had just called him a primate's gluteus maximus and he was still laughing with that cute dimple of his on his face! Is he some kind of magical rainbow unicorn?

"You see? The real you's popping out already. All because of a slight exposure to my charm." I punched his shoulder, not bothering to remember all the bad things that had happened to me since he came to Francoise Dupont.

"You wish," I muttered with a laugh. My laughter quickly came to an abrupt halt, however, when I noticed his eyes on me.

"Was that you laughing?"