10 things I hate about you - Hotchniss

catch me if you can

"The order to keep an eye on me does not mean that you have to follow me around all the time", Emily hissed. "You're like a crazy stalker."

Aaron had dragged her to her mother's event about an hour ago and had not left her side ever since.

"Once I leave your side, you're gone", the young agent sighed before they both greeted some wealthy looking men.

"Good to finally see you again, Emily", one of them said, an old friend of her parents. "You have grown so much since the last time we saw you! And the young man here, is that your company for tonight?"

Emily's face turned red.. "Um, no - this is just an agent of our security team", she swallowed thickly and then added: "He kinda has a thing for me so he keeps following me around all the time."

The man burst into laughter and excused himself. Emily made her way to the next waiter and grabbed two glasses of champagne.

"I don't drink, I'm on duty", Aaron said.

"Oh please, I didn't take that for you", Emily snapped and downed both the glasses. "And I still need a lot more alcohol to survive this night."

"Well then", he sighed. "By the way, no matter how often you tell the people around here that I am your stalker or that I have a thing for you, you won't get rid of me tonight. You can try your best, but I'm going to keep my job."

"That's what I call ambition", the young woman rolled her eyes. "But trust me, I'm ambitious, too."

"I don't see your point", Aaron sighed. "Can't we just go through this night without any trouble and then never talk to each other again? Why do you keep trying to make this even worse for both of us?"

"Because I don't like my mother being the one to set the rules here", Emily hissed. "And you are just one of her silly marionettes to control me. If I let you do a good job tonight, my mother's going to win and I am going to lose. That's the last thing I want, so sorry for ruining your idea of a fantastic night."

"You are so childish", he groaned.

"I'm not!"

"You are! Have you ever heard yourself? You're turning 18 years old next year and all you do think about is causing trouble for you mother and smoking cigarettes! Have you ever thought about your future? About what you are going to do after you graduate? Anything young adults actually think about?", he asked.

"Are you seriously asking me about my future plans after my graduation?", she furrowed her eyebrows. "Well, I used to have my dreams and plans, too, but if you want to hear about my real future, just ask my mother. She has already thought of three different options for me after school and of course planned my whole life until my retirement. So to answer your question, I stopped making my own plans at the age of 8."

With these words, she turned around and walked away, grabbing another glass of champagne on her way.

Letting out a huge sigh, Aaron followed her. Even though he didn't like her personally, he felt a bit sorry. Maybe she'd behave differently if she had the chance to make some choices of her own.

He found her outside in the huge garden, sitting on a bank. She drank the champagne in one draft before lighting up a cigarette. They stayed silent for a few minutes, even though Emily was internally thinking of screaming and shouting at him. He had really hit a nerve with his questions about her behavior and her future, but she didn't want to show it. That would only show weakness, and he was the last person that should see her being weak.

"Look, I'm sorry", he then mumbled, still standing in front of her. "I shouldn't have asked you those questions."

"But you did", she replied dryly and dragged at her cigarette.

"I know", he sighed and sat down next to her. There they were, staring into the darkness, surrounded by the smoke of her cigarette and silence.

"You are by far the worst bodyguard she ever assigned me", Emily then said.

"I'm not your bodygua-"

"You are one of those guys that live for their career, I bet you don't have a girlfriend because you just focus on your work. You are mean and unfriendly, at least as far as I experienced that, mostly as a shield to protect yourself. My mother scares the shit out of you. You don't trust women as much as men and that's why she's truly scary for you. Obviously, you don't have any sense of humor and you don't smile or laugh a lot. Most agents who are assigned to me try to make me like them by being friendly and patient around me. You are the exact opposite, which doesn't make me like you more, but in fact, it makes going on your nerves much more fun.", she raised her eyebrows and shot him a challenging look.

"So you are allowed to make assumptions about me but I have to apologize as soon as I ask you some simple questions about your future plans?", he snapped.

"I didn't ask you any questions, so it's not the same."

"No, you just profiled me.", Aaron sighed. "You are into profiling, aren't you? That was your own plan, becoming a profiler."

Emily bit her lower lip, nearly giving in and telling him about it. But the last piece of stubbornness in her won and she got up: "No, not really. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to get myself more alcohol."

She was quicker than he expected, so he quickly got up and followed her, but he lost her. Scanning the room with his eyes, he discovered her at the front door, provokingly waving at him before disappearing in the crowd again.

"Damn it!", he cursed and worked his way through the people. "Damn it!"

His phone buzzed, and his face turned red in anger as he read her message:

'Catch me if you can.'