Misstaken ✓ | #Wattys2019

16. y u r i

a/n; ehe second plot twist is coming up. anyway it's almost two months into the story and i hope you've been enjoying it so far! xoxo

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I sure hoped Yuri hadn't heard what I had said earlier about Nicholas being unable to recognize me. He was already suspicious about Nick having prosopagnosia, I didn't want this too —

I could see Nicholas look between the two of us, probably struggling to register how Yuri looked like. To draw the attention away, I introduced them to each other first.

"Nick, this is my friend from school, Yuri. He is also your host for that school exchange. Yuri, this is —"

"Nicholas Sheldon. I know." Yuri narrowed his eyes, seeming overly hostile today. "I didn't expect you to already know him prior to the exchange."

"Have we met?" Nick asked. I could feel him stiffening up too. Something didn't feel quite right here.

However, the moment passed. Yuri gave a small smile, one I wasn't exactly convinced by. "No, I don't think so."

"Is Kylie here?" I asked to break the silence ensuing.

Right on cue, a girl with distinct platinum blond hair appeared behind him. I threw my arms around her.

"Ah, the one sibling that I actually like." I teased, and Yuri rolled his eyes.

"We're watching the movie too." Kylie grinned.

Yuri nodded. "How about you girls go in first? We'll get popcorn and be there in a second."

"What?" I knew this wasn't just a regular talk. I looked at Nick, who was currently expressionless. He seemed to be wearing that facade he had when he was truthfully deep in thought.

A moment later, he recovered and touched my arm lightly. "You guys go ahead. We'll be right there." He nodded assuringly.

After glancing at the two of them again, I finally relented. I gave Nick's hand a quick squeeze and gave him a look that I hoped had conveyed, call me if anything's up.

Out of earshot, I asked Kylie, "Do you know what's going on? Do... do they know each other?"

Kylie dropped her smile the second I asked. "That guy is a Sheldon, isn't he?"

I nodded. "Yes, why?"

"Let's just say Hestia isn't everyone's favorite company."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I searched my brain for the best answers. Did they do something wrong in the field of their work? Or — something else?

Out of everything, I found a possibility.

Kylie and Yuri were incredibly close because they only had each other. Their parents had passed on, and I vaguely recalled it being a freak medical accident...

I tensed up immediately. Nothing happened to them in the hands of Hestia Medical, right? What would the odds be?

And if that was the case, what did that mean for Nick? There was an inexplicable instinct that made me a little nervous, guiding my feet forward so I spun back to the entrance.

"Emma?" Kylie called behind me.

"I'm just going to check on them."

We hadn't gotten very far ahead, so in some strides I was back to where I had last seen them. However, there wasn't a trace of the two of them. They had no reason to disappear to anywhere other than head up to the cinema where we came from; in which case, meant they had to walk past the both of us.