Hiding in Plain Sight (Adara and Emilian)

[Adara Snow]

Adara had given up on the library. She was terrified of finding herself reliving the last time she'd seen Emilian. And now that she knew...she couldn't hate him, though perhaps she'd tried at first, and she knew the danger she was in when he was near.

So she was hiding in plain sight, in the company of hundreds of other students who paid no attention to one quiet girl standing unmoving beside the wall. She had also given up on the book Anna lent her. She was reading something safe and uninteresting, a book on Herbology in the Middle Ages.

[Emilian Sota]

Emilian walked through the crowd, his head down and his hands in his pockets. Every now and again he ran into someone, but he dismissed them with a short glare, and was back to staring at his boots. With one glance he saw Adara near the wall, and he stopped walking, keeping his eyes on her. They were surpisingly close, with a few steps he would have been right beside of her.

He took those steps and stood in front of her, "Adara," he greeted her. His voice wasn't harsh or judging and his eyes were blank. He wondered if she would scream, or run away, push him away from her, stay where she was.

[Adara Snow]

Adara had felt him approach, and knew he was there before he spoke. She lifted her gaze from the book in her arms, her chest constricting at the dead look in his eyes. "Emilian," she said, inclining her head in a greeting of practiced politeness. She was glad for the students passing by, for the slight buffer that gave her.

Still, even with the uncomfortable memories she held, her traitorous body was responding to him, and Adara looked away, wondering why he had stopped here. "You must hate me," she said softly. "For that I am sorry, and for being unable to...control myself, but for nothing else. I have not changed my mind."

[Emilian Sota]

Emilian sighed, "I don't hate you." He wasn't going to apologize for what he did, he was, in all actuality, angry at himself for stopping. His eyes trailed slowly down her body, but they didn't light up, didn't sparkle. I could have had her, either time.... But no, he had just had to stop.

[Adara Snow]

Adara looked up at Emilian, hoping to see truth, or at least something in his eyes. There was nothing, even with him looking at her the way he had the last time they'd met. And he was saying so little. "Would you like to talk?" she asked hesitantly.

[Emilian Sota]

"What is there to talk about?" Emilian asked, meeting her eyes, "I just wanted to see if you'd run from me if I came over here." Because of where they were he wouldn't try anything with her, though when the tide of students stopped, which it inevitably would if they were there long enough, he wouldn't make any promises.

[Adara Snow]

"Why would I run from you?" Adara asked. He looked miserable, as though his soul had faded. "I don't hate you, Emilian. You frightened me, but I cannot hate you." She was still unsure who he was. Where had the gentleman she'd first met come from if not from some part of him?

[Emilian Sota]

"You would hate me if I hadn't stopped." He would rather her hate him, hate he could handle, no problem. But this, this was horrible. "You should hate me, hate me or give in to me, there's no middle ground. Don't ask me why I've not already just taken what I want." He had the feeling she would ask anyway. His eyes darkened slightly, why?

[Adara Snow]

"But you did stop," Adara said, the words softly spoken, but firm. "I will not hate you, Emilian. There are other girls who should be happy to give you only what you ask, but I am not one. I would hate myself before you, for having failed you." And yet, she still hoped that she could find a way to get through to him.

[Emilian Sota]

"You are one of the strangest girls I have ever met," Emilian said, cocking his head at her words. "What do you mean, only what I ask?" There had never been a girl to give him more than what he wanted, to want to give him more. There were those willing to give in, and those not willing to give in, the latter of which inevitably hated him. So where did she fit in?

[Adara Snow]

The tilt of Adara's head echoed Emilian's. "All you ask is sex," she observed. "It is a small thing for you, a small thing for many, I've learned. I cannot give you only sex, and you would not accept more from me. Perhaps you think that you haven't the time." The past few days, Adara had gone over Dru's words more times than she could recall. She had decided that she wanted the closeness that Dru had spoken of. It was the only way she could see being able to do such things.

[Emilian Sota]

"You want a relationship?" Well, that's one think that was never going to happen. When people were in relationships, they got hurt. "I've not seen anything aside from a straight-up marriage last, and the relationships I've seen have all ended in heartache. So what's the point?" Every single relationship he had come in contact with had ended in lies and deception, it didn't seem worth it.

[Adara Snow]

Adara smiled, her entire face lighting up. "We are already in a relationship, of sorts," she said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Every person you know has some sort of relationship. Emilian, I would not ask you to leave your girls, if they can give you things that I cannot. I want to understand you, Emilian. I want your kisses, but I cannot give you sex." It took every ounce of strength she had to make that last confession, and Adara was blushing furiously as she waited for Emilian to accept or condemn her.

[Emilian Sota]

"Wait, so, you, knowing that I care nothing for you, that I probably never will, are willing to be in a....relationship, of sorts, with me, while I'm still free to do whatever I please with whoever I please?" Talk about a confusing concept. His eyes were narrowed slightly in confusion, though he couldn't help but notice the flush of her cheeks.

[Adara Snow]

Adara felt a momentary stab of pain at his firm declaration that he cared nothing for her, but pushed it away. She felt pity for Emilian that he believed himself so unable to care. "I want to understand you," she repeated, "and how else am I to understand? If sex is so important for you, I would not take that away. What kind of friend would that make me?"