Author's note: thank you all for the reviews!

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Chapter nine

She hadn't even realized that they had been holding hands all the time until the first rowing team – and under the applause of the crowd – crossed the line to win. It is only when the soft summer breeze went and brushed her moist palm that she noticed it; when Jane let go of her hand to raise her fist up in the air in victory.

She was hot, her hair weighed too much on her shoulders. A drop of sweat slid down along her spine as her knee made contact with the Italian's.

"Come on, let's go and congratulate them!"

Jane looked ecstatic, her dark eyes glimmering of excitement. Within a second, the brunette was back on her feet and had swept away the grass from her jeans. She tended a hand towards Maura to help her stand up as well. That same hand – these same fingers – that had been intertwined with the scientist's in the most random gesture. The sweetest one too if Maura wanted to be honest. Subconsciously.

A light laugh led her among the crowd but as she realized that Jane was taking her directly to the team, the honey blonde stopped and let her friend go on her own. Arms crossed on her chest, she looked from the distance. As she had always done. Somehow it seemed fairer to only be a spectator. Her absence did not seem to bother anyone anyway. She wasn't made to shine on stage. Her place was there, always in the shadows of people's fate.

"The rugby game starts in thirty minutes but a buffet has been dressed up for the occasion. How about some champagne?"

A silly grin on her face, Jane smiled enthusiastically as she came back to Maura after a quick chat with the rowing team.

"Fencing, rowing and now rugby? This day is like British Olympics within twenty-four hours, right?"

Maura smiled at the remark. The school festivities were in full swing under a bright blue sky. People were coming and going everywhere around, laughter echoing exclamations and outbursts of pure joy. What could she say? It was a day of celebration and for once, Rugby seemed a bit less lugubrious.

"Sponsored by Veuve-Clicquot, obviously. And eventually Perrier."

Guests had already made it to the buffet by The Field and it took them a moment to finally gain access to the tables for a drink. Champagne in hand, they found a quiet spot on a side and stopped there. Jane rose her glass, smiling at Maura.

"To..."

The medical examiner didn't let her finish. Somewhat proud, she bit her lower lip and blushed slightly.

"To you. Thank you for being here. It makes it all... Less insipid."

It took Jane aback, made her feel vaguely shy. But a French horn resounding loud in her back broke the odd – sweet – moment and with wide eyes, she turned around. Maura laughed away the reaction – put her hand on her friend's forearm – before guiding her towards The Field.

"It indicates that the game will start in ten minutes, now. As the tradition goes, we are supposed to go and regroup by houses. Each of them having specific colors that you can find back on our blazers by the emblem of the school. See?"

With her index finger, she motioned at the green and golden escutcheon on the jacket she was wearing and kept on walking; still sipping on her wine.

"Does that mean I am finally going to meet Elizabeth?"

As random as Jane's question had sounded, Maura froze suddenly; blood leaving her face as her fingers tightened their grip on her glass of Champagne. It went beyond her control, as if drawn to just stare at her feet; unable to look up at her friend properly.

"Who... Who told you about her?"

The blonde's tone of voice – cold and shaky – surprised Jane and for a tiny moment, she wondered if her curiosity hadn't crossed the lines too easily. Trying to laugh away the uncomfortable situation, she shrugged at the question.

"It's a small place, Maur'. People talk... How come I haven't seen her yet if she was your roommate? It's like everyone's mentioning her but she remains a complete mystery so far. She couldn't come? Does... Does she live in another country?"

Maura shook her head. She was shaking, now. On the verge of passing out. Her breathing was too loud, too heavy. She swallowed back bitter cries and passed her tongue over her dry lips.

"No. No, she doesn't."

Perhaps it wasn't the right time nor the right place but Jane was tired of these allusions that did nothing but nourish her confusion. Why did people not tell her what was happening once and for all? She had always hated being left aside yet even more now in such foreign place.

Shaking her head at Maura's whisper, she sighed loudly and frowned. No. She wouldn't let go of it now. She wanted to know. Wasn't she in her right, after all?

"What is it that you aren't telling me, Maur'? She was your friend and you're afraid I'll take it bad? Yes, you did tell me that I'm your first... Friend... But it's okay if it's not completely true. I mean, somehow it sounds actually reassuring. So tell me, what is it? What is bothering you? And where is Elizabeth? She is Violet's sister. How come she isn't here if she doesn't live abroad?"

Something icy in the scientist's gaze made her take a step backwards as Maura finally looked up at her. It wasn't anger but an indecipherable feeling that laid between pain and fear.

"She died. Elizabeth died. She disappeared one morning only to be found a few hours later hanging on a tree here. She had killed herself, she was seventeen."

Maura's abrupt confession shook the brunette but as Jane opened her mouth to reply, her friend's hand stopped her immediately, up in the air.

"She wasn't my friend, Jane. She..."

The honey blonde rolled her eyes – passed her tongue over lips, looking for the right words – and cast a desperate glance on her right. Defeat welcomed her, she shook her head.

"She was my girlfriend. Elizabeth was my girlfriend."

The French horn resounded loud again and made Jane jump out of surprise. Taken out of the slight yet present shock brought by Maura's confession, she turned her head around to look at the players make it to The Field. The game was about to start.

"Maur', I..."

Her words died somewhere between her throat and her lips as she came to face nothing but an empty space when she focused back on the conversation she was having. Maura had left and she was nowhere to be seen.

"Ah shit!"

Within a second, Jane abandoned her empty glass of champagne on a table and took the main path not really knowing where to go but echoing the pace of the beats of her heart, her steps were quick. She was running, now. Running – she hoped – towards Maura.