Transcending Time
Chapter Twenty: The Way You Did Once Upon A Dream
It was warm that night; the soft white linen of Eshe's sleeping gown stuck to her lightly perspiring skin as she lay relaxing against the soft sheets of her bed, waiting for her husband to return from his princely duties of the evening. Atem's sixteenth birthday was swiftly approaching and the preparations for the celebrations of the day in question were in abundance.
While Atem always enjoyed being the centre of attention on his birthday, the arrangements leading up to the day were always so tedious; the prince found it tiring and absurd that he had to pick and select and choose everything from wine to dancers - everyone in the palace knew his preferences on all the banquet and entertainment matters, and yet he was called upon constantly to confirm his material desires.
He went along with it, of course, with a polite smile on his face; it wasn't the fault of the servants that they had to constantly pester him on his favourite fruit or his favourite musical instrument or which colour he wanted to see the dancers dressed in, they were just doing their jobs.
Eshe was waiting for him now, reclined atop their bed, watching the gently burning brazier through the curtains of the balcony; the orange light flickering within the darkness of the late evening was mesmerising and calming.
She hoped Atem would return soon, the warm air of the evening was mellow against the bare skin of her arms and legs, and she just couldn't stop thinking about him.
Her thoughts had begun pure enough as she imagined his shining eyes, soft smile and affectionate touches when he held her close, but her contemplation quickly travelled down a passionate path of sensuous images. In her mind, she could see Atem's eyes half-lidded with lust, his lips parted as he released unsubdued breaths of pleasure, and his fingers tracing feather-light caresses up her thighs.
She wanted him close, the brush of his lips against her neck and the experimental contact of his daring fingers as he searched for sensitive flesh, looking for areas that would make Eshe's breath catch in her throat.
He was always so gentle.
Eshe shivered slightly as she brushed the fingertips of her right hand against her lips while her left hand trailed against her stomach shyly through the fabric of her night gown.
"...Atem", she whispered on a quiet exhale, her eyes closed while she imagined the way he would shudder pleasantly in response to her speaking his name in such a way.
The suddenness with which the doors to their shared bedchamber swung open left Eshe startled and bashful at the compromising position she had been discovered in; Atem closed the doors behind him as he entered.
"I'm sorry I-" he paused mid-apology - whether he was apologising for his abrupt entrance or the fact that he was back so late, Eshe couldn't tell - and his gaze flickered over her body and up to her face with an ascertainable gaze. The corner of his mouth curled upwards slightly and Eshe swallowed, very aware of his scrutiny.
"What were you doing before I came in?" he asked with an innocent lilt to his voice, but his unwavering stare was anything but innocent.
Eshe knew exactly what he was thinking; either Atem had picked up on her perceptive abilities or it was painstakingly obvious what she had been doing before the prince entered the room. Her legs were pressed tightly together, her cheeks were radiating heat and glowing pink, her skin was damp with sweat and she knew for a fact that her nipples were hard and probably very visible through the thin material of her gown.
"I was lying here… thinking about you", she told him, and his smile grew.
Excitement flashed in his eyes, his hands clenched briefly and he caught his tongue gently between his teeth, "Thinking about me?" he repeated, stepping closer to the bed, "Thinking about me in what way?"
Eshe became conscious of how dry her mouth was, and coyly licked her lips to bring back the moisture; she raised her arms to rest against the pillows by her head and began to play with her hair, shyly twirling it with her fingers.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she teased him, and Atem's eyes flashed with a thrill; he removed his crown and his jewelry hastily followed, placed haphazardly on the bedside table, and he quickly tugged his tunic top over his head, leaving his toned chest bare to Eshe's keen eyes.
Atem crawled over the bed, predatory and eager, and Eshe reached for him immediately as he hovered above her on his hands and knees, the desperate desire to touch him overtook her, and as her fingers curled around his bare waist, he let a soft purr leave his mouth, and dipped down to capture Eshe's lips.
He kissed her slowly, savouring the moment and the taste of her; Eshe hummed quietly at the familiar feeling of his soft lips pressing against her's.
Eshe's fingers caressed across his abdomen and Atem smiled against her mouth, no doubt amused by her tickling touches; he kissed from her mouth down her jawline and breathed hot air against her neck.
"Atem", Eshe whispered, head falling to the side pliantly, allowing him easier access to administrate playful nibbles against her skin; she shivered and moaned as his tongue darted out in grazing licks down her collar.
Her flesh broke out in goosebumps and he chuckled against her shoulder, his hand groped boldly at her thigh and his thumb hooked below the rim of her night gown, dragging it up the length of her leg.
"Eshe!? Are you getting up or what!?"
Eshe jerked awake, clutching the bedsheets hard against her chest as she hurriedly responded to the voice coming from the other side of her bedroom door, "What!? What? Yeah, I'm getting up! ...Go away!"
She sounded very much like she'd been caught doing something she shouldn't have, and she could tell from the way Leela paused outside her door that her response seemed wildly full of suspicion.
"Uhh, okay, just saying. Are you still meeting Téa at the diner?" Leela called, and Eshe gave a frustrated sigh and nodded, before realising that her roommate wasn't able to see her.
"Yeah, I'll be up in a minute", Eshe replied, and listened for Leela's absconding footsteps before she allowed herself to remember her very steamy dream.
Her face was red and hot, and her body tingled pleasantly with the ghostly remnants of dream-Atem's wandering touches; it had been two days since the boy had kissed her for the first time on that early Saturday morning while they sat on the lake dock, blissfully unaware of of anything except for the exquisite taste of each other's lips.
Now, waking up on Monday morning, she realised she was in too deep; dreaming erotic dreams about the boy she liked left her feeling somewhat guilty, like she didn't have the right to imagine another person in such a way without their consent - she felt weirdly as if this was a breach of Atem's privacy.
And yet, she was extremely disappointed that Leela had chosen that moment to interrupt her glorious fantasy.
Eshe sighed again, peeling back the covers off of her slightly sweaty body - sensual dreams will do that to you - and slinked slowly out of bed; her memories of the previous day were coming back to her now.
She had returned home on Sunday afternoon with a huge smile on her face, piquing Leela's interest, at which point Eshe had brushed off her marvelous mood with the rampaging thought of 'DO NOT TELL LEELA ABOUT THE KISS', and promptly declared that she was going to shower.
Eshe had offered to drive Leela to work on Monday morning, given that she had agreed to meet Téa at the diner so that they could spend the day together, but her wild dream left her dazed and distracted, allowing lewd thoughts to buy her time.
'Probably shouldn't draw this dream', Eshe thought to herself as her eyes slipped briefly over her sketchbook lying on her desk; if Leela ever got her hands on such an image, Eshe didn't know if she'd ever be able to explain herself.
As Eshe hurried to get dressed that morning, she let her thoughts travel to Atem - the real Atem - and the time they had spent together following their affectionate escapades on Saturday morning. They had finally stopped kissing at one point, after the both of them had bruised lips, and they'd spent the next few hours sitting close and admiring the serenity of the water. To Eshe and Atem's relief, the rest of the group had decided to forget about the embarrassing truth or dare affair, and their camping trip had continued as if it hadn't happened; though it had been difficult for Eshe and Atem to find more time alone together for the rest of the weekend.
And Eshe did intend to spend a lot of alone time with Atem from that point onwards.
"Are you okay?" Leela inquired with a curious, though concerned, arched eyebrow as Eshe pulled up into the carpark beside the diner. Eshe blinked over at the other girl, confusion plain on her face.
"Yeah, why?"
"You've just been weird since you came back from that camping trip. More so than usual."
Leela smirked as Eshe pouted at the girl's observation, "In what way?" she murmured, an underlying tone of cautiousness to her words over what her roommate was implying.
"As in you've been day dreaming like crazy?"
Eshe rolled her eyes and exited her car in a mild huff, locking the doors behind her as Leela hopped out of the passenger seat, regarding Eshe with an expectant stare, awaiting her response.
"I just had a fun weekend, that's all. I wish you could have come", Eshe responded; the two fell in step together on their way to the diner and Leela snorted slightly at her statement.
"You and I both know that that wouldn't have been a good idea."
Eshe glared at her friend out of the corner of her eye, pursing her lips together in an unimpressed expression, "Yeah, except maybe if you apologised to Atem then things could be different…"
Leela's eyes flickered to Eshe as she frowned, "Hey, I'll apologise when I see him, okay? Don't rush me."
"Rush you? It's been over two weeks… you could just call him from my phone and apologise. It wouldn't be that hard! Even a text, just- why do things have to be awkward and complicated? I would very much like if you and Atem could get along so we could all hang out together or something…"
Leela's eyes shifted to the ground as she sighed, "I'll apologise to him when the opportunity arises."
Eshe frowned, shaking her head slightly at her friend's insistence of procrastinating the matter; it would be so easy for her to say sorry to the boy and that would be that. But no, Leela had to be abstruse. It was just in her nature.
A tickle of turbulence grazed the back of Eshe's neck which had absolutely nothing to do with Leela's agitating antics, and she paused in her step, a familiar feeling of dread sinking in her stomach. She turned her head, her gaze converging on the streets behind her and she was vaguely aware of her friend's confusion over her sudden stop.
Eshe noted an unmistakable shift of movement, a figure stepping backwards into the cover of darkness between an alley they'd been hanging near; they'd been watching her, at least that's how it had seemed. That's how it had certainly felt, unambiguously so, the feeling of a malicious stare burning into the back of her head.
"What? Eshe?" Leela asked cautiously beside her, trying to suss out what exactly had her friend's attention so wholly; her eyes were wide and held a hard gaze, flickering from Eshe to the direction the tanned girl was staring.
Eshe swallowed, her eyes lingering on the entrance to the alley, which was now vacant of a particular shadowed being; her thoughts loitered on Atem's words from the week before, "If that thief is still around then it could be dangerous…", and the sheer certainty in his voice that trouble had been lurking nearby.
Reaching blindly for Leela's wrist, Eshe quickly turned to continue a brisk walk towards the diner, dragging along her perplexed friend with not so much as an explanation.
Téa was already waiting for Eshe when she and Leela stumbled into the building; Leela reluctantly wandered away from her to begin her work shift, while Eshe sat down nervously at the booth that was occupied by the brown-haired girl.
"Is everything okay, Eshe?" Téa asked, blinking curiously at Eshe's jittery behaviour.
"Yeah, I'm fine", Eshe shook her head, "really, I am." She forced a smile, pushing her nerves out of her mind; perhaps her fears were extraneous and she'd simply seen an innocent citizen taking a shortcut through a dim alley. That's it. She was just reading too much into it.
She had to stop letting her imagination get the better of her; instead, Eshe smiled brightly at Téa and pointed to the diner exit.
"You wanna go shopping?"
"Do you know what Atem's favourite colour is?" Eshe asked absently as she picked through a series of frilly, patterned shirts hanging on the display rack, she glanced up to see a knowing smirk on Téa's face and blushed slightly.
"Why d'you wanna know his favourite colour?" Téa inquired, though from the look on her face, it was clear she already knew the answer.
Eshe playfully rolled her eyes and pulled out a pastel orange shirt, "What about this? Do you think he'd like this?"
Téa grinned, and giggled like a lunatic, "You're so cute", she squeaked, and Eshe shook her head, trying her best to restrain the bashful smile fighting its way onto her face.
"Shh", Eshe hushed, "Does he like orange?"
"He'd like any colour that's on you, Eshe", Téa remarked, an insightful smile on her face, and Eshe shook her head again, biting her lip at the implication.
"Stop it", Eshe giggled, and Téa insisted.
"Honestly! You could wear the most garish, ugly, tasteless clothes in the world and he would still think you're the most gorgeous thing he's ever seen."
"Did he tell you that himself?" Eshe asked skeptically, hanging the orange shirt back on the rack and picking out a lilac blouse with dark purple embroidered flowers climbing up one side of the torso.
Téa shook her head, "He doesn't need to tell me, I just know. Female intuition." She explained with a wink, and Eshe smirked.
"I see", Eshe nodded. "On our first date, he wore purple", she recalled, "so I think I'll buy this."
Téa smiled, an interesting expression that seemed to indicate she knew more than she was letting on, and Eshe wondered whether Atem had told her about the early morning kisses they had shared.
"It's a shame your first kiss was a result of that silly truth or dare game", Téa commented in a sympathetic way and Eshe nodded idly as she continued to flick through the various pretty clothes, a dreamy smile on her face.
"Such a shame", Eshe repeated, but at the mention of 'kiss', her brain was immediately reminded of the more passionate encounter that had been hovering in her thoughts ever since it had happened.
Téa seemed entertained by Eshe's absent-minded reaction, noting the far-off look in her eyes and the content smile on her face, "Okay, when did it happen?
Eshe blinked, "Huh?"
"You two kissed for real. When did it happen?"
Eshe blushed immediately, "What? How did you know!?"
Téa smirked, "Female. Intuition."
Covering her face slightly to hide her bashful appearance, Eshe quietly squeaked, "Saturday morning, real early. We sat on the dock and made out."
Eshe hadn't entirely anticipated the squealing reaction Téa proceeded to give; the brown-haired girl seemed extremely happy at the confession and it only made Eshe grow more flustered.
Téa giggled, "Sorry, I'm just- this is awesome, finally, we've been waiting for you two to properly hit it off!"
Eshe shook her head, an incredulous smile on her face, "What? Since when!?"
"Since, like, from the beginning", Téa affirmed, a cheerful expression of mirth on her face, "ahh, it makes me so happy!"
It was clear from the way the corners of Téa's eyes creased as she smiled that her happiness was genuine, and warmth bubbled in Eshe's stomach to know that her friend was authentically delighted at the assertion that she and Atem were maybe, perhaps, sort of, totally a couple now.
Eshe bit her lip, subconsciously playing with her hair, "I'm glad you're as happy as I am about it", she chuckled, "y'know, it's weird, I know I've only known him for like a month and a half but honestly… it feels like so much longer…"
"Yeah?" Téa prompted as Eshe trailed off, a strange look in her blue eyes; a studious look of contemplation passed over her face.
Eshe raised an eyebrow at Téa's curious reaction, "Yeah… I feel like I've known him my whole life."
Téa's eyes widened minutely, but Eshe's watchful gaze caught the micro expression and saw a mix of wonder and rumination in her eyes; she didn't press for an explanation.
As mid-afternoon approached, Téa and Eshe left the mall with their new clothing purchases, walking below the cherry blossom trees creeping over the sidewalk; shopping with Téa was quite a different experience from shopping with Leela. Leela was very sprightly when it came to visiting the mall, she always bounced from store to store, very focused on picking up whatever she liked.
Téa was calm and gradual when it came to exploring clothing and makeup stores; she ambled along at Eshe's pace, pausing to make friendly comments, "that shirt would look great on you!", "You should get that skirt- let's find some shoes for you that match!" and it was a nice change of pace to choose where to go next, unlike when she went out with Leela.
"What do you wanna do now?" Téa asked as they came to a stop at the street corner, and Eshe smiled slightly.
"How about we-", Eshe held that thought as she caught sight of a familiar figure standing across the street.
A mess of wild black hair framed the young boy's disgruntled face as he glared down at his phone, looking up occasionally to glance around searchingly; a hint of worry in his violet-grey eyes.
"Is that… Mokuba?" Eshe wondered curiously, pointing over Téa's shoulder. The brown-haired girl turned and hummed with piqued interest.
"Yeah, it is. He looks agitated about something", Téa spoke, a slight frown on her face, "Let's go talk to him."
Eshe followed the brown-haired girl across the street towards the younger Kaiba brother; she'd met him briefly the day the group had all gone to Kaibaland, but from what she'd learnt of him, he was a little more considerate and certainly less scary than his sibling. The young teen had offered her a bottle of water when he'd seen her pale face, obviously showing friendly concern for her woozy state.
He'd made a good impression on her, unlike the intimidating Seto Kaiba.
"Hey Mokuba, you okay?" Téa inquired as they reached the boy, he looked up with a brief flicker of nervousness before recognition settled in and he gave the two girls a small smile.
"Oh, hey Téa, and… Eshe, right?" Mokuba waved his hand and Eshe smiled brightly, giving a quick nod, "I'm fine, I'm just… a little stuck right now."
"Stuck? Stuck how?" Téa asked.
"Well, I was hanging out with some friends today at the mall and I was supposed to call Roland - he's our driver - when I was finished here so that he could come pick me up, but um, my phone kinda ran out of charge. I don't know his phone number off by heart. My bro's probably worried sick...", the young boy trailed off sheepishly, a slight pout on his face.
"Ohh, hmm", Eshe scratched her chin, she couldn't picture Seto Kaiba being 'worried sick', but it was clear he had a very different relationship with his brother than he did with Yugi and the others, "why don't you take the bus home?"
Mokuba didn't seem fond of the idea, "I've never had to take the bus before, I don't really know the schedules", he rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly.
Eshe nodded, she understood his aversion to public transport if he'd never used it before. Once, in her youth, Eshe had gotten on the wrong bus as a result of being misinformed about the transport routes - needless to say, she'd ended up somewhere unfamiliar and tearfully pleaded a stranger to help her find her way home. It wasn't exactly the highlight of her life, but she had been lucky the stranger was willing to help her.
Eshe was a charitable person, and she knew that she couldn't leave Mokuba all alone outside the mall with no means of communication and no way home; especially not when she was reminded of the mysterious figure she thought she'd seen watching her that morning.
"I can drive you home", Eshe offered with a nonchalant shrug, and Mokuba blinked up at her, lips parting hesitantly.
"I- are you sure?" he murmured, and Eshe smiled and nodded.
"It's not a problem", she affirmed.
"I can give you gas money", Mokuba suggested, a small, appreciative smile on his face, but Eshe brushed off that proposal.
"No need, it's fine, really!" Eshe gave him a thumbs up and a tumble of gratitude fell from the younger boy's mouth at her generosity. Téa smiled at Eshe as the tanned girl kept a modest approach, insisting it was fine and that it wasn't a big deal.
As it turned out, Mokuba was very chatty once the three of them returned to Eshe's car; very specifically, he was very interested in asking Eshe a lot of questions about herself, her involvement with the game Duel Monsters, and whether she had enjoyed her visit to Kaibaland.
Eshe humoured him and answered his questions, admitting to her nervousness over the duel she had played with Drago, and her discouragement over the icy stare Seto Kaiba had given her upon witnessing her humiliating defeat.
"Ahh, don't take it personally, my bro is like that with everyone", Mokuba explained.
"I kinda got the feeling he'd regretted inviting me into the park", Eshe chuckled nervously, catching the slight head-shake from Téa out of the corner of her eye.
"That's not true! He wanted to meet you-" Mokuba paused as Eshe gave him an extremely doubtful look in the rearview mirror.
"Wanted to meet me? What?" Eshe laughed, "You're pulling my leg?"
Mokuba glanced briefly at Téa before smiling nervously, "He was just… curious about you, you know, since you're Atem's girlfriend and all that. He was expecting you to beat Drago."
Eshe braked a little hard as they reached a red light, a flurry of questions wisping through her head at Mokuba's words; she cleared her throat at the wide-eyed looks the other two gave her and mumbled a quick, "Sorry!" for the unforeseen jerk of the car.
Firstly, how did Seto Kaiba know about her and Atem's couple status… before it was a confirmed thing? Atem and Seto didn't seem like the buddy-buddy type to share with each other their romantic endeavours. Secondly, why did being Atem's girlfriend demand Seto Kaiba's curiosity? What was so interesting about her to the billionaire CEO? Again, Atem really didn't seem like the type to sit down and have a chat about their relationships - especially given that in the time she'd known Atem before visiting Kaibaland, he'd hardly mentioned the CEO. Eshe hadn't even realised Seto and Atem were friends until they'd dueled; she always thought Seto's rivalry landed with Yugi.
She concluded that Atem and Seto must have had a complicated friendship, however, there were still unanswered questions in her mind; perhaps she would question Atem about it next time they were in each other's company.
If they weren't too busy making out, of course.
When Eshe pulled up outside the gates to the Kaiba Mansion, Mokuba released another string of thank-you's and hopped out of the car, calling out an "I owe you one!" before approaching the entrance to the drive and keying in a code on the keypad. The gate unlocked and Mokuba headed on through.
"He likes to talk a lot, huh?" Eshe commented light-heartedly and Téa chuckled slightly, nodding her head in agreement.
A few days later, Eshe would realise just how lucky she was to have offered Mokuba Kaiba that lift home.
Thursday was not being kind to Eshe; she was frustrated and fed-up from a cocktail of issues, firstly, she'd accidentally slept through her alarm clock and hadn't woken up until half past eleven in the morning, when her management had called her asking why in the world she hadn't turned up for work at ten o'clock. Then she'd had to endure the taxing presence of difficult customers, which may have possibly had something to do with her sour mood anyway, but Eshe preferred to think it was everyone else who had the problem, not her.
Given her late start, Eshe was made to stay a little later and close up the cafe while Haru got to leave ten minutes early, offering her an aggravating, yet smug, crude facial expression as he skipped out the door with sarcastic glee.
Eshe grumbled to herself as she cleared away the rest of the polished cutlery into the drawers and rounded the counter to retrieve her personal belongings from her locker in the staff room; it was late evening when Eshe finally left the building, it wasn't late enough to be pitch black, but there was an atmospheric tint of gloomy blueness to everything.
The street was almost deserted as Eshe slipped into her car; far-off shapes seemed grainy and blurred under the lack of light, she quickly clicked her seatbelt into place, shoved her key into the ignition and turned it…
Nothing happened. The car growled in an attempt to start up, juddering a few times, but the engine failed to start.
"What? Why?" Eshe snapped, an edge of desperation to her voice as she twisted the keys again several more times.
'Well this is just fucking wonderful', Eshe thought with rising animosity over her situation; the car remained unstarted and she shoved her face into her hands and groaned.
Her mood had been oscillating intensely the last few weeks, she'd gone from feeling high on life to hitting rock bottom and then back to feeling great, as if it was an endless loop, and now she was beginning to think it was just not fair. Why did things have to keep ruining her perfect mood?
Eshe sighed, and took an exasperated glance down the street; she could just walk home, but once again there was the trifling thought in the back of her mind that it was dangerous for her to walk alone, that something could happen to her, that there was something more to Atem's gentle warning than paranoia.
'Maybe I could text Atem…' she thought, but quickly squashed down that idea; most likely if she were to inform Atem of her predicament, he would insist on coming to find her, but she didn't want him to be walking around alone if there were precarious figures lurking in the shadows.
Unfortunately, she didn't have the phone number of anyone who owned a car that lived nearby and would be willing to pick her up, which left her only one choice.
"Well fuck", Eshe murmured, and exited the vehicle, locking it behind her, but not before giving it a hard glare over its choice to abandon her, "I'll be back for you tomorrow, and after that we're gonna have a long, hard talk."
With a steadying breath, Eshe began walking the familiar route back to her apartment building; there was a slight chill to the air and the moonlight was obscured by dark, overcast clouds that seemed ready to burst with rainwater.
It was nine o'clock and the streets of Domino were quiet and seemed dismal under the cloaked sky with no illuminating light to bathe the scene in a comforting glow; there were a few people around but none of them elevated a sense of panic in Eshe's mind, to her relief, they all seemed to be going about their night, returning home after a long day of work, like herself.
Feeling a little better about her predicament, Eshe turned a corner and entered an alley that she knew was a shortcut to the next block over; as she stepped out of the comfort of the lamppost light, all the ambient noise in the distance seemed to just fade out.
Eshe paused, an odd feeling overcoming her, she didn't quite know if it was a feeling of complacency or dread; but as she reached the middle of the alley, she realised there was something not quite natural about complete silence in the middle of a city.
It felt as though she'd stepped into a bubble in which there were no disturbances, no sound, no sinister breeze, no absence of warmth; Eshe felt as if she should be terrified, but there was just a feeling of ease within her.
It reminded her of some of her nightmares, greeted with a situation that should induce fear, but instead there was a forced sense of security inside her.
She didn't like it.
Something was wrong.
She looked over her shoulder.
Eshe broke into a run immediately at the sight of the silhouetted figure standing stationary at the threshold of the alley; adrenaline pumped through her veins as her footsteps echoed loudly in her ears, she couldn't hear anything else.
She sprinted as fast as she could, out of the alleyway, and the distant sounds of traffic returned, she didn't stop to check whether the ominous being was chasing after her; she didn't care, she just had to get away.
Her lungs burned for oxygen, but still, Eshe ran.
She rounded three corners and reached a main street; there were cars stopped in traffic and more people in sight, walking down the pavement, none the wiser to Eshe's situation. The presence of life comforted her slightly, the idea that nothing terrible could possibly happen to her with so many witnesses around; she slowed briefly, coming to a stop to lean against a wall and bend over, gasping hard to try and recover her breath.
"Hey."
Eshe jumped, startled as she swung around at the sound of a voice. It wasn't a friendly 'hey, are you okay?', it was more of a 'hey, I'm talking to you, look at me' tone, and it did nothing to assist her in her fearful state.
It took Eshe a moment to recognise the owner of the voice; a fancy car had pulled up alongside her at the edge of the pavement and the backseat passenger window was lowered to reveal a vaguely disinterested face.
"Seto?" Eshe gasped out, and while she had only met the boy once, and he'd regarded her with a very aloof attitude, she was so glad to see a familiar face.
The young CEO watched her with an icy gaze, quiet and observing for a long moment, and Eshe began to think he wasn't going to speak again, until he spoke, "What are you doing running around back alleys?"
There was a hint of suspicion in his gaze, and Eshe quickly rubbed her eyes, taking a cautious step away from the darkness of the narrow lane she'd run out of and towards the shiny car, "I- I was, my- car. My car wouldn't start", she stammered out, wondering how legible she sounded in her rushed explanation.
Seto continued to look at her with his unwavering expression, "Get in the car."
Eshe blinked, "Wha-?"
Seto rolled his eyes, "Did I stutter? Get in the damn car, and be quick about it."
Eshe swallowed, and gave one more guarded glance over her shoulder, before opening the car door to shimmy in across from the young billionaire; she glanced at him questioningly, waiting for him to speak, but instead Seto leaned forward to give Eshe's apartment address to the driver.
"...How do you know where I live?" Eshe asked quietly as she buckled in her seat belt, blinking curiously at the blue-eyed teen sat across from her.
"I am a knowledgeable man", Seto responded, scrutinising her unblinkingly, and Eshe lowered her eyes under his intimidating gaze; she knew he could see the remainder of panicked tears that had welled up in her eyes during her hasty escape from her apparent shrouded stalker.
"What happened? Did you lose another duel?" Seto spoke impassively with an ever-so-slight upwards tilt to one of his eyebrows; if it wasn't for Eshe's acute perception, she wouldn't have caught the indifferent CEO's attempt at a joke.
So he did have a sense of humour.
"Oh, you're so funny", Eshe murmured, sending the boy a quick glare, which caused a smirk to form on his sharp face.
An uncomfortable silence followed in which Eshe wondered why Seto Kaiba had even cared to stop when he'd seen her; she obviously hadn't made such a great impression on him at Kaibaland given his appalled reaction to her inferior dueling and above all, he didn't exactly seem like the charitable type. However, when it came to judging someone's character, Eshe had been wrong before.
Her ex-boyfriend, Chad, hovered briefly in her mind. He'd thought him perfect until she'd found out he was a horrible human being. Perhaps she was wrong about her initial judgement of Seto Kaiba.
The car journey went relatively quick, and Eshe looked up with subtle surprise as they arrived - she must've been lost in thought for a long time.
Eshe looked up at Seto to see him watching her with an expectant expression, she quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and shuffled towards the car door, but not before glancing tentatively out the window, searching, making sure there was nobody lingering nearby; she didn't miss the way Seto's eyes narrowed at her movements.
"You were being followed."
Eshe swallowed hard, fear instilling on her face, "How did you…?"
"I'm not an idiot. It's quite obvious from your behaviour", Seto stated. So, the CEO was an incisive, observant person, much like herself.
Clenching her jaw, Eshe nodded in confirmation, "I- uh, thank you for… bringing me home…"
She was extraordinarily lucky that Seto had driven past right at that moment; if the billionaire hadn't told her to get into his car, that person might've caught up to her and robbed or attacked her… or worse.
Seto rolled his eyes and shrugged his tense shoulders, "You brought Mokuba home. Now we're even."
Eshe felt gratitude swell up in her chest and gave the blue-eyed teen a small, meaningful smile, "Really, Seto, thank you."
He responded with an exasperated sigh and another overdramatic roll of his eyes, "Whatever. Don't mistake my restitution for sentimentality."
Seto crossed his arms, looking down at Eshe over his pointed nose and waited for her to get a move on; Eshe nodded slightly, biting her lip at his cold snap, she reached for the handle and opened the car door, slipping out with a suspicious glance around her. She walked briskly towards the double doors and into the foyer, and noted pointedly that Seto's car didn't pull away until she was safely up the first flight of stairs.
Today was one of Those Days, Eshe thought as she slithered out of her bedroom on Saturday morning. She felt mechanical. Everything she did felt fabricated and wrong; she'd had to pinch herself several times to make sure she was actually awake because the world around her just felt… illusory and fictitious.
It would be so easy for her to just crash on the couch for several more hours, but she didn't dare allow herself to be late to work again, especially while she was looking forward to seeing Atem on her lunch break.
At least her car had been retrieved and inspected; it turned out the vehicle had nothing wrong with it, it was just a 'hiccup' as the mechanic had put it. Apparently it sometimes happened.
Eshe hadn't mentioned her run in with the frightening individual to Leela, and she hadn't spoken to Atem about it just yet. She intended to, in person, but she didn't want to send him a cryptic text that might make him worried.
Grabbing her handbag, Eshe stumbled out of her apartment and paused at the top of the flight of stairs, apprehension crawling up her back, along with a sickly sense of nausea; she gripped the handrail with a white-knuckle grasp and descended the steps slowly and steadily.
It wasn't fun climbing down a stairway while the edges of your vision were slowly darkening.
Somehow, Eshe managed to reach the foyer, pushing through the lethargy that was tugging at her mind; she remembered the words that her childhood therapist once told her when she was fighting through a particularly rough week following an endless stream of nightmares.
"Don't let exhaustion beat you."
Eshe groaned, blinking the darkness from her peripheral vision; she was fine, she just had to get to work and then endure her shift until lunch time. Atem would help her feel better, he always did, just his mere presence was enough to bring a smile to her face.
She would be fine.
Eshe left the apartment building, her footsteps heavy on the hard pavement; she quashed down the rising queasiness that threatened to spill from within her and pressed on, reaching her car.
But not before that dreadfully familiar tickling feeling of being watched brushed the back of her neck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Eshe threw the car door open and jumped inside, slamming it shut and quickly hitting the manual lock; she breathed hard for a moment and started the engine, keeping her eyes forward as she applied pressure to the accelerator and pulled out of her parking space.
Don't let exhaustion beat you.
It was an interesting phrase, one that Eshe understood to mean 'No matter what, keep pushing forward. Don't let yourself crumble under pressure. Drag your body through the obstacles you face without hesitation.'
Eshe was just a child when her therapist had told her those five words; it was easy enough for her to misinterpret what the older woman had meant.
Don't let exhaustion beat you… as in, know your limits. Remember, you're only human; sometimes, it's okay to sit down and take a well-needed break.
She knew her therapist had meant well, but it was always important for a doctor to make sure their patient understood exactly what was being communicated. Everything was always clearer in retrospect, for example, maybe Eshe, in such an ailing state, shouldn't have gotten into her car that morning.
And maybe Eshe's therapist would have brought her point across without any doubt if she had instead told the girl…
Don't let exhaustion kill you.
Atem entered the confectionary cafe at one o'clock in the afternoon, glancing attentively around the booths in search of the girl that always made his heart beat faster with just a glimpse; the room was busy but Eshe was nowhere to be seen.
Joey and Yugi followed in behind him as he reached the conclusion that she was still in the back room retrieving her belongings; he moved to sit at an empty table with his friends when he caught sight of the rather discontent expression of Haru at the counter.
The silver-haired server double-taked as he caught sight of Atem and immediately Haru's face scrunched up slightly in irritation, "Hey, don't suppose you know where Eshe is today?"
Atem blinked at the vexed tone the other boy took, before realising the weight of his words, "Wait, what? She's not here?" Yugi and Joey shared a confused stare, before looking expectantly at Haru for an explanation.
"She didn't turn up for her shift this morning! It's been four hours, man! Probably sleeping in again", he grumbled out, "I tried calling her but her phone's turned off."
Atem clenched his jaw, turning to Joey and Yugi with an expression of burgeoning concern, and Joey shrugged slightly.
"Perhaps she's taking a sick day?" the blond suggested.
"No, she texted me this morning before she left", Atem recalled, his brow furrowing, deep-set with worry; he slipped his phone out of his pocket and dialled her number.
It went straight to voicemail, not even ringing once, and at the same time the cafe's corded phone began to sound.
Haru answered the call with a monotonous tone, "Hello, this is the confectionary cafe, how can I help? ...Yes, this is Haru."
Atem fidgeted as he shoved his phone back into his pocket and perked up slightly at the sound of a familiar name. "Huh?" Haru continued, "Leela? Eshe's roommate, right? What's up with her? Is she planning on coming into work today or what?"
Haru abandoned his facetious tone as the smirk dropped from his face, eyes widening slightly, "Oh shit, what? Is she okay?"
Atem jumped to his feet, crossing the room in two impressively long strides for legs so short, and snatched the phone from the silver-haired boy's hand. Haru let out a grunt of dismay and glared at the tanned boy for his rude abduction of the phone, but Atem didn't care.
"Leela? Where's Eshe? What's happened?" Atem demanded loudly as Joey and Yugi quickly joined his side; Haru muttered something under his breath and walked away to serve another customer.
"Atem, is that you?" Leela's voice came hesitantly, a hint of distaste in her delicate tone, and Atem clenched his jaw at the lack of information he was being fed.
"Yes, where is Eshe?" he repeated, clearly desperate for an answer.
"...She's at the hospital. She was in a car accident this morning", Leela explained after a moment.
Atem felt himself gasp, mouth falling open in shock, a million thoughts running through his head, but mainly an urgent hope that Eshe was alright.
"I suppose you wanna come visit her? Domino hospital, you'll have to check in at the reception desk as a visitor. She's admitted under the name Amelie Creed."
Atem swallowed, struggling to absorb everything that Leela was telling him while he was still reeling from the knowledge that Eshe had been hurt, "Uhh.. uh- right, o-okay", he stammered, and heard Leela sigh on the other end of the line.
"Oh yeah, and about the other week. I'm sorry for my behaviour, okay?" Leela spoke with quick nonchalance, the words tumbling out of her mouth hastily.
"O-okay… uh, wait, is-" he was greeted by the sound of a drawn-out dial tone, signifying that Leela had hung up, he stared at the phone for a moment longer before turning to the other two accompanying him.
"We need to go to the hospital."
Eshe groaned slightly as she blinked her tired eyes open, squinting under the bright whiteness of the room she was in; her chest ached a little, but apart from that she felt a whole lot healthier than the last time she had been conscious.
"Hey, dumbass, welcome to the afterlife."
Eshe's eyes shot open wide at the sound of a familiar voice and she turned her head slowly to find her best friend sitting in the chair at her bedside, arms crossed with a stern look on her face, although her green eyes were laced with concern.
"Wha? What happened?" Eshe murmured, a tinge of panic welling inside her, she pushed herself up a little and cringed at a sharp pain in her arm.
"You were in a car accident because you passed out at the wheel", Leela explained slowly, "you're on an IV, ugh, I'll call the nurse."
"Passed out? What…" Eshe repeated, blinking the confusion out of her mind before a panicked look appeared on her face, "Holy shit, how long have I been here? Why did I pass out? Where's Atem?"
Leela rolled her eyes slightly as she hit the 'assistance' button on the side of the bed, "Calm down, you've been in an accident and should be resting. You're damn lucky, you know that? Your injuries are only minor, fortunately you weren't moving too fast when you crashed."
Horror grew on Eshe's face, "D-did I hurt anyone?"
"No", Leela asserted quickly, "You hit a street lamp, no one else was involved. The nurse said you only got away with some bruising and a few abrasions… but your car is kinda fucked", she spoke.
Eshe sunk back into her pillow, relieved that she hadn't caused anyone any harm in her stupid decision to drive in such a state, "I'm such a fucking idiot…" she sniffed and Leela nodded her head.
"Yes, you are. The nurse is probably going to want to ask you some questions, and now that I know you're okay, I should probably be heading back to work…" Leela trailed off, looking away from Eshe, failing to seem inconspicuous at all. She clearly had another reason for wanting to get away so soon after Eshe had woken up.
"You don't seem all that concerned about me", Eshe stated, a small pout on her face. Surely, being in a car accident and waking up in hospital in a flurry of confusion demanded a little more sympathy than Leela was showing?
"Hah. You should have seen me when I was called out of work. They told me you were in a car crash and I burst into tears", Leela explained, a sarcastic smile on her face, "then they told me you were pretty much totally fine, just a few scrapes and bruises, and that you were sleeping it off. I had to come and see you though. Sorry I need to dash so quick… um, work was- busy, and-"
"What's the real reason you want to escape this room so hastily?" Eshe grumbled, seeing straight through the girl's terrible lie.
Leela sighed, "Well, I called your workplace to inform your co-worker of your little situation. Atem was there, so I spoke to him. Told him to come visit you. Apologised to him as well- I just don't wanna deal with being in the same room as him, okay?"
Eshe grew happy at the news that Atem was on his way and that Leela had very helpfully informed him of her location and expressed remorse over her prior behaviour; but she sent Leela a pointed look as the girl admitted she still wasn't up for being friendly with the boy.
"Now, get some more rest. I think they're gonna keep you here over night, just to monitor you or whatever… also, I should probably tell you that I'm working night shifts next week - some stupid mishap with the schedule, but I'll be working till late, so I'm gonna stay overnight at my friend's house who lives closer to the diner for the few days that's happening", Leela spoke, a hint of regret in her voice at the fact she won't be around in the evenings.
"Oh, okay", Eshe murmured, a frown forming on her face, "so I'm gonna be alone next week?"
"Only during the night, and only for three days. I'm sorry, I just don't wanna walk home after midnight all alone…"
Eshe suddenly remembered exactly what had fueled her fear that morning, the feeling of certainty that she was being watched yet again, and she shuddered visibly, shaking her head, "Oh, don't worry about it. You stay at your friend's… I don't want you to walk home that late alone either."
Leela nodded, a small smile on her face, and she pushed her chair back to stand, "Alright, I'm gonna head back to work. I'll come straight back after my shift, I promise. You have fun with Atem", she added jokingly, and Eshe snorted softly.
"See you later…" Eshe spoke as Leela left the room with one last glance.
Well, this was certainly a predicament.
Eshe glanced down at the drip that was feeding into the vein of her arm and sighed softly, wondering if she was finally going to be forced to confront a doctor over how she had been feeling the past month or so.
When Atem appeared at the door of Eshe's room roughly half an hour after Leela left, she could see the apprehension drain from his face to make way for relief. "Oh", he breathed, a smile replacing his alleviated worries, "you're alright."
Eshe looked mildly sheepish, a small apologetic smile on her face as he stepped into the room with Joey and Yugi in tow, she gave them a weak wave as Atem reached her bedside.
"Are you okay?" Atem inquired softly, brushing his thumb affectionately over her cheek; the motion caused Eshe to smile and lean into the gentle touch.
"You had us worried sick!" Joey exclaimed, leaning against the railing at the end of her bed, a faux look of scorn which cracked into a smile as Eshe chuckled slightly.
"I'm sorry if I scared you guys…", Eshe looked up at Atem's always-so-handsome face, "I'm sorry… I only woke up after Leela called you."
"What happened, Eshe?" Yugi asked softly, his wide inquisitive eyes passing briefly between her and Atem.
Eshe sighed softly, "I, ah, fainted while driving, and I hit a street lamp. No one was hurt, luckily. I spoke to the nurse; she said I was dehydrated and had low sodium levels in my body, but also she thinks stress was a factor… a whole mix of problems, really."
Atem frowned, a serious look on his face as his eyes scanned Eshe's various minor injuries; she had a cut on her face just above her right eyebrow, a graze on her chin and he could see purplish bruising crawling out from below the collar of her hospital gown.
Eshe's eyes followed his, "That's bruising from my seat belt, it's fine, it doesn't hurt that much", she reassured, "and I'm feeling so much better than I was this morning."
"Why did you have low sodium?" Joey murmured curiously, "want me to go get you some salty potato chips? They're packed full of sodium!" he grinned and Eshe laughed, biting her lip slightly.
"That'd be awesome, thanks Joey", she spoke, "and uhh, well, that's my fault. I haven't been eating good, but the nurse gave me a stern talking to, so that'll change now. And I've got this IV here feeding me yummy electrolytes to help me feel better."
"One pack of extra salty chips coming right up!" Joey exclaimed, disappearing from the room in a flash.
Yugi straightened up slightly, looking briefly between Atem and Eshe with a spark of amusement in his eyes, "Hey, I think Joey was headed in the opposite direction to the cafeteria… I better go make sure he doesn't get lost!" Yugi winked at Atem, and Eshe most definitely saw it, a slight flush growing on her cheeks as the younger boy followed the blond out of the room.
Now, Eshe was alone with Atem.
Atem's hand rested firmly on her shoulder as he stood over her, refusing to sit down and relinquish contact; instead, he looked over her again, his eyes settling questioningly on the IV in her arm.
"What is this?" he asked curiously and Eshe snorted with laughter.
"You're not honestly telling me you don't know what an IV is?"
Atem's face turned a brilliant red and he began to stammer slightly as he rushed to explain his ridiculous question, "No- I, I mean-", his eyes followed the tube leading out of her arm and he pointed at the solution bag hanging from the IV holder, "what's that?"
Eshe humoured him, "They're fluids that are helping to rehydrate me. I'm surprised you don't know this…"
Atem shook his head, a bashful smile on his face, "Well I- I've never had to have one", he answered and Eshe giggled, smiling fondly up at the strange boy she found so endearing.
Eshe blinked tiredly as the tanned boy ran an affable hand through her hair comfortingly and his fingertips very lightly traced the band-aid that was covering the scape above her eyebrow; she smiled with a hint of mischievousness and murmured, "Maybe you should kiss it better", with a playful lilt to her voice.
Atem smirked slightly, leaning down to brush a kiss lightly over her forehead; his eyes locked with her's and her gaze flickered subtly to his lips, asking a silent question. She wanted him to kiss her again, and he could only happily oblige.
As he leaned forward, however, the door to the room shifted and Atem quickly straightened up, both he and Eshe blushing slightly as a nurse walked in with her eyes on a clipboard.
"Okay, Amelie, I'm going to need to- oh", the nurse blinked her wide grey eyes at Atem, before turning back to Eshe, "I'm sorry, I didn't know you had a visitor."
Eshe cleared her throat, "It's fine, but please don't call me Amelie."
The nurse frowned, blinking down at the clipboard in her hand with perplexity, "But, it's your name?"
"No, not for a long time. Just call me Eshe, please", the girl in the hospital bed responded, shifting uncomfortably at the nurse's interruption.
Atem looked at Eshe, a little startled, and his eyes shone with inquisitiveness over the confusion that was no doubt arising in his mind; Eshe gave him a brief apologetic smile before the nurse spoke again.
"Okay, well, I can give you ten minutes, but then you'll need to leave the room while I ask Eshe some questions", the nurse regarded Atem with an analytical look, "are you her brother?"
Atem seemed mildly flustered, "What? No, I'm her hu-" his mouth snapped shut, "I'm her boyfriend!" He reiterated, and Eshe gave him a flushed smile at his exclamation.
"Ohh, my bad! Okay, well I'll be back in ten minutes, okay?" the nurse squeaked, giggling at her error; she left the room and closed the door quietly, and Atem looked shyly back at Eshe to see her grinning at him.
"What?" Atem asked softly, a coy smile on his face.
"My boyfriend", Eshe repeated, nibbling on her bottom lip despite her wide smile, and Atem looked away from her to hide his blossoming cheeks.
"Well, I am, aren't I?" he sounded unsure all of a sudden and Eshe reached out to grab his hand, demanding his attention.
"Yes, now kiss me again before Yugi and Joey get back!"
Atem didn't hesitate for another moment, moving quickly to cup Eshe's cheek and tilt her head up as he brought his lips to her's with earnest devotion; Eshe smiled into the kiss, breathing a light, dreamy sigh from her nose at the soft, tender contact. Instead of pulling away, Atem nuzzled against the side of her head, breathing softly against her neck, and Eshe inhaled his pleasant scent, a slight hint of cinnamon added to his natural aroma. Was he wearing some of of spicy cologne?
"Why did the nurse call you Amelie?" Atem inquired idly against her neck, pulling back for Eshe to answer.
With a slight shake of her head, Eshe spoke, "It's my birth name, but I've gone by Eshe since I was five years old."
A hint of something lit up behind Atem's eyes as his gaze widened slightly, "Why's that?" he inquired with overt interest, and Eshe raised an eyebrow.
"Um, I don't know, I just remember waking up one morning and demanded everyone call me Eshe. My aunt and uncle didn't go along with it at first, I just refused to answer to my birth name until they grew tired of it and decided to humour me. I've gone by Eshe ever since", she paused, looking up to the ceiling in contemplation, "It was weird… even now, I just feel like Amelie was the wrong name, like it wasn't mine. 'Eshe' just feels so right to me. I can't explain it", she ended with a smile, looking to Atem to find his expression of undisguised emotion, a mix of excitement and pure surprise.
"What?" Eshe blinked rapidly for a moment, wondering what she had said to invoke such a reaction, and Atem gave a shaky breath, buzzing laughter leaving his mouth as he fought to retain his composure again.
"N-nothing, I just… nothing", he repeated, a wide smile instilled on his face.
Eshe smiled along with him, his expression of unrestrained mirth was infectious, and she wondered what it was about Atem that made it so hard to determine the reasons behind his unexplained emotive reactions.
Passing out at the wheel of a car from stress was serious enough to result in being written off work for several weeks; which meant Eshe had plenty of spare time in her immediate future to do whatever she wanted to do, so long as it was advantageous to her recovery. After speaking with a doctor about her troubling nightmares disturbing her sleep patterns, she was prescribed some moderate-strength sleeping pills to aid her nightly slumbers; she was instructed to take them only when she was having a hard time getting to sleep, they were not meant as a daily medication.
The nurse had practically scolded Eshe over her salad-based diet and explained that cutting salty and sugary foods completely out of an eating regime could actually do far more harm than good, and as such, Eshe's first order of business was to join her friends for pizza without worrying about what she was ingesting.
Unabashedly, Eshe devoured an entire large pizza all by herself, impressing both Joey and Tristan with just how much she could eat when she put her mind to it.
On top of getting plenty of rest, Eshe was told that occasional walks in the sunshine could be beneficial in providing light exercise and clean air instead of being cooped up in her stuffy apartment all day long. Atem was quick to volunteer to spend time with her, to the amusement of the others, and so, for the next few days the tanned boy met up with her at her apartment and proceeded to take the bus with her to the park, where they walked together and enjoyed the summer heat in each other's company.
It was wonderful, like they were going out on a date every single day, and it was doing wonders for Eshe's disposition; she felt great, like everything could only go up from that point onwards - she was on an endless roller coaster riding its way to the stars.
"Let's get dinner", Atem spoke on their Wednesday walk; they strode with their arms around each other through the grassy field of the park that had been the location of their first date.
"Dinner?" Eshe perked up, smiling as brightly as the sun.
"Yes- at an expensive restaurant. I'm paying", he took her wrist gently, leading her towards the park exit and to the boulevard along the pier which was popular for its vast array of five-star eating establishments.
"Hey, if it's expensive then we're splitting the bill", Eshe argued, though her face was alight with a grin.
"Nope", Atem stated playfully, "I'm paying", he repeated, "and we're gonna have dessert too."
Eshe let out a bubbly laugh, shaking her head at the boy's insistence; "Fine, but next time we're out at a restaurant, I'm paying the bill", she declared, pretending not to see the way Atem shook his head unrelentingly.
They sat quietly in the sweet ambience of the restaurant they chose, Eshe pushed down her giggles as Atem encouraged her to order the most expensive thing on the menu, claiming he wanted to treat her to only the most exquisite cuisine available. They spent the whole evening talking, giving each other light, innocent hand touches, quenching their mutual desire for closeness and connection.
It was perfect, as it always was with Atem.
After their meal, they walked calmly along the pier, hands intertwined as they reached the dock where a small fairground was situated. The sun was setting, the sky was dark blue and clear of looming clouds; the colourful lights and vivacious music playing over loud speakers was the perfect setting for fun and romance.
Eshe felt whimsical and spirited, her impish nature pushing forth as she began to bounce and sway to the music, she stopped at the end of the dock, the ocean playing a wonderful background to their idealistic setting, and turned to face Atem, a flirtatious grin on her face.
"Dance with me", she told him, taking both his hands and moving her feet in time with the fast-paced music. Atem laughed, shaking his head.
"I- I can't dance", he contended, his eyes lowering to watch Eshe's rhythmic movements on her lively feet, admiring what showed of her legs below her knee-length skirt.
"Don't give me that! Dance anyway!" Eshe insisted, spinning around and tugging Atem's hands to try and encourage him to boogie.
"I can't compare to your perfect rhythm", Atem laughed, letting himself be swayed, moving from foot to foot in a very mild attempt to mimic Eshe's movements.
"I hope that wasn't sarcasm!" Eshe spoke over the music, "I've always been a great dancer!"
"I know", Atem stated, a far-off look in his eyes.
"What?" Eshe asked through her glee, and Atem blinked, his mouth falling open.
"I mean, I can tell- you're a good dancer", he reiterated, biting his lip coyly, and Eshe tugged his wrists again.
"Come on, dance with me properly!" she pleaded, and Atem looked somewhat kittenish for a moment, before glancing around at the other people on the dock. They weren't paying any attention to the two of them.
"I know how to dance a little different", Atem revealed, and Eshe rose an eyebrow.
"Oh? Show me?"
Atem licked his lips, stepping forward to rest his hand on Eshe's waist, guiding one of her hands to lay on his shoulder while he took her other hand gently in his own; he pulled her towards him, their bodies pressing together, and Eshe's face grew red.
"Slow dance?" she whispered, a hint of excitement in her eyes, and Atem nodded in confirmation, a small smirk on his face.
The dance didn't fit the fast, upbeat music, but Eshe didn't care, she was happy to lean against the boy with the delightful contact as they stared into each other's eyes.
Atem leaned in slightly and Eshe pushed up to meet him in a kiss, it was gentle and enamoring, only a quick peck but still enough to make her knees weak. Immediately following the kiss, Atem stepped back and twirled her around before bringing her against him again and Eshe gave a soft giggle, something teasing growing inside her.
"Nice moves, pharaoh", Eshe spoke softly into his ear, and Atem pulled back, his smile dropping to be replaced with a wide-eyed look, his mouth hanging open in… shock?
"What?" Eshe asked immediately, wondering if she'd said something wrong.
Atem blinked rapidly, "You called me… you just called me-"
"Pharaoh?" Eshe repeated, "Yeah it was… well, the others said it was your nickname… Seto called you it in your duel", she looked pointedly at him, confused by his expression of awe.
Immediately, the growing shine in his eyes settled and he seemed disappointed, before he quickly strived to hide his put-down expression; he circled Eshe in his arms and pulled her closer, stilling his dancing and instead just holding her in an embrace.
"Did I say something wrong?" Eshe asked against his neck, snaking her arms around him in response, her tone drowned in worry.
"No", Atem said quickly, "It's fine, I'm fine", he put as much sincerity into his voice as he could, and yet Eshe was sure she picked up on a sad undertone.
Relaxing into his grip, she sighed softly against him and marveled at the feeling of Atem's firm arms around her; no matter what, he always succeeded in making her feel safe just by holding her.
In Atem's arms, she felt protected and secure, which sparked a thought over something she had not yet discussed with him.
"Atem", she spoke, pulling back slightly to look up at him with a genuine expression, "Something happened the other day that I wanted to talk to you about."
Atem's lips parted curiously, his expression sober and serious, "What happened?"
"Last Thursday after work my car didn't start, so I figured I'd walk home, and-" she took a breath, "there was someone following me."
There was a split second in which Atem absorbed the words Eshe had told him, before his pupils contracted and a look of alarm overtook him; his hands curled around her upper arms tightly, "What happened?" he asked again, hoping for details.
Eshe felt apprehensive at his reaction, "I- I ran, and- it was weird, I can't explain, but I got away because- Seto Kaiba saw me and gave me a lift home…"
Atem's eyes flickered between her's and his expression softened, nodding slightly in response, pleased that his Duel Monsters rival had offered her aid and potentially saved her from a dangerous situation.
"Why didn't you just call me?" Atem asked, and Eshe frowned slightly.
"I didn't want to make you feel like you had to come and pick me up from work and then walk me home… that's a lot of walking, and it was late, and- and there was some creep out there!" Eshe told him defensively; she did not regret her decision, she had never wanted to endanger the tanned boy.
Atem shook his head and pulled her against him again, his strong arms enclosing around her firmly, "Eshe… if something had happened to you…" he trailed off, gritting his teeth, "If you ever need me, call me and I will come to you. No matter the reason, no matter the time of day, if you need me, I will come, I promise you."
Eshe swallowed back the emotion welling up inside her, sniffing slightly against Atem's shoulder.
"I won't let anything happen to you, Eshe", Atem whispered, "Because I lo-"
Eshe blinked through the tears in her eyes, looking up at the boy who had cut himself off so suddenly; she waited for him to continue what he was about to say, but he had clamped his mouth tightly and was fighting the flushed tinge to his cheeks.
"I'm here for you when you need me", he finished, and Eshe felt moved by the sincerity in his firm, unwavering voice.
Relaxing once more against him, Eshe blinked her tears away, wondering what she had done in her life to deserve to be enclosed in the arms of such an incredible, wonderful person; she had never felt so right in her whole life than she did right now.
Little did Eshe know, this was the calm before the storm, and her metaphorical rollercoaster was about to topple over its peak.
Notes: I was absolutely in awe at the response to last chapter, so here's another long one! I hope you enjoy this, my dears, this story is quickly approaching an interest series of events ;) PLEASE review my lovelies! I read each review I got last chapter and I loved them ALL! They make me so happy!