Considering the incredible highs I've had today, it makes sense that my evening has been full of absolute lows.
I find myself dragging my boots along the streets of Ellie's neighborhood. There's only a few spots she could be in at this time – her apartment, her makeshift studio at the school, or her favorite café bar.
Guess where I find her.
"St. Clair?" she asks, seeing me at doorway. I walk in and see that she's flanked by a group of friends I vaguely recognize from our fall party marathon. Bottles and ashtrays are strewn across their table.
"Hey," I say, nodding at her companions. "Do you mind if I steal her away for a few minutes?"
"By all means," one of the girls says, giving me a flirty smile. With friends like these…
"Sorry, girls," she says, smiling. "I'll be right back."
I follow Ellie to the back near the toilets – the place where we always had our private conversations and other adventures. She sways her hips seductively to the beat of the café's music, like she always does, and I try my best to ignore it.
Once we're out of sight of everyone, though, her whole demeanor changes. Her face becomes serious, her composure stiff and protective.
"Save it, St. Clair," she says, turning toward me to place a finger over my lips. "I know why you're here."
"You do?" I ask, panicked.
"I'm not stupid," she says quietly. "It's why you always come and find me."
"It's a little different this time," I say.
"Oh, really," she says. "Tell me, what did you do now?"
"It's not what I did," I say. "It's what I can't do anymore. Ellie…there is someone else. And it wouldn't be fair to you if I – if I made you think otherwise."
She stands there, motionless. I know beneath the surface she feels something. Even I feel something – even after all we've been through.
"Well," she says finally. "I imagine this will make my internship rather awkward this summer."
"I don't understand," I say.
"With your father at his gallery here," she says, as if I should have already known. "He offered it to me in the winter and, well, we were already having problems. I didn't want to make it any worse, you know?"
Now I know why she kept taking me back – it wasn't only to keep up appearances, it was because she wanted to establish herself away from her parents. And while the Kensington name will always influence the choices available to her, it was her relationship with me that got her introduced to my father. My terrible, terrible father.
His schemes know no bounds.
"I doubt that," I say. "He's always liked you."
She nods.
I want to be angry with her, but I can't. We've both been deceitful to each other. No one is more right or wrong than the other.
"I should really get back to my friends," she says, her voice expresionless. "Good night, St. Clair."
"Good night," I say, mimicking her unfeeling tone.
She dishevels her hair slightly and goes back toward her table, her head held high. One of her friends makes a joke and she laughs loudly.
I leave the café without looking back. And as I take the metro back to Lambert, I vow to never get involved with her again.
A/N: I decided to go in a different direction here – it's not as sympathetic a portrayal of Ellie as in the "Girlfriend" one-shot, but I think (hope) it fits better into the back story I've given Ellie and St. Clair's father in this fic.