Perse had no idea what to make of the woman in front of her.
When she'd first been told to spend time around her, she thought nothing of it. Percy had occasionally asked her to gather information on people before he stepped in. Given her background, it was a natural request, one he always prefaced with if she was comfortable doing it. Most of the time, it was an easy yes. He never asked her to put herself in more danger than he would himself and usually, it only involved a couple of meetings to scope out the person and their problems.
Then, he'd asked her to investigate Mirajane, a person who supposedly was interested in setting up a very unique shop. He'd heard from other shopkeepers in town that she had tried to rent out a building, but due to her limited budget, she couldn't afford any of the places in town. That was where she came in, getting to know Mirajane and, eventually, offering to give her a building on the cheap. It should have been a short and sweet deal.
Instead, it was…hell. As if someone had designed Mirajane specifically to get on all of her nerves at once, yet also prevented her from ever speaking her mind on the matter. If not for the delighted look on Percy's face when she finally got Mirajane to agree to look at a building, she would have considered it all done in vain.
In a way, maybe she should have from the start.
All this to say…despite all the time having spent with her, she still didn't understand Mirajane's view of the world. She doubted she ever would.
So her saying how alike they were…her eye twitched as she replied. "I don't know why you would say that now, after finding out I've been lying to you."
"I have a good reason to, Perse. You're right, I don't know how much of it was real anymore, and I know we didn't spend a ton of time together in the first place, but I know that–"
"No! You don't know. Because if you'd known, you would have seen that we were nothing alike from the start. That I actually hated you."
Mirajane's voice withheld the rest of her sentence. Perse felt the repressed emotions find an outlet at long last; a rant began to form.
"Yes, I hated you. Or, to be more precise, I hated the type of person you were. Always off in your own little world, so wrapped up in your silly fantasies that you ignore reality just to indulge in them. Do you know how hard it was to pretend to be as interested in love as you are? I must have bitten my tongue over a dozen times so as to not cry out at your obsession! If Sir hadn't told me to look into you, I wouldn't have gotten within a thirty-foot radius! I'll be glad when we leave this town, in part because I'll never have to deal with you again."
Perse snorted. Not very lady-like, but she'd hardly felt like being lady-like since that dreadful experience yesterday.
Her "friend's" face became hard to read. She'd stayed stone silent throughout the rant. Perse would have liked to take this as a sign of shame, that since she had truly believed them to be friends, hearing all that fully shattered any such illusion.
And yet…her eyes. Those damnable eyes. They didn't look away as she spoke, and they still seemed to want something out of her.
Something she doubted she'd ever have the capacity to give.
"Perse, do you know what confused me the most when I found out you had used me?" Mirajane spoke, in that infuriating, patronizingly soft tone.
Perse hesitated. The question felt like a trap. She considered being rid of talking by constricting Mirajane's throat. She didn't want to continue any more of this drivel. Unfortunately, part of her duty was to stall, and the longer Mirajane talked, the less she was focused on moving ahead, to where Sir was. She could try and kill her, only…Perse had never done that before. And as much as she truly couldn't stand Mirajane, a small pit opened up in her stomach at the thought of killing her.
So instead she stayed silent. Glaring at her once-called friend.
Mirajane smiled. It was a wry, pressed grin. "Because it wasn't the why that confused me. That I understood almost right away, and I think I can say I have no doubt now that you've shared your disdain for me."
"Why then? Why do you think I did it?" Perse couldn't help but ask as if Mirajane telling the answer would illuminate it for herself.
"It became obvious…just like me, you're doing this for love."