Accidentally Calling Elite Spies
Waffles
{6}
After the whole café ordeal, we spent the rest of the day in the house. He stayed quiet the entire time, initiating conversation only when necessary. I thought it was unfair of him to keep quiet after his behaviour this morning.
It was in the late evening when I brought it up. "So about this morning, exchanging numbers with people is out of the question?"
His silver eyes glared at me before responding. "Obviously, you can't trust anyone. Anyone could be working with the syndicate, they're not to be underestimated."
I nodded at him, giving him a side eye. "Understood perfectly. I just assumed a spy as 'exceptional' as you, must possess some acting skills to pull off a role. Kian was a nice guy, and you were being an asshole to him."
"Who?"
I scoffed, not believing his immaturity. "You know who I'm talking about. I'm just saying that being rude will leave more of an impression on people, we're not supposed to draw unnecessary attention."
He glowered at me, his unusual eyes blazing. "Are you telling me how to do my job?"
For the first time, I was genuinely shocked by his behaviour. Scanning his expression, I was hurt to come to find that he had immense dislike towards me.
Am I really that annoying to him?
We sat in silence, glaring at each other as the TV played in the background. I broke the eye contact first, looking out the nearby window. "I'm going to bed." I told him, standing up and leaving. It was pretty early in the evening, but I didn't want to see him.
My anticipation for the others' arrival had increased significantly.
~*~
Three uneventful days had passed since we had that small argument, we barely spoke to each other. When we did interact, it was very short and abruptly ended each time.
I wasn't expecting an apology from him, nor was he expecting one from me. We had formulated a general schedule of what to do during the day, which helped us somewhat coexist. We still shared the bedroom, which was where most of our interactions occurred.
It was the beginning of our fifth day in Paris. I had woken up and did my usual morning routine. I glanced at River's bed, surprised that he woke up a lot earlier than usual. I made my way downstairs, headed towards the kitchen to make my favourite style waffles.
I frowned when I took in the messy kitchen tops, wondering what the hell had happened.
"Um, we're we infiltrated or something?" I called out unsurely, staring at the baking books sprawled everywhere. My gaze moved onto the used bowls and utensils. "Did they decide to bake themselves a cake too?"
River's tall figure appeared by the doorway. "Don't be stupid."
I ignored him, my eyes widening even more when I saw a cracked egg in the sink. "What kind of sick person would do this?" I whispered in horror, before my gaze fell onto him. "What the hell were you thinking?"
He usually just made smoothies or ate cereal for breakfast.
"So I made myself some waffles, what's the big deal?"
This is the most we've spoken in the past three days...
I nodded slowly, my gaze falling back to the mess I'll have to clean up. "You didn't have to destroy the kitchen in the process. Next time, just ask me to make a bigger batch."
He seemed content with his breakfast, so I assumed he didn't care for waffles. If I had known he wanted waffles, I would've made some for him. As much as I tried to supress the guilt I felt, it would seep through the cracks and overcome me.
I rolled my sleeves up to clean the mess. "Whatever, go enjoy your breakfast."
"Um, clean that up later."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "I would, but I need to clean these to make myself waffles."
"No need."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Huh?"
He glared at me with so much ferocity. "I said, there is no need."
I glanced at the unclean bowls, before slowly turning back to him in shock.
No way...
He was glaring at the floor now. "You know what, forget it." He gritted out before leaving. I watched him leave, glued on the spot.
I broke out of my dazed trance and followed him into the living room, where we usually ate our breakfast. I entered in after him, freezing in my tracks when I spotted two plates of waffles.
His back, that was facing me, stiffened when he realised I had followed him.
He made us some waffles. I stared at the filled plates, feeling moved by his gesture. I glanced at him in amusement, he had a weird way of carrying out nice gestures.
I knew he felt awkward...
"Oh, I'm starving!" I exclaimed, making my way to the waffles. "Good thing you made enough for the both of us."
I pretended to pay no attention to how his body visibly relaxed. My gaze flickered around the table, my heart swelling at the sight of the golden syrup and chocolate sauce.
He commented on my choices yesterday, saying that I was 'asking for diabetes'. So it was considerate of him to bring them out for us to eat with the waffles.
I sat on the sofa, grabbing a plate and dug in. I felt his wary gaze on me, before he started to eat as well. I wasn't sure if this was his way of apologising, but I appreciated it.
"Thank you." I told him casually.
He shifted in his spot uncomfortably before muttering, "You're welcome."
We watched the TV in silence as we finished our breakfast. It was airing a French drama, to which I understood very little of. I glanced at River to find him leaning forward slightly, his eyes wide with interest.
His eyes were glimmering with amazement, making my curiosity peak.
"What's the show about?" I asked, placing the empty plate on the table. The waffles were delicious, much more so than I was expecting.
"It follows a renowned detective who can solve most cases within a couple of days." He responded, his eyes not leaving the screen. "It's an old show, I used to watch it when I was younger."
"Is it the reason why you're in this line of work?" I questioned, watching the end credits roll in.
He leaned back, his cool gaze resting on me. "I'm mostly in this line of work for my safety."
Huh?
"What does that mean?" I asked with a frown.
He shook his head, wanting to forget he said that. I frowned even more, wanting to crack the code that he had presented to me.
This guy is more of a puzzle than I initially thought.
"Tell me about yourself." I said, my eyes trained on the TV. I felt his intense gaze on me, but I feigned ignorance.
"About myself?" He repeated with a scoff. "What do you want to know?"
I was surprised that he even considered my request. I thought about a question to ask, it had to be an easy one so he isn't put off.
"Where are you from?"
There was a brief pause before he responded. "I don't know."
"You don't?"
I scanned his expression, coming to the conclusion he was being truthful. "Oh."
"Yeah, weird right?" He chuckled dryly. "I know very little of my roots."
I thought back to several days ago, remembering something. "You said you were Italian."
"Yes. That is, if she was being truthful." He said thoughtfully. "Although, she wouldn't have gained anything from lying."
"She?"
"My mum."
"Oh, right." I said, not really getting the whole picture. I was getting tiny little pieces of the puzzle, but none of them matched. It was frustrating me, but I restrained myself from asking too many questions.
I had to go at his pace.
Honestly, I'm lucky that he's even answering any of them...
"You're confused." He stated after observing my face. "I don't blame you."
I chose to not say anything, watching him choose his next words carefully. "I don't want to talk about it for now, maybe some other time." He finally settled with.
I nodded, forcing myself to be content with that. I looked away, my mind racing with possibilities and theories.
His tone when mentioning his mother, I was almost certain she had passed away. However, he showed absolutely no indication of missing her, so I'll assume he didn't know her very well. His uncertain gestures but calm exterior, suggested that he had theories of his own. He may have been told about his roots and family, but has doubts about them.
Possibly has trust issues. Maybe.
"You know what frustrates me?" He said suddenly. "I hate how observant you are. Your over-analysis annoys me."
Nice, I thought sarcastically.
"I've heard that before, countless of times." I shrugged it off. I narrowed my eyes at him, annoyed by his hypocrisy. "You're too observant yourself, Frosty. I didn't comment on anything, and yet you pointed out my 'over-analysis' thinking."
"It's my job to be observant." He shot back calmly, ignoring the nickname. "However, you are unnecessarily observant."
As long as I didn't overstep boundaries, I didn't see a problem with my 'talent'. "It has proved to work in my favour so I'm glad I have this 'skill'. I'm sure you can relate."
He held my gaze steadily before saying, "I haven't come across anyone like me, in that sense. Usually, I can learn heaps about a person by just looking at them. But, thankfully, it's never the other way round. However, when I'm talking to you, it feels like you see through everything."
And that scares him? Or he hates it?
His silvers eyes flashed at me in annoyance. "You're doing it again. Overanalysing."
I blinked at him in surprise. "I would ask how you knew, but you're also an over-analyser."
"If you were an enemy, I'd probably be screwed." He muttered, frowning at the ceiling. "How would I go about that situation...?"
He spent a couple minutes frowning at the ceiling, trying to form a plan for a non-existent scenario. Meanwhile, I took the plates to the kitchen and left them there. I was too lazy to clean them up, regardless if it was my day to clean.
I got myself a drink and sipped on it, before River busted into the kitchen. "Okay, I need to run an impromptu experiment."
I watched him make his way towards me, eyeing him warily. I wasn't used to talkative River, it was kind of weird.
"What does this 'experiment' entail?"
He gestured towards himself. "Do an analysis on me."
I raised an eyebrow at him, and sipped my drink. "Really?"
He smirked at my reply. "Too hard?"
"I was just asking for confirmation. When people find out about my ability, they get excited and ask the same thing. I used to not hold back and say everything on my mind. It usually resulted in them feeling insulted, offended or humiliated."
"That's on you." He told me in an accusing voice. "You shouldn't overstep boundaries."
"Boundaries are a fickle thing, when you're able to gather lots of information by simply taking in someone's appearance."
"Touché."
"But I'm much more aware of boundaries, and their significance." I carried on. "You want an in-depth analysis or what?"
"As in-depth as you can possibly go. Basing it off the information you've gathered since you met me." He challenged me. "Nothing obvious. Information that I willingly gave you do not count."
I placed my drink down, sat on a stool and crossed my legs and arms. As ridiculous as it sounds, it was my thinking pose. "You ready? I'll make it short and sweet."
"Shoot."
"Your mother is the only family member you remember. You trained to be a spy for most of your life. You're afraid that I'll fall for you. Caleb means more to you than you let on. You have compelling theories about your true background and you haven't told anyone. You find my personality hard to bare. You secretly wish to see me in my sports bra again, you pervert."
He choked on air when he heard my last statement. "What?"
"You think I didn't notice your sneak peaks when I'm getting ready for bed?"
"I could've looked your way for any reason!"
"So your eyes happened to go straight for my torso, only to avert your gaze when you realise I'm wearing a shirt?" I scoffed, knowing I was right. I had caught him glancing way too many times for it to be coincidental.
"Y-you're fucking making stuff up now."
I rolled my eyes. "So are you going to confirm or deny any of my observations?"
His cold eyes flickered towards me, uncertainty swirling in them. "I barely remember my mother. I was scouted and adopted by a spy, so I trained from a young age. Caleb was my first friend. I have a theory of who my biological family might be. I'm getting used to your personality. Your last observation is a misunderstanding."
I nodded, somewhat happy that he answered. I didn't expect him to open up to me, especially after not speaking to each other for a while. I frowned when I realised he missed out on one of my observations.
"Are you afraid that I'll fall for you?" I asked simply, reaching for my drink. I took a long sip as I watched his face contort into a thoughtful expression.
"I don't know." He finally said. "I've had weird experiences when it comes to protecting female clients, so I'm very wary of you. On the other hand..."
I smiled a little, understanding his perspective. Maybe we could look past this and be friends?
"I'm sorry you feel that way." I started to say, hopping off my stool. "However, please understand that I have absolutely no feelings for you. I also don't see myself ever falling for you, so you don't need to be so cautious."
He watched me carefully for a while before coldly gritting out. "Right."
I recoiled at his sudden hostile demeanour. "That was supposed to reassure you, Frosty."
His face hardened, erasing all kinds of emotion. "You are annoying."
Where the fuck did that come from?
I stared at him in shock, wondering what had come over him. We were talking like normal, civilised people a few moments ago. "You're bi-polar."
"I don't recall being diagnosed as bi-polar." He shot back, leaving the kitchen. I watched him leave, wanting to throw something at him in anger.
"Don't walk away from me!" I yelled, grabbing a kitchen towel and flinging it at him. It hit the back of his head, slightly ruffling his dark hair.
He stopped in his tracks, turned around and dangerously glared at me. "You child. You'll regret that."
I was a fool to think I could be friends with this idiot.
We just don't get along, at all.
I thought back to when his personality switched. "You weren't satisfied with my reassurance? I just told you to not worry about me falling in love with you! It's ridiculous, it won't happen okay?"
He let out a quiet, amused chuckle. "I'm such a fool."
I blinked at him blankly, not understanding. My mind raced with various different possibilities and explanations, until I chose one.
"Don't tell me you've garnered feelings for me?"
A look of distaste and horror etched his handsome face when I said that. "Now you're the ridiculous one. That is not the case."
"I'm sure you'll be able to understand why I had come to that conclusion." I told him calmly. "You're very unkind towards me, is this the case with everyone?"
I thought back to all the times he had interacted with other people. He was always cold, distant and demanding with everyone. However, he never glared at others like he always does at me.
He glared at me, the same icy look that struck a nerve within me. His coldness towards me actually hurt me more than I cared to admit. So I sent him my angry glower, one that I've had people back down from.
I was about to leave before he held out an arm in front of me. Looking down at me, his light eyes glimmered with mischief. "It's time for my analysis."
I gaped at him, dumbfounded at what he just said. "What?"
"It's not fair that you know more about me, than what I know about you."
I held his intense gaze steadily and said, "You know enough. I'm sure you've read a profile about me, aka your client."
"Nothing personal or interesting on there."
I crossed my arms, thinking hard about whether this was a good idea or not. We were literally just arguing with each other, and now he's already calmed down. I couldn't keep up with this guy...
I sighed after a few moments and said, "Okay, give it your best shot."
The corner of his mouth slightly lifted at this. "Okay. You suspect concerning secrecy about your parents. It's your first time in a European country, other than the UK. You've never had a boyfriend, despite getting hit on a lot. You have romantic feelings for Caleb. You daydream a lot and you hate it."
I raised my eyebrows at his analysis, surprised at what he had picked up on. "My parents conceal more than they share, and it gets on my nerves. I've only flown to the Americas, Asia and Africa. I've had one boyfriend actually."
Although, he was a horrible, cold hearted person.
"I don't have romantic feelings for Caleb, he's a friend. I daydream way too much for my own good..."
He leaned against the doorway, taking in my response. "Hmm."
"You're not that great at it than me." I told him as I walked away. "Your analysis contains much more romantic related observations. If you don't want me to get the wrong idea about you, I suggest you don't do that."
"Wrong idea?"
"I'm starting to wonder how all those girls really fell for you." I explained thoughtfully. "Talking about love and feelings in front of a girl, may come across as though you're interested in them. Whether you did this knowingly or not, it resulted in those women believing that and inevitably 'falling in love with you'."
I turned around to face him, suddenly serious. "If that is a ploy to get me to fall for you, you are mistaken."
He regarded me like I was mad, I was clearly accusing him of being a player. I knew I sounded crazy, but the probability of my theory being true was high.
"That is not the case." He eventually spat out. "I never spoke about anything romantic or love related to those women."
This surprised me. "Oh, really?"
I turned back around, making my way up the stairs. "Then, I apologise." I called out, holding back a laugh.
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The next chapter will be River's POV! ><
I hope you have a look out for that, I'm excited about it myself
If you enjoyed this chapter, please VOTE and COMMENT! <3
Thank you for reading,
Love Yasmine xx
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