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Aurum - Gold
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Blind.
Cerise and Sal were blind.
For the next hour, the two of them had circled the entire garden trying to find the damned flat. Apartment after apartment stuck together like a piece of odd-colored bricks and neither of them bothered looking up to see the humongous sign that says ‘Casa Apartelle’.
It lead Cerise to go back to Amor's for directions that she couldn’t have asked for earlier and it’s only then that both she and her best friend fume like kettles when she points outside the window, directly at a mansion-looking structure informing both of them that it’s the place they were looking for.
So at this moment, Cerise had forgotten to admire and be thankful for her father’s money as she lay face-down on the monochrome sofa. Sal, being the responsible and tidy person, had already fixed her things to the room that provided enough natural light as she left the other space of darkness and mirrors for Cerise’s taste. The rest of her time was spent scolding Cerise, forcing her to wash up owing to the checklist awaiting to be completed.
The first five were already done, credits to her best friend who did practically everything with no verbal complaint but with a roll of her eyes as she drags away Cerise’s bags like a dead body.
Sal snatches away the list, hearing the door of her bedroom close shut that she assumed the firefly didn’t want her to know what 9 and 10 were.
6th on the checklist then crossed out as Cerise’s body slumps behind the door of the principal’s office, pink furniture no longer in sight as she struggled to get the image out of her head. Like any other nervous student, Cerise starts hating the fact that education is a fact itself. Homeschool doesn’t sound like a bad option and Cerise would prefer social distancing from the horrible air around aurums. Thinking back, Cerise’s education was only fun because she thought it was and that it would help her move forward. Without the wise words of her best friend through all that shit in middle school who knows where she’d end up now? and if senior year was ten feet underground, then college would be the earth’s inner core.
Back to reality and 7th on the list was done by Sal, leaving Cerise at Dellancy College gates and unfortunately the reason for her lone frustration as she tries not to puke at the sight of brightly painted walls of the hall. Was this even a school? Cerise asked to herself, sure that it resembled a playground rather than a learning area for depressed, stressed, and dreamless young adults. The head of the school was no different. He was the definition of gaudy and a rich hypocrite on a garbage pedestal (no offense). That image of him came from the way he looked Cerise up and down like a diva, judging her fashion sense in silence.
Even as the cold breeze bit at her exposed skin, she couldn’t shake off the weight on her head that keeps telling herself to just act homeless and let her body rest on the concrete but of course, her pride as a living being wouldn’t allow that. Instead, Cerise trudged with sore feet to the direction of her father’s given address, not his home but Cerise’s soon-to-be workplace. Before her stood a building that didn’t match with all the others doused in rainbow liquid, a modeling company that didn’t blend in.
Cerise’s entrance was overlooked by everyone in the lobby, except for a man flirting with the poor boy at the front desk who then notices her appearance as he met her eyes with an icy glare. Cerise could have sworn she melted at that instant but she showed no signs of being affected much to the man’s dismay. Cerise sauntered past his slim-built frame, sighing in relief and he only follows Cerise like a shadow, going unnoticed until the elevator moved upwards.
“What’s your business here?” Cerise squeaks out in surprise at the voice behind her, his breath directed at her neck, sending her spine to quiver. Realizing that the situation can be seen as something else, Cerise turned her entire body to face him, the same cold look shown on his features as he observed her every move.
“I’m here to see my father” Cerise paused, expecting him to continue the small talk he started but he only waits. “and you are?”
Cerise question may have sent the man’s brain in a frenzy, brows meeting before exploding with a laugh that angels sung. While Cerise is not supposed to treat people by their appearance, she couldn’t help but notice every part of him anyway. He had a charming feat, eyes that shrunk into crescents and cotton hair hiding under a black baseball cap that added to his height. In terms of height, he was only considered tall because she was only so short but that did nothing to bring down her overall morale. Cerise focuses on his clothing, branded with all the expensive letters and accessories that glittered with his touch. He clicks his tongue, moving his hands to graze her jaw to motion her to look up at him and she did nothing to stop the gesture. Their gazes lock at once, searching for something deep in each other’s galaxies as he chants his name under his breath, soft yet husky, wistful but so, so dangerous.
“Can you repeat that?" Cerise asks, voice coming out small despite her strong will to fight the sensations he gave her, and he only becomes more fed.
Wrong. wrong. wrong. wrong.
A word that looped around Cerise’s dazzled self, drowning in the strong presence. Another ‘never thought I would’ moment, never thought that Cerise would easily fall victim to charm and heavenly looks, a mistake that screams danger, but his name is the only thing that doesn’t come out of Cerise’s other ear.
“Fleur Jean.”
--- Fleur - Flower --- “Fleur Jean.” And the day stops just like that with Sal running off and Cerise shouting for her to come back as she heads off to their destination. Sadly enough, in the eyes of the swans, it’s a crazy woman shouting at nothing, and in the eyes of the aurums, it’s a master angered at its escaping hybrid. Sal shrugs away the negative thoughts, skipping her way towards the entrance of ZM dance academy. If Faradiso was a town of blossoms then Omelaisse would be a city of passion, with drunks driving their way back home and singing their hearts out for their crushed ambitions and kids chasing their life away for dreams before the chance is tak
In RubyLust's building was no normal afternoon. Cerise was the hot potato of each department, having no idea that there was an 'heir' moreover being introduced with an unexpected meeting. Even heating her popularity further in the building as they didn't expect ayoung swanas the next director. The room is filled with sounds of aggressive typing, in front of the monitor, and unaware of being the topic of the day, Cerise's mouth dries cursing the same words from earlier a thousand times more."I hate you Fleur Jean"she continues muttering and her father points out with a deep sigh that she's become a nuisance as soon as he came back
"Get out of the way!" Cerise snaps out of a daze and turns her head in the direction of the shout, there, by the corner of the studio building dashed a man, his hand clinging to the pole to swing his body away from the crossing and to escape the men chasing after him in suits. "Janoir? Why are you running-" Janoir pulls the three of them into the nearest open door, shutting the mahogany block behind him and leaning on it to catch his breath. Cerise stood quiet, mind in a panic for her safety, she decides to use Jean as a shield in case this Janoir is actually a runaway prisoner. He rests his hands on his knees, throwing his head back to get rid of the sweat."fan c
“I’m never going to talk to you again,”Sal grunted in regret, unable to forgo divulging such humiliations she had as a dancer and now this aurum is never going to let her live it down. “I’m only teasing you”June cackles, pinky twirling in an X motion, repeating ‘wrong' to let the other continue dying in embarrassment. “highly unlikely, I feel threatened.” Why did she even agree to ‘20 questions’? June gave no mercy even if all Sal asked were ‘favorite color, pet’ and the like. “Okay, I’ll be nice with the last one, what was the call about?”She
2 PM In the situation they're in, she's supposed to be running. So she's running as fast as Sal is, breaths lodged in their throats as she's pulled by the shoelace.“hide honeyass!”She shouts, only able to watch while Cerise trips face-first to the ground. The garden walls are prickly with the vines and thorns stuck on it, the smell of Lysichiton plants nothing close to pleasant as she crawls around it.what an awful hiding place Despite being amidst the unfamiliarity of the place, there’s a sense of deja vu present, Cerise is always being chased. She's not supposed to open her eyes but she does. All of it felt like a blur, happening to
A week later, "She's supposed to come with me, I'm training her." "She's coming with me I'm the one she's managing." Coming to work early in the morning was a choice Cerise decided to make. Last night, she found out that Jean is at least a hundred years old. Because of a street sign she recognized to be the same as the one in the photograph in her father's office. And where is Jean now? In the headquarters, arguing with Trinity on who gets to come with who. Cerise is left typing aggressively on her keyboard, trying to drown out the noise of the two men behind her. "I get to decide where she goes, I'm managing her!"
"Where are you going again? It's the weekend."Cerise questions Sal, who she knew was going out because of the loose thread on her pinky. "I'm going to dance! bye."Sal leaves in a hurry. These days, Sal has been drifting from Cerise, always at ZM and never having time for the two of them anymore. Sal doesn't visit her at work or at college too like she said she would. Cerise is left to sulk in her bedroom. The apartment they shared was cozy and modern, with monochrome furniture decorating the place and tall windows aligning the walls. Suddenly, Cerise remembers the last time someone broke into their apartment, where they ended up running and Sal wouldn't spill about anything that had happened. She still needs to
Heartbreak. Cerise didn't realize that's what she's feeling at this moment. Tears stream down her face. Her stomach in twists, head buzzing and ears ringing. Her heart hurts so much and she can't seem to find a way to stop it. She forgets everything else but the pain, falling into a desperate, depressive state. In her arms is Jean, he had his head laid on her lap, their fingers intertwined and Cerise's tears falling onto his shirt. He had been explaining everything to her. And by everything he means himself and him stalking Cerise as well as what he has found out. Cerise doesn't know what her heart feels more broken for, herself or for Jean's story "Are you okay?"Jean asks, stretching his bloodied wings. Cerise wipes her tears away and assists the aurum in standing up. Cerise is tired a