2PM
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 blur, happening too fast but all too slow. The surroundings are different, life no longer at risk yet she's still incoherent.
Sal pulls on her pinky, it must've triggered her voice box to actually spit some words out, "Sal I-" Cerise feels the tugging stop, the people behind the counter stared back impatience. .It's happening again. The clocks are going crazy inside the shop, ringing in different tunes and pitch. It's dark outside. The gap's interval an alarming 4 hours since, she can no longer question how she got here. Cerise grips on the hem of her skirt, thinking such possibilities as to why this- This shouldn't be happening at all, it hasn't happened for a whole year- for more than an hour at most.
"Hurry up honey, the phones aren't going to pay for themselves." says Sal, unfazed by Cerise's current state.
Maybe she's overreacting, no one's hurt by the gap but she can't be too sure. "did anything happen?" Something in the air shifts, this time she's the one who's pinned by the throat but Cerise doesn't need to know that. She watches the employees pack the pairing models of phones, turquoise and orange an awful combination. Ignored is what Cerise calls it, she doesn't question her further. Sal's hiding what could be crucial to her health and Cerise is eager to find out soon if not now. She always does
The following day,
Speaking of eagerness, a nap way back home sounds great if this- "What are you staring at?" this strange man would be so kind to treat her as any normal swan would but he's plain outrageous. That previous night was a skip, the bed sucked Cerise into dreamless sleep and until now her body is suspiciously weak.
"Mr. Trinity if you could just tell me what to do instead of hogging my desk.."
"Watch and learn newbie. Director will be proud of you."
Right. Cerise submits and settles down beside him, floating off with her eyes pointed to the screen of charts and tables as she thinks about ways to get rid of the storm inside her stomach. She'd been vomiting since the past few days of arrival followed by a familiar series of headaches- if it weren't for her best friend she'd be bedridden at some fetid hospital room. She assumed Cerise was pregnant.
"Then after this you will accompany Mr. Fleur to ZM-" Being a manager isn't hard at all. All the work is credited to this annoying man and she's sent outside to buy him food, banana milk and everything else. Cerise is nothing short of a nanny but she doesn't complain as she'd encountered worse in the past, work is all about challenges and that includes people.
"Let's wrap this up and meet after lunch shall we?"
Mr. Trinity leaves Cerise in the office, standing still for more than minute that she doesn't notice a certain aurum enter and sit in front of her.
She needs to adjust quickly to all the new things Faradiso has to offer as she's well aware how fast things go around here, if a flu would affect her this badly then how is she going to move forward? The past few days were dull and heavy, like a bucket of paint spilt to waste- the colors would be gray-ish then black, then white, then pink. Pink?
"enjoying?" Cerise looks down and shrieks, hands retreating from the model's fluffy hair as she hovers it on the organ about to pump out of her chest, disappointed but not surprised. Simply put she got used to Jean and his antics, not an hour went by without him making Cerise scream or making her uncomfortable with his need for physical contact. He'd go ahead and live on her neck, sometimes gripping her torso in public- "Did the script reading get cancelled?"-like how he's doing it now.
"Done early thanks to my professionalism." She never really was exposed to a relationship like this, the closest she's been with someone is Sal and the rest is…At some point, he became an exception.
It didn't bother her that he came breaking through her personal space, and he'd cling and leave whenever he wanted to. Jean is a box-so full it can't be closed yet it weighs as light as a feather. He's a sweetheart of course, a flirt, a tease but it doesn't get rid of the fact that he sometimes acts as if he's artificial /every bit of him is just copied and pasted until perfection. The way he suddenly stops talking mid-sentence, how his tone drops and he's making jerky movements similar to a crazed patient but everyone else thinks that it's just a way to lift moods during a shoot.
Cerise disagrees.
Fleur Jean is a walking enigma
And a scary one at that.
"Good Day" greets Joy as soon as Cerise and Jean enter the sweetshop, a hollow of nine tails and a clouded mind. She's cheerful but somewhat dull at times, making it obvious that she's out of it as of this moment.
"You sound so mellow for such a good day" Cerise comments, making herself comfortable as Jean picks out his daily lemon sweets
"I haven't progressed. Everyone is very red-headed" She leans over the counter, tails swaying in wonder.
"I think hot-headed is what you mean.." Cerise pauses "but don't be so down, I believe better days will come to you too."
It takes no more than a minute of Jean shuffling around a bag of candies that the hollow begins to smile. "Thank you aurum"
"I'm not-" Cerise halts mid-sentence, the door adjacent to them bursts open revealing a foreigner and a girl that looked no older than her.
The air seems to get thicker and the knowing looks shared by Jean and the strangers did nothing to help rid of it.
"How long has it been since the last time we met Fleur?" The girl's voice emits danger, almost provoking when her gaze turns to Cerise. Her eyes are a deep black, similar to a spider's.
"Jean-" Cerise nearly screams.
And she sees it- the swift movement she never would've noticed if she had blinked. The man lunges forward, his right hand turning into a steel color, glistening sharpness under the dim lights of the sweet shop.
Dumbly enough, Cerise steps in the way of his attack. It wasn't her. Cerise's body moved on its own, she can see and herself. She's numbed.
"Are you okay?" His voice sounds distant but his face is mere inches away from hers.
"Sir, let's not do such things in front of a swan" The girl interjects. "Swan?" The foreigner looks at Cerise, who is being tended by Joy.
Jean is standing between her and the man yet he say nothing.
"Let's play another time sir" He emphasizes the last word before dragging Cerise out of the shop, anyone could tell he was furious and that was the exact downside. He couldn't do anything about it.
"Who was that? He could get sued for trying to hurt you"
"He's just an old friend, I'm sorry you took the hit. He can be too aggressive at times." Thus, Jean takes Cerise home.
Back in the Sweet Shop however, the tension in the room is at a boiling temperature.
"Yeli, that was 031's target was it not?" the foreigner, Louejone asks, his hand tightening in a grip.
Joy cowers behind the counter, tails bent down to hug her figure as she feels her superior fuming.
Louejone faces Joy, raises his steel hand and hits Joy in the gut full force. Joy's body hits the wall and creates a giant dent and crack in the ceiling.
"That girl you were sweet-talking was a potential Queen. She was a target. Why didn't you get rid of her?" Louejone crouches at the counter, his hand choking Joy to the wall. Yeli watches from the side, using her abilities to send spiders to spy on the said person.
"I'm sorry, I thought she was just an aurum-" Joy squeaks as Louejone's grip tightens around her neck.
"I'm putting you in death row." The man dismisses, letting go of Joy and letting her crash to the ground. Yeli and Louejone exit the shop, leaving a confused Jayson who just woke up and Joy crying on the floor.