Hollow Repentance

- - - - - Izzy's POV - - - - -

I gulped as I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, hearing Lexi's footsteps echo as she returned back to the room. My jet black hair slippin in front of my face and I hastily pushed the strands behind my ears with an uneasy hand. Bursting through the door, Lexi rested her hands on my shoulders and shook me lightly, grinning like a maniac.

"Ooh, you're going to get a surprise when you get out there... Even Torren dressed up; tie and everything. You look stunning; are you ready?"

My eyes widened. He was here...already?! I couldn't do it; I couldn't go out there. Not with all of those people staring at me and, more importantly; not with Torren staring at me. Even my headache had started to return ever so slightly making me cringe. Quickly, the pain subsided, and I was pulled into a gentle hug.

"You'll be fine, and I'll be with you every step of the way. Come on; it's now or never."

As she released me, I turned for one last look in the mirror and sighed; linking onto Lexi's outstretched arm and taking a shaky step towards the door. Stupid heels. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to wear high heels when I've injured my ankle and can't even walk in the stupid things in the first place! Until we reached the final door before the main dining room, I hobbled slowly alongside Lexi, resembling a penguin to some extent. She noticed and chuckled slightly, taking most of my weight on her arm and making it much easier to walk properly.

Relieved, I smiled up at Lexi and she held the door open for us to wander through. Disguised by the bustle of the waiters and general chatter of other guests, Lexi and I neared the table, where Dimi, David and Torren were all seated. Dimi and David were engrossed in light conversation while Torren was leaning back on two legs of the chair, speaking seperately with a waiter, who seemed to be having trouble keeping up with him as he spoke. He never ceased to amaze, not to mention, confuse me. As we approached the table, Dimi and David broke away from their conversation and turned to us; their mouthes lulling open in awe.

"Wow, Koerta. You look amazin'!"

I smiled sheepishly and my attention turned to Torren as he dismissed the waiter, apparently oblivious to my arrival. I could feel my face flushing with both embarrassment and anger as I stared at him; he really did look handsome. The alluring darkness of his eyes contrasted with his pale shirt and the loosely hanging tie around his neck.

Something pressing on me slightly was the way Dimi and David had noticed Lexi and I immediately, whereas Torren was too busy dismissing the waiters as they fought each other to be our server for the night. I felt more relaxed knowing that he hadn't noticed me and wondered if I dared chance slipping into my seat without him realising.

Sadly, I didn't even manage a single step. Dimi glanced to the side upon noticing that Torren hadn't even realised yet and delivered a sharp nudge to his ribs. Spinning around suddenly, Torren glared at Dimi and raised his eyebrows. I tried to hide behind Lexi, knowing what was to follow.

As Dimi motioned towards me all too obviously, my heart leapt as Torren's head slowly turned to us and his eyes met mine. Lexi took the opportunity to slip away to her seat, leaving me in full view of everyone at the table.

As soon as his eyes fell on the dress; it happened. Caught off-guard and shocked, Torren's chair tipped just that little too far, overturning and taking Torren with it. I couldn't help but scream after him.

"Torren! Are you alright?"

Every head in the restaurant turned, but I didn't care. Ignoring the pain, I darted around the table to where he lay in shock on the floor and stared down at him, fighting a losing battle against the urge to laugh.

"Izzy...You look...Wow!"

Taking his comment as a compliment, I blushed lightly and held out a hand to pull him to his feet. When he didn't take my hand, I wrapped my hands around his wrists and pulled with all of my strength, lifting him merely centimetres from the ground before the seething pain returned in my foot and I stumbled forwards, landing roughly on Torren's chest.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. It was an accident; are you alright?"

To begin with, he merely stared at me with wide eyes. Then, he laughed. He just, burst into laughter, as did Dimi, Alexis and David... What an idiot, yet I couldn't help laugh along with them. It must have looked a little funny; even from this angle, it was pleasantly awkward. Hastily, I shuffled backwards until I was knelt on the carpet, my dress restricting my movements quite dramatically. I wrapped my arms around my stomach, aching from how hard I was laughing, wishing for it to stop.

As the laughter slowly died down, Torren and I started to climb to our feet at the same time, although I was having more difficulty, clinging onto the table. A shadow loomed over me and I glanced up, spotting a large hand parallel with my eyes. Grinning sheepishly, I slid my hand onto his and yelped as Torren lifted me to my feet, wrapping his other hand around my waist and tugging me closer to him. His breath tickled my skin as he whispered into my neck in a deep resonating voice that echoed in my mind.

"You really do look beautiful tonight, Isabelle. Do you think we should order our meals now that we've made sure the floor won't collapse beneath us?"

My cheeks flushed again and I chuckled softly, spinning away from him in embarrassment with my hands clasping my cheeks. Suddenly, I felt a hand on the small of my back, guiding me gently to my seat. As I quickly took my seat and Torren retrieved his from the floor, a waiter paused at our table and lifted a notepad and pen into his hands. Leaning across to glance at Torren's menu, I shook my head lightly and pulled back. French...The entire menu was in french; what use was that to me?

Torren lowered his menu as Dimi did and watched with a smirk pasted on his face while Dimi addressed the waiter, almost expecting to be understood.

"Yes, I would like the roast beef with potatoes and a cola, please. Does everybody want the same, or does anybody want the lamb or somethin'?"

The waiter merely stared at Dimi as though he was crazy which, from what I had seen of him so far; he was.

"Umm, pardon?"

Torren burst out laughing and we all turned to stare at him with wide eyes. Now he was the crazy one. I couldn't stop a small smile break at the corners of my mouth and noticed the same from David and Lexi. Dimi, however, held a completely solemn and somewhat, aggrivated expression and stared sarcastically at Torren.

"If you think you can get through to him, go ahead. I'd like to see you try. No? I didn't think so."

Smiling in satisfaction, Dimi settled back against the chair and strummed his fingers on the table. Chuckling lightly, Torren sat up straight and motioned the waiter over, who pulled up at his side in moments, pen in hand.

"Oui, je voudrais l'agneau et les pommes de terre deux, fois et le boeuf de rôtis avec des pommes de terre s'il vous plait trois fois."

Wow, where the hell did that come from?! The only one who didn't seem shocked by this was the waiter, who quickly scribbled notes onto the paper and turned back to Torren, muttering something back in the same language. Complete nonsense to me; I couldn't understand a word of it!

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