There's a Certain Loneliness in Your Company

She stood hunched over the sink, letting the cold water trickle through her fingers for a moment before bringing it up to her face and neck. She closed her eyes and sighed as it beaded up and ran down her skin before soaking into her shirt. Her still wet hands reached down for the hem of the worn material, pulling it up to her face to dry off. She then promptly pulled the shirt up over her head and tossed it across the room leaving her in just her pants and a bra.

Strutting through her dingy apartment, she felt no need to cover up her exposed skin. She was the only one here. As she walked into her bedroom, she pushed her pants down to the floor, kicking them into the heap of other clothes that had begun to pile in the corner of the room. It was hotter than normal out in the zones and she preferred to be in as little clothing as possible. Down to her underwear, she groaned at how radically hot it still was. She reached behind herself to undo the clasp of her bra.

"Need a hand?" A voice came from the doorway behind her. She let out a yelp and quickly turned around to see who had stealthily creeped into her apartment. Her face flushed and she furrowed her eyebrows at the figure leaning against the doorway with their arms crossed.

"Ghoul?" She sighed as she tried to steady her heartbeat.

"Did you know I was coming?" He asked raising an eyebrow as his eyes slowly trailed down her body and up again. She was suddenly aware that she was standing practically naked in front of him. She groaned more about the fact that she had to put clothes back on rather than the fact he was seeing her in her underwear. She began to rummage through her clean pile of clothes.

"Don't you know how to knock?"

He smirked and raised his knuckles to the door frame, knocking on the wood twice.

"Cute." She grabbed a random t-shirt and pulled it over her head.

"Aw, you sure you don't wanna stay like that for a minute?"

"That's all you need is a minute?" She asked, mimicking his smirk as she straightened her shirt out and began fishing for a pair of pants.

"I was just thinking about you, unless you think you could last longer, love." He was quick with the comebacks.

"Oh, hell." She quickly turned her back to him as her face burned red. She could feel his eyes on her as she was bent over looking for a pair of pants. She decided on a random pair and quickly pulled them on and fastened them. She turned back around to face him now that she was fully clothed again. "Why are you here? How did you even find where I live?"

"Skyla told me. You've been avoiding me."

"What are you talking about?"

"I haven't seen you since you ran off from our hideout. It wasn't that bad, was it?"

"Ran off?" She squinted her eyes at him, shaking her head in confusion.

"Yeah. Me, you, the hall. You just took off. Skyla went looking for you. Found you here the next morning..." He trailed off as she continued to stare at him blankly. "Oh come on. Look, I get if you weren't into it but don't act like it didn't happen. You're making me feel like an even bigger asshole. I just wanted to apologize."

It took another moment before something in her mind’s eye sparked. She did take off after the kiss but she didn't come home. She went... no. She was taken. By ONE. She remembered being in the warehouse. He injected her with something. But how did she get back here? She took in a deep breath and cleared her throat. Was this a test? There was no doubt ONE was setting her up. Trying to see if she would break or try to run or something. She did her best to act natural in case she was being watched. She didn't want to let anyone on that she knew what he was trying to do.
"Right. I'm sorry. I just ... I didn't want to hurt your feelings." She wasn't able to stare at him while she lied; rather she inspected the room around her looking for anything out of place. ONE and his team were too skilled for that, but she needed a distraction.

"What? But you said..." He left the sentence hanging in the air, not sure how to respond. Since the first time she had met him, he finally looked perplexed. Unsure of himself. He didn't believe what he was hearing.

"I lied. I'm sorry. You're a really nice guy, but I was just looking for some fun to pass the time. I didn't mean to lead you on." She really couldn't bring herself to look at him now as his mouth curved down and he began to grind his teeth. She wasn't sure, but she thought she noticed a tinge of pink spring to his cheeks. It only lasted for a moment, though, as his smirk slowly crept back on his face.

"You're a terrible liar."

"I'm telling you the truth.” She looked at him, flustered. She had to try being more assertive.
More believable.

"You're telling me that was just for fun? That this doesn't bother you?" He walked through the threshold and across her room until he was standing as close as he could without touching her.
She bit her tongue in protest of what it really wanted.

"It was just for fun." She repeated herself, though much quieter this time.

"Then why do you look so nervous?" He reached a hand up and brushed a sweaty piece of hair that had fallen on her face behind her ear. He was also glistening from the mid-day heat. She could feel it radiating off his skin. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"Don't you know when to quit?"

"No."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but--"

"Then don't." He cut her off. She grunted in frustration finally finding it in herself to look up at him. Though she was having a hard time convincing him that she didn't care, she didn't have to fake how exasperated she was with his stubbornness. Running out of excuses, she shrugged her shoulders in defeat.

"I don't understand. Why me?"

"If you have to ask, it's clear you don't see what I see."

"Yeah, and what's that?"

After a moment of silence, instead of responding he leaned down towards her and went in to kiss her. Despite the pulling sensation in her gut, she turned her head to the side causing his lips to graze her ear. He sighed and pulled back from her and watched her with a quizzical look.
"You should go." She managed to sputter. He took one more moment before chuckling and turning to head back for the door. She should have let him go, but she couldn't stop herself before she asked "What's so funny?"

He stopped in her doorway and turned back to face her once more. "I'm a patient man, doll. You'll come around." And with that he left the room. A few moments later she heard a cycle engine come to life and speed off into the distance. She groaned and headed toward her front room. When she turned the cornered, she found herself letting out a small scream again.

"Damn it, would all of you stop!?" She closed her eyes and began massaging her temples. ONE was sitting casually on her couch, looking amused.

"He's right, you know."

"What?" She opened her eyes and glared at him. Despite his position of power, she was not afraid to challenge him or get an attitude.

"You're a terrible liar."

She felt her eye twitch and decided to avoid his remark. "Ok, first of all, how did you get in here? Were you here the whole time? Second, how the hell did I get here? What did you do to me?"

"That's a lot of questions I'm not going to answer right now."

"Of course you're not." She crossed her arms over her chest like a child. His smile fell and he stood up from the couch causing her to take a step back. Maybe she went too far.

"I'm not answering them because I'm going to teach you. You can't very well do my biding if you can't lie properly or sneak up on anyone."

She kept her arms crossed though she looked at him with more curiosity. She was starting to learn there was no point in questioning him or going against his word. When he tells you to jump, you don't ask how high. You just do it.

"Well, let's get to it." She said with a tinge of defeat. His smirk returned.

"That's more like it."