French Kisses

huit

a/n:
Secrets, secrets are no fun, I wish I could tell everyone.

f r e n c h
k i s s e s

Love is complex in design, it's a concept that cannot be singlehandedly defined due to its variability. There are several different types of love, for instance, there's love for individuals and love for things. Places.

Every day I fell more in love with Paris, from the architecture to the ambiance, I loved everything about Paris. I could never possibly get tired of exploring the city, therefore, it was only necessary that Ellie and I explored while she was in town.

Over my first few weeks in Paris, I quickly learned that the best way to explore Paris was by simply diving in. While I had briefly seen the Eiffel Tower, an inescapable sight, I hadn't yet visited many other renown tourist spots. It was Ellie's first time in Paris and she had made a list of places she hoped to visit on this trip. While it was Ellie's first time in Paris, the spring semester acted as my fourth time in the city. Although I had previous trips to Paris, they were often times trips centered around my parents business affairs. Seeing Paris through hotel windows and taxicab windows simply could never suffice, I vowed to come back to the city for an extended period of time instead of for two days. And so I returned.

Luckily Ellie had two weeks in Paris, her new semester starting a little after mine. Although I started school during her visit, we still ensured that we would find time to explore the city together. Once school began for me, Ellie dedicated her free time to working on her portfolio and graphic design jobs. Having my best friend in the city helped me acclimate to the new environment, if only she had the chance to stay.

After speaking to Zac on her first night in Paris, communication with him carried on smoothly. Or perhaps as smoothly as it could, neither of us mentioning his delayed trip again.

Our conversations typically were short and there would be the occasional silent moments where neither of had anything to say. From our conversations, I learned that Zac's job was both time-consuming and taxing. With every conversation, it was as if Zac became more worn out. Zac was becoming a shell of his previous self and I could only watch.

I couldn't help but think about Zac, although Ellie acted as a good distraction for me. Unfortunately, Ellie had to leave, leaving me to my own accords and thoughts. Her last day came far too quickly and she needed to do some last minute souvenir shopping for her family and friends.

One by one we visited souvenir shops, collecting keychains and trinkets for Ellie to take back to the states.

As we walked out of the last souvenir shop we saw a glimpse of someone who appeared to resemble Laurent, however, instead of sporting a cheeky grin he had a black eye with a few other cuts and bruises. In addition, his hand was neatly wrapped in bandages. I stopped in my tracks and stared at him, trying to decipher if it was, in fact, Laurent or merely a doppelgänger.

"Arden, you can't stop in the middle of the sidewalk," Ellie stated, gesturing that I should continue walking.

I slowly began to walk, still keeping an eye on the man that had caught my eye from a distance. He was at a newspaper stand across the way, looking at a magazine casually. Between the crowd and the distance, I couldn't figure it out.

I stopped walking again, looking over my shoulder at the stand and tapping Ellie on her left shoulder. "Hey, can we go check out the newspaper stand over there? I would like to take a look at the new issue of Vogue."

She nodded and followed me as I crossed the street, closing the distance between myself and the person of interest. As I walked up to the stand he paid no mind to me, completely engrossed in his reading. At a closer look, I realized that it had to be Laurent.