Ensemble

Hello lovely readers!

Hope you enjoy!

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Sunday drifted by in a soft haze.

Enid spent the day in bed, reading books and watching cartoons.

Anything to keep her thoughts at bay.

She spoke on the phone with Fionna for an hour, telling her about her first week of university.

She carefully omitted the events of the bonfire and morning after, not wanting to worry the maternal woman.

In the evening, she allowed herself to cry.

She wept until her tears ran dry and then rose from her bed.

Washing her face, she grew determined.

She would go to the dean tomorrow and report the incident.

For herself and to protect any future girls he may attempt such awful things with.

When Monday dawned, she took extra care while getting ready.

She had barely slept, haunted by the smell of smoke and the ghosting of fingers on her sides.

Her knees and palms were still sore.

The fingerprint bruises she had found on her ribs were lightening to a pale purple.

A soft green sweater complimented her amber hair, a matching ribbon holding it back from her face.

She wore her bravest face as she walked to Psychology.

Her thoughts couldn't help going back to that night.

How much did Dr. Easton know?

Or Dr. Drewitt for that matter?

Sighing, she entered the historic building housing the lecture hall.

Her small footsteps echoed in the large hallway leading to the auditorium.

"Enid. May I see you for a moment?" A deep voice called from behind her.

Turning quickly, she found Dr. Easton leaning against a doorway she must have missed.

She smiled softly at the godlike man, she backtracked toward him.

He gestured her inside of the room and she found that it was his office.

Monochrome, minimal furniture filled the space.

Sharp lines, expensive pieces.

It was exactly what she imagined his space would be like.

No nonsense. All that he needed and nothing more.

He pulled out a chair for her in front of his stately desk and took his own.

His dark azure eyes studied her intently.

Her shy gaze flitted away from him, glancing to the awards and plaques littering the walls and bookshelves.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, leaning forward.

"I'm okay, thank you. How are you, professor?" She responded kindly.

Something dark flashed in his eyes but was gone when he blinked.

"I'm well, thank you for asking. I'd like to..." his husky voice paused, seeming to search for the right words, "apologize. For what occurred Friday night. And for not being there in person to help you the morning after. I wish I had been."

Her eyebrows quirked in surprise and confusion.

"Oh, that's alright. Dr. Romano was very kind." She blushed and glanced down.

"We agreed that it might be too overwhelming for you to find all three of us in your dorm room when you awoke. I do hope Dante behaved himself." His voice commanding her absolute attention.

Enid was oblivious to the suggestive statement.

"Alexander and I were the first to find you in the forest, so Dante argued that he should be the one to stay with you." Dr. Easton's emotionless face nearly looked annoyed.

Nearly.

Enid's eyes widened.

"You were there that night, too?" Her voice barely loud enough to be heard.

He smiled softly at her, a rare sight on the man's face.

"Yes, I carried you to your dorm room. We were all going to stay, but Alex was right. It would've been too much." His long finger rubbing at the tension between his eyebrows.

She flushed with embarrassment.

"Thank you for carrying me. And rescuing me. I don't know what would have happened if the three of you hadn't been there." Enid's chest tightened at the thought.

"I wanted to stay immensely. Leaving you like that was the hardest thing I've ever done." His eyes shined with honesty.

She tried to remember how to breathe.

He made her feel in ways she had never felt before.

All three of them did.

"T-thank you." She stuttered.

Dr. Easton cleared his throat as though to dissipate the moment.

His mask slipping perfectly back into place.

"Dante said you asked to go to the Dean today. Are you still up for that?" He questioned, gentle.

She nodded her head, clenching tightly to the few tendrils of bravery she still had.

His proud smile sent warmth to her cheeks.

"Alright. We'll go after class then." He rose from his seat and came to stand before her.

Offering his hand, he pulled her up and toward him.

Her nose just inches from his muscular chest.

Glancing up, she found him already staring at her.

His warm hand reached up to caress her cold cheek.

"I will never let anyone hurt you again, Enid. And I promise that the boy who dared to do so will suffer immeasurably." His eyes nearly onyx.

His voice was dark, possessive.

Practically a growl.

Her heart fluttered in her chest like a bird in a cage.

She wanted to kiss him.

To give him something she had never given anyone before.

But he was her professor.

And much older than she.

Enid stepped back slightly.

"Class is beginning soon." She reminded breathlessly.

"Indeed." He murmured, his stunning eyes still locked on hers.

Together they walked into the auditorium, Enid branching off to go to her seat among the other students.

Class flew by quickly.

The information was a perfect distraction to keep Enid from staring at the commanding presence at the front of the room.

And from the memories that kept her awake last night.

She took detailed notes, color coding them according to topic.

Not for the first time, she was astonished by the wealth of knowledge Theodore Easton seemed to hold.

After class, she took her time packing her bag, waiting for the other students to trickle out.

When she stood to walk toward the front, she found that two other figures had joined them.

Dr. Drewitt, the only one she had not seen since that night, walked toward her briskly.

Within a moment's breath, he had swooped her into his arms.

Holding the small girl tightly against his chest, he breathed in the sweet smell of her hair.

Worry and anger had run rampant within him from the moment he saw her collapsed on the forest floor.

He had wanted to set the entire area aflame.

Holding her tiny, limp hand in his as Theo had carried her back to her dorm, the usual dormant, dark part of him grew stronger and stronger.

Once he found out who had done this to her, they were going to pay.

Immensely.

Pulling back slightly, he found that her freckled cheeks had flushed a divine shade of rose.

"I'm so sorry, angel." His whisper loud in the nearly empty auditorium.

Enid's heartrate was frantic.

The attention and affection were confusing, yet so intoxicating.

She chose not to question it.

Maybe it was simply an American cultural thing she didn't yet understand.

Professors here clearly cared an extreme amount about their students.

Being surrounded by the three otherworldly men, she finally felt like she could breathe again.

Dr. Romano gave her a warm smile as she glanced at him.

"It's okay. I'm okay." She responded finally.

Dr. Drewitt smiled adoringly at her before his expression grew tense.

"Let's head to the Dean's office, then." He spoke, dark and determined.

In a makeshift triangle, the quartet headed across campus.

Enid safely tucked in the center.

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The whole gang is back together!

Excited to see the immortals destroy that boy?

Comments fill my heart with joy.

All my love, Sappho ✢