Esmeralda walked in the room. Her white blouse on, her long brown hair tied in a high ponytail, her neat glasses sitting in front of her eyes, and her case in her hand. She put it down on the table, and approached the man, who was lying on the couch.

« How are you feeling today? » she asked.

The man groaned. He looked at her, and sighed.

« Like shit. Do me a favor, and give me some more of those painkillers. »

Esmeralda adjusted her glasses and sighed. She opened the case and took out a box of medicine out of it, throwing it onto him without a care.

« You're being really impolite today, Aaron. » she said.

He chuckled and sat up on the couch.

« Sorry, Doctor. I didn't think you'd get mad at that.
- I'm your friend. Show me some respect.
- My friend ? »

He smiled and shook his head, as she frowned.

« What does that mean, Aaron?
- Esmeralda... we're grown ups, now. We were good friends, yes... ten years ago. »

She frowned a bit more.

« Did you really think we'd stay the best friends ever after all that? » he asked.

By "all that", he was referring to joining the Redline. Joining Azarius' project. She knew it was a mistake, of course. Aaron and her had grown more and more distant with time since they joined it.

« We're not friends. We're coworkers, at best. » he finally said.

The woma sighed. Of course, she could have expected something like this from him. She looked at the man, his blonde hair slightly messy and his tattoo on his neck.

« That's a shame. We were good friends. » she simply answered.

But of course, he gave her that look. That teasing smile and those bright eyes. He was enjoying this.

« We were, he said, insisting on the second word. Doesn't mean it had to stay that way. We're adults, now. Not delinquent teenagers.
- Between a criminal adult and a delinquent teenager, the difference sure isn't that obvious. » she answered immediately.

He raised an eyebrow, amused.

« We're getting paid, now. At least I don't risk to go back to jail just for fun.
- You did not go to jail. You went to juvie. Twice. Grow up. »

She was getting annoyed with his attitude. She hated when he was like this. It often felt as if he didn't take anything seriously. And that was probably the case. Aaron didn't care about a lot of things.

« What, am I making you mad? » he asked.

She clenched her fists.

« You are. Why are you acting as if we've never been friends?
- And why are you acting as if we were still friends?
- Since when aren't we?
- Oh, please, Doctor... we barely talk outside of work. Most of the time, it's about my health, your work, your little experiments. Do you think I wanna hear it? »

The message was pretty clear. As they trew more and more distant because of their work, he simply stopped seeing her as a friend. She felt something in her heart. It was hurting, a lot.

« I always liked you, you know? » she said.

Aaron seemed a bit surprised to hear that. His eyes widened a bit, and immediately, he looked like he regretted what he just said.

Esmeralda sighed and grabbed her case.

« You have a talent to disappoint me, Aaron Miller. Alright. Nice being your coworker. »

Then she left his place.