I quickly wipe away a tear as I tug the black turtleneck off my arm, choosing not to respond to his claim. I shrug on my white crewneck, my eyes flicking down to the spotted bandage that circles my neck. My teeth grind together as I dig my thumb under the edge of the bandage and quickly rip it off.

A growl rattles my throat as part of the blood stuck to my skin rips off, revealing a nasty black gash. With a frown, I reach under the sink and grab a roll of white bandages, ripping off a piece to gently press it against my wound.

I consider putting my turtleneck back on to cover up the bandage, but decide that since I'm just going to see Beau, there's no reason to. With a sigh I glance up into the reflection of the mirror, my eyes landing on the other bandage on my cheek.

Deciding that the bandage looks clean enough, I pull off my combat boots and step out of my jeans. I quickly step into my leggings and grab my boots, stumbling back into my room to drop them next to my bed as I reach down to grab a pair of black tennis shoes.

My eyes glance over to my glass door, the wide horizon of Paris an entirely different view in broad daylight. The sight is quite different from when I usually step out onto my balcony to see the city all lit up as I blow puffs of smoke into the sky to scare away the creeping threat of nightmares.

"Harper? You okay in there?" Beau calls, shaking me from my slight daze.

"Coming," I call back, slightly startled, as I quickly slip on my shoes and stride towards the door to yank it open. Beau leans against the adjacent wall, his eyebrow raising as he glances down at the watch on his wrist.

"Tsk tsk, you're thirty seconds late," he teases, as I roll my eyes and slam the door shut behind me, jamming the key into the lock. Instead of a witty remark rising to my tongue, my mind seems to prickle with irritation. I twist around and start down the hall without a word, Beau quietly trailing after me.

"What's wrong?" he asks after a few seconds, causing my annoyance to spike slightly.

I grind my teeth together and cut him a glare over my shoulder. "Nothing," I mutter, but Beau doesn't relent and steps in front of me.

"Come on Harper, tell me what's bothering you," he says softly, as I quickly lurch to a stop and cross my arms.

"I said nothing," I growl, slamming my shoulder into his as I shove past him and towards the stairwell doors.

"What is your problem?" Beau snaps behind me, his hand snaking forward to grab onto my wrist and jerk me back. I whirl on him, my eyes blazing as a certain warmth creeps up my face.

Beau quickly lets go of my wrist and steps back when he sees the look in my eyes, but doesn't fully relent. "Just when I think we're getting along, you shut down Harper. It's like it's one step forward two steps back... why is that Harper?"

"Because!" I snarl, raking both of my hands through my hair and squeezing the sides of my temples as I shut my eyes. "There is no we! I've known you for barely a week, which means you can't just expect me to tell you all of my life problems and worries!"

"Yeah? Well I opened up to you!" Beau cries out, raising his hands in frustration. "It would be nice if you at least trusted me a little bit! You don't have to tell me your life story or anything like that, but a little insight on how you're feeling would be nice!"

A growl rattles my throat as I fight down a bitter retort, shoving my hands into my pockets angrily. "Fine! I'm just stressed about the limited amount of time we have to train... is that what you wanted to hear?" I snap, though my eyes flick down to my shoes.

It's kinda true, I hate it when I don't have enough time to prepare for a certain event.

I shake my head as my fingers curl into fists within my pockets.

Ever since he died, I've always tried to be one step ahead of the curve, no matter what it was... but ever since my first panic attack with Beau, I haven't had much of a sense of control, and it's driving me insane.

"Okay," Beau says slowly in front of me, as I dig my heels into the carpet of the floor. "Do you think you'll feel better after we do a run-through of training?"

I frown at the floor, as I see one of Beau's grey shoes take a step forward, forcing me to look up at him.

"Yes," I mutter, my eyes flicking between his two jade ones. Our bodies are close enough to where I feel the warmth radiate from him, but not close enough to where I feel his breath on my cheek.

"Good," he says gently, slowly lifting a hand to steer me towards the staircase, but stopping just before he makes contact. "Is it... okay if I touch you?"

I draw in a sharp breath, waiting for him to pop up and cause my lungs to tighten, but there is merely silence as Beau patiently waits for my answer. He's testing me, I realize. Beau must be trying to see how I will react to his touch, and whether we've made any progress in the past few days.

I breathe out a slow breath and nod. "Yes, you may."

Beau gives me a hesitant smile, and places a hand on my arm to turn me towards the doors. "Is this alright?" he asks gently, and when I give him a silent nod, he moves his hand to my lower back. "Just tell me if you get uncomfortable."

I swallow, but force myself to step forward and look up at him. "I hope this isn't you trying to win our little game," I croak with sudden embarressment, as Beau glances down at me in mock-horror.

"Bon Dieu! That would make me one terrible knight in shinning armor, hmm?" Beau jokes, as his hand grows warmer through the fabric of my sweater. I grit my teeth and try to force myself to continue walking, but the heat pulsing through my crewneck drives me over the edge.

I quickly ease out of Beau's reach as we step towards the doors to the stairwell, trying to play it off as just me trying to open the door for Beau, but he quickly catches on.

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" he asks concernedly, stopping in front me.

I grimace and quickly shake my head. "No, I just- it's hard for me to do physical touch for too long... as bad as that sounds."

Beau frowns and runs a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry Harper, I shouldn't have done that and made you uncomfortable... I just thought-"

"Stop apologizing, I said it's fine," I say curtly, causing Beau to stiffen. My grimace grows when his cheeks warm in shame, and I awkwardly lean over in an attempt to pat the side of his arm. "Sorry, but I meant what I said... okay? What you did was fine, and I told you it was okay, so don't worry about it, alright?"

Beau nods, as I gesture for him to step through the doorway. "Now, what do you say to us getting this show on the road?" I attempt to give him a cocky grin as I step through the door behind him. "I'm ready to kick your ass."

Beau chuckles as we descend down the stairs, eyeing me over his shoulder as his lips curve into a slight smirk. "Yes well, try not to enjoy it too much."

I roll my eyes as we reach the end of the stairs and Beau shoves open the doors to the lower hallway, before dramatically twisting to hold the door open for me. "After you, my lovely and cunning mademoiselle."

"Yes yes, you've already proved your chivalry for the day," I say as I flick my wrist dismissively. "Now less of that from now on, it's unnecessary in the sparring room."

"Ah, but I beg to disagree," Beau chuckles as he strides past me and towards the doors of the sparring room. "Us french gentlemen pride ourselves on our chivalry, kinda like how you Americans pride yourselves on your talent for crude language."

"Hey," I point at him, lowering my eyebrows as he grins down at me. "Not all of us are like that, just the especially interesting ones."

"Ah," Beau laughs, rolling his eyes. "I'm sure Miss Talle would disagree."

"Yeah, well not all of us can be as perfect as Amber," I sigh, shoving the doors to the sparring room open. I can't help but let out a sigh of relief when I see that surprisingly, there is no one in the room. Everyone must be busy preparing for the Louvre Ball.

"Well, don't let it go to your head," Beau begins, clasping his hands behind his back as he steps into the sparring room behind me. "But I think you surpass Amber as far as being... unique."

"Gee thanks," I drawl, stepping up to one of the blue mats and spinning on my heel to face Beau. "With being empathetic and unique, what more could a girl want?" I grin, as Beau snorts and strides up to me until he stops a foot away, looking down his nose at me.

"And why the fuck do you have to be so tall?" I ask annoyedly, crossing my arms as I glare up at Beau. "I'm five foot nine and that's pretty tall for a woman, but you're as tall as Goliath up there, sheesh."

Beau shakes his head to hide his grin as he takes a step back. "My father is exceedingly tall and-" Beau's jade eyes quickly snap to mine as he lifts a cocky eyebrow. "I believe now you owe me another dinner! How nice, at this rate I'll never have to pay for another meal in my life!"

"Oh yeah?" I ask, clasping my hands together as I bow slightly at the waist. Beau eyes me suspiciously, before I swing my right leg back and twist on my heel until my foot strikes the air on the side of Beau's head. I hold my foot there and glance back at Beau just in time to see him flinch. "You better be careful, or you might lose your ability to eat."

Beau rolls his eyes and smacks my foot out of his face, causing me to wobble on my leg and fall onto my butt. "Your threats are cute, mon cherie." Beau laughs, as I annoyedly blow a strand of hair out of my face.

I stay there leaning against the floor on my forearms as I glare up at Beau. "Well, where's that chivalry now? A little hand would be nice."

Beau grins, bending over to lower his hand. I grin back at him as I lurch forward to yank him down to the mat, but he's already prepared for this move and quickly snatches my wrist.

His knee strikes the ground beside me as he pulls my wrist behind him, causing my body to jerk towards his. Our noses brush slightly as Beau's grin widens, his jade eyes darting between my icy blue ones.

"Now now," he chuckles, as my eyes briefly flick down to his glistening lips. "You cannot fool me twice with the same trick," I glance back up into Beau's eyes to see them dart across my face, wondering what he's searching for.

Finally, he gently releases my wrist and rises to his feet. "And would you look at that? No panic attack!"

"What?" I gasp confusedly, as the cool air of the room rushes into my reddening face. I quickly sit up and press my hands to my cheeks as realization dawns on me. It worked! The deal worked!

"Wow," I laugh, slowly running a hand through my hair as I look up at Beau. "I think I'm going to pass!" I say excitedly, as Beau quickly steps forward and reaches out a hand, this time gently lifting me to my feet.

"How wonderful!" he exclaims, as he lifts my hand above my head and twists me into a triumphant spin. "Now," Beau says, gently stopping me and looking into my eyes, "What do you say we kill some time and test this new development out a bit more?"

"Is that another way of saying 'kick your ass?'" I grin, as Beau rolls his eyes and steps out of his shoes, chucking them to the side.

"Oh you're on, diablesse,"

I drag my foot behind me and sweep down into a mocking bow, as Beau strides towards me with a delighted glint in his pale eyes. I wink at him, before stepping on the heels of my tennis shoes and slipping them off, kicking them to the side.

Without a word, we both step back into our defensive positions, our hands raised as we both glare each other, though a wry grin tugs at my lips. Beau's lips tug up as well, as he inclines his head sharply.

"Go," he snaps, causing me to launch into action.