Leo's Weakness

For the rest of the evening, Leo and Esme competed against each other at the knife-throwing station, causing a small crowd to start chanting for their winner. Esme had not laughed so much in such a long time; her cheeks and abs were in pain, a good pain. The excitement of the crowd and joy she felt was like a drug she wanted to stay high on, but she couldn't; it was dangerous even now for her to expose her knife skills.

But in the end, she decided to 'live a little' and shrugged it off. She couldn't keep hiding; it was no life at all if she survived only to merely exist.

"So, where should I drop you off?" Leo interrupted Esme's thoughts while she'd been staring outside at the city lights blurring by from the speed her friend was driving. Esme felt relaxed even at this speed, but she was concerned about Leo, who, if they did crash, would be in grave danger.

"Oh, just drop me off at Bjoux avenue," Esme waved her hand nonchalantly as she watched the skyscrapers and clean pavements slowly change into the scenery she was accustomed to before staying at Gabriel's apartment.

"Es.." The tone of his voice caught her attention, and she looked at him. "You're not gonna give me your real address, are you?"

"Not a chance," She replied quickly, not bothering to lie to Leo. They were closer now, and it seemed better to tell him outright.

"How come?" He frowned his gaze following the broken and graffiti billboard.

"It's a shit hole," Esme sighed, then joked, "plus you might be a stalker or serial killer.. What with those knife-throwing skills!" She winked and hoped Leo would not enquire further. It was more than just the shabbiness of the place; if someone were to come to the city, at least nobody except for Lenny knew where she lived.

Leo laughed and shook his head, "It's a bit late now if I were. I've had you alone with me all night, and now you're in my car. I could just kidnap you right now!"

Esme chuckled, "You can try.. But you have to get rid of my knife first.."

Leo raised his hands on the wheel in surrender. "Fine, fine. I spose I wouldn't make the best kidnapper.. especially when my weakness is beautiful women," He smirked then turned the steering wheel, so they were going down the road she mentioned.

"I'll have to keep that in mind," Esme smiled as the car came to a stop. "Well, I'm off here. Thanks for tonight. I needed it more than I realised."

Leo grinned, "Anytime, beautiful. I also need to beat you at knife throwing, so this won't be the last time I kidnap you for a night at Battle Bar."

Esme shook her head, removed her seatbelt and started to open the door until Leo's hand wrapped around hers, stopping her from unlocking the door. She looked back at him, wide-eyed. Oh no.

Leo burst into a roar of laughter at her expression, and when he finally got a hold of himself, he said in a raspy voice, "I'm not going to do anything! Come here," He opened his arms as if to hug her.

Esme eyed him suspiciously, she knew he wouldn't do anything, but it was more on the idea of being hugged and hugged by another man, friend or not. "Are you not a hugger?" Leo asked her with a serious expression on his face, obviously reading her like a book. But she didn't like how perceptive he was. However, it was something she would put up with so as to keep him as a friend.

"You really know how to tease me," She grumbled in return, then relented and leaned forwards, feeling awkward as his large arms wrapped around her. The mark on her chest burned, but like normal, she ignored it.

When he pulled back, he put a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and she had to refrain from panicking again. "Remember, you can talk to me anytime." Leo released her from his hold, and she nodded. "Alright, you can go; I can see you want to get out of here. Kinda hurts my feelings but okay." He shrugged with a dazzling smile on his handsome features.

Esme rolled her eyes and opened the car door, grabbing her bag and throwing it on her back as she slightly ducked her head and bid him farewell. She straightened and waited on the pavement, watching as Leo sped off, his car becoming smaller in the distance. Bjoux Avenue was only two streets away from her apartment, though her complex was on the main road anyway. If Leo had continued driving forwards instead of turning left, she would have been in her apartment within two minutes.

But she didn't mind; it was a wonder she let him drive her anywhere at all. In Chester, it seemed she wasn't such a lone wolf anymore; whether that was a good thing or not, only time would tell.

"It's 50/50. We get to enjoy others company, experience new things, but then we are putting them and ourselves in more danger.. Remember what happened to Ruby," Isana piped up, making Esme flinch at the mention of her friend's name. She closed her eyes briefly then looked at the road, distracting her mind from the last bloodied memory of her friend.

"I'm being selfish," Esme murmured aloud as she started to ascend the grotty stairs of the apartment complex.

"It isn't selfish. But I think with humans, we need to be more careful. Restrict your interactions with them; maybe just stick to talking to Leo through the phone," Isana suggested. Esme could feel how bad the wolf felt about such suggestions, but what could they do?

"At some point, this needs to stop.." Esme trailed off, the key in her hand stopping before it twisted in the lock. She inhaled the new scent coming from her apartment and looked behind her as her body tensed up. The she-wolf was fully alert, her instincts to bolt nearly taking over, but she kept her mind calm, took a deep breath in and opened the door slowly.

Someone was in her apartment.