Second Sighting: A Mirage AU Short

Alternate Universe
Alpha Belt
Mortal Realm
2008

Camille Levina exhaled in disbelief as she watched her Assignment’s eyes widen in shock (and anger) at what was unfolding among the three people.

Andre Montes and Tristan de Agua were sitting next to each other on the bus, laughing and talking about whatever they wanted to talk about. It had relieved Camille when she saw that Andre was making friends easily; it made her happy to see him easily accept the initially quiet, withdrawn male. A smile came to her lips at the memory; one of the things she liked about Andre was how accepting he was when it came to other people.

It was a trait that not many people had those days, sadly. She thanked all the gods that her Assignment was decent – if she got someone bratty, then she wouldn’t know how to handle them at all.

However, that kind of accepting came at a small price.

See, there was supposed to be another person in the picture. Camille didn’t quite catch the full name of the other person, but she had heard Andre ask that morning if someone named Joseph was going to be on time. When they answered that it was unsure, Andre proceeded to take Joseph’s seat – the one next to Tristan’s.

Camille couldn’t blame her Assignment for doing that, really. In that situation, it was the most logical of them all. Andre didn’t want to leave Tristan sitting alone and besides, their teacher would most likely make him move anyway.

So there they were a few hours ago, next to each other and talking excitedly about where they would go for the day. Tristan said that they were going to some kind of museum and Andre wondered what they would see.

As the bus was about to leave the school, however, it ended up stopping as Joseph hopped on, very late and about to receive a scolding from their teacher. Once the scolding was endured, Joseph went to his supposed seat and was not happy to see Andre sitting there with Tristan.

Long story short, Andre refused to give his seat, mentioning with a hint of snark (bless his soul) that if he (Joseph) had arrived earlier, then he wouldn’t have to sit in the middle seat. Unable to say anything else, Joseph stomped away and ended up sitting next to someone else. Tristan stayed quiet during the entire exchange and Andre reassured him that it would ‘be better soon’.

Apparently not.

Andre noticed that Joseph was throwing the pair dirty looks, which he did not like. At all. Camille noticed Andre’s irritation and prayed once more that he would calm down, not wanting some kind of drama to start in field trip that was supposed to be happy and full of adventure.

Andre seemed to not want trouble as well and tried to ignore it, enthusing Tristan to the best of his ability.

At the moment, she chose to let Andre and Tristan be; the two children deserved to be happy.

Camille roamed around the museum grounds, wondering what could happen if the small problem escalated to something more. At that, the Watcher groaned and ran a hand through her blonde hair, wishing that they would somehow get over the issue without ease.

While the class went around the museum and looked at various ethnic pieces, the Lightning Original found herself wandering around the stalls here and there. It was at that moment wherein she decided to blend in with the crowds; they would think that she was a foreigner. And she looked the part – Camille had her blonde hair down, wearing a long-sleeved top and dark skinny jeans along with a pair of ankle boots. There was a small pouch around her waist and she frequently checked her watch, reminding herself to check back with Andre when the hour would pass.

If she were to be honest, there was something else bothering her at that moment.

Someone else.

When Andre befriended Tristan, her initial reaction was uncertainty. There was something about Tristan – something about his partiality to keeping quiet that eerily reminded her of someone she knew.

She somehow believed in the assumption that Assignments and Watchers bonded over a few shared personality traits. It was easy to distinguish a few similarities between herself and Andre – even though he didn’t meet her personally as of now.

So judging by Tristan’s mannerisms, part of her believed that this little boy’s Watcher was –

Oh God. Oh shit. What the hell – it can’t be.

Camille swallowed nervously and touched the pendant of her necklace self-consciously, feeling the cold meet her fingertips. It can’t…no. I’m just seeing things. It’s someone random…right?

Part of her wanted to deny and the other part wanted to believe.

It can’t be. I know you. Why would you…?

Camille decided to take a leap of faith and ended up walking closer to one of the stalls selling colorful flowers and stones. The scent of roses drew her in along with the light reflecting off the smooth stones displayed; for a split second, she forgot that she was panicking in the first place.

The flowers were beautiful, she decided. Roses, as cliché as they were, were beautiful – so, so beautiful. Camille found herself reaching towards one of the featured accessories; a bracelet made of thick stem (the thorns cleanly thrown away), with a few roses blooming. She took the bracelet and inspected it closely, the young lady in the front telling her how much it cost.

Camille reached for her wallet, only to almost drop it when a smooth voice cut in from the blue.

“No need,” a male spoke. “I’ll pay for her bracelet.” The lady refused to look, merely holding on to the bracelet tightly. Before she knew it, she found herself being pulled away. “You know, it’s rude to not really wear it.”

She found herself unable to speak. The male sighed and gently tilted her head up, making her look at him. Camille found herself looking into a pair of ocean-blue eyes and she bit her lip, cursing internally. His lips curved up slightly.

“…it’s nice to finally see you too, Mace.”

“Here for Andre?”

“Yes – wait, what the fuck?” she stared at him in shock and Mace Majorelle shrugged his shoulders.

“I am Tristan de Agua’s Watcher, Camille.” He watched as her green eyes widened, “And it was me you saw four years ago.”

“…why didn’t you approach me, Mace?” he looked away, running his fingers through his hair and exhaling slowly.

“I didn’t want to believe it was you.”

Silence fell between them. Above the two, a voice from the speaker announced that the guests of the museum come to the main room immediately. Quickly, the two Watchers remembered their own Assignments.

“Tristan–”

“–and Andre.” The two looked at each other then away, “We…we should talk sometime. Catch up.”

Mace looked thoughtful. “We should.” Camille nodded and turned away, beginning to walk and hastily sliding on the rose bracelet that Mace had bought for her minutes ago. “Camille?”

She glanced at him over her shoulder; an amused smirk was on his lips.

“You’re going in the wrong direction.”