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N did not get bored and leave. Instead he was annoyingly persistent.
Every morning, he would be waiting for her to come out of her house to walk to school. He would walk beside her, silent as ever with a cheerful smile on his face. He always vanished when they got to the stairs, and Uzi had no idea where he went, but he'd always be waiting for her when school let out.
He'd walk her to her job(with that same infuriating smile) where he'd get a table and wait for her shift to be over. Even when she tried to leave early and sneak out the back, he'd somehow catch up to her in seconds. And then he'd walk her home, disappear again, and then reappear and repeat it all the next day.
Uzi lasted until Wednesday before she cracked. A whole two days.
She hoped her mother was proud of her restraint.
"What the FUCK is your problem?!" She snarled out, slamming her hands on the table he was sitting at. "That you can't let me have one fucking moment to my-fucking-self!"
"Don't yell, we're in public." He scolded lightly, like it was a joke. "Are you on break? You should get a snack. You sound hangry. Wait, do people actually say that, or is it just a meme?"
"Shut up and get out before I shove that coffee up your ammph!" She flinched back as he shoved a muffin into her mouth. She bit through it, grabbing it as it fell as she sank grumpily into the chair across from her stalker.
"There we go!" He smiled brightly at her, while she glared at the floor. "You'll feel better after you eat. I know you missed lunch. Ow." His expression didn't change as she kicked his shin with her heavy boots.
"Shut up you creepy weirdo." She muttered after swallowing. "Why can't you just tell your boss that you hypnotized me or something? Be easier than all this."
"She's too smart for that. She'd come and make sure I did it, especially with all the trouble you're causing."
"I'm not the one who got shot. That was all you bud." She took another bite of her muffin.
"You're the one who shot me." He deadpanned.
"And? Maybe dodge the bullet next time." She finished off the muffin and flicked the paper towards him as she stood up. "Break's over. Gotta go."
N watched her leave, crumpling the wrapper and brushing the crumbs off his coat. He frowned as he watched her walk up to the counter, chatting with the other girl there. After three days of silence, he hadn't really been expecting a conversation. Yeah it was a short one, and had started rather explosively, but still.
He wondered if she would talk to him again, then stamped the thought out. He was on a mission to erase her memories. He didn't need to talk to her.
Even if it was kind of nice.
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"So the others at school think you're my secret boyfriend." Uzi told N casually as they walked to school. "The rumors say I met at your college while doing a tour."
"Oh?" N had never gone to any college. He had been considering doing an online degree though.
"Yep. Nobody's seen your face yet, though. But they do think you're a goth." She kicked an acorn into the road, then smirked up at him. "Wonder if anyone will catch on if you keep hanging around."
"They won't. Teenagers are oblivious." He scoffed. "You just got lucky when you found out."
"Yeah. Lucky." She kicked another acorn, then paused. "Hey, if those other two hadn't shown up, would you have come outside with me?"
No answer, and when she turned around, N wasn't there anymore.
"Whatever. Loser."
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"You know I hate banana nut, right?" Uzi pointed out as she picked up the muffin N had bought for her. At least, she hoped he'd paid for it. He seemed to have a bad habit of hypnotizing people into giving him free stuff.
"Oh. Sorry." He sipped at his coffee, staring out the window but watching her in the refelction. "What flavor do you like?"
"Blueberry. It's a classic."
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"Why are you damp?" Pale fingers twirled her wet hair, and she quickly batted his hand away.
"Some jackass thought it'd be funny to dump a bucket of snow on everyone." Uzi explained. "It happens every year."
"You're shivering." N noted. He couldn't feel the cold, but knew it was just below freezing. And Uzi's tendency towards her fashion meant she hadn't dressed that warm, even without being soaked with snow-melt.
"Yeah cause it's cold as hell." She crossed her arms, hunching in on herself while trying not to make it obvious. She froze for real when his arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. "What the hell-?!"
"Well I can't let you freeze to death."
"It's not that cold!" But she didn't try to push away. He wasn't that warm, but his coat was softer than it looked and he was good at blocking the frigid wind.
She let him hold her like that all the way back to her house.
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On the way home from work, Uzi stops by the park she used to play at as a kid. N, of course, follows her there, sitting in the swing next to hers. He stays still as she gently swings back and forth, watching the clouds turn dark above them.
"Hey." She slows to a stop, digging her heels into the wood hips below them. "Are we friends?"
'Are we friends?' N looks away as he considers the question.
She wasn't bad to hang out with, as they walked from place to place. Maybe, if he was a human, they could have been friends.
But as he is now? With what she knows about him, them? Even if he succeeds in erasing her memories, he wouldn't be able to befriend her. J would never allow it, even if it didn't have the potential undo his spells on her mind.
Yeah, she was fun to talk to. Didn't insult him like J did nowadays, or ignore him like V had started to. She talked, and he talked, and they listened and answered each other.
It was nice, but it couldn't last.
"No." He finally says, reluctantly, after a long pause. "I don't... I don't think we are."
Uzi doesn't say anything in response. She just sighs, heavy and tired sounding, and gets up out of the swing. She goes home, and N follows dutifully, silently, behind her.
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There were no more conversations to be had after that.
