The 'hand holding' incident with Adrien still fluttered my heart, but those bothersome and confusing butterflies were soon smushed by the awkward atmosphere between me and my dad in the car as we headed towards a random restaurant Tom mentioned.

Once I had arrived home from the Agreste's Tom had asked me if I was willing to go eat lunch with him because he closed the bakery early due to some oven issues. The only problem was that it was just going to be Tom and I. Tom had said that Camille was supposed to drop by but she had to go run errands.

I agreed to go because why not get the bonding part over a lot sooner to save time, plus I really wanted to go out and look at the city views, Paris was known for its scenery either way. I was not going to let my grudge against tom get in between me and Paris!

Right as we started driving further into town I was mesmerized. Everything was different than Florida, everyone was modest here, nowhere did you see someone walking in their underwear around here, or holding walking a crocodile.

"Do you like it here." Tom asked me as he kept his eyes on the road. I gazed over to him and gave a smile. I wasn't going to lie, it was beautiful and I was lucky enough to be able to come here.. Even under my circumstances.

"Yeah I really do.. It's just, a lot different here. Everyone is so modest here.." I gawked at the tall buildings with people either dining or lounging, even walking the sidewalks in fancy clothes.

He pulled into a parking space and I still had my nosed pressed against the window in astonishment. I heard Tom laugh.

"Want to take the scenic route?" He offered as he got out of his seat, walked over to my side, and opened my car door.

"Please!" I exclaimed.

It was chilly outside and everyone was wearing coats or vests (a/n let me be stereotypical at least once) and I felt uncomfortable wearing a plain Jagged Stone hoodie. I had heard that Paris was full of rude people who weren't afraid to discriminate against outfit. So I was sort of scared of running into any conceited Parisians.

I suddenly remembered that Adrien had told me about that. Even if I did heed caution, I didn't have anything but casual clothes and maybe like one dress. I began walking towards Tom and we started our first memory together.

It was like walking through a scene from an Parisian chic movie. The street was lined with clothing stores and little coffee shops and restaurants, and people kept calling to one another from windows and cars. Halfway down the street a horn beeped and everyone parted ways. There was even a string of laundry hanging between two buildings, a billowy red housedress flapping right in the middle of it.
Either way, I still felt so out of place.

"Ah ha.." Tom and I rounded a corner and encountered a large building.

"This is the front of the Palace Of Versailles." Tom told me as he kept his gaze on the beautiful building, he stared deeply at it and I wondered if it meant anything to him. People crowded the palace and we had to push our way in, which was very hard with Tom being as tall as he was, until we made it to a clear spot that perfectly showcased it, half lit by the sun. Its gold tons from the sun made it even more beautiful, for some reason I felt a wave of deja vu and smiled warmly at the building.

"It's very.. Beautiful." I stared at the Palace, with the gold shining on it, Paris was really the place of wonders. The building itself was huge and I tried to think of how many people could live in there if that was even possible.

"Lets get to the restaurant before it gets any more full." Tom led me away and we were on our merry way again, which was also awkwardly quiet. We reached the cozy looking restaurant and walked right in.

"Bonjour, une table pour deux personnes, s'il vous plaît" Tom told the waiter who stood 2 feet shorter than Tom.

The waiter nodded and began leading us to almost the back of the restaurant next to the kitchen. I was stunned on how Tom spoke french fluently.

We were sat down and handed our menus.
"Can you guess why I like it here?" He asked with a cheeky smile.

"Why?" I asked holding the menu in my hands, scanning over the many dishes.

"Its where I almost lost my ring but it was really in my drink and I almost swallowed it.. The memory makes me boom with laughter every time I think of it." He laughed loudly.

"Is it the one you have on now?" I asked also laughing at the thought of dropping a ring into your own drink, he nodded.

"My sisters family got it for me when I opened the bakery. She has a couple of boys, ones 11 and the others 12, they come to visit every few months from Lyon."
"Do they know about me?" I asked, which brought a new wave of tension and we both found ourselves infatuated with the menu."

I noticed Tom staring at me and I looked up confusingly at him.

"Your earrings." He acknowledged.

"My mom gave them to me.." I smiled at the black circles on my ear. My mom gave them to me on her last week.

"I gave them to her." Tom stammered and as I took a drink from my cup I felt it come up and I began coughing.

"You've probably been wondering where i've been at all these years.." This was the cherry on top as I froze in place.

"What u-uhm noo." I stuttered in nervousness. Too bad I suck at lyinh

"Had Sabine ever told you of our relationship?" He asked and in all honesty.. She never brought him up that i've heard of, how would he feel if I told him that though?

"Not really, she always kept her private life." I half lied, god when did I become such a liar. I fidgeted with my hands for maybe the millionth time in the past 2 days.

"I see.. Well the truth is that I never knew about you.." He admitted as he out his hand over mine in a comforting way.

"Why?" I asked snatching my hand away, I never saw my mom as the type of woman to hide her pregnancy from the dad, the possibility of him not knowing never hit me either, I just thought he was too busy or far to care.

"Things were . . . complicated between us."

Complicated.. huh. That was exactly what my mom had said.

"She got in touch with me around the same time she started getting tested. She knew she was sick, just not with what, and I think she had a feeling. Anyway, I want you to know I would have been there. If I'd known. I just.." He rested his hand on the table, palm-side up.   
     "I guess I just want a chance. I'm not expecting miracles. I know this is hard. Your grandmother told me you really didn't want to come here, and I understand that. I just want you to know that I really appreciate having this chance to get to know you."

He met my eyes, and suddenly I wished with all my heart that I could evaporate, this day seemed so unreal to me.

I pushed away from the table. "I need to find the bathroom." I sprinted to the front of the restaurant, barely making it inside the restroom before the faucets started rolling. I felt my tears slip before I could catch them.

Why did all this awful stuff have to happen to me?

Being here was awful. Before today I'd known exactly who my mom was, and she certainly wasn't this woman who loved puzzles or sent her daughter mysterious journals or forgot to tell the father of her child that.. Oh, by the way, you have a daughter!

     My mom had kept me and him apart for fifteen years, why did she really want me to come live with him now?