After eight weeks of staying at the Ailward Manor, the last of the lingering symptoms of Caleb’s concussion had finally faded and he was ready to move on. However, unlike usual when he packed his bags, he wasn’t sure that he was ready to leave the city. There was something unusual about it that made him want to stay and made Caleb believe his business wasn’t finished there. It would be another few weeks before the repairs that he was making on his bike with Argent were good enough that he could drive any long distance, perhaps, there was something in Evermore that he hadn’t yet seen a reason why he needed to stay. He fastened the zipper around the edges of his suitcase. which was much more organized than the first time he had packed it despite how random the contents, and headed down the stairs to say goodbye to the Ailwards. He’d met three of the siblings so far and they were certainly all unique. The living room was empty, but just as grand as every other time he’d walked into it.

Caleb set down his bag and began searching for a pen and paper to write a note. He didn’t want to disappear without a trace, somehow in Evermore that seemed like a bad idea. He penned the note and left his phone number at the bottom, before heading into the city via a taxi. He’d already searched for roommate wanted ads and felt unusually lucky that he’d found one. Her name was Giselle and she had listed a room for rent in the inner city in a community with single family homes. He wasn’t sure how he felt about sharing an apartment with another woman, so soon after Ava, but surely it wasn’t any different than sharing a living place with anyone else. Caleb glanced at the address on his phone as the taxi rolled to a stop. This looked like the right building. He peered out the window, uncertainty slowing him for a moment, before the driver cleared his throat loudly.

Ai, ai. What was he thinking, staring off into space?

He handed some cash to the driver and unloaded his suitcase. The home was cozy size sitting on the corner of the row of houses.  It was easy enough to find. Caleb’s fist hovered over the door, right about to knock, before he couldn’t. He shoved his hands in his pockets, fiddling with his engagement ring.

Knock you, idiote!  It is just a door.

Right as he was about to knock, the door opened to reveal a pretty brunette who was on her way out the door.

Slightly blindsided, Caleb didn’t move in time, and they rapidly collided.

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Giselle wasn’t sure why she placed the add in the paper for a roommate. She was sure it looked bad for a city official to be looking for a roommate. It wasn’t for the normal reasons she was looking for a roommate either. It wasn’t for the money towards the bills, or even company. She secretly wanted someone to notice if she went missing. With Wayland the vampire who got close to her to murder her mother for her father at a young age, haunting her dreams she was feeling more unsafe by the day. Weeks past and no one seemed interested in the place, maybe it was because she was the Deputy Mayor they figured they better stay away.

Giselle had just made breakfast for herself, something she loved doing was cooking, she always made too much food as well. Placing a solo flower in the vase as she went to cut into her pancakes, pushing her hair back when she looked to her watch noticing the time. “Oh no!” she exclaimed as she picked up her purse and placed it on her shoulder running over to the front door picking up her heels as she did and swung her door open when she ran smack into Caleb her feels flying on the porch and her bag falling to the ground.

She bawled her fist ready to swing at the solid form in front of her. Though she froze her movements and let her eyes rest on Caleb who had a suitcase and honestly looked lost. She remembered the add she placed in that moment when she relaxed her hand and face. “I’m sorry for running into you.” she apologized and looked down to the ground between them for a moment being  awkward when it came to one on one interactions.

She saw her things on the ground the diamond whip catching her eyes as she lowered shoveling everything back in her bag in a disorganized manner. Raising back up with a firm hold on her purse. Offering a friendly smile “Are you here to look at the room to rent?” she asked as she walked back into her living room setting her bag down on the couch. “Come on in, I just need to let the Mayor know I am going to be late and then I can show you around if you like.” she pulled out her phone shooting a text to Adrien and then Ben. “Let me show you the room that will be yours first.” she lead him to what would have been the guest room.

The peaceable Parisian was unsure what to do when the front door of the apartment opened and the first two things that happened were as follows: he was run into full force by someone around half his size, and then a tiny but mighty fist was raised in his face. Baffled and hoping he'd approached the wrong door, Caleb took a step back carefully raising his hands from his pockets. Clearly, this young woman hadn't been expecting anyone to visit this morning, let alone a possible roommate. However, as he took a step back, he recognized the strawberry blonde from her picture on the ad. This was Giselle. Even more baffled, he took her cherry pink cheeks as a sign of embarrassed remorse, and offered a hand to shake in peace offering.

While he hadn't been in Evermore long, this wasn't the strangest introduction he'd had so far. He'd already been rescued after a tornado. Caleb was beginning to gather that this town just wasn't ordinary, but he liked that. It seemed to make the people pretty special. 

"Pas de soucis." Caleb waved his hand as she led him through the front door. "No worries." 

The apartment was small, but bright with a lot of windows. He liked that. It reminded him of Paris. There was a bouquet of sunflowers sitting on the kitchen table. His family had always been into gardening, particularly his aunt, and there was a greenhouse by their chalet. While he didn't possess as much of a green thumb as his mother or aunt, he enjoyed spending time with the plants. They tended to be good listeners. 

He nodded. "I don't know how long I will stay, but it's long enough I would rather not be in a hôtel."

Giselle watched the confusion the man held as he double checked the paper for the room to rent in her single family home after all it was much to large for just her. She was thankful he offered a hand as a sign that what just happened was to slide. She reached out taking his hand and giving it a gentle shake as she smiled to him “Forgive me, I really wasn’t expecting anyone to be on the other side of my door when I opened it, you caught me off guard.” she chuckled softly as she reached behind her neck rubbing it softly.

“Well I am sure you find that many people say they are not going to stay in evermore and tend to do just that.” she moved so he could walk deeper inside of the home. She looked around, she had random plants everywhere along with a garden in the backyard. Gardening happens to be one of the few things she was good at along with cooking. “Ah lets see, living area, and kitchen.” she said as she lead him through the house and then down the hall “My bedroom is the master so the bathroom is ensuite. Yours is the guest bathroom so across the hall from your room.” she said as she lead him to the room that had a bed but not much else.

“There isn’t a lot to it but feel free to hang what you wish or do what you wish.” she said, “It has a beautiful view of the garden she said as she pointed to her flowers that here blooming nicely this time of year. “What brought you to Evermore if you don’t mind me asking.” she folded her hands together as she shifted slightly “Oh I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Giselle Stark, Mayor of Evermore.” she smiled holding her hand out to him once again.

Well, Caleb was certainly glad that he hadn't taken up arms against the mayor of Evermore. That probably wouldn't have been a good idea, considering he was looking to stay. She was very small compared to him, as he was 5'11, but there was a whiff of confidence just as obvious as the hospitality. He shook her hand and listened as he was lead throughout the home. It was small enough to be cozy, but had enough room that he could see why she was renting and there would be plenty of privacy for either one of them to enjoy either working or living on their own. The guest bedroom was painted a soft blue that reminded him of the ocean and a double bed sat solidly in the middle, but as she said, most of the rest of the room was fairly empty.

He tilted his head, peeking through the curtains of the guest room. The window lead to the garden in the back, which was clearly cared for and loved greatly. It reminded him of his Aunt's home. She always smelled like the kitchen and fresh flowers and those were memories which he would never protest living around. Caleb set his suitcase next to the bed and nodded. "Caleb. Caleb Segal. I..." well, "wandered in through a storm."

It couldn't be more true, but somehow he felt like he was starting to see a bit of blue in the clouds. 

Giselle walked beside him before slipping behind him giving him the chance to take in the room in the view looking to her phone, sending a text to let her assistant know she was running behind. It wasn’t normal for her to be behind but she had not expected anyone to want to see the room so quickly. Though it could be because he didn’t know she was Mayor until he showed up on her doorstep.

 “I tend to cook a lot so if you are allergic to anything you can send me a text so I know.” she gave a soft smile as the average looking woman reached up tucking her hair back behind her ear. “Its a pleasure to meet you Caleb Segal.” she said with a soft smile and then turned her head to the side. “Well that is a first. Most come for a reason. I guess life just directed you here for some reason.” she gave a gentle nod as she to a step back and moved down the hall towards the kitchen.

“Evermore has a way of bringing people here when they need it the most. Even when one can’t see that.” she said as she picked up the coffee pot that had brewed that morning and poured herself a mug. “I was brought here by the man who adopted me after saving me from a horrible home.” she said softly as she touched the scars on the side of her neck. “Evermore became the home I never knew I could have.”

"I really appreciate this," Caleb closed the curtains, giving a soft nod. "How many months would you like advanced? I have no problem getting you the money by this afternoon." 
His eyes drifted over the blue of the room. It reminded him of a few of the trips to the ocean he'd taken as a kid.  He didn't have many possessions for filling the place, yet. So far it was just his suitcase. Someday, when he was ready to return to Paris he would bring some things here that reminded him of home; but, right now, he wasn't ready to see the apartment that he'd shared with the person he loved for so many years. "I think Evermore has a bit of a pull when it comes to lost souls." 

Caleb placed his hands in his pockets. "You like to cook?" He smiled. "I enjoy dabbling a little bit, but my fiancee used to say I was experimenting. I don't always like to follow the recipe. 

Despite that he generally chose to follow the rules, the kitchen was a place that Caleb allowed himself creative privileges. The rest were, of course, in the art studio. As Giselle reached up to touch her neck, most likely subconsciously, he couldn't help but notice scars. "It must have been quite the thing that inspired you to become a Mayor at such a young age."

His own childhood had been very happy. He was still glad to remember it like that, despite recent circumstances. Despite being able to empathize with what have much brought a lot of pain, Caleb had no dark childhood that he could use to draw similarities. "I hope your luck has turned around."

“It's just first months rent with a hundred thrown in for electric.” Giselle replied as she smiled to him softly. “As for food just buy whatever you like, and if you like me not to touch anything then just put your name on it.” She said as she reached up trailing her fingers through the ends of her brown locks. “Yes Evermore does seems to draw the lost souls and sometimes give them something they didn’t even know they were looking for.” The mayor mused over that for a moment. “It certainly did for me.” she said honestly as she then smiled to him while making her way to the kitchen.

“I do cook. One of the few hobbies I get to do since eating is needed to survive for us humans.” she chuckled as she raised a brow. “Fiancee used to say?” she asked softly and then cleared her throat also. She moved on to a different subject since the mayor herself was not one to give advice when it came to love lifes, especially since she was fake dating the man who lied to her. “Well feel free to try out anything when it comes to food here. I enjoy trying new things.” 

Giselle gave a soft hum as she thought about how she could be considered inspired to others in the city. “I chose to believe the city inspires me, they believed enough in me to make me Mayor. It's one thing being Deputy Mayor and doing all the work the Mayor didn’t want to do to being the Mayor.” She chuckled lightly. “It's a little scary but I am hoping to leave the city better than it was handed me.” She smiled softly as she chuckled “Though I am not that young, thank you for the flattery.” She flicked her gaze to him and back to the kitchen windows with a soft smile. “I hope it has also, for the both of us.” she looked around and then rubbed her hands together. “Well since I already took a half day how about I make us welcome to your new home crepes?”

Caleb actually appreciated that she didn't press him for more information when it came to Ava. Typically when people heard the words fiancee in the past tense it was simple curiosity that lit a fire under their shoes when it came to knowing more. Whether that was fueled by empathy or general nosiness, he didn't know. The fact that the ring was still present on his finger probably provided some inkling to the idea that whatever had happened to his partner was tragic and not simply a question of love, it's many angles, and loss. Privacy was a privilege he treasured and something he'd flown to a new country to find. Dealing with the wanderings of his heart sometimes included conversation, but it often also required solitude.

He was starting to see that there would be no problem finding that here. As the amount was agreed upon, Caleb removed his hands from his pockets and offered her a hand to shake on it, as seemed appropriate. There was a rental agreement to sign, a moment later, and he was happy enough to hand her the money from his wallet. The advertised sign had held estimates on pricing, after all, and he liked to be prepared for such things. That was one of the markers that Ava had left behind. During their short years together, she'd kept their apartment surrounded by an army of to-do lists and a-z adventure scores. Caleb had previously been a spur of the moment man, but her neat handwriting on every sticky note had delighted him and eventually he had begun mapping his own life accordingly. It may not have made sense to anyone else, random sheets of paper strewn about his office or desk, but it had been just like her. and today it was a way to remember. 

Caleb gazed over the well-furnished kitchen, which must have been redone recently. The cabinets and counters were pine with glass knobs, but rounded surfaces, edging to be modern, but also touching the classic elements of the home and all of the appliances were stainless steel. The tile on the floor was the same pattern as on the front deck, only this time in cool tones of pearly white and dark navy. It was like a painting. Anyone would cook just to spend time in the kitchen. He smiled.

 "You have a good idea for design."

If she was much older than he, Caleb would never have guessed. Any age she carried was by the knowledge in her eyes, but it was behind a graceful and polite presence, He nodded.

Home. That sounded nice, despite the slight ache the word generated. I could get used to that.

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