[h2]Esme[/h2]
After Esme broke the silence in the kitchen, she could feel the laugh that Duke held back. She clenched her fists a little as she continued to stare at the tabletop. What was so funny about her being the first to break the silence? And was this really the time to laugh? She turned her eyes up to Dean as she spoke and watched him walk over to the grocery bags and pull out the chocolate he told her he’d get for her. She gave Dean a small smile of thanks as she took the chocolate from him. As he returned to Duke’s side, Esme opened the chocolate, broke off a small piece, and placed it in her mouth. Sighing silently when Duke started to talk, she set the rest of the chocolate on the table and slowly looked up to look at Duke. She almost narrowed her eyes as he spoke until Dean pulled the back of Duke’s hat down, and she saw Duke's face more clearly. His red cheeks and nose were a clear sign he’d been drinking, and he seemed pretty out there. ‘He’s drunk. This could turn out good or bad.’ she thought as she looked at Duke.

She kept quiet as Duke continued, being well aware of the emotions coming from both boys in front of her. She did her best not to let what she felt get the better of her, which could easily happen if she wasn’t careful. The more Duke talked, the more Esme began to understand where Duke was coming from. In a short time, he had developed feelings for her, which scared him. She looked at the table, partly blaming her empathy for what he felt for her. Something about it drew people in like flies to honey, even when she wasn’t using it. Some time ago, something similar happened, but the guy turned into a stalker, and she had to scare the hell out of him to get him to leave her alone. When Duke moved to get up from the table, Esme’s eyes returned to Duke and watched Dean stop him before speaking. Her eyes shifted between them as they spoke, taking in their words. She could now see that it was mostly on Duke why he left, but it still hurt. When Dean helped Duke come clean by saying that he really liked her and wanted to be her friend, she lifted a single eyebrow.

Esme saw Duke’s eyes widen as he looked between her and Dean. She focused more on Duke and his emotions, feeling how he felt he was in trouble. With the way things were going, to anyone else, it would sound like Duke had a crush on her, but she knew better being an Empath. This felt like more than a crush coming from Duke, which could make things extremely difficult if Dean ever found out. Esme continued to focus on Duke as he responded to Dean’s help. She stayed silent, letting what she heard and felt sink in a little more before she finally spoke softly. “Trust me, you’d know if you crossed any lines, and I would say you’re more than a little drunk.” She looked down at the chocolate on the table, broke off another small piece, placed it in her mouth, and leaned back in the chair with her arms crossed over her stomach, thinking about her following words. “Friendship could be a possibility, but….” She looked up and met his eyes with her own, a seriousness taking over her features. “You have to promise me you’ll be honest with me. No more lies.” she told him. 

“If you can’t do that, a friendship will never work between us.” With him being drunk, she wasn’t sure how well she was getting through to him or how much he would even remember when he sobered up. Esme hated being lied to. She had been lied to enough by her family, and now that she was spending most of her days here, she didn’t want to be lied to by anyone here. She wanted one place where she could fully trust the people she was around. Esme held Duke’s gaze momentarily before dropping her gaze to the chocolate on the table again and silently sighed. “Once you’ve sobered up, we can talk more.”