"(Y/n)! So good to see you!" Cadence greeted brightly - her warm smile making you feel happier. "How are you doing?"

"I should be asking you that." You gave a soft laugh and sat down on the end of her bed, enjoying Cadence's company.

"Oh I'm fine." She lightly replied - shifting into a better sitting position, "The knife was just in my side, y'know? Laura's the one who's actually recovering. The only reason I'm still here is because my parents are so dramatic." Cadence rolled her eyes - acting strangely out of character.

"Is Laura alright?" You asked anxiously, "If she's recovering still, does that mean she's in some kind of critical condition?" You felt uneasy at your own question, worrying about your black-haired friend.

"Laura will be okay - at least I hope so - she's just in a lot of pain right now." Cadence's tone of voice switched to a sorrowful one, the blonde girl feeling bad.

"But they'll be able to remove the knife out, right?" You tensed up and tried to remain calm, not wanting to overreact. She said Laura would be fine, after all.

"They will, they will, they're working on it. Right now, as a matter of fact. So I don't think you'll be able to visit her at the moment...I'm sorry, (Y/n)." Cadence explained in a regretful manner, biting her lip and apologising.

"Hey, hey, it's all good." You hid your disappointment and instead acted casual, "I guess that just means I'll have to visit some other time, huh?" Forcing a smile to your face, you hid how you felt and kept your composure; wanting to appear calm and collected.

"I'm sure it'll be sometime soon." She tried to cheer you up, "And I'll message you as soon as they let people visit her." The second part of her reply made you feel a little bit better, your smile being genuine instead of fake now.

"Thanks Cadence." Your voice was filled with gratitude, hoping that you'd receive a text message from your friend fairly soon. "That really does mean a lot to me."

"No problem, that's what friends are—"

"Excuse me," A nurse entered the room and dipped her head for a second, shooting the two of you an apologetic look, "But your parents have arrived."

"I think that's my cue to leave." Your smile twisted into a saddened one as you stood up, "I was hoping we'd have more time together, but I'll visit again soon, 'kay?"

"You don't have to leave you know, they're only my parents, (Y/n)." Cadence responded. "It's not like they hate you or anything."

"I know, but I think your parents will want some family time alone with you." You pointed out, the girl in front of you not being able to come up with a reply. "Besides, it's not like you'll never see me again - you can text me whenever you want and I'll visit when you're free."

"But what about your psychology class? I wouldn't want to get in the way of that - you could fall behind." She fretted on your behalf, making you laugh a little.

"Cadence, I skipped out on it today, so don't even worry about it." You confessed in amusement, "I'll visit you as soon as I can. That sound good to you?"

"Yeah." Cadence relaxed and flashed you another one of her kind-hearted smiles. "It does."

"See you soon." You warmly repeated, giving her a gentle hug and walking towards the door. "And take care of yourself."

"You too! Bye (Y/n)." She said goodbye cheerfully, waving while you left the room.

"Bye Cadence." You hoped she was able to hear your voice, seeing as you were in the hallway by this point. Man, you wished you could've spent more time with her - not to mention you wanted to visit and speak with Laura as well. Still, a few minutes was better than no time.

Making your way down the hallways of the hospital, you eventually reached the front desk and headed in the direction of the entrance; giving a quick wave to the receptionist as you did so. "Dr. Lecter, please wait! You haven't finished going through all the folders!" A nurse called from behind you, causing you to swivel your head round and see Hannibal again.

"What a delight to see you once more, (Y/n)." His pleasant persona and charming smile were the reason your heart fluttered ever-so-slightly - not knowing why you were so happy to see him. "Finished visiting your friends already?"

"Yes, but I couldn't visit one of them." You answered, releasing an unhappy sigh. "My friend Laura, she...well she's still being treated... But it's really nice to see you too!" You grew timid towards the end and blurted your last words out, faintly blushing. Hannibal found your nervous state and pink cheeks to be incredibly cute, the dark-haired male taking a few steps forwards.

It was amusing to him as well - seeing as it only occurred when he just so happened to be around you. "How unfortunate." Sincerity flowed from his tone whilst his expression turned into one of sympathy, "But I'm sure she'll recover in no time at all." You found his response to be strangely soothing, so you smiled.

"I hope so." You suddenly felt awkward and held one arm with the other, wondering how to continue the conversation. Crap, he was going to think you were slow or something!

"All that aside, would you mind if the two of us walked home together?" Hannibal asked innocently, "Seeing as we've both finished up here."

"But didn't that nurse just tell you to—"

"Oh, take no notice of her." He brushed what you were going to say to the side, not caring about the nurse at all. "She's not important at the moment."

"You just said that you'd finished up here." You spoke with suspicion dripping from your tone, "But if that's true, then why—"

"It's nothing, (Y/n) dear," Hannibal entwined his fingers with yours and carefully guided you through the double doors, "It was just extra paperwork that wasn't even mine to do in the first place." His voice was smooth and sounded like he was telling the truth... But if he was telling the truth, then why did it feel so much like a lie...?

"Oh..." Silence fell between you two, your nervousness sparking up again. "So... So um... How was...work...?" You attempted to make conversation; growing flustered by the hand-holding and how casual this all seemed to be.

"The same as always, but thank you for asking, (Y/n)." Hannibal politely answered, "How did visiting your friend go?" His thumb stroked the top of your hand and made your heartbeat spiral out of control. He had to be doing it on purpose.

"It went fine." You talked in a quiet voice, "I'm just relieved that Cadence - my friend - is alright. She's only in the hospital now because they're checking she's 100%."

"I see." Hannibal took in what you'd said and decided to discreetly mess with you, giving your hand a soft squeeze. "So do you happen to have anything else planned for the rest of this afternoon?" He struggled to hold back a smirk, tremendously entertained by how you'd reacted.

"U-Um...Um, well..." Taking a deep breath, you calmed down a little and ignored your out-of-control heart. "I was...I was actually going to go see the others again." You told him your plan and then turned to face him properly. "If that's okay with you of course!" You added quickly.

"You're going to visit where we live again?" Hannibal looked a little surprised - but kept it well hidden - smiling at you once more. "I certainly didn't expect you to want to return after what happened last time. In fact, I don't think it's particularly safe for you to do so." He warned you, holding both of your hands by this point.

"I can handle Norman," You stood your ground and relied on your tiny flicker of courage, "I've just got to look out for the signs this time, that's all. Slight twitching, constricted eyes, erratic words and actions... I'm prepared this time around. It wasn't even his fault."

Hannibal bit back a cold retort - confused on why it bothered him so much. He could take the others out of the picture anytime he wanted to. "Be that as it may, I don't want you to be in any sort of danger." He released your hands and then cupped your cheeks with the palms of his hands; caressing the sides of your face and watching your face glow an even brighter shade of pink.

"You understand...don't you, (Y/n)?"