ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

 
Marcus grinned and nodded to the group of girls, passing out their cards. ”Alright, everyone look at their cards and flip!” Everyone showed their hands and frantic eyes darted from card to card, looking for a match. A few people cheered and yelled out as Terrance and Helene had matching 5 cards. Terrance grinned widely and leaned towards Helene, pulling her hips closer to his. ”Great way to start the night, don’t you think?” He smiled and locked into a ferocious, strong kiss. Everyone around started hooting and counting. “One… Two… Three… Four… Five!” But Terrance wasn’t going to end it that fast. He kissed her more passionately when they reached five, a few people laughing and yelling at him. Marcus smacked Terrance’s arm to get his attention back. ”Alright, Alright, Break it up or get a room. Jeez, let the girl have a chance to breath!” People were laughing and drinking for any non matches that occurred. Terrance broke the kiss with a loud smooch and laughed playfully. ”Sorry, Helene. I just get carried away when I’m with you.” Terrance smiled, gently rubbing on Helene’s thigh. The games ensued and so did the drinking. Since Eva wasn’t getting any matches, she just had to keep having to drink… and drink… and drink. At one-point Alexander did a few rounds around the living room and brought her a new drink when she finished her first.

Jacob came down the stairs after talking with Arthur and worked his way to the living room, watching the kissing sessions that ensued with each play of hands. His eyes circled the group until they landed on Alyssa, his heart skipping a beat. He remembered the first time they had hooked up was playing a game of Pairs, and both getting played the Joker card. Oh, he remembered that night so well, but he suppressed the memories. That time had passed, and Jacob was struggling to move on. Rather than playing, Jacob hung back a little while, taking a drink every time, a hand was played, as if he were losing each round. Drinking away troubles was not a healthy coping mechanism, but it did work. The music was banging and party was in full swing when a few crashers appeared at the door. ” ¡Aye! ¡Aye! ¡Gran fiesta! ¿Dónde están las perras?” A voice called from the hallway, Terrance and Jacob quickly turned their attention to the Ricardo who suddenly appeared walking through the house. He was alone, but not doubt his goons were waiting at the door in case he needed them. Almost everyone in the room besides the two Swedes greeted him with excitement. ”We never see you at Terrance’s parties, Ricardo! You and Terrance should partner up sometime- it would be a party for the ages!” One guy said to him, greeting him heartily.

The party continued, but there was a slight noticeable shift in Jacob and Terrance at his presence. The only reason Ricardo would be here, was to cause trouble. And they remembered what Arthur had said about trying to cause trouble. Terrance and Jacob couldn’t cause a scene with all the witnesses around. But they also knew that Ricardo couldn’t risk the same thing. Pulling out a joint from his pocket, he lit it up while plopping into a seat beside Eva. The smell of the joint quickly radiated through the room. This really angered Terrance, as he hated having the smell reek up his parent’s house. That was the reason for the designated area outside. ”Play me in for the next hand, Marcus! I want to get some coño tonight!” He smiled wildly and looked at Eva, shooting her a charming wink. Marcus shuffled the cards dealt them out. Cards were revealed and no matches were made, much to everyone’s disappointment as Marcus reshuffled and dealt.

At this point, Arthur had reappeared at the stairs, running his fingers through his hair. It was difficult for him to adjust. Let the feelings run wild, let his heart pound, let his head spin. It was really too much for him to handle for the first time. It wasn’t nausea… it was feelings. Arthur shook his head, and only had one thing in mind. He wanted to find Eva. No, he had to find her. It was as if there was a force in the pit of his stomach, grabbing him and pulling her towards her like two opposite attracting magnets. In his head he could see again her beautiful face and tight outfit on her body. It just motivated him more. He turned his attention to the living room, seeing the back of the long-blonde haired girl’s head. God even from behind she was amazing. He pondered how he should approach her. Perhaps just try to sneak in beside her and strike up a conversation. He began to walk forward, a bit of bliss in his eyes. He had more of the appearance of a gentle giant at the moment than the towering, fear-inducing bear he usually was. As he approached, everyone complained about no more matches, and had their drinks. A tan hand reached out from the person sitting beside Eva and grabbed her, taking her chin with the other hand, and pulled her into a kiss.

Red. Blood red. That was all that Arthur could see as some people started laughing and clapping at Ricardo stealing a kiss from Eva. Arthur’s blood felt like it was boiling over under his skin and he stormed over. Arthur grabbed Ricardo by the neck of his shirt and yanked him out of the seat, and before Ricardo could make a cheeky comment, Arthur pulled back his right arm and slugged him in the face, knocking him to the floor in the process. Terrance and Jacob were still, not responding to the scene. That was, until Arthur lifted his leg and full on stomped Ricardo in the chest. ” Inte knullar du henne!” When Arthur didn’t stop, Terrance and Jacob both hopped to their feet with alarmed faces. Arthur was in full on killing mode. His face twisting into not only one of rage, but of enjoyment. He enjoyed stomping Ricardo into the ground a little too much. Terrance grabbed Arthur from behind, pulling him off. ”Woah! Arthur, stop it! That’s enough, chill!”

” Nej! Jag ska döda honom, just nu!” Jacob grabbed up Ricardo and pulled him to the front door, throwing him out into the grass. Alexander hurried out as well, and the two of them began a yelling match outside with Ricardo. Arthur broke away and stormed out as well, before being stopped by Alexander and Jacob on the patio. ”What is wrong, Sueco??? She’s a nobody, right?? Ricardo yelled out, before retreating to a car on the street. ”What your back, Sueco! You don’t cross the Munez Family!” And with that, the car tore off down the road. Arthur was still fuming and in full on rage mode, trying to break from his friends as if he could chase down the car. ”Goddamnit, Arthur! What has gotten into you! You need to chill it out. You can’t do that in front of everyone!” Arthur was huffing, and slowly he was beginning to calm down. But he was still enraged, turning back towards the house. He couldn’t contain his emotions, as he was letting them go free with Eva. Jacob approached Arthur, putting his hand on Arthur’s shoulder, whispering to Arthur. ”Arthur… what I said about letting your emotions go… I didn’t mean to take it this far.” Arthur shook his head and stormed into the kitchen, making a strong drink and finishing it off in one go.



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:[1]Hey! Big Party! Where are all the bitches?
[2]Don't fucking touch her!
[3]No! I'm going to kill him now!
✖✖ I Feel... Very Drunk and Enraged
✖✖ I am At... Terrance's Party -> Kitchen
✖✖ I am With... Alone
✖✖ I am Thinking..."I will kill him..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Blue jacket, black jeans, and a white button down shirt.

Eva's jaw dropped as she watched Helene gladly reciprocate Terrance's kiss, though a little lightbulb went off as she remembered the earlier conversation she had with her. She looked over at an unsurprised Gigi, though she looked slightly concerned. Alyssa seemed to agree, getting close to Gigi and muttering, "I think we're going to need another ride home." especially when the pair seemed to get so into each other that Marcus had to remind them that they were in public. Letting out a sigh, the dark haired girl dug something out of her pocket, showing it to the other two: Helene's car keys. "She gave them to me before we went inside," She explained as she pocketed them. "The gesture and this game say enough. She has no intention of going home--not alone, anyway."

"She did?" Eva's voice nearly drowned as the crowd erupted around them, the implications slowly dawning on her. "So then..."

"So one of us better remember to sober up to drive home," Alyssa said, slightly exasperated. "She probably planned this all out...clever girl, can't even get mad 'cause I'm impressed she thought this far ahead."

Eva was surprised the two were so cooperative, though as Gigi and Alyssa didn't say anything else, she figured it was fine. Though she could've sworn she heard Alyssa mumbling something about 'better be protected', she didn't get a chance to ask as the next round had begun. And then the next, and the next, and her cup was finished before she knew it. It was a secret relief to know she didn't have to kiss anyone, though she did find it comical when Helene and Alyssa kept wanting to get matched with Gigi, much to her chagrin. The game itself was still fun, though she had to admit seeing Gigi so on edge was pretty funny. Everyone was having a good time, and as she looked at Helene, she definitely noticed how enamored she was with Terrance, at one point getting very close and whispering something into his ear. Looking around, Eva was a little disappointed Arthur hadn't turned up, but she was distracted by Alexander giving her another drink. She couldn't stop thinking of Arthur the more she drank, though she still wasn't sure what to do. If he was going to go lose his lunch every time he saw her, what was she going to do?

Her eyes landed on Helene, and she remembered what she said earlier: 'But by the end of the night, I expect you to have put the moves on Arthur, you hear me?' And why shouldn't she? At least, she could try to get an answer out of him. If he wanted nothing to do with her, then fine, she'd leave him be. But if it was the opposite, if she even had the slightest chance, then maybe--

The crowd cheered from behind her, making her jump slightly. Shoot, she was overthinking again. As she looked back, she was surprised to see Ricardo strolling in. From what she saw earlier, he didn't seem to get along too well with the guys, so why was he here? None of them said anything, so it was probably okay, but the way Terrance and Jacob sudenly came to full attention bothered her a little bit. Helene crossed her arms, though said nothing as she watched him walk over. Gigi's cup was to her lips, but she hadn't drank, her eyes on Ricardo instead. They narrowed as he chose to sit next to Eva, and she ended up putting her cup down outright. As he gave Eva a wink, she smiled back, though wasn't sure what to say to him.

Alyssa was slightly oblivious, greeting him as Marcus did, though she seemed eager to continue the game. "Marcus, are you going to let me change Gigi's mind on who's the better kisser between me and Helene or not?" She whined as once again there were no matches.

Helene scoffed. "Oh please, Aly, just cut Gigi out and admit you want to make out with me," She teased, wiggling her eyebrows at her, to which Alyssa ended up bursting into laughter.

Gigi ignored them, leaning towards Eva and prodding her elbow lightly. "Switch seats with me," She told her quietly.

Eva looked at her confused, and she leaned in, signaling that she hadn't heard Gigi properly. At that point, however, the matches were made, so Eva ended up taking a sip instead. Before Marcus would deal out the next hand, she looked at Gigi to ask her what she had said, but it looked like Ricardo had pulled her closer to him. For just a moment, she was face to face with him, though she had no idea why. Had they matched and she didn't notice? But there was this look in his eyes that she didn't like. Of course, her senses were greatly inhibited by the alcohol, and the next thing she knew, he was kissing her. The crowd roared again, and Eva froze in shock. It was always a possibility of the game, but she wasn't ready for this. Of course, shortly afterwards he backed off, or rather, was ripped away from her, and chaos erupted. Arthur had appeared, having been the one that had taken Ricardo off of Eva, but apparently that hadn't been enough, as he slugged him.

Eva's hands flew over her mouth, though she let out a slight yelp of surprise as she was pulled back and away from the commotion as Arthur went in on Ricardo, outright stomping on him. She could hear Gigi saying something, but she felt paralyzed, and let Gigi drag here from them. Turning her around, she shook her shoulders slightly, and suddenly everything seemed to hit her. Gigi watched the boys for a moment, though she passed Eva to Alyssa and gave chase, the dark haired girl pushing her way to the front to see Ricardo drive away. "Of course," Gigi scoffed, clearly annoyed. "And now..."

"Hey! Eva! Are you okay?" Alyssa asked her.

She didn't know what to make of the situation, although to ease Alyssa, she nodded. "Y-Yeah..." Crap, she couldn't hide the shakiness in her voice.

"I'm calling it, then," Gig said as she rejoined them, shaking her head. "You're not okay."

"No, wait," Eva said, shaking her head. "He's gone now, it's fine."

Helene was ranting so fast and in a language Eva didn't know she spoke that she had no idea what she was saying until she landed on an English word she definitely understood: "Idiot! What the hell was he hoping to accomplish with that little stunt?!" She fumed.

Taking in a deep breath, she shook her head at them. "Relax. Can't let one person ruin the night, right?" Eva said, throwing on a smile to reassure them. "I don't want to go yet."

Gigi sighed, procuring a pack of cigarettes from her pocket. "Fine. I need some air," She grumbled, popping one into her mouth as she decided to look for a light.

"I'll be right back," Eva told the pair, breaking away from them. Looking around, she wandered down the hallways, trying to see where Arthur had went. She didn't know why, but her gut told her she needed to find him. She didn't bother asking anyone where he was, choosing to look for him on her own. Finally, she spotted him walking somewhere, and she chose to follow him. She lingered at the kitchen's entrance, watching him down a drink. He still seemed pretty mad, and for a second she hesitated. But her mouth made the decision for her, as she called out to him. "Are you okay?" She asked him cautiously.

ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

 
Arthur jumped slightly when he heard Eva’s voice, and he turned his attention to her standing in the walkway. His heart sank in his chest looking at her sweet face. All that continued to replay through his head was Ricardo forcing a kiss on her. And he did it just to spite Arthur. Arthur felt a little bit angry again and turned towards the kitchen wall, slamming another punch against the tile wall. It was a good thing it was tile, otherwise he probably would have put a hole through the drywall. Unfortunately, though, the tile was tougher than his fleshy fist, and when he pulled it back, there were cuts on his knuckles. He sighed loudly and grabbed some paper towels, to put pressure on the cuts. That punch helped get out the last of his frustration. And now all that remained was remorse.

His expression softened before he looked back at Eva. ”I’m fine…” He stared at her for a little while before walking towards her. He didn’t realize how much taller he was than her until he stood so close to her. His heart still felt low in his chest. He hadn’t protected her. He failed her. Isn’t that what someone is supposed to do when they care about something? Care for it and protect it? He sighed heavily, before reaching his arms out and wrapping them around Eva’s body, pulling her close and into a tight hug. ”I’m sorry, Eva.” He held her tightly to his chest, resting his chin on the top of her head. He couldn’t take back what just happened to her, and it filled him with regret that he couldn’t have stopped it sooner. He wished he was paying closer attention, wished he could have noticed it was Ricardo sitting beside her.

But holding onto Eva made him feel a million times better. Holding her to his chest made his cold heart feel so warm, and his heart was pounding loudly and fast against his chest. He didn’t want to pull away, but he also knew that at any moment his friends would come looking for him. And when they found him like this… well he wasn’t sure what would happen. But he didn’t want them to see. So Arthur broke away from the hug, nodding towards Eva, and walked back into the living room. Outside on the patio, Terrance and Jacob were arguing. ”What did you say to Arthur about ‘letting his emotions go’?” Terrance has his arms crossed against his chest. Jacob didn’t look at Terrance’s eyes. ”That he shouldn’t hide the fact he has feelings for Eva. You know it, I know it. You’re trying to get them to hook up!”

”Yeah, hook-up. Not be in love. That was your dumb mistake, Jacob. You don’t want Arthur falling into the same trap you did. In our line of work, we can’t ‘fall in love’. Look, we can’t leave everyone inside waiting. Terrance turned around and went back inside, and Alexander and Jacob followed behind. Jacob was rubbing the back of his head, sighing as Alexander seemed to pat his back in a consoling way. The rumble and roars of talking and laughter continued after the scene, and Marcus was still passing out cards to everyone sitting at the table. Arthur wasn’t paying much attention until he saw a card thrown out in front of him. He passively picked it up and saw a Joker. He wasn’t very familiar with the game being played, and raised an eyebrow in observance of those around him. He held down the paper towels on his hand. Marcus moved the deck of cards to his other hand, and in doing so flipped a card to the top, holding it up in the air and calling to Eva from the kitchen. ”Eva! Are you still in on the game?”



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Very Drunk and Sad
✖✖ I am At... Terrance's Party -> Livingroom
✖✖ I am With... Alone
✖✖ I am Thinking..."Joker?..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Blue jacket, black jeans, and a white button down shirt.

Now that she was there, she hadn't the slightest idea what to do. His initial response to her question was to punch the wall, much to her surprise. Maybe she should have asked what was wrong rather than if he was okay or not. He looked torn, barely changing his expression even as the fresh cuts bled around his hand. He said he was fine, but he looked anything but. For a moment, they didn't say anything, and even though he was looking right at her, she wished she was somewhere else for once. If there was some way she could have made him feel better, if she could have done something, say anything--but the words never came. There was a part of her that thought she should leave him be, but he moved first. She incorrectly assumed that he was going to return to the party or outright leave, but to her surprise, he ended up pulling her into a hug.

She wanted to blame the booze for the sudden increased heart rate, and she knew that if she saw herself into a mirror her entire face was probably the shade of a beet. Never in her life had she been so close, going from not even registering a passing glance, and suddenly there she was in his arms. She could feel how warm he was, the perfect way she seemed to fit with him, and there was no hiding the smile on her face. Could they just stay that way? Did it mean anything?

Of course, reality ensued, and he broke it off first, much to her disappointment. He gave her another nod and walked out, and for a moment, she just watched him leave. She should have been sad, but something seemed to click for her. First things first, however, she really needed a second to calm down.

"Wasn't that nice?" Gigi said, scaring the ever living crap out of Eva as the blonde jumped.

"I thought you went outside!" Eva said, definitely feeling her blood pressure spiking.

The dark haired girl shrugged, waltzing into the cupboards as she mixed her own concoction. "I did. Munez is gone, so I came back," She stated, putting a cup down and pouring what she made in there.

Watching Gigi, she perked up as she heard her name being called. Tapping her fingers against the counter, she grabbed Gigi's drink without hesitating, practically gulping it down as she walked back into the living room. What a mistake, whatever Gigi was brewing was way stronger than what Alexander had given her before. "Coming!" She called, coughing slightly, but she was much more determined this time. She just needed some liquid courage, but by the time she reached the group, she was halfway through the cup. As she sat down, she caught Gigi's annoyed look, and after giving her an apologetic look, took the card Marcus passed to her.

Feeling much more relaxed, she leaned back in her seat, swishing her cup in her hand and taking another sip, figuring no one would match again. As she finished, she caught Helene's eye, and a certain look that told her there was incoming danger. For it wasn't just any old look on Helene's face, there was a mischievous spark in them, the one that said 'gotcha'. Was it the drink? It was stronger, but she felt fine so far. At that point Marcus said to show the cards, and it hit her about two seconds later as the rest of the group revealed their cards. Wait a minute, she got a Joker? But that meant--shoot that meant something, she just couldn't remember.

"You going to show your card or not?" Alyssa asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Lowering her hand, Eva's Joker gently floated onto the table. It took her a second to realize the implications of it, and she nearly dropped her cup when it hit her.

ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

 
It seemed like everyone’s eyes grew wide seeing the joker fall out of Eva’s hand, the clapping and hooting ensuing, as the drinks continued flowing. But one guy in the circle scoffed and through his 3 of clubs down on the table. ”This game can be so bullshit. You are all getting excited over a Joker. But it doesn’t even matter unless someone else has a Joker. We should have just played spin the bottle. Way faster and to the point.” Marcus seemed to shoot a glare at the guy making this comment. It was obvious that they didn’t appreciate Marcus’s amazing sleight of hand and shuffling skills with the deck. At this point, a few people had gathered around in the room watching the game. Arthur put down is empty solo cup, still looking over the cards that were in play. He wasn’t very familiar with any of the games that people played at Terrance’s parties, as he was usually too busy scouting around for ne’er-do-wellers in the house. But it seemed everyone was getting excited at Eva getting a Joker. But that one guy said it didn’t matter unless there were two Jokers. Does that mean he and Eva won? Well, in the eyes of some of the girls and guys around him- he and she definitely won. ”Arthur, you gotta put down your card.” Terrance finally spoke up, and Arthur put down his Joker next to Eva’s showing a pair.

Instantly a roar of cheering, shouting, gasping, hooping, and hollering filled the living room. Even drawing in attention from the smokers outside. Arthur felt a sense of pride well up in his chest. Everyone seemed impressed, so they must have won the game, or something along those lines! ”Arthur, you lucky son of a bitch. What I wouldn’t have given to get a Joker with Gigi.” Wait, what did he mean by that? ”Same here! Though Helene and I don’t need some cards to tell us what we are going to get up to later.” Terrance smiled widely, playfully slapping Helene’s thighs. Arthur grew slightly pale. Oh god, what were they talking about? But, in a quick burst of movement, it seemed that Arthur and Eva were being pulled by the many members of the crowd, down a hallway. Every person they passed was saying something like, “That lucky bastard”, or to Eva “Lucky Bitch”. Arthur got a tinge of anger hearing some of the girls say that in Eva’s direction. Were they mad that they had won a stupid card game? But it seemed much more than that, as Eva was being pulled ahead, while Terrance and Alexander walked beside him. ”I may be a bit drunk… but is it just me or is everyone acting weird?”

Terrance just let out a loud laugh, patting Arthur on the back. ”Arthur… Have you ever heard of 7 minutes in heaven?” Arthur paused for a moment with his thoughts. What would 7 minutes in heaven be like? Why only seven minutes? Arthur imagined a bunch of winged angels singing around some golden arches and some kind of pearly gates. It didn’t really appeal to him that much. ”Like… angels?” Terrance facepalmed himself hard, while Alexander stood to the side just snickering. ”Arthur, how do you feel when you see Eva?” Wow, words couldn’t describe the feeling. Although before he would describe it as nauseating and painful, his emotions were really evolving. He felt warm when he saw her, he felt like he could climb a mountain, or swim across an entire ocean. And when he hugged her earlier, he felt like he was a firework going off in the sky. It was the greatest feeling he had experienced since… well as crude as it was, killing a man. For some reason, the feeling of passion he had for Eva somehow reminded him of the ecstasy he experienced of holding the life of a man in his hands. ”Amazing.” Was all that Arthur could muster out.

”Alright. Well to say it in short. You two get uninterrupted time together. 7 minutes specifically. So you get to experience those feelings for her, with her in privacy. Doesn’t that sound nice?” Arthur watched ahead of him, as it seemed that a verbal exchange was going on between Eva and her friends before Helene seemed to be pushing her into the room. Him? Her? ALONE? Arthur froze up like a block of ice. Where he had been walking along with the tidal waves of hands pushing him into the bedroom, now he felt like he couldn’t move another inch. He was just finally getting in control of his feelings to be able to look at her without dying. Being locked in a room with her for 7 minutes?? It was overwhelming. He couldn’t fight the pull of the hands around him, as they continued to cheer for Eva and Arthur, some of the random girls turning up their noses. Obviously jealous that they weren’t the ones going into the room. Arthur was sure if they could, they would volunteer as tribute in an instance. Arthur’s panicked eyes jumped from face to face before landing on Jacob. Jacob mouthed something to him. It looked like it contained the words relax. Oh god, how could he relax at a moment like this??

With that final thought, it took three guys eagerly pushing Arthur into the room, that he stumbled backwards some. The door was slammed closed, and her heard the sound of a chair being pushed up against the door knob. He could still hear the faint roar outside, but above it all heard Terrance. ”Alright, Alright! Give the lovebirds space! Back to the living room, all of you!" And the cheering was followed by faint laughter and conversation, along with receding footsteps. The only thing Arthur could hear was the pounding of his heart in his ears. He was still facing the door, too afraid to turn around and face Eva, who he felt behind her. It was pitch black, as no one had turned on the lights. But after a few moments of being frozen still, Arthur reached his hands to the wall, rubbing around and feeling for the light switch along the wall. He felt himself bump into something soft and warm, something unexpectedly was there, and he lost his footing, falling to the ground, and taking the object falling with him. UMPHF! Arthur lost his breath for a second as he landed on his back on the floor. Hardwood, so he was sure that the drunken group hadn’t even locked them in a bedroom. Arthur had only known this due to the fact he knew every bedroom in Terrance’s house was carpeted. Arthur sat up, keeping one hand on the soft object that had collapsed with him. Oh god, he hope he didn’t break something belong to Terrance’s family. They were all spies, so it could have been important.

Arthur reached his other hand up along the wall, and felt the cold plastic of the light switch. Flipping it on, a single lamp on the far side of the room lit up. The room looked like a study, with a bookshelf, a desk, laptop, chairs, a globe, all the little workings. He was pretty sure this was either Terrance’s mother’s or his father’s office. The single light was warm, soft, and also not very bright. It didn’t light up the entire room, in fact, it almost gave as much light as a fireplace lit in a room. Arthur finally turned his attention back to the item that had collapsed with him, and on his lap he found Eva looking right back up into his eyes. Arthur’s heart was pounding so hard, he thought it was about to become one rapid session of beats, blending into one. His breath was caught in his lungs, and there was a faint red that painted his cheeks. He shook slightly before placing his hands quickly on Eva’s hips and lifting her up off is lap, and trying to steady her to her feet. ”Are you okay?” He was referring to the fall, he hoped he didn’t hurt her tumbling her over like that. His eyes raced up and down her body, her face, her arms, her legs, all making sure there were no visible marks. However his eyes traveled slowly across her body, absorbing in every curve and divot, and all of the smooth skin that was showing.



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Very Drunk and Stunned/Breath Taken Away
✖✖ I am At... Terrance's Party -> Study/Office
✖✖ I am With... Eva
✖✖ I am Thinking..."What is happening? Is she okay?"
✖✖ I am Wearing...Blue jacket, black jeans, and a white button down shirt.

Huh?

Arthur had the Joker card. And for just a moment, the gears in Eva's head finally seemed to churn. Oh no. Wait, oh yes! Wait, she wasn't ready for this! Wait, THIS was why Helene gave her that look! But it was too late, much to late, and everything promptly exploded into action. Why? What? She couldn't think straight, staying rooted in her seat as if afraid any sort of movement would cause some sort of reaction. Unfortunately, it became an invitation for the group to do the movement for her. Getting pulled out of her seat was pretty unexpected, moreso when she found her legs going along for some reason. The deafening roar of the crowd had made her jump, but the many, many death glares she received were jarring. Oh god they were jealous! Because of the thing! The Joker! Seven minutes! Arthur! She wasn't going to be able to handle this! It was a set up, that was why Helene had given her that suspicious look! Why hadn't she seen this coming--no, she never saw Helene's schemes coming, that was a silly question.

"I-I can't do this...!" Eva's voice was drowned in the cheers, and as she looked around, she was both grateful and terrified to see that the only familiar face was Helene's. Boy, was she tickled pink. As Helene looked at her, she saw Eva's horrified expression. "Don't--I can't do this!" She pleaded, but she was way too quiet to be actually heard.

"It's okay to be nervous!" Helene shouted, somehow making her voice pierce through the chants. "Just go with what your body wants! Let the passion take over!"

What?! Eva shook her head, trying to put her weight on her feet and dig her heels into the floor, but apparently it was anticipated as she was lifted clean off the ground. Her fear was forgotten for a moment as she gave Helene an unappreciative look, though the fear returned in full force as she was practically thrown into the room. She landed on her knees, skidding to a halt by the sheer force of the throw, and as she looked back, she could only watch as poor Arthur was getting pushed in. Of course, he didn't have the same luck, though Eva watched Helene wave at her.

"Don't forget rule number three!!" She yelled as the door closed, eclipsing them in darkness.

The dark did little to quell her nerves, and she stood up with rather shaky legs. A littlle too shaky, as she bumped into something--no, someone, that must've been Arthur--but the movement was unexpected. She wasn't sure if she had spooked him or made him lose his balance. She vaguely remembered Alyssa mentioning that fooling around was better in the dark, but she wasn't seeing the appeal. Eva expected to hit the ground, but it didn't hurt for some reason, and when the dim light granted her vision, she found herself face to face with Arthur. He had inadvertently pulled her with him, though their current position was enough for the circuits in her brain to fry temporarily. Despite their hug earlier, she had never been so close to his face like this. Honestly though, if it were up to her, she'd be perfectly content to stay like this, getting to examine his face. Of course, he might've been uncomfortable, and as if on cue, he placed his hands on her hips. For a split second her mind went straight into the gutter, but her earlier thought was proven right when he lifted her off him, somehow getting her to her feet. It was only by a miracle that she hadn't fallen back down, considering how weak her knees felt. He said something to her, which took a moment to register, and another moment for her to slowly nod her head.

Her arms were straight at her sides, though at least she didn't feel so nervous anymore. He looked...calmer? That wasn't the right word. His eyes weren't on hers, and it took her a second to realize he was looking at her. He was looking at her. And suddenly it was like her heart went into overdrive. Now what? Were they going to stay like this? She knew perfectly well that they could technically spend the time as they wanted, and didn't have to do anything. Then again, knowing Helene, she'd probably somehow get Marcus to continue rigging the game to continuously get thrown in here. That wasn't any fun, and she can't imagine Arthur enjoyed it any more than she did. At least she was able to be there with him and not anyone else. When that thought crossed her head, however, she remembered Ricardo kissing her, her hands to her lips. No, she didn't want to think about him anymore. She wanted to think about Arthur.

She had to make the first move. Somehow. If she could get her legs to walk like she wanted them to. Taking in a breath, Eva moved in closer, trying to channel her inner Helene. Except, geez Arthur was way taller. Knowing Helene, she'd make it work. Feeling her heart in her throat, she couldn't help but stare into his gorgeous eyes. Yeah, she liked looking at him up close a lot better than at a distance.

Despite having already answered his question with her nod, Eva decided to verbally answer. "I am now that I'm here with you," She admitted, rubbing her right forearm as she spoke.

ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

 
Arthur stood quickly after helping Eva to her feet. But he did keep one hand on her arm, as if to steady her. He couldn’t keep his eyes from racing all over her, from her arms, her legs, her body, and her face. Thought he wasn’t one for talking, he felt as if he would be rendered speechless if he were. But as he stared at her, and his eyes made it to her eyes, it clicked with him that this was all they were doing. Just standing and staring! If Terrance were dead, he would be rolling in his grave. He could hear Terrance’s voice in his head yelling, What are you waiting for, you big lump! Fucking kiss her already! But he was still frozen solid. Would she welcome a kiss from him? Especially after one had just been forced on her by a stranger? Should he touch her? Should he let her make the first move? Too many questions were running through his head. He cycled through his memories. All the times that Terrance, Alexander, and Jacob had randomly given him relationship advice would have really came in handy at this moment. But Arthur never really retained any of their “advice”.

He never thought he would get this far with someone before. He just figured he would continue his life as a bachelor. He never thought he would be hit with a brick wall like this. That he would live on like the loner his own father was… well. Even his father had found love, hadn’t he? Arthur quickly shook his mind. Why the hell was he thinking about his parents when he was alone in a room with a girl, a girl literally from his dreams. Oh, how his mind reflected to those more explicit dreams. From the tightness of her clothes, he could tell that her actual body was hundreds of times better than he could have imagined in his dreams. But what was better about his dreams, is that there was nothing but skin. She would shyly keep her back to him, as to not show anything. And if he tried to turn her around, she would playfully cover herself with her arms or a blanket. His brain was in overdrive, imagining himself ripping off her skirt and top, right then and there. But, even though he was very intoxicated, he could recognize the fact that that action would be too much. He had barely ever said 5 sentences to this girl, yet he felt like he had known her for a long time. Hormones were just getting to him too easy, as he let his emotional guard down.

But, this changed when he saw Eva take a few steps towards him and say a few cheeky words. ”I am now that I’m here with you.” Several bells and alarms were going off in Arthur’s head. He could feel his face visibly grow redder. She was flirting with him! That was flirtatious in nature, Arthur could tell that much! But even as the alarms went of in his head, something cooly from the back of his mind seemed to silence them all. She was just as nervous as he was. Did that mean she liked him? Or was she just nervous that they were alone in a room together like this? Either way, it was becoming harder for him to control his instincts. He could hear Terrance’s voice in his head again. Take charge! Girls like a guy that leads. It turns a girl on when a guy establishes dominance! Arthur looked back into the sapphire eyes of Eva, and as if with a mind of its own, he began to move. Reaching his arms towards Eva, he wrapped both his arms around her, placing one hand on the small of her back, the other one just below her butt. He picked her up in the air, with complete ease. She was practically as light as a feather, though at least it felt that way to Arthur.

He carried her over to the desk in the room, and moving his arm away from her back, he pushed away a few items. Pencils, notebooks, paperweights, and cleared a spot for him to put her down, so her legs were hanging off the front, and her butt was close to the end of the table. With her sitting on the desk, they were closer to eye level at this point, though he was still slightly taller. His heart rate was quickening as his thoughts continued to bounce around in his head on what to do next. His eyes continued to explore and travel over Eva’s body. And he didn’t realize it, but his hand that had been holding her up, was now playing with the hem of her skirt. The fabric was soft, whatever it was. It made the outfit look less uncomfortable on her. Put while playing with the end of her skirt, his fingertips occasionally brushed the skin of her thigh. He wasn’t sure what to do next, as he could no longer hear the advice of his friends in his head. All he could hear was the pounding of his heart. But something in his mind and chest were still pounding on. Telling him to act! Act on what? Do what?

But as soon as the question struck his head, his eyes landed on Eva’s sweet lips. He wanted to kiss her. But he wanted it to be more than what Ricardo had done. It irked him slightly inside, that he couldn’t kiss the same lips that Ricardo had kissed earlier. He wanted to, but much like holding two positive sides of a magnet together, he couldn’t push himself there. He still felt shame and guilt for not having been able to protect her from Ricardo. And he didn’t want to push himself on her in that same way. His eyes locked on Eva’s and Arthur bit his lip slightly, his mind thinking too much, and his body not acting. Was it okay for him to act? He thought back to all of the obnoxious “Consent!” posters that seemed to liter the high school’s walls. His stomach churned in his belly at the thought of harming Eva. He didn’t want to hurt her… force himself on her… he wanted to show her how he felt for her.

Taking in a quick breath, not being able to control himself much more, he just stated calmly, ”If you want me to stop… say so.” That was all that left his lips before he let his instincts take the wheel. He leaned his face in closer to Eva’s, as if to kiss her lips. But he diverted his course and moved towards her neck, beginning to place a passionate kiss on the side of her neck. His hand had stopped playing with the hem of her skirt and was now resting flat on her thigh. His other hand pressing into the small of her back.

Back in the center of the party, people were beginning to settle with chit chat, dancing, laughing, and listening to music. Terrance was sitting on the couch, holding Helene on his lap and playfully rubbing up and down her leg, and kissing on her back shoulder. Marcus was trying to entertain people around the room with a card trick. But it seemed too many eyes were moving onto the couple on the couch. ”Could you two get a room? I didn’t come here to watch you two.” Terrance grinned wildly and traveled up Helene’s shoulders and to her ear, whispering about going up to his room to “get away from the noise”, and he stood up, pulling Helene on to her feet with him. Jacob had retreated outside for another smoke, as he felt like he was coming down. He needed the smokes and alcohol to distract himself from his own thoughts and feelings. The stoners outside kept making jokes and showing around funny internet pictures and videos. But it wasn’t enough to pull Jacob’s mind away from the beautiful brunette inside, Alyssa.

He turned his head and saw Alyssa. She seemed to be watching her friend Helene as she retreated up the staircase with Terrance. Before he realized what was going on, his feet were moving. His hand pulled back the sliding glass door, closed it behind him, and he walked straight towards Alyssa. She couldn’t ignore him with him standing right in front of her face, could she? Before his brain could think of what to say, his mouth was moving. ”Alyssa… can we talk?” Was all that left his lips. Terrance wasn’t around to stop him from doing something stupid in relation to Alyssa now. He already had too much on his hands… or in his hands. Alexander was chilling on the couch, watching Marcus’s magic card tricks until he heard Jacob speak up. His head quickly swiveled towards Alyssa, and his eyes bounced around wildly. Alyssa, Jacob, Gigi, back to Jacob, back to Gigi, and then to Alyssa. It alarmed Alexander, as he knew Jacob hadn’t talked to her since… well, since he got soaked in whatever cocktail Alyssa had.



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Very Drunk and Frisky
✖✖ I am At... Terrance's Party -> Study/Office
✖✖ I am With... Eva
✖✖ I am Thinking..."I want to make her happy."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Blue jacket, black jeans, and a white button down shirt.

”If you want me to stop… say so.”

Her breath seemed to get caught in her throat once he said that, though she did manage to nod to let him know she understood. Everything else she did was her body running on auto-pilot, as her brain and thought process were a complete blur. This wasn't a dream, was it? She wasn't going to wake up in her bed to the sound of her alarm going off, right? But the way Arthur moved, the way his touch felt on her skin was beyond anything she could possibly think of. She had always thought that 'feels like fire' thing was always an exaggeration, but that was exactly how she felt right now. His hands on her thigh and back, her heart racing, she thought he was going to kiss her, only to go another way until she felt his lips on her neck, earning him a gasp from her. Wow, her heart was going to pop right out at this point if not outright fail her, her grip on his arm tightening a little. Her head was swimming, though her arm seemed to move of its own accord, her fingers running through his hair. It was a lot softer than she thought it would be, but now she wanted to feel more of him, her other hand running up and down his back. In the back of her mind she definitely heard Helene cheering her on.

Meanwhile, Gigi let out a small sigh, polishing off her cup as once again, Helene and Alyssa were arguing. There wasn't enough alcohol in the house for Gigi to get through this, moreso anytime they tried to drag her into it. Then again, despite not looking it, the girl had a very high tolerance for drinking, so she'd probably need to raid the local winery to get drunk enough, but that was neither here nor there. If she was being truthful, however, Alyssa was the one in the right. Of course, their reasoning was entirely different. While Alyssa was right in the sense that getting Arthur and Eva together was a bad idea, she didn't know just how dangerous Arthur Myles was. It was getting more and more difficult to drive his group off, and she definitely blamed Helene for that one. Since when was she interested in Terrance? Who initiated it? The cynical part of her said that he approached her in an effort to get a reaction out of Gigi, but knowing Helene, it could have gone either way. That and if Terrance did have a semblance of an idea of who she was, he would've likely confronted her directly. Either way, their groups were getting more and more tangled. For now, things were harmless, but the pit in Gigi's stomach was telling her that it'd escalate sooner than later. Ricardo Munez's actions were particularly noteworthy, and as she took out a cigarette from her pocket, she wondered just how long she would be able to protect her friends. Out of all the girls, Eva was the least connected to anything, though she guessed he was only getting close to her to rile Arthur up.

If hearts were broken, so be it. But if any physical harm came to any of them, Gigi would take matters into her own hands.

Helene's voice brought her out of her thoughts, reminding her of where she was, and she put away all her unpleasant thoughts. "She was stuck on him for a year. So I gave it a little push, what's the big deal? Life's too short to get hung up on anything," Helene replied, rolling her eyes, though she lowered her voice as Terrance neared. "If I'm being completely honest, I actually doubt they'll go all the way."

"Because you know this won't end well!" Alyssa hissed, though the two were interrupted as Terrance invited Helene to sit with him. The brunette was fuming, and she practically threw herself into the seat next to Gigi's. There was no helping the hormones and emotions, this was what normal teenagers did, right? Gigi turned a blind eye to Helene and Terrance's actions as they escalated, though thankfully, they decided that some privacy was needed. As Helene followed Terrance, she threw the two a wink, so which Alyssa flipped her off with a smile on her face. "I'm so mad," Alyssa huffed, crossing her arms. "I really want to keep drinking to forget about all this."

Sure thing, Alyssa, that was healthy. Gigi didn't mean to be disrespectful as she lit her cigarette inside rather than go out once she knew Terrance was gone, but God knew she needed it. "You can keep going, I'll drive us home," She said, knowing Alyssa was looking towards the kitchen.

"I need something stronger," She said, though she looked at her friend. "You sure, though?"

"I'm fine," She admitted, exhaling to the side to make sure she didn't blow her smoke at anyone.

"You look nervous. Everything okay?"

Did she? She had no expression on her face, but the way she wiggled her cigarette around qualified. Yeah, she was definitely nervous. Taking another drag, she looked at Alyssa for a moment, though her eyes landed on the approaching Jacob. "Speaking of nervous..." She popped her cigarette into her mouth as Jacob stopped in front of Alyssa, asking to talk. Great. For a split second, she and Alexander looked at one another, and Gigi would stand, making sure to get out of the way in case Alyssa decided to get violent.

Said brunette just stared at Jacob for a moment, her face unreadable. She hadn't the slightest clue what he wanted, but rather than blow him off as expected, she would stand as well. "Sure," She said, surprising them further, placing her hands behind her back.

Yeah, tangled was the right word for it...

ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

 
In the living room, Jacob felt as if he were holding his breath. As if he were drowning under water and couldn’t breath. He hadn’t heard Alyssa acknowledge him in too long, and it gave him bittersweet feelings and memories. He remembered taking her to the mall and buying her a necklace with money from one of his recent deals. She didn’t know that, but he remembered how she smiled. Rubies were definitely her gem stone, Jacob had determined. So, he got her a gold necklace with a Ruby gem on it. He wasn’t sure what sparked the memory, but it didn’t take long for him to examine her neckline and see it was no longer there. He wouldn’t be surprised if she gave it away or sold it to someone. That really hurt him internally. Jacob was surprised at first that she agreed so willingly. Probably looking as surprised as Alexander sitting on the couch. He shook away the shock and nodded, walking towards the front door and turning down a hallway, making sure that Alyssa was following him. Alexander scooted closer on the couch to Gigi, but then she suddenly stood up. Alexander quickly scrambled to his feet, smiling at Gigi. ”Do you want another drink? Are you hungry? Please, I can get you anything you want.” Goodness, Alexander had the look of a puppy dog, just begging for love and attention.

Jacob led Alyssa into a study room. No one was in the room, as it was closed off as an “off limits” room to everyone. That is, everyone except Terrance’s closest friends. Jacob closed the door once Alyssa entered, shutting out the sounds of the raging party. Although it was slowly starting to die down, as a few people ordered ubers and lyfts home, or some just passed out on couches and sofas. Jacob turned back towards Alyssa, but once he made eye contact with her… he didn’t have anything to say. Or- he couldn’t get out anything. What was he expecting? For the words to come to him once they got alone? That he could somehow pour out to her all of his truths, the reasons for breaking her heart. He took in a deep breath as to prevent allowing himself to start tearing up. ”Alyssa… “ His hands were shaking. He wasn’t sure if what he was about to do was the right thing. He wasn’t sure how she would react. But he felt like he would risk everything he had in that moment, for Alyssa. His voice got low, but just loud enough for her to hear.

”Alyssa… If you’ll just listen to all I have to say. You don’t have to answer. I just want you to listen.” Jacob took in a deep breath, and on the exhale, he started in.

”I love you, and I’ve never stopped loving you.” There was no turning back now. ”And not in the way Alexander ‘loves’ Gigi. You know what I mean. You remember what we had… Or at least I hope you do. I didn’t want to end things between us, I was forced to. By so many different people.” His voice drifted of a bit. Thinking about his father, Terrance, and any of his competitors or enemies who wouldn’t be above attacking someone he cared about. He clenched his fist, angry that he allowed them to do the one thing he never would have dreamed of doing. ”Alyssa. I- I want to tell you everything. And I promise you… if you’ll trust me. I’ll tell you everything in time. But Alyssa, I can’t bare living without you. You are the greatest thing that has happened in my life, and I want you to continue being that for me. But it isn’t safe.” Jacob had to stop himself from giving away too much beyond that. ”I want to tell you everything here and now, but it isn’t safe. We have to be alone somewhere I know we can’t be found out. If you still have that necklace I gave you, if you are willing to forgive me, and just trust me to explain everything more. Wear it next time I see you. If not, then don’t worry about it. And if you have already sold it… then I guess I have my answer.” His voice trailed off at the end of his sentence. If she had already gotten rid of it, it means that she no longer felt the same towards Jacob. He wanted to say more, but he knew anything else would be dangerous.

He turned around and left the study, heading back towards the living room. The party had grown significantly smaller, and phone sitting on the coffee table was beeping. Jacob recognized it as Terrance’s phone and he picked it up, seeing it had a timer finished for 7 minutes. Jacob remembered Arthur and Eva and made his way laxly towards the door that was boarded up with a chair. He pulled away the chair and knocked loudly before cracking the door. ”Time is up, you two!! Better get back out here!’ Jacob didn’t look in, not wanting to walk in on a scene that he wouldn’t be able to un-see. And booked it back towards the living room, and out to the last few stoners who remained, passing around the last blunt.

Arthur was in his own world, blissfully enjoying the warmth of holding Eva, and the backrubs that he received. He was definitely in his own little heaven with her. But, it was interrupted by the knocking, and the sudden stream of light from the hallway. Stop? He didn’t want to stop, he had just gotten started! There was so much more he wanted to do with her, and he could feel the condom that Terrance slipped in his pocket. It felt like it was burning his thigh, like a branding iron on his skin. But suddenly feeling exposed by the door being left open, Arthur broke his lips away from Eva’s neck. Significantly disappointed that his lips couldn’t travel to other regions of Eva’s body. When he broke away and looked at Eva, he noticed a dark spot on her neck. He ran his thumb over it, as if it were a smudge to rub away. But it didn’t go away, it was stuck to her neck. Where his lips had been, and it looked like a bruise. Oh no, did he do that? Did he hurt her? Did he go too far? ”Your neck… is it okay?” He asked in reference to the newly established, huge hickey on her neck, his thumb continuing to rub it, as if he could push it off.



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Very Drunk and Frisky
✖✖ I am At... Terrance's Party -> Study/Office
✖✖ I am With... Eva
✖✖ I am Thinking..."I hope I didn't hurt her..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Blue jacket, black jeans, and a white button down shirt.

Time was up already? Then again, Eva had been enjoying herself way too much. She pouted as Arthur backed off, still intoxicated, and she blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the light. Shoot, her limbs felt a little numb, why was that? She figured Gigi's concoction was finally slamming her, and boy was it a doozy. She didn't quite hear what Arthur was saying at her, her eyes examining him, though she felt his hand on her neck. He was rubbing it? Not really what she would've thought was sexy, but okay. No, it was like when you had a smudge or something. It was probably ink, considering he had lifted her onto the desk, and admittedly she wasn't really concerned with it. She didn't want it to end, not yet, she felt like they just got started! Did it have to end there? A tiny, timid thought popped into her mind that said maybe the entire thing was a booze filled fantasy.

Putting her hand where he was rubbing, for a split second she thought he was referring to her scar. But that healed a few months back, didn't it? After being there for so long she remembered how relieved she was to see it gone. Ugh, wait, what was it that he said? She couldn't quite think straight, placing both her hands on his chest. All she really knew was that she wanted him really badly. Her hands ended up gripping his shirt, and without really thinking, she pulled him down to her as she put her face close to his, their lips centimeters apart when--

"OI! WE'RE LEAVING!" An extremely drunk Alyssa shouted into the room, though at the very least she had the courtesy to close the door behind her.

Eva jumped, Alyssa's voice about as effective as some cold water being thrown on her. Wow, she was hot now that she thought about it. Releasing Arthur, she leaned back slightly, only realizing she was out of breath somehow. Knowing Alyssa, if she didn't join her soon, she'd come marching in and physically drag her out. But she wanted to pick this up again, and as she looked at Arthur, an idea popped into her head. Her hand fumbled around the desk, though she found what she was looking for, at least. Clicking the pen in her hand, she reached under his sleeve and pushed it up slightly. Taking his wrist in her hand, she squinted as she steadily wrote something, the pen going over twice to make sure it was legible. After making sure she got it right, she clicked the pen once more, lazily tossing it behind her.

"I have to go but...Just in case you're interested," Eva said, motioning towards his arm with a small smile. "Call me."

Hopping off the desk, she winced slightly as she opened the door, the low rumbling of whoever was still around buzzing in her ears. Now that she was on her own two legs, however, she found it exceedingly difficult to walk straight, continuously bumping into the wall as she made her way to the entrance. Gigi was holding onto Alyssa, who was singing something and hanging off her friend. It looked like she had drank more, and the brunette gave a cheer once she saw Eva. Straightening herself up, she helped Gigi and took Alyssa's other arm, and together they guided her to Helene's car.

"Wait, where's Helene?" Eva asked as Gigi unlocked the car.

"Dealing with her 'panther'," Alyssa broke out into a fit of giggles at her own pun, though let out a yell as Gigi pushed her in.

"Don't worry about Helene, get in," Gigi instructed her, though her eyes flickered to Eva's neck as she climbed into the car. "...rather aggressive, was he?"

"Huh?" Eva watched as Gigi went around the car, and Alyssa let out a gasp as Gigi entered. "What? What is it?"

"Holy shit, go Arthur!" Alyssa brushed Eva's hair off her neck to get a better look. "Way to mark his territory, Ricardo's kiss was nothing compared to this beast!"

Eva's hand flew to her neck, and it hit her. She pulled down the visor, the tiny light illuminating her a bit as she tried to get a look at it. A hickey! Arthur gave her a hickey! Never in her life have complete satisfaction and pure horror clashed so much in her heart. Flipping the visor up, she panicked. This was good, right? Wait, what was she saying? She had an audition tomorrow! People would see it! Oh god, and if she went home now, then...! "Your mom is going to FLIP!" Alyssa burst into laughter, voicing her thought unintentionally. Flip wasn't even the right word. She could already hear her yelling, giving her a speech about being a whore and--and--what the hell was she going to do?!

"It'll go away by tomorrow, right?" Eva asked, her hand covering it as Gigi began to drive. Thank god she hadn't given it any attention when she was still with Arthur, because she would've completely lost it in front of him. "It's not a bruise! It'll go away by the time I get up, right?"

Gigi's gray eyes connected with hers for a moment. "I would invest in a scarf," She suggested as she looked back to the road.

"In August?!"

ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

 
Eva seemed unphased by Arthur’s revelation of the spot on her neck. She even brushed his hand away. He assumed this meant he didn’t hurt her, which caused him to sigh in relief. He didn’t want his first physical encounter with Eva to be a bad one. But then, she suddenly grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him closer to her. He could practically feel their lips touch, his heart pounding rapidly in his chest. No wait! Everything had suddenly gone into fast forward mode. Alyssa yelled into the room about leaving and an alarm went off in his head. Leave?? No, no, he didn’t want her to leave! He wanted to keep holding her, keep kissing her. He felt like an idiot just rubbing her neck. Why wasn’t he holding her tighter? Why didn’t he just grab her arm and keep her from leaving. Speaking of his arm, there was a weird feeling on it, as Eva suddenly went for the door, letting back in the bright light of the party. In this new light, he observed his arm. In cute, but slightly messy handwriting. Was a phone number. Not just any phone number! But Eva’s!

Arthur reached in his pocket for his phone, but was shocked it wasn’t there. Oh no, where was his phone?? Arthur looked all over the office, and on the floor. No phone. He walked out into the hallway, looking back and forth. Reaching the now empty living room, Alexander was laying on the couch, staring at the ceiling. His eyes were sad, and he laid there pouting. Obviously upset from the lack of attention he had gotten from Gigi. "Have you seen my phone?” Arthur spoke up. Alexander jumped slightly at Arthur’s voice and turned his head to him. "Oh… Uh. I remember seeing it on the coffee table. But this is Terrance’s phone. He may have taken yours by accident.” Without thinking about it, Arthur hurried up the stairs to Terrance’s bedroom. From outside the door, thumping and the hushed sounds of voices could be heard inside the room. But Arthur paid it no mind, banging frantically on the door. "What the hell. Go away!” Arthur banged louder. "I need my phone, Terrance!” There was a shuffling of seats, the sound of Terrance tripping up and he opened up the door, sticking his head out. It was obvious he was bare chested. In a flash, Terrance placed Arthur’s cell in his hand, and then slammed the door back.

Smiling, Arthur turned to lean on the wall, turning on his phone. But before he could unlock it and type in the phone number, he saw the screen was full of notifications. Tons of missed calls and missed text messages. The messages all just said “Call Asap” ranging from being from his mother, father, and little sister. The missed calls were all from his dad. Arthur hurried down the hall and went into a bathroom, calling his father back. Shit, it was almost 3 am, and they had been trying to contact him for hours. The phone didn’t ring for very long until a deep voice was heard on the other line. "Var i helvete är du?" Arthur sighed and told his father, Terrance’s house. Arthur’s father groaned on the phone. "Kom hem nu. Vi har en uppgift att diskutera.” Arthur grunted in agreement and hung up the phone. God, he was in no condition to drive home. Walking back down th stairs, Alexander had fallen asleep on the couch, and Jacob began to walk back into the house. Besides the redhead hiding out in Terrance’s room, Arthur was fairly certain all of the strangers of the party had finally gone home. "Can you drive me back to my place? You’re probably the only one I trust to drive my car right now.” He threw his keys to Jacob, who easily caught them. Jacob just nodded, staying silent. He had too many of his own thoughts in his head about Alyssa to really talk about anything else.

Arthur didn’t live far, so the drive was fast. In the car, Arthur was able to finally save Eva’s number in his phone. In his drunken state, he hit the emoji’s symbol on the phone. They were all pretty ugly. That was the main reason he didn’t ever use them. But before backing out, he saw the blue heart. Impulsively he added it to the end of her name. He figured he should text her, but he wasn’t sure what to say. A normal answer would be “Hi” and maybe saying it was Arthur. But while he pondered on this too long, they arrived to Arthur's house. He tucked his phone in his pocket, walking up the long path to his house’s front door. Jacob patted Arthur back and pointed upstairs before taking off towards the stairs. Jacob was probably going to crash on the futon that was folded against the wall in Arthur’s room. Arthur didn’t mind, as he was focused on meeting his father in his office. Opening the door to his father’s office. The room looked more like an armory, as the walls were lined with several guns. Ranging from hand guns, to sniper rifles, to semi-automatics and automatics. Arthur’s eyes observed each one, and rested on a single silver handgun, with the word “Hämnd”, Vengeance, engraved on the side, Arthur’s personal gun.

Noah, Arthur’s father, was standing at a desk, looking over a bunch of papers. He didn’t acknowledge his son walking into the room until Arthur was at his side, looking at the documents with him. "Har du roligt ikväll, yuppy?” Arthur’s eyebrows furrowed angrily. He hated when his father called him a "yuppy”. It was a negative term that Noah used in reference to civilians, normal people. Noah was far from a yuppy, and detested those who were. It was obvious that Noah was disappointed in his son going out and partying late on a Friday night... like a normal high school senior. "You missed the initial call for the mission, and missed my own personal calls, your mother’s, and even your sister’s.” Noah was shaking his head, flipping over a few pages of a book of maps. Well they weren’t normal maps. They were layouts of different buildings, and from the top of the pages, Arthur could see they were the layout of different homes built around town starting from the 50s’ to the 60’s. This gave the appearance of a personal job. Someone had to be assassinated in house. "We have a month to take out this target. I’m going to send you in the unmarked car to observe the house. You have to learn this person’s daily routine. When does she go to work? When does she come home? When does she eat, sleep, and any possible daily irregularities.”

Arthur pulled the book closer, looking at the final house layout that Noah pointed out. It was difficult for Arthur to see straight, as his eyes weren’t very stable with his intoxication. Arthur just nodded and Noah sighed loudly, before standing up. Noah had noticed the inked writing on Arthur's hand. He was too drunk to hide it, and Noah realized this as a sober Arthur would have pulled back down his sleeve to conceal it. Noah was a very large man. Where Arthur was 6’4 and very slim built, with muscles here and there. Noah was 6’8, with significantly more muscle, and a thick, scuffy beard. He too had the signature long blonde hair of the Myles family, but his father kept it tied back and pulled up in a bun. His father wasn’t going for stylish, he was going for 'get this shit out of my way’. But it was disgraceful in their family to cut their hair. Cutting hair was symbolic for cutting ties with the family. It was also a way of showing that a family member was disowned, if their hair was forced to be cut. ”I’ll get your more details in the morning, yuppy. You need to sleep and nurse that forthcoming hangover.” With that, Noah turned and left the room, abandoning Arthur. "Oprofessionell. Oacceptabel.” Was all that escaped Noah’s mouth leaving.

Arthur huffed angrily and stormed out after his father, closing the door and locking it before retreating to his bedroom. As Arthur guessed, Jacob had collapsed on the futon in his bedroom and was already asleep. Arthur threw off his jacket and button down, just wearing his jean pants as he laid on the bed. He pulled out his phone again, revealing that he still hadn’t sent a message to Eva. He stared at the blue heart for a second, all of the memories of earlier tonight flooding back to his memories. He sighed and just sent her Arthur to let her know who it was. With that, Arthur passed out, tired from all the excitement that occurred tonight.



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:[1]Where are you?
[2]Come home now. We have a new task to discuss.
[3]You have fun tonight, yuppy?
[4]Unprofessional. Unacceptable.
✖✖ I Feel... Dead Tired
✖✖ I am At... Arthur's bedroom
✖✖ I am With... Jacob
✖✖ I am Thinking..."Eva..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Black Jeans

Eva didn't know what made her heart beat faster, Arthur or her mother. Of course, there were two different reasons: Arthur was someone she found herself chasing after, and after tonight was was definitely sure she wanted him. Her mother, on the other hand, was someone she felt she was always running away from, someone who she couldn't quite communicate with. Gigi had generously offered for her to stay at her place, but Eva was forced to decline. Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, she had an appointment with one of the recruiters for a school she wanted to go to, and there was no way she could miss it. Said school had been her choice, long before she met Arthur and long before the constant moves from town to town. She was relying on her musical scholarship to get in, so if she missed the audition, she may as well drop out of school. A little dramatic, sure, but it was the future she had for herself. After she bid Gigi farewell, watching Helene's car drive off. Being as quiet as she could, Eva entered her home and closed the door behind her. It was completely dark, and for a split second, she thought of being alone in the dark with Arthur. It made her more nervous, but she carefully slipped her heels off, tip toeing up the stairs slowly. As she reached the top, she was horrified to see the light to her mother's office still on. No way, she was still up? Despite the panic, Eva seemed resigned, walking right to the door.

Sure enough, Evelyn was still awake, reading over some documents. Her eyes flickered to her daughter, shaking her head at her as she stood up. "Do you have any idea what time it is?" She asked, putting her papers down and walking up to her daughter. When Eva shook her head, Evelyn pointed at the clock. "It's nearly three thirty. You're a good two hours after curfew."

"I...Ah!" Evelyn had inadvertently pulled on Eva's hair as she examined her neck, her eyes narrowing. "It's not what you think--"

"Look at you," Evelyn scoffed, her hand under her chin as she forced Eva to look her in the eye. "Drunk, dressed provocatively, and with a hickey. Are you proud of yourself, Evangeline? Did you have fun? Are you forgetting in four and a half hours you have to get to the Crescendo Ballad Center for an audition? Or did you figure if you kept drinking your hangover could serve as your guiding beat while you play?"

Smacking her mom's hand away, Eva shook her head. "I didn't forget! I just...things happened...and--and it's not a big deal! I'll be ready!" She insisted. "I don't understand why you have no faith in me. I've been preparing for this for weeks."

"Just to trip at the finish line," Evelyn scoffed, a hand to her forehead. "So tell me, did you decide to hook up with someone random? Playing one of those games? Seven minutes is long enough."

Holy crap she hit the nail on the head without knowing anything. "What--I didn't sleep with anyone," Eva replied quickly. "And he wasn't random, I've liked him for a long time--"

"And the drinks certainly helped you loosen up, hm? Liquid courage does that," She waved Eva away. "I don't care anymore, get to bed, we need to be up early, and I won't be taking any excuses in the morning."

She couldn't believe the way her mother was treating her right now. Why did she think she was so irresponsible? This was the first time she's been out so late, and she didn't believe her when she said nothing happened with Arthur. As Evelyn began to pack her things, she noticed Eva still standing there, but her expression was cold. "Don't bother, I'll find my own way there," Eva told her, walking out.

"Suit yourself. Don't come crying to me if you miss it," She heard Evelyn call out as she walked into her bedroom, and out of spite, she ended up slamming the door shut and locking it. Throwing her heels on the floor, she let herself drown in the darkness, walking to her bed. Once her legs hit the edge, she let gravity take its course and fell face first onto her bed. The sheets felt cool to the touch, as if it was an attempt at calming her down. Eventually, her anger subsided, and she just felt empty. What did she do to deserve her words like that? Why couldn't she believe her? Was she really such a bad daughter? Part of her wished she could have stayed with the man that she thought was her father, but when she really thought about it, he probably didn't want her, either. No one did. The bitterness clung onto her as she closed her eyes, turning her head in the other direction, and she noticed her phone blinking blue. Her hand reached out to it, unlocking it and blinding her for a moment. When her eyes got used to the light, she saw a message from a number she didn't recognized. Tapping the little icon to open it, there was only one word there, something that barely qualified as a message in itself, but her eyes widened as she read it.

Arthur

Her vision blurred slightly as she pulled her phone to her chest. She was probably on the verge of tears, but couldn't be bothered to check as the only thing she did was cling to her phone as sleep finally claimed her.



Eva jolted awake, shrieking as her phone's alarm went off, the sound pounding against her ears, and she sat up. Her chest was tight, she was covered in sweat, dazed and confused for a moment. She must've had a nightmare, but she couldn't remember it fully. As her alarm continued, she dragged herself out of bed, glancing at herself in the mirror. Boy, she looked like a mess. But there was no time to contemplate that, she needed to get going. Taking in a deep breath, she ran out of her room and into the bathroom. Once she showered and brushed her teeth, she grimaced in front of the mirror. Arthur's hickey was still going strong; she had to cover it up somehow. Running back into her room, she raided her closet, shoving aside outfit after outfit on the hangars until she pulled out a black dress. Pulling it over her head, the neckline covered about half the hickey. Crap, she was hoping for more coverage. She couldn't really wear her hair down, lest it get tangled in her bow while she played.

Rummaging through her closet once again, she pulled out a blue, silk scarf, wrapping it into a knot comfortably. She looked like a flight attendant, but she didn't have a choice right now. Slipping on her heels, she wobbled slightly as she grabbed her violin, but the realization hit her. She had told her mom she would find her own way. But who the hell would be up this early? Grabbing her phone, she decided to call Gigi first. Nope, straight to voicemail. Oh boy. She tried Helene next, and despite it ringing, she got her voicemail, too. Probably still in bed with Terrance. Should she bother trying Alyssa? She figured she had nothing to lose.

"Hello?" Came Alyssa's voice, sounding surprisingly clear.

"Alyssa!" She was so happy she actually answered, though she quickly went to the topic at hand as she put her violin down, having forgotten to brush her hair. "I need a ride to the Crescendo Ballad Center, can you take me?"

"Yeah. I'll be there as soon as I can," The brunette was pretty calm. "Oh, uh...could I borrow some clothes? Gigi's are too small for me."

"Of course! Thank you!" Relief washed over Eva as she hung up, grabbing something for Alyssa, and then pulling her hair up into a bun. Okay, now she looked like a flight attendant, but once again, there was nothing she could do about it. Once she was ready and with violin in hand, she waited downstairs for Alyssa, shooting a look at the clock once in a while. For a second, she wondered what Arthur was doing, though considering how early it was, he was probably still asleep. Looking at her phone, she looked at his message again. She should have messaged him, too, but she genuinely couldn't stay up after seeing it. Now that she was awake, should she text him something? It was too early, wasn't it? Or did she have to follow that three day rule? The thought was pushed aside as she heard the horn beeping outside, and Eva practically flew out of the house. She had almost forgotten they had Helene's car without Helene. Alyssa sat at the driver's seat, looking wide awake. As they drove off, Eva noticed a necklace wrapped around her hand. The brunette hadn't said a word to her, though she looked deep in thought.

"Why are you up so early?" Eva asked, curious.

"I never went to bed," She admitted.

"How come?"

Coming to a halt at a red light, Alyssa looked down at the necklace. "I have a lot to think about. I tried getting trashed but it just made things worse if I'm being completely honest," She shook her head.

"Want to talk about it?"

"I appreciate it, but I need to think about it more before I'm ready to talk about it."

Eva respected her decision, though her own growing headache distracted her. Shoot, she must have been hungover. Four hours of sleep with a headache was going to affect her performance. She needed to concentrate, and as Alyssa dropped her off, she thanked her and ran into the center. Luckily for her, she wasn't the last, making sure to sign in and get her number. The downside was that because she arrived so late, she would have to sit through all the auditions. She chose to remain in the lounge, and drifted off a few times, perking up anytime a number was called. God she was a mess, and waiting around for literally hours didn't help much. Rather than concentrating, she went to thinking about last night. She should've kissed Arthur. That was about the only real regret she had right now. The way he spoke to her, the way he looked at her, his touch, everything drove her wild, and she couldn't stop thinking about it. When would she see him again?

As her number was called, she went on stage. The lights nearly blinded her, and her heart jumped to her throat as she saw a panel of judges sitting at a table. For now, and only now, she needed to put Arthur aside. "Number Four Hundred and Two, Evangeline Esperanza," She introduced herself. "I will be playing Sergei Prokofiev's Violin Sonata, first movement."

As they nodded, signaling her to begin, Eva placed her violin on her shoulder and closed her eyes. From the moment the first note rang out, she was in a world of her own. Her hangover didn't seem to inhibit her as much as she thought, her movements second nature as she played. Considering she had been playing for as long as she could remember, it was a given. As she came to a close, her felt her arm stiffen, but rather than stop completely, she ended the note a second earlier. As it rang through the hall, there was some polite applause and a few murmurs came after. She bowed and exited the stage, letting out a sigh. Damn, she probably could have done better. But it was too late for that sort of thinking. After carefully storing her instrument, she sat back down, pulling out her phone. Whoa, lunchtime already? Her initial thought was to text Arthur again, but what if she woke him up? Even as the thought crossed her mind, however, she really wanted to see him again. But now that he was presumably sober, would he want to see her?

Despite her better judgement and after saving his number, her fingers ended up typing a pretty simple message: Hope you slept well~. Sending it before she changed her mind, she figured she should get home and try to sleep some. Sighing, Eva instead called Alyssa. And of course this time she would get her voicemail. Crap. Well, at the very least, she could walk to the closest bus stop. With violin in hand, Eva dragged herself out of the center and began to walk.

ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

 
The morning was surprising cool for it being the middle of August. A black, unmarked sedan pulled along the street and parked a few houses down from the target house. Arthur sat in his car, wearing all black clothing. His shining blue eyes peering out of the windshield at the house in the distance. Checking the paper in his hand again, he nodded in confirmation. In his suit, he reached for his shoulder holster and pulled out his gun, running his thumb over the engraved part of his gun. As with the beginning of any of his missions, he kissed the words and got out of the car. It was very early morning/late night, the moon was new, so the only lights were the dim street lights. He easily was able to sneak around to the side of the house and worked on the back door. But it was already unlocked. How lucky! In his mind, he could see the image in his head of the house layout his father had him memorized. It was finally time to take out his target that he had been studying for a while.

Though he was big, he walked with cat like stealth through the house, through the kitchen, to the living room, and up the stairs. He made his way directly to his target room, gently opening the door as to not make any noise. As he tiptoed through the room, he reached into the other side of his shoulder holster and pulled out a suppressor, screwing it into the nozzle of his gun. He had to use it anytime he was doing a mission in a highly populated area, like a neighborhood. The bedroom was what caught his attention first. It was obviously a young girl’s room. A little frilly, it obviously had transitioned from being a little girls room to a teenager’s room. It caught his attention because his target must have been really young. He never had to take out a hit on anyone below the age of 30. How sad… So young to die? Someone wanted her dead if they paid the Myles family such big bucks for her head. He stood next to the bed, just looking at the lumps of pillows and blankets curled in the bed. A grim smile curled at the corner of Arthur’s lips. It was evil in nature. It wasn’t normal for someone to get so much excitement from killing someone. But, Arthur wasn’t fully normal either. He enjoyed his work maybe a little too much.

He was pointing the end of his gun towards where the head of the sleeping body would be on the bed. Playing around in his mind whether or not to wake them. If they continued to sleep, they would never know they were about to die. They would have just gently drifted off in their sleep. No fun in that. Arthur liked watching the fear in the eyes of his hits. It was sadistic, but it made him feel like he had so much power, it was euphoric. With the tip of his gun, he started poking the head of the bed to wake them up. The sheets began to stir and move, Arthur just smiling wildly down at the movement. But when the body sat up, all of the color drained from his face. He was probably so pale, people could see his insides. Now sitting up in the bed was a drowsy looking Eva, who was rubbing her eyes. ”Arthur? What are you doing here? Her honey sweet voice pierced Arthur’s soul. Arthur’s face twisted into shock and he shook his head rapidly, dropping the gun with a loud clank to the floor. No! No, no, no, no, no. She wasn’t- He couldn’t- Arthur’s legs felt weak and he had to sit on the floor. But Eva continued to stare at him from her bed as he sat on the floor. He felt like he could die then and there. Eva knew his secret. Not only that, but he had almost pulled the trigger on her.

Then it clicked in him. What would he have done if he had pulled the trigger? The image of blood coming from Eva’s head- Oh god it was too much to consider.

He hunched over, clutching his head in his hands, shaking his head. No, no, no! This has to be a nightmare. This isn’t really happening. This isn’t happening! He clenched his eyes shut, trying to force himself a wake. But none of it helped. ”Arthur?...” He heard her voice again, and saw her feet step out of the bed and onto the floor. He watched her hand reach down and pick up his gun from the floor, pointing it between his eyes. ”You’re weak.” The loud bang of a gun shot rang in Arthur’s ears, and it continued ringing as Arthur shot up in bed, feeling his body being shaken. He was in a full sweat and was panting heavily and quickly. ”Holy shit, Arthur! Are you okay? You kept yelling in your sleep.” Arthur was breathing rapidly, his eyes bouncing all over the room. When it was finally dawning on him that it was only a dream, his breathing slowed and he began to sigh heavily in relief. That was unlike any dream with Eva he had ever had. Why the hell would his brain do something like that?

Arthur quickly got dressed in a blank t-shirt, not changing out of his black jeans and racing downstairs. Jacob raced with him. But the house was empty. Arthur saw a manila packet on the table. A sticky note stuck to it saying “Arthur”. ”Another mission? So early in the school year too.” Jacob said, making his was to the fridge to scavenge for frozen waffles in the freezer. Arthur flipped open the packet, looking at the photograph of his target, and older woman with very short, dark brown hair. Along the top of a piece of paper read the name “Evelyn Esperanza.” What a dumb sounding name, Arthur began to think. As he read through the paperwork. Jacob munched away on a frozen waffle, throwing one to Arthur as well. He glanced at it for a moment and shook his head. His stomach felt sick as he was still recovering from the nightmare from earlier. He needed to distract himself with something else. So, he focused everything into the manila folder.

Now that his eyes weren’t bouncing around from alcohol, he was able to full asses the layout of the home where this ‘Evelyn’ lady lived. It wasn’t a hard layout to learn, and Arthur read over the details. Payment, $100,000. Time for mission: 1 – 2 months, Buyer: [REDACTED]. Whatever name had been there, it had been blacked out with a sharpie. No doubt to avoid leaving any paper trail to whomever wanted this woman dead. Reason: Personal. Arthur smirked at the reason. He figured it must have been an inhouse job. Maybe a spiteful ex-lover. Maybe a deal gone wrong? It didn’t really didn’t matter to Arthur and the Myles family. All that mattered was the payment. Arthur pulled out his phone, seeing he had left open the conversation with Eva. His heart stopped in his chest reading her name on the screen, as his mind quickly ran through the nightmare he had. He quickly shook his head and tucked it away. No message. He wondered if she was recovering well from last night. Along with how that bruise on her neck was doing. ”I don’t want to go home yet… Are you having to do a stake out?” Jacob asked. Arthur nodded, and Jacob looked at his phone. He didn’t seem to have any messages from someone either. ”Well, can I stake out with you?” Arthur shrugged. He didn’t care anyway. With someone or alone, staking out was a silent task, and Arthur enjoyed the loneliness of it. But he wasn’t about to push away his friend.

Arthur went into his father’s armory and grabbed his personal gun. He wasn’t expecting to use it today, but he liked keeping it on him, just in case. He pulled on his shoulder holsters, and through a blue zipper jacket over the straps to hide them. It sucked that it was hot outside to be wearing a jacket, but he could just keep the AC running in the car. Going to the garage and getting in an unmarked, black sedan, with pitch black tinted windows. No one could see in, but they could easily see out. Arthur pulled up the address on his phone, and he and Jacob moved out to stake out the house. Arthur made sure to park a few houses down, as to not be very suspicious. Jacob reached in the glovebox and handed over a pair of binoculars, looking up at the house. It was hard to see into it, as all the blinds were pulled through. So for now, it was a waiting game to see if this lady ever came out of the house. It was 9:30 when they had started, when suddenly Jacob’s phone vibrated around 10:30. Jacob frantically grabbed his phone, and Arthur raised his eyebrow in suspicion of his friend. Hastily reading the message, Jacob began to get out of the car. ”I gotta get to the mall. I’ll see you later, Arthur.” Before he could say goodbye, the door to the car was closed and Jacob set off on foot.

Arthur wondered what was so important for Jacob to suddenly take off like that. He was definitely lucky they weren’t that far from the mall. Arthur began to wonder for a while it if may have to do with a new drug deal of some kind. Arthur continued to observe the house, all the way til noon when he heard his phone vibrate on his lap. Picking it up, he read the screen. It was from Eva, and once again Arthur’s face paled, remembering his nightmare from earlier. It didn’t help she had texted Hope you slept well~ He felt sick reading the message. He couldn’t be honest and say he had a nightmare about her killing him. At the same time, he didn’t want to lie to her… at least when it wasn’t necessary for him to lie to her. He stared at his phone for a long time, trying to find what to say. Didn’t sleep well. Didn’t sleep til almost 4 am. Had to get up early to work with dad. Very tired… Arthur felt it was so much easier for him to communicate with Eva over text. At least his heart wasn’t beating nearly as hard as it usually did when he heard her sweet voice. He sighed loudly, and leaned back in his seat more, pulling up his binoculars to examine the house again. His phone vibrated again, and Arthur grabbed it eagerly to see another message from Eva. But instead, it was a message from Terrance.

How was last night with Eva? What happened? You know my night was good-- There was an image of an eggplant and water droplets. Ew, too much information, Terrance. Arthur shivered slightly in disgust and reluctantly texted him back. We just kissed. Or I kissed her. She got a bruise on her neck. Arthur thought about it a while and sighed. He wandered what it was like to be kissed by Eva now. She enjoyed him kissing her, didn't she? He replayed the past night in his head, laxly watching the distant house.



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Tired/Bored
✖✖ I am At... Arthur's unmarked car in a random neighborhood.
✖✖ I am With... Myself
✖✖ I am Thinking..."Hope Eva had a good morning as well..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Black Jeans, t-shirt, blue jacket, shoulder holsters.

Saw your call, but there's something I need to do. Sorry.

The text was a little unexpected, though at the very least Alyssa had replied to her. It must have had something to do with what she was thinking about earlier. In hindsight, Eva felt really bad for not pressing on the subject. When she wasn't being annoyed at Helene, Alyssa was usually pretty easy going, so seeing her so serious meant something was up. But no, she put her own selfish needs in front of hers. Not that she thought Alyssa would hold it against her, it was just some self reflection. Figuring Alyssa didn't need a text back, Eva let out a sigh as she walked. The fresh air and bright sunlight only really served to make her headache worse. Had she really drank that much? Yeah, that Paris game or whatever was just drink after drink, and of course Alexander had been extremely quick to fill her cup. She made a mental note to thank him; there's no way she would've been brave enough to approach Arthur like she did without that 'liquid courage'.

Liquid courage. She really was her mother's daughter. She supposed that maybe she could ask her mom to pick her up, but she sincerely doubted she would. Not out of malice or anything, but she was probably getting ready to go to work. Didn't hurt to try, though, right? Placing the call, she continued to walk, listening to the line ring. Once, twice, and then she could hear the sound of a door closing. "How did it go?" Evelyn got straight to the point as she spoke.

Hello to you, too. Eva still wasn't quite used to her phone calls; did she respond to everyone this way? Or just her? "I made it. Went well," She said, deciding that she may as well answer.

"Good," She heard some shuffling followed by the sound of a car door opening. "You'll have to get dinner for yourself, Marshall is doing some overtime and I have a meeting at Allendale so I won't be back until late tonight."

So she had the house to herself? Wait, she was going to be alone all day? That had to be a sign. "Okay, thanks for the heads up," She said, unable to hide her grin. For a second, however, she almost forgot what she called for. "Can I ask you something?"

"What is it--wait, where are the papers...?" The last part was mumbled, Evelyn talking to herself. She probably forgot something in the house. "We'll talk later, I'm running late."

Evelyn hung up at that point, and Eva looked at her phone. Honestly, she had no idea why she kept expecting anything else when their conversations always ended the same. As she stared at her phone, crestfallen, it lit up, indicating she had a text. Her eyes seemed to come to life as she noticed it was Arthur. Didn’t sleep well. Didn’t sleep til almost 4 am. Had to get up early to work with dad. Very tired… Awww, poor thing. Biting down on her lip, she was tempted to come up with a witty response. What could she say? As she went to type up the response, her phone rang, making her jump. "Hello?"

"Hey, have you seen Alyssa?" Gigi asked from the other line. "Helene is asking where her car is, and she left before I woke up."

"She dropped me off at the hall, but then she left," Eva explained, coming to a halt. Shoot, now she was really regretting leaving Alyssa be. "She was acting weird, really pensive and wouldn't tell me what it was about."

"I see," Gigi hesitated. "I'll find her. Sorry to bother you."

"We could look for her together," She offered, beginning to walk again.

"That won't be necessary," She assured her. "By the way, how did the audition go?"

"Not my best, but I'll just have to see--" Her phone buzzed. "Um, I have another call, I'll let you go."

"Alright. Take care," After that, Gigi hung up.

Looking at her phone to see who else called, she was surprised when they hung up. She didn't recognize the number, but before she could investigate, a text from Helene came in. My young apprentice, I am sourly disappointed to learn you did not ride Arthur for all his Myles. Eva rolled her eyes, already picturing Helene's smug look as she reveled in her own pun. Also where the hell is Alyssa with my car??? So it looks like Alyssa hadn't returned her car yet. Her feet were beginning to hurt from all the walking, but she was about a block away from her house. Entertaining the idea of going the rest of the way barefoot, she suddenly remembered that her house would be empty tonight. Was that something she could tell him via text? Would he show up? Her heart raced as she pulled up her texts on her phone. He did say he was tired, maybe it wasn't the best idea. But she really wanted to see him.

Got tired of me running through your dreams? If you'd like, you can come take a nap at my place, my parents won't be home. She sent the message without any sort of hesitation or thought, though it did give her a second wind, and she picked up the pace.

ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

 
Jacob’s heart was pounding, standing in the center hub of the mall. It had a large, ornate fountain in the middle, and acted like a roundabout for people walking through the mall, either going towards the east, west, north, or south branches. It had been the normal meeting up place with him and Alyssa back in the day. Jacob looked at his phone, checking his messages again, just to be sure he didn’t miss anything. Meet me at the mall. was all it said, so he could only assume it meant the fountain. Jacob grew more and more anxious as time passed, scanning the crowd for Alyssa. After a few minutes, his eyes locked on her, and he could see that she was coming towards him. He kept leaning, standing on his toes, and moving his head to try and see her neckline. But people continued to pass in front of him, blocking his view to perfectly see her.

As Arthur was oblivious to the anxiety that Jacob was feeling, he was snapped from his thoughts of Eva when he noticed the short haired woman walk out of the house, on her phone. She looked more serious in real life than in the picture. Arthur had been called a “serious looking” person by all his classmates before. Did his face look like that too? He examined through the binoculars that she was on the phone with someone. But it was obvious she was frustrated at whoever was on the other end, as it was distracting her from hurrying off somewhere. She hung up, got into her car and drove away down the street. Arthur pulled out a notepad and wrote ‘Saturday – 12:34pm – Leave House’. Weekends were usually harder to investigate. It was usually when people weren’t working, and their routine could easily change. Weekdays were easier to learn as they were almost always set in stone. Go to work in the morning, come home in the evening, stay up a few hours, go to bed.

Arthur leaned back and continued to watch the house from a distance and pulling up his file on her to read more of the details. At one point in the paperwork it noted a spouse. Usually when the target left the house, he would approach it to inspect it for any weak points. Maybe a window that they’ve never been able to close fully. Or a lock that could easily be picked. But knowing that the woman had a spouse, he figured he would wait until he either left or came home, so Arthur could learn his schedule as well. A few more minutes passed as Arthur scanned the document and his phone vibrated again. If Noah knew how much he was texting a girl when he was supposed to be focusing on a mission... Well, pissed-off was a kind term for his father. Got tired of me running through your dreams? If you’d like, you can come take a nap at my place, my parents won’t be home. His heart exploded at the text message. Come take a nap? Arthur wouldn't be able to sleep knowing he was so close to Eva. And ALONE with her? His heart pounded faster as he read it again, specifically take a nap at my place, my parents won't be home. He had seen that phrase before, specifically in text messages from Terrance. If the gang was trying to get together to hang out, and Terrance texted back, "No, can't, going to sleep at So-and-so's. Her parents are out. ;)", it 100% always meant that he was going to fuck So-and-so. Was Eva inviting him to--? His face flooded with warmth, and his leg felt like it was on fire again. He hadn't changed his pants from the night before, so that damned condom Terrance slipped into his pocket was still hiding there.

Now his father would really kill him, if he knew that Arthur was going to abandon his stakeout to be with a girl. Arthur would miss when the woman came home and would miss the possible coming and going of the husband. It would be as if he didn’t even start the mission yet, and Noah hated laziness like this. His fingers tapped on the side of his phone for a few minutes, finding the words to say. Send me your address. He responded. His heart felt like it was going to burst from his chest and he sighed blissfully, imagining being alone with Eva again. Maybe this time he would be able to kiss more than just her neck. He still felt a tinge of guilt for having left that large bruise on her neck. But it was overpowered by the warmth he felt growing in the pit of his stomach. They were going to be alone, uninterrupted, for longer than 7 minutes. Actually, possibly for hours. Oh, the things he could do with Eva having that much time on his hands. A very tiny smile grew at the corner of Arthur’s lips.

Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. And to his shock, it was Eva walking down the street. Woah! Was she a neighbor to her target? Arthur was going to have to ask her about her neighbor. Any new and extra details he could get on his target, the better. Wait- Eva no- Don’t walk up to that house, Evelyn isn’t home- Why does she have a key to the house? And Arthur felt the blood drain from his face again. His phone beeped, and checking for a message from Eva, he could see that it was her address… the same address as Evelyn Esperanza. He felt his soul being ripped out of his chest in that moment and Arthur hurriedly grabbed his manila folder, flipping through it. Offspring: One Daughter. That is all it said, and Arthur could only logically conclude that that one daughter was Eva.

How did Arthur not know? He realized that he didn’t even know Eva’s full name. Just that she went by Eva, but her full first name was Evangeline. Evangeline Esparanza? Now that sounded like a beautiful name. But Arthur felt significantly conflicted. He couldn’t kill Eva’s mother? That was messed up! Losing a loved one is very painful for normal people, and he couldn’t inflict that kind of pain on Eva. But he also knows he would let down his father by abandon a “perfectly good” mission. And even then, if he didn’t carry it out, his father would. Too many thoughts were running through his head, so many that he didn’t realize he was climbing out of his car, locking it, and approaching her front door. His head was spinning with the thought of killing Eva’s mother, and if anything, he could already hear Eva talk about her mother. If she was anything like Eva, then she had to be the sweetest woman on Earth. But then why did she look so serious and angry? Walking towards the front door, it dawned on Arthur that he had to be careful not to leave too much of his DNA evidence in the house.

If his father knew what he was doing, Noah would have had Arthur’s head on a platter. He was seriously jeopardizing the mission and his secrecy right now. Arthur decided to pull up his long blonde hair into a messy man bun. It hurt pulling on his scalp some, but he instantly realized why his father did it. He felt more free to move around than before. Knocking on the front door, Arthur realized she hadn’t closed it fully, as it slowly creaked open. Oh, Eva, please be more careful about closing and locking the door. You don’t know when something evil could slip through. Arthur stepped into the house, pulling off his shoes so he walked around in his socks. It was a really nice home, but the layout was exactly what he had been expecting from the map he had to study of the home. Every wall, stair step, corner, doorway. All exactly what he imagined. The only thing he hadn’t was the furniture, which made the house look very modern. ”Hello? Eva?” Arthur called out. It had suddenly clicked in Arthur’s mind too- How was he going to explain getting here so fast? Could he get away with just saying he happened to be in the neighborhood?



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Excited and Nervous
✖✖ I am At... Eva's house.
✖✖ I am With... Myself
✖✖ I am Thinking..."What should I do?..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Black Jeans, t-shirt, blue jacket, shoulder holsters.

The coolness of the air conditioning felt good on her face as she walked through the door to her house. Eva felt the night of partying finally catching up to her as she seemed to drag her feet through her home. The stairs leading to the second floor came off as daunting, and she ended up leaving her violin next to the stairs rather than carry it with her. Her arms were tired, her legs were tired, her head was pounding...but it was worth it. It really was. She just needed some sleep. Especially since she would likely need some energy later, whenever Arthur would decide to come over. Entering her room, she peeled off her dress, pulling on a black tank top and throwing herself onto her bed. The sheets smelled a little like soap and lilac; she figured Marshall must have washed them for her.

Just as she felt that she was about ready to pass out, she heard the front door open. Sitting up, she frowned as she went to her bedroom door. That's weird, she thought she'd be alone all day. To her surprise, it was Arthur's voice that called out to her. He was here? Wait, did he message her? Grabbing her phone, she didn't see any messages, though she panicked slightly. She wasn't expecting him to get here so fast! Or at the very least, she figured he'd let her know when he was coming! Scrambling, she pulled out one of the drawers to her dresser and grabbed the first skirt she found along with a pair of socks. Pulling her socks, she scowled as she realized they were over the knee, so she ended up wasting some time trying to get them right. Crap, she hadn't responded to him.

"I-I'll be right there--AH!" She slipped on her rug, grabbing her bed to prevent her from falling. Stay calm, stay calm! Why was she still so nervous like this?! Looking in the mirror, she decided to leave her hair up since she was still hot from outside. After managing to get both socks and her skirt on, she ran to the stairs, speeding down them and spotting Arthur. His hair was tied up, making it so that his face was fully revealed, and his outfit looked...well, fine, but it looked a little warm for the weather. He looked so cool. And he was in her house! "S-Sorry, I didn't think you'd get here so fast," She apologized, slightly huffing as she reached the bottom. She jumped slightly as the home phone rang. "Um, you can take off your jacket if you want, give me just a sec," She said, walking over and picking it up. "Grant residence, Eva speaking...no, Marshall's working right now, he needed to cover someone..." Her voice was a little shaky, but she willed it to be steady as she took down the message for Marshall. After hanging up, she turned back to Arthur, trying to regain her composure as she smoothed her skirt out. Her lack of sleep was making it really hard to think right now, but she did invite him over, and he came, so she was happy.

---

If you still have that necklace I gave you, if you are willing to forgive me, and just trust me to explain everything more, wear it next time I see you.

Her phone was repeatedly buzzing, showing several missed calls and messages. Likely it was poor Helene wondering where the hell she went with her car. Letting out a sigh, she silenced her ringer for the moment. Alyssa didn't bother looking around, the noise of the people around her barely reaching her. He'd show up, knowing him he'd drop everything and come running. He always did. It was a sweet thought, but really, since last night she couldn't stop thinking about what Jacob had said. There was more to it, he claimed. Should she believe him? Would she get the whole story or was he just getting her hopes up again? And why did she get her hopes up again? The whirlwind of emotions she was going through was a little more than she could handle. But at the very least some sort of explanation was due. It was long overdue, really, but she would take what she could get. And sure enough, she spotted Jacob from a distance. Without bothering to wait for him, Alyssa chose to approach him first, the ruby necklace still wrapped around her hand.

"I want the whole truth, Jacob," She told him. "Everything."

ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

 
Arthur’s eyes scanned the house a little more, eventually resting on a photograph of Eva and her mother. As from Arthur’s experience so far, Evelyn still had that serious face on. But when Arthur’s face moved down to Eva’s he felt as if he didn’t recognize it. She looked almost as serious as her mother. In Arthur’s eyes, it was obvious to him that she was having to suppress her smiling for this photo. It was odd seeing her so serious. His eyes drifted through the room again and landed on the violin perched against the stairs. Did Eva know how to play? If she did, he would love to lay back and listen to her play. Arthur had a love for the guitar, and he wondered if they could play music together some time. How lovely that would be. But Arthur couldn’t think of many songs that had violins and guitars together. He tended to lean more towards rock and metal music, than to more sophisticated, classical music. He jumped slightly hearing her sweet honey voice coming from the stairs, but then a small shout.

He was ready to launch up the stairs to check on her, but before he could get a step up, he saw her running down the stairs. His eyes traveled from her feet and up the long socks that stopped just above her knees. Wow, who knew something that could cover so much skin could still be so sexy? The rest of her outfit was pretty normal, thank top and a skirt. But in Arthur’s eyes, she still radiated sex appeal just as she had the night before. "Sorry for not warning you… I happened to be nearby." He scratched his cheek, watching her turn around and run off to answer the phone. Oh, how that little skirt bounced up with each of her steps as well. She said he could take off his jacket, and as he began to slip one hand under his jacket, he felt the leather strap of his shoulder holster and froze up. Shit! Why did he bring his gun with him? He didn’t need it, why did he bring it? He moved his hand away, leaving his jacket on. He couldn’t take his jacket off without exposing to Eva that he was packing. She seemed distracted enough by the phone, but would he be fast enough to take it off without noticing?

Before he could finish calculating how he could shimmy it off, Eva had gotten off the phone and turned his attention back to him. He wanted to stare at her and just absorb in the beauty that was her body, but he felt on edge knowing all of the stupid mistakes he was making. Being here, bringing his gun. He wanted to slap himself in the face. But something she said sounded odd to him. Grant residence? Well, what is her name? Grant or Esperanza. There was a little peak of hope in Arthur’s chest for a second. Step-parents? Was there a chance that she wasn’t related to Evelyn? Could she be a step mother? Arthur felt this was a reasonable answer, as it seemed Eva had nothing in common with this Evelyn woman. At least not from what Arthur could tell. He couldn’t really see the resemblance between her and the woman whose pictures sat in his car. But turning his attention back to Eva, he could tell she was tired… very tired. It hadn’t clicked with Arthur that she could be sleep deprived from staying up so late. He was used to staying up late and getting up early, that sure he could be tired, but it didn’t affect him.

But he could see in her eyes and in the way she was talking, she was very tired. Was she serious about just taking a nap? Had he misinterpreted what her message meant? Mentally Arthur was facepalming. Of course, she hadn’t been talking about sex! She wouldn’t have! She was a good girl, not like all those girls that Terrance would sleep around with. But it didn’t deter his spirit. Even just being in her presence brought Arthur a bit of joy and warmth. Arthur approached Eva and lifted her up in his arms, one arm behind her back, and he other hooked under her legs, bridal style. He made sure to hold her up in a way, so that his gun wouldn’t be poking into her, and carried her up the stairs. His heart was pounding, carrying Eva like this. He felt like he could just run off with her, it gave him so much control.

He knew the layout of the house relatively well. Maybe too well for someone that hadn’t been in her home before. He knew there was a master bedroom, most likely not Eva’s room, and the second biggest bedroom was right beside it. But upon looking through the door, he instead found a nicely furnished office room. Wasn’t this supposed to be a bedroom? Why wasn’t the second biggest room Eva’s bedroom? He moved down the hall, poking his head into the third biggest room, to discover a girl’s room. It was reassuring that it looked nothing like the bedroom from his nightmare, and Arthur brought her to her bed, placing her down gently. The bed was beckoning him to climb in, and it hit him how nice it would be to just curl up with Eva and take a nap with her. Terrance would be shaking his head hard, but Arthur didn’t care. He just wanted to hold her. Not thinking much about the image he was giving, he started to climb into the bed with her, lying beside her. He wrapped one of his arms around her waist, feeling the skin of her hip. He pulled her close to him, like a child cuddling a stuffed animal. If he kept his legs straight, his feet would have been hanging over the edge, so he kept them bent up towards Eva. The bed was so soft and cool, Arthur closed his eyes and sighed with satisfaction. "I was told there would be naps... so let's cut to the chase, hm?" He had a small smile on his lips, as his fingers played with the hem of her shirt.



"I want the whole truth, Jacob. Everything." Jacob’s heart was pounding in his ears, his eyes locked on the necklace in her hand. He couldn’t believe that she had held onto for so long. And he was thankful that she held it. If she kept it this long, did that mean she hadn’t fully stopped loving him too? Or at least, wasn’t ready to give up on them. Jacob was ready to tell her everything, his head swiveling around. "It isn’t safe here… Can we go somewhere else?"

They made their way to the parking lot, climbing into Helene’s car. Jacob turned up the radio as a way to block out the sound of their talking in case any recording devices could be nearby. "Everthing I tell you now… I trust that you will not tell anyone else. It won’t be safe for you. You have to keep this secret for me." Then he spilled out everything. Who he was, what he and his family did for a living. Trafficking drugs in and out of the United States. His connections, and those who could be after him, including Ricardo Munez. How Terrance had convinced him to break her heart- to lie to her and tell her that Jacob had been sleeping around behind her back. Then about Ricardo, how she would become a target for gang violence if Ricardo knew about their relationship and how he felt for her. How others would target her too, knowing that Jacob would do anything to protect Alyssa. It was dangerous for her, for him, and his entire family. He could explain more, expose Arthur for a killer, and his other to friends as thieves and spies. But he wasn’t going to expose them. It was dangerous enough with everything Jacob was saying so far. "But I can’t handle keeping this from you Alyssa. I can’t handle knowing that you hate me. That you think I would cheat on you. That isn’t who I am, and I was hoping you would call me out as a liar… but you didn’t. Alyssa, I could never let you get hurt like that. I could never hurt you, and I could never let my enemies come for you. You have to believe me. I love you, Alyssa. And if you don’t…" Jacob’s hands tightened into fists, "I can prove it to you."



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Tired and Excited
✖✖ I am At... Eva's house -> Eva's room
✖✖ I am With... Eva
✖✖ I am Thinking..."I want to just hold her."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Black Jeans, t-shirt, blue jacket, shoulder holsters.

Eva was dead. She had died and gone to heaven. Her good deeds in life had put her in a place where she was able to spend time with someone she wanted to be with when she was alive. A place where he literally swept her off her feet, carrying her up the steps with ease like a groom bringing his bride over the threshold for the first time. Yeah, this was her dying wish. There was no way this was actually happening right now. But there was no denying his touch, the warmth he had as he held her. His voice was a melody she wanted to keep on repeat forever if she could have it, better than any dream she had. Her alarm wouldn't go off and wake her up from this, right? But as she watched Arthur place her down, she realized it wasn't possible for this to be a dream or a figment of her imagination. For starters, if this was her Imaginary Arthur, he likely would've started undressing her by now. Wow, her mind just made a vacation home in the gutter, it seemed, and wouldn't leave. But Real Arthur just laid down with her, much to her surprise.

Could they just stay like this? As the thought crossed her mind, he spoke again, her heart racing as she felt his hand playing with her skirt. He did the same thing last night, she recalled, especially as she felt his fingers occasionally touch her skin. Did he want to pick up where they left off? Now? Here? Well, her message was pretty vague, wasn't it? Shoot, she hadn't been thinking straight when she sent it--actually, she hadn't been thinking straight for a good twenty four hours if she was being completely honest. Before it was the booze, now it was her sleep deprivation. Unless he really did want to nap with her, he did mention how tired he was before. Now she didn't know what to do. The bed's comfort was definitely making her body beg for sleep, but her mind was saying that she shouldn't disappoint Arthur. Maybe they could nap then do whatever he wanted to do. Wait, that sounded wrong, it wasn't supposed to be an open invitation! Except there he was, one of the lucky few to have gotten to be with her in her bedroom, so...yeah, it was an invitation for...that sort of thing...And he was already in bed. What if she was wrong, though? Ugh, she was overthinking again! Now what?!

He may have the emotional range of a teaspoon, but he's still a guy. Yeah, but...the way he was right now, he was so sweet and soft. Though, she did notice he still had his jacket on. Maybe he was nervous, too. So then, if she did want something to happen in theory, she'd probably have to make the first move. Letting out a giggle, she couldn't help but tease him a bit. As much as she wanted to sleep, as much as she definitely could use it, her mind was made up. She could always sleep later, right? "You can take off whatever you like," She said quietly, her heart pounding to see what he would do next.

---

As promised, Jacob told Alyssa the truth. And honestly, as she listened to what he had to say, she started realizing that she clearly wasn't prepared for the truth. Jacob's family was involved in some real shady stuff, amongst other things, and she couldn't believe it. What was she expecting? She figured he'd just say he wanted her back, give some weak excuse, say he changed. Normal stuff. This wasn't normal. Still, it was somewhat relieving to know he hadn't cheated. But of course she had assumed the worst, why else would he have cut her off so suddenly and without any warning? As he was finishing, her fingers playing with the ruby gem, her eyes diverted, though she looked up at him when he said he loved her. How was she ever going to believe those words again? Just as the thought crossed her mind, he insisted that he could prove it.

"That's...a lot to take in," She admitted, though shortly after her head was in her hands. "I don't think you understand what you did to me. You basically ripped my heart out and threw it on the floor, and you want me to believe you blindly?" She didn't mean to get mad, but she was still hurting, trying to make him see things from her point of view. "Even if we did give it another chance, how do I know you won't do it again? I...I can't take it a second time." She looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him. "This summer was hell for me. How in the world are you going to prove to me that you deserve a second chance?"

ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴ'Ｓ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe тнe вαd мαɴ
тσ вє тнє ѕα∂ мαη

ＡＮＤ ＮＯ ＯＮＥ ＫＮＯＷＳ ＷＨＡＴ ＩＴＳ ＬＩＫＥ．．．

тo вe нαтed
тσ вє ƒαтє∂

 
Arthur’s eyes shot open at her little giggle and following statement. ”Take off whatever you like.” Arthur felt his head spinning from her, not so innocent, honey sweet words, and his face grew a healthy shade of pink. His hand became tense and stopped playing with the hem of her clothes. His eyes became locked on hers and it took all of his effort for him to still his breathing. Though his heart was pounding uncontrollably. Was… she asking him to take her clothes off? While they laid in bed together? He could hear the little voice of Terrance cheering in the back of his mind, but it was almost as if all functions had turned off in Arthur’s head. He couldn’t comprehend a statement like that right now. To pull off her skirt, her top, and see her panties and bra. Would they be white? Pink? Frilly? Black? Blue? Sexy? Cute? What if she wasn’t wearing anything under her clothes? The thought made his face grow hotter and a deeper red.

Or, was she asking him to take his clothes off?

There was a significantly big difference in these two things, but as he laid there he felt himself growing more and more hot. Oh god, why was it so hot in this room?? And it didn’t help that Arthur was still wearing his jacket. It had been fine when he sat in the car, cranking the AC at full blast. But now that he was stuck in normal room temperature, along with this hot feeling in the pit of his stomach, he felt like he was going to die. His mind was still trying to decipher if she was talking about her clothes or his, but the heat was making it harder for him to think straight. He felt like a lobster being cooked alive in a salted pot of boiling water. It didn’t help that it also felt like he had swallowed a handful of hot coals that now incubated in his stomach, and behind his cheeks.

”Hold on.” With that he shot out of the bed and ran out of the room, closing himself in the first bathroom he came across. The minute the door closed, Arthur threw off his blue jacket and tore off his shoulder holsters. He wrapped the holsters up inside the jacket before looking in the mirror at himself. God, how was he already so sweaty? He could see the stains on his chest and under his arms. Disgusted, Arthur pulled his shirt off and threw it onto his accumulating pile of clothes. Looking in the mirror, bare chested, Arthur grabbed a hand towel and began to pat away any left over sweat, and then washed his face. Arthur’s eyes scanned over his body. He wondered if she found him as sexually appealing as he found her. He wasn’t certain what it was that girls looked for in guys, physically. Alexander said that girls tended to care more about personality than looks. Jacob said once that girls liked strong guys, with big muscles. Terrance, being crude, said that girls liked a guy with a large… downstairs neighbor.

Arthur looked in the mirror longer. He didn’t have a good personality. In reality, he didn’t really feel like he had a “personality” besides being very serious. Muscular? His father was very muscular, and Arthur was too… but it was a more slim, athletic muscular. Not a beefed up, body-builder, almost like his dad. He flexed his arm and chest in the mirror, watching his muscles move under his skin. As for his… well, he wasn’t one to really compare and see if he was average or not. But what if it wasn’t good enough? Would she stop giving him attention like she was? All these insecurities were now sneaking up on him. What if she stopped showing this attraction to him if she realized who he really was. What he really did. You’re overthinking again. Stop thinking, just act! Arthur took a deep breath and left the bathroom, making his way back to the bedroom and standing in the doorway, now completely shirtless.



Jacob’s heart was breaking in his chest, watching Alyssa get teared up. God, the pain was almost as bad as when they broke up. He understood that she probably wouldn’t trust him or believe him off the bat. It sounded like one very tall tale for a guy to spin to get a girl back. But he was telling the truth. No more secrets. His own father had to have gone through this same process with his mother, right? ”Until the day I die, I promise I will never break your heart again, Alyssa. You mean more to me than everything I just told you… that is why I’ve told you my biggest secret. Even if it puts me in danger.” He sat back in the car seat, sighing loudly. He felt better getting so much off his chest to Alyssa, but it didn’t reassure him knowing that she still wasn’t reciprocating feelings. He couldn’t imagine breaking her heart a second time. He would rather die that do that to her.

Turning back to Alyssa and staring into her eyes he finally spoke up again. ”I’ll do whatever you tell me to do. Whatever you think will make me worthy to you again. I will climb the highest mountain, I will sail the largest sea. I will find a way to walk on water for you. Tell me to jump, and I’ll ask how high. I just want you back… and I’ll do anything to get you back.” He was sincere in his statement, staring back at Alyssa with his big, bright eyes.



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Exited and Turned On
✖✖ I am At... Eva's house -> Eva's room
✖✖ I am With... Eva
✖✖ I am Thinking..."Am I enough for her?"
✖✖ I am Wearing...Black Jeans.

As Arthur jumped out of her bed, Eva sat up and watched him go. Hmm, she needed to work on her seduction skills if making him sick and having him run from her was going to become a consistency. Slightly disappointed, she took the chance to check her phone, spotting another message from Helene. Hey, can I come over? Aly still hasn't come back with my car. She wondered if maybe she should have her over. She wasn't really getting the response from Arthur that she thought she would. Maybe she was just bad at this. Thinking she could get some advice from Helene, she decided to message her back.

Um, I actually have Arthur over right now...

Her response was instant. Get out. I don't believe you. Terrance said he bruised you or something.

I offered him to come take a nap with me, which I guess sounded like I wanted to pick things up where we left off. I mean, not that I don't want to! Tbh my brain is fried, I'm so tired ;-; But uh...it was a hickey.

EYYYY! He's very possessive of you, hmmmmmm? Well,you'll probably be plenty tired afterwards anyway ;) what's happening now? Or is it so boring that you're able to text me while he does whatever.

I told him to take off what he likes and he ran. TT^TT

She was surprised to see Helene immediately calling her, and after making sure Arthur wasn't coming, she picked up. "He's probably stripping in the bathroom to go to your room naked!! AHHHHH!" Helene squealed into the phone, making Eva partially deaf. "See if you can take a picture, I'm curious to see what he's packing."

"Helene!"

"It's just a penis, Eve. What, are you not taking him to Bone Town?"

"Well, what should I do, then?" She asked nervously. "I think my heart's going to pop out of my chest at this rate! I'm so jittery, I can't even think! What do I do?!"

"Beat him to it! Get naked! Lay on your bed all sexy like! And then, when he comes in, you beckon him to you," She suggested, her voice getting somewhat hyper. "I guarantee his manly instincts will take over, and he'll ravage you right then and there! Although, now that I think about it, that's the intro to like, a million pornos. Arthur doesn't seem like a porn guy considering he didn't even look at another girl before you. Actually, I thought he played for the other team...But yeah strip down and bare it all!!"

What?! Just lay there and wait for him? And then what? He'd come in, take one look and then it was on? Well, sure, she had certainly imagined it happening, but actually doing it? "I can't--that's just--naked?!" She blubbered, shaking her head quickly. "I can't just get naked! Is that what you did with Terrance?"

"No, I ripped his clothes off as soon as he closed the door behind us and we basically went at it until Arthur interrupted...and then I jumped on him right after," Helene said rather casually. Christ, she was aggressive. But so was Eva last night when she was determined to kiss him until they were interrupted. If they hadn't been, what would have happened? Would she have been able to continue on or would she have chickened out? No...with the mindset she had last night, she likely would have given herself completely to him. But she was completely trashed at the time. Well, the booze helped with the courage. Ugh, she was going in circles. Somehow Helene seemed to pick up on her sudden hesitation. "I mean, you made it sound like you're going to do it so...What did you think was going to happen?" Helene asked, genuinely confused. "If you're not, you should probably put a stop to things and let him know, otherwise you're going to come off the wrong way. People get hurt that way. Just be honest: what do you want to happen?"

Oh it was way too late to stop now. Arthur Myles was in her house. She lost her chance last night, and she wasn't going to let him get away that easily. Maybe. Hopefully? "I'm going for it," She stated, jumping off her bed and running to her closet. "I really wish I had something sexier, though." She whined, searching through her closet.

"Don't overthink it, lingerie is for weddings and anniversaries, shit's too expensive otherwise," She scolded her. "He's probably a virgin, too, so just underwear is fine. Unless you have anything matching, wear that, then. WAIT! I KNOW! Your jugs are big enough, go with a tank top and your panties, he'll go crazy! And it'll save him the embarrassment from trying to take your bra off for three minutes while you stare at him and wonder if you should just take it off yourself."

She should have been grateful for her advice, but she was losing her nerve. As she heard the water stop, she panicked. "He's coming!" Her voice choked.

"Oh, pro tip, if you have any blue, red, or black underwear, try to change into it real quick. Super sexy colors~" Helene sang. "Just wrap it before you tap it!"

What was she going to do?! Letting out a small whine, she yanked her shirt off, nervous fingers struggling with her bra as she kept looking at the door. Finally, she threw her bra into the closet, pulling her tank top back on. It was actually refreshing considering how warm it was, but that thought flew out the window as she heard his footsteps. Too late, he was coming! Scrambling back to her bed, she caught herself in the mirror. Shoot, that bun of hers wasn't doing her any favors. As she went to free her hair, however, she spotted Arthur in her doorway. For some reason she felt obligated to explain herself, as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn't have, but she realized he had definitely taken his jacket off.

And his shirt. Shirtless Arthur. Apparently her mind overloaded in that moment, her jaw dropping slightly in response. He was a lot more built that his clothes implied, though she supposed she should have figured it by how effortless he lifted her. Pulling on her hair tie, it snapped, spilling her hair all over her shoulders as she walked over to him. She couldn't stop staring at his chest, and as she stopped in front of him, there was no hiding her surprise. "Wow," was all she managed to say, though she caught the remnants of her phone number still on his wrist. Her expression softened a bit, and she looked up at him. "Thanks for coming," She said quietly, taking his hand in hers.

---

Jacob really did want her back. How was she supposed to believe him? Alyssa had to look away from him before she got trapped in his eyes. There were too many things going through her head right now, but he wasn't going to leave until she gave him some sort of answer. She stared at the necklace in her hand, at a loss. But even after hearing everything, she soon realized the conflict of interest that arose from his confession. Then again, they didn't really talk about their families even when they were together, so it wasn't entirely his fault. But the same way he had given her the truth, she needed to do the same for him. Forcing herself to look at Jacob, she tried to stay calm. "I don't know what you can do. But...if you're being completely honest, then I have to be, too," She started, trying to find the words. "Part of me thinks that...maybe us being together isn't such a good idea. It's not that I don't accept you, but the last thing I want is--no, I'm getting off topic," She paused for a moment, unraveling the chain around her wrist. "The reason I never really brought you around my house is because my dad's an agent. You know, the kind that...tries to bring down guys like you," She admitted with a small shrug, taking his hand and placing the necklace on the palm of his hand. "Makes it difficult to date when he decides to investigate anyone I take an interest in."