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 felt significantly out of place at Evelyn’s funeral. Though he probably would have felt even more so if he had been the one to cause the funeral. Arthur stayed close to Eva’s side the whole time, not allowing Eva out of his eye sight. Everyone around seemed to be in some kind of grieving, but no one truly looked sad, besides Marshall. Even Eva didn’t seem nearly as phased as she should be. This was her own mother that was dead, and Arthur wasn’t sure he had seen a single tear trail down her face in reaction to it. She had been so calm at the hospital before in regard to the news. And even now, standing in the presence of the casket that held her mother’s dead corpse, she didn’t shed a tear. Perhaps Eva was a lot stronger than Arthur tended to believe, as Arthur knew he would probably break down in tears at his own mother’s death bed. However, their mothers were significantly different, if not polar opposites. His mother was warm, loving, comforting, understanding. Evelyn was… none of those things. In fact, mother was probably too kind of a term for Evelyn.

Arthur wasn’t getting involved in any conversation, simply watching each person who passed by to give their condolences. Arthur watched as Eva walked off to talk to a dark-haired man who stood by her mother’s coffin. His eyes began to scan the crowd of people, until landing one a tall man, with long blonde hair, standing at the entrance to the room. No one else seemed to notice his presence, and when Arthur locked eyes on him, he quickly moved out of the door frame. But Arthur recognized that hair anywhere. Wasn’t his father, as he always wore it tied away. Arthur made one mast glance at Eva, who was now receiving a manila folder from the man. Perhaps a lawyer with paperwork over what assets would be left to Eva. There were plenty of friendly eyes around to keep Eva safe, and so Arthur quickly moved towards the back door of the room. Turning his head, he just saw the back end of the stranger disappear behind a corner, and Arthur set off in a full sprint towards the man. What was he running from?

Turning the corner, Arthur had caught up to the man, who was now exiting the building at a quickened pace. Arthur reached out, grabbing his arm and pulling him back in. But what Arthur hadn’t expected was for the blond stranger to whip around, twisting Arthur’s arm behind his back, and pinning his chest to the wall, banging Arthur’s head. Arthur smirked, too easy of a hold to break from, as his father had trained him. Arthur’s other arm was free to move, so he reached behind himself to grab the roots of the stranger’s long blond hair, and pull it tightly towards the wall as well. The stranger’s grip loosened and he started to cry out. “Ow ow ow- OW! No doubt a dumb trick taught by your old man, huh Arthur?” The man responded, as Arthur was able to pull away from his grip. Once free, Arthur released the man’s hair, and the two stood eye to eye with one another. Arthur had no need to ask how the stranger knew his name, or even who he was. It had already been established in Arthur’s mind from his father. “And my, my, have you grown. Arthur. Has it really been so long since I’ve seen you?” The gentlemen spoke, now straightening out his pulled hair. He sounded… different from his family and his friends. Where they all had strong Swedish accents, this guy sounded odly… Spanish. In fact, it reminded Arthur too much of the Munez family’s way of speaking.

“I know you killed Evelyn… Why did you kill her?” Arthur spoke almost in a whisper. Not like he had to hide the notion, there was no one around to hear them speak. The man’s face dropped from a smile, and instead a frown grew there.

“You wouldn’t understand… and it is too complicated to go into detail here. I only hope that one day you will not be forced to do the same thing to Eva, hm?” Arthur’s jaw locked, and his fists clenched. What did that mean? But, seeing his chance to slip away, the stranger pushed open the door, waving towards Arthur. “Til this evening, I suppose. Your mother is making my favorite tonight.” The man waved, before disappearing out the back door. Arthur’s Godfather… that was his old man’s best friend? Arthur shook his head, turning around to walk back towards the party. He seemed to flamboyant… and his hair. His hair told Arthur that he had to have some kind of tie to the Myles family. But his father had mentioned they weren’t related, just best friends. Much like how the Patrones weren’t relative, but were practically family again.

Reentering the room where the service seemed to be dying down, Arthur overheard Marshall mentioning his name, and Arthur hurried over towards Eva. She was holding the manila folders in her hands. “Come on then, Eva… We can sit in my car if you need to get away from all this…” Arthur spoke cooly, placing his hand on the center of her back. He too felt the urge to throw up, like Eva. His eyes glancing at the casket. What had his Godfather meant when he said… having to do the same to Eva? He would never kill Eva. Even if their family were given a contract, he would refuse it, and he would protect Eva with his own life if his father tried to come after her. But his Godfather had seemed so sad about killing Evelyn… had he been forced to against his own will?

Making their way to the car, Arthur’s phone beeped and he pulled it from his pocket, glancing over the message from his mother. Your cousin Julius is in town to visit. When you aren’t busy I’d like you to come home and spend time with your cousin. And bring Eva! I’m trying to convince your father to warm up a little. Arthur rolled his eyes. Speaking of overly flamboyant… how was he related to Julius? Arthur could already see his obnoxious smile in his head.


BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ The soft sound seemed to pierce Alexander’s ear drums and brain. Alexander felt so warm and safe under the covers, and he moved his arm out into the cold, exposing air. He waved his arm around, trying to feel his night stand for his alarm clock, but it was as if they were missing from their normal spot. No biggie, the beeping had ceased and Alexander was able to lull himself back to sleep. Except, it was interrupted slightly by the occasional chirp of a sweet voice. A girl? Alexander felt groggy, it was a Saturday, why was someone up this early? He poked half of his head out from under the covers, rubbing one of his eyes to adjust to the light of the room. This wasn’t his room… this wasn’t his room.

Alexander blinked roughly, his eyes moving around until they landed on Gigi sitting on the edge of the bed. Alright, Gigi’s room? He had to be dreaming. But, this was a dream Alexander should enjoy while it lasted! He stretched his arms across the bed, taking in a deep breath and exhaling, slowly sitting up. The blanket fell off, showing his exposed chest as the covers pooled on his lap. “Good morning, min vackra blomma.” Alexander purred, resting his chin on Gigi’s shoulder.



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Sick
✖✖ I am At... Evelyn's funeral
✖✖ I am With... Eva
✖✖ I am Thinking..."Julius..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Black suit

Get away? Yeah, Eva needed to get out. Letting Arthur guide her, she tried to settle her thoughts as they kept splitting into multiple scenarios. Now that she had a name, she could probably find him. But Brett said that he was always moving from place to place, so would she have any luck? She had to find him. She had to find Victor Salvador. Arthur's phone snapped her out of her thoughts for the moment, and she watched him roll his eyes. For some reason that brought a small smile to her face, though the folder in her hands brought her back down to earth. Poking her fingers through the top, she realized there were more papers tucked away behind the birth certificate. As she got into the passenger side, she laid down the folder on her lap, flipping it open and going through the other documents. A copy of her social security card that also had her with the Salvador last name, a legal name change form, a few other things detailing the hospital she was born, and a few old photos. Eva pulled out the photos tenderly, the faded image showing how old they were, though her eyes widened as the looked at the first one. She recognized Evelyn and Brett immediately, the former scowling as usual and Brett hooking his arm around a third guy's shoulders. The poor guy was clearly not expecting the photo, an expression of confusion on his face. His face was pretty round, giving him a youthful look, his bright sapphire eyes pointed at Brett with his mouth slightly open. Was that Victor? They all wore the same uniform, though the background only showed a statue of a bear. She recognized that bear, it was the mascot of Carlton's high school. They all looked so young, and she was genuinely surprised to see her mother with long hair, seeing as how she always had it short for as long as Eva could remember. The second and third photos were of the three, with Evelyn looking like she was yelling at them. On the fourth photo, Eva let out an audible gasp, nearly dropping everything.

The fourth photo had the previous three, this time all looking at the camera, but on the corner she saw the top half of a pair of eyes that reminded her of herself. Placing it down, she looked at the last photo. It was Victor and a younger girl who was hugging him, throwing a brilliant smile at the camera. Her hair was the same shade as his, her eyes practically sparkling with happiness, though it was her face that caught Eva off guard. For some reason, the girl in the picture looked exactly like Eva. The resemblance was unsettling, like she had jumped into a portal of time to go take that picture. As she examined her carefully, though, she did spot some differences. The young girl was on the thinner side, and she looked taller than Eva did. Still, if she didn't know any better, Eva would have assumed she had a long lost twin. Looking at the back of the photo, she was surprised to see her mother's handwriting: 'Victor & Iris - My future husband and sister-in-law' was scribbled on the back with a drawn heart surrounding the words.

Taking in a deep breath to calm her nerves, she tried to look at Arthur, but she couldn't take her eyes off the photos. "That man you saw that gave me this folder, that was the man my mother married...the guy I thought was my dad," It felt so bizarre to talk about, but considering she had told Arthur, she had no doubt he was going to ask her about the folder. "My father's name...my real father's name is Victor Salvador."

---

Stifling a yawn, Gigi was tempted to go back to sleep. She could worry about the suspension later, her body telling her that she should lay back down. If her orders were to stay on standby, there was little that she could do, anyway. The best thing was to lay low and pretend everything was fine. Worst case scenario was that someone would buy her out. It was actually a sad thought as she wondered if she would have to relocate. She actually really liked it here. The rustling on her bed told her that Alexander was awake, moreso when he spoke to her. She didn't move, though she did let out a small sigh, her free arm raising to run her hand through her hair. She doubted he heard the conversation, though she knew she didn't say anything that could be linked to anything. "Morning. Sorry if I woke you," She apologized, though it came out as a slight mumble as her sleepiness took a hold of her again. He felt so warm so close to her, his touch making her heart race again. "Do you want breakfast?"

---

Her phone was going off. The too-familiar bell chime had woken Helene up. Groping the bed blindly, she let out a small groan as she realized it wasn't within arms reach. Forcing herself to sit up, she shuddered, feeling cold, though she saw her phone on a nearby nightstand. Clumsily reaching for it, she tried to clear her throat before she would decide to answer. It was weird, she didn't think she drank last night, but she almost felt hungover. Maybe she was getting sick? "Hello?" Helene croaked out a response as she held her phone to her cheek, rubbing her eyes. When no response came, she looked at her phone and realized she had mistakenly though it was a phone call. Swiping open her phone, she noticed a text from Evan: Stay away from Giselle. Staring at it for a moment, she had no idea what it meant and just dismissed it, closing her phone and placing it down. She was cold, and chose to huddle next to the warmth again, letting out a sigh on content as she let her sleepiness take over. Just as they were about to close, she heard some soft breathing that wasn't hers. Had she slept over a guy's house? How wasted did she get? Her memory was failing her, though she figured she should at least get a good look at the guy. As her eyes scanned his face, she sighed in relief. Okay, it was just Terrance.

Terrance.

Terrance?

Helene bolted upright, the realization slamming her. What the hell? What happened last night? She looked under the sheets, nearly screaming as she realized they were naked. Whoa, whoa, whoa, why were they naked?! Did they sleep together?! Looking around, she knew she was in his room, but she couldn't for the life of her remember how she got there. Had she run into him at the dance? The dance--Terrance was the smooth talking guy! Slowly trying to pry her brain for answers, the memories slowly came back in, sobering her up immensely. That's right, she had confessed how she actually felt, and he returned her feelings...so she came home with him last night. But no, this was a mistake, wasn't it? Looking at Terrance's sleeping form gave Helene a sense of horror, and she mentally berated herself. Okay, she knew his talking and moves were smooth, but she genuinely felt hungover. But when the hell did they drink? She only had punch at the dance! No, she needed to calm down, maybe this was a good thing? What was she saying, no, this was bad! She needed to keep her distance to keep him safe! As the thought crossed her mind, though, she knew she couldn't actually stay away. Lying back down, she held onto him gently, resisting the urge to cry as her heart raced against her chest. What was she going to do?

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 looked at the photos that Eva had pulled out of the manila folder. Eva mentioned that the man that gave her the manila folder was her “false dad” and Arthur’s fist clenched a little. Damn, if he had known… Well, being at a funeral he would have to control himself. But in any other instance he wanted to hit that guy. How could he abandon a child like that? Sure, it wasn’t his kid biologically, but he had already been around long enough raising her. It was pretty messed up that he would just abandon her. Victor Salvador… Interesting name, Arthur thought, picking up one of the photos to examine it. Arthur recognized the young woman with long hair… Evelyn, but with long hair. It seemed really odd given her personality. Then there was the dark haired man at the funeral- the man that Evelyn had fooled into thinking he was the father of Eva, and then…

Arthur felt cold as stone, frozen solid like stone too. Round faced, bright eyed, long blonde hair. And there was no mistaking it- Arthur’s Godfather. Arthur’s Godfather was Eva’s actual dad? Victor Salvador? And he killed Evelyn? The mother of his own child… and apparently former fiancé at one point? Arthur had to remind himself how to breath. Too many thoughts running through his head at once. He glanced at the other picture in Eva’s hand, of Victor and Iris. There was no denying it, that was the man that Arthur had seen leaving Evelyn’s house that night. The one that he saw running from the funeral, his Godfather.

And they were having him for dinner tonight. Arthur didn’t know what to say, but all he knew was that he had to get home, and let his mother know that the needed to keep Victor away from Eva. Why? Well, the path to that conclusion wasn’t quite connected between dots yet. But Arthur had a bad feeling about letting Victor near Eva. Was it wrong that Arthur knew who Eva’s real father was, and he was keeping them away from one another. Maybe, but if Eva started talking with her… Arthur wasn’t sure what would happen. Would Victor reveal himself to her? He didn’t have a choice, Eva would be able to recognize him from the pictures. Would he reveal what he was? Their family? Who Arthur was? Arthur didn’t have a good feeling about this, pulling into the driveway of his home. He felt so sick, he hadn’t realized he didn’t respond to Eva the entire drive, every possible negative outcome of this running through Arthur’s head. He kept his serious, straight face the entire ride, and held it when they got out of his car and headed towards the house. “Wait in the living room. I need to talk with my mom…” Was all that Arthur finally said from the funeral up to them standing in the foyer entrance.

In the living room, Arthur could see the back of the head of a lounging blonde, and Arthur felt himself grow tensed. But when the head swiveled around to reveal Julius, Arthur sighed in relief. Why did everyone have to be so undistinguishable? Julius said something to Arthur, but he didn’t pay it much attention, instead focusing on hurrying into the kitchen, the most common place where his mom liked to escape to. “Arthur! Long time no see! What, no love for your cousin??” Julius sat up straighter, watching with his own bright eyes and obnoxious smile as Arthur retreated behind the wall, into the kitchen. Julius chuckled shaking his head. He got a kick out of harassing his overly serious cousin. Julius’ eyes moved from the wall, and to the girl standing at the door where they had just came in. They say there is nothing in this world faster than the speed of light. But the change in expression for Julius would be a proud competitor. Smile gone, eyebrows raised in shock and mouth slightly agape. Unlike Arthur who was expressionless most of the time, Julius never seemed dull in his face. “E-Eva? What are you doing here??” Julius quickly rose from the couch, turning around to now fully face Eva.


Alexander smiled a little to himself when he heard Gigi mention breakfast and he purred a little, letting his hands reach for her sides, his fingers gently trailing up her body. It wasn’t uncommon for Alexander to dream about Gigi, what could he say besides he was head over heels for her? And since reality did him no favors, his subconscious had to let him roam free. This dream so far was pretty sweet. Gigi was still dressed, as was Alexander under the covers. Usually they were both undressed by now. Perhaps it was because his heart was longing for more than just lustful desires. “Breakfast sounds wonderful…” Alexander murmured, bringing his lips into Gigi’s neck and leaving a quick kiss. With his hands firmly on her hips, Alex pulled her back onto the bed, and pounced on her. He continued to kiss at her neck, running his fingers up and down her side. “I’d love to have you for breakfast, Giselle.” His voice continued to purr, one of his hands moving up towards her head and playing with her dark hair. Alexander could feel his heart practically bursting at the seams, and she felt so warm in his arms.


Terrance felt a slight bit of movement in the bed, which caused him to stir and wake up. He wasn’t feeling as angsty this morning as he had the past few days. And turning his head revealed to him memories of why that was. He took in a deep breath, and exhaled so much stress from his body. It felt… good to Terrance, getting everything off his chest, as Mr. Patrone had suggested. Though Terrance was still on the wall with himself over his womanizing ways, he was pleased to know that he could still claim Helene as his own. He could feel her heart pounding against him, as she held onto him and he smiled mischievously, pulling her face closer to his before placing a kiss on her lips. “Good morning, sunshine… I didn’t keep you up to late, did I?” He teased, flipping a lock of her red hair between his fingers. As wonderful of a wake up call it was to have Helene by his side, he could tell something was upsetting her. He could see it in her eyes and Terrance’s smile waiverd. Gah, he was never good at consoling girls, that was Alexander’s specialty. Even with how much he loved Helene, he knew he would probably say the wrong thing.

“Something on your mind, Helene?... You look bothered, and not in the good way.” Terrance ran his fingers through his hair, fixing up the mess that had been made on the top of his head.



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Nervous
✖✖ I am At... Myles Household
✖✖ I am With... Alone
✖✖ I am Thinking..."Shit shit shit shit"
✖✖ I am Wearing...Black suit

It wasn't that Eva expected this huge reaction out of him, but she found herself mildly befuddled at Arthur's lack of reaction. When she finally tore herself away from the pictures, she noticed he kept his eyes firmly on the road. Maybe he just didn't know what to say? Fair enough, not like she knew what to do with this new information. Once the car stopped, she made sure to put everything back in the folder, carefully placing it in her purse. Arthur told her to wait in the living room, which she found a little strange. He practically zipped into the house much faster than she did, but she shrugged it off. At least she wasn't at the funeral anymore, she wasn't entirely sure how much longer she could handle it. She watched Arthur run into the kitchen, though as she was addressed, she spotted a much too familiar face looking back at her on the couch. It was Julius. The shock of seeing literally the last person she was expecting actually made her take a step back. What was he doing here? He seemed just as confused as she was, which should have been a sign that it was a coincidence. Once the shock wore off, however, Eva found her blood boiling. What was she doing here? What the fuck was he doing here?! Trying very hard to keep her calm, she reminded herself that he was a guest. All that went flying out the window, however, as she walked up to him. "I'm here with my loving, considerate, loyal boyfriend. You know, someone that actually respects a relationship with me," She huffed out, glaring at him fiercely. "What are you doing here?"

---

Gigi nodded as Alexander confirmed he wanted breakfast. She was sure she had a few things in the fridge, though she had never made a meal for two. It couldn't be that hard, could it? As she thought about it for a second, Alexander's quick kiss came and frazzled her thoughts, paralyzing her for a moment. There was no time to react as he pulled her onto the bed, though the most she got out was a squeak of surprise before she felt his lips on her neck again. He wanted her for breakfast? What? Considering the fact that she normally knew how to keep her head collected, Alexander was truly something if he was able to rattle her thoughts the way he did with every touch. She felt dizzy again, her heart threatening to pop out of her chest at this point. There was no telling what surprised her more, his forwardness or her own reactions. No need for a mirror, she knew how red her cheeks were, but she was more embarrassed at how much she was...enjoying this. Was it because she had never been touched like this? Then again, Helene loved to grope her, but she didn't like it when she did it. Maybe Alyssa had a point, maybe she really did like Alexander. Still, she wasn't entirely sure how to handle the situation. Should she tell him to stop? Did she want him to stop? How far was he going to go? Was she ready for this? Question after question but she couldn't bring herself to protest. Then that meant she wanted to continue. At least, that was what she thought. And there was nothing wrong with that. Probably. But she had no idea what to do, she never so much as let a guy pat her shoulder before! The only guy that got close was Anthony Malone, who managed to grab her butt, but a kick and a broken table showed it wasn't wanted. She didn't want to kick Alexander off.

Biting down on her lip, she had to take a second to find the courage to speak, her eyes diverted rather nervously. "If that's what you want..." Wow, there was that really soft voice coming out that didn't sound like her usual self again.

---

Shit, Terrance was awake! Crap, of course he noticed! Why wouldn't he?! Terrance knew her face and the many faces she made thanks to him, so why did she think that he wouldn't notice?! Helene let out a nervous laugh, letting out a slight cough in response. What was she going to say? Should she just admit what she was thinking? Her head was pounding against her skull, not helping with her decision making. Ugh, why was her head hurting so much?! "I feel hungover..." She muttered grumpily, pouting up at Terrance. God, how she loved his morning voice, all husky and a hint of tired. Wait, no, that was a slippery slope, if she didn't focus on what she was going to say she was going to end up getting distracted. But who the hell could blame her? Terrance was an Adonis. And he was hers. Only hers. Was she really going to throw that away? Still, having him with her was only putting him in danger. At the very least, she needed to warn him.

Slowly sitting up, she kept his covers to her chest, frowning at him slightly. "Yeah..." She nodded, taking in a deep breath before she would continue. "Listen, Terrance...there's nothing more that I want in this world than to be with you. I warned you before, but I really need you to understand the situation I'm in," She started slowly. "That day on the beach, I didn't want to let you go. I wanted to tell you how I felt but...after you dropped me off, I was ambushed in my house. If it wasn't for Evan, I'd be dead right now. That's just the reality of my situation, if you had come home with me--" There was no way she could finish that sentence, her hand on her mouth as she tried not to cry. "I don't want you to get hurt because of me. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."

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∂

Alyssa Myles stood by the oven, flicking on the light to peer in. A few hours like this, and the roast was going to be simply amazing and tender. Alyssa could feel an angsty presence behind her, and she stood up, not turning around. “Ah, Arthur. You’re home. Did you bring Eva?” She smiled a little, playing with one of the small braids that hung from her face. Arthur slammed his hand on the granite counter top, but the loud bang didn’t seem to startle Alyssa in the slightest.

“Victor can’t come here tonight.” Alyssa turned towards Arthur, raising a concerned eyebrow, but also showing an expression of sadness. “And why not? You haven’t seen him since you were a baby. Are you not excited to see your Godfather?”

“I’m not excited about the man killing my girlfriend’s mother sitting at the dinner table with us. The man that is also her father.” Arthur’s head was pounding and he had to sit down. This was all so confusing and convoluted, it was getting hard for Arthur to keep track of who was what and where and how and… Arthur held his head in his hand, as if to attempt suppressing the pounding in his head. Protecting Eva seemed to get harder and harder with each passing day. The stress alone would probably kill Arthur. Procuring some Tylenol and a glass of water, Alyssa slid them towards Arthur, an understanding and sympathetic look on her face. “I see… Your father informed me on the situation…” Alyssa seemed to carefully pick her words. It was obvious again that his parents knew more about the situation than Arthur did. There was no point in asking, threats didn’t faze his parents, and they wouldn’t reveal anything to him unless it was completely necessary. “You two don’t have to stay for dinner tonight then… I knew about Victor and Evelyn, but… I didn’t know their daughter was…” She rubbed her chin slightly as if to ponder it. Arthur took the Tylenol and water, taking large gulps to try and calm himself.

“You two don’t have to stay for dinner then. But I still want you to show Julius around the city. Poor boy has been stuck on a plane for hours, he needs some company… And company around his age, not just me and your father.” Alyssa turned her attention back to the roast, and Arthur rose to his feet again, sighing in relief. At least he had one less thing to worry about with Eva. Walking back towards the living room, Arthur seemed to walk in just at the end of Julius’s talking to Eva.

While Arthur had retreated to the kitchen, Julius felt confronted by Eva. There seemed to be a guilt welling up in his chest, but he didn’t let it get to him so easily. “I’m here visiting my family… boyfriend, huh?” Julius’ eyes moved up towards the door where Arthur had disappeared to and he couldn’t help to laugh. “I didn’t realize you had a type, Eva. Or at least appearance wise. Long blonde hair, blue eyes. Arthur could practically be my twin… I guess you miss me still, hm?” Julius maliciously teased Eva. Of course she didn’t still have feelings for him, after he broke her heart leaving for Victoria. However, there was something in Julius that wished that Eva still wanted him, and somehow pretending that Eva was only with Arthur because of their similar appearances seemed to settle something in Julius. “Loyal. Haha! Arthur’s loyalty lies with the highest bidder, and you don’t even seem to know that yet.” With that, Arthur re-entered the room. The malicious look on Julius’ face seemed to soften seeing Arthur, but that goofy grin didn’t go away.

“Aunt Alyssa says the beach is still nice this year. I packed a swimsuit too! Why don’t we head there? Does that sound fun, Eva?” Arthur sighed in annoyance at his cousin. He was too uppity at this time of day. In fact, he was too preppy all times of the day. Assuming that the two must have introduced one another when Arthur too leave to the kitchen, Arthur placed his hand on Eva’s shoulder. Arthur looked towards Eva, questioning her in a glance if going to the beach was something she would like to do.


If that’s what you want? Woah, woah, woah, woah. That is not part of the script. Hold up. Alexander broke away from Gigi, sitting up as straight as a board in the bed. That was not what usually followed Alexander’s advances, and it was enough of a shock to wake him up. Or at least, it should have been enough to wake him up. But he was still here in this dream, and Gigi was still laying down on the bed, in her pajamas, face burning just as hot as the sun. Alexander reached his hand to his arm and quickly squeezed his skin. Ow, that hurt. That hurt? Oh shit, this wasn’t a dream. Alexander felt his face grow red with bashfulness as well. He had- he was about to- with Gigi. No, no, this wasn’t how he wanted it to be. It had to be more special than a morning banging session. His brain seemed to become overloaded as he stared at Gigi, not completely sure how to respond. He wanted her, yes, but he wanted his first time with Gigi to be special… and definitely not when he was practically in a sleepy haze… Speaking of which, his mind raced to last night.

How had he ended up in Gigi’s apartment, let alone her bed! She had always been so distant and pushing him away, how did he come so far without realizing it? “Gigi, did anything happen last night?” He spoke somewhat nervously, quickly jumping out of bed. He was in his boxers, and she had been in her pajamas. So that was sign enough for Alexander that he hadn’t done anything to her yet. But still, he felt extremely nervous. “I- I’m sorry about that. I didn’t- I-“ Alexander seemed flustered at the thought of being so close to taking Gigi. And why wasn’t he taking Gigi? She wasn’t denying him, she wanted him to continue, didn’t she? But no, it still felt wrong… The moment wasn’t right… It wasn’t what he wanted for their first time. “I- I- Gotta- Jacob needs- We- BYE!” Alexander scrambled to find what clothes of his he had scattered on the floor, grabbed them up, and sped out of Gigi’s apartment.


Terrance felt a little guilty when Helene mentioned feeling hung over. Woops, that was kinda his fault. Was that why she seemed so nervous? Did she think she had been tricked into being with him? He cold feel his heart sinking slightly in his chest at the thought of Helene revoking the things she had said to him last night. But as she continued on, it seemed to push away those thoughts. She was concerned for his safety? Terrance put his hand on his mouth to try and stifle laughter. But a small giggle couldn’t help to escape the corner of his lips. His eyes simply trailed over what figure of her he could see and he sighed patiently. Helene had been attacked… the night he should have told her how he felt to begin with. Terrance could feel the guilt washing over his body. If he had been there, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he could have protected Helene. Yet she seemed so unsure. What did she take him for? An amateur?

“I’m sorry that I wasn’t there to protect you that night. I should have been.” Terrance’s eyes looked down at the sheets. He reached his hand towards her, rubbing her back gently. But her concern only entertained Terrance as he grinned to her. “Hey, I’ve been in this game as long as you have. If nothing has taken me out yet, then I feel pretty confident… Besides, I’d lay my life on the line if it mean protecting you, Helene. Why do you think I punched Isaac? Because it would be fun?... I wanted to protect you, I wanted to have you, Helene. And nothing is going to stop me from that. Not even the threat of death.” Terrance moved his arm around her hips, pulling her closer to him in the bed. He smiled, feeling her bare skin pressed on his chest and he leaned down, kissing her shoulder sweetly.



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Nervous
✖✖ I am At... Myles Household
✖✖ I am With... Alone
✖✖ I am Thinking..."Shit shit shit shit"
✖✖ I am Wearing...Black suit

As much as Eva wanted to protest his comment on her 'type', there was no way she could deny it. The first time she had initially seen Arthur, she almost had a heart attack and thought he was Julius. And yeah, once the shock had worn off she ended up keeping an eye on him because she thought he was hot. So what if she had a type, anyway? There was nothing wrong with that! Still, his comment on missing him got him a reaction as she shook her head at him, simply glaring at him. God, she hated how he managed to get under her skin. Why did he even care? He left her! Julius was enjoying this way too much for her comfort, though her anger temporarily fizzled into confusion as he mentioned a bidder. It was like he knew something she didn't. As his face softened, she moved, though she came to a halt as he mentioned the beach. Crap, she didn't even notice Arthur come in. Throwing Julius one last glare, she retreated to Arthur, wrapping her arms around him defensively. As he mentioned the beach, she narrowed her eyes at Julius. Luckily for her, Arthur had left the decision to her, and she was much too happy to squash down Julius' suggestion out of spite.

"We've already gone to the beach," She informed Julius rather cooly, though she backpedaled slightly as she realized she sounded just a touch vindictive. "It's not a good idea, anyway, we just came back from my mother's funeral..." Despite her quieter tone, she couldn't quite control her resentment, taking a slight delight in denying Julius' plans. Knowing him, he probably just wanted to see her in a bathing suit. Then she would probably have to go look for that giant shirt Arthur had gotten her, as even having Julius look at her was making her mad, so if his eyes wandered she would probably lose it.

---

What the hell just happened?

Slowly sitting up as Alexander grabbed his clothes, Gigi watched him literally run out of her apartment. The way he stuttered and apologized actually brought some shame to the normally stoic girl, and she brought her knees up to her chest, staring down at her bed. Maybe her assumptions had been too hasty. Her hand rested on her neck, her skin still tingling from where Alexander's lips had been. She didn't understand why he ran away like he did. Wasn't it what he wanted? What, the second she possibly reciprocated all of a sudden he was going to freeze up? He could have been joking. For just a moment, she thought she understood Alexander, but it turns out she was just as clueless as ever, it seemed. There were too many questions running through her head, and each one managed to make her feel worse than the last. Dragging herself out of her bed, she decided she may as well get out of bed, but even as she showered and got dressed, she couldn't get Alexander's reaction out of her mind. But this was out of her league, she didn't have the slightest clue what to do or say.

Once she pulled on a shirt and jeans, Gigi picked up her phone. Helene was good with guys, maybe she could decipher Alexander's actions and translate them for her. Then again, with her contract under negotiation, things could get a little awkward for them. Best to keep her distance until things were put back to normal. Alyssa was a good option, she helped her at the dance! Dialing her number, Gigi ran a brush through her hair, a little surprised at how long it took. Damn, her hair was getting too long, it was nearly time to chop it all off. "Hey! You never showed up!" Alyssa's voice came through.

It took Gigi a second to realize what Alyssa was talking about, and Gigi let out a groan. Fuck, she missed Eva's mother's funeral. "Something...came up," She muttered, shaking her head.

"It's okay, Helene didn't come, either," She giggled, making it clear she was just teasing. "So what's up? Having trouble with Alex?"

How the hell did she know? The idea of witchcraft popped into Gigi's head even though she knew it wasn't possible. "Yeah, I was...something weird happened." Alyssa didn't respond, prompting Gigi to continue. "When he woke up he got...a little...frisky...? But nothing really happened and he seemed to snap out of it when I told him--" She stopped, already feeling embarrassed. "The short of it is that he ran away. I don't understand what I did wrong."

"I'm not too surprised," She admitted, a slight rustle heard in the background. "He's a real romantic, he probably wants roses and scented candles and all that good stuff. But most importantly, he wants your heart first. Not your panties."

Gigi had absolutely no idea what that meant. "I don't have a heart," She grumbled, tugging at her hair.

"Sure you don't, that's why you're calling me to find out why you spooked Alex, right?" Alyssa was quick to call her out, although she let out a small grunt. "I'm trying to finish my chores, come over and we can talk more."

"Alright," Gigi agreed, hanging up. Letting out a huff, she ran her hand through her hair, catching her expression in the mirror. Letting out a sigh, she exited her apartment, heading to her bike. Hopefully she'd get some better understanding from Alyssa.

---

Terrance's laugh did little to assuage her concerns. For a moment she thought he wasn't taking her seriously, and she threw him another pout. Of course, Terrance turned the conversation into his favor when he revealed why he caused the fight at the beach. So he really did hit Isaac because of her! Helene should have felt bad, but there was no way she could hide her smile as Terrance spoke. His sincerity gave her reassurance, just being around him gave her the security she craved. Her eyes were locked on his as he pulled her closer, loving the feeling of his skin. She felt so safe, so secure, like she could give him all her secrets with how much trust she had in Terrance. It was a little scary if she was being completely honest, but the alternative of being away from him wasn't an idea she wanted to entertain. The doubts and fears she had didn't completely go away, but damn Terrance knew how to quiet them down. Her left hand reached up to his face, her fingers lightly touching his jaw, her thumb just below his lower lip. "As long as you're sure. If you really want me and every complication I bring along...then I'm all yours," She told him quietly.

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 was thrown off by Eva’s odd shift in personality. It sounded like she was being… spiteful towards Julius. Which seemed so out of character for her. But at the same time, she was going through a lot at the moment with her mom. Maybe she just had to get through a few emotions. Still, he had never seen her take out an aggravation against someone like this before. Alright, so no beach. Then what? All Arthur knew was that they needed to get out of the house before dinner started. “We could head downtown. See some of the local sights, and there is a park as well.” Arthur scratched the back of his head. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt as if there was a lot of tension in the air between Julius and Eva. But that didn’t really make sense, this was just their first time meeting, and usually Eva was so friendly towards everyone she met. Yet she seemed so malicious towards Julius. Arthur drew a small smile on the corner of his lips. He was kind of happy that he wasn’t the only one that seemed to dislike his obnoxious cousin’s presence.

Julius looked at Eva wearily, and shrugged. “Park sounds fine.” He ran his fingers through his blonde hair. “Let’s get going then, shall we?” Julius grin, but it seemed he directed the smile more towards Eva than Arthur. But Arthur was too distracted by the thought of getting them out of the house than on the little interactions between Julius and Eva. He was more concerned that Victor could walk in at any moment, it felt like. Taking Eva’s hand in his, he hurried her out the door, Julius in quick pursuit. “Arthur, I had no idea that you had a new girlfriend now. And such a pretty one as well!” Arthur raised an eyebrow at Julius’ statement about a new girlfriend. What did that mean?

“I thought you were dating that dark haired girl, what was her name… Isabelle?” Arthur looked in the rearview mirror of his car at Julius as he just smiled brightly, but still confused by the statement. Arthur knew of Isabelle at school, but he never dated her. People may have associated them together because of their cold personalities, but Arthur wasn’t really interested in that spider. She was… weird. In a very bad way, too. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Julius. Eva is my first girlfriend.” Julius sat forward in the backseat. “Oh, really now? Eva, is Arthur your first boyfriend?’ Arthur tensed up slightly from the question. He had never asked Eva before if he was her first. He wouldn’t doubt that someone else would have fallen just as easily for Eva as it seemed he had. Yet it didn’t sit well with Arthur knowing that another guy had their hands on Eva in the past. He tried not to focus on that, as his hands slightly tightened on the steering wheel, and he focused his glare out the window.


Alexander took in a deep breath, letting out an exhausted sigh, kicking a rock across the pavement as he strolled away from his house. He couldn’t stay cooped up in his home on his birthday. It would be too depressing for him. He also needed the time to clear his mind and get some fresh air. He felt like such an idiot, not only for actually pouncing on Gigi like he did. But also, for suddenly pushing her away. He wanted her so bad yet… it just didn’t feel right in that moment. She even gave him permission to continue, but… It felt wrong at the same time. Alexander reached in his pocket, procuring the same Alexandrite ring and examining it over. The color changing gem was now a blue-green in the outdoor light, where as it shown a deep red under the lights in his home. He turned it around in his fingers a few times, before tucking it back in his pocket. He needed to find something to do to distract his mind, but he couldn’t stop thinking of how he left Gigi on her bed, so vulnerable to him. Gah!

Alexander punched himself in the head a few times, followed by extracting his phone from his pocket to message Gigi. Sorry for disappearing so fast. Would you like to get dinner tonight?” Well, the only next step he could make towards Gigi was to try and advance their relationship. That was the most logical next step. And if he couldn’t take that step, then perhaps… He shook his head. He didn’t want to think about what the future would entail with Gigi rejecting him.



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Nervous
✖✖ I am At... Arthur's Car
✖✖ I am With... Eva and Julius
✖✖ I am Thinking..."Gotta get out of the house..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Black suit

No, she didn't want to go anywhere with Julius! She wanted to curl up in Arthur's bed and do nothing all day! Eva let out a very quiet whimper of protest as she was pulled along, though she resigned herself as Arthur closed the passenger door. She didn't have to look back at Julius to know he was looking at her, and she hated it. She hated him! What in the world had she done to deserve this? How could she have known Arthur and Julius were actually related? Of course, she wasn't out of the clear, as Julius decided to poke at the tiger and bring up that she-devil Isabelle. How did he know about her? Eva forced herself to look out the window, doing her best not to react. Hmph, she shouldn't be surprised, Isabelle was right up his 'colossal bitch' type alley or whatever. Of course, Arthur managed to lift her spirits by confirming that yes, she was his first girlfriend. And hopefully only. Of course, her spirits had gone too high, as Julius decided to take them from her and throw them onto the pavement by asking her if Arthur was her first boyfriend. Her eyes flickered to Arthur, who had tensed up slightly. This must have been some divine punishment for him to ask such a question damn well knowing the answer. What was she going to say? Lying to Arthur seemed like a bad idea, especially if Julius would decide to call her out. But telling him the truth seemed just as risky, Arthur was already feeling some type of way with how his grip on the wheel had tightened.

Shifting in her seat, Eva nervously started playing with her hair. She had to answer. Not answering was just as bad as lying. But what if Julius called her out? She didn't want Arthur to fly off the handle again. Eva needed to be honest. "No," Her voice was a lot meeker than before, her previous anger nearly extinguished. God, she hated how she was basically at Julius' mercy. How could she possibly salvage this? Well, they had gotten a lot closer, so even if he wasn't her first, she couldn't imagine herself with anyone else. "Hopefully he'll be my last." She voiced her thoughts, giving Arthur a shy smile, though she couldn't stop fumbling with her hair.

---

Thinking the ride would help calm her nerves, Gigi was severely disappointed to find that once she had arrived at Alyssa's house she felt just as crappy. As she stopped outside the house, she spotted Mrs. Brady and Adrian, Alyssa's younger brother, getting into her car. Taking off her helmet, she gave them a wave as she walked into the house, spotting Alyssa in the kitchen. The brunette lifted her eyes from the pot she was hovered over and nodded at Gigi, motioning for her to have a seat at the kitchen table. Once she did, she was surprised to see Gigi slump onto her arms. Wow, she had it bad! Alyssa tried to be more sympathetic, leaving the heat on low as she took a seat next to her friend. The poor girl looked like a kicked puppy, her gray eyes unfocused with the slightest of frowns on her lips. It was bizarre for Gigi to show any emotion, so for Alyssa this was quite the treat. She had to remind herself not to enjoy herself too much, as she figured if she said the wrong thing she'd probably end up either scaring her away or end up getting punched in the face.

Patting Gigi's arm, Alyssa smiled at her as she decided to tackle the problem head on. "How are you feeling?" She asked gently, knowing that Gigi was a special case and needed to be handled delicately. When her friend would only let out a whimper in response, Alyssa had to keep herself from laughing. "I'm sure you just caught him off guard. Now, tell me what you're thinking right now."

There were too many emotions for her to properly get a handle on at the moment, her thoughts a giant mess of contradictions and logic failures. "I don't know," Gigi mumbled. "I thought it was what he wanted..."

First things first, Alyssa needed the whole story. The whole juicy story that she would likely hold over Gigi's head for a while, but she wasn't going to tell her that. That's what friends are for! "So the two of you were making out, you gave him the green light, he freaked, and left?" When Gigi shook her head, Alyssa raised her eyebrow at her. "I thought that's what you said happened."

"I had finished a phone call when he decided to..." She started out strong, though her blush seemed to steal her voice for a moment, her hand on her neck. "We didn't make out. He came onto me. If I'm being honest, I couldn't really think straight. But I...couldn't say no." She trailed off, closing her eyes for a moment. The way he touched her felt like a ghost on her skin, igniting a desire she had no idea she could even have. Maybe she should have admitted it to Alyssa, but she couldn't quite form the words. Alyssa watched her patiently, and Gigi figured she could at least try to explain herself. "I really thought it was what he wanted."

"What he wanted, or what you wanted?"

"Does it matter?"

"It does," Alyssa sat up slightly, her hand on Gigi's shoulder. "I told you, it was only a matter of time. You really like Alex, right?"

Gigi finally brought herself to look at Alyssa, unsure how to respond. Her phone buzzed in her pocket again, and Alyssa quickly looked over Gigi's shoulder to see it was from Alexander. She watched Gigi's eyes light up, though she tried to calm herself as Gigi looked at her, bearing a new expression she had never seen on the dark haired girl's face before: panic. "He wants to go to dinner," She put her phone down, her head in her hands.

"That's great!"

"No, it isn't!" She protested.

"Yes, it is. Listen, you're feeling overwhelmed, you made a tiny mistake, you're both going to be just a little awkward around one another," Alyssa made sure to be as clear as possible as she spoke. "So the best thing to do is to take things nice and slow. If you go too fast, you're going to get confused and nervous. The good thing is that Alexander is infamous for charming girls, so all you have to do is follow his lead. Don't overthink, go with your gut, and you'll be fine," She explained, plucking a stray hair off Gigi's face. "Or what, you're not going to go?" Not go? No, she couldn't do that to Alexander, that would probably make things worse. Sitting up, Gigi took in a deep breath, taking her phone in her hand again. Sure. She was just about to send the text when she noticed Alyssa looking at her. "That was super dry. Come on! Add a little something!" She scolded her.

"Like what?" She asked, watching Alyssa snatch her phone from her. Sure. Pick me up at 7? Alyssa sent the text and placed the phone on the counter, looking at Gigi once again as she realized something. "I'm not going to have you around to correct me. What if I say something wrong?"

Good question. Fortunately for her, Alyssa had an answer. "Okay, your problem is that you overthink things. So all you have to do is follow your gut," She cheerfully replied. "Don't think, just act." Her gut usually told her to resort to violence. Not that she was going to admit that to Alyssa. Instead she nodded, running her hands through her hair. Alyssa patted her shoulder once more, though she would stand up. "How about I call Helene and have her dress you up? You want to look nice, right?" She teased. Helene? Shit, she had forgotten all about her contract. Then again, if Alyssa was the one reaching out to her, maybe she could get an idea of what Evan was planning. There was yet to be any updates, but it was taking longer than it should have. No news should have been good news, but Gigi played this game for far too long to let such an optimistic thought get the better of her. Rather than respond directly, she just shrugged, watching Alyssa take her own phone out to call Helene.

---

While Ariadne was busy chasing down her prey through enemy territory, Evan had his own problems. The news of someone potentially buying out his hired gun's contract was nothing new, the timing was what really got to him. It was too much of a coincidence, too suspicious to think the two events weren't correlated. Generally speaking, he thought Ariadne was doing enough to keep Bastien pinned down, but Evan was started to wonder if it was enough. Maybe they had underestimated him. At the very least, he figured Helene was alright for the moment having told him she had stayed with a friend for the night. As he drove his car, his phone rang for his attention. Finally, a call he had been expecting. "Comme c'est gênant. The agency is quite content with how much Bastien is willing to pay for Giselle's services," Gaspard's voice came through the car's speakers.

"You confirmed it was him?" Evan asked.

"I was not born yesterday, Evan. What better way for him to get to my Étoile than to get the bodyguard I had hired?" He scoffed. "I want to know what is taking Ariadne so long."

"Treading through unfamiliar territory as well as an opposing faction while trying not to draw too much attention to herself makes things complicated," Evan chuckled, though he let out a sigh. "What do you want me to do about Giselle?"

"Until we see which bidder wins, nothing. But I would stay on alert, if things sway the other direction and she gets her chance, I don't doubt she'll take it," Gaspard replied, letting out a sigh. "It's a shame to lose such an asset, but she's too dangerous otherwise. I trust you can handle her."

Evan could, and unfortunately that was what made the situation worse. "Of course. Au revoir."

"Au revoir. Et nous verrons," With that, Gaspard hung up, and Evan let out a long sigh. We will see indeed...

_{[1]How troublesome. [2]Goodbye. And we will see.}

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 grip on the steering wheel seemed to tighten more. It would be stupid of him to think Eva hadn’t had past relationships, yet… he still wished that this hadn’t been the case. In fact, it infuriated Arthur. The idea that another man had put their arms around her, comforted her, laughed with her. Jealousy wasn’t the right word, but Arthur didn’t know what else to call it. The thought of other men thinking they had claimed her in the past infuriated Arthur. And Julius could see this sudden mood shift in Arthur. Hopefully though, that had been the extent of it. But now Arthur wasn’t sure if he had been Eva’s first sexual partner. But that was definitely something he shouldn’t think about, as it may just put him over the edge. How dare anyone have Eva in that way, other than Arthur. He may try to be expressionless, but Julius could read Arthur’s face like a book. Perhaps, Julius would give it a bit more time until he tried to pry from Eva who this past boyfriend was. Maybe when Arthur was a little less stable, or maybe when Eva was a little more vulnerable. Either way, it would make this trip to visit his cousin a lot more interesting. Hell, it as already interesting discovering that his ex-girlfriend was now dating his cousin. “I wouldn’t count on it too much. High school relationships don’t usually last too long after school. You don’t truly know someone until you start to live with each other. Then all the secrets come out.”

Eva had been living at Arthurs for a while now, and luckily he has been able to keep his work private from Eva. But now that Julius brought that up… how long would he be able to keep the charade? Arthur parked his car downtown, they were pretty close to the division line between the Patrones and Munez families. However, Arthur and Julius both knew to keep themselves to the northern side of townhall. It was just a matter of keeping Eva entertained. “The central park isn’t too far from here… A walk, but I think I need the air.” Arthur didn’t really look at Eva as he climbed out of the car, closing the door behind him. Julius took the chance to hop from the back side, and move around to Eva’s side of the car, opening the door for her and reaching out to Eva to help her out. “Oh, shall we have a picnic too then?” Julius teased. Arthur just began to realize he was pretty hungry. If only he had grabbed something from the house. “There are a few places we can eat…” Arthur responded over his shoulder, his focus seemingly on the distance. It was still bothering the back of his mind about Eva and her previous boyfriends.


Alexander’s heart fluttered in his chest, seeing Gigi agree with meeting him for dinner at seven. Perfect!... Now what was he going to do for the rest of the day? Alexander took in a deep breath of air. He couldn’t go back home, it was too depressing. Terrance had run away with Helene the night before, so he was probably still in bed around this time. Supposedly Eva has been living with Arthur since she got kicked out, and Alex figured Arthur wouldn’t be a great friend to turn to at the moment. Not that he wasn’t a good friend! Arthur was very protective of his friends, and like Gigi he cared- just didn’t like showing it. And Jacob. Hmm, Alexander couldn’t think of a single reason he would be busy. Sure, Jacob and Alyssa had recently gotten back together, but they weren’t nearly as frisky as Terrance and Helene. (At least, Jacob never flaunted it like Terrance did.) Perhaps he would be willing to entertain Alex in the mean time, flipping open his phone, Alexander dialed up Jacob.

“Yo, Alex. What’s up? Happy Birthday, ya know.” Alexander could instantly tell the weariness in Jacob’s voice bringing up the last part. Alexander’s birthdays tended to not be on the happy side. But landing a date with Gigi seemed to keep Alex in a good mood.

“Yeah, thanks man. I got a date with Gigi tonight and-“

“YOU GOT A DATE WITH GIGI? Congrats, my man! Never thought the day would come.”

“Don’t got to rub it in. Anyways, I need to get out of the house til then. Can I come over?”

“Sure thing then, I’ll see you soon.”

Alexander hung up and turned back around on his heels, heading back to his house to get in his car. Jacob on the other hand was shaking his head, smiling. What a lucky bastard! Jacob never thought he would see the day they went on a date. Terrance definitely owed him some cash for a bet now. Jacob pulled out his phone, shooting a message to Alyssa.

Alex says he has a date with Gigi. Best birthday gift for him, imo. Thinking what I’m thinking? A Patrone & Brady steak out, make sure their date goes well? :) I miss sneaking around with my girl.



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Distant
✖✖ I am At... Arthur's Car
✖✖ I am With... Eva and Julius
✖✖ I am Thinking..."Eva..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Black suit

Arthur was annoyed. Despite his face remaining the same, she definitely noticed his grip tightening. Well, at least he wasn't shouting? Eva ended up diverting her eyes, unable to occupy her thoughts out of the quiet panic she had. She tried her best to keep up the charade of neutrality, but she wasn't nearly as good at it as Arthur was. The most she could do was make sure Arthur didn't see her face, but all caution went out the window as Julius would rather harshly debunk her words. There has never been a time in Eva's life where she had the urge to strangle someone. Even her own mother had never solicited such a reaction. Sure, the two could barely string a conversation together without going at each other's throats, but they often avoided each other, never looking to actually fight. Julius, on the other hand, was purposely pouring out gasoline with his stupid grin, waving the lighter at Eva. The thought of opening the car door and just rolling out on the road was a better fate that having to be at Julius' mercy, knowing that at any given moment, he could expose her. The worst part was that no matter what she did or said, she had no idea how Arthur would react. No, that wasn't true, Arthur would react the same way he reacted to everything: by getting really angry, hitting something, and potentially injuring himself. Her stomach churned slightly, and she felt nauseous. Well, if she was going to end up vomiting, she was going to make sure to hit Julius with it.

Unfortunately for her, the car finally stopped. Arthur needed air, that probably wasn't a good sign, especially when he didn't even look back at her. She closed her eyes, wincing slightly as she felt her heart sink. How she wished she had known him first, to call him her only, but that just wasn't how things were. Eva's mood continued to sour and had no hopes of rising as Julius 'helpfully' opened the car door for her. Her eyes had nothing but contempt for him, though he probably opened her door because he knew if he had been next to it, she would have outright shoved it open onto him. As he reached out to her, her expression changed from one of sorrow to anger, though she noticed Arthur had his back to him. No way was she going to let Julius continue to make things worse, and she wasn't going to take his crap sitting down. Taking advantage of the moment, Eva grabbed Julius' hand, putting whatever force she had into it as she squeezed it tight enough to hurt, her nails digging into his skin. As she pulled herself out of the car, she lowered her voice so that Arthur wouldn't overhear her as she held onto the other blonde. "You need to stop," She hissed at him, blue eyes glaring at Julius. "Don't even try to deny it, you're making Arthur feel worse on purpose! Wasn't it enough that you hurt me like you did?"

---

Honestly, Alyssa shouldn't have been that surprised when Helene didn't pick up her call. The brunette rolled her eyes as she hung up, tapping her fingernails against her phone as she thought of her next step. Her gaze wandered over to Gigi, who hadn't moved from her spot. At the very least she didn't look panicked. She didn't look happy, either, but at least she was back to her usual expressionless self. Her gray eyes were on her phone, and Alyssa found her smile slowly fading. Gigi had told her that she was a hired gun, and seeing how quiet she was, Alyssa wondered if maybe the normally stoic girl was just someone raised to never express emotion. Of course, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she and Arthur acted very much alike. If Gigi was like that because of her profession, did that mean Arthur was in the same boat? Jacob was too close to his friends for them not to know about his family, or so she believed. So it wouldn't be surprising to find that maybe Arthur was a hired guy, too. Except, he seemed closer to his friends than Gigi was. But with that in mind, she started wondering about Terrance and Alexander, too.

Sitting down once again, Alyssa frowned at Gigi, the questions on the tip of her tongue. Gigi noticed, sitting up somewhat as she realized the brunette was staring at her. "What is it?" She asked.

Alyssa hesitated for a moment. It was her chance to ask, so she wanted to take it, but did she really want to know? For all she knew, it was a slippery slope she couldn't get back up from, but she wanted to know. "Honestly, I was wondering if I could ask what it was exactly that you did," She went for it, deciding the worst that could happen was silence on her friend's part.

It was a surprise to her, as Gigi sat up a little straighter. "The general idea is a mercenary. Whatever people need, I do the job and get paid," She admitted, sticking to vague terms, but Alyssa seemed to understand. Still, Gigi could tell that wasn't the end of it. "Yes?"

"It's just..." Her voice trailed off, a terrible doubt gnawing at her. Helene had said that she wanted to leave Alyssa in ignorance for her own safety. If she asked too much, if she found out too much, then what? "Is that why you have trouble with this sort of thing with Alex?"

The question had actually surprised Gigi, a rarity, although the dark haired girl thought about Alyssa's question. "Maybe. I've never really thought about romance or boys or anything like that until now. Is that really so strange?"

"But is it because it's literally never come to mind, or because of your job?"

"Does it matter?" WHen Alyssa nodded, Gigi thought to herself for a moment. "If I'm being honest, it's something that has never crossed my mind. Love has always been something romanticized, making the entire experience feel oddly unrealistic. I always thought people just came together with one another to kill their loneliness or to fulfill their sexual desires," Alyssa couldn't help but notice Gigi looking at her pointedly, as if referring to her. Was that what Gigi thought of her and Jacob? That was harsh. But at the same time, she was definitely referring to Helene and Terrance as well. "I just didn't think it was something for me."

"Has Alex changed your mind about it?"

"I don't know. I still feel like I'm going to have a heart attack," Gigi mumbled, actually pouting slightly as she spoke. "It's confusing and stupid. What a dangerous emotion..."

Alyssa grinned, finding Gigi's frustration super cute. Whether she realized it or not, Alex was definitely affecting her. As her phone buzzed in her hand, she peered at it and saw Jacob's text. Her heart seemed to skip a beat as he admitted missing her, and she couldn't help but laugh a little. Yeah, Gigi had a point, love was stupid, but damn did it feel good. We're going to have to keep a very close eye on things, this girl is completely freaking out. Alyssa replied, though as Gigi let out another whimper and placed her head in her arms once again, she had to keep herself from laughing. This is either going to be a spectacle or a disaster, either way it's going to be really fun to watch. Her smile faltered slightly as her doubts resurfaced, though she mentally pushed them down again. No, she needed to enjoy the time she had with Jacob. It was ignorant to pretend there wasn't a problem, but she had to keep this bliss between them for as long as she could.

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∂

Julius flinched from the tight grip, and sharp nails digging into his skin. Once Eva was on her feet, he yanked his hand away from her, shaking off the pain of the grip. She was being feisty, and her anger was only egging on Julius’ fun. Arthur conveniently hard his back turned, and Julius put a quick arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him and murmuring into her ear. “Oh, my fun has only begun. I’m going to be in town only for a few days… But I promise I’ll have you back, begging on your knees for me before I leave. You remember when you used to do that for me, right Eva?” The last sentence came out as a deep purr. With that, Julius broke his grip on Eva and rushed behind Arthur, playfully wrapping the same hand over Arthur’s broad shoulders, grinning as wildly as he did any day. “Cheer up, kusin. Finding a pure girl with no previous relationship history is a rarity these days.” Julius continued to pat Arthur’s shoulders

Arthur glanced to Julius, slightly brushing him off his shoulder. He didn’t need Julius to remind him of this newly discovered fact. It was already weighing him down with the idea of another man having Eva, if it had been anything beyond that. He needed to get away. “Will you keep an eye on Eva? I think I’m going to move ahead.” Arthur didn’t turn back, and instead just continued on into the park’s entrance. Arthur wasn’t really one for “becoming one with nature” however, he needed to let off some steam now. This news probably wouldn’t bother people like Terrance, who didn’t care about one’s history. However, Arthur cared about everything there had to do with Eva. Who she was and is, what makes her happy, what makes her sad, the things she loves and hates. He cared so much about her but… knowing that he wasn’t the first one to hold her like he did, to kiss her like he did, to… He groaned loudly at the sky. He hated how much this bothered him, he hadn’t been worked up over these things his whole life.

Now that Arthur had taken off, Julius was left alone with Eva, taking a few steps into the park. “So tell me, Eva. Does Arthur leave you satisfied these days like I used to?” Julius playfully poked at Eva. This weekend was truly going to be an interesting one for the upbeat blonde. “Do you still coo like you used to when I… Or someone, kisses your neck?” Julius smiled rather deviously.


Collapsing on Jacob’s couch in the living room, Alexander let out a long sigh, staring at the ceiling. Jacob was just finishing off a message towards Alyssa. Genuinely hoping for a spectacle. Fireworks too! Perhaps we can sneak in a date this evening. I feel bad that I haven’t taken my baby out in a while… He put his phone down, watching Alexander. Jacob had never seen Alexander so lost in thought. It was usually Arthur or Terrance who were quietly thinking or contemplating. So it was an odd sight that the bubbly, lovable Alexander was absorbed in another world than the one right in front of him. “So, did Gigi like going out for ice cream last night? I want to assume she enjoyed herself, considering you’ve scored a date with her.” Jacob tried to pull information from Alexander, plopping down on the couch with him. Alexander sighed deeply and sat up, his lips only curved to a half smile.

“Yeah, we must have had a really fun time last night, seeing as I woke up in bed with her.” Jacob practically feel off the couch, his eyebrows miraculously still attacked to his head, rather than flying off in the distance. “Woah, woah, woah! Seriously?? You’re kidding. You and Gigi- last night? I gotta call Terrance, I got a bet to cash out on!” Jacob rushed to his phone, unlocking it, but before he could put anything down in writing, Alexander sat up, shaking his head.

“No no no. Nothing happened last night… and neither did anything this morning… even though I wanted to…” Jacob sat up, watching his friend curiously before placing the phone back down.

“What, did you try making a move on her though? Did she reject your advances?” Alexander shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I did.. In fact I practically pounced on her then and there. And she didn’t reject it, she was saying I could keep going but…” Jacob shook his head.

“You’re luck I’m not Terrance. Terrance would be slapping you silly right now. What stopped you?”

“That is why I’m talking to you, not Terrance. And I don’t know… Like, I wanted her sooo badly in that moment. It was like everything was finally falling in place with her, but now… I don’t know, it didn’t feel right. I want to treat her differently than I have all the other girls in the past. Show her that I actually really care about her, and I want something serious with her- not just this sex and lust. I want love…”

Jacob listened apprehensively, nodding his head a little bit. Yeah, that sounded like something Alexander would want. Alexander reached in his pocket, pulling out the small velvet box and the Alexandrite ring, throwing it over towards Jacob. “I want her to have that.” Jacob popped open the little box, examining the ring. It looked expensive. Like really expensive. “Holy shit, how much was this?... Don’t-!” Jacob sat up quickly, speaking in a low and quick voice. “You Klepto! Don’t tell me you swiped this from somewhere??” Alexander looked to Jacob. He didn’t tell people that he occasionally was sent gifts from his parents. But no doubt in his mind, that they swiped it from somewhere else.

“Probably shouldn’t go to the jewlers for a while…” Alexander playfully laughed and Jacob through the little box back towards Alex. “You’re such a shit!”



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Distant
✖✖ I am At... Park
✖✖ I am With... Eva and Julius
✖✖ I am Thinking..."Eva..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Black suit

That asshole had some nerve pulling Eva to him like that. If Arthur had seen it, he likely would've broken his arm. Eva hated how easily he made it seem, making it clear that he was going to do as he pleased and there was nothing she could do about it. But when he mentioned how long he would be around, she found herself freezing up. Days? Julius was going to be in town for days?! How the hell was she going to keep this up for that long? She had naively assumed it was just a visit for a couple of hours, the possibility of a prolonged stay never even crossing Eva's mind. The little confidence she had began to crumble, moreso once Julius stated his intentions. A bold statement that she should have scoffed at, but seeing how much damage he had inflicted on her relationship with Arthur gave her second thoughts. Begging on her knees, huh? Yeah, it was shameful to admit that was her exact reaction when he had broken up with her, and she felt horrible having to remember it. Eva couldn't even muster up a response as Julius released her, only able to watch him be all friendly to Arthur. Had he no shame? Of course not!

Eva wanted to leave so badly, but Arthur wouldn't so much as look at her. Her feet seemed to move on their own, following the pair out of habit. The guilt was starting to get to her, her nerves completely rattled as her panic continued. She really felt ill, maybe she could use it as an excuse to go home. As the thought crossed her mind, however, she wondered where Julius was going to be staying. If he was staying at Arthur's house, he'd probably notice she was staying there, too. What if he ratted her out to Arthur's father? Great, like she didn't have enough to worry about! She couldn't handle it anymore, but before she could tell Arthur anything, he then asked Julius to watch over her. Move ahead where? Without her? She actually stopped in place when he said it, her blue eyes following his back. Why? Why was he being like this? Eva really wanted to lay down on the ground and just cry at this point. Was her history really such a big deal? Couldn't he see that he was the only one she wanted? Apparently it was, and Arthur continued forward without looking back. It hurt a lot more than she wanted to admit, and for the first time in her life she felt completely unwanted by Arthur.

But of course, Arthur would not be the only worry, as Julius was quick to take advantage of the fact that they were alone. Eva looked at Julius for a moment, scowling at him. This was all his fault, everything was fine until he had to open his big mouth! How the hell was she going to put up with this for so long? And what kind of questions was he asking? Still, her anger and bitterness got the better of her even though she kept telling herself not to justify him with an answer. "Since you really want to know, Arthur is a thousand times better than you," She snapped at him, resentment taking over as she spoke. "Don't you have any shame asking your cousin's girlfriend something so intimate?" Her hand automatically went to her neck without her noticing, her heart racing as she looked at Julius. The nerve of this guy!

---

A stakeout AND a date? Today has to be my lucky day! ;)

Gigi's gray eyes watched Alyssa on her phone, noticing the little smile on her face as she read whatever was on the screen. Probably a text from Jacob, she only smiled that way for him. Despite being against the idea, Gigi had to admit that since she got back together with Jacob, Alyssa had been a lot happier. The initial thought was that Alyssa accepted Jacob and his lifestyle, but Gigi knew that Alyssa was probably just avoiding the issue altogether. Alyssa may have been the confrontational type, but she never liked to talk about her own problems. Helene, on the other hand, was never afraid to speak her mind, so it really wasn't a surprise whenever the eventual argument would pop up. Gigi supposed maybe she was just used to it, putting up with their bickering because it was usually trivial and nothing of consequence. But the revelation of the truth had probably hurt Alyssa more than she let on and her way of coping was just to pretend there were no problems and to carry on business as usual. She did ask what Gigi did. Maybe she saw her as a heartless creature, too. Not that she blamed her. That's what she was supposed to be: a killing machine. If Alyssa knew the amount of lives she had taken, the amount of broken bones and blood she had shed, she would likely never want to speak to her again. For some reason, her thoughts briefly wondered if Alexander knew. Would he care?

That little question was shoved to the back of her mind as she heard the doorbell ring. Alyssa looked surprised; it didn't look like she had been expecting anyone. Letting out a sigh, Gigi would stand, motioning for Alyssa to stay put, and she walked over to the door. Squinting through the little peephole, Gigi was once again surprised today, especially since Evan was the last person she had been expecting to be on the other side of the door. Scoffing slightly, Gigi opened the door with confidence, raising an eyebrow at him. His usually warm expression was somewhat cold; that wasn't a good sign. He stared at Gigi for a moment, a cigarette between his lips, though his eyes flickered to Alyssa for a second and he livened up slightly. "Sorry to bother you, I was wondering if you knew where Helene was," He asked, giving her a playful wink.

Alyssa shook her head, although she was grinning. Poor Evan had probably been running around wondering where his sister was. It was obvious to their friend group that Helene was likely still with Terrance, though she knew Evan wouldn't be too happy to learn Helene was at a boy's house. "She's...at a friend's place," She chose her words carefully.

Evan blew out some smoke, nodding in agreement. "I was hoping she would be here. Ah, well, sorry to bother you," He apologized. As Alyssa was about to assure him that it was no trouble, she realized she nearly forgot about her cooking, letting out a yelp and running back to the kitchen. Evan let out a sigh, looking at Gigi once more. "I assume you have yet to receive news of your contract's status," He lowered his voice as he spoke, frowning.

"Nothing yet," She admitted.

The two continued to stare at one another, as if daring the other to speak next. Having Evan look at her like that was slightly unsettling, especially since she knew he was sizing her up. But she recognized her own limits--and if need be, she knew she could take him on. As if reading her thoughts, Evan cracked a smile. "I'm not going to deny your skills, but I strongly advise that you don't go writing me off, Giselle," He informed her, raising an interested eyebrow on her. "Arthur Myles may be your 'worthy opponent', but I can promise you that I'm not one to go down so easily."

"Of course not. I expect nothing less from the Carbone's Interrogator," Gigi replied without missing a beat, earning her an intrigued look from Evan. "I'm only going to return the same warning: don't underestimate me, either."

This seemed to please Evan, a wicked smile adorning his face as an unfamiliar hunger filled his eyes. "I won't. But I can't deny that if things go that way, I'll greatly enjoy whatever you throw at me. Just remember it isn't personal; it's all business," He admitted outright, shrugging for a moment as he dropped his cigarette, stepping on it to extinguish it. For just a moment, his expression fell, and he let out a sigh. "I hope it doesn't come to that."

Her eyes widened at his last statement, though she found herself looking away. It really looked like her assumptions from this morning were truly going the way she had thought they would. She wondered what Helene thought, though if she was still with Terrance, perhaps the news hadn't reached her just yet. "It isn't personal. It's all business," She simply repeated what he had just told her, though something else was gnawing at her. "I'm sorry." She ended up apologizing.

Evan shook his head at her, patting her head as he turned away. "That's the life we live. Enjoy every moment as if it was our last...you never know who's going to be the one on the other side," He paused for a moment, stopping in his tracks. "It is the one thing I find myself envying of the Patrone family. No need for lies and deceit there...I only wish I could have brought you with me. Take care of yourself, Giselle." And with that, Evan continued his walk away from the house.

Closing the door, Gigi ended up pressing her head against the wood, her heart racing in her chest. She wasn't stupid, Evan hadn't come here for Helene, he came for her. Despite putting on an air of authority, he made it clear that he wasn't happy with how things were turning out. She didn't need her orders to come through to know what was going to be the possible outcome. What a hollowing realization, and for the first time in her life, regret reared its ugly head. Her hand reached into her pocket, pulling out her phone. This was probably going to be her last day of peace before everyone would turn on her. Helene, Alyssa, Terrance, Jacob, Arthur, and...Alexander, too. Exhaling slowly, she turned around and walked into Alyssa's kitchen, watching the brunette turn the stove off. "Did Evan leave? I was going to see if he wanted some," Alyssa frowned, though she noticed something was off. "Is everything okay?" The best thing to do was to enjoy the day the best she could. Gigi nodded, placing her hands on the counter as she wordlessly watched Alyssa.

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∂

Oh, how absolutely delectable Eva looked when she was frustrated. Julius just grinned wildly towards her. What was it about destroying her life just drove him crazy? Julius had his own intentions and motives, but with such easy access at Eva now, he wanted to enjoy this cat and mouse game some more. “Shame? Not really. Besides, you’re my ex in my eyes first, before Arthur’s girlfriend. I believe I can ask you anything, and do anything to you for that matter.” He ran his fingers through his long hair, watching Arthur continue to gain distance. Arthur was distancing himself, that meant he was getting moody and angsty. Upsetting Arthur was so easy, though it was sad it had to be his own cousin that would end up getting hurt. Julius didn’t care for hurting his own blood- but the thought of tormenting Eva the next couple of days was too good to resist. “You know the phrase, blood is thicker than water? I wonder if you could fathom the amount of loyalty that courses through the Myles family’s veins. Not loyalty to outsiders that is, loyalty to family… As you have already experience with myself.” Julius twirled a few locks in his hair, his tongue licking his lips as he looked down at Eva. He snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her close.

“With that said, no matter what I do- “ Julius slid his hand down her side, taking her ass in a firm grip. “Arthur’s loyalty to me will always be stronger than to you.” Julius purred towards Eva, keeping a gentle, yet strong grip on her. The feeling of manipulative power was intoxicating to the mischievous Julius, and he looked ahead towards Arthur. “I would highly suggest that if you want to keep… whatever it is you have with my cousin, it will be in your best interest to follow my lead, and not make a scene. You think he is a thousand times better than myself… but you’ll sooner learn he is exactly like me.” Julius’ eyes shifted back down towards Eva, eyeing her all over. She had gown quite a bit since he had last seen her. It seemed she was growing more curves, and all in the right places. What a perfect toy for him to play with for the next few days. Julius pulled her closer to his body, so that Eva’s hips were pressed to his side. “Now, let’s try and go cheer up your little boyfriend, hm?.. Not that it means anything. As I said, you will always be my ex in my eyes- no one else, and no on else’s. You are mine.” Julius firmly grasped her butt one more time before finally releasing it and running after Arthur.

Arthur walked along the park path for a while before reaching a few picnic tables and benches. There were quite a few people around, kids screaming and playing, parents talking on their phones. Arthur took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He knew he must be blowing this out of proportions. It didn’t… Well… It shouldn’t matter to Arthur who Eva had previous relations with. But it was something that was going to take a lot more time for Arthur to come to terms with. In his eyes, Eva was all his. Yet, he knew that to others she was once their as well. It just made him angry that anyone else was given the chance to hold her… Arthur took a seat, and was quickly joined by Julius, much to his own surprise. “Nice weather out, huh? Wish we could have gone to the beach instead. I need to maintain my summer tan as long into the year as I can.” Julius spoke playfully. Though, his intentions more lied towards seeing the young Eva in a bikini again. More skin for his eyes to wonder over and absorb. “Where is Eva?” Arthur spoke calmly, and Julius nudged his head in the direction of Eva approaching. “Right behind me. You’re lucky, Arthur. Such a pretty girlfriend. None of the girls back home are nearly as charming as she is.” He spoke smoothly, Julius’ mischievous eyes darting back towards Eva. Arthur mirrored the same action, looking at Eva as well. Yeah, he was pretty lucky. He still wasn’t sure why Eva was attracted to him anyways. Many people would probably think she was way out of his league. Yet, for some reason, she still chose him. A very faint grin grew in the corner of Arthur’s lips, looking at his beautiful girlfriend. All mine…



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Distant
✖✖ I am At... Park
✖✖ I am With... Eva and Julius
✖✖ I am Thinking..."All mine..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Black suit

Eva crossed her arms against her chest, a tiny pack of anger bundled as she listened to Julius' rather flimsy justification. What, did he miss her? Now that was a thought if there ever was one. It didn't matter how much he begged and pleaded, there was not a single ounce of a chance that she would ever want to get back with him. At least, her conviction was true, but as he went on, there was some maliciousness to his words. Eva didn't understand what he was trying to say or do, but the bells and alarms in her head seemed to go off as he mentioned loyalty once again. He said Arthur would be more loyal to him than her. For a second, she wanted to tell him he was full of it, but she could see his point. Even if he never uttered a word towards the theory, Arthur's family meant everything to him. She could see it when he interacted with his mother and teased his sister. Diverting her eyes for a moment, she didn't want to admit he was right. The last thing she wanted to do was cause Arthur problems, especially after everything he had done for her.

As Eva's eyes went back to Julius, something in his eyes seemed to bring her entire body on alert. She recognized that look all too well--it was the same way Ricardo had looked at her at Terrance's party. Uncrossing her arms, she nervously looked to Arthur, letting out a gasp as she felt Julius grab her. Her breath quickened as his threat hung in the air, a pit forming in her stomach. It was strange to feel his hand there when she was so used to Arthur's, her entire body tensing up at his touch. He said he was hers, but that wasn't true. Still, whatever protest she should have had felt trapped in her throat, her heart pounding against her chest. Whether it was dumb luck or Julius' mercy, he released her, and she thought she was going to pass out again. Panic resumed in her mind, taking laps in a feverish run as she watched Julius join up with Arthur. Part of her wanted to tell him what happened, but what if he was right? Arthur valued his family above everything. Her heart sank as she imagined Arthur's reaction. If this was how he reacted to her having a past boyfriend, he would completely lose it if he knew it was Julius.

Somehow, she moved, slowly approaching the pair. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she sat down across from them, her hands on her lap. Eva had no idea how she was able to keep herself from hitting Julius, but she figured she was more fearful of Arthur's reaction than anything. It was suffocating to feel so trapped, and she felt sick again. Lifting her eyes to meet Arthur's, she noticed he was looking at her. She hated everything right now, but seeing his smile gave her the slightest bit of comfort. She couldn't take that away from him. Straightening up slightly, she threw on a smile to the best of her ability. "I'm starving! Let's get something to eat!" It was strange to hear her voice sound so normal, knowing below the surface she was a mess. But she would only have to endure it for a little while. Just a little bit, then Julius would leave and she would never have to see him again.

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 day faded to evening, and the rest of the day Arthur hadn’t left Eva’s side. It was slow and steady, but he was getting over his emotions of pseudo-jealousy. First of all, his feelings that Eva wasn’t “pure” meant nothing compared to how much he cared for Eva. He still wanted her to understand that no matter what, she was the most important thing in his life at this very moment. So, swallowing his feelings, he took her hand and was glued to her side for the rest of the day, much to Julius’ own discontent. But, he would be here for the rest of the weekend, he had plenty of time to continue his antics. As the sun began to set, Arthur was still feeling weary about going home. If anything, his parents, sister, and “Godfather” were probably just sitting down to enjoy dinner. It was still too early to go home without Eva finding out about her actual father.

He kept one arm around her shoulders, it had been a few hours since they got lunch, and Arthur’s stomach was ready for dinner. There were a few diners around the downtown area. Most of which, Arthur was kind of looking forward to taking Eva for the first time. That was considered romantic, right? Taking your girlfriend out for a nice late dinner, at a cozy little restaurant. But with Julius tagging along, those day dreams were sadly crushed. “What do you feel like having, Eva? A treat on me.” He softly squeezed her hand in his. Julius chimed up from behind. “I’m kind of craving a burger, if you want my input!” Arthur rolled his eyes. He wasn’t asking Julius, he was asking Eva. It was apparent that Julius didn’t like being ignored by his cousin, but it wasn’t anything new. It took a few minutes for Arthur to click the fact that this would technically be their first date. Wow, Arthur had gotten pretty far with Eva considering that they hadn’t gone out to dinner before. Terrance would say she was easy- Arthur tensed slightly, shaking his head. What the hell, Eva was nothing like that, why would he ever think that? It wasn’t him thinking that- it was a projection of some shit Terrance would say… but the thought of Eva being “easy” was once again not reassuring to the troubles in his heart over her past relationships.


Alexander ran his comb a few more times through his hair, trying to tame the brown hair on his head. He had already done his best dressing wise, putting on a simple, light blue button-down shirt. A tight-fitting pair of black jeans, and some high-top sneakers. It had been a while since Alexander courted a girl, but he had no worries. He was practically a professional charmer. He made sure the top two buttons on his shirt were undone, revealing his chest very slightly. He put on a few sprits of cologne and checking the time he saw it was 6:30. Right on schedule. Alexander grabbed his keys, strutted out to his SUV, and hopped in to pick up Gigi. Jacob, on the other hand, seeing it was 6:30 as well, got in gear too. His dirty blonde hair was a bit unrulier to the idea of being tamed, and his choice of style was a bit laxer. He made his way to his car, shooting a warming message to Alyssa that he was on the way to pick her up in his jeep. Though in separate neighborhoods, on separate streets, at separate houses, Alexander and Jacob both buckled up and pulled out of their respective homes at the exact same time. Both happened to be heading to the same place- the Brady residence.

Although, Alexander was unaware of the spying that Jacob and Alyssa would be doing for the night. All Alexander knew was that Gigi was with Alyssa, getting prepared in her own way. Jacob arrived first, but made sure to park his car down the street a little ways. He was going to have to wait on Gigi and Alexander to get a head start before they could follow in pursuit. He was going to have to be cautious following Alexander too not to be caught, since Jacob had no idea where he was taking Gigi to dinner. Jacob turned of his car and the lights, shooting a message to Alyssa. Your chariot awaits… First we must wait for the evil step-mother to leave. ;) Jacob referred to Gigi, chuckling to himself. It didn’t take long for Alexander to pull up to the driveway, shutting his own car off. Alexander took a deep breath, and kept his warm smile plastered on his face. This was the moment he had been waiting for- Everything in his life lead up to this pinnacle of a moment. Taking in a deep breath, Alexander reached his hand up and knocked his fist against the door.

He was trying so hard to mentally prepare himself. He wanted to take a mental picture of the exact moment the doors opened and she would be standing in front of him. He wanted this to be a memory he held with him until he was buried below the earth. His heart was pounding out of his chest, but he still kept his calm. Come on, he was a pro at this. But what he was about to experience with Gigi, was so much more than anything or anyone else.



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Okay
✖✖ I am At... Downtown
✖✖ I am With... Eva and Julius
✖✖ I am Thinking..."All mine..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Black suit

Unfortunately, the day at the park only served to rattle Eva's nerves. She was unnaturally tired of the fresh air that should have made her feel better, tired of Julius constantly looking at her--oh yeah, buddy, you're not as subtle as you think--and she really, really wanted to go. But anytime she thought Arthur was going to decide to leave, he would disappoint her. At the very least she had managed to stay away from Julius' grasp, as Arthur hadn't left her side all day. Still, even he was no match for her lack of energy and urge to lay down and do nothing. It was to be expected; since she found out she was pregnant, she never felt like any amount of sleep or rest she had was adequate. She hadn't gotten any weird cravings yet, but at Arthur's question, she immediately knew what she wanted. Perking up, Eva's eyes lit up as she answered, "I'd really like pasta. With chicken. And cake," Eva admitted, though she caught herself at the latter food item. "For dessert." She hastily added, grinning at Arthur. The very last thing she wanted was to give Julius even more ammo to use against her, and there was little chance of him trying anything if they went somewhere.

---

"Ow! Okay, that's enough, stop!"

"Oh, hush you big baby, I'm almost done--"

"No, I changed my mind, you're going to pull it all out! Ow!"

Alyssa managed to keep the wriggling Gigi underneath her, having pinned her down with one hand and a pair of tweezers in the other. Since Helene had decided to ignore her phone call in favor of either boinking Terrance or spending time with him (though she was pretty sure the two couldn't keep their hands off one another), Alyssa had taken it upon herself to give Gigi the makeover she needed. In truth, it was much preferable to Helene's attack on makeup, but Alyssa had noticed the girl's eyebrows were in need of plucking. After she pulled out the first hair, Gigi protested, and so rather than be understanding, the two had been wrestling for a good ten minutes until Alyssa found herself victorious. And so after plucking out the last hair, the brunette jumped off of Gigi, pulling her up and ignoring her glare.

"See? Perfect," Alyssa wiggled her own eyebrows, tossing her tweezers onto her dresser and opening up her closet. "Okay, now how shall we dress you tonight?"

Gigi eyed Alyssa's closet warily. It wasn't nearly as flashy as Helene's nor was it as frilly as Eva's, and it was more colorful than Gigi's own collection. "Something simple. Please," She added her last word as she rubbed her sore skin, not wanting to further incur any of Alyssa's 'beauty treatments'. She watched her pull out something shimmery, eyeballing Gigi's size. After changing, she realized how big it was on her. "Oh, right, you're like, actually petite." She turned back to her closet once again, letting out a dark chuckle as she pulled out what looked like an over-sized t-shirt. Despite not really understanding it, once she slipped it over her head, she realized why Alyssa had suggested it. It comfortably rested on her, showing off her figure entirely, leaving her back exposed. If Alyssa had worn it, it would've been way tighter on her, but it was pretty comfortable on her. "You like? I figured it was modest enough for you to like, but still has just a little sex appeal," She explained, lightly tugging at the hem that sat mid-thigh.

"I do," Gigi admitted, running a hand through her hair.

Alyssa grinned again, and after spending some time on a pair of heels, she determined she was ready. Alyssa watched Gigi, who was relatively calm in stark contrast to her earlier panic. Was that anticipation she detected? Keeping her comments to herself, she heard her phone, and after seeing Jacob's message, she had to hold back a laugh. She's looking more like Cinderella now. She replied, putting her phone down as she heard the door. Shoot, Alexander was here already, and Alyssa wasn't quite ready. "Why don't you go get that? I'm going to change, I feel all sweaty," She told her as she began to take off her clothes. Once Gigi was out of the room, she practically ripped everything off, pulling on a dark, gray blouse and black skirt, quickly tying up a pair of short boots. Now that she was ready, she decided to carefully climb out the window, intending to meet Jacob at his car.

"Oh, sure. Thanks for everything," Gigi said, and once she approached the door, she found herself hesitating slightly as she placed her hand on the door. She had managed to keep herself under control, but now that he was here, she found herself nervous again. Well, too late to turn back now. Pulling open the door, she found herself delighted to see Alexander again. "Good evening," She greeted him, though she stopped as she heard Alyssa let out a yell from her room. "...I'm sure she's fine."

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 nodded towards Eva. Pasta, chicken, and cake. An odd combination, but perhaps it wasn’t his place to judge. He remembered as a child his mother used to claim she craved Nutella and French fries when she was pregnant with both Arthur and Lilian. So perhaps this was a weird food craving for Eva, like his mother had been. Speaking of the pregnancy, that was just another wave of stress crashing down on Arthur. They had just found out yesterday that Eva was pregnant… it would only be a matter of time until Arthur was going to have told hold back her long blonde hair to keep her from throwing up in it. But it didn’t bother Arthur much. In fact, having a baby with Eva (as nerve wracking as it was) was probably the best thing going on in his life at the moment. Arthur squeezed Eva’s hand lightly. “There is a whole in the wall Italian place just around the corner… Julius, you can meet up with us later if you want a burger.” Arthur tried to bait Julius into leaving them alone. But knowing his cousin, he would have a mental breakdown if he weren’t surrounded by others, like the extrovert he was. Walking into the bistro, one was instantly greeted with the smell of warm garlic bread, pasta sauce, and olive oil. It was very small on the inside, probably a maximum of 10 tables. A rather intimate place to eat, there were already a handful of couples sitting around and eating. The trio was brought to a booth, where Arthur allowed for Eva to sit on the inside, scooting closely to her, his eyes scanning the dozens of Sicilian paintings that decorated the walls.

The lighting was dim and warm, and Arthur felt at bliss sharing such an intimate moment with Eva. Yet, of course, the intimacy was interrupted by his cousin. “Says here the family is straight out of Italy, coming here in the 60s. That should mean the food is pretty authentic.” God, why did he have to lug around this bum all day? Arthur became a bit irritated and lifted up a leaflet of a menu to glance over the items. He moved one of his hands to Eva’s thigh, gently rubbing it. It probably sucked for her just as much as it did for him, that they were having to babysit his cousin. He was really going to have to make it up to her soon… Almost on cue, Julius’s own foot snaked underneath the booth, playfully kicking at Eva’s own foot. But Julius behaved as if there were no shenanigans under the table, simply looking over the menu.


Stunning, beautiful, amazing, overwhelming, breath-taking, show stopping. All of these ran through Alex’s head as his eyes landed on the beauty opening the door. He hadn’t even noticed the crashing sound of Alyssa practically falling from his window, his focus was completely glued to Gigi. It was such a simple dress, but it seemed to hug her in all of the right places, and it only caused his erratic heart to beat… even more erratically! Alexander’s sweet and playful face changed to a smooth and charming expression. He reached towards Gigi’s hand and lifted it to his mouth, placing a kiss on the back of her hand. “Good evening, min vackra blooma… You look enchanting.” It was hard enough for Alexander to get those words out without pouncing on her then and there. He felt foolish for not acting on his instincts earlier in the day, but at the same time, he wouldn’t trade up this moment for anything in the world. “Hope you don’t have many plans for Sunday. I have a full night’s worth of plans instore for us.” He smiled, leading Giselle out to his SUV. He made sure to do the gentlemanly thing and open the passenger door for Gigi, helping her into the SUV, before hurrying back to his side.

As Alexander began to pull away, Jacob’s eyes frantically scanned the street for Alyssa. “Oh, come on, come on. Where are you? They’ll get away!” But as soon as the last word left his lips, the passenger door popped open, and in popped Alyssa. Quickly leaning over to plant a kiss on her cheek, Jacob grinned. “You always knew how to keep me on the edge of my seat!” He chuckled, turning his car on. He made sure not to turn the lights on yet, though. As he needed to drive stealthily to keep up with Alex. Where as Terrance and Alexander were known to be more sneaky, for their spying and thieving live purposes, Jacob was more used to charging into things head on than to tip toe around them. So driving so slowly behind Alex was practically putting Jacob on edge. “I know Alex usually isn’t a speed demon, but god! Could he go any slower??" Jacob sighed in exasperation, getting out on the main road before flicking on his lights and following Alexander. “So, being 100% honest. How do you think this is going to go? How has Gigi been in preparation for this date? Nervous? Scared? Neutral? Or did she seem uninterested?”



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Okay
✖✖ I am At... Italian Bistro
✖✖ I am With... Eva and Julius
✖✖ I am Thinking..."All mine..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Black suit

They sort of had things backwards, didn't they? Bedding one another, then going on a date? Well, it would have been nice if it was an actual date, but with Julius along as the crooked and squeaky third wheel it felt more like babysitting. Having Arthur take her hand again felt nice, almost making the day worth it. Almost. Fortunately, Arthur would unintentionally rescue her from any of Julius' further antics by cozily sitting next to her. Eva's nerves felt shot at this point, Arthur giving her a much needed comfort as he rested his hand on her thigh, though she couldn't feel too happy. In truth she was actually nervous about...everything. Julius was just another worry added to the slowly growing mountain of stress she already had. Because being technically homeless, possibly orphaned, and knocked up just wasn't enough, was it? Her stomach protested her thoughts, insisting that she look at the menu with Arthur so she could eat already. Hunger was taking charge now, demanding that she take everything, and it took a lot of restraint to not ask Arthur to get multiple plates.

Maybe if she just pretended Julius wasn't there, she could actually enjoy herself. But that was a very optimistic and naïve thought to have even for her, and sure enough, she felt his foot near hers. By some miracle she hadn't reacted, though she did take her eyes off the menu to look at him, as if asking 'Really?' even though she didn't say anything. He played ignorance, his eyes on the menu, and Eva let out an irritated huff. Great, so not only did he feel he had claim over her body, he was just going out of his way to annoy her. Whether it was spite or the fact that she was getting cranky from not eating, she felt like she didn't want to just take it. For the moment, she was safe enough that she knew he wouldn't be able to properly retaliate without Arthur noticing. Taking full advantage, she looked at Arthur, smiling sweetly as she placed her hand on his, bringing it up and placing a gentle kiss on it. As she was about to place it back down, her other hand came to her face, turning forward and raising her head like she had a sneeze incoming. Letting the fake sneeze out, she put a lot more force into her kick than she probably should have, driving her foot right into Julius' shin. "Oh!" She let out a gasp, as if realizing she had kicked him on accident. "I'm so sorry! It sort of just came out," She smiled at Julius as she placed Arthur's hand back on her lap. That'll teach him to keep his hands off her. She placed her head on Arthur's arm, lazily eyeing the bistro's options. The only reason she had yet to fall asleep was probably because her stomach insisted on eating, but she felt she could fall asleep right then and there.

---

Ah, there was that unfamiliar Alexander again. Gigi actually had no idea how to properly respond to his compliment, though as she followed him to his car, something he said caught her attention. Sunday? Not that she had any issues with staying up all night, she had done it plenty of times before, but now she was genuinely curious to know what Alexander had in store for them. As she stepped into the car, she felt her phone go off in her pocket. As she went to pull it out, she found herself hesitating. Whatever it was, it could wait until tomorrow. Though she supposed it could have been Alyssa, she figured she'd rather not say anything until the end. However it would end, if he was planning to keep her up all night, she supposed a progress report wouldn't be a bad idea. She exhaled slightly, her chest having that weird feeling again, although this time she didn't feel as nervous. Maybe it was her personally resigning to the fact that this was probably going to be the last chance she had to do something normal like this. A depressing thought for sure, though she pushed it to the back of her mind as Alexander reentered the car.

Meanwhile Alyssa was nursing her knee. She hadn't gotten injured from the fall by some miracle, though she had banged it against the car door as she had scrambled in. But that wasn't enough to deter her, as she would pull out the compact binoculars she had swiped from her dad's collection. Pulling a twig and brushing some leaves out of her hair, Alyssa laughed at Jacob's barrage of questions. "Anticipation was definitely in the air, and I got zero protests--okay, only one protest as I helped her get ready, so I'm pretty sure she's excited," She answered Jacob as she decided to steal a look into Alexander's car, watching the back of their heads. "She seemed kinda down at first, but she perked up once he was at the door. Well, not really, Gigi doesn't 'perk' like normal girls, but believe me, she's probably doing cartwheels in her head," She remembered their earlier conversation, and she put her binoculars down for a moment. "Alex has some real restraint, she was super disappointed he didn't go all the way earlier. I'm wondering--" Her thought was cut off by her phone ringing.

"Hello~" Helene's voice came through, and Alyssa rolled her eyes, deciding to put her on speaker as she would continue to observe Alexander's SUV. "You rang?"

"Yeah, way to return my call hours later," Alyssa scoffed, immediately deciding to punish her friend for ignoring her. "You're too late, Gigi's already on her way with Alex to their date."

"WHAT?!" Helene's screech was so loud that Alyssa was genuinely surprised the glass around them didn't shatter. "They're on a date?! An actual date?! With each other? When? Now? Are you sure that's not some clone taking Gigi's place?"

Rolling her eyes for a moment, Alyssa decided to let Helene suffer a little. "I called you to help Gigi with the 'Helene Etoile Makeover', but oh well, I just sent her in as she was," She lied and got a sentence full of French words she didn't know. "That's what you get for picking your 'buddy' over your friends! Again!"

"Don't be so dramatic, Aly," Helene warned her, resulting in a very tense, awkward silence. After a moment, Helene seemed to have calmed herself down, though she took a deep breath before continuing. "Oh well. Guess you don't need me, so I'll catch you later~"

Alyssa hung up, mildly irritated, though she looked at Jacob. "Alright, then, how do you think this is going to go?" She asked him.

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∂

“Ow!” Julius jumped somewhat in his seat, quickly redacting his attacked legged and rubbing his shin under the table. Arthur could barely contain himself and let out a short, subtle chuckle. She probably didn’t mean to do it on purpose, but seeing his cousin’s reaction was enough to almost put a full grin on Arthur’s face. He wondered if she disliked Julius almost as much as he did. Or perhaps she was upset because such an intimate moment between them was being interrupted by his presence. Either way, he couldn’t be happier with Eva by his side. He gently squeezed her thigh in response, flipping through the menu. Perhaps just some pasta and meatballs was right up his alley. Italian meatballs were nothing like Swedish meatballs, but Arthur also wasn’t a picky eater.

It was obvious that Julius didn’t appreciate this sudden attack on him from Eva, his eyes narrowing slightly towards her. “No, you’re fine. I guess we all sometimes learn how to control innate bodily functions, huh?” Julius rolled his eyes slightly, putting his menu down and waiving over a sever. “Three red house wines, please and thanks!” The young women nodded and scurried off to collect the wine bottle and glasses to set at the table. Arthur looked towards Eva for a second, then back to Julius. “Just two should be fine. Eva doesn’t drink.” Arthur lied, not thinking much of it. To them it was obvious why she couldn’t partake in alcohol, but this only caused Julius to raise an eyebrow. Didn’t drink, huh? Well, that was knew. Julius could remember multiple occasions where he got the cute little blonde drunk. She was more fun to play with under the influence anyways. “Oh, why is that Eva?” Julius’ eyes narrowed slightly to the young blonde. The wine glasses were brought out, and Arthur scooted one back towards the waitress, shaking his head. Instead, she just filled two of the glasses, taking the third away. Julius picked up his glass, holding it towards Arthur. “To my cousin’s new girlfriend. Hopefully it will last longer than my last relationship.” Julius’ eyes paned towards Eva, sending her a quick wink. Arthur watched his cousin curiously and simply nodded, taking a sip from his glass of wine.


It didn’t take to long with Alexander’s driving speed to get them to his destination. A Japanese hibachi grill restaurant. It was quite possibly Alex’s favorite place to eat. He loved the more traditional cooking of his family’s Swedish food. But he also had a sweet spot for Japanese food. “One of my favorite places to eat. It is fun start to our romantic evening.” Alexander smiled and led Gigi inside, his heart continuing to race at a hundred miles per hour. He was preparing himself to take several mental snapshots throughout the night. First, of Gigi walking in as he held the door for her, and again as they were seated almost immediately with a reservation he had put in earlier in the day. They sat at one of the large hibachi gril, a few other couples gathered around on dates as well. Alexander, being the normal, lovable, and sociable butterfly greeted them all with a warm smile and waves, pulling out a seat for Gigi before finding his place right beside her. Alexander leaned in a little, murmuring to Gigi’s ear. “I’m kind of a regular here. They don’t ID if you’d like something to drink. I usually get sake.” He smiled merrily towards Gigi, feeling the heat rising to his face. Was it because he was having a good time or because the grill was preheating?

“Shit.” Jacob murmured as they pulled into the restaurant parking lot, not too far behind Alexander. “This place is always packed on a Saturday. Of course Alex would pick such a popular place. No doubt in my mind the wait will be, like, an hour.” Jacob huffed in exasperation, turning towards Alyssa and rubbing the back of his head. “I mean… I still want to spy on the two. But I don’t want you to go hungry.” Jacob felt embarrassed and chuckled nervously. He wasn’t as much of a smooth talker and romancer like Alexander and Terrance were. In fact, how he got lucky and scored Alyssa was completely beyond his own comprehension. It was sheer and pure luck, in Jacob’s opinion.



ＢＵＴ ＭＹ ＤＲＥＡＭＳ．．．

ＡＳ ＭＹ ＣＯＮＳＣＩＥＮＣＥ ＳＥＥＭＳ ＴＯ ＢＥ

Ｉ ＨＡＶＥ ＨＯＵＲＳ， ＯＮＬＹ ＬＯＮＥＬＹ．．．

ＴＨＡＴ'Ｓ ＮＥＶＥＲ ＦＲＥＥ

✖✖ Translations:...
✖✖ I Feel... Entertained
✖✖ I am At... Italian Bistro
✖✖ I am With... Eva and Julius
✖✖ I am Thinking..."All mine..."
✖✖ I am Wearing...Black suit

Having to bite her tongue at Arthur's lie, Eva could immediately tell Julius was suspicious. Not that she blamed him, they used to sneak drinks all the time so he knew Arthur was bullshitting. Of course Julius would ask why, and Eva shifted in her seat nervously. Caught in a lie already, it really wasn't a good feeling, even if it was Julius and not Arthur catching her. This little game he was playing had worn out her nerves, her stomach churning again. "My medication shouldn't be mixed with alcohol," She quietly answered his question. Which was technically true, just not the whole of it. She was really bad at lying, though, and she was pretty sure Julius wasn't buying it. The only solace she had was that he decided to raise his glass, and she relaxed for a little. As Julius gave his toast, however, she felt oddly betrayed by his comment. What a low blow! Sure, they hadn't left off on good terms and he was acting like an ass right now, but that actually hurt her. Diverting her eyes towards the menu again, she tried not to dwell on it too much, but it was difficult not to think about. She really didn't mean anything to him, did she?

One of the waitresses passed by, giving food to the table behind theirs. Eva lifted her head, the smell of whatever perfume the girl wore hitting her hard. For some reason this random scent came off as disgusting, and she felt her stomach take a turn for the worse. As bad of an idea as it probably was to leave Julius and Arthur alone, Eva wasn't able to hold it down. She tried not to gag, though she was already rapidly tapping Arthur's shoulder, signaling to him to move. "I really need to use the bathroom," Eva told him urgently, nearly running him over as he let her out. Pushing the bathroom door open, she was grateful to find it completely empty, going over to the sink and turning on the water. Splashing water onto her face, Eva felt immensely relieved, taking in deep breaths. Deciding to take a minute to calm herself, she ran her hands through her hair, letting out a small groan. How much longer was she going to be able to put up with all this? Never in her life had she felt so stressed, especially after Dr. Galen had told her to take it easy. Staring at herself in the mirror, Eva couldn't help but wonder where she had gone wrong.

---

Starting with dinner, that seemed pretty typical. Gigi simply nodded to his statement, following his lead as they went in, though the weird looking tables definitely caught her curiosity. They were large, and at other tables she could see the chefs actually making the dishes in front of them. She recognized some of the knives used, but bit her tongue as their usage in their hands were more...violent. Geez, she was a psycho, wasn't she? As Alexander was talking up some of the people that greeted him, she felt weird watching him. If she was being honest, she didn't think much of socializing. There were too many ways things could go wrong, the world was small enough that the same relationships built could get destroyed the next day. Helene was the prime example of this, but watching Alexander, she had to admit that maybe that was just the justification she used. It was impressive how friendly he was, and as she took her seat, she found her thoughts to him again. Getting him out of her head was going to be difficult.

At the mention of a drink, Gigi was all too glad to oblige. Being nervous was getting to be very stressful. "Something strong, I hope," She replied, leaving out that she very much needed a drink right now. Figuring she could at least start a conversation, she wondered what she should say. He said he came here a lot, and it didn't take much to figure out who he used to bring. What did surprise her was how irritated she became when she thought about Alexander bringing some other girl here. "I didn't know you liked Japanese cuisine," She decided to start by her desire to get to know him a little better.

Meanwhile Alyssa gave Jacob a look of horror at his news. An hour of waiting?! Too many things could be happening in that time! Letting out a low groan, Alyssa wracked her brain to figure out a solution. Clucking her tongue, Alyssa tried to see if there were any windows they could just look into. There were plenty, but considering how big the place was, it wasn't prudent unless the pair were sitting right by the window. Her eyes landed on the rear entrance, and as she sported a grin, she looked back at Jacob excitedly. "I'm fine food-wise, but I really don't want to miss what's happening," She admitted, pointing to the door. "I say we test your stealth and sneak on in. Think you're up for it?"