Everett holds the door to A Quiet Café open for me and Marlowe. When I walk in, my eyes immediately draw to Briar. She's sitting on top of a table with headphones on, a book in her lap and a pen in her hand. She writes something down, nodding her head to whatever song she's listening to. But she must hear the bell above the door go off or see movement because she glances at me and smiles.

I start to take a step toward her, but Gareth calls my name. I turn towards him with a polite smile. Gareth has his laptop in front of him, an amused look on his face. I'm sure Thera would look the same way if she wasn't busy teaching Amalia how to play the piano.

"You weren't planning on saying hi to us?" Gareth teases.

Everett chuckles as he hands out ice cream. "I'm sure he has more important people to talk to."

I feel my face heat up, but I'll take this teasing over glares any day. Too bad Briar can only settle for glares with my family.

After I quickly exchange formalities with Gareth and Thera, I sit next to Briar. She smiles at me, lowering her headphones around her neck and picking up her ice cream. "Hey."

"Hi," I smile. I eye the book in her lap. "Rereading your dad's series?" She nods. "Is this like the millionth reread?"

She shrugs, pulling the spoon out of her mouth. "Might as well be."

"Can I see your annotations?"

She nods, letting me take the book and flip through it. This is the first book, so I guess she just started going back into it to annotate. It's a copy she hasn't annotated yet either, so it's easy to pick out her notes. And... I don't know whether to roll my eyes at how concerned she is or kiss her here and now for caring so much.

I guess Hai could be nice to his sister sometimes.

Hien actually does care about Hai no matter how much she complains about him to Lanh.

Kind of sad that Hai and Hien feel like they can't get along when they actually make a good team.

Why is Hai so much more of an asshole than Hien when they pretty much grew up under the same conditions and with the same beliefs about always being there for each other?

Hard to see Hien be so conflicted about her relationship with her brother.

I look up. Gareth, Everett, and Marlowe are holding each other's attention, and Thera is still preoccupied with Amalia. Good. I quickly turn Briar's head towards me and kiss her. She quietly gasps right as I pull back. Guess I do want to kiss her for caring so much.

"My annotations weren't that good," she laughs, smiling down at her ice cream.

I set the book aside. "No. They were better than you think." I put a hand on her knee and squeeze. "Thanks for caring."

Her expression softens. She turns to make sure no one's watching before kissing me on the cheek. "Of course, I care a lot." She finishes the rest of her ice cream and sets the cup aside before giving me her full attention. "How was it with your brother?"

I shrug, sitting back on my hands. "I had a good time with him today." I swallow. "Is that weird?"

Briar shakes her head. "I don't think so. I always thought that siblings were supposed to get along and have each other's backs."

I snort, lightly hitting her arm with the back of my hand. "That's how I know you're an only child."

She huffs, swatting me on the shoulder. "You know what I mean."

I nod, feeling something dim in my chest. "Yeah... I know... But I don't know how to feel about it considering all the things he says and does every other time we talk. I don't get why we were on such good terms today."

Briar shrugs, looking up at the ceiling. "Hai and Hien had good moments."

She's not wrong. "But Hai always ended up doing something to hurt Hien even after their good moments. And..." I sit forward. "That usually involved saying something to their parents to get them mad at Hien."

Briar glances at me, a crease forming between her eyebrows. "You think he'll say something about us hanging out?"

I hope he doesn't. I'm still not sure what to think of his non-answer. Before I can share my concerns, Amalia calls Briar's name. For good measure, she runs over, places both her hands on Briar's knees, and jumps up and down.

"You know how to play the piano, too?" she gasps, her brown eyes shining bright.

"And violin," Gareth says.

Briar gives her parents exasperated looks, but she smiles at Amalia. "Yeah. I do."

Amalia grabs Briar's hands and starts tugging her to the piano. "Show me a song!" She looks at me, and for a second, she seems to forget about the piano. She stops pulling on Briar's arm and stands up straight, staring at me. "Are you Briar's boyfriend?"

I blink, the question slowly sinking in. I glance at Briar. She's already smirking at me, waiting to see what I say. I look back at Amalia and nod. "Yeah. I am."

Amalia's eyes light up. She stands on her toes, leaning towards me. "Do you really really really like Briar? Because she told me that she really really really likes you."

"Yeah, Idris," Marlowe teases as she picks up a paintbrush. "Do you really really really like Briar?"

I give Marlowe a wide-eyed glare. Her smile widens. She doesn't even bother hiding the fact that she mouths "I love this kid" to Briar. And Briar doesn't hide the fact that she nods her agreement, laughing when she sees my expression.

"He doesn't have to say it," Briar says, saving me from some embarrassment. After a pause, she smirks, adding, "I already know."

Well, I take that back. I don't think Briar will ever get tired of making me blush. Maybe one day I'll get used to it, and maybe that's why she does it so much. So I'll stop blushing at her compliments and just accept them.

Briar smiles at me before she heads to the piano. I expect Amalia to run after her, but she looks up at me instead.

"Can I sit on your lap?" she asks.

She gives me big, pleading eyes. I don't know what kind of monster would ever say no to eyes like these, but I'm definitely not one of those. I nod and lift her onto my lap, wrapping my arms around her waist to make sure she doesn't fall. Once she's settled, Briar sits next to Thera at the piano and glances around the room.

"What song?" she asks.

"'Ocean eyes,'" Marlowe exclaims, flinging paint everywhere as she whirls around. "Billie Eilish."

Briar holds up a finger, asking for a minute, as she pulls her headphones on. Amalia turns to look at me, her eyebrows furrowed. I explain to her that Briar is probably learning the song, and her eyebrows furrow even more. It feels like she wants to ask how Briar can learn a song just from listening to it, but I think Amalia doesn't want to say anything that remotely questions Briar, so she faces forward again.

Briar seems pretty sure of herself as she plays a few notes, nodding her head to the song. Even after seeing the video of her talent show, I still find myself a little skeptical. But after a few minutes, Briar lowers her headphones and lays her hands on the piano. She plays the entire song like she's known it her entire life. So I shouldn't have doubted her. I just need to remember that I'm musically stupid.

Briar sings, too. Her voice comes out tentatively at first, but the further into the song she goes, the stronger and more emotional her voice becomes. She did sing when she was filling in roles at the theater in Woodworth, but I want to see her sing during an actual musical number in front of an audience. It must be absolutely breathtaking. Anyone would agree.

Except Myron doesn't. It makes me think he never actually saw her perform because even if he's bitter, there's no way he can say she doesn't have talent if he actually sat through one of her live performances. So he's either inattentive or his family life is more messed up than I know.

And from what it sounds like, I know.

But I'm not Myron.

But... I'm not too sure if I'm not like my brother either. When he's not in a bad mood, he's decent. So that's something we have in common. I just hope we don't have his bad moods in common. I don't think I could ever live with myself if I said or did the things Roman does when he's upset.

Wonder how he can...

The thought stays with me as Briar finishes the song. It looks like she's about to stand when Amalia insists that she play and sing some more. She gives Briar the pleading eyes, and I'm not at all surprised that Briar isn't the monster that says no to that either.

She settles back in front of the piano and takes song requests from everyone. Sometimes she has to put her headphones on and learn the song. But even when she doesn't have to, I'm still completely speechless because of her singing and piano playing. I think she's wrong when she says I could be a writer because I can never describe the adoration I feel for her.

When it's my turn to pick a song, I don't even have to think. "'Favorite Place.' All Time Low."

Briar has to put her headphones on for this one. As she listens to the song, her eyes flicker to me every once in a while. But most of the time, she's smiling down at the keys as she plays a few notes. Her family and Marlowe look between us every time Briar even remotely reacts. It almost makes me want to change the song, but I really want her to sing this to me. No matter how hard I know I'll blush.

Briar pulls her headphones down around her neck. She smiles at me once before she plays the song. At certain lyrics, she'll look at me again. "But you feel like the sun on my face," "Yeah, you're everything I love about/The Things I hate in me," and "Fix me with your grace/'Cause I'm not too far and you're my favorite place" just to name a few. And every single time, her eyes seem to change colors. That on top of her voice makes her absolutely mesmerizing.

When she finishes the song, she sits back and exhales, her eyes flickering to me. I hold her gaze for a second, and all I want to do is kiss her. I don't even care that her entire family, Marlowe, and Amalia are here. I just want to kiss her.

The others cheer, breaking me from my thoughts. But even then, I can't help but focus on Briar as her cheeks darken with color. I'm pretty sure everyone sees the smile on her face, though. It's not exactly shy or embarrassed. It's almost like she feels a bit validated. I'm sure there was a time when she didn't need this validation when it came to performing, but if she needs it now, I'm glad she's getting it after everything Myron has put her through.

And maybe that says something about what I need after what Roman put me through... Is still putting me through...? Even after we had a good day today?

Once the cheering dies down, Briar stands, pulling her phone out of her pocket. "I should get you home, Amalia."

Amalia dutifully slides off my lap as Briar goes to grab her guitar. She takes Briar's hand and asks, "Can Idris come with us?"

Briar's eyes flicker to me and back to Amalia. "I'm sure he's busy."

"I'm not." I stand and take Amalia's other hand. "I can walk Amalia home with you."

Briar frowns at me. "Are you sure?" She lowers her voice and adds, "What about Roman?"

I shrug. "It's fine. He already suspects, so there's nothing else I can do." Briar's still frowning at me. Before she can argue, I smile down at Amalia as I kick my skateboard into my hands. "Ready to go?"

Amalia nods. Briar gives me one last look before waving to everyone and following us outside. Briar and I walk with Amalia between us, each holding a hand. Sometimes we'll lift her off the ground as she jumps, swinging her forward. She giggles every time, asking us to do it "again, again, again!"

Briar smiles absentmindedly, her eyes sweeping the area. Every time a car or person passes by, she looks up, her eyes wide. When they don't stop to look at us or even slow down, she breathes a little easier, but she doesn't stop watching our surroundings.

"I'm not worried about it," I tell her as we swing Amalia forward. "I'm worried about you, though."

She watches a car drive by before looking at me. "Are you sure you're not worried? Even if Roman's already sure we're spending time together, isn't that more reason to be careful? Not reckless?"

I shrug. "Maybe. But if Roman already knows, then there's a chance he'll tell our parents. And there's nothing I can do about that."

Briar gives me an incredulous look. "That's supposed to make me feel better?"

Before I can assure her that things will be fine, Amalia asks, "What are you guys talking about?"

I smile at her. "Nothing you need to worry about." We swing her forward again and when she lands and stops giggling, I ask, "Do you like having Briar teach you how to play the guitar, Amalia?"

Briar shoots me a look. Amalia completely overlooks it, smiling at me. "Yeah. I love Briar. She's like a big sister to me."

My smile widens. "Yeah?"

Amalia nods her head vigorously. "Yeah. She's really really really good at playing the guitar and the piano. She's really really really pretty, too. And she's really really really nice." I glance at Briar, but she keeps her eyes forward. "You should tell her that you really really really like her more."

Just like that, Briar can look at me again, a smirk on her face. "He doesn't have to, Amalia, but I think he should, too."

I shake my head at Briar, but Amalia is already looking at me expectantly. It's not like I don't want to tell Briar that I have feelings for her. She knows I do. I'm pretty sure everyone knows I do. But I like telling her in private. It feels more special that way. A lot more special than having a little kid stare at me while I do it, but again: what monster says no to Amalia?

I take a deep breath and meet Briar's gaze. "Briar, I really really really like you."

Amusement dances in her eyes, but her expression softens. "I really really really like you, too, Idris."

Amalia nods her approval. She starts asking me question after question about myself, and I can't say I'm not relieved that we're moving away from anything that might make Briar tease me. But it's hard to answer a lot of Amalia's questions without saying something too intense. I manage, though, and I ask her questions, too. The entire time, I peer at Briar. She's smiling at me and Amalia, but her eyes shift around every once in a while.

I know I should be a little concerned about getting caught with Briar, but something about Roman knowing feels... freeing... Because there's nothing I can do about it now, so I don't need to worry about getting caught if I already was. The rest is up to him. He already said he doesn't see why he should mention anything to our parents, but... We'll see what he does. Whatever it is, it's out of my hands. All I can do is be here in this moment with Briar, and that's all I've been wanting to do.

After we drop Amalia off and her dad pays Briar, we walk back to Everett's house. I try to take her hand, but Briar flinches away, looking around again. I stop walking and interlace our fingers. "It's fine." I squeeze her hand. "It's going to be fine."

Briar shrugs. "I don't want you to get caught, especially if that gives Roman more evidence against you."

I squeeze her hand again. "If he does, there's nothing I can do about it."

Briar studies me, adjusting her grip on her guitar case. "I don't know how to feel about you being so relaxed about this when you were so worried about it for the past few days."

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. In the end, I laugh softly. "Maybe I just feel reckless today."

"How come?"

I let go of her hand and sit on the edge of the sidewalk. She sits with me, letting me collect my thoughts. When I have some semblance of a coherent idea, I say, "I guess spending most of the day with Roman felt weird. It was... great. We've had great moments, but I didn't think we would ever have a great day. And now I don't think I even know who my own brother is anymore."

Briar nods slowly. "So you think he can redeem himself a little bit?"

I nod. "Yeah. Something like that. Kind of like Hien and Hai's parents in your dad's draft. But then they do something to remind me that they're not the best people. So when Roman confirmed that he knows for sure we're hanging out, I guess..." I clasp my hands together, resting my forearms on my knees. I swallow, staring across the street. "I guess I'm testing him. To see who he really is."

Briar doesn't say anything for a second. Her eyebrows knit together as she tilts her head up at the cloudless sky, the sunlight glinting off her eyes. She inhales and turns back to me. "I think that's fair. But I still find it sad that you feel like you have to test your own brother to see if you can trust him." She exhales, resting her head on my shoulder. "I know this will make me sound like an only child, but I do think siblings should be there for each other no matter what and no matter how annoying they are."

"Sometimes." Roman and I are living proof of that. "But not when one of them tells the other that they're stupid and a disappointment and doesn't know anything then turns around and acts like he never said any of that." I swallow, clasping my hands a little more tightly together. "And if my parents do the same thing, I feel like I have to test them, too. So if they end up thinking I'm stupid for spending time with you, they failed the test because I never want to be smart if that's the case."

Briar laughs softly. "You sound a lot like Hien right now."

I blow out a breath, shaking my head. "I feel a lot like Hien right now."

"I'm sorry."

I shake my head again. "No. Don't be. Because that means I get you as Lanh. Or Briar which is even better."

She puts her hand on my knee. "Well, as Lanh/Briar, I don't want you to get in trouble because of me. Or in trouble, period."

I smile. "Well, that's always what Lanh wanted for Hien, but that didn't stop Hien's parents or even Hai from finding a way to punish her for stupid things."

She growls. "I hate that..."

I turn and kiss the space between her eyes. "It'll be fine. We'll see what Roman does. It's up to him at this point. But whatever happens, I think we'll be okay."

We have to be because if we're not, I have no idea what to do.