📢 Author's note: This is the second part of a pseudo-double update. Make sure you read the previous one named "Carousel." 

So, *gulps* this is kind of a big chapter (in more than one ways). If something is not clear, feel free to ask.

It was the wicked 
and wild wind
Blew down the doors 
to let me in
The shattered windows
and the sound of drums
People couldn't believe 
what I'd become.

☀Sunset☀

"There's something about Dean that you should know." Harry sets his gaze on me as we stand at the center of this massive, colorful garden in Darcy and Elizabeth's mansion. 

I gulp, dreading the possibility of Harry knowing something about Dean and me. 

Well, there's nothing hide. I'm not even sure what Dean meant when he said he cared. In fact, I just know he cares about me in a platonic, friend-like way, right? He did say once that he liked me as a friend. He cares in a general, friendly way. Yeah?

Yeah. I should relax about all of this.

"You should've told me in there," I say, bumping his shoulder ever so slightly. "You didn't need to drag me away from the group. I have nothing to hide," I declare.

Harry scoffs. "You really have no idea about his?"

I swallow thickly. Oh God. 

He shakes his head in disbelief. "Well, we were always trying to protect you, and we were just seeking for answers. I didn't want things to end that way."

"Cool, but then there's nothing to hide. Why all the secrecy?"I frown.

He chuckles lowly. "I'm not sure if you want Lukah to know about this." He bites his bottom lip.

I stare blankly ahead of me, and he guides me to seat on a wooden bench.

"Wh-what could that be?" I tuck my hair behind my ears, playing it cool.

"How Dean saved you and all of us," he says while we seat.

A million thoughts run through my mind. Harry starts retelling the events and I can't help but feeling Dean manifesting as he speaks.

🌓Dean🌓

My fists clench, hurting my palms. My heart beats so wildly I'm not sure how it hasn't exploded yet. It's galloping against my ribcage so hard that I don't understand how it hasn't escaped yet.

"At least we tried." Harry pats my back as the mirror-like windows pile up in the building of the Guild of Authors—The top is lost in a misty cloud of fog that hovers in the sky today.  

"There has to be something else that we could do," I insist, watching it tower above us. 

Harry sighs heavily, his head tipping back to contemplate the tall building. "Dean, this is a line no one would ever cross." He turns around in the direction of my bike but I keep glaring at the oblivious building standing tall above me.

"As I said," he continues, "I think you're very noble to do this but this is as far as we'll get. My magic can bring changes to characters' lives but what you want to do is...so much more. And these people in this building will never allow it." 

Turning around, we start walking away. "I can't believe your magic can't do shit, Harry," I spit.

"It can, but I can't just stomp over the Guild of Authors, even less stomp my way over Blair Lockpage. He will wipe me away for good. And I've already angered them with that Wattpad publication," he explains. "We can write changes for her. She'll be okay," he adds.

I climb on my motorbike and he does the same, his arms grabbing my waist. Turning the ignition on, my bike's engine roars powerfully to life in the busy city. Some people turn their heads to us, annoyed with the noise my bike makes. In response, I clutch the gas and make it go louder. 

Jeez. I'm doing exactly what they expect from me. I'm every bit of what they expect from me.

"What was the floor number of this guy's office?" I ask. 

"Ten," he shouts over the noise of the engine. "But why would you-" 

Turning the ignition off, I ignore his incomplete question. "Harry, get down," I instruct.

Peering at me from behind, he remains still.

"Okay. Stay here, then." I shrug my shoulders, climbing down my bike and leaving him behind.

My steps follow the beating of my heart. An orchestral, emotional symphony trails behind and around me, gliding at either side of me, escorting me as I walk in the direction of the Guild of Authors' building.

Some people step away from my path, and I bump into some others. I don't care to be honest. The cold wind flies by me, and then it hits me at the back of my head—shivers igniting down my spine and encouraging me to move forward.

Harry catches up with me, disrupting my moment. "What the hell are you doing, Dean?"  

"I decided I want to talk to the Guild of Authors," I reply. 

He scoffs. "Yeah? And I wanted to befriend Voldemort." His eyes roll behind his glasses.

I almost laugh.

"You've got no idea what you're doing. Leave now before it's too late. They can literally write your own death, Dean," Harry cautions.

"I don't care." I'm already passing through the doors.

"No. This is dangerous. Stop right now," he urges me, stepping in my way and walking backward as I walk forward. 

I shove him off, then I hate myself for it. God, I just shoved Harry Potter. My friends from the book club would kill me. 

"Dean. Man," he calls, warning me again but the elevator's door slides open for me, so I step in. 

I get inside while Harry stares at me. "You can't just walk into Blair Lockpage's office. He controls the fictional and some parts of the real world. He can kill us or anyone we care about." 

Stopping the door from closing, I tower over him. "You said she was trapped too, right? Sunset is also trapped, right?" I insist. 

"But-" 

"Yes or no?" I snap. 

"Yes." 

"So, I'm doing it for her." I step backward, getting inside the elevator again.

"But you're also recklessly telling this guy that you know his secret. He can hurt you. He will hurt you. This guy has the power to erase your existence with the click of his mouse." 

"I don't care. She doesn't deserve that." 

"You don't deserve that either," he mutters as the door starts sliding close.

I open my mouth to speak but no words come out. The steel door slides close concealing Harry behind it, but it magically slides open again. 

Smiling at him, I take a side step to make room for him.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Harry sighs, storming inside the elevator. "You don't need to risk your life for anyone. She's not aware that she's trapped. She's okay." 

"She's not okay. I know her. She feels trapped. Just like I do." I press the number ten button.

"But we can find a different way. You don't have to come and challenge the Creator of The Fictional World for God's sake." Harry stares at me but I fixated my eyes on the floor number buttons, and I watch them light on and off as we reach each of them. 

"You said they created me to be the bad boy of the story?" I ask.

We just passed the second floor.

"Yeah, but-" 

"So I'm being the bad boy of the story. Let me perform my damn role." 

Fourth floor.

"Dean, we don't know the consequences of these people learning that we know their secret. And you think that they will just allow you to walk out knowing we discovered so much about them?"

Six.

"I'll have to try." 

Eight.

"Dean, please. You're making a mistake, trust me." 

"I need to do this for her. I can't just do nothing, knowing she's trapped."

Ten.

The elevator door opens and I stride my way to the office. A white desk stands in the middle of a pristine, spacious lobby. Scattered people walk in different directions around the place. Most of them are blond, slim, and thin. The whiteness in the place hurts my eyes. 

Before me, a secretary sits behind her desk. Her blue eyes are hidden behind her cat-eye framed glasses, and she's busy chewing the tip of a pencil.

Thank God she's a girl. This is gonna be easy. Although she might be in her forties, I may have to work extra hard.

I lean on the flawless, white desk before me, bending—my elbows resting on it. 

"Hi," I rasp. "I'm here to see Mr. Lock- Um...Lockpane? Lackpane?" I look at Harry for help because I forgot his name.

He palms his face, not answering my question.

"Mr. Lockpage?" The secretary stares at me, the tip of the pencil pressing against her lower lip.

"That guy. Is he here?" I ask, craning my neck to see behind her. 

"Do you have an appointment?" She peers her eyes above her fancy glasses.

"This is important..." I trail off, my eyes flickering around her to see if she has a name tag or something.

"Stacy," she says, referring to her name.

"This is important, Stacy." I lower my voice.  "I need to talk to him and I was thinking that after that, you and I can go for dinner. There's this bar I'm about to acquire. I'd love to get a girl's opinion on the place."  I wink my eye at her.

"Girl?" She giggles. 

"Well, I prefer them grown up, you know? Saves me a ton of drama," I slur.

She gawks at me, pausing all her actions as I hold her stare.

"Let me see what I can do for you, Mr...?"

"Mr. Jackson. Dean Jackson." I beam, straightening myself up as she gets busy picking up her phone.

"That's seriously a kind of magic I need to learn," Harry comments. "Now, we leave." He turns around.

Stacy starts mumbling something on the phone, but I lose sight of her when Harry starts dragging me away.

"Can you just stop this?" I demand, forcing my arm out of his grasp. 

"I'm protecting you!" he grunts, grabbing me again in an attempt to return to the elevator.

"I can do this. Just leave!" I struggle, pushing him away but he is also strong and grips my arm harder this time.

"Everything okay over there?" 

We freeze. 

A young man wearing a navy blue smart suit stands next to Stacy's desk, staring at us. 

"Potter? Is that you?" he questions, his black eyebrows knitting. 

Harry gulps visibly while my eyes watch the interaction.

"I heard you messed up one of my stories and now you dared show up here—unannounced? You know there's a script you need to follow," he utters, running a hand through his slick black hair.

Harry freezes as if he were scared. "It was a small thing. I didn't think some small changes would bother you, Mr. Lockpage."

"It was actually me who came to see you," I interject.

"I don't know you and I don't have time for random characters to burst into my office." He gives me his back, returning to his original place.

"We know what this place does. And I have evidence about it," I inform him.

He stops in his tracks right before the entrance to one of the offices. His back still turned to me. 

Two guys wearing black suits come to stand on either side of him. One of them leans on Mr. Lockpage, whispering something into his ear. Only then, he slowly turns around, eying me carefully.

"Threats suit you well, Dean Jackson," he seethes, stepping toward me. 

That guys must've told him my name.

"You'll know. You wrote me, didn't you?" I bluff, taking a confident stride to him.

"I don't have time to write null roles like yours. Go away now. And keep screwing up every relationship, just as you are expected to," he fires, turning his back to me again. 

"I want Sunset Williams and every character in that library free," I shout. 

Stacy stands up. "Sir?" She looks at Mr. Lockpage as if waiting for an order. "Should I call security?"

Mr. Lockpage replies with a slight shake of his head. 

"Dean Jackson." He grins. "You should go screw her, break her heart, destroy her hope for life until you suck every drop of happiness out of her fictional body—not save her," he snarls, disappointment clear in his gaze. 

Blood boils inside my body. My chest raises up and down dramatically as I will myself to stand still. I should beat the shit out of him, but I can't. My mission would end abruptly then. 

You know, what? Fuck it.

Throwing myself at him, I feel my torso being pulled away from the guy right before my fist would even collide with the his face.

I struggle to break free from their grasp, pushing, kicking, and throwing punches in every possible direction.

"See, Potter? This is why there are strict rules in my libraries." He straightens his jacket. "Characters lose their true essence with your magic tricks and Mss. Williams' annoying insistence," he adds.

"I said I want her free!" I state firmly as the two security guards let me go.

"That stupid girl..." Mr. Lockpage sneers, gesturing for the guards to move aside, "almost ruins my enterprise. She'll be captive for eternity." His eyes meet mine as he stands before me now, the security guys on either side of me—ready to act again. 

"Then, let's make a deal." I gulp.  

"No, Dean. No," Harry whispers next to me, warning me yet again. 

"I don't make deals with my creatures. So, excuse me. No." He pats my shoulder, dismissing me.

"I want her and every character that is in Stardust to be free. I want her to be free." 

"And why I would do that?" he questions.

"Because if you don't, I will publish everywhere what your enterprise does to the world," I warn him, a wicked smile on my face. 

His face, though, is devoid of colors. 

I take another step toward him. "As soon as human rights organizations discover the piece of shit this place is, they will burn it on live TV." 

He chuckles, shoving his hands deep in his pockets. "Would you look at this? A creature defying its creator." He cracks a peal of short, evil laughter. "Dear Dean Jackson, powerful people need this enterprise to survive. They already know all about me and my business."

"Not everyone knows," I add.

"The rest of the world is helpless. In fact, I'm helping them. And even if they learned about this, they could never do anything to stop me. No one will ever stop being part of this system."  He smiles, mocking me.

"I wouldn't underestimate the power of angry people. Look at Sunset. She mocked you so easily," I boast, grinning at him while I watch his eyes fill with darkness and pure hatred. 

"I can't let her free," he admits. 

"Why not? You are the most powerful man on earth. Why can't you?" 

"She is too dangerous," he states.

"Oh, so you're scared of her?" I frown at him, my arms folding.

He sighs, his hands buried in his pockets. "I can't let her go. She's the anchor in that story. She cannot be removed." 

"Anchor?" I ask.

"Dean we need to walk away right now." Harry tugs at my shoulder but I ignore him.

"In every story, there's a character that functions as the anchor of the story. They keep the story together, without them the story falls apart. That's how I make sure my stories stick to their places." He exhales. "There're so many complicated issues here, Dean. Let me perform my role here, and you should perform yours."

"So, if she is freed...the story would just vanish?" I purse my lips, expecting his answer.

"Yes."

"But she cannot come out because she's the anchor character so everyone could come out, except for her?" I conclude, putting together the information.

"You know? For a character, you're quite smart." 

"Dean, please. Don't even th-" Harry starts but my thoughts are louder than his words.

"Thank you for wasting my precious time," Blair Lockpage murmurs, entering his office. 

"W-wait!" I shout, struggling to form the right sentences. "P-please, wait."

He stares at me, a bored expression washing over his face.

"What if someone else would be the anchor instead of her?" I blurt out. 

He frowns at me. "You're supposed not to care. You were created to not care. Do you get that or not?" he barks.

"Well, I don't, trust me. I care so little that I wouldn't have a problem trading my place for hers," I explain. 

"No!" Harry cries. "He doesn't mean that. We're leaving anyway.".

"Your actions and words are saying two completely different things, Mr. Jackson. Following your role would be so much easier."

"Actually, no. You wanted me not to care. I value myself so little that I don't care about becoming the anchor character thing," I develop my idea. "So, make me the anchor and free her and every character in that library."

"Dean, you don't know what you're saying," Harry hisses. "He doesn't know what he is saying!" Harry cries.

So I turn to him and whisper, "Do you think I'll walk away from here knowing she's a puppet for this guy? She doesn't deserve this whereas I do deserve to be punished." 

"Dean-" 

"So," I demand, "Do we have a deal or not?" I address Mr. Lockpage.

"I'll free all of your friends at that rotten library. They never should've existed anyway, and they don't mean anything to me now. Now, regarding Sunset..." he trails off, taking all the time of the world to speak. "I'll switch you up. She'll no longer be the anchor of that story and you will take her role. But she will continue to live in that book for as long as I'm alive on this planet."

I'm not happy with the fact that he is not freeing Sunset but I don't think I can push any more buttons today. I just pray someone may find her book and free her. She deserves freedom.

So, not entirely happy, but content, I reply, "Deal."

"You'll perform every word that was written for you. And you will not seek her because if you do I will eliminate this story for once and for all," he threatens.

"Seek her? She's dating my brother," I add, shrugging my shoulders upward. 

"Deal. Come with me." 

Harry and I share a look and we walk toward Mr. Lockpage. 

"No. You can't come Mr. Potter," Mr. Lockpage orders.

"But-" 

"This's between Dean and me. You'll ruin no more my works of fiction." 

I gulp, feeling slightly intimidated that Harry Potter, the Harry Potter obeys this guy. 

"Dean," he calls. 

I turn one last time to face him. "You are sacrificing yourself not only for Sunset but for all of us," he mutters. "We are used to being controlled. It's not like they're killing us." 

"To me, every single one of you is worthier than anything else in this world." I let my hand rest on his shoulder, and I walk away. 

The door closes behind me, and that's the last time I ever see Harry.

*heart thumbs* *wheezes* *grabs knees* *cannot speak* *swallows tears*

I run out of words.

This chapter's shout out goes to

2_lft_feet_

She's an amazing reader, author, and person! Feel free to go, check all her stories out.

I've been thinking that it makes me really proud to know the readers I have.

Love you all so much!