(Song of the chapter: 'Good Enough' - Empire Cast)

AVALON

I was a hoe.

A truly disgusting, shameful hoe.

I should be boiled. I should be lynched. I should be flogged. I didn't deserve to be part of society.

But I was still doing it.

Inhaling, I took a glance left, then right, searching furtively for anyone who might be watching.

There was no one.

I exhaled, and before I could talk sense into myself, I googled 'Rhys Mason'.

Millions of results popped up from my search. I disregarded the pointless articles that were sure to be filled with drivel and scrolled down, trying to find...

Oh, there it was.

Rhys Mason, @itsRhysMason ✔ on Instagram. I read the figure beside it and my eyes bulged out.

13 MILLION FOLLOWERS!!!

Now this I had to see.

After another guilty scan of the room, I held my breath and clicked the link.

A collage of high-quality photographs greeted me. Dipping my head further, I peered closely as I scrolled. There were pictures of Rhys... everywhere.

There he was, sitting on a stool with a paintbrush in his hand. The easel wasn't shown in the frame, and he wasn't even looking at the camera, his focus on the task he was doing. From the angle the picture was taken, I could see his jaw tightly clenched from concentration.

Swallowing from a suddenly dry mouth, I moved on to the next picture.

Here, Rhys was lounging on what looked like a window sill. A book was open in his lap, but his eyes were closed. In fact, his head fell forward like he was asleep.

A lot of these pics, it seemed, were taken when he wasn't looking.

Next picture. There was Rhys... watering the grass...

Without a shirt.

My eyes bulged out and nearly touched the screen like in cartoons.

I couldn't help but trace the planes of his muscles with my eyes. He was looking down in the direction of his bare feet, his raven-colored hair falling forward to his chest. It almost seemed to point towards his muscled torso.

Piddling Piccadilly.

I counted up to six abs before catching myself and swiftly moving on, heat flooding my cheeks.

I was a hoe.

But if I was wrong, I didn't want to be right.

More scrolling, more Rhys. Rhys facing the window, Rhys scowling at Jasper, Rhys leaning over to open the car door...

Rhys smiling faintly at the camera, with a girl I'd never seen before leaning against him...

I abruptly stopped at the picture. Bringing the phone even closer to my face, I stared at the girl.

She was incomprehensibly beautiful. Rich, thick brown hair fell in waves down her pale shoulders, with lengthy eyelashes that framed the most alluring gray-blue eyes I'd ever seen. Her nose was perfectly pointed, and her rosy, cupid's bow lips were curved upwards, causing delicate yet prominent cheekbones to stand out on an already stunning face.

Her beauty different from Riley's: Riley had an almost unattainable level of perfection, with good genes and wealth shining from her every pore. This girl, however, didn't look exactly runway-ready, but more wholesome like the girl-next-door.

She could've been someone I ran into at the grocery store in the frozen food aisle. After seeing her, I would have gone home, stared hard at my skincare and makeup collection, and wondered what the hell I was doing wrong.

She was draped around Rhys, rubbing against him like a cat on a rug, her eyes twinkling with laughter and her lips peeled back, showcasing a devastating grin.

They were both sitting at a table, with Rhys holding a coffee cup between his palms. Two pale fingers arched like bunny ears rose above his head. His lips quirked to the side in that faintly amused way I'd come to know, and he was leaning a little bit into the girl as well.

His eyes danced, as if he was enjoying the moment. Relishing it even.

That same burning pressure from before returned, squeezing my chest so hard I had to grit my teeth. I tapped on the picture and saw about 5 million likes, but not a name or caption.

Who the hell was this girl?

Too late, I felt breaths against my ear.

"AHA!" A voice crowed triumphantly.

I screamed bloody murder, throwing hands and feet. My books went flying in one direction of the table, my phone in the other. Basically, I looked crazy.

I finally got a handle on myself. Placing a hand upon my racing heart, I looked up from my disheveled hair to see Jasper watching me with the most self-satisfied smirk he'd ever sported.

"I-" I stammered. "I mean, I- I wasn't..."

His copper brows rose. "You weren't...?" He drawled, emerald green eyes glinting with amusement.

No, I couldn't go down this way. I searched for my phone, intending to wipe the evidence and then deny it for all I was worth.

Jasper quickly caught on to what I was up to. Faster than the Flash, he swiped my phone from where it had strayed towards him and looked at it. His lips peeled back in mad satisfaction from what he saw there.

"Sunshine, oh, Sunshine," he crooned, perching on the table. His grin was as evil as a Cheshire cat.

"You lying liar," he continued, holding my phone, "I knew it. Knew it!" He shook his red locks, looking like he was trying not to laugh.

"You just couldn't help yourself, could you?"

I folded my arms around me like I could shield myself from the new knowledge he'd gained.

"Not. A. Word," I seethed through gritted teeth.

Lazily, he leaned closer and dangled my phone in front of me. "I don't know," he said, swiping the phone out of reach when I made to grab for it.

"I mean, I'm sure Rhys would love to know what a stalker you are." He dangled the phone above me again.

I didn't take the bait. He had the power here and he knew it.

"What's it gonna take?" I ground out.

Jasper smiled as if I was finally speaking his language. "Hmm," he tapped the phone on his chin. Then he brightened.

"I guess I might be... persuaded to keep this to myself." He not-so-modestly brushed a lint off his shoulder.

"All you have to do is repeat three sentences."

Fucking hell.

"Number one: say 'Jasper is my friend'. Then, say 'Jasper is the sexiest being alive'. And, lastly, 'Jasper can totally get it...'"

"Don't make me kill you!" I hissed. There was still quite a bit of time before our class started, and there weren't that many students here yet. I might even get away with it.

"Ah ah ah." He tsked, dangling the phone in my face again. "If you're mean to me, I'll tell Rhysy-poo all about you," he taunted in a sing-song.

I inhaled and exhaled until my homicidal urges went away. Then, grinding my teeth together until my jaw nearly welded shut, I forced out the words, almost choking on them.

Jasper cracked up hysterically once I got out the last line. Scowling fiercely enough to burst his stupid head, I snatched the phone out of his grasp.

"I hate you," I muttered darkly.

He took his seat beside me and poked my cheek. "No you don't." He sounded so smug.

I glared at him again, then turned back to my phone. The annoyingly perfect girl stared at me with her annoying perfectness.

My hands unwittingly clenched around the device.

Jasper watched me, and noting my reaction, a sound more suited to a pig escaped his throat.

He cracked up again, bonking his head on the desk. "This is too perfect," he gasped out between snickers.

My annoyance made me bold. "Shut the fuck up, Weasley," I snapped. I shoved the phone in his face.

"Who is she?" I asked bluntly.

Jasper's eyes fell on the screen, and he pursed his lips once more.

I gave him my death glare.

"Okay, fine." He finally composed himself. "I'll tell you," he said cheekily, "but you have to say 'Jasper is an uber, super smexy luurve God who's way hotter than Cupid'."

"I'd rather diss BTS on Twitter."

Jasper just waited, smirking.

Haltingly, I spoke the words, feeling like my pants were on fire.

Jasper clapped his hands when I was done.

"That's Jordan Quinn," he told me before I started acting out my threats. "She's Lilith's best friend back in England."

"Are she and Rhys... dating?" I forced out.

Jasper's eyes danced, full of humor. I really didn't see what was so funny.

"No." He sounded very entertained. "She's dating me."

My jaw dislodged. Only thrice in my life had I been truly stunned. The first was when Zayn left One Direction. The second was when he claimed it was because aliens told him to. The third was when he dissed the band at that award show.

You see the pattern, I'm sure.

But the fourth was right now, listening to the madness coming out of Jasper's mouth. My shock nearly surpassed all the others.

Well, nearly.

"You- you have a girlfriend?" I felt like I was malfunctioning as I stared at him.

"You?"

Jasper looked offended, all traces of amusement gone. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" He muttered mutinously.

The bell rang then, breaking up our banter. I hadn't even noticed other students or the teacher walking into the room. People were looking at us curiously, whispering between themselves and wondering what we could've been talking about.

Mr. Carmichael cleared his throat. "Alright, so let's start class for today..."

Jasper and I didn't talk during class. Truth be told, I was still reeling from the fact that somebody had decided that out of all the male specimens in this world, Jasper was whom they'd found attractive.

Was she mad? Had he held a gun to her head?

It wasn't until we were packing up our books that I spoke again. Tucking a lock of hair behind my ear, I turned to him.

"So, um, Brandon told me that you were in jail."

Now this was a topic I felt equipped to handle.

His lips quirked up. "Oh he did, did he?"

The smile faded though as he ran a hand through his hair, his gaze faraway while reminiscing.

I almost felt bad for bringing it up.

Then his eyes cleared. "Some punkass called little Tommy the 'n' word," he said. "I made him eat dirt for that, and I might have gone a little overboard."

I blinked at him. Of course the fool had gone down fighting on someone else's behalf.

"It affected you that much?" I asked carefully.

That serene smile was back. I was starting to wonder how many of his smiles were actually real and not just plastered on.

"Well, this is gonna sound weird but... I don't think all of the anger I felt was mine. I mean sure I was mad," he shrugged like who wouldn't be?

"And he did deserve it. But... I'm very... sensitive to other people's feelings. It caused me to fly off the handle a lot when I was younger. People were just feeling around me all the time. Sometimes, it just got too much from too many people, and then I'd just lose it."

His confession rocked me to my core. For the second time that morning, I found myself speechless.

Jasper chuckled at my astoundment.

"Don't worry," he said breezily, rising from his seat. I rose too, and he slung an arm over my shoulder as we finally headed out of class.

"I've gotten much better at handling it. Especially being around angry people. Case in point," he said, nudging the side of my head with his.

I looked at him with a scowl. "Hey, I'm not angry!" I argued hotly.

"Sure you're not," He drawled.

"Not when you're eating anyways..."

_

I was still angry when I sat down at our lunch table with a scowl, tearing open my book. I immediately buried my face in it, not looking at any of the Horsemen.

So Jasper was like some super empath, and now he knew about my... fascination... with Rhys. Or probably always did.

Ugh. It wasn't fair.

My pitiful pouting was interrupted by the arrival of Audrey Brooks, one of the milder Wannabes. She smiled nervously with a mouth full of green braces.

"Um, hi guys." She was holding a plate of something in her hand.

Jasper waved. I continued eating, pretty sure she wasn't talking to me. Rhys just kept tapping on his phone.

She turned to face Brandon, and her smile became a bit more assured.

"Hey, Brandon."

"Hi." He smiled, staring straight ahead.

Audrey put her plate on the table, revealing a red velvet cupcake.

"I know you like eating these on Wednesdays, so I made some for you." A little blush stained her cheeks as she pushed it towards him.

Why does he get free food? I inwardly grumbled.

Jasper was also having the same thoughts. "Hey, what about mine?" He asked with a pout.

Audrey paused. "Uh..."

Rhys looked up then. "Ignore him, he's kidding," he said crisply. Turning to Jasper, he hissed, "Don't encourage them."

Clearly dismissed, Aubrey took her leave, tentatively backing away.

"And don't eat that," he scolded Brandon, who'd drawn the plate towards himself. "It could be poisoned. Is that what you want?" He asked Jasper, raising an eyebrow.

"You want them to poison Brandon?"

Brandon looked at Rhys with an amused expression. He pushed the cupcake towards him.

"How 'bout you taste it first and see whether or not its poisoned?"

Rhys looked down at the pastry, then slowly up at Brandon.

"And just why would I do that?" He asked dryly.

Brandon's smirk was cheeky. "Because, you're my bitch."

Jasper chortled. A startled laugh tore past my lips.

Brandon was a church boy no longer.

Rhys's eyebrows rose in amusement. He contemplated Brandon, then reached out and broke off a piece of the cupcake. We stared intensely as he chewed.

He shrugged indifferently. "Tastes okay."

Brandon looked smug as he took back the cake and started to dig in.

Lilith returned from the lunch line, holding her tray of food. Her shiny red lips turned down in puzzlement as she took her seat beside Brandon.

"Why are they sucking up to Brandon?" She asked, patting the sleek black bob wig she was wearing today. It looked perfectly styled, with a little bit of bangs in the front, and it fit with her outfit of the day.

Lilith, I was noticing, had a huge thing for clothes. She wore a white button-up shirt with a round collar under a pink floral-patterned jacket that looked really expensive. Her trousers were a deeper matte-pink color, and the boots she wore were sky high as usual with a white heel. All very fancy.

"Because, they've been despicable monsters to him," Rhys answered her.

Brandon hummed in contentment. "The suck-up tastes delicious, though," he remarked around his mouth-full.

Lilith giggled, then unzipped her tiny backpack and pulled out a pack of Skittles.

"Here," she said, handing it to Brandon who eagerly tore it open. He poured it all onto his plate and started picking out all the red skittles from the bunch.

I narrowed my eyes at that cornucopia of food. Just what else did she have in that bag?

Lilith noticed me staring. "Want one?" she asked, holding out more of those delicious biscuits.

I conveniently forgot that I hated her. I reached out and swiped it from her palm as if afraid she would take it back.

"Thanks," I mumbled lowly. She beamed at me, then propped her chin on her hands and turned to study the Wannabe's table.

"I think I want to be a cheerleader."

Jasper choked on his soda. Rhys looked up from his phone, blue eyes filled with disbelief.

"You're fucking joking."

"Nope." Lilith poked a straw into a purple juice box with the word 'Ribena' written on it and took a sip.

"Cheerleading outfits are absolutely iconic. I mean, from Grease to Glee to High School Musical, there's just so many looks and styles. Besides- a field full of girls in short skirts?" She sighed dreamily.

"Where the fuck do I sign?"

Jasper cracked up again. "You're terrible," he told Lilith.

"But I have made points," she retorted, lifting up a finger.

"No, you have not," Rhys bluntly fired back.

They both kept dissuading Lilith from cheerleading while Brandon continued picking out the red skittles. He reached for the next one, then paused. This one was multicolored- part-red and part-green. His brows pulled together as he frowned heavily at it.

I was the only one who caught his reaction. The others were still arguing amongst themselves, but abruptly fell silent once Bella burst through the doors and started a one-sided argument with Kit, screeching at the top of her lungs as per usual.

Lilith, the poor unsuspecting first-timer, gaped open-mouthed.

A lot of people had turned to watch, but some continued peacefully eating their lunch since this was an almost everyday occurrence.

Once Bella stormed out of the cafeteria, Lilith started mumbling about how 'American high schools' were filled with 'yobs and yahoos'.

And still Brandon stared at that skittle.

I could almost see the gears in his head spinning. The little people in there were probably typing frantically at their computers, with 'IT DOES NOT COMPUTE!!' error messages popping up.

Without thinking too much about it, I reached out and plucked the deviant skittle from his plate.

Brandon's head rose.

"They had, like, one job," I noted with derision, then popped the thing into my mouth.

Brandon blinked, looking at me.

At me.

I froze.

My heart thudded as his warm hazel-brown eyes connected with mine and... stayed there.

His gaze was direct and unblinking, as if trying to make up for lost time by absorbing me to the max. Silently, I returned his gaze, trying not to blink either.

It was just a tad startling. I hadn't really comprehended how unnerving it could be to look people in the eyes until right then.

Brandon finally broke my gaze, looking down at his plate. He looked up at me again.

"Do you like skittles?" He angled his head to the side, piercing eyes fixed on mine.

I made my mouth move. "Uh... yeah."

He pushed the plate with the unselected skittles towards me. "You can have the rest. I don't wanna eat those."

I was still, quite understandably, shocked. "Uh... thanks."

Jasper, of course, interrupted the moment. "How come you've never offered me skittles?" He asked Brandon, pouting heavily.

Brandon turned and surveyed him critically.

"You should be eating carbs and lean meat, Jasper. You're too skinny. They could hang you up for a Halloween decoration."

"Honestly," Lilith started poking at Jasper's arm. "It's like a twig. I really wonder what Jordan sees in you."

Jasper was agape. "This is body-shaming!" He scowled furiously and took an angry bite from his sandwich.

Lilith smiled smugly, like she'd gotten the desired reaction. Her eyes slid to me.

"Jordan saw your video, you know. We both had quite the laugh about it."

Fucking hell. Why is it that I was surrounded by popular YouTubers, yet my video seemed to be all anyone could talk about?

"I don't know what video you're talking about," I growled.

Lilith's eyes glimmered with amusement. "The one with 'Sunshine' singing?"

I scowled darkly. "That is not my name."

Jasper looked up from his plate then, green eyes laughing in my direction. I glared back. He was the cause of all this calamity.

"Hmm, Avalon Wolfe," Lilith mused. "You're Hispanic... right?" she said carefully.

I raised one eyebrow deliberately. "Sí."

Lilith relaxed a bit. "Shouldn't there be like an 'l' somewhere in your name that sounds like 'y'?"

I snorted, amused despite myself.

"Well, yeah actually." I took a sip of my drink.

"My great-great-grandfather was Irish," I told them, since all of the Horsemen were paying attention.

"It's my mother's last name, and she kept it because, feminism," I shrugged, "and then she passed it onto me because she says we girls need to stick together."

That made Lilith smile. "Your mom sounds cool."

Yeah, she is. "As for Avalon, I don't know why they named me that," I went on. "So that's all I know."

"Hmmn," Lilith thought for a moment.

"Do you speak fluent Spanish?"

I nodded warily, wondering where she was going with this.

She beamed like I'd just given her the holy grail.

"Can you sing Despacito?" She chirped.

I gave her my death glare.

Lilith automatically backed up, edging as far away from me at the table as she could get.

"Bloody hell." She looked at me with wide eyes.

"Does she look at you guys like that?" she side-whispered to Rhys, still afraid to take her eyes off me.

"Yup." Rhys sounded wryly amused.

She chanced a quick glance at him then back to me. She cringed, seeing my expression had not changed.

"How do I make it stop?" She sounded panicked.

Just then the bell rang, signalling lunch was over.

Lilith shot from her seat like a missile. "Hallelujah, the gods be praised!"

Rhys and Jasper chuckled as Lilith started to hurriedly pack up her things. I huffed and turned away, focusing on finishing what was left of my lunch.

Lilith slipped on her backpack and turned to Brandon.

"Since our timetables match, we have History now. You ready, Watson?" She smiled.

Brandon nodded, smiling back. "Lead the way, Holmes." The two tawny-haired individuals filed out of the cafeteria.

I watched them go. There was such an ease about them, a natural sense of belonging. Anyone looking at the pair wouldn't have questioned their right to be friends.

The squatting elephant was back.

I grabbed my tray and looked up to see Jasper staring at me. I didn't care what his spidey senses were telling him. I just pushed back my seat, dumped my tray in the trash, then stalked off to my next period, a dark cloud hovering over me.

My mood only got darker the further the day progressed. By my final period, I felt like fire ants were catwalking up and down my form.

Once the bell rang, I couldn't hold it in anymore. And I sure as hell couldn't look at that tiny British princess without wanting to deck her.

"I'm gonna stay after school for a bit," I told Rhys. "You don't need to wait for me."

His eyebrows rose, but I was already stalking out of the classroom and down the hallway.

Mr. Franz's head popped up as I stormed into the room.

"Young lady?"

I slammed my headphones on and sat down in front of Sandy.

"I wanna finish the song." Without another word, I clicked the music and let it fill my ears. I closed my eyes and concentrated, parsing every key, every rhythm and register.

And then I placed my fingers on the piano to reproduce all of it. I chased the song with my fingers, determined not to let it slip away. I didn't want another good feeling slipping out of my grasp.

Whenever my fingers stumbled, I started over with an even more ferocious intensity. A dull ache throbbed in my palms, but I ignored it. I also ignored the sweat slipping down my neck. Nothing mattered apart from the music.

And then all of a sudden, it got easier. The keys almost seemed highlighted, guiding my fingers to which I needed to press next... and after that. As I followed the path they showed me, I could have sworn they rejoiced.

My finger descended on the final key. The music, which had coalesced around me, now floated away, its job complete.

I looked up to see Mr. Franz still in the room.

"Three hours in total," he sounded thoughtful. "Two now and one from the other day."

I pulled back my headphones. I was panting, but I still wasn't completely spent.

"Any requests?" I asked Mr. Franz.

He studied me. "Do you know anything by Coldplay?"

I smiled, and it rang true. Straightening my back, I turned to Sandy and hummed 'Hymn For The Weekend'. My fingers acquiesced.

I finally left the school, stuffing a pile of notes into my backpack. Mr. Franz had given them to me, telling me I needed to start studying up on music notation.

"If you're ever going to compose, you'll need to be able to record it down," he told me.

I don't know what gave him the idea that I could create music of my own. I didn't think I was that kind of genius.

I zipped my bag up and slung it behind me, finally focusing on my path. Pushing open the doors, I stepped out.

I abruptly halted when I saw Brandon leaning against the wall. He was throwing and catching a soccer ball in his hands, but stopped and straightened when he saw me.

I looked at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I was waiting for you," He shrugged. "I thought we could hang out."

My eyes narrowed. "Wouldn't you rather hang out with Holmes?"

A bit of venom seeped into my tone. Hating it, I bit my lip and stormed past him.

He hurried after me. "But you're my friend too." I peeked at him, seeing a puzzled expression on his face.

It just made me feel worse. "Look, I'm not good at this friend thing. Just forget it ever happened."

I continued stomping furiously ahead. And then Brandon cut in front of me and placed his hands on my shoulders.

I stopped. He aimed that powerful gaze at me again, and I could do nothing but stare back.

This close, I could see that his brown eyes were really quite incredible. They reminded me of fertile soil, and I could almost see a little plant bud emerging with a happy sigh to soak up the sun's rays.

We stayed like that for minutes, or possibly hours.

And then he said, "Do you wanna feed ducks?"

What else could I say?

I unhinged my jaws. "Okay."

_

I slid off Edmund-Leonard and waved goodbye to Brandon. He waved back, smiling, then revved the machine and took off.

We'd gone to some park close to town that had a pond, and Brandon insisted that we feed the ducks kale because he wanted them to be healthy.

"What do you think they're thinking right now?" He mused, as one duck dipped its beak into the water and snagged a kale bit that we'd tossed in.

I'd shrugged. "Probably how happy they are to have food." I knew that's what I'd be thinking.

Brandon had smiled. "You're right. Animals are so cool. They don't have to worry about so much," he said, tossing another kale.

I'd agreed. Oh, to be a duck.

Smiling at the memory, I stepped through the gates and into my house.

My mom and dad were in the living room, currently deep in conversation.

They fell silent at seeing me.

I stared as well, my eyes lingering on my father. It was my first time seeing him at all this month.

Antonio del Monte was charmingly middle-aged, his brown hair still dark and thick on his head. His deep chocolate eyes were intense, a man used to focus and concentration. His tan brown skin echoed mine, firm and nearly gleaming with health.

We all stared at each other for a few minutes before my mother spoke.

"Are you just getting home?" She asked, blinking at me.

They hadn't even noticed I wasn't in the house?

"Uh, yeah." I kicked the door closed. "I... had an after-school thing. Then I went to a park to feed ducks."

My dad stared at me like I'd just spoken fluent Portuguese.

"Ducks?" He echoed, sounding incredulous.

I licked my lips. "Long story." Peering closer, I noticed they were all dressed up. My mom wore a ruched blue dress with thin straps that flowed all the way to her ankles. She held a purse in her hands. My dad wore a black suit with a blue tie, supposedly complementing my mom.

"Going out?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah," my mom replied, looking at her purse as if just noticing it. "We took half of the day off, since we haven't done so in a while."

"Oh." I wiggled my toes in my shoes.

"Well, have fun."

I started to turn towards the stairs.

"Hey, wanna join us?" My mom asked, stopping me.

I swivelled back around in shock. My dad glanced at my mom, as if this wasn't part of their plan, but my mom just kept looking at me.

My dad didn't say anything, but he didn't catch my gaze when I looked at him either. I knew I should be reading the signs, but I couldn't help myself.

"Yeah!"

My mom smiled. "Want some help getting ready?"

"No," I shook my head, already scurrying towards the staircase. "I got it."

Once I'd climbed the final stair leading to my bedroom corridor, I turned werewolf mode on. Amber-gold flooded my irises, turning the world sharper and brighter.

I blurred into my room, ripping off my bag and clothes. My movements were jerky like I was in fast-forward. I hurtled into my bathroom and took the fastest shower ever, then sped out. One second I was drying my skin, the next I was pulling on underwear, and then I was shaking the water out of my hair like a dog.

I didn't want to waste any time, afraid that they would leave me behind if I took too long.

My hair was curly, almost frizzy once I was done. I smoothed it down into a tolerable style, then dashed over to my closet.

I found a white, ribbed bodycon dress with long sleeves that reached mid-thigh, and strappy heeled sandals that matched. Not pausing to consider where they came from, I put them on then ran to my dresser. I applied the first lip product my hands grabbed, a coral tinted lip balm, then picked up a black purse to hold my phone.

It all took like five minutes.

I ran out of my room, turning off werewolf mode.

"I'm ready," I called out as I descended the last step.

They were silent once I came into view. Then...

"You look perfect," my mom said, smiling warmly. My heart fluttered its wings and blushed shyly.

The car ride to the dinner was quiet. I kept thinking I'd catch my father's gaze in the rear-view mirror, but his eyes stayed fixed on the road. My mother was reapplying lip gloss with the visor pulled down, seemingly oblivious to the tension.

I folded my legs under me and wondered if I should've just stayed home.

The restaurant looked ritzy, a lovely light-painted building with huge illuminated windows and potted plants decorating the exterior. We stepped inside, chatter and delicious-smelling food washing over us.

My stomach rumbled. I shushed it.

A dinner host led us to our reserved table and informed us a waiter would be by shortly. One of the staff placed a bread basket before us and filed our glasses with water.

No one spoke. My mom inspected her nails while my dad checked his phone. I picked up a piece of bread, nibbling nervously.

Finally, the waiter arrived.

"Can I get your order?" He asked, after handing us our menus.

My mom frowned at hers. "Do you have a vegetarian section?"

"Yes we do," he replied, opening the page.

"That's great." She smiled at me. I beamed back and studied the menu.

"I'll have the carpaccio," my dad said smoothly.

"Risotto for me." My mom looked up. "What about you, honey?"

"Vegetarian lasagna," I responded. The waiter jotted everything down then departed with the menus.

"So how was work?" I blurted out before the dreadful silence could return.

My mom gave me a genuine smile. "Oh, it was great. Celine took her first steps with her prosthetics today. She's been so scared, but today it was like she got a dose of bravery and stood up. It was amazing." Pride tinged her tone.

I grinned, her enthusiasm infectious.

Our food soon arrived.

"And how about you, Antonio?" My mom asked after we'd dug into our meals.

My dad glanced up, then turned back to his food.

"I cut a tumor out of someone's brain again," he mumbled, shrugging.

"Care to elaborate?" My mom asked in a pointed tone. My dad looked at her, then at me.

"So, it's like this," he picked up his knife and sliced at the meat on his plate. It parted cleanly.

He showed me. "The corners have to be clean and neat," he explained, considering the slice. "There's no room for error, only precision. You can do a lot of damage to the brain if you're not careful."

"Woah," I was awed, "that's a lot of pressure."

He shrugged, eating the piece. His head suddenly jolted up again, and he looked at my mother. She blinked innocently at him.

He grudgingly looked back at me. "So how's school?"

I sat up straighter. "Oh, it's been a cool week." I briefly wondered whether to bring up the music thing, but decided against it. I knew my dad would be more interested in the sciences and math.

"We've started culturing in Bio, and I'm doing great in AP Calculus and Chemistry. Also, I got top scores on my Economics test!"

I'd gotten a 97, only one mark higher than Rhys's, but still higher.

My dad nodded approvingly. I found myself soaring over cloud nine.

"Have you started considering colleges for next year?"

I pursed my lips. "Well, I thought I'd apply to Yale, since you guys went there."

He shrugged. "You don't have to. You can do whatever you want," he said, almost dismissively.

I plummeted back to earth.

His phone suddenly vibrated.

"No phones, Antonio," my mom said when he glanced at it. He started to turn away, but then his eyes narrowed once he saw the caller ID.

He looked up at me, his gaze critical.

"I'll just be a minute." Snatching up the phone, he picked the call and strode out of the restaurant.

We both watched him go. My mom slowly turned back to her meal and picked at it.

I fiddled with my napkin. "Mom?"

She looked up. I bit my lip.

"Why does he look at me like that?" My voice sounded so small.

She stared at me. Something sad swam in her eyes.

"You're so grown up already, and we've missed it all." Smiling wistfully, she raised her hand and gently brushed a curl away from my face, tucking it behind my ear.

She shook her head, dropping her hand.

"We just thought we'd have more time," she said with a sigh.

I looked at her. My throat was closing up, but at the same time, I didn't really understand what she meant. She hadn't actually answered my question.

"Mom-"

She pushed back her chair, cutting me off.

"Just a moment, sweetie. I'll go get your father."

Her smile was shallow and fleeting. She picked up her purse and left the building.

I watched her go, feeling a piece of my heart walk out with her.

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Hey! 🤗

I loved writing this chapter! I really hope you guys like it too!

Also, why aren't y'all commenting? 🤨

Love you yahoos anyway,

Lulu.