Saturday morning, I arrived at Jolie's house earlier than I intended. Emily opened the door before I could knock, carrying a cup of coffee and smiling.

"Good morning!" She stepped back, letting me in.

I smiled, "Good morning. I came to walk with Jolie."

"Oh, that's sweet! I'm just headed over to Bea's to go shopping with them. Hedera did such an amazing job painting. I can't wait to see what else she wants to try." Emily chuckled, "I almost felt sorry for her when Clara kept making her stop to try on clothes. She did look beautiful, though."

"I think she's wearing one of her new dresses today."

"Oh, that's great! Clara will be excited to hear that. Anyway, Jo and Mark are upstairs. I'm gonna go meet the girls before I have to get to work," she waved and shut the door behind her.

I met Mark at the top of the stairs. He was wearing running clothes and smiling, "Hey!"

"Hello. Are you going on Tate's hike?"

"No, I wish. I still haven't got to. I'm going for a run before work. I told Bea I'd open the store so she could go shopping." Turning, he yelled down the hall, "I'm leaving; Ash is here!" He patted my shoulder before starting down the stairs, "See you guys later!"

"See you later." I turned in time to see Jolie's door open before she came skipping out with a huge grin.

"Hi!" She wrapped her arms around my neck and stood on her toes to kiss me, "You know, you don't have to keep walking the dogs with me. I'll be fine."

"As long as there's an angry Queen out there, I'd prefer to go with you. Besides, I wanted to see you." I pulled her close and kissed the top of her head.

After an afternoon of cuddling with Jolie on her couch watching movies, I was being sent home. Mark's bruising and soreness were almost completely gone and they were ready to workout.

"Can't I stay and watch you spar?" I asked as we stood on her porch saying goodbye.

Jolie blushed and shook her head, "Not today. We haven't worked out all week. I just want to get in a good sweat so we can get cleaned up and ready to go out with you guys tonight."

I could feel she was nervous about me seeing them practice. "OK. When do you think you'll be ready to go?"

"Should just be a couple of hours. Can I call you?"

"Of course. We'll be waiting."

I held her face in my hands and leaned down to press my lips to her forehead. I felt her smile as her hand slipped under my shirt to rest against my stomach. She tilted her head back to bring her mouth to mine and my neck tingled when her hand slid to my back pulling us together.

My girl. My world. "I love you, Jolie."

Our eyes met, and she froze. I realized I'd let my guard down, I was too comfortable with her. I wasn't blocking any of our connection and she was overwhelmed by my emotions. I looked down and she took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." My words were cut off with a kiss.

Pulling back, she smiled and her eyes glistened with tears. "Me too, you know? All of that. Can you feel it?"

She held my palm against her heart making me smile, "Yes."

Happiness radiated from her as a tear rolled down her cheek. I wiped it away as Mark stepped onto the porch.

"Are you almost...manita, what's wrong?" He asked when he saw her teary eyes.

She shook her head and let out a little laugh, "Nothing. Just happy."

"Oh, good," he smiled. "I'd hate to kick your butt if you were sad."

I could feel he was kidding, but I still didn't like it. Before I could say anything, Jolie said, "Psh, you couldn't beat me no matter how I was feeling."

Mark chuckled and glanced at me. I must have looked unamused because he held his hands up with a laugh, "Woah, Ash. We're just joking, chill."

Jolie elbowed me, "Stop looking angry. We're playing, no one's getting their butt kicked. Except Mark," she grinned at him and he rolled his eyes with a laugh.

"I'll be in the garage," he said as he walked away.

Jolie turned to me, "What's wrong with you? You think Mark would actually hurt me?"

"No. I could tell he didn't mean it, I just didn't like it."

"Well, if you want to watch us spar sometime, you'll need to get over that first. He's definitely going to get some hits in and you can't get pissed about it. It's just practice."

"You're right. I'll work on it," I kissed her cheek. "Have fun. Call me when you're ready."

"I will!"

When I got to Bea's, Tate was stepping out of the bathroom with his towel around his waist. He raised an eyebrow when he saw me, "I heard you got mad at Mark."

Sighing, I said, "I wasn't mad. He already told you that?"

"He called while he was waiting for Jo to say bye to you."

"I didn't mean to cause a problem. Jolie said I need to get over it if I want to watch them practice."

"You do need to get over it, but there's no problem." Tate chuckled, "Mark thought it was sweet."

I shook my head, "I know she's not, but it's hard to think of her as anything but fragile. I want to protect her."

He shrugged, "You can protect each other."

He walked past me and I followed him to his room. "How did it go yesterday?"

"Citrine wasn't home, she must have been at court. I did overhear some talk about the Queen though. Apparently, she hasn't been seen publicly since we left."

"Do you think leaving her in the vines did something to her?"

He scoffed, "We're not lucky enough for it to be anything permanent. She probably needed recovery time. If it took them a while to find her, I'm sure she was in bad shape."

"Maybe we should do something now, while she's not ready for us."

He shook his head, "She might not be personally ready to do anything, but the guards were on high alert. I wasn't anywhere close to court and I saw patrols circling. Someone is protecting her."

"I wish we knew what she had planned."

"I'm going back Monday while you're all at school. I'm sure Citrine will have some insight."

"What about Mark? He won't like that. Wait, and let me go with you. We could go tonight."

He grinned, "I can't tonight, I have a date with my boyfriend."

"After that. I don't like you going alone."

"I'll be fine. I'm not going tonight, I'm looking forward to a peaceful night out with Mark."

I smiled at the joy and excitement emanating from him, "Fine. No more talk of Crystal tonight."

"Thank you. Are you ready to go?"

"I was going to shower."

"Better hurry then. I want to be ready when they call."

Coffee House was already loud and crowded when we arrived. Thankfully, Clara had gotten there early to save us a table. I kept my hand on Jolie's back as she strolled through the crowd, and Mark and Tate followed behind.

Clara was grinning with excitement and instantly pulled Jolie down next to her. "There is a major hottie here! I saw him walk in, but then I lost him in the crowd."

Jolie grinned, "I'm sure you'll find him!"

"He doesn't stand a chance," Mark laughed.

The new band was good, but they weren't filling the dance floor the way Dahlia had. Everyone was huddled around tables and mostly staying in their own groups. Jolie took my hand and leaned against me as she and Clara talked, and I was content.

Tate and Mark were focused on each other, happily oblivious to the rest of the room. They didn't notice when Richard and his friends came in and sat at a table on the other side of the bar. I was glad. There was no reason to let them ruin our fun.

Clara found the guy she was looking for in the crowd. "There he is! Gah, he's beautiful. Don't look!" She sighed and rolled her eyes, "Geez, you guys are obvious."

"What are we supposed to do?" I asked Jolie and she laughed.

"Nothing. She'll get him to come over on her own."

Clara flipped her hair and grinned, "It's one of my superpowers."

Mark chuckled, "One of them? What other superpowers do you have?"

"Don't worry hun, you're immune to most of them," she stuck her tongue out with a giggle. Her smile fell when she glanced across the room, "Dang it, you distracted me and I lost him again."

"I'm sure he'll be back, he can't resist you and your powers."

She threw her napkin at his head and he fell against Tate's shoulder dramatically. Tate leaned in to whisper something in his ear that made him grin and blush.

We talked and laughed and I thought about the time we had left to be normal teenagers like this. One week until we'd be making our excuses to go back through the mist.

Clara was planning a party for Saturday. Her parents were going out of town after the graduation ceremony Friday, which was apparently perfect timing. It would be one last bit of fun before we had to go.

When everyone's cups were empty, Tate said, "I'm going to get a tea to-go. Can I get anyone else anything?"

Everyone shook their heads and Mark stood, "I'm going to run to the restroom before we go."

"Can I walk you home?" I asked Jolie.

"Sure," she smiled. "Just wait until Mark gets back and I'll give him the car keys. Are you ready, Clara?"

"Yeah, but I'm going to wait a few minutes after you guys leave. I want to give my future boyfriend one more chance. I think he might be shy."

Jolie laughed, "Are you sure you want to stay by yourself? I could stay with you."

I didn't hear Clara's response. I was too focused on the anger suddenly flowing through the room. I looked for my friends and saw Tate kiss Mark's hand as they split to walk in opposite directions.

Across the room, the rage surrounding Richard and Toby developed a violent edge. Their eyes were focused on Mark's back as the restroom door shut behind him.

As they walked that way, I stood. Leaning down to Jolie's ear, I said, "I'll be right back."

She smiled, "OK," and continued to talk with Clara.

I cut through the crowd, trying to get to the door before them.