The smell of pizza lingers in my mind as I open my eyes. I sniffled quietly and find tears drying to my flushed cheeks. I don't think I've ever cried in my sleep before. But the intense dream is already fading from memory despite my attempts to remember it.

Something about... shoes.

I lift my head, weak from heavy sleep, and find Jimin already awake. He watches me with deep concern in his dark amber eyes. "Good morning... Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah," I answer but my voice is hoarse. "Just a dream."

Jimin's expression doesn't change as he studies me closer. "You were crying. Was it a nightmare?" he asks worriedly.

"I... I don't think so. I don't really remember," I replied truthfully. I force myself to sit up from the ground and feel my back muscles ache in protest. I smooth my hair back and run my fingers over both ears to make sure they are intact. "I think it was just stress. Did you sleep well? I'm sorry if I woke you up."

"You're okay, I was worried about you and tried to help you wake up, but then you kind of murmured that you were okay," he explains.

Vaguely, I remember hearing Jimin's soft voice in the haziness of my dream.

"I think you helped me through that, so thank you."

Jimin gives me an adorably proud smile, "Anytime."

Suddenly the doorbell rings.

I flash Jimin a panicked look, "How long has the doorbell been ringing?" I ask quickly. Did my parents already arrive? They said they would come on Saturday, not today!

Jimin blinks in confusion, "The doorbell? I thought that was your alarm..."

I scramble to my feet, fighting against the blankets tangled around my legs, and manage to stagger away. I glance briefly at my bed to find the two boys still sound asleep and snoring loud as ever. I race out of the room and quickly pull my hair back into an upturned bun with a stray ponytail I found on my wrist.

As I try to fix my hair, I speed walk across the living room and reach the door. I peek through the hole, holding my breath when I see Alice standing outside with a box of pizza.

My eyes widen in surprise and I open the door immediately.

Alice offers me a sideways smile, "Surprise. I didn't think you'd still be sleeping, sorry if I woke you."

"A-Alice." I blink at her a few times, half-convinced I'm still dreaming. "What are you doing here?"

Alice smirks at my shocked expression and holds up the box of pizza in her hands. "Feeding you, obviously. You have a habit of skipping meals so here you go."

I gape at her for a moment before my mind jumpstarts again. "Oh my goodness, thank you!" I rush and give her a quick side hug. "You're an angel!"

I can't believe she did this! I didn't realize she remembered where I live, or that she cared enough to help me out. She already did so much with grabbing my things from my car and visiting me at the hospital... Part of me believes I don't deserve such a kind gesture.

"All hail the pizza angel," Alice comments playfully, leaning into me as we hug. "Let's go inside, my feet are killing me. You have too many stairs, you know."

I roll my eyes at her and welcome her into the apartment. "Really? I didn't notice."

Alice shuts the door behind her with the bump of her hip. "I'm skipping class for you too," she motions for us to move towards the coffee table, "but then again, I wasn't planning on showing anyway."

I nod at her, "I saw that one coming. I don't think you have ever shown up for Monday classes before."

Alice smiles proudly and sets the pizza box down on the table. "I think I've got them convinced I have doctor appointments. Or they've given up on me. I'd take the latter, less work for me." She turns to me and gives me a once-over, "You are sounding better. How are you doing?" she asks.

Before I could answer, I suddenly remember I have three hybrids sleeping in my room. I also remember that Alice has no idea what really happened or that hybrids are now intimately part of my life.

I am not ashamed to tell her about them. However, I am nervous about how she'll react. I don't want her to hurt their feelings because of her view of hybrids. She has strong feelings about how people take babies and turn them into hybrids, and I am not sure how she'll react around the boys.

On the other hand, the boys aren't really hybrids in the first place... maybe this could be a good start?

"Actually, I've got a lot to tell you," I begin slowly, glancing at the hallway, worried Jimin may arrive before I have a chance to explain.

Alice sits down on the couch and flashes me an odd look. "You were so vague on the phone, I'm dying to know what happened." She tilts her head curiously, "I just assumed some doctor was around you. What happened?"

I sit down on the couch beside her and give her a serious look. "There's more than you think. It might be difficult to believe at first..."

Alice starts to drop her attitude as she notices the shift of tone. "Oh?"

I nod. "Yeah. On Wednesday, I told you I was attacked because I saw a hybrid deal go down, right?"

She nods.

"I was saved... by the hybrid they were trying to sell," I continued explaining. "He risked my life to save him, he was actually shot but the hospital was able to heal him. His name is Park Jimin."

Alice raises an eyebrow, still listening attentively. "He saved you?"

I nod. "He used to be human too until they took him..."

Alice's expression darkens, "This is exactly why I hate AGE. It's because of this. Because people are getting kidnapped to create more hybrids for money." She exhales sharply through her nose and shakes her head in disbelief, "People are insane these days. So desperate for them that they are kidnapping people to fulfill their greed..."

I studied her for a moment. "So you don't hate hybrids, you hate the people who are making them?"

"Well, it isn't the baby's fault for being turned into an animal. I don't hate hybrids, you know that," she answers sternly. "And human trafficking is a given evil, it's the most horrible act in the world. That much is obvious."

"Of course, it is evil," I agree wholeheartedly. I always thought that, but after being inside that greenhouse... listening to the screams and cries of hybrids...it's enough to curdle my stomach.

"You're about to hate those people even more," I smile weakly at her, "because they kidnapped me and another boy on Saturday night. Did you hear about the hybrid bust...?" I continue to explain the whole story to her, omitting the part where I almost became a hybrid because I don't really want to talk about it. I explain how the police finally did their jobs and shut the whole operation down.

Alice was so absorbed into the story, she didn't notice Jimin listening from the hallway. Her eyes were wide with shock as I explained my night adventures with Jimin and company.

"We finally got out of the hospital yesterday," I finished, glancing over my shoulder at the hall. "They are now staying with me since there was nowhere else for them to go. Since they were originally human, I think they can live on their own in the future but for now, they are sticking with me."

Alice's stare doesn't break for a moment. She looks down at the pizza. "Does that mean I should have brought more?"

I laugh lightly, shaking my head. "No, you're okay. Thank you so much, by the way. It really means a lot that you did this."

Alice breaks into a smile and lightly nudges my side, "No prob. Anything for my coffee date."

I pull her into a quick hug, "You are such an angel, Alice." We embrace for a moment until we are interrupted by a hesitant voice.

"Excuse me?"

Alice and I turn to look over the couch to find Jimin standing in plain sight. He looks over at us curiously, "Am I interrupting?"

I shake my head, "No, you're good." I gesture to Jimin, "Alice, this is Jimin. Jimin, this is Alice, she's my friend."

Alice's eyes linger on his tail before she finally looks at his face. "Hey, nice to meet you."

Jimin bows his head slightly, "Nice to meet you too. I was just seeing what was going on..."

I smile reassuringly, "It's all good. She brought food!"

Jimin's eyes light up at the mention of food. "Really?"

Alice nods, standing up from the couch. "Yep! Have at it!"

Jimin smiles gratefully, "Thanks. I should wake up the others. They'll be upset if they don't get a slice." He gives her a small wave, "I'll be back!"

We watch him disappear down the hall and the second he leaves, Alice is grabbing onto my arm. She stares at me in total shock, "That was him?" she whispers furiously, "Why the hell is he so hot?"

I smirk at her reaction and shrug, "Guess he was born beautiful."

"No like, seriously, what the hell," she continues in awe. "How is that even fair? Aside from the tail, he looks like he should be modeling or someone."

"That's just Jimin, I guess."

She pauses and gives me an odd look of approval. "You seem more relaxed. Maybe it's because you hit your head too hard—" she flashes me a sideways smile, "—or you lightened up."

"Was I always... tense?"

Alice nods, "Yeah, but I guess it takes time for people to relax. College helps people grow, you know."

"That's true."

Alice reaches over and opens the pizza box, allowing the heavenly scent of melted cheese to waft through the house. She smiles to herself for a moment before adding, "Not only that, I can see your eyes light up when you talk to him. I'm not for hybrids in a political sense, but Jimin seems good for you. He seems like a really nice guy."

"My eyes light up?" I question, self-conscious about this detail. "I didn't realize that..."

Alice giggles at my worried expression, "It's a good thing, don't worry about it. Just let it happen, okay? Stop thinking about things. It's college, after all. Live a little bit and go with the flow."

Though I shouldn't follow her advice to the letter, there is truth in part of what she says.

Maybe it is time for me to relax. Maybe it is time for me to stop overthinking and being so tense around people. My parents aren't even here and I've let them control my actions through unconscious thought. I didn't want to be close to anybody because of the fear of losing them.

Now that I am on my own, maybe it's time to finally let go of that fear and live a little.

I smile over at her as I stand up from the couch, wanting to grab some plates. "Alright then."

"PIZZA!"

I jump at the sudden shout. I turn around to find Jungkook barreling down the hall. He leaps over the entire couch like a bunny on steroids and lands safely on the other side. He scares the daylights out of Alice and quickly apologizes to her before zeroing in on the pizza.

Jungkook is fresh from sleep with his sweatpants still bunched up at his knees. His tail is wagging happily as he bends over the pizza and grabs a slice. He edges around the coffee table and quickly bows his head to Alice, "Thanks for the pizza!"

Alice stares at him for a moment, still stunned before she bursts out laughing. "Oh, no problem! Take as much as you want!"

Taehyung enters the room more calmly and looks over the scene with reserved interest. His gaze falls on the pizza and I watch as his eyes widen, lighting up at the sight of it. His mouth spreads into a wide, boxy smile and he hurries over to the pizza before Jungkook can eat any more. He is wearing my large gray sweatshirt looking cozier than ever.

Jimin is hot on his heels with an eager expression. Taehyung and Jimin take the long way around the couch and kneel beside the table. They thank Alice for bringing food and begin eating without plates.

I run into the kitchen and grab a few plates but when I return, they have already finished their first slices. I sit beside Alice and start asking her about classes of which she denies having any knowledge because schoolwork doesn't exist on Mondays.

Alice jokes that I'm lucky to have a good excuse and able to sleep till noon. I didn't realize it was lunchtime until she mentioned it. I am shocked I slept so late since I usually find it difficult to sleep past nine.

The dream I was having must have been intense, or Jimin's presence made it easier to sleep.

Whatever the case, I am happy I was finally able to sleep after that horrible Saturday. The night of electric bars and the flashes of needles in the dark. Something about a good night's sleep makes all my problems feel less overwhelming and more manageable.

"Thank you, pizza angel," Jungkook says as he smiles up at Alice.

Alice chuckles and gives him a wide grin. "No problem."

Taehyung laughs as well, putting his arm around Jungkook's shoulders and leaning against him. Taehyung slowly smiles and buries his face into Jungkook's neck, "Anybody who gives you food is an angel," he comments teasingly.

Jungkook's shoulders scrunch upwards to keep Taehyung from tickling him. He smacks Taehyung a few times before trying to fight back with a massive hug, taking him and Taehyung to the floor.

Jimin's ears perk up into the air at the playfulness. He starts giggling and launches himself onto the wrestling boys. "Yeah!" he cheers loudly, wrapping his arms around the guys. He manages to wrap himself around Jungkook, trapping Jungkook's waist between his legs. Jimin laughs louder and throws his head back, grinning so wide, and then cuddles Jungkook, "Get him, Tae! I got him!"

Taehyung sits up sharply from the ground and gives Jungkook a mischievous smile. "I'm going to get you..." Taehyung purrs, his voice dropping an octave. He crawls forward like an animal stalking its prey before lunging.

Jungkook doesn't scream or shout in protest. Instead, he manages to break from Jimin's grip and meet Taehyung head-on without hesitation. Jungkook slams into Taehyung and takes him to the ground and thus starts the cycle all over again.

Alice gapes at the wrestling match before turning to me with wide eyes, "Are they always like this?"

I am laughing too hard to answer her question. I watch them fight and play, glad they are able to relax in front of us like this. They seem to be having fun so I won't interrupt them. Finally, I manage to control my breathing and reply, "I hope they will be like this all the time. It means they're happy."

Alice nods in understanding, "By all means..." She smirks at the three boys, "It seems like you have a handle on things. Never would have guessed it. You, adopting three hybrids. I didn't think you were interested."

I shrug as my gaze remains on their smiling faces. "I wasn't before. I had no idea what I was missing," I answered wistfully.

Alice rests her hand on my shoulder and offers me an assuring look, "You've got this. And if you ever need help babysitting or whatever, I got your back, okay? Call me if you need anything."

"Thank you so much, Alice. For grabbing my things earlier and this... This really meant a lot to me."

She winks, "Anything for my favorite bitch."

We finished the pizza with ease. Alice and I continued to talk on the couch while the boys figured out a way to work my tablet to watch TV in my room.

As I talked with Alice, I realized that I was idolizing friendship. The standards I had set for a friend were distorted from years of daydreaming and hoping for somebody perfect to come along and save me. Alice is my friend, and I was blind to it.

Nobody in life is perfect and there are bound to be differences in opinions. But that's not to say that you should shut everybody out for their flaws. Yes, one should be careful with choosing a friend but too many times have I shut people out due to fear or disappointment in them for something they had no control over. For something that wasn't their fault. For something that I was projecting onto them.

In the end, what matters is who your pizza angel is. Who is the first person to answer your phone call?

And as I conversed with Alice, I felt full in more ways than one.

A/N: What do you guys think so far? Are you enjoying the final arc? Let me know if there are any lingering questions you have! I want to answer them all before the story ends! Remember to sleep, everybody!! Sleep is a magical thing that can help make the biggest problems feel more manageable afterward. I'll see you in the world of dreams, lovelies! <3