Nya's POV

"Gosh, you're so lucky you've never had any interactions with Harumi. She's a troll," Skylor tells me as she busies herself on her laptop as usual. She's always doing stuff on that laptop, which I don't pressure her about since it is her own personal space.

"Cole says she's not that bad," I tell her. She rolls her eyes.

"Cole is also an insensible, repulsive jerk," she says smoothly, but her tone is rough. "He doesn't understand how I feel. He never will, but he believes he's right in assuming I'm the unreasonable one."

"Have you ever tried talking to him? He's a genuinely cool guy," I suggest. She huffs and turns to face me. She's leaning back in a black office chair with wheels.

"Cole, Lloyd, and Zane, we were all cool with each other. I respected them, they respected me. We had a balance. Then Harumi came. They flocked to her, and since she hated me, they started to be rude towards me, so I snap back. A friend of Harumi is an enemy of mine," she rants. She twirls her scarlet hair in between her fingers as a form of distraction.

"They all turned on you besides Jay and his roommate, who are still nice to you?" I clarify. Skylor smiles at me.

"Aren't you smart?" she laughs. She takes a pretzel out of the glass bowl on the table, snapping it in her mouth. "Do you still talk to Jay?"

"No, why?" I lie, my eyes scanning the table. I reach over and grab a pretzel for myself. She smirks to herself.

"Nothing important, just thought you two would be cute together," she turns back around to her computer.

"Rule 2 exists, you know," I respond back.

"Trust me, I know that rule really well," she sighs, looking down at her wrist with the amber bracelet on it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." I start.

"You're fine," she looks up, "I'll be with him again one day." I glance down at my phone. It reads 1:35.

"Hey I'm going to go wander around town," I inform Skylor. She spins her chair back around to see me.

"Have fun. What movie do you want to watch tonight?"

"Hunger games," I suggest. She smiles at me.

"I like your style," she turns back around to focus on "her work" as I walk out the door. Instead of going down the elevator, I go down the stairs to get some exercise in. I open the door into the lobby and start on my way. As I go to walk out the door, I feel I hand on my shoulder.

"Nya, is it?" a soft voice asks behind me. I turn around and am face to face with the princess. Her nearly white blonde hair is thrown up in a messy bun. She has on a pair of black leggings along with a green, formal top with gold accessories everywhere.

"Yes, princess," I address her formally.

"Can I have a word?" she asks, her hands clasped together. Even though I need to go see Jay, I don't want her to hate me.

"Sure," she guides me over to the couch in the lobby. I sit on one and she sits at another, a coffee table between us. It's made of mahogany with intricate carvings of flowers as the trimming. As soon as we sit down, her face falls from happy to serious.

"Look, I don't think you understand how things work here," she looks me dead in the eyes as she talks. Hers are a jade green, but they're more venomous than they are bright,"but I'm in charge. I'm the princess, not you."

"I...I don't know what I did," I inform her realistically. She rolls her eyes in response.

"Don't play dumb," she gives me another eye roll,"You've been spending an awful lot of time with one of my boys. I don't like it," she clenches her jaw as my breath catches. She knows about how I see Jay every day. I thought we were going under the radar, but I guess not.

"I'm sorry I just..." I start, but she cuts me off.

"I don't want to hear it. You're obviously starting to like Cole, seeing all the time, you spend around him, and I don't appreciate it. So listen to my words," she leans in closer, her voice becoming more harsh,"leave Cole alone. Leave my boys alone. I know you're friends with Skylor who is literally the devil, but you don't have to be too. There are many of other people here. Only five are off limits. Just listen to me and..." I tune out her words when I see Jay step out of the elevator. He's wearing a fitted blue t shirt with black athletic shorts. Earbuds are in both his ears, and he's looking down at his phone. He looks up and spots me. A look of confusion crosses his face, and he makes his way over.

"Hey Harumi. Hi Nya," he interrupts Harumi. As soon as she hears his voice, she stops talking and turns around.

"JJ," she cheers, leaning back and giving him a quick hug, her entire demeanor switching to a nice, friendly one. "I swear I haven't seen you in forever!"

"I know right! You've been a bit occupied with Lloyd," he laughs, making her laugh too. I glare at her while she's not looking.

"Guilty as charged," she puts her hands up in surrender. "Where are you off to?"

"I'm going on a jog. If I'm going to be stuck in here, might as well be in good shape," he laughs, running a hand through his hair.

"I knew there was something different about you! You've bulked up a bit," she says in astonishment. Now that I look at him, he has bulked up a bit since I first met him. His arms are more defined.

"Why thank you. I'm trying. I've been going to the gym," he smiles at her. If he really does dislike her like he claims, he's doing a good job acting.

"Really? Every day?" he nods in response. "Don't you and Cole go to the gym together sometimes, Nya?" Harumi gives me a fake smile while trying to seem inclusive.

"Yeah, but I've never seen you there, Jay," I tell him. He shrugs.

"I love sleep. I actually just got back, ate some food, and am going back out," he tells me nicely. "I'm sorry if I interrupted something." He gestures between the two of us.

"You didn't. I was just telling Nya that if she's going to hang out with Cole so much, she should at least invite the rest of us," she lies easily, giving Jay another smile.

"Lloyd wanted me to tell you that his uncle left, so you can head up now," he addresses her. Her face lights up at his words.

"Yay. Thank you," she hops up. "Bye Nya," she waves.

"Bye," I say dryly to her.

"Bye JJ. We need to get everyone together soon. We've been drifting, and you guys are my world," she smiles at him yet again, giving him another quick hug before rushing to the elevator, leaving just Jay and I.

"I'm going on a jog to the cafe. See you later Nya," he gives me a friendly wave, keeping our cover. He puts his earbuds back in his ears before pushing the door open and jogging out. I grab my phone, sliding it into my back pocket, before slowly walking out the door and following Jay to the cafe.

A/N: hey guys. Today marks the one year anniversary of when I published this book, which is funny since I'm only on chapter 9 but we can ignore that.

Don't be afraid to comment guys! I love reading comments.

Any predictions?