"I see you've met my sister, Elizabeth," Hailey said as she walked over to the door, her expression unreadable.

"Hailey!" Elizabeth beamed, immediately pulling Hailey into a tight hug. Hailey, less enthusiastic, gave her a slight push, but Elizabeth didn't seem to notice, keeping her hold on her sister. "You didn't come to dinner! I was looking for you everywhere, but people kept saying you were with Teresa. I didn't know Teresa— well, I've heard about her from Peter and Warren —but I didn't know you two were friends!" Her grin widened as she looked back and forth between Hailey and Teresa.

Hailey raised an eyebrow. "Is it wrong for me to start making friends?"

Elizabeth quickly shook her head, her tone casual despite the tease that followed. "Of course not, but you've always had zero tolerance for almost everyone in this world."

"Almost," Hailey emphasised, giving her sister a pointed look, yet there was a subtle glimmer of amusement in her eyes that was easy to miss if one weren't paying close attention. "There's a difference between tolerating and befriending others. I tolerate them; I just choose not to befriend them."

"Not everyone in this world is trustworthy," Teresa chimed in, nodding in agreement with Hailey.

Elizabeth's grin widened as she noticed the similarities between Teresa and Hailey, but her thoughts quickly returned to the matter at hand. She turned to her sister with a slight pout. "It's great that you're spending time with your new friend, but you could've at least told me where you were. I had no idea you were in Teresa's room, and I didn't even know where Teresa's room was!"

"Warren helped you find it, I presume?" Teresa asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice.

Elizabeth nodded eagerly. "He did! But how did you know it was Warren?"

Teresa shrugged. "Just a wild guess. The only other person you could've asked about me is Peter, but he usually passes out on the couch after training, especially after he's done bragging about beating Kurt in their daily video game sessions." She glanced at her watch. "He'll probably wake up in a few minutes to scavenge for leftovers from dinner."

Elizabeth's eyes widened in realization. "Speaking of dinner," she turned to both Hailey and Teresa, her tone shifting to one of concern, "it's really late, and I was worried you might be skipping dinner. Do you know how unhealthy that is? You need to start taking care of yourself, Hay," she scolded her sister, a mix of worry and exasperation in her voice.

"Her nickname for me," Hailey whispered to Teresa, making sure Elizabeth didn't hear. But Elizabeth was too caught up in her scolding to notice, until she paused mid-rant. "There's still some food in the kitchen..."

"If Peter hasn't taken all of it yet," Teresa murmured, though this time Elizabeth caught the remark. Her eyes widened in alarm. "Not the meatloaf! I saved two plates specifically for you two." Without waiting for a response, Elizabeth grabbed both Teresa's and Hailey's hands and swiftly pulled them out of the room, closing the door behind them.

Teresa's eyes widened slightly at Elizabeth's sudden burst of energy. She glanced at Hailey, who responded with an apologetic look as they were hurriedly led toward the kitchen.

She's surprisingly fast. Teresa thought, struggling a little to keep up with Elizabeth's pace. It caught her off guard since she was used to running after and playing with the children in the orphanage, who could be quite the handful. Hailey was also struggling to match her sister's speed, but unlike Teresa, who maintained an expressionless demeanor, Hailey looked mildly annoyed— almost as if she had grown used to her sister's antics.

Elizabeth hurried them down the stairs with such enthusiasm that she nearly tripped, but Teresa quickly reached out to steady her by catching her shoulders. Elizabeth flashed a grateful grin at Teresa before refocusing on her mission, rushing down the remaining steps.

"Don't run down the stairs ever again," Hailey scolded her sister sternly as they reached the ground floor, but Elizabeth was too focused on her goal to heed the warning. She immediately resumed pulling Teresa and Hailey toward the kitchen, her determination unwavering.

When they finally reached the kitchen, Elizabeth swiftly opened the fridge and pulled out two plates. Each plate held a generous serving of meatloaf, accompanied by a mound of creamy mashed potatoes and a side of chopped boiled carrots. The aroma of the warm food filled the room, making it clear that Elizabeth had put effort into saving the meal for them.

Elizabeth set the plates on the table, her earlier excitement shifting back to concern as she looked at Hailey and Teresa. "Go ahead! You'll get sick if you don't eat soon, and that's not a good impression to make on our first day," she urged, her voice filled with genuine worry. The last part was clearly directed at Hailey, who nodded and started eating. Teresa soon followed, picking up her fork and taking a bite of the meal.

"Thank you for saving a plate for me too," Teresa said, her voice warm with appreciation. Elizabeth's face lit up at the gratitude, her earlier concern fading as she watched them eat with quiet satisfaction.

"So, what did you two get up to all afternoon?" she asked curiously, grabbing a bowl of strawberries from the refrigerator and tossing one into her mouth.

"Writing an essay for Mr. McCoy's history class," Hailey replied matter-of-factly. Elizabeth blinked, expecting more, but Hailey didn't elaborate. Slowly, disbelief crept across Elizabeth's face.

"An essay? The whole afternoon?" she asked, furrowing her brows. "You didn't even step outside for a break?"

"It's a four-page essay," Teresa added with a small shrug. Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock.

"Four pages? And no break? You two are something else," Elizabeth said, shaking her head as she popped another strawberry into her mouth.

"Wait, do you have to submit the essay by tonight?!" she suddenly asked, a look of realization crossing her face.

Teresa shook her head. "No, it's due on Monday, but we wanted to finish it today." Seeing the disbelief still lingering in Elizabeth's expression, she added, "Better than spending the whole weekend on it. Everyone else will be panicking at the last minute."

Elizabeth was momentarily speechless. She couldn't argue with that logic. Truth be told, she was sometimes one of those last-minute panickers. Somehow, she always managed to pull it off, but she had no idea how. Hailey's method of studying was clearly more efficient, not to mention a lot less likely to give her a heart attack before class.

Teresa and Hailey endured a gentle lecture about their health for the next few minutes. This time, though, Elizabeth was more composed, not as panicked as she'd been earlier in Teresa's room. Hailey half-expected Teresa to try and excuse herself from the conversation, but instead, she quietly continued eating, listening to Elizabeth with surprising patience.

Teresa didn't mind the concern at all. In fact, she found it a little endearing that Elizabeth was so worried about her health, even though they hadn't really met or spoken properly before.

"It would've been better if you had snacks in your room while working, but there's a risk of ants getting in," Elizabeth murmured thoughtfully, her mind shifting to problem-solving. "Maybe chips? Or..." She bit her lip, deep in thought, as if trying to find the perfect snack solution for their study sessions.

Deep in thought, Elizabeth didn't notice Peter's sudden arrival. His grin widened at the sight of the food on both Hailey's and Teresa's plates. "Meatloaf," he said gleefully, clapping and rubbing his hands together eagerly. Elizabeth snapped out of her musings just in time to see Peter reaching for one of their plates. She quickly slapped his hand away.

"There's still some meatloaf left in the fridge. Get your own plate," she scolded playfully.

Peter huffed at her intervention, turning to Teresa with a dramatic pout, hoping to win over her food. But Teresa, unfazed, simply shrugged. She stabbed a piece of her meatloaf with her fork and ate it, barely acknowledging his silent plea. Peter stared at her in mock offence, his expression exaggerated, as though she had just stolen his most cherished possession- her own dinner.

Before Peter could voice his complaint, Warren strolled in through the doorway. "What are you guys up to?" he asked casually, reaching over to grab a large piece of meatloaf from Teresa's plate—the last piece left.

Peter's jaw dropped in shock, and he turned to Teresa, pointing dramatically at Warren as if to say, "Are you seeing this?!" Teresa, however, just shrugged, completely unfazed.

Peter snorted in disbelief, watching Warren take a bite of the meatloaf, unaware of the chaos he'd just stirred. Peter shot Teresa a look that clearly screamed, "You'll let Warren take your food, but not ME?!"

Teresa shrugged again, her expression calmly confirming the unspoken truth: a simple, unapologetic yes.

"Accompanying Hailey and Teresa while they eat a late dinner," Elizabeth replied with a hint of amusement, clearly entertained by the back-and-forth between Peter and Teresa.

Warren raised an eyebrow, only now seeming to notice Elizabeth. "Blondie and Brunette," he greeted with a smirk, nodding at both Hailey and Elizabeth before his eyes flickered to Teresa. "You finally met Rosalie."

He took a casual swig of his drink, but Teresa's eyes narrowed slightly. "Heard you were talking about me to the new students," she remarked, arching an eyebrow in Warren's direction.

Warren shrugged, unbothered. "Guilty as charged, but it's not my fault. The group wanted to know who the mysterious girl was—you know, the one always hanging around classes alone with a book."

Teresa's lips quirked in mild amusement. She had a feeling that wasn't exactly how things had played out. Before she could point it out, Peter, who had just taken a bite of the reheated meatloaf from the fridge, snorted.

"Warren was the one who started telling them about you," Peter chimed in, his voice muffled by the meatloaf still in his mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Teresa warned, casting him a quick glance. But Peter, unfazed, kept his gaze locked on Warren, a smug look on his face.

Warren's face turned red—something that might have been mistaken for anger by those who didn't know him. But Peter and Teresa were well aware it was embarrassment, not fury, that had him flushing.

"That's because you started it first!" Warren shot back defensively.

Peter grinned, clearly enjoying himself. "I mentioned her, sure. But I didn't go on about how she looks and all that," he pointed out, an annoyingly mischievous smile spreading across his face— the kind that made Warren want to wipe it off right then and there. Warren clenched his jaw, clearly flustered, but Teresa just chuckled.

Warren rolled his eyes, leaning back. "How come you didn't introduce her to them? You know, as your girlfriend and all," Peter continued to tease him, wiggling his eyebrows at Warren.

"She's not my girlfriend, and Teresa isn't exactly the social type," Warren shot back. His eyes flicked over to Teresa, who simply nodded in agreement.

"He's correct about that," she said, her voice calm, "but I suppose Hailey and I had become friends." She glanced at Hailey with a small, genuine smile, to which Hailey subtly returned the warmth.

Warren hummed thoughtfully. "So, where's Summers? Hiding in his room again?" His grin turned smug as he threw the question out.

"Our team made more progress this week," Peter said, his tone smug as he and Warren exchanged a quick fist bump.

Hailey and Teresa exchanged confused glances before Teresa turned her attention back to Warren and Peter. "We spent the entire afternoon there, but Scott didn't come to his room once," she said, her voice thoughtful, as an odd feeling crept in.

Peter's grin faltered slightly at that.

It wasn't like Teresa and Scott set any strict rules about where they went or when they had to be in their room. Teresa naturally preferred to stay in her room during her free time, only going out when she found it necessary. Scott, on the other hand, thrived on being out and about all day. However, after the brutal training that morning, Teresa had expected him to rest or at least come back to their room once, especially considering his body was still healing from the injuries he had sustained the other night.

The injuries...

Teresa hadn't thought much about them until now. A nagging feeling surfaced as she realized how strange it was that Scott hadn't made an appearance. And she doubted Kurt would tell them the full story about what had happened, even if he knew. As frightened as Kurt was by any situation, he was still trustworthy and refused to snitch on his friends, which was probably why he frequently got roped into one of the shenanigans orchestrated by Warren, Peter, or Scott himself.

"Come to think of it," Elizabeth suddenly spoke up, glancing at her sister with a slightly worried look. "He didn't come to the classes we share, not even the one with my friends this morning. The teachers were looking for him, but no one knew where he was."

Teresa paused for a moment, trying to piece it together. "I did see him deliver his team report to Charles's office this morning," she recalled, her mind replaying the interaction over and over. She focused on the small details, her usual precision kicking in as she tried to figure out if anything had been off. But everything seemed normal. "He looked tired, but nothing unusual," she added.

Warren shrugged as he grabbed a can of coke from the fridge. "Who cares what Summers does anyway? Let him come and go if he wants. The loser's probably just moping around at the mall or something," he said, before chugging the soda.

Elizabeth, however, wasn't as dismissive. She frowned, glancing at the clock. "Still... I don't know if he'll be back before curfew."

Charles had a strict rule for the older students when it came to going outside. They were allowed to leave, provided there weren't any special circumstances, but no one was allowed to be out past eight o'clock. It was a rule Warren struggled with the most, given his frequent outings and strong sense of independence. Still, after Hank reassured him that the rule was purely for safety and wouldn't really restrict his freedom, Warren begrudgingly agreed to follow it— though not without grumbling about it now and then.

Warren grinned. "Then he'll have to take it up with Hank," he said, tossing the empty can into the trash bin before heading toward the couch. "It's his fault for going out before curfew," he added, grabbing the remote carelessly left on the couch and flipping on the TV. He flopped down with a smirk. "Should've used his brain for once and gone out after everyone was asleep."

The real reason Warren grumbled about the curfew rule wasn't because he followed it–– it was because he had to be extra careful when sneaking out past hours. As long as he never got caught, Hank and Charles assumed he was following the rules.

While the others discussed where Scott might be, driven by Elizabeth's concern and Peter's curiosity, Teresa moved over to the couch and sat beside Warren. She noticed that Tom & Jerry was on the TV and spoke quietly, ensuring only Warren could hear, as Peter and Elizabeth were engaged in a loud conversation.

"I still find it odd," Teresa began, her voice low. "We both know he's like you in a sense."

Warren scoffed dismissively. "He's nothing like me."

"In a sense," Teresa repeated, emphasising her point. "I'm just worried he might come back with injuries that go beyond any competition."

Warren's eyebrows furrowed at Teresa's words, but he didn't respond. Instead, he simply handed her a bag of chips. Teresa opened it and took a few chips, her thoughts lingering on the unsettling feeling she couldn't quite shake.