"I saw this in a movie one time. The characters had to use their body heat to warm themselves up." Sean's lips were still blue as he spoke. "But if our bodies heat up too fast, our organs can go into shock. So let's find some dry clothes first."

"You saw it in a movie. Great." I grumbled under my breath as I followed him to the dark clothing section inside Goss.

We turned our backs to each other as we rummaged through the different sections. I wasn't picky, so I threw on a big fluffy pullover sweater that was probably made for a grandma. It came down to my knees. I peeled off my wet shorts along with my underwear. After wringing them out, I slid back into them and decided to leave the denim shorts to dry.

"Do you still need more time?" Sean called from a few rows behind me.

"No," I said, deciding that the sweater would do for now. I glanced over my shoulder to see that he had an over-padded blazer draped over his shoulders. There was nothing under that, but I assumed that he was wearing pants of some kind.

"Come here," he said, waving me over.

I tried to hide my intake of breath as I crossed the dark outlet and met him near the cash register. When I was close enough, he opened his jacket wide and gave a quick nudge of his chin. I tried not to stare too hard at his bare chest as I went to wrap my arms around his middle. Then he let the opening of the jacket fall and hugged me closer against him.

"We need to stay like this for a while," he said, as if I needed convincing.

"Okay," I said, closing my eyes and shivering against him. I was a little embarrassed, but it was better than possibly going into hyperthermia.

After a while, I confessed, "I touched the carousel."

"I know. I was there."

I pulled slightly away so I could look at him. "You were?"

Sean averted his eyes. "Yeah, but I could only watch. The Mall didn't want me getting involved."

I thought back to that moment before saying, "The shadow on the wall... that was you?"

He raised his eyebrows. "You weren't scared?"

I remember the monstrous shape – the hunched back, the silhouette of claws dragging on the ground...

"Is that what you become whenever you help people with their ghost problems?"

My proximity to Sean was getting harder to maintain. Even through the fluffy sweater fabric, I could feel the rise and fall of his chest. I even sensed the quickening of his heart as I spoke.

But in true Sean Mori fashion, he swallowed, broke eye contact and said, "The Mall wants you, Aqua. I can't blame you for touching the carousel. The Mall pulled you in. It did the same for me. When it finds out your language and starts talking, it's damn near impossible to ignore it."

"Why me?" I said, noticing the imperfections in Sean's profile as he wrinkled his nose in thought.

Finally, he said, "The Mall showed you its ugliest face and you were kind to it."

The image of Harry Shuffle getting his heart ripped out stood in contrast to the young animal in distress. It made me get defensive.

"Are you saying I should have let that baby orca suffocate?"

"No. Please," Sean shook his head. "I don't want to fight. I want you and me to stick together. Whatever happens out there, I just want to have your back. I'm... sorry about how I handled things. I shouldn't have told you to stay away. I thought I was protecting you."

I wanted to ask him what he meant by whatever happens out there, but he distracted me with, "I was on my way to your show when I found the orca. I was just stopping to use the restroom."

I scoffed. "Are you serious?"

Sean's everglade-green eyes bore into me. "I swear, Aqua. I was going to apologize." He looked down. "Afterwards, I was going to see if you wanted to catch that movie like we planned a while back. I figured you'd say no, but I wanted to try anyway."

"Well that's too bad," I whispered. "I was about to go on a date with Bobby right when you paged me. So you're too late."

Sean's expression flickered with some unreadable emotion. He cleared his throat and stifled a grin before looking pointedly at our surroundings.

"Am I?"

My pulse quickened at his willingness to meet my challenge. I felt my eyelids go heavy for a moment as I held his gaze. He leaned forward just enough for our noses to bump. A shiver slid down my spine.

Was he testing me to see if I actually meant what I said? I wanted to believe so badly that had the Mall not intervened, he would have found me before Bobby did and apologized. And I would have forgiven him and given him another chance.

But this was the way things turned out instead. This was how the Mall brought us together that night. Was this the better scenario, I wondered.

Sean dared me to kiss him again, and this time I did.

This time he was the one shivering against me in between breaths. Under the layer of ocean salt, I could taste his relief that I believed him. I could feel the truth in his apology.

After a while, I gently pulled away and said, "We should probably go back."

Sean sighed deeply. Then he nodded once and kissed my forehead.

"M'kay. Let's go."

We kept on our borrowed Goss clothes and gathered up our wet ones before heading towards the escalators.

Hoping Sean wouldn't dodge this one, I asked, "What did you mean when you said 'whatever happens out there'?"

Sean kept his eyes forward and didn't break his stride. For a moment I thought he hadn't heard my question. Then he said, "I don't want to say... because I don't want to be right."

"Where did the baby orca come from?"

"I don't know. It's never happened before."

I didn't ask any more questions because I was starting to get scared. As if sensing this, Sean took my hand. He didn't say anything, but he looked at me with a strange, resolute calm. His touch and that look gave me the same feeling I had when I was lost in the waves.

His eyes said it all. He knew the way. He'd been in these waters before.

So I pushed that fear down before we descended the escalator.

***

We were out of the abandoned department store and walking back towards the main entrance when I decided that Sean was going to help me come up with a way to gently let down Bobby.

"Bobby is really nice and I don't want to hurt his feelings."

Sean made an uncomfortable sound. "I don't think seeing me with you right now is going to help with that. He kind of hates my guts."

I knew that if I asked why, Sean would just dodge, so I said, "Bobby doesn't hate anyone. When I asked about you, he just said that you don't like to ask for help. I think he finds that annoying. Which I kind of agree with if I'm being honest."

Sean covered his face with his palm in order to hide the growing redness in his cheeks.

"I know how to ask for help."

Then he grumbled something about me and Bobby being worse than his own mother.

By now we had already passed the venue for the runway show. I noticed that it had been cleared out and our steps were echoing throughout the space.

"Wow. Everyone went home already?" I said, pausing to take out my pager. I cursed when the thing wouldn't turn on. It must have gotten completely terminated by the water. Maybe now my dad would buy me a real phone.

"Aqua? Is your phone dead?"

I waved my old beeper at him. "Don't have a phone, remember? But yeah, it is."

Sean stared at his flip phone and back up at the empty venue. Then he muttered something about staying where I was before breaking out in a run.

"W-what? Sean! Where the hell are you going?"

I ran after him, all that calmness from before going completely out the window. My shoes were long gone and since I couldn't find any my size inside Goss, I chased Sean barefoot.

The cool terrazzo tiles started making me cold again. My teeth chattered as I dashed around greco-style columns and past empty storefronts.

The mist was back. It was purple this time.

I noticed it just as we came across a wall of people – shoppers, models, and store owners alike.

"Whadda ya mean we can't leave?"

I finally caught up with Sean. Instead of asking him what the hell was going on, I craned my neck for someone else I knew. Like Elliot or Bobby.

"Aqua!"

I turned and barely had time to react to Mercedes throwing herself into my arms.

"Oh my God. There you are!"

I asked her what happened. On the verge of tears, she held up her cell and said, "All our phones just went dead. The doors are all locked. Even the security guards can't open them. Is this some kind of a sick game? Didn't someone just die here the other day?"

"Calm down," Sean said, guiding us both away from the crowd. Clearly, he didn't want certain people knowing he was there or connecting his presence with what was going on.

Once Mercedes took a few breaths, Sean asked, "You said the security guards can't get out? Did they try every door?"

Mercedes threw up her hands. "That's what they told us. And now they won't let any of us go to the door. Look!"

Sean was tall enough to see over most of the heads. I had to crane my neck to see.

"Aqua... where are your shoes? Why is your hair all wet? And is that a dress or–"

"London is over there," I said, pointing.

Mercedes stopped asking questions and looked towards the main entrance. London Graham was definitely in the security guards' faces demanding that they let her through so she could smash something against the doors.

That's when a wave of buzzes and beeps went off through the lobby. I felt my back pocket vibrate. Everyone went silent as we simultaneously reached for our cellular devices.

Three hundred or so tiny lights lit up the space as we stared at our screens.

g e t _ b a c k _ n o w

"Is this some kind of prank?"

"Who the fuck sent me this?"

"I got the same message."

I heard a grunt and looked up to see London Graham taking advantage of the distracted security guards to push her way past them and up to the sliding glass doors. She carried with her one of the folding chairs from the fashion show.

"LET ME OUT!"

London swung the chair hard, making the glass crack. For a moment, a glimmer of hope dawned on the face of those who started watching.

The mist rose up, thickening as it knuckled into a deeper shade of purple. Something slashed through the air. On her second swing, London dropped the chair before it could collide again with the glass.

Her head dropped with it.