THE NEXT MORNING I could barely roll myself out of bed, my body was so sore. I dragged myself to 7th and Main with little enthusiasm, which Venom took full advantage of.

"Que pasa, Moony? Ves cansada."

He never lost, and I mean never, in all my years of sparring. I learned the most when we sparred, but I also hurt the worst.

"I'm not in the mood. Let's just get this over with."

Unsurprisingly, I ended my workout with a fresh batch of bruises and a heavily wounded pride. In a horrible mood, I took an ice-cold shower and tried to work out the stiffness in my joints, to no avail.

Even with my slow morning, it felt like I made it to class in no time at all, nervous tension building in my stomach when Bacil walked in. According to Ellie, Neal had been suspended until the police were done investigating, and Wren was still getting medical treatment. He'd suffered a concussion in the fight and would need a couple days of monitoring before coming back to school.

I kind of hoped Ellie would keep in touch with them, now that I knew Neal had been drugged. Everyone in school was going to tiptoe around him, and he was probably just as confused as they were. He'd need a friend.

Right now, she was sitting near the front of the classroom, idly twirling a strand of hair around her pen as she stared ahead, lost in thought. I turned my gaze to Bacil, searching for any hint of the dangerous qualities Castor had told me he possessed.

He didn't so much as glance in my direction as he made his way to his seat, but I still felt uneasy. I couldn't imagine him as the rogue supernatural Castor described. He seemed to fit in so easily, well-liked by the girls and guys alike.

Ellie caught my eye, noticing who I was watching, and smiled a little, raising an eyebrow. I shook my head, and her smile widened. I rolled my eyes and focused on my work, feeling my cheeks heat up in spite of myself. I was not staring the way she thought I was.

When class finally ended, you could practically hear the collective sigh of relief around the classroom. Professor Vuong wished us a good weekend, and Ellie bounced over to my desk the moment we were dismissed.

"Simone~" she dragged out my name suggestively, and I frowned at her.

"No."

She practically deflated.

"Oh, come on," she crouched by my desk and leaned toward me. "I know you were invited out to his place, and it's the perfect opportunity. He's new, and he's not afraid to talk to you, and he's hot." She grabbed my hands, pulling me to my feet. I didn't resist much, my face set in a frown, but I knew it wouldn't last because Ellie's happiness was contagious and my lips were already twitching.

"No," I insisted, though even I'll admit, I didn't sound very convincing.

"Is that a smile I see? Oh my God, call 911, finally there exists a male who can make Simone Chase smile."

"Stop," I whispered, "People are staring." She grinned.

"Good. They should be. Everyone should be looking at you, you're awesome."

I felt my face begin to burn.

"Let's just get out of here," I muttered under my breath, grabbing her arm and dragging her after me toward the classroom exit. She snickered the whole way, and Bacil's voice cut through the students' murmurs just as I was leaving.

"Ellie, are you guys coming out later?" I firmly didn't turn, continuing to drag Ellie behind me. I was so close... Ellie turned around and smiled.

"We'll be there! See you tonight, Bae!"

I choked on air. She actually said it. How embarrassing. She waved as we finally rounded the corner, and I was free. Only three more classes to go, and I wouldn't see Ellie until the last one. She made me promise to let her come over to get ready together, and then left to go to her own class, still smug.

The whole day was an exhausting blur, and midterms were coming up, so all I wanted to do when I got home was study before I drowned in the work I had to get done. Instead, I found myself cooking dinner for two as Ellie flopped around on my bed, marveling at the softness of a mattress topper. According to her, my retail dupe was comparable to Egyptian silk on a California King.

"I brought all my stuff over here to get us ready and you're really not going?" she frowned at me, eyes pleading. Most would have melted beneath those eyes, but I was intimately familiar with the chaos lurking behind them.

"Of course not," I turned off the stove and entered the bedroom with two plates. "I can't believe anyone is. Wren Pryor almost died yesterday." I gave her one, and she accepted it with a smile.

"Exactly. It's a daunting reminder that life is short and we're young, and no one lives forever so we need to party. Carpe Diem, and all that."

I rolled my eyes.

"You'll come up with any excuse to go out."

"I wouldn't have to if you would just come with me. You never go out. Ever. It's always, physics this, and work that."

"Midterms are next week, it's not like I'm making it up."

"What if Wren wants to thank you for literally saving his life?"

I laughed lightly.

"Doesn't really sound like him, but I'm sure he'll be able to find me at school Monday."

"You're the worst, can't you just do it for me? I won't leave your side and I'll get to brag to all the hotties about my best friend who can literally hold a two-hundred-pound football player at a dead hang. You'll be a legend! You can arm wrestle them for dominance, it'll be hilarious."

"Ellie," I said firmly, sitting down next to her. "I want you to go, and I want you to have the time of your life. I will be your ride if you need to be picked up. I will bail you out of jail if I have to." She beamed at me. "But the last thing I want is to be the center of gossip about Wren Pryor and Neal Bradley a week before midterms. Half those people didn't even know I existed until yesterday. If saving a life is what it takes to suddenly be worth their attention, it's a hard pass for me."

She groaned, flopping onto her back.

"I respect your decision, but for the record, I hate it. I brought two different outfits for you to try on and everything," she mourned.

"Go get ready," I nudged her. "You're getting picked up, right?"

She nodded, rolling out of my bed. "Yeah, Jess and Dani are coming to give me a ride. Keep your phone close, though. They have a history of totally bailing on me at parties."

Real winners, those two, I thought, but kept it to myself. It wasn't my place to judge her other friendships.

"Text me the address!" I called as she went into the bathroom to do her makeup. I wanted to tell her to stay away from Bacil, but I had literally no excuse to give other than the completely insane truth, and while Ellie wasn't as skeptical as I was, even she would question my mental health before believing me. Hopefully, she'd just stick to the friends she knew.

She left an hour later, and I eyed the two outfits she'd left out, curious in spite of myself. I pulled them out, mouth falling open.

"She couldn't possibly think..." I pulled off my t-shirt and wiggled into the short black dress, battling with the straps to get everything in place. I looked myself over in the mirror and burst out laughing. It was a beautiful halter top, backless with straps that tied into a bow between my shoulder blades, but where the front should have supported Ellie's generous figure, the fabric sagged emptily, my own modest chest size not quite filling the form.

"Nice try, Ells," I chuckled, slipping back out of the dress. The second outfit was a little more modest, a form fitting long sleeve top, backless again, but in a dark red. She'd matched it with a black skirt that hugged my hips, and I admired it for a few seconds before pulling it off. Option two wasn't so bad, although it did kind of draw attention to how muscular I had gotten in the arms and shoulders.

Back in my go-to pajama shorts and oversize tee, I neatly folded the clothes and pulled out my textbook and journal. The fun was over, now it was time to deep dive into geography.

After a couple of hours I dozed off over my notes, only to be jerked awake by the sound of my phone ringing. I reached for it sleepily, Ellie's name lighting up the screen.

"Hello?"

"Ellie's phone, Bacil speaking. Why aren't you at my thing?" A carefree, if offended, voice that was definitely not Ellie filtered across the speaker.

I flinched.

"W-what?"

"This is Simone, right?" he asked.

"Why do you have Ellie's phone?"

"She asked me to call you and try to convince you to come out. She says you're a 'hottie with a body' and it's a disservice to the entire school that you aren't here."

"I—" I rubbed my eyes with a hand, fighting my sudden spike in annoyance and exasperation. "I'm studying for midterms."

"You sound like you were asleep."

"No—I—" I sighed. "Just put Ellie on the phone."

Silence.

"Um, hello?" I asked. Another pause. Then,

"No."

The phone disconnected.

My heart thundered in my chest. This guy could make people homicidal, and he just... he just... I called her back, but the phone went to automatic voicemail. I shot to my feet, grabbing my jacket and keys. I couldn't find my sneakers and opted to go without, tearing out the door and taking the stairs four at a time.

It's probably fine, it's probably fine, it's probably fine.

But what if it wasn't.

I called Ellie again. No answer. It took me twenty-six minutes to pull into a driveway that seemed to go on forever. The house was enormous, clearly a multi-million-dollar estate, and was lit up like the fourth of July. It was surrounded by forest line, at least a half mile from the neighboring residences on either side. That explained the long driveway. People loved their privacy, and I supposed that was especially true for rogue angels. I pulled to the side of the driveway, hoping I wouldn't get blocked in, and stepped out of my car, keys in hand. I was beginning to regret coming in my sleep clothes, and also not wearing shoes. This was going to be... unpleasant.

I prepared myself for mortal embarrassment as I walked up the path to the porch. My hair was a mess, my eyes were tired, and I had no leftover makeup on to give me any sort of saving grace.

And of course, I opened the door in my crappiest clothing and now freezing bare feet, only to meet a crowd of high-heeled, flawless, miniskirt and crop top wearing teenagers that looked like they'd walked out of a high-end magazine.

Well, it wasn't like they hadn't considered me low class anyways. Cheeks burning, I walked through the open door and nearly gagged as the stench of sweat and perfume and alcohol assaulted my nose. Several eyes turned in my direction, openly staring and judging. There was a pause, and then several stifled laughs pierced the air. I clenched my teeth.

The house seemed to get larger and larger as I pushed my way through drunk individuals, searching for her familiar blonde curls. Was there no end to this monstrous estate?

A few people who weren't totally wasted stared at me, some confused, and others trying unsuccessfully to mask their laughter, but I kept going, hoping they would get drunk soon and forget me altogether. The thought didn't keep my cheeks from burning bright red.

I did not belong here.

I made my way to the other end of the first floor with no luck and headed upstairs to the second floor with a resigned sigh.

I saw a few people I recognized, and asked them if they had seen Ellie, but most just laughed and shook their heads while others just stared at me, confused.

Oh, for Lord's sake.

I saw an open balcony and made a beeline for it, pushing open the door and taking a deep breath of cool night air. I called Ellie again, trying not to panic. It went to voicemail. Again.

"Oh, you made it." That voice sent involuntary chills down my spine. Confused pause. Then, "Where are your shoes?"

I turned, chest heaving, panic bubbling up in my chest.

Don't stutter. Find the calm.

"W-w-where's Ellie?"

Damn it.

Bacil's carefree demeanor sobered for a minute.

"She's in the media room. Are you okay? You look... cold."

"Can you take me to her?" I tried to take the hysterical edge out of my voice. I was being too dramatic; he was going to be suspicious. "Please?"

"Yeah, one second." He shrugged off his jacket and before I could protest, had draped it around my shoulders. "Stay close."

He led me back inside and I followed him down a hallway I hadn't seen when I came in, tucked away at the top of the staircase. A group of girls were arguing loudly in the second room, debating which song to play next.

My eyes found Ellie, curled up asleep on the couch, her strawberry blonde curls splayed around her shoulders. Relief washed over me when I saw her, and I crouched down by her head, gently squeezing her shoulder. Her eyes opened, and she stared at me blearily.

"Wanna go home," she mumbled.

"Okay, let's go home," I agreed. I stood and turned to face Bacil, watching me with an unreadable expression. My eyes locked with his.

"Why the hell would you hang up like that?" I seethed, voice low.

He blinked.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You call from Ellie's phone and then hang up when I ask to speak with her? Who the hell do you think you are?" I demanded.

He crossed his arms over his chest, staring me down.

"You didn't ask. You demanded. You were rude."

"So you just refuse and hang up on me?"

"No, I refused and her phone died. Did you come all this way just because of that? Why didn't you call one of her other friends?" I halted mid-breath, biting back my reply. He frowned at me. "I don't like you," he said bluntly.

"Get in line," I answered shortly. "But leave Ellie out of it."

"Out of what?"

"I just wanted to make sure she was safe. You thought I was rude, and fine, maybe I was. But the way you hung up made it seem like—"

"Seem like what?" he interrupted, a challenging edge entering his voice. At my accusative stare, his expression cooled. "That's a pretty low opinion for someone you've just met."

I wondered why the room felt so quiet suddenly, and realized the girls had stopped arguing over the aux and were watching us, wide-eyed. Castor's voice filtered through my head suddenly.

Be obnoxious. Be unlovable.

I suddenly felt a little sad. It was almost like I just had to be my overprotective, paranoid self, and the rest would play out just like he wanted. I knew I looked like an aggressive and uptight party crasher right now, showing up looking a mess and accusing someone in their own home of hurting my friend, who was obviously fine. It only made sense when the supernatural threat was factored in, and I couldn't exactly explain myself.

Watching me, Bacil's eyebrows drew together, expression changing, and I grit my teeth, swallowing my stinging pride.

"We're leaving," I bit out sharply. "Let's get out of here, Ells."

I pulled her arm across my shoulders and she sagged against me, dropping like a stone. I caught her around the waist with an exasperated sigh. She wasn't even making an effort to walk. Grumbling under my breath, I pulled her onto my back, praying she wouldn't puke over my shoulder. Her arms dangled loosely around my neck, cool against my flushed skin. I began to make my way toward the stairs, my own arms firmly hooked under her knees. Bacil didn't follow us.

Going down the stairs sucked, but I wasn't weak by a long shot. I glanced up as I passed through the kitchen, trying navigate through several boxes of beer and liquor bottles when my gaze briefly passed over the pantry, the sliding door left wide open. I froze. An eerily familiar glittering vial was sitting in a small clear case one of the shelves, nestled among normal over the counter medications. I paled.

I gently slid Ellie off my back, struggling to hold her upright as I quickly glanced around. Bacil was nowhere in sight.

Think, Simone.

Was he the type to hide a secret in plain sight? Or was he watching and waiting for someone to take it, and identify who knew the truth? It was crowded still, throngs of people coming in and out of the kitchen, several bumping shoulders with me. It would be too conspicuous to stay still for long. I had to decide. I reached for the shelf, fingers shaking, and got nudged roughly from behind, knocking over the case and sending the bottles all over the floor.

Crap.

I hastily placed the bottles back in the container, sliding it back into place, and grabbed Ellie's arm, pulling it around my shoulders and half walking, half dragging her toward the front door. I was a little too hasty, and her forehead smacked against the pantry doorway on our way out.

She mumbled a half formed swear, and I winced.

"Sorry, Ells."

We made it back to my car, me struggling to get my keys and open the door to the back seat and Ellie barely managing to stand. I flinched as someone gently eased her weight off of me, turning to come face to face with Bacil. Where on Earth had he come from?

I bit down the instinct to thank him for his help. He was not normal, no matter how good he was at playing one of us.

"Don't touch her!" I filled my voice with as much venom as I could.

He wordlessly obliged, backing off as I guided Ellie into the backseat of my car. She groaned and rolled over on her side, blonde waves spilling over her shoulders.

Oh, Ellie, I sighed in my thoughts, equal parts exasperation and fondness.

"You know," he said quietly.

I met Bacil's eyes, my heart racing.

"Know what?" I asked, calmly as I dared. He tilted his head to the side, hands loose in his pockets. The temperature around us seemed to plummet, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

He walked forward until we were inches apart, then just a hair's breadth. He reached out a hand, past my waist, and slipped it into the pocket of the jacket, bringing out a small object. His eyes never left mine.

I sighed.

"This night's given me a raging migraine. You're right, I should have asked before just taking it."

He blinked, confused, before looking down at his hand, at the small bottle of aspirin his fingers were closed around.

"But besides that... I honestly don't know what you're talking about."

He took a small step back, staring at the bottle of aspirin like he couldn't quite believe it was there. I shrugged off his jacket, handing it back to him.

"I guess I should give this back, too. Sorry for the trouble."

He accepted it wordlessly, watching me get into my car. My hands shook as I turned the key in the ignition, the engine roaring to life, and left Bacil standing in the driveway. I reached behind the seat for Ellie's jacket, slipping my hand into the front pocket and pulling out the small, glittering vial of Ambr.

That had been close. Too close.