With our studies out of the way and a game plan sorted with my friends, I spent my final week with Olivia, helping her prepare her life without me. But part of that involved allowing her to flesh out a lot of the details on her own without my input... so that she could show me she could do it without me.

"Job?" I asked, looking at the list Ollie prepared to demonstrate how busy her life was going to be. And to help me understand how to fabricate her memories to fit her new lifestyle.

"Check. During the holidays I will work at the bookstore in Highgate on Thursday and Friday afternoons, then all day on Saturdays and Sundays. The store closes at six, so I will definitely be home before sundown. Then during term, it will just be weekends."

Nodding, I moved to the next item on her list. "Summer holiday activity?"

"Check. Some of our peers from our gothic literature put out on a noticeboard that there's a writing community they've organised for the break. We will be practising fantasy world building."

"Fantasy?" I responded, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"I figured it would be helpful. While I'm supposed to write my own story, I will have to do a lot of research. I was thinking that, whenever you stop by to ensure the bond invitation is alive, you could also check my notes to see if I found anything."

"Where are the meetings?" I asked hesitantly.

"A library."

"Which one?"

Her brows furrowed. "The classes take place at the British Library. So I was going to go there every morning for my research too. Why?"

Sighing, I pulled out my notebook with the list of libraries, perusing who was supposed to go there. "Ivan will be visiting in August," I then said, looking up at her.

"So? He won't know any—"

"Ivan is part bat, meaning his sense of smell is even keener than many of us. He will know for sure that you smell different. And because your smell alone will fascinate him, he will try to figure out what you are and then you'll just be roped back in."

She pressed her lips together and looked back down. "I already signed up though," she mumbled, but then she picked up her pencil and began to draw a line through the activity. "Guess I can find something else."

Leaning across the table, I pulled the pencil and paper from her hand and wrote it back out. "You can do it, Ollie. I'll change who is going," I said to her, barely glancing her way.

"Who will you send instead?" she asked. "Will you come every day?" Her eyes began to gleam with excitement.

"You know I wont be able to keep my distance," I whispered, looking back down to my library list. Heaving a sigh, I mulled over my options before saying, "Ben is probably the best bet."

"Why?"

"He barely talks to the people we live with. Even if he does smell something different about you, there's no way he'd approach you. He will definitely leave you alone so..."

"How are you going to explain switching them around?"

Shrugging, I said, "I'll just say that I thought Ivan would be better off at a different one. Don't you worry about that, my love." I reached across the table, gently squeezing her hand before nodding at her list to continue.

"Okay," she said. "On Sunday nights I will have calls with my mum..."

· · ───── ∘☽༓☾∘ ───── · ·

After signing up to the library sessions that evening, I went with her the next day to the British library to scope out the place and organise a routine with her. After browsing the shelves and selection of texts, we sat down at a corner desk by the mythology section and made a list of all the creatures she should investigate.

"Add the hippokampos to the list," she giggled.

With a roll of my eyes, I turned to look at her. "I know, for a fact, they won't help take out a vampire."

"Lukas!" she whined, resting her head on my shoulder. "But they're so cool."

Because it was hard to resist her, I then said, "You get one random selection of your own, but the rest are mine."

With a sigh, she said, "Fine. Don't waste it on my water horse then..." Grabbing the pen from my hand, I watched her scrawl down 'fairies'.

With a brow raised, I said, "Why fairies?"

"So that I can relive my youth. You really have to listen to me in future instead of gawking at me, Lukas," she joked, though as the words left her mouth, her eyes trailed down to my lips.

"Never," I whispered, leaning in to kiss her.

At the beginning of the notebook, I left a note about the 'lore' she should lean into: that mythical creatures are mutations from human DNA. This way, her searches would be more closely linked to what we needed.

In the afternoons when we weren't at the library, we packed all of her things that lived in my house into a bag and moved her back into the shabby studio. With a flick of the wrist, I gave it a modest makeover, removing the mould, freshening up the paint, ensuring the door and window locks were secure. And, despite her protests, I met with her landlord and compelled him to switch out her bathtub for a shower.

And then the last day arrived.

· · ───── ∘☽༓☾∘ ───── · ·

Olivia said our last day together had to be a date day. Something to remember her by... But I just saw it as a long day that would make the following weeks... months... potentially years even harder for me. Nonetheless, as her bottom lip jutted out and her eyes caressed my soul, again, I couldn't help but give in to her wishes.

We spent the morning of date day walking around the Stratford shopping mall. I paid for a couple new outfits for her, which this time she humbly accepted.

"Because a new dress is very different to a bathtub or apartment," Olivia replied when I asked why she'd let me pay for some things for her and not others. I had insisted that she let me pay half of her rent for a nicer place. But she protested that if I let her live somewhere nice, there's no way she'd believe she could afford such a place.

In our wandering through the shops, we saw a photobooth and she dragged me in, insisting we get a reel. For one photo, we both smiled at the camera. For the second, we pulled a ridiculous face. Then for the last... I couldn't help but press my lips to her forehead.

"You know you can't keep that," I whispered as she beamed at the pictures while we walked to the cinema.

"I know," she said, sadness tinging her tone. "But you can," she then added, glancing up at me as she handed it over.

"What if someone finds it?" I responded.

"Hide it well." She winked at me. "This way, whenever you miss me, you can remember us."

"I don't need a stupid photo to remember you, Ollie." Grabbing her hand, I placed it on my chest before I said, "You're burned into my heart forever."

"That's ridiculously cute of you to say."

"Is it?" I replied with a grin, face leaning closer to her.

"Mhmm," she whispered, just before she leaned the rest of the way, meeting me for a kiss.

· · ───── ∘☽༓☾∘ ───── · ·

As we walked out of our movie, she turned to me and asked, "So how did you like Jane Eyre?" The movie was evidently not worth talking about that she decided to touch on the book I finished last night.

"I have read it before."

"I know. But now that you've read it again knowing it's my favourite classic... what did you think?"

"I mean... I'll never complain about a gothic lit book. But I just think Rochester is way too brooding. She should have been with someone happier."

With a roll of her eyes, she said, "And you weren't a brooding mess when I met you?"

"That's totally different," I replied.

"Is it now?"

"Mhmm."

We walked in silence for a while, arms wrapped around each other, and, for the moment I forgot what tomorrow would mean. For the moment, I was lost in my partner, my friend, in Ollie. Us as us, not knowing this would be one of the last times for a long while. Then I remembered something. "I have an original edition of the book, by the way."

She came to a stop and turned to look at me, mouth falling down. "No way! As in—"

"By Currer Bell?" I nodded.

Grabbing me by the arms, she said, "You have to show me."

"I will. When you're mine again."

"No. I need to see it now."

"Why?"

"Because, Lukas, now that I know it exists, I can't rest until I see it."

I heaved a sigh, and said, "It's at the Hammersmith House. I'd have to part from you to get it."

We continued walking in silence for a while again, until she whispered, "I just want a glimpse."

"And you will. I'll let you have it and call it yours one day."

"But Lukas... Can't you just... sneak me in, show me, and then we quickly run home?"

This time I stopped. "Ollie, I can't bring you to the house."

"But I want to see it. And I want to look at your room too..."

"And risk—"

"There'd be no risk, Lukas. We will be quiet. We won't talk. I'll just look at it, look at your room, and then we go home. Please? It's one of the last things you have to do for me." And as she blinked her lashes at me, again, I couldn't say no.

So, reluctantly, we caught the next taxi to Hammersmith, getting them to drop us off by Ravenscourt Park. When we exited, I knelt down, back facing her.

"What are you doing?" she asked me.

"Get on," I instructed. "I'm going to run us there and climb the outside to get you up to my room."

"Climb?"

"If you want to see my room and the book, this is how it will work, Ollie."

With a sigh, she obliged, hopping onto my back.

After she wrapped her arms around my neck and I hooked my hands under her thighs, ensuring she was secure around me, I began to run.

Faster than any human could see, I took off through the streets and around the back of the house in the dimness of the night.

As quietly as I could, I scaled the side of the house, unlocked my bedroom window with magic, and slipped us in without even a thud on the hardwood floor. Gently, I lowered Ollie to the ground and she turned around, mouth agape.

'Wow' she mimed at me, quietly walking around the room, running her fingers over my gemstones, relics, and potions. Then she ducked into my walk-in robe for a while, leaving me to peruse my book collection for the title in question.

Eyes locking, I pulled it from its home then darted into the cupboard to see what she was up to.

Back turned to me, she didn't hear me approach, so I snuck up behind her, putting my hands on her waist as I whispered in her ear, "Boo."

"Ah!" she let out a little shriek, and I quickly clasped my hand over her mouth, spinning her around so she saw me. Her brows were straight up in shock, but as our eyes met, humour swirled in her gaze and I removed my hand. "You idiot," she breathed ever so quietly. "Tells me to be quiet and then scares me?"

"Sorry... It's hard to think around you sometimes," I whispered back into her ear, and she shivered at my breath on her neck.

"Is that so?" she replied, pulling back to stare at me.

But as her eyes trailed down, locking on my mouth, I immediately dragged her lips to mine and we were kissing passionately.

She stumbled backwards, through my hanging clothes, until she was pressed against the wall. Her hands raiding my back, skimming over my butt, as we parted mouths to deepen the kiss.

But as I felt the desire stir in my pants, I quickly pulled back, remembering where we were...

She was flustered by my sudden distance and went to reach for me again, hunger swirling in her gaze. So I quickly wedged the book between us, stopping her in her tracks.

Her eyes focussed on it, taking in the cover, then she let out a light squeal.

"Ollie!" I scolded.

"Sorry," she whispered, but she took it from my hands. "Oh my gosh! Look at it!"

"It will be yours one day," I said back to her.

But as her eyes continued to stay focussed on the book, slowly I watched her face descend into sadness.

"What's wrong?" I asked softly.

Looking up, she breathed, "What if we never end up together again? What if you can't get rid of him? What if..." Then her bottom lip trembled. "What if you die?"

Stroking her face, I promised, "If there ever comes a day where I die trying to get rid of him, I'll be sure there's a note somewhere that someone will find when I'm gone so that they can send this to you. Or if there comes a point that I know we can't be together again because I can't defeat him, then I'll make sure you get your hands on this. This will always be yours one day, Ollie."

But then the tears poured out of her face as she blubbered, "I'm not worried about a book, you dummkopf."

I pulled her against my chest and smoothed her hair as she sobbed a little too loud into me. "You won't remember anything, my love. It will be okay."

"But you will have to go on missing me or you will die..."

"At least I had you..."

"I can't imagine my life without you, Lukas. Surely I'm going to feel lost without you in it, even if I can't remember you."

Pulling back, I searched her face. "Are you having doubts on the plan?"

"We have to do this," she insisted. "But that doesn't mean I like it. It doesn't mean I'm not scared of it. You may not want me to forget you but I don't want to forget you either."

Running my thumbs over her cheeks to wipe up her tears, I said, "You will be fine. You will do what we did every day this week and go sit up the back corner of the library, right by the mythology section. You will put your notebook in the middle, laptop to the front, pens to the right, and pencil case to the left."

She frowned in response. "Pens to the left and pencil case to the right."

"I'm going to switch them," I grinned at her.

She gasped and swatted my arm, the hit echoing through the room. "Lukas, don't you dare."

But at that moment, I heard the creak of Ben's door.

Eyes going wide, I pressed a finger to my lips as I craned my head to listen to his footsteps echoing across the hardwood floor.

And then a knock sounded on my door.

"Stay here," I breathed in her ear as quietly as I could, before creeping out of the cupboard and heading to the door to open it.

"What's up?" I asked him, poking my head into the hallway, trying to keep him from looking in.

"I heard noises from your room," he responded, trying to glance around me. "Thought you weren't supposed to be home until tomorrow so I was coming to investigate."

"Just me, moving some stuff back in already."

"Oh... I didn't hear you come home."

I shrugged. "Maybe you're getting old, Benny," I joked, hoping he hadn't heard us talking.

But then he frowned. "Is someone in there with you?"

I shook my head. "No, why?"

"I thought I heard a girl's voice." I could see the pangs of jealousy echoing in his eyes.

"Maybe my voice is going a bit feminine?" I countered. "Or it could be the music from my phone. I had headphones in..."

"Hmm..." was all he had to say back.

"Anyway, I need to finish unpacking then I'm ducking out. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah... okay," he responded. I didn't close the door until I watched him walk back into his room.

Quickly fleeing back to Ollie's side, I scooped her into my arms, leaning close to her ear before whispering, "I need to get you out of here."