Damien's phone rang in his pocket, causing him to avert his eyes and break the painstaking tension. I breathed a sigh of relief and watched as he removed his phone from his pocket to hold it to his ear.

"Hello?" It was only a few moments before Damien looked at me and walked away. I turned to Lucas as Damien's voice dissipated while he moved toward the front door.

"How are you his friend?" 

Lucas scratched his head. "He's having a bad day Ember, he gets into these funks and in all honesty, he becomes a real jerk."

"What's bothering him today?"

"Probably a combination of sleep deprivation and just being plain dramatic."

"Dramatic about what?" 

I could tell he had an answer to my question but he didn't want to give it. He quickly changed the subject.

"I think you need some more comfortable clothes." I involuntarily bit the inside of my cheek in frustration. 

'Do I push him? What was Damien implying about him earlier...?'  

I pushed aside my concern and spoke bravely, "well, I think I need you to tell me what is making him act this way." 

Lucas' bright face grew serious. "Em', let it go." 

I hesitated for a moment as I thought to myself, 'Push more? Or leave it be?' I settled on remaining compliant - for now.

"What do you have for clothes?" I said blandly and he lightened up notably fast. 

'Does he want good things for me? Is this all fakery? Can I trust him? Is he really the nice one? It seems like it...' Questions ran through my head as I quietly followed Lucas down the hallways leading to my room. This time, we went past my door, two rooms down. He opened the doors wide and proceeded to enter the bedroom after giving me a gesturing nod to follow him.

       The room matched the style of the rest of the house but had a much more masculine touch than mine. The bed frame was dark brown and the sheets covering it were navy blue. One wall was entirely occupied by books and the rest of the room was very tidy.

"Is this your room?" I questioned, to which he responded with a nod and a smile.

"Yes, it is." He walked to a tall, wooden dresser and shuffled through the drawers. "We'll have to go out and buy you some clothes soon, but this will have to do for now." He held up a pair of black sweatpants and a white graphic t-shirt with a retro design. "Not nearly your size, but it's either that, your dress, or nothing." 

I quickly snatched the clothes from his hands and he laughed with a hint of mischief. "I'll let you change, hun." 

He strode out of the room and closed the door behind him. Even though I had to cinch the drawstring of the pants up tightly around my waist and tie the shirt in a knot so it didn't fall down to my thighs, I was surprisingly pleased with the outfit, quite possibly because of how comfortable it was compared to the clothes I'd been in. I stepped out of the room where I found Lucas waiting. 

He looked me up and down with an impressed look. "What a keen fashion sense I have." 

I couldn't help but giggle. His jester-like expression turned into a soft smile and he spoke again.

"I like it. Maybe you can just stick to wearing my clothes." I knew he was joking, but there was something in me that made me question if there wasn't a part of him that was serious. 

'Is it bad that I'm enjoying his company? Is that wrong? He's charming, kind, funny...and let's face it, very easy on the eyes.

"Thank you, Lucas. I appreciate it." My head turned to glance in each direction of the hall. "So...what exactly am I supposed to do now?" 

He reached out and offered his hand to me. I took it and once again, followed him down the hall.