Prince and Chloe were standing in a quaint little costume shop located in a small town half an hour from Darkwood.

When Prince suggested to Chloe the idea of going away with him, she expected something expensive and lavish. She was relieved when they arrived by car in front of the small costume shop. The shop keeper was an old man who looked like he'd been in business for years, but Chloe knew it couldn't be doing well. Most of the masks were worn and covered with dust. There were magic kits from the mid-90's still up at the top of the shelves.

Prince handed her a blonde wig and large sunglasses. "So you have to assume an identity and we have to wear these."

Chloe took hold of the wig and placed it on top of her head. She tucked her hair into it and checked her reflection in the mirror.

Yikes, she wasn't sure if she liked herself as a blonde.

Prince placed on a Sherlock Holmes hat and fake thick glasses. He looked so silly Chloe couldn't help, but laugh at him.

"If the idea is to draw attention away from us, we'd fail if we wore this stuff," she laughed.

He took off the hat and tried on a red and green baseball cap. "Well, sadly my family is in the news more since my step-sister decided to become a socialite. Now everyone knows I'm the heir to my family's business and they've started photographing me. So, better to be safe than sorry."

"Fine. But you'll regret this because I've decided on a name. . ." Chloe placed on the sunglasses and flipped her blonde hair. "I'm Mimi the Blonde from Cincinnati, my dreams are to be a singer and make it big in L.A.!"

Prince slapped on a fake mustache. "I'm Steve the refrigeration repair man. I am ordinary in every possible way."

"Okay, you know what, I think you need to leave behind the mustache." She tried to sound serious about it, but her smile gave everything away. Chloe really was having a good time.

They left the costume shop as Steve—minus the mustache—and Mimi. They walked down the street like ordinary teens. For the time being, life was simple. Chloe pointed out dresses she liked in the windows of tiny shops.

Round-bellied middle-aged men scuttled into the town pub with rosy cheeks. A chalkboard sign listed proudly: OUR FISH AND CHIPS ARE THE BEST.

"You know what we haven't had yet? Fish and chips. Come on, we have to eat that," Chloe begged.

Prince lifted his arms in surrender. "Okay, okay, let's go."

When they finally got inside the pub they found the interior to be traditional. Everything looked old and wooden. A scuffed wood bar top, several posters and flags from favorite football teams, and old heavy tables and chairs. The bartender was an old man with a handlebar mustache that looked like the fake one Prince had tried to wear earlier. Chloe and Prince both glanced at each other and knew they were sharing the same thoughts about it.

"Welcome, have a seat and we'll be with you in a moment," The barkeep said while wiping out a glass.

Chloe picked a booth off in the corner of the bar. It felt good to be inside a place that was so warm. She shrugged off her coat a little.

Prince slid into the seat opposite of Chloe's and decided that no one here cared who they were. He removed his "Steve" hat and glasses. Chloe followed suit and let her "Mimi" wig get piled with her coat.

"I think we're safe. I don't think anyone under 25 even lives in this town," Chloe teased.

Prince smiled that kind of smile that just seems to make everything feel better. "Are you glad we snuck out?"

Chloe waved her arm in the air to get the barkeeps attention before she tossed Prince a coy grin. "Ask me that after we eat these fish and chips."

After a while, the barkeep returned with their order and they ate and talked. When Chloe was positive she couldn't get another potato slice into her stomach she stopped and leaned back into her seat.

"Well, when they said these were the best, I guess they mean the best fish and chips on this street. They honestly tasted like they came from a freezer," Chloe groaned.

Prince gestured around to the pub. "They probably did. Look at this place."

She had to admit that it was pretty nice spending time with Prince when he wasn't concerned about what other people thought. It reminded her so much of when they were back in New York City and all of the social structure wasn't even a thought in their mind.

"So am I forgiven yet?" He asked.

She smiled and said, "I'll think about it." But inside she knew the answer was 'yes'.

Chloe had a series of messages from Dominic on her phone, each one saying in various ways:

【please give me a chance to explain -Dominic】

There was nothing to explain; what business of hers was it if Dominic wanted to date another girl?

As much as she told herself that though, it did bother her.

Despite how much she wanted to deny it, she'd developed a strong pull towards Dominic. She couldn't forget the moment they shared in the woods when he entrusted her with his most valuable possession.

She just needed a little more time to think and figure out Dominic's intentions towards her.

"Why don't you just ask for his intentions?" Sanford asked.

Sandford and Chloe were having lunch together with the Luca and Fynn. The girls were all having to skip lunch in order to prepare for badminton practice later in the day.

"I really doubt he'd tell me," Chloe sighed while pushing a few potatoes around her plate.

"I think Sanford is right, I think the problem with girls is that they always assume stuff, they never just directly ask a guy," Luca added his own view in.

"Exactly, I mean what's there to be afraid of?" Sanford agreed.

Chloe squinted at the two of them. "Well, um, there's the fact he might be lying to me, how about that?"

Sanford looked tired of Chloe's way of thinking. He waved his hand around in a bored fashion. "Okay, but lying about what? He's not chasing after you and cheating on you right? If he was trying to use you for something else, wouldn't it have worked better to have pretended to be your boyfriend?"

Chloe hadn't really thought of that. There was many ways Dominic could have used her, but he didn't.

"I think you should listen to his explanation and if it sounds weak, then make a decision," Fynn was getting in on the conversation too.

Hearing the male perspective on this made Chloe feel like she should consider giving Dominic a chance to explain what exactly happened with Rose.

"There's one thing I really need you guys help with. There's a Scholarship student named Ameesha Gupta, I heard she was blackmailed by a Climber I'm suspecting. What will happen to her?"

"Well Scholarship students issues are taken up before the school board and their parents are contacted, they look at the evidence and then decide on whether the student will be expelled or not. Even if she was blackmailed—if she did do the deed—she will be expelled."

"But that's not fair!"

Luca nodded. "Money rules this school, not justice."

"The best action would be to get someone with high influence to convince the blackmailer to go forward and get the situation settled. And fortunately, you happen to know the Alpha Climber. . ." Sanford's voice trailed.

Chloe pursed her lips like she just tasted a sour lemon. "Fine, you have convinced me. I'll text him back, happy?"

"Absolutely, I'm living my love-life through you, after all," Sanford said with a smile before he sipped on his strawberry juice.

Privacy was something in very small commodity at Darkwood. There was always someone watching, or listening, or even just waiting for the chance to find out new gossip.

Meeting a boy in secret required careful planning.

Chloe had no idea how Prince managed to sneak up to her balcony, but she definitely wasn't going to ask Dominic to figure out how to scale the dormitory walls while sleet was falling outside.

She responded to Dominic's text by asking him to meet her in the girl's laundry room instead. She left a window unlatched earlier that day and informed Dominic to use it at 10PM exactly. After the evening check—when the teachers make sure all the students are accounted for—she tried her best to not be caught by the security guard that paced the hallways. Quietly, in her dark-blue hoodie she hugged her back against the wall and made her way down into the laundry room.

Dominic was punctual. The minute Chloe's phone flashed "10:00" she could see the small window push open.

They had to be quick, the cold wind was gusting, and if too much cold air traveled from the room, one of the guards would come to find the source.

Chloe reached out her arms to take a hold of Dominic's hand and help him into the dark, quiet room.

He brushes the few flecks of sleet from his dark hair and locked his gaze with Chloe's.

"Why all the secrecy, White?"

"I have things to ask you I can't risk someone else hearing and using against me," she explained with crossed arms. "There's something I need your help with."

Dominic released a quiet laugh. "Right, okay, so let's just avoid the whole topic of Rose altogether. Does that make you happy?"

Chloe couldn't hold back her annoyance any longer.

"Fine, we won't avoid it. So what? You like this girl? Were you just lying to me about having a crush on me? Is it because you wanted me to help you find information on your mother? Because you could have asked me that as just a friend and I'd have done it. My friendship loyalty runs really deep," she snapped.

He looked frustrated. "I don't like Rose. I didn't even know she was back!"

"Really? Then why was she wearing your shirt?"

"Rose was bothering me, she wanted to see me. I didn't want to see her. She followed me to the dorms and fell in that big, icy mud-puddle outside. Girls dorms are at the opposite side of campus, I couldn't let her go covered in icy mud through winter winds. I gave her the nearest piece of clothing I could find and told her to put it on and go, that's when Prince showed up."

Chloe's eyes studied Dominic's serious features. He looked upset and sincere.

Dominic stepped closer to Chloe, enough for her to see his clear eyes and feel his hand an inch away from her own. "If you had just given me a chance to explain instead of running off with Prince, I'd have told you this right then!"

Her well-crafted wall of defense was crumbling down.

She felt silly. Why hadn't she let him explain things? She was so quick to make assumptions.

Chloe's voice was softer. "I wasn't thinking straight, I just saw her in your clothes. I know I don't have a right to be bothered by that, but I was."

Dominic lifted his hand to poke a finger against the tip of Chloe's nose. "Prince and I weren't fighting in the room about Rose, we were fighting about you."

Her eyes widened. "What? Why?"

"Isn't that obvious already? We both like you. He felt like in the past I stole Rose from him, now he feels like I'm stealing you from him."

Dominic didn't pull back from her, or make any advances. He was just standing so close to her. She could feel the electricity of his proximity. She could feel his desire to reach for her hand, and his resistance to try and keep himself from giving in.

"Did you steal Rose?" Chloe asked.

"No!" Dominic responded so quickly. "Rose likes the idea of having us wrapped around her finger. She wasn't able to wrap me, but Prince is gullible, he fell for it."

She looked away from him. Part of her felt ashamed and another part of her was confused with her own emotions. These thoughts and feelings were new for her. Dominic made her discover a side of herself she never even knew existed.

"Chloe, look at me." His eyes felt piercing and concentrated. His long fingers almost brushed against hers. "The only reason I didn't kiss you that night at the bonfire, is because I didn't want to betray Prince. You have no idea how hard it is for me to keep myself from touching your hand right now."

The butterflies were back in her stomach and they weren't showing any signs of stopping.

They stood together with the faint glow of the lights and the moon between a row of dryer machines and club posters.

Chloe wanted to tell Dominic that she wanted to kiss him just as much that night at the bonfire. She wanted to tell him that even now, in the middle of the laundry room she wanted to kiss him. She opened her mouth to try and tell him, but all that she managed to say was: "I found the proof."

Dominic's expression was confused. "The proof about my mother?"

"Yes. Dominic, I found definite proof that she is your mother. We can fix everything, we can—"

Chloe wasn't able to finish her words; Dominic in an instant pressed a kiss against her lips.

It was her first kiss.

Her eyes closed, and her fingers unconsciously reached to touch his. His mouth felt so soft against hers. She could taste the mint of his breath and feel the heat of his skin. For just that second with their lips connected, everything felt right.

There was a raw power behind the way they connected with each other. It made her chest hurt how much she felt for him.

Their kiss carefully parted and Chloe felt breathless.

"I shouldn't have done that," Dominic whispered. "I've just been doing everything myself for so long, then I meet you. . ."

Chloe tried to catch her breath. "I know. We have too many complications, Dominic. There's Elizabeth, Prince,  and our social castes.  Every person in school would fight to separate me from you, especially Rose."

He scoffed. "My life is already a complication, I love to face those complications and crush them. I only care about my friendship with Prince. Sadly for us, that means me keeping myself from wanting to kiss you again, because I could seriously do that all day."

She grinned at him with hot cheeks and tried to still her heart from beating so hard.

Dominic was so undeniably defiant, and while in the beginning his stubborn nature frustrated her, now she was starting to find it charming. He didn't care what others thought, or what battles he'd have to face. He was willing to face all difficulties for her, he just wasn't willing to betray his friend.

That was a request she had to respect, even if her mind was telling her to grab onto him. She couldn't be the catalyst for destroying a friendship.

Dominic cleared his throat. "So, let's change the subject to distract ourselves. What was it you need from me?"

Right, Chloe had almost forgotten her whole reason for meeting with Dominic in the first place.

"You're not going to like it. I need you to approach Adrianna and ask her to fix the mess she caused for a student named Ameesha Gupta. She blackmailed her into taking pictures of me and Prince together."

Dominic arched a brow curiously. "Are you sure Adrianna is involved?"

"98% sure. I confronted her and she practically admitted to doing it," Chloe told him.

"Fine, I'll approach her, but you'll owe me," Dominic insisted with a smooth tone.

"What will I owe you?" She asked.

Dominic smiled brilliantly. Even in the limited lighting, he was still so unbelievably gorgeous to her. He didn't answer her question, instead he turned back for the window and prepared himself to face the harsh elements outside.

"Good night, White." He called over his shoulder.

She waved to his back.

They could never be together—that stung her heart. . .

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Author's Note: Weee, this story is going slowly along. ^_^ I hope it'll be reaching it's conclusion soon! Do you feel Dominic and Chloe are doing the right thing? What do you think about Prince and Rose's role in their lives? Will Chloe finally be able to escape Darkwood? Thank you for reading!