FRIDAY

     "You haven't seen even one that you like?" Naomi Rilsburg gawked.

     "No," Adeline admitted. "I want something...perfect. I need to be in the mood to shop, too."

     And right now, she had other things to be worried about.

     "Obviously, we all want something perfect." Naomi tugged her boxer braids, frowning for a moment before her face lit up into a rare smile. "I know what'll get you in the mood! Let's go to Angelica's Formal Wear."

     If Sebastian had been around, Adeline would have rather died than go dress shopping. That was a jackpot of unlimited insults and cracks best avoided. She'd told him she wasn't coming by the compound, as she'd be hanging out with friends. He didn't need to know anything more.

    Jessica scrutinized her from head to toe. "A pink or blue dress would complement your hair and skin tone. Oh, I saw this amazing one when I was looking through the website for Angelica's."

     "My mom wasn't planning on getting a new dress but I want to buy her one. It can be her birthday present." They weren't going to let Adeline go anywhere, so she might as well make it worth the time.

     "I can't wait for this party!" Jessica was all but jumping up and down, dark eyes sparkling with child-like excitement. "I hear the Craybons are throwing a huge party to celebrate the release of The Dragon's Ladder."

     Adeline threw her arms up in exasperation."I swear, if I hear about that movie one! More! Time! I will do... something destructive."

     Jessica just laughed as she and Naomi, stone-faced as ever, entered Angelica's Formal Wear, for all intents and purposes dragging Adeline between them.

     "Welcome to Angelica's! Is there anything I can help you ladies with?" an attendant greeted them.

     "We're looking right now, but thanks," Jessica said. "Oh, wow." Her attention pulled to a mannequin to their right, eyes wide. "Look at that!"

     The dress was a deep purple that sparkled in the light, sheer layers of varying lengths forming its skirt.

     "I have to try that one on," she breathed. "Do you have it in a small?"

     Naomi glanced at Adeline, almost imperceptibly shaking her head. No doubt they'd be here for several hours while Jessica tried on every dress she could before one of them made her stop.

     The attendant--her name tag read Ashley--nodded before disappearing. When she reappeared, an identical dress hung over her arm. "Here you go. The dressing rooms are right over there." She smiled and pointed toward the back corner.

    "Thanks!" Jessica carefully took the garment and scurried away, Naomi following.

     "I'll be back to have a look in a second!" Adeline called after her. Then to Ashley, "I'm looking for a dress for my mom. Do you have any ocean blue dresses?"

     "Ocean blue? There may be one or two in store that are blue, but most of these dresses come in different colors," she said. "Any other specifications?"

     Adeline shook her head.

     "One moment, please." A few moments later, Ashley was back with two different dresses. "These are the ones we have currently."

     The first one, a classic ballgown, had a lace bodice embroidered with faux jewels that glittered in the light like a freshly fallen layer of snow. It was stunning, to say the least, but it would never work. Not for a wheelchair.

     What a shame. She sighed.

     Without her even having to say anything, Ashley displayed the second dress.

     "Adeline, are you coming?" Jessica called.

     Several heads swiveled in her direction with startled and reproachful looks. Not that she noticed as she breezed past, skirt hitched up to her knees.

     "You'll be the death of me," Naomi groaned, cheeks flaming as she covered her eyes in embarrassment.

     Jessica skidded to a halt, releasing the fabric clenched in her fists. "I feel like a princess!"

     Adeline's mouth opened but no words came out. It was if the dress had been custom made to suit her athletic build and olive skin. The joy in her dark eyes was infectious, and Adeline smiled, relieved there would be no standing around while Jessica paraded about in various dresses.

     "If I had known you were coming here, we could have gone together!"

     And like that, Ava squashed the mood.

     She sashayed up, smile pasted in place, a group of admirers and suck-ups trailing behind.

     "Dress shopping, too?" Naomi's mouth remained fixed in a straight line as she adjusted the layers of Jessica's dress.

     "Yeah." The corners of her mouth pulled down, hazel eyes widening. "I just didn't expect to find Adeline shopping at a place like this with you." The venemous words dripped from her mouth like honey.

     "I'm sorry?" Adeline turned her back on Ava and rubbed the silky fabric of the second dress on the counter between her fingers.

     "You always shop at the high-end places with people more of your, uh, status." A slight flush colored her cheeks and she looked down, feigning innocence.

     Naomi clenched her jaw, eyes narrowing, ears reddening. Unlike most students at Xavier Academy for Elites, she wasn't there because of money. Her parents could never afford tuition. The only reason she was there was due to a scholarship she'd earned with her own hard work. But that didn't matter to the parasites that inhabited the school hallways. Naomi didn't have anything they wanted, so she was often the outcast and target of their bullying.

     "I'm not sure who told you that." Adeline laughed and checked the price tag on the dress. "I don't judge things by money; that's pointless. I didn't work hard to get this money, my parents did; so for me to act like I'm better than someone who has less than me... well, that's stupid." She let her words hang in the air for a tense moment before shrugging. "And besides, Serena and I used to hang out all the time."

     Ava's right eye twitched as she mimicked Adeline's motion and smiled. "That's what I thought. I feel the same way, too."

     Of course you do. But Adeline was done dealing with Ava.

     "Naomi, Jessica, what do you think of this dress?" Adeline held it up, the skirt unfurling towards the ground. The bodice of the dress was a deep ocean blue, cinched in at the waist by a band of silver. The skirt faded out to white at the bottom, reminiscent of waves washing up onto a sandy shore.

     "For your mother?" Naomi queried. "It'll be perfect."

     Jessica nodded her agreement even though she hadn't torn her eyes away from the swath of fabric wrapped around her to see it.

     "Karie? Lillian? What do you guys think?" Adeline addressed the girls behind Ava, who was now sipping her gourmet mocha looking like she'd swallowed a frog.

     "It's a little simple, but definitely classy," Karie said, grinning wider than her face should have allowed and trying to move closer to Adeline.

     "You should get it, for sure!" Ava's smile was just as oily and plastic as Mrs. Reich's. "We've got a couple of places that we want to visit before we go to the movies, so we better be going!"

     "Bye!" That was Lillian.

     "See you!" Karie waved.

     Ava, strangely, didn't say anything at all, exiting without looking back.

     At least she didn't say anything about the documentary. Adeline's temples still throbbed and her veins buzzed with anger.

     "I'm getting this one!" Jessica squealed and pulled an unwilling Naomi into a tight hug.

     Adeline closed her eyes and took a deep breath, forcing herself to forget about that scheming witch Ava.

     "And I'll take this dress, but could I get it shortened an inch or two?" she asked Ashley. The last thing she wanted was the dress to get ripped on the wheelchair.

     "Yes, ma'am."

     While Adeline and Jessica made their purchases, Naomi wandered around the store. She snapped pictures of the dresses that caught her eye, most likely to show her mother to get her opinion, even though they were all well out of her price range. 

     "You'll get a call when the alteration is finished, but it should only take a day or two." Ashley thrust a piece of paper in Adeline's direction, pulling her attention back.

     Adeline swallowed, eyes flitting to Naomi again. She was by the clearance rack, checking tags, moving stiffly from one dress to the next. "Oh, uh, thank you."

     "I can't get over how beautiful my dress is!" Jessica chirped, clutching the bag to her chest.

     "You look amazing in it! And you guys can come over to my house a couple of hours before so we can do makeup and hair. It'll be so much fun!" She tried to sound excited for her friend's sake, but her heart just wasn't in it.

     "I can't wait two weeks; we should do a girl's night out or something before then." She started planning out loud, but Adeline tuned her out.

     Naomi was tugging at her braids again, scanning the other customers to see if they were paying any attention to her. Her eyes met Adeline's for the briefest of seconds and she stumbled away in the opposite direction, cheeks flaming.

     The sinking feeling in Adeline's stomach grew as her chest constricted. If only Naomi would let her buy a dress for her... If she bought it and gave it Naomi's mother and told them they could pay her back for it later, maybe then she'd be willing to keep the dress. That green dress in the front window was especially elegant and a steal for the price.

     There was a flash of black as a familiar figure strode by. It was Sebastian, as casually stylish as ever, black jeans and unzipped jacket paired with red high tops and headphones around his neck. He didn't even glance in her direction, so he had to be unaware that she was there.

     What's he doing here? She frowned.

     Another guy and a girl were with him. Both were average height with blonde hair, wearing nondescript clothes, but their fluid and powerful movements stuck out against the backdrop of meandering shoppers.

     They seem like the bodyguard type to me. Sebastian is overseeing the investigation about the leak at Killingsworth Tech. Do these two have something to do with that?

     "Whatcha looking at? You zoned out on that hot guy who walked by," Jessica teased, elbowing her.

     "What? No, I didn't! I was looking at that dress!" Adeline protested, elbowing her back.

     "Uh huh, sure." 

     "I zoned out, but not because I was drooling over some random guy!" Adeline tried to elbow her again, but Jessica blocked her.

     "No need to get defensive over your feminine tendencies." She wriggled her eyebrows.

     Adeline snorted, knowing her friend would remain unconvinced. "Whatever."

     "I've got it narrowed down to three, but I'm going to come back with my mom for some bonding time. Not that you guys aren't great and all," Naomi said, coming up beside them. Her face was contorted into what resembled a happy expression, but she was fiddling with her braids again and refusing to meet Adeline's eyes.

     "We can head home now, right?" Adeline asked, hopeful.

     "Aren't you going to get anything, though?" Naomi mumbled.

     "I...I still don't know what I want."

     "That's why we're at a dress shop!" Naomi rubbed her eyes, exasperated.

     "Or are you too good for this place?" Jessica said in a high-pitched voice, still wiggling her eyebrows.

     "Please don't do that, it's creepy." Adeline backed away.

      "No, but seriously, I can't believe she'd say something like that. Who does she think she is, trying to throw shade?"

     "Uh, Ava Craybon?"

     "Forget about her; we have to find Addy a dress," Naomi cut in.

      No, no we don't!

     "Yeah, but not here, 'cause Addy's too good for this place," Jessica repeated, linking arms with Adeline and pulling her out the door.

     "Where are we going, then?" Adeline asked. "There's nothing wrong with this store."

     "I want to see the dresses at Louise's, so that's where we're going."

     "And milkshakes!" Naomi added, eyes lighting up just a little.

     Adeline sighed.

***

"I'm back, Mom!" Adeline called as she walked in the front door. "Jess and Naomi made—uh, helped—me pick out a dress, but I'm not going to show you because I want it to be a surprise."

     "I can't wait!" Her mother's voice came from the dining room, muffled by the partially shut wooden doors.

     "I'm going to go put it away now."

     "Okay, honey."

     After Adeline had tucked the dress away in the back of her closet, she called Sebastian.

     ″ 'Sup, dog?" he drawled. "Anything exciting? Oh, wait, that's right—you don't have a life."

     "That's so 1600s, I'm suffering from second-hand embarrassment," she remarked dryly. "Anyway, what should I know?"

     "Tri-Shadows' leader wants to meet with us, one of the biggest parties yet is being thrown to celebrate The Dragon's Ladder's release this Wednesday, and the Montcroix family opened that store I told you about several months ago. As for the leak in your company, we haven't had much success in that area. But we'd expect him or her to cover their tracks well," he finished.

    "Tri-Shadows, huh?" That was a smaller underworld organization that wielded a bit of power, considering. Adeline brushed the pink curtains hiding her window seat to the side and sat down, curling her legs under her. "An alliance with them could prove to be useful."

     "I know. Will and Jazz are currently working on the details."

     Adeline nibbled at her nails. "Anything else? Will texted me earlier about another arms deal."

     "Oh, yeah. This one's not a big one, just another rich man looking for weapons to arm his thugs with." Sebastian yawned. "Other than that, things have been kind of slow."

     Adeline yawned. "You got me doing it, too."

     "Peer pressure isn't an excuse, Adeline."

     "Neither is stupidity, Sebastian," she snapped.

     "And your point is...?"

     "I saw you in the mall today," she said abruptly.

     "Where were you? I didn't see you." Now he was curious.

     "With my friends, like I told you. Who were those two with you?" she asked. "I've never seen them before."

     "Old friends of mine." He paused. "I guess I better get back to work. Some of us around here actually earn our paychecks. We don't all have rich parents."

     Adeline laughed. "True. See you tomorrow."

     "Stay safe, try not to do anything stupid," Sebastian admonished before hanging up.

     She tossed her phone from hand to hand, gazing out at the front drive. Tri-Shadows could be a big help when it comes to the Craybons. I've heard a lot about them, but haven't met anyone working for them. They must be looking for more connections here in Cerulle.

     Adeline retrieved her laptop from the nightstand and returned to the window seat, setting it on her crossed legs. She chewed her lip while she waited for it to boot up. With an hour or so until dinner, she was going to do a little more research.

     She typed in the password and clicked on the e-mail notification that popped up. The most recent e-mail contained a rundown on Tri-Shadows. Adeline clicked download.

     "Bless you, Domino!"

     About thirty minutes later, she'd read through the whole thing. As she had thought, they had few connections in the city, explaining their desire for an alliance. They hired out hackers, hit-men, and even bodyguards. But there was no doubt in Adeline's mind about involvement in some far shadier things.

     "Not that I'm one to talk," she muttered.

     Her eyes were dry from staring at the computer screen for so long, so she put eye drops in before heading downstairs. An unfamiliar voice reached her ears, coming from the lounge.

     Adeline peeked into the dining room. "Hey, Mom, who's here?"

     Her mother was sitting at the end of the long table, a pile of silverware and a glass of water sitting within arm's reach and a stack of napkins in her lap. She looked up from folding napkins. "One of Jacob's friends, Newton."

     "I don't think I've met him."

     "Me either, but he seems nice." Mrs. Killingsworth beamed at her daughter, wrinkles forming at the corner of her eyes. "Why don't you go ask him if he'll be staying for dinner?"

     "Okay." Adeline combed through her hair with her fingers and tried to pat down stray hairs as she walked away and crossed the foyer. No reason to look like she'd spent two nights in a running washing machine.

     She slowed at the end of the hallway, right before the lounge. Since she couldn't see anyone, Jacob and Newton were most likely sitting on the couches to the right. They were arguing about if putting glaze on a bagel made it a doughnut.

     What? She froze, blinking rapidly. Who had conversations like this?

      "Sorry to interrupt this, uh, 'important discussion'. Mom said to ask your friend if he'd like to stay for dinner," Adeline said as she entered the room.

     "He's staying," Jacob affirmed. "Adeline, this is my friend, Newton; Newton, this is my sister."

     Newton looked to be around twenty, with hazel eyes and golden hair styled in a faux hawk. Clean shaven with a strong jawline, there was no doubt he had an overabundance of admirers, even if his nose was a little crooked. He'd apparently come from work because he was wearing a suit. Standing to his feet, he stuck out his hand for a handshake.

     Adeline stared at it like an idiot before taking it. Her ears were burning and Jacob was watching her, smirking. 

     "Nice to meet you; Jacob's always talking about you." Newton smiled with white, perfectly straight teeth. Of course.

     "Nice to meet you, too," was all she could think to say. Wealthy, arrogant businessmen? Adeline could handle that. Brutal training session? Doable. Black market deals? Business as usual. Cute guys? Nope. She pulled her hand back. "Well, uh, I'll leave before I embarrass Jacob."

     It was only a matter of time, after all.

     And she needed to stay focused.