"It was terrifying to love someone who was forbidden to you. Terrifying to feel something you could never speak of, something that was horrible to almost everyone you knew, something that could destroy your life."
~Lord of Shadows, Cassandra Clare

Spencer

"What do you mean she knows we're working together?" Elsa demanded. I could hear her heart pounding wildly.

"She said to have fun working on the project with you," I repeated. "That's why I asked if she knew."

"No, the only one who knows is Finn. Oh, this is bad... What if she tells my parents? Or worse, my brothers? I need to call her. I-" Her phone rang, and she picked it up immediately. "Anna!"

I watched Elsa's expression change as she talked to her sister. I heard Anna ask how long we'd been seeing each other and who else knew. Elsa was candid with her, and the conversation seemed to go relatively smoothly. But when Elsa hung up, she sat down in the chair next to me, bracing her head in her hand. I placed a comforting hand on her back. However, unable to refrain, I asked, "So? What's she going to do?"

"She's coming to chaperone us or something. It's better her than my brothers. You want to call Rey, so you have some back up too?" Elsa inquired, finally meeting my gaze.

"I don't think they'd tolerate each other. But I have an idea. I don't know if it's smart."

"Considering you thought it'd be a good idea to split our packs up in gym, I'm going to say probably not, but tell me."

"What about Dom? He's outgoing, and maybe not as friendly as I am to strangers, let alone to Laroches, but I can calm him down. Besides, I think if anyone can handle my brother, it'd be your sister."

"How would you get him here?"

"Not sure, but I'll think of something."

Elsa sighed. "I'm going to regret saying this, but do it. We need to start breaking the ice between the packs, and it's good to start with the Alphas if possible."

"Awesome." I pulled out my phone and dialed Dom. He answered on the second ring.

"Hey, Spence, what's up?"

"What are you doing right now?" I asked.

"Working, but I'm heading home soon. Why?"

"Could you meet me at the library? I need your help."

"Yeah, I'll be there shortly. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just... don't freak when you get here?"

My brother sighed. "What have you done?"

"You'll see."

"Is this the girl you've been sneaking out to see?" he prodded.

"Maybe. You'll see when you get here. Don't tell anyone what you're doing, okay? See you soon." We hung up. Smiling at Elsa, I said, "Dom's on his way. You sure this is a good idea?"

"No, but too late to turn back now. All right, we should start with the research. Why don't you look up stories of people dying of a broken heart, and I'll look up the scientific evidence?"

I agreed to the plan. We sat next to each other and began typing away on our laptops. My search turned up a ton of articles, quicker than Elsa's did. Saving them all, I decided since we had a while to work today, I'd get us some caffeine. Considering our favorite coffee place was directly across from the library, I went there. Elsa requested her favorite drink, the Avalanche, and I refrained from telling her I still remembered that.

I remembered more than I should've for someone who had only been her friend for a few short months. I remembered her favorite ice cream flavor was chocolate and vanilla with caramel swirls. I remembered her favorite book was Pride and Prejudice, even though she said it was very cliche of her. I remembered her favorite holiday movie was Eve's Christmas. I remembered her love for watching at the stars at night and how the light reflected in her eyes. I remembered how her eyes changed depending on her mood.

I remembered too much for someone I could never be with.

Dom

My brother texted me his room number before I arrived. I wondered who the hell this girl was for him to ask me not to tell anyone what I was doing. Spencer had been known to find trouble, but I was genuinely afraid to know what he'd gotten himself into this time. I was the problem child, believe it or not. I was the one who snuck out at night and skipped class to do what I wanted, and on some occasions, who I wanted. I'd grown out of that phase in my life, but I still had a rebellious streak in me.

I made my way up to the third floor. It was freakishly quiet, even for a library. There were only one or two heartbeats from what I could hear.

Reaching the room Spencer directed me to, I opened the door to find a Laroche sitting in there, staring at her computer. She glanced up the moment I entered, but rather than scorning me, said casually, "Hey. Spencer will be back shortly. He went to get coffee. You're welcome to take a seat, though."

"Which one are you?" I blurted.

"Elsa," she replied with a smile. "Don't worry, sometimes even our own pack can't tell us apart. It's Dom, right?"

"What the hell is going on here?" I demanded icily.

"Spencer and I are working on a science project together."

"What are you-"

"What is he doing here?" A girl piped up. I turned around to see Elsa's double. This must've been Anna.

"Spencer invited him. We figured if you were coming, we should even it out with another Stark," Elsa said.

"So he invited his Alpha brother? You realize it's us versus two alphas?"

"Wait, you knew about the two of them?" I asked in shock.

"I figured it out today, although I suspected it for a while," Anna responded with a shrug. "It's not really surprising."

"In answer to your question," Elsa intervened, "They might be Alphas, but if I can take Spencer down, I think we both stand a chance against the two of them."

"When the hell did you take down my brother?" I growled.

"I see everyone's met," Spencer remarked, slipping between Anna and me to sit directly next to Elsa. Speak of the devil...

"What's she talking about?" I repeated.

"Remember Jack's bitching about his fight with Elsa? Well, she was about to kick his ass all the way to Russia, so I grabbed her from behind to let him escape, and she did this weird trick that flipped me onto the ground."

"I apologized. Especially after he helped me grab all my things that fell out of my bag," Elsa added, sounding sheepish.

"No hard feelings. Coffee?" Spencer held out a to-go cup from our favorite coffee place. I grudgingly took it from him. "I got one for you too, Anna. Elsa said you liked the Milky Way? Isn't it caramel and chocolate coffee?"

Anna hesitantly took the cup from him as she told him he was correct.

"Why did you call me here, Spencer?" I asked, trying to hide my anger.

"Anna found out about Elsa and me hanging out to work on this school project, and I guess she didn't trust me to be alone with her sister, so she wanted to chaperone us. Elsa and I agreed it'd be a good idea for it to be equal Laroche and Starks in this."

"So we're babysitting you two?"

"Would you rather be here with these two beautiful ladies, or would you rather me be alone with them?" he countered. Knowing he had a point, I took a seat across from him with a scowl on my face, staring him down the entire time to let him know I did not approve of this.

"You're welcome to help, read, do whatever you want. Only rule is no fighting. If we can do it, so can you two," Elsa said.

"I don't think I'm the one you have to worry about," Anna mumbled under her breath, taking a sip of her coffee. I wanted to make a retort but couldn't think of a good one. So doing what I did best, I sent her a disapproving glare.

For the next two hours, Spencer and Elsa worked diligently on their project- gathering, paraphrasing, and citing the sources they wanted to use for their presentation. My brother joked about playing the song 'Pop Goes My Heart' from the movie with Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant, which Elsa, while it made her laugh, argued against. He wouldn't let it drop, however, so she compromised with him that they could play it in the credits of the presentation.

Seeing him with her... he acted entirely differently than he did with any of the girls in our pack. He was more open, more relaxed. He was even laughing and making bad jokes and puns, which Elsa always laughed at, no matter how hard she tried not to. There was a sparkle in his eyes whenever he looked at her. It was an emotion I hadn't seen in him before, and one I couldn't quite place.

"What is this project on?" Anna suddenly queried, leaning forward to scan over the notes and contents sprawled out on the desk in front of us.

"We're doing a presentation on the heart and if people can truly die from broken hearts," Elsa explained. "I've read articles for both sides and wondered if it was true. So here we are."

"Does he always make terrible puns?"

"Yes."

"If they're terrible, then why do you laugh at them?" Spencer pointed out.

"Because they're so bad they're funny. We've been over this," Elsa told him, sounding amused. Changing the topic, she asked, "Are any of you getting hungry?"

"I thought you'd never ask. I can get takeout and bring it back here. I'd say since we've already gotten so much done, maybe start writing the paper part?" Spencer suggested.

"We should be getting home," I interrupted. "It's getting late."

"Dom, I only have one more time to work on this after tonight, and it's easier to work with Elsa in person than over text. We need to finish this paper, at least. You're welcome to go home, but I need to finish this, and I'm not leaving my partner high and dry."

"Then let me call mom and dad and say you and I are grabbing dinner out tonight. I'm not leaving you alone with them." I waved my hands at the twins; Anna seemed slightly offended at my gesture. "We'll go grab takeout from the Mexican restaurant across the street."

"Dom, why don't I come with you?" Anna offered.

I nearly choked on my coffee. "Excuse me?"

"I'm getting antsy, and I've already done this class. I don't want to go through it again. I'll go with you because then you can order what Spencer likes, I can order what Elsa likes, and you don't have to pay for us. Then these two can get some more work done and get finished faster."

"Just don't kill each other," Spencer said.

"I'm in no mood to fight, just to eat. Beef fajitas, Elsa?"

"Yes, please! Extra guacamole, sour cream, and cheese?"

"As if you have to even say that. We'll be back." Anna exited the room with me on her heels. long."