--fitz vacker--

Just between the two of us, part of me would rather stay here with you.

That was what I whispered to Mr. Snuggles, my embarrassing stuffed scarlet and teal dragon that Biana, Keefe, and Marella teased me relentlessly for. I rested on the soft mattress in my room, hugging my stuffed animal close to my chest. The crystal ceiling participated in the staring contest I had begun, and it was winning by a long shot. I had to close my eyes within five seconds.

Sounds of laughter and joy echoed from downstairs. I knew everyone was expecting me, especially Biana. That was why I didn't want to go down.

Biana had always been braver than me. Say what you want, but the stuff about the Lost Cities being completely free of discrimination against women is absolute bullshit. How do I know that? Because for all the attention I get, I peek out of the corner of my eye and see Biana getting half that, all while trying twice as hard.

Biana Vacker was a lot more extroverted than me as well, so when she hailed people on their Imparters to invite them to her cryptic-sleepover-surprise-thingy, her exact words were, "I am inviting you."

I didn't usually mind it that way. Most of the time, social interaction was a chore, not a privilege. Well, with most people.

But with Dex...

Talking with Dex would be much less pathetic than staring at your ceiling, the ceiling seemed to say.

Fitz, ceilings can't talk.

Fitz?

Wonderboy!

A voice chirped from outside the door, knocking lightly on the polished wood. "Wonderboy?"

"Dex?" I jumped off the bed and got to the door, not yet turning the doorknob.

"Yes, it's me! I don't have a lot of time!" Dex said urgently. I opened the door just enough for me to squeeze out and closed it behind me. I'll come back for you, Snuggles, I mentally apologized to the dragon back inside.

Dex was standing there, adjusting the inventing goggles resting on his forehead restlessly. His periwinkle eyes- wait, no, green?- kept glancing down the hallway like he was being chased. His strawberry blonde hair was excessively messy, strands getting caught underneath the straps of his goggles. His moving lips- no, I shouldn't be looking at his lips right now.

Wait, moving?

"-chasing me," he explained. "And usually I don't mind her makeovers, but I'm just not feeling it today, so...hide?"

"Sure," I said a little too quickly. "Where?"

Dex raised his eyebrows. "In your room. Duh."

Oh, that'll be the first place she- who I assumed was Biana- would look, I wanted to say, but Dex was bolting inside my room by the time I opened my mouth.

My room was the size of the average coffee shop, its great size sparkling under the light of a giant chandelier. On the left side was a massive bed, draped with purplish-pink curtains and vintage bookshelves lining the walls. On the right side was a small library: more bookshelves, fairy lights, a white linen cough, and a little too many plants guarding each corner. In the middle was a balcony, displaying two white lounging chairs overlooking the forest and sky.

Dex's breath caught for a second, taken aback by the extravagance of the room, not to mention the degree of neatness to it, but ran to Mr. Snuggles, protecting the foot of my bed.

"Aw, I remember this guy! Sup, man?" Dex greeted the stuffed dragon, shaking the soft bean of an arm Mr. Snuggles had.

Mr. Snuggles didn't respond, which made me feel a little better about talking to the ceiling. Dex gave him one final fist bump, looked it in the eyes like the two were having a telepathic conversation, and turned to me.

"Best stuffed animal out of the group, by far." Dex grinned. "Always so polite!"

I snorted. "What did he say that was polite?"

"What didn't he say?"

"Now you're asking the real questions." I smiled, melting into the pleasant warmth of Dex's presence like butter. I examined his eyes again, their periwinkle color replaced with an unfamiliar forest green that despite being a completely different hue, still sparkled in a distinctly Dex kind of way. "What's with the eyes?"

Dex raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"Your eyes. They're green."

Dex's forest green eyes widened. "Ohhh, right! Yeah, I was working on some more elixirs that change your eye color. The chemical, irisone elixtite, that's used to change the appearance of the pigmentation of the iris, needs to be mixed with dye every time Dad and I want to make a slightly separate shade of color, so we have to start from scratch each time. In order to make sure we don't damage the optic nerve, we need to alter the dye and cleanse it of its harmful chemicals before we-" He paused, shuffling his feet. "Sorry for rambling. I just-"

"I don't mind," I blurted out. "I mean, it's fine. It's interesting."

Dex grinned. "Thanks, Wonderboy, that...that means a lot." My heart did a triple backflip at that. "And thank you for noticing the eyes. You're the first. It wasn't intentional, I was just being a little careless. I don't think it looks that great on me anyway."

"I think it looks pretty," I said, then blushed, mentally cursing myself for being such an idiot. Dex was now a cute shade of pink myself, and- wait, why was he blushing?

A pounding on the door made me jump in my shoes. "Dex?? You in there??"

"No, he's not!" I shouted back at my little sister's voice. The second Dex leaves the room, I'm going to commit homicide.

"Let me into your room then!"

"I can't!" I signaled for Dex to hide in the bathroom connected to my bedroom. He gave me a thumbs-up and closed the door loudly enough for me to wince.

"Why not?"

"It's messy in here!"

"Your room hasn't been messy since that time you lost your hair spray! Open the door!"

I groaned, but opened the door to my sister, with a pile of clean clothes and a handful of necklaces. "What do you want?"

"Dex."

"I told you, Dex isn't here. He's probably hiding from you."

"How do you know that?"

"Uh, because you're Biana??"

Biana rolled her eyes. "That's it. I'm checking your bathroom." Biana stormed into the bathroom and found Dex crouched in the corner, arms resting on his knees.

Biana sighed. "Why does everyone need to hide from me? Just say you don't want a makeover and be done with it." Dex's eyebrows shot up.

"You're not giving me a makeover?" he asked. Biana shook her head.

"Usually I would. And I'm not lying to ya Dizznee, you are definitely pushing the envelope with the grease on your shirt." Biana frowned at the shirt Dex wore while working. "But I will have plenty of time later, and I do want to get the surprise over with."

"Once again, I slept in and had to get some work done by a deadline," Dex groaned. He blinked. "But thank you for sparing me. I guess."

"You're welcome," Biana said. "Now, are you gonna stop hiding in Fitz's room and come out to the kitchen? You too, Fitzy," she added.

"Fine," Dex and I said in unison, and we followed Biana back downstairs.