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Usnavi was not happy.

He even sent Sophia home early, happy to not see her again until tomorrow, but on the drive home, Sonny informed him that he invited Sophia over for dinner at eight o'clock. Even though Sonny didn't confirm these plans with him, he didn't want to upset his cousin. He went along with it, even if it meant he had to make enough food for three instead of two.

Sonny even volunteered to make the food, which didn't happen often. Once they got to Usnavi's apartment, Sonny immediately started on the spaghetti. Usnavi assisted him with the sauce.

"You excited for Sophia to come over?" Sonny asked, pouring the noodles into the boiling hot water. Usnavi coldly scowled at him. "Damn, I'm just tryna make some conversation over here."

"Why'd you invite her over anyways?"

"Well you know," Sonny mumbled, stirring the noodles around in the pot. "We got some things to catch up on."

"Like she has anything going on in her life," Usnavi sneered, dumping the meatballs in with the sauce. "She probably just needed someone to mooch off of for the night, and thanks to you, we're the lucky ones she's doin' that to."

"I'm sure that—"

"Also, why were you acting up earlier today?" Usnavi cut off, suddenly remembering the topic he'd been meaning to bring up. "That group of people were searching for Sophia, and you just played it off as if we had no clue who she was."

"You didn't feel like anything was off about those people?" Sonny wondered, receiving a nonchalant shrug from Usnavi. "I don't know, it just seemed odd. Plus, I knew that man was lying because I know that Sophia's mother passed away when she was five."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah," Sonny replied with a nod. "She told me her father fell into such a deep pit of depression that he ended up taking his life not too long afterwards," Sonny continued, making Usnavi fall silent. He wasn't aware of any of this. "Her aunt ended becoming her guardian, who literally didn't care about what she did. That's why she was such a free bird when I met her. No curfew. No worries. All adventures."

Usnavi quietly mixed the sauce and meatballs, recalling all the times that he insulted her family. It was in her teenage years, which meant that her parents weren't present. He started to feel guilty about the rude things he has been telling her. 

"It really has helped her become thick-skinned though," Sonny explained, noticing the noodles softening up. "There's honestly nobody I've met who is as tough as she is, physically and mentally."

Usnavi was going to respond, but three knocks echoed throughout the room. Sonny eagerly dropped the cooking utensil and bolted toward the door like an excited dog. Usnavi chuckled and took over for both sides now that Sonny had left. He overheard the happy greetings between them.

"The spaghetti ain't done yet but it's getting close."

"Well, I'm sorry for showing up so early," Sophia apologized, making Sonny shrug as if it wasn't a big deal. "I just um, couldn't wait to eat with you guys."

"I can't believe you're actually early for something," Usnavi teased, looking over his shoulder at Sophia who was entering the kitchen with Sonny. "But I guess there's a first for everything."

"Don't mind Usnavi, he's almost done with making the rest of it," Sonny notified, looking at the overflowing trash. "Oh, would you um, look at that! The trash is super packed. Would you mind helping me take it out?"

Usnavi narrowed his eyes at his nervous cousin as Sophia smiled and agreed to help take the trash. Sonny took it out while Sophia tied it up. It was a routine that the two used to do all the time when they were younger. Usnavi watched as the best friends left the place, leaving him to take care of the food.

As for Sonny and Sophia, Sonny totally planned it to finally get the story of why Sophia was being searched for. 

"Alright, my theory is that you're a runaway princess and they're just trying to get you back to run the kingdom."

"What? Where in the world would you get an idea like that?" Sophia laughed, shaking her head in amusement from that thought. Sonny shrugged, his face heating up from embarrassment. "As much as I would love for that to be the case, it isn't."

"Well, what is it then?"

Sophia stared deep into the brown eyes of her best friend. If she told him, would that put him in as much danger as she was in? She didn't want to harm Sonny. He was like a little brother to her. She wanted to protect him at all costs.

"You know Sonny, I'm not really sure this is a good idea."

"Sophia, we've been through a lot together," Sonny bragged, stopping in his tracks. He put down the bag of garbage. "I can assure you that whatever the situation is, I can help you."

Sophia hesitated. She opened her mouth, but stopped herself before she went any further. She exhaled deeply and swiped up the garbage bag and quickly made her way to the alleyway where the dumpster was located. Sonny raced after her, pleading her to tell her what was going on. She ignored him and lifted the lid up.

She tossed the garbage into the dumpster and looked over at Sonny who was giving her the puppy dog eyes. He really wanted to know what was going on. As she was staring into his deep brown eyes, she heard movement coming from behind Sonny. Her eyes swung up to see the group of people she was hoping to avoid standing at the end of the alleyway.

"Sophia Lopez," The raspy voice of the creepy old man greeted, sending shivers down Sophia's spine. Sonny whipped around, gasping at the sight of the group slowly approaching them. "What a coincidence to find you here."

Sophia gripped onto Sonny's arm, forcing him to stand behind her. She puffed out her chest, making sure to let him know she wasn't scared. But she slowly deflated as she saw many more strangers begin to join, completely trapping and surrounding them in the alleyway.

"You owe me money pretty girl," The man demanded creepily. Sonny cringed, he knew that he couldn't trust him. "I gave you a week, yet, my pockets remain empty. Now, where the hell is my money?"

"You don't deserve shit Seth," Sophia insulted, backing away while making sure that Sonny remained behind her. "Therefore, I ain't giving you nothing."

"Those are the words of a scared little girl," Seth mocked, motioning for two of the strangers to go get a hold of Sophia and her friend. "You just don't have the money, don't you?" Seth asked in a very degrading tone. Sophia remained silent. "That's what I thought."

Sophia grunted in discomfort as she felt the bad guy force her arms behind her back. She turned around, her eyes widening as she saw that someone else had got a hold on Sonny too.

"Don't drag Sonny into this!" Sophia shouted, attempting to free herself. "He has nothing to do with this. This is between you and me Seth. Please, take me instead, not him."

"Oh, but he is part of this now," Seth said, walking up to Sophia. He glanced over at Sonny, who was scowling at him. "He knows too much, which means I'm taking you both."

Before Seth continued, he snapped once and the two friends were knocked out immediately by the people who were holding onto them. Seth softly chuckled as he watched the two go unconscious.

"Alright crew," Seth inhaled, rubbing his hands together. "Put them in the van."