𝓣𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓷𝓸 𝓪𝓬𝓬𝓲𝓭𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓵 𝓶𝓮𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼 𝓫𝓮𝓽𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓷 𝓼𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓼.

I pat on Riona's shoulder for what feels like the tenth time in the last hour. She flinches a little but slowly lifts her head, looking at me with half-closed eyes as I bite my lip. Her droopy blue eyes land on the thick books on my lap, and the view elicits a groan from her as she remembers we're still studying in a cafe.

"I better get some caffeine in my system if I want to get this done," she mutters, placing her books aside and slamming her MacBook shut.

"Can you get me one of those?" I ask Riona as I eye one of the large chocolate cupcakes on her plate. My mouth salivates as I think of the chocolate treat melting inside my mouth, and I lick my lips at the thought.

"Yeah, sure, anything else?" She asks as she stands up.

"Nope, that's all," I say as she rummages through her bag.

I eye her as she curses. She can't find her wallet. I quickly take out a few dollar bills and hand them over to her, "Here, take this," I say.

"What? No, I'm not taking it. I'm sure it's in my bag somewhere. You don't need to pay for it," she says, quickly pushing my hand away. She nearly empties her bag, but I stop her.

"Just take it," I say, shoving the notes into her hand, "Now go, there are only two cupcakes left and I really want those." Pushing her towards the line she finally relents, walking over to the cashier.

She reaches the line and I see her face scrunch up as a group of loud, probably high school boys, enter the cafe. I can see her trying to zone out and not pay much attention to noise, but I can tell that it is getting to her head. She hastily places the order, and for some bizarre reason, if I focus hard enough I can hear what she says to the barista. My eyes widen, but I kept quiet and turn my attention back to my book.

She speed walks over to where I sit and hands me my bag of cupcakes. "Can we leave? I have to get to class in like, fifteen minutes, and this noise just makes me want to leave earlier. My head is pounding, literally, they're so fucking loud," she whispers.

I nod mutely and I close all my books, gathering them in my arms. Some I just stuff into my bag as I hoist it up over my shoulder and look at Riona, who's already staring back at me, ready with her stuff packed. I motion for her to start walking, which she does without any hesitation, but not before sending one last glare to the loud boys sitting from across us. I shake my head with a small smile on my face at her antics.

"I'll give you the money back when we get home, okay?" She asks as we step out of the cafe. The usual chatter and noise of the city surrounds us as we walk back over to the main building. My destination is the parking lot, where Jade will pick me up to drop me at Riona's house, while Riona walks to her own class.

The never-ending honking and chatter of Manhattan continues as we walk down the road, and the whistling of the chilly wind adds to the noise. I walk beside Riona and give her an 'are you kidding me' look.

"No, I'm not taking it back," I say, hoping she hears me over all the noise.

"Gahh, this is all Albert's fault," she utters, picking at the imaginary lint on her cream coloured coat.

"What happened?" I ask softly. These sibling fights really seem to be getting to her, and even though Albert always apologizes in the end, she always takes things too seriously. She's sensitive. A little emotional too.

"You know, he's just weird," she says, looking into the distance. I nod, looking down at the paved footpath as we continue to walk to the University. After a couple of moments I realize that I can't hear her talking. I look around, and my eyes move over different people before landing on the familiar petite figure.

I walk back to her and my eyes meet hers, widening as I look at her. This... what is this? The sight of her shocks me to my core, and I manage to block out the noise around me as I stare at her. She isn't looking at anybody, she's only peering into the distance. She's frozen, and her eyes, they're pitch black, pupils and all.

The sight transports me back to the day I met Albert. His eyes were darkening too. And now Riona's are. I overcome some of my shock and finally move, walking over to her and trying not to draw attention from anybody. If there's something really happening, I don't think she would like for anybody to see her like this.

With trembling hands I hold her shoulder and shake her. Not wanting to make a scene, I try to be as discreet about it as possible. She slowly comes back to reality as her eye color transitions from pitch black back to her normal bright blue eyes.

"Riona?" I shake her, "Riona, your eyes?" I ask in disbelief as she tries to cover up her scared expression.

"Oh sorry, what?" she asks, probably trying to cover it by acting dumb.

"Your eyes? They turned pitch black, what's happening?" I ask, concern filling me as we stand in the middle of the footpath.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it," she says as she walks ahead into the crowd. I jog after her, trying to catch up. As soon as I catch up to her all my questions fill my mind again, and I think of Albert and how weird he acted when he first met me.

"No, tell me what's happening. Is it some sort of eye condition?" I ask again, a concerned expression taking over my face.

"I said it's fine, Ari." She tries walking ahead, again, as if she's trying to avoid me. Maybe she is. But right now, I don't care about anything except helping her. Maybe I'm trying to repay her kindness, or maybe I'm just being plain intrusive.

"No, it's not. Tell me, what is it?" I ask, "I saw it happen with Albert too. Is it something that runs in the family? It's really scary and I'm concerned. Are you both okay?" I ask.

"Arabella, I said I'm fine, and I would like you to leave the topic there! I don't appreciate you poking your nose in my business. I get that you're concerned, but there is always a limit," she snaps. Oh. When she looks away from me I realize how much I pushed her. The girl who never raises her voice just snapped at me. Why? Because I couldn't keep my mouth shut and my nose out of her family problems? Maybe. Just because she allowed me to live with her, doesn't mean I'm her family, or that she'll tell me everything about her family. I was still a friend, and whatever she was hiding was a family secret that I had no right to know.

"I- uh, I'm sorry. I just hope you're okay," I mumble weakly, but she's already walked away. I watch her figure blend and disappear into the bustling crowds of the city.

I shake my head, trying to reassure myself that it was okay if she didn't want to share anything with me. Just because she knew about my past doesn't mean I'm entitled to know hers.

A few minutes later, I'm standing outside of Jade's lecture hall. I lean against the white walls, watching the crowd of students file out from the halls. Finally, I spot Jade's tall figure among the noisy crowd. I wait patiently as he bids his friends goodbye. He looks around and I give a lazy wave, calling him over. His green eyes fall on me and he walks over, dodging the surrounding people.

"Hey," I say, staring at him once he reaches me.

"Hi," he says, "how have your classes been today? And the quiz you had, how did it go?"

"Um. Today was okay, I guess," I say, "The quiz went fine, I had taken notes from Riona for the days I missed. A little off, but I think I'll pass."

"Ohh okay, so you aced the test? Because, let's be honest, every time you say that you don't think you did good enough- for any test- you've topped it. Every time. So I'm going to just assume that whenever you say that you didn't do well, it means that you aced the test," he explains, smiling at me.

"That's honestly the worst reasoning I've heard," I say, rolling my eyes as we walk over to the parking lot. My shoe-clad feet land on the hard pavement, and a moment later I hear a groan to my left. I look at Jade, who's face palming himself. I raise an eyebrow at him in question.

"I gave my MacBook to my friend. I think I forgot to get it back, I don't have it with me right now," he mutters, and I can't help but snicker.

"Wow. I'm not surprised, you are kind of dumb and forgetful," I mutter.

"I'm serious, Ari," he says, stopping and fully turning to face me.

"The look on your face says otherwise," I muse, eyeing his bright green eyes, which are shining with mischief. His lips can't stop twitching, and he finally gives up, his lips curling into a smirk.

We continue walking before he speaks up again, "You know, I'm a jolly person. Really approachable and amazing."

"Why did the last part sound like a joke?" I ask, tapping my chin in question as we continue to walk, "Oh wait, it must be a joke, considering you're not a really jolly person. Silly me, believing that it was real," I say and walk ahead, leaving him dumbfounded.

"Don't forget I'm the one who's dropping you off," he shouts from behind me. I stop near his black car and turn on my heels to face him.

"Oh yes, I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I hope you can forgive the great blunder I caused. I hope you'll forgive this silly little girl," I say, bowing a little and trying to keep myself from laughing.

"Okay, now you're just making me uncomfortable," he says, unlocking his car. I slide into the passenger seat as he steps into the driver's seat. The stiff leather of the cold seat against my skin makes me scrunch up my nose and I look at him accusingly.

"Wow, you treat 'em like royalty and they call you weird," I mutter. Slowly, I pull at the seatbelt, fastening it against me and resting my back against the seat to look forward as he puts the car in reverse, driving out of the parking lot and into the Manhattan traffic.

"Well, if you treat me like royalty in a parking lot full of students, then it's weird," he says.

"The parking area was empty. What is wrong with you?" I ask, my voice raising an octave as I look at him, exasperated.

"I- you were weird," he says, squinting as he looks ahead, out of the thick glass of the windshield. When I open my mouth to say something, he speaks again, "Actually no, you are weird,"

"I'm offended," I say, raising my eyebrows.

"I don't give a rat's ass," he says, stopping the car, "Now, get out, I need to go study for a quiz tonight and you're taking up my time with that slow speed."

"Thank you, though," I say, "And remember, she has classes every Tuesday, so you have to come pick me up every time."

"Yeah, yeah," he says, dismissing me, "I'd love to be your chauffeur."

"Thank you again," I say, stepping out of the car.

"Of course, no problem," he says, and I close the door softly.

I walk inside the luxurious building, the sole of my shoes tapping against the marble floors as I make my way to the private elevator at the end of the corridor. I normally would have gone to the public one, but I've learned the hard way that it doesn't exactly go to the top floor, and Riona's house is on the top floor. I croon a little song as I stand in the clean elevator, and I don't realize until I've reached my desired floor that I've been singing an old song, a folk one at that. And surprisingly, I don't know what song I've been singing.

I let it slide, unlocking the black door to Riona's penthouse. I already have a lot of things on my mind. Still singing the song I step inside and close the door behind me. Switching on the lights I shrug my coat off, getting ready to relax a bit.

"Hey," Albert's voice floats towards me, and I whirl around as soon as I hear it.

"Oh, hello," I greet him, my eyes wide in surprise as I finish hanging my coat on a hook, "How are you?"

"I'm fine," he says, but his short answer makes me scrunch up my eyebrows. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Go on," I say, fiddling with the straps of my bag.

"Um, are you free this Saturday?" He asks, not really looking at me in the eye. My eyes zero in on the sweat on his forehead and his tattooed hands, which are fiddling with the ends of his coat.

"I am," I say, dropping the keys I had with me on the glass table.

"So, I uh- I was thinking if maybe... we can go out?" he asks, "It's totally fine if you don't want to-"

"Are you asking me out?" I ask, a small smile blossoming on my lips. He nods cautiously. "Like on a date?" He nods again. "I mean, are you sure? Have you really thought this through?" I ask, raising my eyebrows at him.

"Are we really going down that road again?" he asks, tilting his head a little.

"I mean, I just wanted to make sure," I say, and before I can ramble, he cuts me off.

"Yes, Ari, I have thought this through," he says, "So, will you go on a date with me this Friday?" he asks. The way that he looks at me makes my heart flutter, and despite the risks that come with it, the thought of going out with him does make me happy.

"Yes," I reply, with a large smile I'm unable to hide.

"Thank you," he replies, beaming at me. He opens his mouth to say something again but the opening of the door cuts him off. A dishevelled Riona comes into our view and Albert gives me a curt nod, all emotions draining from his face as he takes in Riona's current state.

"Ari, I want to talk to you," Riona heaves.

"Come to my room after you're done, we need to have a talk," Albert says, eyeing her before walking out of the room.

"I want to say something as well," I say, "But didn't you have a class? What are you doing here?"

"The professor had some emergency, so he left. Now, I'm here," she says, "But that's not what's important. What were you saying?"

"Nothing. You can go first," I say.

"No, no, you go first," she says, "And don't argue with me on this."

"I- I just wanted to apologize. I didn't realize that I was intruding until you snapped. I really just wanted to be of help, I never intended to overstep my boundaries and make you uncomfortable," I say.

"Oh my God, Ari. You don't have to apologize. I wanted to say sorry for snapping at you like that. I don't know what came over me. I just-" she pauses, and her voice drops to a low whisper, "I just don't think I'm ready to share what's going on."

"No, no. Don't say sorry, it's fine. You can tell me whenever you feel comfortable. Don't force yourself, okay? Just know that I'm here whenever you want to talk," I whisper.

"Thank you," she says, squeezing my hands, "Now, I better get in there before he annoys the heck out of all the people here," she says and I nod, cracking a smile.

So, I'm not going to go too long with the author's note but yeah, this was the chapter. I'm so excited for the next chapter so I'm just gonna go write it!

If you are as excited as I am for their date then please vote and comment and leave feedback. And follow me if you feel like it!

Stay safe and see you with the next chapter!

Edited by Sarah Baker!