My human heart,
only got a human heart. 
I wish it didn't run away. 

I wish it didn't fall apart.

🌊Lukah🌊

The fact that this house looks like a dreamy mansion doesn't contribute to the idea that this is not, in fact, a dream.

She's dreamy. The house is dreamy. The warm weather is dreamy. The garden is dreamy, especially during day time. And I'm- not sure what I am yet.

"Can I have the WI-FI password?' Raiden lifts his phone in the air, aiming it in different directions.

"I think he's in denial," Sunset whispers to me as she sits between my thighs, her back resting against my chest.

"Most probably. I think I still am in denial," I add, half-joking. My fingers graze up and down the side of her arm as we sit in a massive living room assembled in Darcy and Elizabeth's playroom. Mind you, the playroom is as big as the whole house, but it's underground.

Darcy smiles sadly at Raiden as he takes a seat on a velvet purple sofa that's next to the lifeless fireplace. I forgot how hot summer could be. Maybe because cold weather reigns in my story. Well, Sunset's story.

"I'm sorry, Raiden. That won't work here," Darcy explains.

"I think you still don't get it. You're in a different world, a different dimension," Hardin says.

"Oh, crap. This's a nightmare!" Huffing, he plummets down on our sofa, sitting next to Sunset and me.

Darcy frowns at him. "We'll get phones for everyone in due time but now..." he trails off as he looks towards the entrance to the playroom which I forgot to mention is a secret door.

A secret door that looks like a bookcase—yes, ironically—with real books inside. And it magically slides open when you press a code on an electronic pad that is stuck to the wall.

The bookcase slides sideways, revealing Tessa and Lizzie. Both bring trays with drinks and food for us. It's a sort of late lunch.

"You were saying?" Hardin talks to Darcy, taking a seat next to him.

"Oh, yes. Rules," Darcy states shortly.

"Rules?" Sunset and Raiden complain.

Meanwhile, Tessa and Lizzie set the trays on a massive, glass coffee table that stands among all of us.

"Okay. Let me elaborate," Hardin speaks, bringing our attention to him. "I think it's time we talk and set some things in the right order."

Sunset straightens up, detaching herself from me. "But I want to take Dean out first. It's been like a whole day since we got out."

"And I want Dawn, and Skyler out. Why should you decide who comes out first?" Raiden argues, mad.

I can't help thinking how I would be able to see my parents again if they aren't even in the book.

Sunset exhales sharply in reply. "Of course, I want them out too. But Dean deserves to be out more than any of us in this room."

I freeze at her comment, the words tangling in my throat. What does she mean?

"No," Darcy declares.

"First, rules. Then, Dean, Dawn, and all of the Book Boyfriends population. But first, we need rules." Hardin smashes his index finger against the palm of his left hand. Are his nails painted pink?

"Spit," Sunset demands, collapsing back against me. I slide her hair to her side, her neck inches from her ear lobe?

"You and Lukah will sleep in different rooms," Hardin claims, eyeing me carefully.

Sunset snorts, her brows creasing. "Like...Why would we-"

"For as long as your father is not here, I will protect you," Darcy proclaims like some knight in shiny armor.

"I second that motion," Raiden intervenes.

I chuckle. "That's fine by me, though it's not like she's in danger with me."

Snapping her head to me, her eyes shoot daggers at me.

"What?" I mouth, shrugging.

She can't expect us to sleep together. I mean I want to, damn I do. But we just started dating. I would never force her to sleep with me without first taking her on a formal date.

She turns back to Darcy and Hardin. "What if I get a panic attack? Or an anxiety attack? Or I-"

Oh, right. That. I'm so fucking blind sometimes.

"He and Raiden will be sleeping across from you. And we will also get Camille and Skyler out eventually. They can sleep with you," Darcy concludes.

"So. Wait." She stands up, her index flinger flickering to everyone in the room. "Darcy, you sleep with Elizabeth. Hardin, you sleep with Tessa. Raiden will share rooms with Lukah, and I'm supposed to sleep on my own?"

"When you put it that way..." Hardin's eyebrows arch high.

She grumbles loudly, stomping her right foot against the red carpeted floor.

"Tessa, can you sleep with me tonight? Just until we get Camille out," she demands.

"Yeah, su-"

"No, she can't," Hardin interjects.

"Oh, the big boy still gets nightmares?" she mocks Hardin.

"Sunset!" Tessa warns her.

Well, maybe Hardin and I have that in common.

"You all are so unfair to me. At Stardust, I never respected the Guild's rules." She collapses on the couch next to me.

"Sunset, darling," Elizabeth starts, "we are navigating uncharted territory. We have no rules for this situation which is even more dangerous because we know nothing about the risks or the lines we may be crossing."

Tessa kneels before her, clutching her knee. "But there is one thing we know: everything characters do in the real world affects the fictional world. So, if you dye your hair blue, if you hurt yourself, or if y-you experience too many changes in your body, like a pregnancy or having sex..."

"Okay, okay!" she hushes her.

I swallow hard, shuffling in my place. "You're all going too fast," I declare.

"It doesn't hurt to be careful, just in case." Raiden throws me a snide-side look.

"Everything you do will be reflected in one way or the other in the book. And when it does, they will realize you're out," Elizabeth sums up.

She throws her hands up in the air. "So what? I want change. I need to change the story just like you did."

"No! Because if you do, the Guild will notice," Hardin reminds her.

"Let them notice me because I'm damn mad at them," she fumes.

"They're dangerous. You don't know what you are saying," Darcy mutters and I want to say that the guy scares the hell out of me. Even more than Sunset's dad.

Sunset humphs loudly. "I'm not gonna be scared of some faceless institution that was so easily mocked before."

"Silence." Darcy fixates his eyes on his smartwatch.

"You will not-"

"There is an intruder at the garden," Darcy declares, silencing Sunset.

I gulp, pulling her closer to me.

Elizabeth stands up, approaching him. "That's impossible. The guards know they can't let anyone in without our knowledge."

"Should we hide in the wine cellar?" Hardin asks, scared.

Awareness of the situation crashes on my face as if I were the shore and the situation a five-meter wave crashing powerfully against me.

If a guy like Hardin—all tatted up, and with this bad boy vibe— is scared of these people, then they must be really, really dangerous.

Darcy looks around him. It's hard to see the guy without the suit and the cap--and this scared. "I need to access the cameras but I left my phone upstairs. I'm sure I have an iPad hidden here somewhere."

He starts opening and closing cabinets and drawers around him.

"Here!" He unlocks the thin device, striding to us.

"What if they are already inside the house?" Tessa asks.

Loud knocking is heard upstairs and we all startle, jumping to our feet.

"Maybe it's Peeta?" Sunset voices.

"Or maybe they just found us." Tessa hugs Hardin.

"People. If they were intruders they wouldn't be knocking," Elizabeth calms everyone down.

"Here it is. Oh, but the image is quite blurry, not good quality. I should return it and buy a new one." Darcy squints at the screen.

We all walk toward him, standing behind and trying to decipher who could it be.

My eyes adjust, pinching almost close, for clarity. Who could it be? He's wearing classic jeans, a v-neck sweater, glasses and he has like a little mark...or even a scar above his eyebrow.

"Is- s that Harry?" Sunset asks, frowning. "Harry Potter?"

I walk backward. Oh my God, this is really happening. So, okay, this is not a dream. I pinch myself just in case.

I'm still here.

"I don't get it. He broke in but now he knocks on the door," Darcy complains. "I'll just open it from here." Then, he speaks to Harry through the iPad. "Harry, we're downstairs. In the playroom."

"Is she here?" Harry questions, his voice electric through the app.

"Of course, I am!" Sunset claims. "And you have a lot to explain to me, Mr. Roomate!" she ends.

🔸🔸🔸

It took Harry five whole minutes to get to this room. That's how big this house is.

"Sunset? Is she really here?" I hear his voice muffled on the other side of the secret door.

It seems we all have issues believing that she is, in fact, real.

The minute the bookcase slides open and reveals him, I feel like I lose her.

"Sunset?" he calls.

Turning around, she locks eyes with him. They both freeze, as if they were double-checking that they're seeing each other for real. Then, she leaps, running to him.

Their arms wound around each other as they meet mid-way.

Her shoulder blades tremble, and I realize she's crying. So, I walk closer but his words glue me to the floor.

"I'm so sorry," Harry whispers to her, his grip tightening around her.

I gulp, feeling like I missed a big chunk of information.

Why would Harry Potter be apologizing to Sunset? To my girlfriend? Maybe we do need to sleep in the same room. Geez, Lukah, possessiveness never helped with the other girls.

"Harry," Darcy speaks, "I thought you said your magic was disabled in the reality realm. How did you get in? And I'm not talking about the door I opened for you."

Harry clears his throat, detaching himself from Sunset.

"I didn't think deceiving your guards was magic. Also, why doesn't anyone check their phones? I've been calling you guys since the minute I found out," he defends.

Sunset sobs and laughs at once. "I'm so mad at you, so mad."

"I'm just happy that the Guild didn't find you, and that you really are here." He throws her a lopsided smile.

They all approach Harry, greeting him. Raiden and I share an uncomfortable look as we see them all hugging each other as if they were lifetime friends that hadn't seen each other in months.

I wonder why all these characters and my girl love each other so much. We aren't there yet—I think.

Awkwardly, we join them. Actually, we just stand there, trying to understand and be part of something we're clearly not.

When the group hug loosens up, Sunset is crying again.

"Please, don't be sad," Harry begs, his back to me. They're all standing in a circle, while we stay outside it.

"I'm not sad now. I'm damn mad at you and Dean!" She pokes his shoulder. "I was part of the team. As a matter of fact, I created the team. How dare you leave me out?!" she barks, glaring at him.

"I- I, it was for the best. Trust me. Dean made me promise not to involve-"

"Dean?" I scoff. "What does he even have to do with all of this?" I laugh and Raiden joins me.

They all turn their eyes to us, and silence falls heavily in the room, killing our laughter.

After an eternity of twenty whole seconds, Harry is the first to speak.

"You must be Lukah." He stretches his hand to me, the impenetrable silence breaking.

"Your brother and I were, I mean, are really good friends," he informes me as I shake his hand with disbelief.

Oh, yeah. I remember that phase in Dean's life. I think he even got a tattoo with one of the spells. He was lucky he could read whatever he wanted, I was too busy with school to do that.

"That makes a lot of sense—that he's your friend. What doesn't make sense to me is how he got involved in all of this. Or how he has anything to do with you, Sunset." I cross my arms, facing Sunset.

Silence returns. Everyone in the room flickers their eyes between Sunset and I as if they were trying to understand something.

Sunset clears her throat. "I- you see, H- He and I hang around sometimes..." She trails off, her eyes avoiding mine.

I frown, confused. "When exactly?" I laugh shortly, entertained. A girl as sweet and innocent as Sunset could never be with someone like my brother.

"Yeah, like how? When? Why?" Raiden is panicking. I just know that better than anyone.

"Can we focus on what matters here?" She asks, flustered.

I see what you're doing, baby.

"Harry, you've to cast a spell and free us for good. There has to be one that you can do," she urges him.

"I'm so sorry, Sun," Harry explains. "There's no magic in this world. Here, everything is harder. There're some things we can do...but not with just words like before. We're still experimenting with what is possible and what isn't."

She snorts. "You are kidding, right?"

Silence fills the room again.

"The good thing is that you're free while we keep the book open," he adds.

"Mmm. No. That's not gonna be enough for-"

"There's not much that we can do."

"How did you and Dean manage to free the others?" she asks, mad. "I want to do the same."

"Wait a second. He did what?" Raiden is obsessed. I am too, I just haven't been able to voice my feelings yet.

Tessa, Hardin, and Elizbeth try to explain all at once, but nothing clear stands out from all of their voices.

"Quiet," Harry exclaims, silencing all of us. "Sunset, I need to talk to you."

We all wait for him to talk, but he just stares at her and I gulp as I realise what he means.

"Alone," he adds.

Yeah, I want her to sleep with me. I'll have to find a way.

_______________________________________

Hiii!! I'm so sorry for the late update. Life got kind of crazy.

This chapter's shout out is for yet another of my favorite people:

adorablefanatic

This one had to be yours because of Harry (Potter).

So, anyway. GO STALK HER PROFILE AND ALL THE AWESOME CONTENT SHE OFFERS. She's such an amazing person and author. I promise you, you won't regret it.

Some of my favorites books from her are:
➡ Epic Memes
➡ Deep thinking state of mind
➡One Direction forever pics and memes
➡Tales from the heart. (Short stories)

Love you all for being here for me. I hope all of this made sense to you, and if it didn't, please do ask!

Love,
Nise