The steamy mug of hot chocolate warmed Giovanni's hand, defrosting his stiff fingers. He had rushed from his dorm room to the cafe per Jaime's request, even though the cold air bit his skin and made him tremble. It didn't bother him that his roommate wanted him out to be with his boyfriend, because now he had an excuse to meet Alice at The Bookmark, where eternal summer lived and the smell of coffee and books filled his nostrils.

"Thank you, Nicole," he told the waitress when she brought him a stack of pancakes to go along with his hot chocolate. She flashed him a sweet smile that came easier than it usually did. There was something different about her, as if life had just got brighter. "I love your new haircut. It really suits you."

"Oh, thank you, honey. Can I help you with anything else?"

He shook his head, wondering why she had cut her hair like her sister's. There had been no time for him to ask her about the girl who came into the cafe a couple days before, though it was obvious it was her twin sister. He wasn't a close friend, maybe not even considered an acquaintance, but he still wanted to ask about it.

"I'm waiting for Alice... I don't know if she saw my text, though."

"Don't worry, she'll show up. I wouldn't dare leave a sweetheart like you waiting."

His cheeks turned bright red, and he averted his eyes to the mug. It got too hot, too fast. Maybe the AC was broken. Or maybe his thick jacket was only meant to be worn outside. It must've been that, it must've been the jacket.

"Y-You're being really nice today. D-Did something happen?" he stuttered, peeling his jacket off and folding it on his lap.

"Nope," she said, popping the P. "Can't I just be happy because my friend is here?"

Friend. That he wasn't expecting. There was no way Nicole, the girl Alice always portrayed as a bitter person who only cared about herself, would call a friend to a person he only talked to twice. It made little sense that she would act like that, much less with him.

"I didn't know we were friends..."

"We're not? We should be!" She slid into the chair in front of him, relying on Jenny to take care of any clients missing. "Why are we not?"

He blinked, looking around. Maybe it was all a prank. His cousins were always pranking him by telling him awful lies and recording it from a hiding spot.

"Because... umm, we don't hang out? We don't know each other?"

"We should. You tell me something about you, and I tell you something about me."

Giovanni took a long sip of his mug, reassessing the situation. He shouldn't be doubting her so much. She wouldn't gain anything from fooling him. But the image Alice had painted of her in his mind surfaced and he couldn't believe she was trying to get to know him.

"Something about me... I have a parakeet named Pavarotti at home. I wanted to bring him with me, but they don't allow animals in the dorm rooms."

"That's so cute," the girl beamed before sulking in, supporting her head in her hands. "I always wanted a pet, but dad never let us. My sisters and I once kidnapped our neighbour's cat when we were 9. His name was Garfield but he was white so we dyed his fur orange. Or tried at least. Mum caught us."

"You what?" he asked, not sure how to respond to that.

"Yeah... I didn't want to. It was Laura's idea. She can be very persuasive."

He stared at her, and she stared at him. After what felt like hours, he started laughing. His brain played with the image of a child Nicole and sisters trying to paint the poor cat. It was something he would never forget.

"I can't believe you stole a cat!"

The waitress was now laughing with him, making me more at ease. He felt more relaxed, and staying there chatting with her no longer seemed so bad. Maybe she actually wanted to be friends and maybe they could be good friends. If only she was this cheerful all the time.

"What did your neighbour do when she found out?" he asked, ignoring the bell announcing an incoming.

The girl's eyes were focused on the person coming their way, answering with a distant voice. "She never even noticed."

Giovanni followed her gaze to the pink-haired girl now standing beside their table. Her mascara was smudged down her face and her eyes were red and puffy, which not only startled him, it made him choke on his drink. He'd never seen Alice crying. She'd always cover her sadness with a quick smile and laugh it off.

"Ali-" he started, but he didn't know what to say.

She sat next to them, lip quivering. "Isabel kicked me out."

The waitress, feeling like she wasn't needed, slipped off her chair and went back to the counter without the others noticing. Giovanni's eyes were firmly glued on Alice, so much that everything else was just background noise. Even the girl was too focused on her own demise to care.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said!" she said, voice breaking. "I got home from uni and my bags were outside. She even left a freaking note saying I better go beg dad for his love again. I bet it was Luis who told her to do it."

"She can't do that!" he complained.

"She can and she did. I left my stuff at Nicole's but they won't let me stay there. Carol almost kicked me out because she has a date with Lucas tonight. Can I stay with you?"

He opened his mouth to reply, but closed it immediately. With him? With him where? There was a rule against girl sleeping in the boy's dorm rooms. Plus, she'd have to sleep on the floor, there were only two beds. Jaime would not be happy about it.

"Have you tried calling your dad?"

"My dad-" she started, gesticulating around, but her eyes spotted the untouched pancakes right next to his mug. "Can I have one?"

He frowned but pushed the plate to her. If food was a more pressing matter than being homeless, it probably hadn't sunk in her brain that she had no place to go. If it were him, he'd be panicking by now.

"Thank you. I have eaten nothing since we had lunch. I'm starving."

He nodded and waited for her to continue. However, her attention had shifted to the food.

"Ali? About your dad?"

"Mmm, right, yeah. I've called a bunch of times but he doesn't answer. No surprise there. He wants to reconnect and shit but he doesn't really mean it. I've been trying to reach him since that dinner to talk about the apartment but he just disappeared off the map. So pissing Isabel off was for nothing and now I got kicked out for pulling shady shit that brought me nowhere," she told him between bites, an expression of pure bliss at the food. "So, what did we learn today? Always pull shady shit behind people's back 'cause you don't know if they won't throw your possessions out of the door."

"I... was not planning on pulling anything at all, but thanks for letting me know."

Alice nodded at him, proud to teaching him something, and kept stuffing her face. She called Jenny to bring her more pancakes and a glass of lemonade. Her leg trembled under the table as she waited for the food to come and ignored Giovanni's attempt to talk about it.

"Ali, you seem very nervous."

"Mhm mhm."

"Are you feeling okay?"

Her neck was twisted towards the kitchen door and she only looked back to the table when Jenny brought her order. She offered her a bunch of toppings the other waitress hadn't known to offer to Giovanni. Alice took caramel, being allergic to strawberries.

"What about Andrew?"

That name made her head snap up, her wary eyes on him. There had been a time when his name alone could make her smile, and then it just made her nervous, twisted her insides with uncertainty. She liked to think they were in good terms now. They greeted each other in the hallways, sometimes she could make him stop and chat a very awkward conversation, but that was it. A fake friendship if she could call it that.

"What about him?"

Giovanni shrugged. "He lives in the Whittmore mansion, doesn't he? I've never been inside but it looks huge. It must have a ton of spare bedrooms and he wouldn't even notice you were there."

He hadn't been there, but she had and knew he was right. She'd only been on the ground floor and she saw no bedrooms, but if she wandered up the stairs, there would be a row of bedrooms. There was a lot of the house she knew nothing about, but she had only been there twice and the first one had lasted ten minutes.

"Yeah, it must. What about it?"

"I know you have a... complicated past... with him," he started, "but maybe you could ask to stay with him for a few days?"

She blinked, looking at him as if he was mad. "Why would I do that?"

"Because you have nowhere to go. You just said it!"

"Of course I do! I can go to... to..." She paused, thinking about what friends she had left. "I can ask Miguel and- No, he'll never let me stay there when he is trying to take Lúcia to bed."

"So you only have Andrew."

"I have Nicole! I can't sleep there tonight but I can when Lucas in not there. If you let me sleep with you to-"

"That's not happening, Ali. You should call Andrew."

She sighed, "Okay, fine. I'll call him."

He nodded and left her staring at her contact list as he approached the counter to pay his bill so he could leave the place. Jenny was the one to come to him, eyeing the other waiter to be sure she didn't trip and fall on the drinks in her arms.

"Thank you for coming to The Bookmark. We hope to see you again."

The sound of glass shattering made them both look at the blonde girl laying on the floor. She sat up, her shirt wet with the beverages, and stared at the mess of broken cups where she had been laying on. She didn't seem scared or startled, but confused.

"Rita!" Jenny complained. "I told Nicole this was a bad idea."

Giovanni looked at the waitress again, opening his mouth to say something, but decided against it. He felt dumb for not knowing better. It was obvious Nicole wasn't so cheerful. He should've known because of the haircut, but he just thought it was Nicole who wanted a change, not that they would swap places.

"I'm sorry, Jennifer. I didn't see the rug."

Jenny helped Rita get up and started cleaning the mess while the girl excused herself to the staff's room. Meanwhile, Alice joined Giovanni, oblivious to the mess, and asked him to accompany her to Carolina's house to get her stuff.

🖤🤍🖤

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Nicole asked, tightening a blanket around her shoulders. Andrew's house was freezing, and he hadn't found the command to turn on the heating yet.

"It's just for a couple days," he answered, leaning against the wall next to her, looking at Alice who was searching the room, opening doors and drawers to figure out how she was going to fit her belongings there.

They had been throwing darts when he got her call. The winner of the game was supposed to decide what they would do that afternoon, but then Alice called and they ended up helping her bring her stuff to his house.

"That's not what I asked."

"I'm not the happiest, but it doesn't really bother me that much."

She nodded, peering in jealousy at the royal treatment Alice was getting and she wasn't. The room alone was three sizes hers and the cream coloured walls flawless compared to the ripped wallpaper on hers. The wardrobe was enormous, taking the entire wall, and next to it an immense window led to a balcony with a view to the pool. She was more interested in the bed, though. A kind sized fluffy bed.

"You should make her look for the heating command," Nicole said. "She needs to contribute somehow."

Andrew ran his hand through his hair, contemplating the mess that could unfold at any second. He didn't dislike Alice, but now he saw her as a ticking bomb ready to throw a tantrum at any moment. Last time had been enough for him, but now not only was he facing an imminent argument with Alice, he could be about to meet Nicole's possessive side.

"Well, you guys have this all under control so I'm going," said Nicole.

"Do you want me to take you home? It's late."

"I'm not going home. Carol kicked me out to have a date with Lucas so I'm heading to Miguel's."

He frowned. "Why don't you stay here?"

She shook her head, looking away from him. The only thing she wanted was to lie on that white mattress and fall asleep. Even without proper heating.

"We're taking it slow. Remember?"

"I'm not asking you to sleep with me. You can stay in the same bedroom you slept in after the masquerade party."

She snorted, raising her brow at him. "The one right next to yours? I don't think so."

"You can stay in any other bedroom." He shrugged. "I don't see what your issue is. You were the one that tried to kiss me downstairs. If that's taking it slow for you, sleeping in my guest room isn't such a big deal."

"I did not!" she protested.

A small smirk played on his lips. "You can pretend all you want but we both know what would've happened if Alice hadn't called."

She bit her cheek, crossing her arms over her chest. "That's irrelevant."

"If you want me to take you to his place, I will. But I would like you to stay," said Andrew. "And not just because I want you here, I also don't want to be alone with her." He nodded his head towards Alice and she followed the motion with her eyes.

Deep down, she didn't want them alone either. She knew he didn't have romantic feelings for Alice, but a voice in her head whispered that it was only a matter of time until Andrew got sick of her too. It told her it was all her fault the last time and it would be her fault again if he lost interest.

"I'll stay," she said, staring at the dusty floor. She'd noticed the farther into the house she got, the farther away from the rooms Andrew used, the more abandoned the place looked. And Alice's bedroom, being in a whole different section than Andrew's, had clearly been closed for a very long time. "But I won't sleep with you."

"Your wish is my command."

Alice showed up at the door with a beaming smile, clapping her hands together as if the work was done. "What's for dinner?"

They ordered a pizza, since no one felt like cooking, and sat at the dinner table. The silence was suffocating, so Alice kept trying to start conversations but each try only made them feel more uneasy. It was when she inquired why Nicole was there that she finally quieted. No one had told her they were seeing each other, and though she pretended it didn't affect her, it hurt her that her friend hadn't told her.

She went to her room right after dinner, under the excuse that she still had a lot to unpack. Andrew didn't like that she was making herself so at home when she was supposed to stay there only for a few days. Yet, he kept quiet. There was no need to start an argument so soon.

"Is it wrong that I want to kick her out already?" he asked, laying on the sofa.

Nicole sat on the other end, looking down at him. "So you're not okay with it."

"Call me a pessimist but I think she's planning on extending her stay. If she does, I'll kick her out after a week."

"Oh, come on, this place is huge, you won't even notice her." The words came out of her mouth on their own, protecting Alice from being left alone for the third time, but she wanted her out too. The idea of them living together made her skin itchy.

"If she has another outburst, she's out."

She rolled her eyes and got up. "I'm going to ask Alice for a pyjama and I'll go the bedroom next to yours. Goodnight."

He sat up, startled at those words. "Are you mad?"

"No."

"Then why are you leaving already?"

"Because I got work early tomorrow. I'm covering for Lúcia."

"It's just that?" he asked, and she nodded. "Give me a kiss then."

Nicole rolled her eyes and showed him her middle finger, making him laugh. He sank back in the sofa and she went upstairs, containing the smile. She appreciated he went easy on her, but it didn't stop her from feeling the pressure to be what he wanted her to be. Or at least what her brain told her he wanted.

"Hey, Ali." She peeked at her room, finding the girl texting someone. "Can you borrow me a pyjama?"

The girl snorted. "Why don't you sleep on your dear Witty's t-shirt? Isn't that what girlfriends do?"

She sat at the end of her bed, holding her free hand. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. You would be the first to know when it got serious. I'm not his girlfriend, though."

"I know. You're no one's girlfriend. He's just your new plaything."

She shook her head. "No, Ali. I like him. I really do. We're getting to know each other, but it's a genuine relationship. Or will be. I'm sorry that it hurts you."

Alice gritted her teeth, getting up and going through the clothes she kept in the wardrobe. She threw a pyjama at Nicole and told her to leave. She wanted to be alone and Nicole understood it, so she left her digesting the information.

The room where she slept in last time was the same. Everything white and elegant. She threw her clothes in a chair and got dressed. Alice's clothes fit her almost perfectly since she always bought larger sizes than she needed.

Nicole crawled into the bed, loosing herself in the comfort of the sheets. It was still cold, but she made her own cocoon and hid inside it. She let the darkness welcome her, and she was asleep in no time. As she dozed off, her demons rose to torment her.

Three hours went by. Three hours of waking up trembling in fear and trying to sleep again. She got out of the bed, shivering in the icy air outside the sheets, and made her way downstairs to get a glass of water. Her hands trembled when she opened the cupboard and pulled a glass out.

Her eyes closed, and she breathed in and out a few times, trying to push away the image of her nightmare. She only dreamed of things that hadn't happened now. Maybe her conscience had run out of memories to replay and just mixed them into new ones.

"You couldn't sleep?"

The voice startle her and she dropped the cup on the sink, breaking it. She brought her hand to her heart and turned to look at him.

"Are you fucking crazy?" she asked.

Andrew joined her by the counter, looking at the mess in the sink. He grabbed the pieces and threw them in the rubbish, getting her another glass and filling it with water. He handed it to her, noticing then her hands shaking.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I just... I wanted another blanket."

"There must be some in the closet. I'll help you look."

She kept nodding, holding the glass against her lips and staring at the floor. Now she regretted not going to Miguel's. He would've made her watch movies with him all night if he had too. He'd tell her stupid stories or talk to her about the most random subjects. Sometimes, she would lay next to him in bed and he'd hold her hand, so she remembered she wasn't alone.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, pulling her close. She let him do so, and melted into the embrace. He smelled like something sweet, but she couldn't place it.

"I'm just cold," she breathed out. "Have you not gone to sleep yet?"

"I was watching a movie and lost track of time."

She nodded again and then looked up at him. "Can I sleep with you?"

He frowned and said, "I thought you didn't want to."

"I changed my mind. It's too cold to be alone."

Nicole put the glass in the sink and grabbed his hand, pulling him upstairs. He offered no resistance, although he knew she was lying. Whenever she wanted to talk, they would talk.

She eased herself into the dark sheets of his bed and sat there, looking at him as he threw his pants to the floor.

"You're such a stereotypical boy."

He frowned at her. "I'm a man. What does that mean?"

"It means I'm not surprised you are this messy."

He rolled her eyes and threw his shirt next to the jeans. "I could also make a mess on the bed but you don't let me."

She looked away. He laid next to her, drawing her closer. He could still feel her shivering against him, but it eventually came to a stop.

"Thank you," she muttered.

"For not knowing how to turn on the heating? Don't worry, it's a win-win situation," he mocked.

"I'm being serious, you idiot."

"You're welcome. I don't know what for, but yeah."

She pushed him away, looking at him in the eye. "You're making me want to punch you."

"I'd prefer if you wanted to kiss me instead."

She stared at the ceiling, avoiding his gaze. "I do. I just don't know if I should."

He blinked. "You should. You definitely should. I cannot stress enough how much you should."

Nicole sighed, locking eyes with him. "Can you stop joking for a second?"

"Look, I know you got a ton of shit in your head right now, but whatever is haunting you can't stop you from living your life. Do whatever you want to do, don't overthink it."

"That's not good advice."

"I don't care, I want a kiss." He pouted.

She couldn't help the smile taking control of her lips. "For fuck's sake I'm dating a child."

"We're not dating."

"Maybe we should," she said. "Come here."

He got closer. Her hand ran down his face, and she pressed her lips against his. She softened into the kiss, letting him take control. It had been a while since she kissed someone like that. It was always purely physical. She felt nothing. But she liked Andrew, and it made her blush and feel this warmth in her chest.

"Watch your hands," she complained, feeling him wander a little too far.

He laughed against her neck, making her skin prickle.

"You can't blame a guy for trying."

"I can and I am."

"Sorry," he said, cuddling against her.

"You're lucky you're cute."

My apologies, this chapter isn't edited. I'll come back here sometime to do it.

I literally just finished writing this, I'm still fighting my block. Once again, I cannot promess a chap next monday cuz I ran out of the prewritten ones I had. This is all real time, fellow readers, and I am not good with real time updating.

I wanted to have this wraped up by the beginning of September. Is it tho? No! F me

I hope you liked this chapter. Ali is being bitchy again bt whatever. I hate writing abt her, but next chapter is all about your favourite surviver! Also we've gotten to the part of the story that I haven't changed so... brace yourselves for pure mindless chaos and flying lamps (but fr do we want flying lamps or no?)

Real question. Do we want Miguel x Jenny or Miguel x Lúcia? It's up to you and if I get no answers it's the same as it was originally.

Thank you for reading ;)