The next two days were a blur.

With the decision in mind that she was going to be at the charity event, Alaska's number one agenda was to attempt to convince Nadia to come as well. She tried to convince her on the phone that night she discovered she'd be going, she tried to convince her the next day at school, she tried to convince her the whole of the Saturday, but Nadia's excuse remained the same. She just could not make it because it was a school night, so her parents wouldn't let her attend, she had to work anyway, and she'd have nothing to wear - which Alaska quickly disputed because she insisted that Nadia would always have an outfit in her closet if she ever needed it. However, Alaska also accepted that Nadia simply would not be able to make the event, so she'd just have to survive it without her. Sunday had rolled around, the day of the event, and Nadia decided to video call the blonde in an attempt to 'be with her' even though she couldn't do so physically, to help her get ready.

"What time are you meant to be there? Doesn't the thing start at 7pm? It's already 6:12."

"Si, pero, for these type of events, no on e is ever actually early. We'll probably go around 8." Alaska replied, straightening her barely shoulder length hair.

"Do you know what you're going to be wearing?" Nadia asked, taking a bite out of her crisps from her end.

The blonde winced at the thought of what she was going to be wearing.

"Yeah but it's so over the top and I haven't worn something like this in a while so it's definitely going to be strange." The dress she had picked was one of many that she had in her wardrobe for times like these. When she was back in the social scene actively, much time was spent shopping for that kind of attire and she had to admit that this was due to Lu and her wild shopping habits.

"What's the colour? I need more details!"

"Rojo." Was all the blonde said with a small smirk knowing she just wanted to keep Nadia on edge just the slightest bit.

"I hate you."

"I hate you more." She laughed.

"By the way, I have so much to tell you." Nadia sighed, remembering the events from earlier that evening.

"Qué pasa?" Alaska paused momentarily to ask.

"My father found out about me not wearing my hijab in school."

Alaska, with wide eyes, turned to the screen with a frown. It was only a matter of time until Nadia's father discovered the truth and they were both regretting it, primarily because Mr. Shanaa was a very 'black and white' perspective man. Alaska felt herself becoming slightly annoyed with Ander's mother whenever she thought about how Nadia had basically been stripped off her right to wear her hijab that day when Ander's mother had told her she no longer could.

"How did he take it? I can imagine that it wasn't a good reaction."

"Well he was upset. He was really really upset, but I explained to him that being in Las Encinas is almost like a gateway, you know? To my future. He's not completely alright with it, but it's okay. I knew it was going to be his reaction."

"Well, damn. I hope you're doing okay." Alaska said, honestly.

"I am."

"You're strong-"

Their conversation was cut off when the opening of the door caused both girls to turn to the direction of the noise; as soon as Alaska saw who it was who barged in, she rolled her eyes and groaned.

"Alejandro, juro por dios no entro en tu cuarto así. Get the fuck out!"  She immediately started, dropping the straightener and standing up with full force to push him out if she had to.

The boy looked at her, bewildered.

"Ala, you are always in my fucking room hanging out on my bed - you painted your nails on my bed, this morning!"

"Because I needed you to do it! You know I can't get my last toe properly-"

"So don't act like I'm always here when you are always in my room for stupid shit! Sometimes I'm not even there and you're just in my room-"

Nadia felt like it was a movie she was watching as Alejandro came closer and closer to her and flicked her forehead and laughed, to which Alaska replied by jumping on his back which he wasn't prepared for, causing him to stumble slightly.

"Get off me, you're fat!"

"Ha ha," Alaska mock laughed, "I'm not fat but nice try."

When Alejandro straightened his back and his sister fell off and hit the ground with a thump, that was when Nadia choked on her crisp and intervened.

"Guys."

"Ale, my shoulder is going to bruise now! My dress is strapless-Stop!" The blonde girl complained once Alejandro began to tickle her on the ground.

"Guys!"

They both paused, remembering that Nadia was on the other side.

"The hair straightener is still on.

-

The venue was grande for sure. From the warm lights to the simple yet somewhat grandiloquent  decorations on the outside, red carpet, and fancy cars pulling up, the only thing Alaska felt whilst looking at the gates was sick.

She knew it was about to be a long night of pretending that she wanted to be there, saying hello to her mother's friends, her father's old friends telling her how beautiful of a young woman she was growing up to be, and wanting the lights to go out so that the whole event would be cancelled.

"Tell me again why I'm here." She whispered to Alejandro, adjusting the strap of her dress.

"Because you love me, you love papa, and you love mama." He reminded like he had been reminding for the past three days, as much as she would have liked to dispute the argument.

Alaska waited patiently as her brother helped their mother out of the car, sharing her smile.

Shutting the door of the navy Bentley in front of the red carpet, Alejandro gave instructions to their driver to park and make himself comfortable, because the event could possibly go on for a while.

Inside the hall, Lu was upset prior to even entering the hall, as she folded her arms, frowning at Guzman who neared her.

"So what's wrong with you?"

She looked at him in disbelief and scoffed.

"Are you kidding? Everything. Carla is in a threesome with a caveman, I'm hungry, and you're not talking to me."

"I am talking to you Lu." Guzman said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"No, you're not. The last time we had sex-" She was interrupted when Guzman shushed her and pulled her closer, away from their friends, so they wouldn't hear her.

"The last time we had sex," Lu continued in a more hushed tone, "Was on Thursday, Guzman. Thursday. We used have sex almost, if not everyday." She looked at him, annoyed.

"Listen, it's not everyday that we have to sleep together."

"I said almost, didn't I?" She sassed.

This time, Guzman did roll his eyes, causing Lu to turn her back to him and stand next to Carla again.

It just so happened that as soon as she was about to say something, her eyes and that of her friends' drifted tot he top of the stairs where they saw who had just walked in. Alejandro in a black suit with a red bow tie, Alaska with a ruffled just about mid length ankle red dress, and their mother in the centre with a black dress. Lu couldn't help what came out of her mouth next.

"¿Qué es esto?" she chuckled, "I thought the grinch never left the house, and last time I checked, she hated her mother."

Carla snapped her a look that basically told her to behave, and turned back to the stairs, where they began to descend.

"My parents must have invited them, but I thought that if anything, Ale and their mother would come, not the three of them." She said, presently surprised herself.

Then a cheer came from behind the girls. When Lu noticed who it was, she winced as Christian approached the three just as they were at the last step. Once Alaska saw him coming, she couldn't resist the smile that creeped on her face.

"Loski, mi puta reina - perdon," he complimented, but quickly apologised when he saw the older woman next to her which he automatically assumed was her mother, but could not resist the urge to give the blonde a large kiss on her cheek accompanied with a hug.

On the side of her, Mariposa's eyes went wide slightly even though she had a small smile on her face at the boy who she was curious as to why he was calling her daughter 'Loski' and let alone a queen. She also watched how this friend managed to gage a smile out of her, which she was surprised to see.

Christian then moved to playfully punch Alejandro, whispering to him that he was happy that he was there or else he'd have to spike the drinks to have fun, to which Ale laughed, shaking his hand. However, Ale noticed the surprising smile his mother was giving to Christian and quickly introduced him.

"Christian, this is my mother, Mama, this-"

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Christian automatically cut off, going in to hug Mariposa, which she wasn't expecting, but nonetheless, accepting the hug.

"It's lovely to meet you, Christian."

Alaska wanted nothing more than to rip Christian away from her.

In that moment, Guzman walked forward, greeting her with a kiss.

"You look gorgeous, I'm serious as hell right now."

And as tough as she wanted to seem, she blushed. With his arm wrapping around her waist, he turned to say hello to her mother. And her smile was dropping once more, but this time, she tried not to let it show.

"Hola Mariposa, you look beautiful." He said honestly, giving her a small hug.

"Gracias cariño; you look extremely handsome. Is your mother here?" Mariposa returned the smile and hug.

"Yes, she's by the food table with the other parents." Guzman replied, being the picture perfect boyfriend that every mother and father wanted for their daughter, making Alaska look at him with pride as she thought of how happy her father would have been to see them together.

Mariposa, with that, walked towards where the rest go her friends where, but not before stopping by the bar to get a glass of wine, causing Ala to roll her eyes at the woman for what felt like the fourth time in thirty minutes.

"So what do you want to do first?" Guzman asked as they walked away from the stairs.

"There's nothing to do though," she laughed, "but don't feel like you need to stick around me to keep me entertained, I'll be fine." she reassured.

"I'm hanging around because I love hanging around you, and I've missed you all day."

And Lucrecia was vexed.

Carla noticed how the brunette was even more sour than she had been when she first arrived. Lu could not stand to see them together so loved up, especially the it seemed as though everyday, she was being pushed out. This made Carla think if it really was just sex on Lu's side or it was something more.

"What're you thinking?"

"One thing, Carla. That," she pointed at the pair, "Doesn't look right." Lu replied, almost immediately.

Carla said nothing more, it was the only answer she needed to her question.  But then Lu's attitude worsened when Samuel walked through the door.

"What is this? Miracle of Marcelino?" Grabbing everyone's attention, including Guzman and Alaska's.

"Please!" Lu scoffed loudly as Marina neared Samuel, "Now, all we need is the Muslim girl. You didn't invite her, right?" She asked Alejandro. When he didn't reply and gave her an annoyed look, she continued:

"Oh, querido! Please; you know she's not coming, don't you?"

It took Guzman having to gently squeeze her hand so she wouldn't attack Lu when the blonde took a step forward.

"What? Did she give you-"

"Callate tu puta boca." Was all Alaska said, causing Lu to keep quiet, not because of anything other than shock.

Everyone watched as Samuel mentioned his name to the bouncer who browsed through his lengthy list to look for a 'Samuel Garcia', up until the bouncer said that his name wasn't on the list, which caused the boy to be slightly disheartened, but Marina quickly approached the two to help him out.

"What's wrong?" The red-head asked.

"He wasn't invited, his name's not on the list."

"Do you know who I am?"

The surprise waved over the whole group.

"Well she is very, very gutsy, even I wouldn't say that."

Then Marina and Guzman's mother approached them.

"Marina, querida, we already said you couldn't invite any friends."

Alaska felt the embarrassment which was basically radiating off Samuel and inadvertently looked to her brother who was already looking at her with a pitiful expression on his face.

"Mama, he's not my friend; he's my boyfriend." Marina said, which caused all the shock to pass over the group once more because no one was aware that Samuel and Marina were together.

Marina then proceeded to tug on Samuel's hand to bring him passed the bouncer, which is when Guzman let go of Alaska's hand and rushed to drag Samuel back by his blazer, causing it to rip.

And best believe, Ala was in shock. Even more shock than everybody else.

"Your tag is showing." Guzman said teasingly, which caused Lu to make a snarky remark about how Samuel was renting his suit and planned to return it the next day, and that he shouldn't  make it dirty. Samuel, upon hearing this, had enough and stormed out.

Alaska had enough too.

The blonde made her way out to go and make sure that Samuel was okay. Even though they weren't close friends, he had never been anything short of nice to anyone. The only thing she could think of was that she was reaching her peak with the way he was treating these people especially when he promised her at the party that he'd make an attempt to be nicer to them.

While Marina stood, still in shock at the actions of her brother. When Alaska walked past her, Guzman grabbed her hand in an attempt to make her stop, but she immediately ripped it right out.

"Don't fucking touch me." Was all she said, and everyone watched as she climbed the stairs to follow Samuel.

Guzman turned around, noticing that the group had spread out, going into their own conversations, Marina was still arguing with his mother, and his eyes quickly catching Lu's who had a devious look in them with a smirk on her face. The brunette subtly nodded to the left, and when Guzman looked in the direction, he saw that it was the sign of the wine cellar, and he didn't even think twice before following her there.

Outside, Samuel was upset.

He was sitting outside, adrenaline still passing through him, anger still clouding his vision, and most of all, the embarrassment he was feeling at the way he was treated inside the event. He hadn't drove himself to the place either, so he couldn't even go back home right away even though there was nothing else he'd rather be doing.
The brunette was just trying to gather his thoughts when he heard footsteps approaching, but he still didn't feel like turning around . . . until she spoke anyway.

"Are you okay?"

He immediately recognized the voice, which is what surprised him enough to turn around and face the blonde.

"No offence, but why do you care? You don't care about anyone." Samuel replied, turning around at his second statement to look back at the empty road.

From behind him, Alaska chuckled and folded her arms as a breeze drew in, and sat on the space beside him on the bench.

"You're almost right about that. I don't care about anyone, but myself." She responded, giving him a sly look with just the tiniest smile, which he returned and ended up with them both laughing at her comment.

"You didn't deserve to be treated like that, that's all I can say."

Samuel didn't reply, and they both sat in silence for just a few minutes until the question that had been running through Samuel's mind since day one crossed it again, and he decided to ask.

"What do you see in him?"

Alaska nodded slightly, not facing him, knowing exactly who he was talking about.

"Something no one else does. He's not a bad guy but he holds grudges on the wrong people, and maybe in that way we're similar." She explained, looking up at him.

In that moment, another pair of feet approached the pair, and when both Alaska and Samuel turned their head's slightly, she saw Marina coming out with her jacket on, and took a deep breathe, standing up when the redhead was right in front of them.

"I'll leave."

"N-No, you don't have to leave." Marina quickly uttered.

"I'll leave." Was all Alaska said, patting Samuel's shoulder slightly.

Back inside the gala, Alejandro was encountering a problem of his own.

"Hola guapo." The slightly deep, slightly sultry voice of his ex-girlfriend Yves Reyes peeped from behind him, and when he turned around, the gentleman in him made wedge a smile onto his face and reply back

"Yves, como estas?"

"I have to admit that I was bored but," she paused, take a step closer, "now that I've seen you here, I think my night has turned around." She smirked.

"Well, thank you. I'm flattered. You look really nice by the way." He replied, with a small, forced laugh.

He wasn't forcing that compliment though. Alejandro always gave credit where credit was due, and Yves looked really nice. She had on a strapless, velvet green, mid-length dress, and it highlighted her thicker, curvier figure which drove many boys in Las Encinas crazy, and once upon a time, Alejandro as well.

"I haven't seen you since the party last Saturday night, where've you been?" The raven haired girl asked.

"We don't have any classes together. Literally, not one class . . . because we're not in the same group." Alejandro explained for what felt like the seventh time any time Yves used that as an excuse to start a conversation.

"Oh yeah, that's true; I always forget." When the girl took another step closer to Alejandro to the point where she was basically standing feet to feet from him, he was becoming uncomfortable at how close she was.

"You know, a memory of you randomly came into my mind a few days ago?"

"A, si?"

"Mhm," she nodded seductively, "When I was in the shower-"

"I'm going to give you one second to get the fuck out of his face and make yourself scarce for the rest of the night." The voice of his sister immediately cutting Yves off, which he couldn't be more grateful for in the moment.
Yves smirk dropped and she frowned so hard, staring the blonde in her eyes with distaste in her own.

"No one was talking to you."

"I was talking to you. Understand when people aren't in the mood for a conversation. Get lost." Was all Alaska had to say before Yves got the hint and spun around reluctantly to go wherever the hell she came from.

"You could've been nicer about it. I was about to politely decline-"

"Politely declining," she mocked, "is why the bitch keeps coming back to annoy you. Don't worry, from now on I'll deal with her."

"Well, as much as I can defend myself, thank you because I appreciate it." He said, sharing a smile with her.

"How's Samuel?" Ale asked.

"He'll be fine, I can tell he's just a little bit embarrassed but, he'll be fine."
Alejandro nodded, realising they hadn't been there for too long and a lot of it had been hectic.

"You want to get something to drink, or . . .?" Alejandro asked, his eyes drifting to the bar.

"Yes please! I am so thirsty. Thirsty, hungry, everything." His sister replied, taking his arm and tugging him towards the bar.

Shortly after they had settled on a virgin cosmo for Alaska and a virgin mojito for Alejandro, they were sipping their drinks and relaxing at a table which Christian joined shortly after they sat down and began having a conversation.

The rest of the night was slightly fast yet at the same time slow. They were doing their fair share of the charity event, from greeting Carla's parents, making small donations themselves, and at one point in the night, fairly having fun. The music was good, it wasn't a disappointment like Ala had initially thought. She had Christian and Ale so they danced a couple of times during the night as well. But this was only barely two hours in; they had reached no where near the peak of the evening yet.

Then Marina came back.

The redhead looked around, trying to find any table she could join until Christian yelled 'Marina!' across the room, to which she turned her neck to the sound of the voice and gave a small smile as she pulled the chair and sat down with everyone.

"Is Samu okay?" Christian went ahead to ask.

"He's fine, great even! I convinced him to come back inside but he'll have to pass through the other entrance because clearly the stupid bouncer isn't going to let him come through the main one." Marina explained with a proud smile.

Other entrance?

"Where's the other entrance?" Alejandro asked.

"It's from the back of the building, through the wine cellar, so he'll have to go downstairs, and then come out through that entrance." The red-head said, pointing at the entrance to the left of them.

Both boys nodded, while Alaska was on her phone but was forced to look up when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I never said thank you, by the way. For being there for Samuel earlier." Marina smiled genuinely.

Alaska felt her heart beat just a little bit fast, but then returned the small smile.

"No problem, really."

She suddenly remembered the conversation she'd had with Guzman a few weeks ago about trying to be more open to the idea of reconcilement with Marina, and as much as she felt like shutting it down because he broke his own promise of being nicer to the new students, she still felt like she had to honour that.

So she did.

Beside Alaska, when Marina turned briefly to respond to something Christian had asked her, Alejandro reached out to poke her cheek. When the blonde turned to face him, he mouthed:

'It's okay'. With that and a reassuring smile, Alaska decided to make the effort.

"Marina," the redhead immediately turned back, "You look really nice." She complimented.

"Gracias! We're kind of matching just a little bit too." Marina said, laughing and pointing out the fact that they were both wearing red.

About fifteen minutes had passed and Samuel still hadn't shown up, that was when Christian pointed it out.

"Are you sure Samu is coming, it's been like one hour." He joked.

"I mean, he should be here by now . . . but he's probably confused. Some spots in that wine cellar have no light so he might be trying to figure it out."

And confused he was.

Samuel, in that moment, had figured it out.

He had figured out why Guzman and Lu's friendship never sat right with him; why it seemed just the slightest bit 'off', and why he thought that there was anything worth investigating.

The answers were clear to him as he watched how Guzman had Lu perched up on the top of one of the wine barrels, her coat discarded on another, and his tongue buried deep down her throat.