Chapter 4 - Quality Time》

https://youtu.be/GP4okspbfMM

I WAS SITTING IN THE BACKSEAT, IN BETWEEN MY BOYFRIEND AND SARA, AS WE CRUISED THROUGH THE CITY IN JACK'S CAR TO GIVE THE SIBLINGS A TASTE OF VEGAS. I was looking forward to the fun and excitement without the shadow of Burke and his crew hanging over us.

Before we left, Jack had gone over the ground rules—well, mostly Jack. Alex had chimed in here and there, but Seth and Sara already knew the big one: minimal powers in public. The usual stuff and etc.

"Are you excited?" I asked Sara, flashing a grin.

She beamed back with a nod. "Very! This is going to be so much fun!" she exclaimed, turning to me with a wide grin.

"Just remember, minimal powers in public," Jack reminded them, "Let's not cause any scenes. We know." "Ok, so the mall doesn't open until eleven, what do you want to do while we wait?"

We all tossed around ideas. But it didn't really matter to me where we went; I wouldn't mind looking at books or going bowling but they are not open.

Not able to decide in the end, we ended up wandering into a random shop across the street to kill some time for an hour then went to the mall. Sara dragged me to the first store she saw; if it wasn't for Seth telling her to slow down I really believe my arm would have popped out of its socket. I have never seen a girl so elated about shopping and we haven't even been here that long!

Right now Seth and I stopped by a bookstore to spend some quality time together. I ran my fingers along the spines. "This place is calming," Seth said, glancing around. "I could get lost in here for hours."

I nodded in agreement. "It's nice to escape into a different world every now and then."

After choosing a few books, we made our way to Starbucks for a quick coffee break. The warm aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air, making my mouth water.

"You didn't have to pay, you know." I said as we ate our food, "I could've paid."

Seth shrugged. "I wanted to though." What a gentleman.

"I really did miss you." I admitted, after taking a sip of my coffee.

Seth smiled softly. "I missed you more than you ever knew." He glanced down at my arm, his eyes narrowing at a faint scar that was barely visible.

"Does it still hurt?" Seth asked.

I shook my head. "Not as much as anymore, though it's not the only thing that was hurting.

"What do you mean?"

I told him how I've been getting random chest pains where my heart and not myself.

"Whenever our people are separated from their other half, they will feel each other's pain."

"That explains alot." I said.

"I'm sorry that you went through that," He apologized taking my hand on his and gave it a comforting squeeze. "It wasn't easy for me either." "You too?" He nodded and raised my hand to his lips and pressed a small, sweet kiss to it.

After finishing our food, we threw our trash away and continued looking around. We wandered through the mall, enjoying the lively atmosphere and the occasional window display that caught our eye. We met back up with the others, Sara, with her boundless energy, was practically bouncing with lots of shopping bags.

I was shocked. How much did she buy?

As we made our way out of the mall, Sara was practically vibrating with excitement, her shopping bags swaying at her sides. She turned to me with that signature grin of hers, her eyes gleaming with joy.

"Kara, would you want to spend the night at Alex's with me? We could have a sleepover, just us girls!" Sara's enthusiasm was contagious.

I smiled, glancing over at Seth, who raised an amused eyebrow. "I think you two are going to need a whole weekend to recover from today," he joked.

Sara waved him off with a giggle. "Come on, it'll be fun! We can do our nails, watch those moving pictures!"

"You mean movies?" Alex and Jack joined.

Sara nodded. "Yes those."

I laughed. "You had everything all planned out, didn't you?"

She grinned. "Maybe."

Seth chuckled, giving me a playful nudge. "You sure you can handle Sara's energy for that long?"

I smirked at him and playfully nudged him back. "I've survived shopping with her. I think I can handle one night."

Sara practically bounced. "It's settled then!!" She linked her arm through mine, already pulling me toward the car.

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The drive back was filled with chatter, Sara rattling off ideas for movies, snacks, and what we should do with our nails. By the time we got what I needed from my house and got to Alex and Jack's house, I was both excited and slightly exhausted just thinking about keeping up with her.

As soon as we walked through the door, Sara led me to the guest room, where she already had everything set up. "So what'd you want to do first?" She asked.

I thought for a second. "I brought my moms curling iron." I waved it around like a magic wand with a smirk.

We got settled on the edge of the bed, watching as I got to work on her hair. We talked about everything — from what she'd been up to in the time we'd been apart.

As I wrapped the last piece of hair around the curling iron, wincing a little when a piece of her stray strand hair burned me stray strand brushed against my hand. "Ow!" I fanned my hand.

"Are you ok?"

I shook my hand a little. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little burn from a stray strand."

Sara glanced back at me with concern. "Oh no, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make you burn yourself."

I waved it off with a grin. "It's all good. No pain no gain, right? Besides, your hair is looking amazing."

"So what else do girls do at sleepover here on earth?" Sara asked.

I smiled, thinking about it. "Well, we usually do a mix of things. We might watch movies, play games, do nails or just chat and catch up. Sometimes we do face masks or try out new recipes. It's all about having fun and relaxing together."

Sara's eyes lit up with interest. "That sounds like a lot of fun! Do you have a favorite activity?"

I chuckled. "I'd say movie marathons, doing nails and praying games are my top pick—snacks and all. And face masks can be pretty funny. What about you? What kind of activities do you enjoy?"

After I finished doing her hair, it was time to paint our nails. Sara chose a vibrant pink for herself, while I went for purple. We sat cross-legged on the floor, carefully applying the polish and trying not to smudge it as we talked.

Once our nails were done and dried, we changed into our pajamas, ready for the movie marathon Sara had planned. We set up blankets and pillows in the living room, and Seth joined us for the first movie — though I suspected he was more interested in spending time with me than actually watching the film.

I wrapped a soft blanket around myself and curled into Seth's side. About halfway through the second movie, my eyelids started feeling heavy. Seth's arm was around my shoulders, and the warmth from his presence combined with the comfort of the blankets made it impossible to stay awake. Sara, as expected, was still wide awake, giggling at the movie's jokes.

At some point, I must've drifted off, because the next thing I knew, I was waking up to the soft glow of the TV, the movie credits rolling. I felt someone brushing their fingers into my hair, and I realized I had fallen asleep on their lap. Turning at a 90° angle, I looked up and found Seth smiling down at me, brushing a strand of hair out of my face.

I smiled sleepily. "What time is it?"

"Late enough," he whispered, his posh accent dripping through the words, glancing over at Sara, who had finally dozed off, curled up in a blanket on the other end of the couch.

I sat up into a sitting position and snuggled into his side. He wrapped his arms around me and pressed a kiss to the side of my head sending my heart racing.

"I love you." He whispered to me.

"And I, you." I snuggled closer to him. "You're planning to stay for the week, right?"

Seth nodded. "Just for this week then we'll be heading back home after that," He said softly, his voice tinged with a hint of regret.

The words made me frown. "I understand you have your responsibilities and your family." I sighed, looking down, trying to keep the disappointment from showing.

Seth lifted my chin gently, his eyes filled with warmth. "You know I'll be coming back. It's hard for me to be away from you, and who knows—maybe the next time I visit, I'll be able to take you out somewhere special."

I looked up at Seth, a playful smile tugging at my lips. "Are you asking me out on a date, Mister Seth-whatever-your-last-name-is?"

He chuckled, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "I suppose I am. If you're willing to accept."

"Mmm— I'll think about it," I teased.

Seth gawked at me, clearly taken aback, his eyes widened in mock disbelief. "What?"

I smirked, leaning in closer. "Ask me again when you come back."

Seth laughed, shaking his head. "You, Katriona Davine, are a mystery.." He pulled me closer.

"I'll take that as a compliment." I said.

"Guess I'll just have to make sure I come back soon then." Seth said.

I did a soft mmm-hmmm and got settled back comfortably, resting my head on his hard chest. The steady rhythm of his alien heartbeat was soothingly, and I sigh, snuggling closer. It was almost as if the rhythm of his heartbeat matched my own, creating a comforting harmony that made me feel even more connected to him than we already are.

Seth began to softly caress my hair, his gentle touch adding to the comfort of the moment. Each caress was calming, and I could feel the warmth of his affection radiating through his fingertips. It made me feel cherished and completely at ease.

I felt him kiss my head. "You missed." I joked.

Seth laughed softly, his breath warm against my hair. "I missed? How so?"

I tilted my head up to look at him, a playful smile on my lips. "You missed my forehead. You're supposed to kiss there, too."

Seth's smile widened, and he leaned in to press a gentle kiss on my forehead. "There you go. All better now?"

"Almost." I grinned, teasingly shifting slightly in his embrace. "There's one more spot you missed."

He chuckled, leaning in closer. "Where might that be?"

I pressed my lips to his cheek. "Right here."

Seth's eyes sparkled with amusement as he looked at me. "Well, I think I can manage that."

He leaned in and brushed his lips softly against mine. "How's that?"

I smiled, feeling a warmth spread through me. "I'm better now."

He smiled and pressed his lips against mine once more, the kiss was soft and full of love, it lingered for a moment then we pulled away, our faces were still close, and his gaze was warm and full of affection.

"Seth, what's your last name?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

He paused, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. "We don't really have last names the way humans do." He glanced at me, a small smile forming. "But when my parents were here for their research, they adopted the last name 'Terren' to blend in."

"Terren?" I repeated, tilting my head slightly. "That's cool."

Seth chuckled softly. "Yeah, it felt like a good fit for them."

"I still find it weird that you don't have a last name besides the one for Earth," I said, giving him a curious look.

Seth shrugged with a soft smile. "I get it. It's pretty different from how things work here. But on Evalon, your abilities and traits are what identify you, not your family name."

I nodded. "Yeah, for us it goes all the way back through generations of ancestors, connecting us to our family history. It's kind of like a way of keeping track of where we come

"Definitely," I agreed. "It helps us feel grounded and connected to something bigger than ourselves. It's like a bridge between our past and present."

Seth nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. We focus more on the present and future. We're always looking forward, striving to improve and adapt."

"That's a good approach too," I said, smiling. "I guess every culture has its own way of looking at things. It's interesting to see the different perspectives."

Seth chuckled softly. "Yeah, it's one of the things I love about learning from different worlds. There's always something new and fascinating to discover."

Tightening his hold on me, we settled back into our comfortable positions, the quiet of the room creating a peaceful cocoon around us.