I sit up quickly as daylight shoots across my eyes.

"Jin!" I call, desperately looking around.

"Shh! I'm here!" I turn to see Jin cautiously standing by my closet, looking like he has just seen a ghost or something. Well, I mean he had, right?

Thank god. "Are you okay?" I say, literally smothering him in a hug.

"I'm fine," he says awkwardly as I jump back with embarrassment.

"Right arm," I say.

"Right arm?" Jin asks, confused.

"It's just something dumb, I say, it's like right on, but instead, I say right arm." I ramble when I'm nervous.

Jin smiles back, warily. "I like that." His face looks wiped. There's giant bags under them and everything. He didn't sleep at all last night. I don't blame him.

I take a couple of steps back to sit down on my bed and cradle my head in my hands as all the worry builds within me.

"What happened after I left the window?"

"You left the window, I tried to wake you up but I just couldn't."

"What was I doing?!"

"Your eyes were closed, and you were lifeless but just kept rambling."

I am a rambler. "Rambling what?"

"I couldn't understand."

"But I didn't hurt you, right?"

"No, not even when you returned. I'm sorry it's weird saying you can we just say Red Lady when talking about the other you?"

"Sure, whatever, but what do you mean when I—I mean Red Lady returned?"

"Well, an hour later, she came back in the window and...laid back down over you and then it was just...you," Jin's face drops.

"What in the actual fuck?!" I place my head back in my hands.

"We need to go to my house and see what happened in my room," Jin says abruptly as he walks over to my closet to begin thumbing through my shirts.

"What?"

"It's the next step," he says, throwing something over to me.

"Listen, I need a second to process. I literally thought you might be dead, and I just watched Red Lady, aka me, walk through a window glowing," I say as a Cage the Elephant band shirt comes hurling towards me.

"Look, we tested the prediction, so now we move to step six: use the results to make a new prediction or hypothesis. We can't do that until we know what Red Lady did last night. Besides, ain't no rest for the wicked."

"Seriously?"

"Super cereal," Jin says, ironically with a super serious face, then pauses as if waiting for me to laugh. "It means I'm super serious!"

Wow, he's just as corny as I am.

"Hurry up before I pick out your underwear for you! Let's go!"

"First of all, please don't. Second, I can't just leave this early. Maeve will flip out!"

"Leave a note," Jin says, collecting all his midnight snacks wrappers to shove in my trash."Umm...why are there clothes in your trash?"

"I threw away all my haunting jammies when I was freaking out last night," I say, grabbing the clothes Jin gave me and walking into my closet, shutting the doors behind me. "What time is it anyway," I ask from inside my closet.

"5:30."

"Shit, you need to leave. Maeve will be up soon."

I finish getting dressed and can't help but laugh at the clothing selection picked out for me. Is he for real?

"Seriously?" I say, opening the door to reveal his outfit choice.

"Oh wow..." he begins awkwardly and immediately starts fumbling around in his bag.

"This is what you pick out for me to wear?" I say, spinning around to reveal the giraffe print skirt three sizes too small.

"I just grabbed the first thing I saw," Jin says defensively.

"I literally wore this for Halloween three years ago. BUT I like the shirt."

"Then change the skirt or whatever," he says awkwardly.

"No, I'll wear it. It'll give everyone something to talk shit about. But, I'm definitely going to need some tights under it."

"Right Arm," Jin says, smiling back. "I mean, you do look nice..."

"So anyway," I say, changing the subject quickly, "I have to have breakfast with Maeve and Jackson."

"You go and DM me as soon as you get there. Tell me everything!" I hurry Jin to the door, but he turns around before I open it.

"Wait," he says, looking worried.

"What are we going to do at school?"

"We're just going to school like it's a normal day?"

"But what about the video going around and Rina's going to bombard me about you, I've ignored all her texts and calls."

"Rina and Jaxson can't know the truth!"

"Why not?"

"Because right now, I can't trust Jaxson not to tell Maeve."

"I thought you two were like best friends?"

"We are, but it's complicated when it comes to Maeve."

"She's your sister. Wouldn't she want to help you?"

"I never told you what happened to my mom," I say, looking to the ground.

Jin pauses awkwardly as he searches my eyes.

"She died in a mental hospital." I pause as the hurt and embarrassment waves over me. "The one Maeve had her committed to."

"Wow...well, okay then. Maeve is out. Jaxson is out. Rina is out. We're in. Done." Jin places his hand on my shoulder, and his reassuring yet gruff voice somehow makes me feel a little less crazy. "We'll figure this out, don't worry."

"Thanks," I say, suddenly realizing how close we're standing and take a couple of steps back. "So, what do we tell them? I don't think they should know we are..." I try to find the right words for exactly what we are. Friends? Scientists? Partners in crime?

"You mean you don't think they should know I spent the night in your bedroom?" Jin says with a shy smirk.

"Yes, exactly. So how about you say you thought I was some crazy girl you used to date that moved away and apologize for the misunderstanding."

"But then they'll expect us all to eat lunch together and hang out, making it hard to keep our secret our secret. And besides, Rina knows I haven't dated anyone."

"You haven't?" I ask without thinking. I need to work on my filter.

Jin shuffles around, embarrassed. "No, I mean not really...not officially."

"Oh me either," I say, feeling embarrassed because I haven't even "not officially" dated someone.

"Really, but you're so—?"

I cut off Jin before he can finish that comment. I don't have time for butterflies. This is serious. "Yeah, remember everyone here hates me so..."

"So why don't I hate you too then? Why don't I just go along with what everyone else says?"

"YES! Genius. Play along with it. Hurl all the ginger comments my way—but no fire crotch comments—they are so overused. You'll fit right in."

"Do I need to fit in with everyone?" Jin asks.

"What teenage boy doesn't?"

"Well, but what about when this is all over. What if I want to fit in with you..."

Jin's comment makes me blush, but also it makes me scared. What if we never figure out what's going on with me?

"I mean you and Rina and Jaxson," Jin backtracks, obviously seeing me squirm.

"I think this is our best option moving forward. It's all in the name of science," I say, trying to reassure Jin.

"Well, science sucks," Jin says, before giving one last smile before sneaking out of my room.