Somehow, Mr. Wallace makes so only the seven of us are in a compartment. He says that he did this so no one will eavesdrop on our investigation. To be quite honest, the middle aged man makes a valid point.

I smirk softly as I watch Laurel watch the blurs called trees whiz past us with genuine interest. Chuckling quietly, I turn to see Audrey make her way over to my seat. I urge for her to sit down and ask, "Have you ever been to Oregon before?"

She nods. "They have better land for camping. What about you?"

I shake my head. "First time. I don't really travel within the state. I'm more of an international traveler."

Audrey nods again. As silence fills the room, I look over at Fitz, who seems to be in an interesting conversation with Benen and Donovan. Suddenly, Donovan smirks and says something to Fitz. Fitz straightens up considerably, his face turning red with blush. He looks at me before looking away, swatting Donovan's arm in the process. I can't help but smile as I turn to face Audrey.

Mistake #1.

Audrey smirks at me. "Oh, I know what he told Fitz," she says before laughing hysterically.

"What?"

"Remember the spider? And how we found you two like that?"

Laurel looks at the two of us. "Like what?!" Laurel asks in a squeaky voice.   

Audrey gags obnoxiously. Smirking at the dread written over my face, she says, "They looked like they were ballroom dancing- all close to each other and hugging-"

Laurel shrieks in excitement, cutting Audrey off. "Wait, I have a possibility for why they were like that..!" She looks at me, a sly mile on her face.

"What?" Audrey and I ask, my voice with more dread as Audrey's is with curiosity.

"They KISSED!"

Fitz looks over at me from the shout and I blush madly. My heart beating faster and faster, I manage to choke out, "Laurel..!"

"That's not a good answer," Laurel pouts. Smiling, she looks at Fitz. "Hey, Fitz!"

Fitz looks up. Smiling at me, he asks, "Yeah?"

Laurel asks, "Did you and Sophie kiss?" just as Fitz takes a gulp of water.

Mistake #2.

Fitz chokes on his water instead of spitting it out. After his coughing fit ends, his wide teal eyes look at me. "I'm sorry, what?!"

Donovan laughs. "Don't apologize, Fitzie! We know that you two kissed and were embarrassed by it, no worries." If looks could kill right then and there, Donovan would be a goner by now.

I look for a hiding place and fail to do so. Instead, I look over at Fitz as he rolls his eyes at Donovan. "Why would I be embarrassed by that?" His eyes widen when Donovan smirks at the male Percipient. Fitz blushes as he stammers, "I- well, Donovan!" He looks away from him, his reddened cheeks becoming more vibrant.

Donovan laughs even harder.

Suddenly, Audrey face palms herself. "Oh wait- they told me why they were like that!" Ignoring Laurel's pout, she explains, "I pranked Sophie with a spider. Apparently, she ran into Fitz's room and tripped. He caught her."

I scoff. "Yeah, after I brought him down with me." My eyes widen and I slap a hand over my mouth. Fitz and I look at each other with dread before staring at everyone else.

Mistake #3.

Audrey's eyes widen. "You two fell like that?! Like in the movies?! Like-" She holds one hand out and places her other hand on top.

My face burning, Fitz and I hesitate before nodding.

Donovan wrinkles his nose. "Wait, so you two fell down and then kissed?"

I groan and cover my reddened face in embarrassment. Fitz reaches over and slaps the back of the male Sovereign's head. "We didn't kiss!" Fitz explains, his blush as prominent as when we were with Steven and Caroline.

Donovan's about to say something back to him when Mr. Wallace clears his throat, reminding us that we weren't alone. Fitz and I blush more when Mr. Wallace remarks, "Glad you six have such interesting things to talk about. But get ready- we're in Oregon."

...

Surprisingly, Lelia doesn't look a day over thirty. She smiles happily at us and gestures for us to sit down. "Now what can I do for you?"

Immediate after she asks that question, my voice fails me. Thankfully, Fitz steps in and says, "Arien Leroy, your daughter. Mrs. Leroy, your daughter has died a few days ago."

As if she didn't hear the last part, she says, "Please- call me Leila. I'd rather not feel old."

"To solve this, we came to ask you some questions about her," I explain.

"We're all very sorry for your loss," Laurel adds sincerely.

Leila merely laughs. "Oh, that old hag had it comin' to her! Good riddance!"

As the rest of us are let speechless at that reaction, Audrey frowns. "But aren't you ol..?" She doesn't finish the question since I stop her.

Leila shakes her head. "Arien's not my daughter."

I raise an eyebrow. "But aren't you her birth mother?" I ask, confused.

Leila nods. "Unfortunately. But she's not my daughter. She was disowned about ten years ago. When her father passed." Without waiting for us to ask, she continues, "In the will, my husband and I wrote that she'd be disowned about three to four years before he died. When he died, she wasn't part of the Leroy family no more."

"But- but that's awful!" Laurel exclaims before anyone can stop her.

Leila looks sternly at Laurel, causing her to shrink back slightly. "We wouldn't have dropped her if she hadn't eloped with that disgusting piece of filth that was her boyfriend!"

Fitz's eyes widen at this. "She eloped with Fitton Galster?"

Leila scowls. "Pah! Don't say his name! That wretched, disgusting, stupid..." She mumbles the last few insults. Mr. Wallace cringes at the last few remarks towards the boyfriend.

Still confused, Fitz asks, "Who's Fitton Galster?" Ignoring the more insults upon that name, he adds, "Can you explain?"
Leila glares down at her feet. "He was one of those popular fellas back in the day. That Arien was head over heels in love on the first day. They dated, but we didn't like him." She shudders. "Gave us a bad vibe."

"But she loved him?" Laurel asks meekly.

Leila only scowls more. "We banned her from seeing him, so they decided to elope! That ungrateful-"

Mr. Wallace hastily clears his throat before another slew of foul words were thrown around. "Okay, there are kids here, Leila..!" Looking at us, he says, "Ask away."

Deciding that we wouldn't get anything more on Fitton, I ask instead, "Do you have any photos of Arien?" I glance over at Laurel, silently telling her to not react to her reply.

Leila laughs hysterically, startling me. Fitz and I exchange wary glances as she says, "Nope!" She pops the "p" happily. "I'd burned them all when they eloped!" She laughs more, slapping her knee as well. She laughs for so long that she has to wipe a tear away as she clutches her stomach from laughing so much. "I don't even remember what she looked like!"

I stand up, grabbing the "before" photo of Arien from the folder. Walking over to her, I show her the photo of her birth daughter. "Does this help?" I ask.

"...Yes...it does, dearie," Leila practically seethes. My eyes widen when I see Leila's face change completely, her eyes wide and eccentric. The shadows of her face suddenly become more noticeable, making her age considerably. She takes a smooth step towards me. And then another.

And then she whips out a lighter, holding the same flame near me.

I scramble back as soon as I can, my voice leaving me. I keep backing up until I feel the side of a table stopping me. I swallow nervously as Leila grins at me evilly.

"Burn it... Burn it," Leila says monotonously. "Need to burn it all..."

The evil grin and the flame is enough to remind me of Jacob and him torturing me.

My body freezes in place as I fearfully look at the slowly nearing Leila. I hear my screams echoing in my head as I stare at the psychotic grin of the victim's mother.

I'm in such a daze of fear that I almost don't notice Fitz jumping up. He quickly steps in front of me, pushing me gently so that his tall and robust figure is between the eccentric lady with the light and me. He grabs the lighter and turns it off before effortlessly tossing it to Donovan, who throws it in a trash can. The male Percipient glares down at Leila until her more welcoming side comes back.

She smiles and walks back to her seat as if nothing happens. Mr. Wallace stares at us, silently telling us that we should leave it as it is.

All of my phantom screaming fade away when Fitz softly grabs my hand and brings both of us back to our seats. I then remember his comforting touch when I woke up after he had saved me a year ago. I smile softly as my heart just melts from the warmth of his hand, my crush on him becoming so much larger.

Leila smiles at us. Gesturing to the window, she says, "It's pretty late. Did you bring extra clothes?"

All of us nod, grabbing our small suitcases as proof.

She claps her hands together. "Great! Then you can stay the night here!"

We turn to look at Mr. Wallace, who merely nods.

Then Laurel smiles happily and says, "Okay!"