As I made my way back to the table, my eyes couldn't help but scan the room, searching for the red-haired girl who had flipped my afternoon upside down in mere seconds. A few glances, and there she was—five tables away, chatting with a brunette. They whispered to each other, and I didn't need to hear a single word to know they were talking about me. Probably about Heather too. Then, just as I expected, they stole a glance in our direction but Heather couldn't see them since she had her back turned to them.

I sat down, but the thoughts of what had just happened clung to me, impossible to shake off. I wanted to talk to Heather—needed to—but I had no idea where to start. Instead, my gaze drifted to the table, where a slice of chocolate cake was waiting for me.

"They brought dessert, I hope you don't mind I've asked yours. I just couldn't resist, I know this will be your favorite from now on." Heather said, proud of her choice and waiting eagerly for my reaction.

I looked at her, my concern written all over my face.

"Oh-oh, this is not your chocolate cake face, what's wrong?"

It definitely wasn't my chocolate cake face. If anything, it was my hurricane of emotions piling up face—or maybe my about-to-spiral into overthinking face. Not sure, really. The confusion I felt was so overwhelming that I didn't even know what kind of face my brain had decided to show. But judging by the concern growing progressively on Heather's face, I'd bet it was worth worrying about.

"Hey... talk to me." She said. The excitement from earlier had slipped away.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend?"

Boom. She froze. It was as if I had splashed a glass of cold water on her.

"I just met her apparently, she's right over there." I pointed in their direction.

Heather turned around sharply and caught the girl's eyes. She waved at us with a smile.

"Shit." Heather muttered.

"Yeah, shit, that's what I thought."

She exhaled and turned back to me "What did she tell you?"

"Does it matter? You should have told me."

"I know, I'm sorry."

I scoffed, crossing my arms. "Oh, so she is your girlfriend then."

"No, she is not. Not anymore."

"Really? Maybe you should tell her, she wasn't sure, since apparently you vanished."

Heather flinched. "So that is what she told you."

"Isn't it true?"

There was a silence. Heather lowered her gaze, and I could sense her struggle to face the situation, so strong in some ways, yet so weak in others.

The waitress approached us. Just in time.

"Excuse me, ladies, sorry to interrupt. We'll be closing in ten minutes." I glanced at him and nodded.

"We're leaving, thank you."

I thought that while we were flying back, Heather would bring up the topic again. But she didn't. We stayed silent the whole time—awkward, heavy silence—but I wasn't about to fill it. After all, she was the one who owed me an explanation, and it was her choice to clarify things.

We arrived at the Narval house and headed to Heather's room, but I stopped in the doorway.

"It's getting late. I'll go to my room. Goodnight." I turned to leave.

"Wait!" Heather grabbed my arm and pulled me back in. "Don't go, please."

"Okay, but don't expect me to act like nothing has happened."

Heather nodded and stepped back. "I know, I should have told you. At the time, my relationship with her didn't seem like a big deal, so I thought I didn't need to explain."

"But you were still with her... You needed to explain, not just to me but to her too."

"I know, I see it now... I was different back then."

"Are you still in love with her?"

"What? No!"

I folded my arms. "Then what was it?"

"We were together for a while before I met you. Things weren't working out, and one day you came into my life in a way..." Heather trailed off.

"In a way...?"

She let out a breath and sat on her bed, exhausted. Her arms fell to her sides as if she had no energy left to lift them.

"In a way, I didn't expect," she finished. "I didn't handle things right. I had no idea our thing would escalate the way it did... At the beginning, I thought I just had a silly obsession with you, but then I realized it wasn't silly at all."

"The fact that you hid it is what worries me. You had plenty of chances to tell me."

"I didn't want to risk what we had."

"What makes you think I wouldn't have handled it? People have relationships, Heather. It's not that strange."

She gave a small shrug, not meeting my eyes.

"Well... you are an Outsider..."

"So?"

"I know you relate differently on The Other Side. I wasn't sure you would understand."

"Oh my god, what kind of messed-up information do they feed you about The Other Side? You think we just fall in love at first sight, live in bliss, and stay together forever?"

"That's not what I said."

"And just for the record, lying is lying, Heather. On every side of the world."

Heather's voice grew softer with every reply, while mine only got louder.

"I just didn't want you to go away, that's all."

I let out a dry laugh and shook my head. "Funny. Lying is exactly how you lose people."

"I know. I messed up. And I know you have every right to be mad. But I swear you're the only one I—" She stopped herself, inhaling hard as if she just prevented from dropping a bomb.

After a moment a whisper followed. "The only one I ever really wanted."

I ran a hand through my hair as I took a deep breath because I didn't know what else to do. I felt there was too much to process. My insides were chaos. I felt deceived by her, but not entirely surprised... Like somehow, I had expected something like this to happen. Was that weird? Then, I was angry too. I hated that Heather saw me as so different just because I was an Outsider—mainly because it was absurd, but also because she knew me well enough to understand that, in the end, I was just Grace.

And yet, beneath the anger, there was sadness too. Because, in a way, I understood her point. Even if it didn't justify what she had done.

I gazed at her. She looked defeated, without hope, bracing herself for whatever outcome this conversation might have.

For a second, I considered leaving. Walking away before I said something reckless. But something inside me pulled me toward her, and instead, I sat down beside her.

"Look, I might be an Outsider, but I'm also Grace. Just Grace. And I'd like to be Grace from now on."

Heather lifted her gaze as if trying to gauge whether there was still a chance to fix this.

"Second," I continued "I'm pretty sure I can handle any ex-girlfriend story you might have. What I don't handle well is patronizing attitudes, holding things back, and lies."

Heather nodded in silence.

"Third," I added, taking a step closer, "I'm not the type to leave at the first argument. It's not in my genes, okay? Besides, I'd lose my premium access to the pool, and that just can't happen."

Heather's lips curved timidly in a smile.

"Alright, so that's where all the interest came from." She said.

"Oh, you didn't know? Of course! You thought it was because of those beautiful eyes, this gorgeous hair, and this stunning, sexy body? Not a chance!"

Heather laughed. It felt good to let go of the tension. Honestly, I had no energy left for my angry mode.

"So, what was all that you said about having an obsession with me?" I teased.

"Oh. Come on." Heather rolled her eyes and let herself fall back onto the bed, her arms spread wide.

"Alright," I sighed, stretching out next to her, "I'll let you off the hook for now. I'm exhausted from the Zero Gravity Circuit and possibly injured. We'll know for sure tomorrow. But... I'm going to want the details about that obsession soon."

"Deal, clown, but stay for the night, please."

· · ·

My Reg bracelet vibrated and I woke up sleepy and confused. It was the middle of the night and Heather was fast asleep next to me. I looked at the Reg bracelet and stopped the vibration. Shit. Now I remembered. The alarm had a reason. A very important one. Tonight it was the night. I had to leave the repeater at the top of the electric tower so Erik could transmit our message. Given all that had happened the day before, I had nearly forgotten about it. I quietly slipped out of bed and dressed, trying not to disturb Heather. Yet, as I dressed, I couldn't help but steal glances at her. She looked so adorable, nestled beneath the thin sheets, outlining her perfect figure. And suddenly a pang of guilt hit me. Not now Grace, I thought to myself. I had to do this. That message could be crucial to reuniting with Michael; I couldn't afford to fail him again. But should Heather know it? Should Michael know about Heather? Many questions started to swirl around my head as I approached the door.

"Where are you going?" Heather asked, her eyes barely open as she gazed at me.