"And God knows,

That it's a common misconception

that I'm the only one for you."

    ◘ ◘ ◘  

The next two weeks passed by in a blur, filled with study sessions with Em behind the library, annoying her moody fiancé and going on more dates with Jake. It was a rather peaceful week, since two of the Royals were missing in action. From what I've heard from Emily, Logan was in America shooting a car advert while Robin was in Dubai to settle some company issues.

Life as a busy business man while still trying to complete high school must be hard.

Anyways, Jake kept me pretty occupied for the two weeks, taking me out for movies and coffee dates. However, I have to admit that life was significantly less exciting without the Royals.

Anyways, we spoke on the phone almost every night about anything and everything, and he would never hang up until I fell asleep, which was pretty romantic, right? Of course, it's romantic!

I just hope I didn't snore while on the phone with him. That would be horrifying.

A smile made way to my face as I thought about Jake. But then I remembered the reason why I was sitting here, in the café, opposite of Jake. Both of us clutched warm mugs in our hands, none of us talking.

We froze at the jingle of the bell when the door was pushed open, and grew rigid when a familiar blonde head appeared.

"Hey, Emily," I greeted, shooting a comforting look at Jake. Emily smiled, giving Jake a critical once-over as he squirmed in his seat.

That's right, ladies and gents, today was Judgement Day. The day your best friend meets the boy you've been dating. The day your best friend decides whether or not she likes him. If she does, both of you are in luck because she'll be really encouraging and will use her best friend powers to push the relationship forward. If she doesn't, she'll probably make dating you a living hell.

"Jake, this is Emily. Emily, this is Jake," I introduced quickly. As if the both of them didn't already know that.

"Nice to meet you," Emily chirped, offering a hand out to him. Almost hesitantly, Jake shook her hand and offered her a shy smile.

"You too," he said. I smiled brightly at the both of them, beckoning Emily to sit down beside me.

"So," I began, awkwardly crossing my legs.

"So," Jake repeated, sipping his drink. He refused to make eye contact with either one of us. Emily coughed.

"So are you interested in her, Jake?" Emily asked causally, but Jake almost started choking on his latte. His eyes widened and his face turned red as he patted his chest lightly.

He cleared his throat and nodded, "Yes."

"That's great!" Emily beamed, nudging me slightly. I laughed nervously, "Yeah, great."

Jake looked between the both of us, before setting his mug down.

"Please, just give us your blessings," he pleaded, grabbing Emily's hand in his. Emily's jaw dropped, and she opened and closed her mouth like a gold fish.

"Jake," I said softly, biting my lip. "You don't have to do this." Students around us were staring at us weirdly, and my cheeks heated up in embarrassment. My god, Jake was being so dramatic!

"Well, Jake. Tell me why I should," Emily sniffed, pulling her hand away from his.

"Because...because I like Alex. A lot. I want to spend more time and make more memories with her," Jake said quietly, looking at me in the eye. I squirmed in my seat.

"This is so weird," I whispered under my breath. If the two heard me, they chose to ignore me.

Emily stared down at him silently, making Jake fidget uncomfortably in his seat.

"I suppose I approve," she said, and Jake visibly relaxed.

"But," she continued, making him tense up again. "If you hurt her, you'll have to answer to me."

Jake looked at Emily incredulously, "You?"

"Yes," she snapped. "I am a black belt in Martial Arts."

My eyes widened at this new revelation. Who knew sweet ol' Emily could fight? Either way, my heart soared at this protective and serious side of her, and I was grinning internally at how lucky I am to get a best friend like her.

Jake gulped and nodded, "Thank you."

At this, all three of us visibly relaxed. All was well again, and no one was going to get hurt. Right? Right.

"Alex," Jake began, licking his lips. His eyes darted to Emily, who stared at him expectantly.

"I know we've only been dating for two weeks, but you make me happier than I've ever been. I know on our first date I had asked you to be my Girlfriend, which was probably really weird and I apologise. But now, I really mean it when I ask, will you be my girlfriend?" Jake rambled, taking a deep breath after he was done.

Without noticing, a huge grin was on my face. I nodded quickly, and I heard Emily let out a strangled squeal beside me.

"Yes!" I exclaimed, and Jake beamed widely at this. "Yes, I will!"

"Kiss! Kiss!" Emily cheered in a stage-whisper, causing the both of us to blush like tomatoes.

"Uh, maybe not now," I mumbled, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. Jake nodded, and Emily pouted. Just then, Emily's phone rang.

"Hello?" Emily answered. She frowned as the person on the line said something and quickly hung up the phone.

"I need to go," Emily mumbled, getting up in a hurry. She slung her purse over her shoulder and gave me a small smile.

"Why?" I asked, my forehead creasing with concern at her strange behaviour.

"No time to explain. You two have fun, alright? I'll catch up," she called over her shoulder before scurrying out of the café. Jake linked his fingers through mine, making me jump in surprise.

"Don't worry about her," Jake consoled, squeezing my hand slightly. I smiled and nodded, "Yeah, thanks."

"Do you want to go for a walk?" he suggested, grinning brightly. I quickly accepted his suggestion and we both got up and went for a stroll around the campus.

"So, what's your story?" I asked as we enjoyed the scenery around us hand in hand. Jake stiffened beside me, causing me to glance at him in concern. He looked at me and grinned widely, "Nothing interesting, love. Let's talk more about you."

"Me?" I laughed. "All we've been talking about is me for the past two weeks, Jake. I wanna know more about you."

"I don't know what to tell you," Jake laughed awkwardly, using his free hand to run through his tousled hair.

"Let's start simple. Your hometown?" I asked.

"Perth," he murmured, frowning slightly at the mention of his hometown. I found it rather strange that he seemed to be so evasive whenever I asked about his life, but I brushed it aside. Maybe he just didn't have a good upbringing.

"Any pets?"

"One. A golden retriever, named Bessie. She died when I was eight," Jake said, lips quirking into a small smirk.

"I've always wanted a dog," I mentioned. A Siberian Husky, to be exact. Their black and white fur, pointy ears and striking blue eyes made them look like they were related to wolves, and were a great combination of badassery and grace.

"We can get one together, in the future," Jake said, shooting me a smile. I laughed and nodded, "Sure."

    ◘ ◘ ◘  

Propping my elbow on the wooden table, I rest my head in my hand. Emily wasn't at the Academy today. Neither has Asher and Yuko. I found it rather strange, but I tried not to overthink anything. If anything serious happened, Emily would tell me. I dropped her a text to make sure she was alright, and she immediately replied and told me to relax and that she was fine.

Hey Em, you alright? Why aren't you in school?

Em: Yeah, I'm fine! Settling some family business...I'll be in school on Monday. :)

Guess I'll just have to spend Saturday alone...

Jake was busy in the morning and afternoon with God knows what, but he promised he'll take me for dinner. Cooped up in my dorm, I spent the whole morning listening to San Cisco and Drowners and rocking out to their songs in my pyjamas.

Winter was starting to come to an end, and the trees around the campus have began to show some colour and life. Maybe Jake will take me out of campus, now that it's not so cold anymore...

A knock on the door snapped me out of my thoughts and I rushed to the switch off the music blasting from my speakers.

"Who is it?" I hollered, and I tried not to slip as I slid to the door with my fluffy socks on. I opened the door without second thought, only to see a very livid, very distressed looking Siobhan Lanigan standing behind it. Beside her was Jonah Graves, a look of concern on his face as he held his girlfriend's hand.

"Siobhan?" I quirked an eyebrow, staring between the couple.

"Is Emily here?" she quickly asked. I shook my head, "No, she's not in school. She left to settle some family business."

"Goddamit," Siobhan cursed loudly, kicking the door violently. My eyes widened a fraction at her erratic behaviour.

"Babe," Jonah soothed, kissing her temple softly an drubbing her back. In any other situation, I would've cooed at his sweet behaviour, but what he said next made me take in a deep breath.

"Don't worry. Asher's fine," Jonah murmured.

"But we don't know that!"

"What? What's wrong with Asher?" I asked, frowning in confusion. Siobhan sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Can we come in? It's a long story," Siobhan murmured. Nodding, I beckoned them to enter the room. I blushed in embarrassment when I realised that my room was a mess, with school work strewn across the dining table and unwashed dishes in the sink. Jonah shot me an amused glance. Both of them say on the love seat, while I sat on the armchair opposite them.

"Drinks?" I offered in hopes to break the stormy tension. Both of them declined politely, and Siobhan fiddled with her thumbs for a while before speaking up.

"Asher's in the hospital," she finally said, rubbing her temple. My eyebrows shot up in surprise and shock.

"What? Why?" I blurted out.

"He's sick," she murmured. "He's really sick."

I frowned slightly, sick?

"How did you find out?"

"Logan texted me," she muttered, "They're all in London right now, accompanying him."

"He'll...he'll be fine, right?" I asked nervously. Even though Asher wasn't the most pleasant person to be around, I wouldn't wish it upon him to be sick, especially a sicknesss that sounded so serious.

"I don't know," she murmured. Jonah grabbed her hand in his, shooting her a concerned look.

"You can always visit him," Jonah suggested. It was as if a lightbulb switch on in her head, and she immediately perked up at his suggestion.

"That's right! I can just call in my plane and fly over to check on him!" Siobhan exclaimed, face-palming herself.

"Your plane?" I repeated dumbly.

"Yeah, she has a plane. Don't you?" Jonah asked, staring at me incredulously. My jaw dropped, and I shook my head slowly.

"I didn't know it was common to own a plane," I stated, almost defensively.

Siobhan rolled her eyes, "Stop giving Alex flack for not owning a plane, Mister Millionaire."

Jonah held his hands up in surrender and looked between the both of us, "Hey, I didn't mean it in a bad way! I just assumed..."

"It's alright," I laughed. "I'm here on scholarship."

"Oh," Jonah said, blinking at me. However, he quickly snapped out of it and turned to his girlfriend. "Are you going to take a flight there? You know I can't accompany you."

"Most probably," she muttered. "I have to, Jonah. He's a friend."

Jonah nodded, but didn't look too pleased that she was going to leave France without him. "I don't want you to go alone, though," he mumbled.

"I know! Why don't you follow me?" Siobhan suggested, pointing at me.

"Huh?" I blurted out unintelligently and pointed at myself. "Me?"

Siobhan nodded, "Please! It'll just be for the weekend! And you won't have to pay for a plane ticket and a place to stay!"

I looked between Siobhan's hopeful expression and Jonah's pleading eyes and pursed my lips. A vacation to London doesn't sound too bad...Besides, I'll be going with Siobhan and meeting Emily there. Yeah, the Royals will be there, but hey, it's a free trip to London!

"Okay," I finally said, and the two of them let out a sigh of relief. Siobhan grinned widely at me, and hopped over to give me a hug.

"Thank you! Now, go pack up! You don't have to bring much, just some clothes and your passport," Siobhan said. "I'll meet you at the entrance of the school in an hour, okay?"

I nodded, and with a brief good bye, the couple left my dorm.

"Wow," I said to no one in particular, before taking out a small duffel bag and stuffing a few sweaters, jeans and undergarments into it. Changing out of my pyjamas, I opted for a olive green button-up blouse and tucked it into a pair of black skinny jeans.

Feeling the need to look more put together in front of Siobhan, I styled my hair into a side braid and put on a bit of a pink lip stain. Satisfied, I sprayed on a bit of my favourite jasmine perfume and hefted the duffel bag over my shoulder while slipping on a pair of black flats. I had a little over fifteen minutes left before the time Siobhan instructed to meet, so I locked the door to my dorm and started to walk to the entrance of the school.

Before I forgot, I grabbed my phone from my pocket and dialled Jake's number.

After a few rings, he picked up.

"Hey, A. What's up? Miss me?" Jake cooed.

"You wish," I teased.

"Hm, then why'd you call?" he replied cockily. I could almost imagine the smirk-grin on his face as he said that.

"Hold your horses, Jake. I'm just calling to tell you that I'm going for a short weekend vacation with Siobhan and Emily," I said cheerfully. Instead of an immediate reply, the other end was silent. I almost thought we had disconnected, when Jake finally spoke.

"Vacation?" he repeated lowly. "Where?"

"London," I answered, laughing awkwardly. "I know we had dinner plans, but we can always reschedule, right?"

"Right," Jake muttered. "Just don't...just, be careful."

"I know. See you on Monday, 'kay?" I said sweetly, and I heard him sigh over the phone.

"See you, A."

    ◘ ◘ ◘  

Song of the Chapter: Fred Astaire // San Cisco