"I've been searching for a reason to get away from you,

Because I've never felt so good as when you're around.

And now I'm making up a story the way you want me to,

With a picture-perfect ending tying me down."

❁❁❁

EMILY AND I sat quietly on one of the decrepit benches behind the Grand Library, a spot that we had discovered on one of our many study dates. While not exactly the comfiest or prettiest place to study, we got our peace and quiet. Hardly anyone came around to the back of the library, much less to study.

I felt slightly guilty towards my best friend as I haven't had the time to hang out with her lately. I was too caught up with assignments and my exhibition for Talent Week that I put our regular study sessions on hold. The only time we got to see each other was during our meal times, but we didn't get the privacy we needed because the boys were around. Plus, I wasn't the only one who noticed the sudden distance between Asher and Emily after the camping trip. Something seemed to change between them, and as curious as I was, I couldn't ask her in front of the Royals, and I felt like asking her through text messages was too insincere.

Thankfully, my History teacher cancelled his lecture today, and I could finally make the time to hang out with my dearest Emily.

"Em? How are you? I haven't had the time to talk to you about...well, you," I piped up, casting her a curious glance.

"I'm okay, Lexi," Emily replied with a smile, even though I noticed that it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Things are busy with school, huh? We hardly get to hang out anymore."

"I know," I groaned, shooting her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Em. School's just been so busy, you know? Everything will go back to normal once Talent Week is over."

"I hope so," she mumbled, though it seemed like there was a hidden meaning behind it.

"Anyways, how are you and Robin?" she asked, changing the subject and perking up considerably. No matter how down she seems, she always brightens up whenever I talk about Robin and I.

"We're okay. Moving slow." I felt a faint blush rising up my neck as I replied her. Emily's smile widened, and this time I could feel that it was genuine.

"That's good to hear," she giggled. "I didn't miss the little glances you guys shot each other during lunch the other day."

"Oh my god," I cried, burying my head in my hands. How embarrassing!

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Lexi," Emily chided cheekily. Then, she let out a wistful sigh. "You've got what girls could only dream of."

"Well, you have Asher. Although, personally, he's way too grumpy for me," I simpered, but immediately dropped my smile when I noticed that Emily's faltered.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, eyebrows furrowing in concern. I put my pen down, our study session long forgotten, and turned my full attention to her. Emily bit her bottom lip, eyes downcast.

In the entirety of knowing Emily Park, I never once saw her with an insincere smile on her face. She was perhaps the sweetest, bubbliest person I knew. But ever since we came back from the camp, I had noticed that her smiles weren't as bright as they were before.

"Does...Does it have anything to do with Asher?" I murmured, eyeing her intently in case she tried to lie her way out of this conversation. When she shifted in her seat and shook her head, I knew she wasn't telling the truth.

"No, Lexi. It's not that," she mumbled quietly, refusing to meet my eyes. I was ready to call her bluff and interrogate her further, but the bell suddenly rang, interrupting us.

"It's lunch time," Emily said, sitting up straighter. She plastered a wide smile on her face, and began to pack up her things. "Let's get going before the crowds start to arrive."

I stared at her for a second longer, before letting out a small sigh. I plastered my own smile onto my face, and quietly complied. It seemed like Emily wasn't ready to talk about what was bothering her so much. Even though we were close friends, I knew she had a penchant for keeping things bottled up inside of her.

When she's ready, she'll share her burdens with me, I thought. Hooking my arm through hers, I shot her a wide grin.

"Come on, birthday girl. I heard they're serving your favourite beef manicotti today," I cheered.

Before we knew it, we arrived at the canteen. Grabbing our food, we took a seat at a table near the windows. Even though it was the weekend and students were allowed to venture out, many of them choose to stay in school because of their extra classes. Today was no exception. Students of all shapes and sizes milled around the canteen, some alone and some in groups, chatting and eating amongst themselves happily.

After we settled down, we quietly began to dig in to the delicious food. Suddenly, the intercom in the canteen crackled to life.

"Hello? Is this thing working?"

"Of course it's working you idiot, get on with it!"

Emily shot me a confused glance, but I only shrugged and hoped my smile didn't give anything away.

"Fine, geez. Emily Park? Emily Park, this is Logan Marshall," the intercom crackled. Emily's eyes widened up in confusion and shock, along with the hundred or so students in the canteen. Everyone shot her glances mixed with jealousy and confusion.

"First of all, I'd like to say happy birthday to you. So does—ow!"

"Oh my god," Emily whispered under her breath. I couldn't resist my smile anymore, and I broke out into a huge grin.

"Ahem, second of all, roses are red, violets are—do I really have to say this? It's kind of la—ah, ah! Not the eye!" Emily shot me an amused look, and we broke out into a fit of small giggles. Typical of them boys.

"Second of all, roses are red, violets are blue, dinner at eight, bring Alexandra too," Logan muttered unenthusiastically.

Surprised gasps and whispers broke out throughout the canteen. Everyone looked like they had something to say about this, except Emily, of course. Emily looked absolutely speechless.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you," Logan's soft, baritone voice sang through the intercom. It was slightly muffled and crackly, but it was still very melodic and beautiful. I could see now why Logan's music was so popular.

"Happy birthday, Em-il-y.

Happy birthday to you!"

❁❁❁

"ARE YOU SURE I look fine?" Emily whispered nervously, tugging at the hem of her mustard yellow sundress.

"You look gorgeous, Em. Really," I reassured, fixing any loose strands of hair that escaped her fishtail braid that I struggled to help her plait.

"You really do!" Reiko piped in. She joined us around an hour after lunch, and we spent the rest of the day in Emily's dorm relaxing. Though it's been ages since we last met at the Winter Ball, Reiko Hideyoshi was still as bubbly and hyper as I remembered.

Although Logan told me that the dress code was casual, I still struggled to find something nice to wear. With the help of Reiko and Emily, I managed to put together a decent outfit. I wore a dark purple turtle-neck sweater tucked into a pair of grey checkered pants that I bought on impulse on my birthday last year. It fit snugly against my hips, bringing out the little curves I have. Emily lent me a dainty gold Tiffany necklace to finish my look. I slipped on a pair of black oxford shoes Emily lent me and let my hair fall into messy waves.

Reiko looked as jaw-dropping as always in her cream floral blouse, light pink satin shorts and sparkly Miu Miu sneakers.

We stood in front of Logan's penthouse, located in a tall, grand building in the city centre. Emily took a deep breath before raising her small fist to knock against the dark oak door.

Less than a second later, the door swung open to reveal a grinning Logan, who looked as breath-taking as usual in a loose white v-neck and dark-washed skinny jeans. Next to him, Robin stood with one hand clutching a metal bowl, and the other holding a whisk. He had on a hilarious frilly pink apron over his dark green sweater, his face set in a stony expression.

"Come in, come in!" Logan exclaimed loudly, gesturing us to come in. He enveloped Emily in a large bear hug and murmured, "Happy birthday!"

"Lo-gan...can't...breathe!" Emily choked, but she regained her breath. When he let go of her, he turned to me and pulled me into a quick embrace.

"Happy birthday, Emily," Robin grunted, whisking away at whatever was in his metal bowl. Reiko and I exchanged glances, trying to surprise our laughter. This didn't go past Robin's watchful gaze, and he narrowed his eyes at us.

"Are you girls going to stand there till the next coming of Christ?" he gibed, before turning around and stalking back to the large living room and through the kitchen door, disappearing from sight.

"He's grumpy because I only had one apron to spare, and we had to borrow one from kind old Mrs Jamison from down the hall!" Logan stage-whispered loudly, making the three of us burst into giggles.

"What's taking so long?" A soft, yet firm voice asked. Yuko appeared around the corner, grinning when he caught sight of Emily and his little sister. He was dressed in a royal blue sweater and cream-coloured pants, his usual neatly styled hair let loose to cover part of his forehead. Unlike Robin, he wore a plain, dark blue apron.

"Rei!" he exclaimed, taking large strides towards Reiko and enveloping her into a hug.

"Oni-chan!" Reiko cheered, returning his embrace. I blinked as I saw this exchange, surprised to witness Yuko's affectionate behaviour. After the siblings let go of each other, Yuko shot Emily a sheepish look.

"Sorry, Emily. I know it's your birthday but Reiko...," he trailed off, scratching his neck awkwardly.

"It's okay!" Emily reassured quickly, shooting him a quick smile. Yuko smiled, before giving her an awkward fist bump, in which Reiko and I responded by snorting at how ridiculous he looked.

He turned to me and grinned, "Hey, Alex."

I mock-saluted him, and we all walked into the living room at last. I looked around the room, trying to locate the white-haired monster who helped to organise the get-together, but to no avail. Asher Dane was nowhere to be found. Pursing my lips, I took a seat on plush leather couch, and Logan flopped down beside me. Yuko settled into a red velvet armchair and Reiko sat daintily on the arm of the chair her brother was sitting on. Logan pat the empty space beside him enthusiastically, beckoning Emily to take a seat.

"Where's Asher?" I asked curiously, causing Logan to clear his throat awkwardly.

"He's not feeling well," Yuko explained with pursed lips, though he looked equally as unconvinced as everyone else in the room. Emily blinked, staring down at her hands. A look of disappointment flitted through her gentle features.

"Oh. That sucks," Reiko said, breaking the awkward silence in the room. Then, she clapped her hands together and tilted her head upwards, taking a deep sniff. "Something smells delicious!"

It was true. The living room smelled like a delicious mix of fresh linen and aromatic herbs and spices.

"That would be the beef steaks Robin's whipping up now," Yuko informed, making Emily's eyes widen.

"Robin's cooking?" Emily asked in surprise, and Yuko nodded in response.

"Robin and I are preparing dinner for you today," Yuko said with a small smile.

"That's so nice of you guys," Emily mumbled, leaning back into her seat.

"Speaking oh which, I'd better get back in there," Yuko announced, getting up from his seat.

"I'll help!" I said, carefully grabbing the box containing Emily's birthday cake in my hands. Together, Yuko and I headed for the kitchen.

"Wow," I said under my breath as I entered the dining hall. The kitchen was situated at the back of the hall, where Robin was busying himself with the steaks. I tried to ignore how cute he looked with his frilly apron over his all-black long-sleeved shirt and jeans assemble. When I was sure he wasn't looking, I whipped out my phone and snapped a quick picture. For research (or perhaps, blackmail) purposes, of course.

Robin paused when he heard us enter the room, turning around to face Yuko and I. His eyes flitted between the both of us. Frowning, he muttered something under his breath before returning his attention to the steaks in his pan.

"Let's go help," Yuko said, walking over to the kitchen counter and grabbing several sets of cutlery and table mats. Together, we arranged the mats and cutlery neatly on the dining table.

Thirty minutes later, the three of us stared at our finished masterpiece proudly. The table was filled with countless plates of food, from buttery beef steaks to sweet and sour chicken to piping hot miso soup. My mouth was practically watering by the time we set everything up.

Yuko poked his head out of the kitchen door while Robin untied his frilly apron, much to my disappointment.

"Dinner's ready!"

A chorus of excited cheers erupted from the living room, and it didn't take long for everyone to gather around the dining table.

Emily's eyes lit up at the elaborate display of food, and her smile quivered slightly.

"Thank you guys so much!" she cried, running over to give Robin and Yuko a big hug.

"Happy birthday, Emily," the two boys said, before gesturing for her to sit down.

We spent the next hour rotating between laughing at the ridiculous 'fights' between Reiko and Logan and stuffing our faces full of the scrumptious food Yuko and Robin prepared. Finally, it was time for the cake. I walked over to the kitchen counter while the rest finished whatever was left on their plates.

"Cake! Cake!" Logan cheered, clapping his hands in delight.

"Anyone got a lighter?" I asked over my shoulder, carefully placing the candles into the cake.

"I got it," Robin said quietly, sidling up next to me with a lighter in hand. Silently, I let him light the candles.

"Hey," he said. I glanced over at him, lips curving into a smile. I still couldn't get over how handsome he was.

"Hey."

"May I go over later?" he asked, even though it sounded more like a demand. I was starting to discover that he wasn't a two-sided coin, he was more like a die. Like a blue, 12-sided resin die you find in magic shops. Sometimes, Robin was sweet as sugar. Other times, he was sarcastic and rude. But almost always, he was distant.

I couldn't figure him out completely. He was hard to read, and it was even harder trying to get him to open up.

While he was absolutely sweet the entire week, accompanying me while I painted and offering me snacks in-between, I was getting almost...frustrated. Not once did he try to make a move on me. Heck, he didn't even try to hold my hand! I was starting to wonder if he would shy away from me if I tried to give him a high-five...

I know we agreed to let things flow naturally, but didn't he want me? I couldn't stop thinking about him and his lips on mine. Was he thinking about it too?

"Alexandra?" he said, raising an eyebrow. Snapping out of my reverie, I nodded and answered him dumbly.

"Ye-Yeah, sure. Why not?"

"See you later on, then," he replied. The cake was ready. I put a large grin on my face and turned to face the group, hollering loudly.

"Come on, guys! Cake time!"

  ❁❁❁ 

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Song of the Chapter: Lion Eyes // Island Apollo