"Did you have to lift it in the air?"

"I'm sorry... I wasn't thinking."

"You always do drastic things."

"I know and I'm sorry..."

"Why didn't you just wait till I visited again?"

"I didn't expect you to come back after all the things I said... I'm sorry... this is like the fifteenth time I'm apologizing Cassi."

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. "I'm just finding it hard to recover from the embarrassment." I'm pretty sure everyone who was in that room except Gaia thinks I had sex with Jack. I can just imagine how devastated my mum would be, thinking I cheated on Levi.

Probably Levi wouldn't mind because we're not dating. But it was so embarrassing. "I'm sorry... I hope your boyfriend doesn't think we... did anything."

"He's... just ignore him," I sigh. The front door opens and Levi comes out with Dario, my mum trailing behind them. Dario is still holding that towel over his broken nose. "Hey... why is your girlfriend's sneaky link still here?" Dario asks, pointing at Jack. Then he pulls out a gun from his jacket and points it at him. "Didn't we tell you to leave already? How dare you bang my brother's girlfriend and still have the guts to be here!" he barks. We all stare at him in awe. "I... nothing happened between us," I defend sheepishly.

"Don't be stupid Dario," Levi laughs. "Give me that toy gun." He snatches the gun from him and turns to my mum. "He always does this to scare people... such an idiot," he chuckles and tucks the gun into his jacket.

"Oh, I see," my mum laughs. She's trying to ignore Jack's presence. "Maybe I should leave," Jack mumbles, getting up. "No stay." I swiftly snatch his arm. Everyone is staring at me like I just did something crazy.

My mum clears her throat. "Well then Levi... I hope this dinner wasn't too horrible for you."

"No... it was great honestly," he reassures her. "So when can we get to meet your family?" she asks.

He itches the back of his neck. "They're kind of always busy... so I can't set a date."

"Well that's okay, the important thing is you make Cassi happy," she turns to me. "I just hope you make him as happy too." Her eyes of disapproval trail to Jack. "Safe journey Levi," she smiles and walks into the house.

"Levi I'm sorry-"

"Enough apologizing... what's important now is that your mum likes me and will probably let you run off with me to another city. So pack your bags, we're leaving tomorrow."

I gasp. "Tomorrow?"

"Yes... I was able to track down our suspect and it turns out he's in Chicago."

"Chicago?! I... that's... but..."

"Relax okay? Just tell your mum about it tonight... I'll be here by 5 in the morning to pick you up, understood?"

This is all happening too fast, but it's too late to back down now. We've already gone through the stress of this dinner and everything else. I can't just let it be in vain. "Okay."

"Good. Now go get some rest... get a pedicure... take a warm bath. Just make sure you're ready for tomorrow." He leans forward and plants a kiss on my forehead. "Love you, pooks."

"Gross," Dario mutters. Levi shifts his stance, punching him directly in the face this time. "Gahh..." he stumbles backward and falls over on his back. "Don't you think that's enough?" I ask him worriedly.

"Don't worry about him. I do that all the time and he never dies," he reassures me. "Oh..."

"Good night pooks," he smiles and turns away but pauses in his tracks. "Oh, and that pink bra of yours... I would like to see you in it tomorrow night." I gasp and my cheeks flush. I can't believe he just said that so openly. His gaze flicks to Jack for a brief second and back to me. "I didn't do anything with him," I tell him for the fifth time this evening.

He chuckles. "Sure you didn't."

"Get up Dario we're leaving." Dario lifts his head off the ground dazed and confused. "Huh?" Levi gets into the driver's seat of their car. "Here let me help you." I take his hands and pull him up. He teeters around a bit before regaining his balance. "Thanks." He walks to the car and opens the door. Halfway in, Levi jams the accelerator.

The car zooms off with Dario hanging out of it. I know boys can be a bit rough but their view of playing around is on a whole different level. I turn to Jack. "Your boyfriend seems cool," he says, leaning his cheek on his palm.

I return to sit next to him. "What's up with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean how you acted like an underfed psychopath this morning when you saw me, I mean how you stabbed me in the shoulder, I mean how you behaved so differently from the nice guy that carried me home."

He heaves a sigh. "Sorry, I just get mad when people come in uninvited... or at all."

Oh wow.

Something he has in common with Ace. They both hate unexpected guests. "Do you live in there with your parents?"

He shakes his head. "They're out of town."

We sit there in silence as a gust of wind whistles by. "Please don't tell anyone I live there."

"Why?" I ask, remaining oblivious to the obvious answer.

"Seriously? Because I like my privacy. I don't even know how you found out I live there."

"A lucky guess," I shrug. "How do you even live there all alone? And I thought Willow Lane was... haunted... you know... cause no one lives there anymore."

"Really? I didn't notice." You didn't notice? This guy must be so oblivious to his surroundings.

"So that guy... isn't your boyfriend."

"What? He is."

"Sorry... it's just that I overheard you guys talking. But what was he saying about a suspect and running away to another city?"

"It's... it's nothing."

"Okay then... so we're both keeping secrets from each other now... that's okay." He gets up and rubs his arms. "It's so cold... I think I should go home now."

"I'll follow you," I say and get up too. "You'll follow me home?" he asks with a raised brow. "To the end of the street," I clarify.

"Why? You're scared?" he asks. Of course, I'm scared, skeletons were hanging from the frigging trees! "No... it's just... a bit far."

"You're a scaredy-cat," he deadpans.

"Fine, I'll follow you all the way," I insist. He starts laughing and ruffles my hair. "I was just joking, Cassi. I wouldn't want you pissing yourself on your way back." No, he did not just do that.

"Ugh, how dare you. Sorry, I'm not used to roaming in the woods at night like some weirdo."

He ignores my statement and steps off the porch. Okay, maybe I shouldn't have called him a weirdo.

I get down from the porch, trailing behind him. "How's your shoulder?" he asks.

"It still hurts a bit but it's healing... how's Mia?"

"Huh?" he chuckles. "Mia is alright."

"You really like her don't you," I mutter, hoping I didn't sound jealous in any way. He shrugs. "Yeah, I guess."

I raise a brow. "You guess?"

"She's cool... but she hates it when I do this."

Suddenly, he wraps his arms around my waist and lifts me off the ground. "What are you doing? Put me down!" I demand, kicking my feet in the air.

"Hm you say that like you can make me," he chuckles. "Jack! This is harassment!" I yell. He begins tickling my sides. No... it can't be... my worst weakness. I burst into laughter and start wriggling harder. "Stop or I'll pee!" I scream mid-laughter. "You'd better not," he laughs.

"Then stop! Ja-"

"Hey there." We both pause and look up. Gaia is smirking at us from her bedroom window. "Remember what I told you, Cassi," she says before drawing her curtains closed. Jack puts me down. "What is she talking about?" The theory is that the universe will unite us both as one. "Nothing she's just stupid."

I continue my steps and so does he. "What got into me?" he mumbles. "I'm not usually this energetic."

"Why? You have a job or something?" I ask.

"Well... you can say that." A disembodied ringtone cuts through the silence of the eery neighborhood. Jack takes his phone out of his pocket and glances at the screen. His expression noticeably goes sullen. "I have to go Cassi... thanks for easing me up a bit."

And like that, he dashes into the night like a hero who just got summoned. I wish I knew where he was going. Maybe I would have stalked him a bit if he wasn't running so fast. I turn on my heels and head back home.

It only takes a minute. I open the door and shut it behind me. Margo is sitting on the couch still in her dinner attire, staring at the blank television. Then she turns to me for a second and back to the TV. "I'm sorry."

I fold my arms over my chest. "Just one sorry? For everything you did?"

She heaves a sigh. "I was jealous," she admits.

"Yeah that was obvious," I reply, sitting next to her.

"I mean I lost my cool when your mum told me he was your boyfriend... I mean he's hot, charming-"

"You know he's like 20 right?"

"What? Are you serious? Then never mind," she gets up and kicks off her heels. "But that still doesn't explain why you lied to me or when you met this guy or how you arrived at dating him... but that's a story for another day," she says and picks up her shoes. "Also I'm proud of you for actually capturing a guy like that, night Cas," she says and ascends the stairs.

I throw my head against the couch and let loose a breath. Then I hear something slump beside me. My eyes flicker open and I pivot my neck, seeing my mum beside me. Great what's she going to lecture me about today?

"You know... I never approved of you having a boyfriend... an older one for that matter."

I shrug. "So why didn't you complain?"

"Back in London I'd heard a few of my coworkers talk about how they had daughters with emo boyfriends who were covered in tattoos, irresponsible, loutish... but the thing is not approving them of dating such people could cause a lot of problems... she could run away, or start acting rebellious, or even kill you for not approving," she explains. "And seeing how you snuck out of the house over a party... You could have run away and I didn't know how to feel about that... so I decided to close an eye and let it slide... and maybe get to know more about this boy and see if he was truly worth your time."

"So? What do you think?"

"Well he's an odd boy but he's auspicious... and whether or not I like him doesn't matter, if you like him. So I'm okay with it," she smiles.

"Oh... that's great," I beam.

Just hope you don't mind that we're traveling to Chicago tomorrow.

•••

I snuck out of my room. This time I left my phone behind just in case. I hope my mum doesn't go into my room or she'll meet a bunch of pillows under a blanket.

I know I shouldn't be standing out here for so long, but I'm scared to go in. I don't know what he has planned for me after my mum intruded on his territory and also not bothering to come see him for a while.

I hesitantly push the door open and walk in. I can barely see anything so I take out my phone and turn on the flashlight. If he isn't down here then he's probably gazing out his bedroom window. So I go up the stairs and into his bedroom. Just as I predicted he's casually leaning out the window.

"If it isn't our runaway princess, Star... welcome back."

"I... I'm sorry Ace."

He doesn't reply. His attention remains out the window. "Is that so? You're taking responsibility for your offenses?"

"I had no idea my mum tracked me here that night... I'm so sorry... I promise it will never happen again... I... I hope you don't plan on... killing her... she was only looking out for me."

"If I kill her... I might as well kill you, right? I'll just wait till Christmas."

"But A-Ace-"

"I didn't ask for your opinion. It's just something I decided to tell you," he states. "You should be thanking God you came today... I was getting impatient."

"Right, I'm sorry."

"You're eloping with Levi tomorrow, am I correct?"

"Excuse me? I'm not eloping with him. I'm going to tell my mum about it-"

"And she'll give you her consent to leave?"

"I- well maybe." Deep down I know there's a ninety-nine percent chance she's not going to let me travel out with Levi. But there's still that one percent I can lean on at least. "Alright then, whatever you say," he replies. "But I'll warn you, that Levi is a pervert," he begins. "A really bad one."

Well, I didn't see that coming. Levi has been very composed these past few days, so I couldn't picture him behaving sleazy. "He can't be that bad... can he?"

He turns to me, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Don't mind me, I'm just messing around."

"Oh thank goodness," I laugh, sighing a breath of relief.

Then he starts laughing. I stare at him, speechless as he cackles for reasons I'm not sure of. But seeing him laugh brings a smile to my face and I don't know why, there's always this warm feeling it gives me. It lights me up.

He clears his throat. "You always make me break character," he groans, slowly approaching me. "You're supposed to fear me... do you still fear me?" he asks, bending to my level.

Partially because his moods swing like sudden storms. But it's difficult for me to see him as a scary ghost now if he only acts like a despondent high schooler who enjoys joking around once in a while. But I don't want him to feel like I've taken him for granted, so "Yes," is my reply.

For a split second, his expression twisted with confusion. "Oh... I see." He saunters to the window and settles on the sill, folding his legs. "I laughed because you believed me... take caution of Levi though," he says. "And it's midnight... if your mum finds out you snuck out again she might just ruin your plans," he adds. "Good night."

Just how did he know I snuck out? "Yeah she might ruin my plans... but if it's midnight I should be more worried about making it home safely."

"Don't worry... you're safe. I promise," he tells me with a comforting smile. It's like he just opened a cage of butterflies in my tummy and I can't seem to stop that unintentional smile from spreading across my face. Get a grip, Cassi. "Okay, thanks... good night Ace."

"Yeah... good night."

I slowly back away, my eyes still locked in his until I turn on my heels to leave.

"Oh, and I forgot to ask..."

I turn to him, a malicious smile slithering unto his lips. "How was the party?"