Alistair, not one for parties, had stayed behind when the rest of the group had left for one. He doubted they even knew the name of the host.

They had left with the promise that Will Scarlet would not get drunk or get laid. Although the chances of both of those things happening were pretty high.

Will Scarlet had always been a stubborn kid.

When Alistair had complained about not having anything to eat, Alexander had suggested that he order delivery or go out to a restaurant, but he wasn't in the mood for junk. He didn't like to eat out alone either, it seemed like people pitied his lonesome self when he did.

Sighing as he locked the door of the group's shared house, he left for his own.

Frustrated with his friends for leaving him, for a party, he breathed out loudly in the cold air, creating a cloud of condensation. Alistair didn't understand what the hype was with parties. Clingy girls, sweaty guys, suspicious drinks, he could deal with. The drama at the parties though, the cheating, the seductive winks, the crashers, he didn't like.

Parties were the best places to lose yourself, but at the same time, the worst place to lose yourself.

Ding.

God. Hopefully, it wasn't Alexander or Will drunkenly texting him. And if it was Will, Alex would have hell to pay.

Pushing out air from his cheeks, Alistair jogged in the direction of Emmy's orphanage.

Did I do something to offend her? Or did she do something that would offend me? Did she rat me out to the O'Hamingtons?

The O'Hamingtons had discovered the missing artefacts and objects, but despite the high reward for catching the culprit, they had been unable to, due to the different descriptions that people gave of suspicious-looking men.

Ha. Idiots.

But Emmy was incredibly loyal, she wouldn't do that to him, or the group.

As he approached the orphanage doorstep, Alistair lifted his hand to knock, but the door was abruptly pulled open by a worried-looking Emmy. Her mascara smudged, her clothes in disarray, she looked like hell.

"Emmy, what's wrong?" Alistair's eyes filled with concern at the tears threatening to fall at the corner of Emmy's eyes.

Emmy just stared tiredly at the floor, shoulders hunched. Pulling her towards the kitchen island, Alistair poured her a glass of water as she took a seat. Out of the corner of his eye, Alistair could see Emmy anxiously playing with her hair, the dejectedness and the stress in her shoulders a sharp contrast to his usual hyper and sophisticated Emmy.

His eyes tight with worry as he sat opposite her, Alistair asked softly, "Emmy, could you tell me what happened?"

Tightly wringing her hands together, with a shaky breath, she whispered, "I don't want the children to overhear, but I received a letter today from the property manager that if I don't pay the remaining instalments for the house soon, they will evict us. I have a month left. But the allowance from the government has decreased because of taxes, and I-"

A single tear fell from the corner of Emmy's eye. "-I have barely enough to support the children as it is, but now... I don't have enough. The minute we get evicted, where will we go? I-"

Alistair quickly interrupted her. "You could stay with me or, or the guys-"

Emmy smiled, but a watery smile at that. "Ali, I know that you guys are struggling to pay the bills as it is. Most of the money you get, you give away. And I don't want to be a bigger burden than I already am."

"How much is that asshole of a property manager demanding from you?"

"12,000. I was late for my instalment last month, and they increased it, as some sort of time interest or something."

Emmy refused to meet Alistair's eyes and instead picked at a document on the table, shredding the paper as she spoke.

"I'll help you get the money, I swear Emmy, the fucking government and their greedy asses. I promise, hell is going to rain down on every fucking minister in parliament."

Alistair's jaw tensed, as he tried his best to come up with something, anything, that he could do to extend the time. Twelve thousand? In a month? That was a difficult feat.

The O'Hamington heist alone took three weeks to plan and consolidate materials needed.

Unless they stole from the O'Haminton Mansion again. They already knew the floorplan, the only risky thing about the idea would be getting caught due to higher security. But after all, the fucker of a mayor deserved it, fucking with his friends, making Emmy cry.

No one made Emmy cry and got away with it.

Alistair looked up when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Emmy stared across at him tiredly, "I hope you're not thinking of getting back at anyone, are you?"

Alistair shook his head with a chuckle. "Probably not. Just thinking how I'm going to help you get the money so fast."

Emmy just rubbed her eyes, running a hand through her hair, the corner of her lips turned up. She rose abruptly, moving toward a cabinet and retrieving a mug.

"Emmy, what are you doing?"

"Making you a root beer float." She raised a hand as Alistair started to open his mouth. "I know, I know, no vanilla ice cream."

---

Alistair shivered a little as the cold air nipped at his gloveless fingers. He regretted not accepting the gloves that Emmy had offered to lend him, but he didn't want to go back now and take them, even though the walk home would be a long one.

His pride simply would not allow him to.

Ding.

Why he accepted her invitation, he was unsure. One definite deciding factor was that Emmy just wasn't ready for a relationship and Alistair, despite his big crush on her, wasn't ready to wait.

He desperately needed some love in his life.

Or, some excitement anyway.

As he started walking in the direction of the O'Hamington Mansion, (why had Lili wanted to meet there anyway?) he tried to calm down, focusing his thoughts on Lili.

Lili, blonde, pretty young, probably too young for him, hot brother-

Hot brother?

He shook his head, walking faster as the Mansion came into view. There it was, standing proud in all its glory, its inhabitants revolting and selfish.

He sent Lili a quick text, saying he was there, and she replied, asking him to wait at the foyer.

Maybe one of the O'Hamingtons was her best friend and was helping her get ready. Lili would probably descend the staircase in the foyer, dressed like a princess, expecting him to stand mouth-open, awestruck by her beauty.

What he didn't expect, however, was for her to come down in just a casual outfit, that was pretty aesthetically pleasing honestly, with Everett in her wake.

"Oh hey there Lili- Everett? What are you doing here?"

- - -

a/n: thank you for reading! votes/comments/ constructive criticism and feedback greatly appreciated and welcomed.

-sky