I stared at the hasty scrawl in front of me, the words barely standing out against the blood red colour of the card. My erratic heartbeat and the blood pounding in my ears brought a sheen of tears to my eyes, barely allowing me to see the words.

Meet me at midnight at the place where you got the note. I don't have to tell you to be careful.

-Adrian

I shouldn't be doing this. Just having the letter with me was breaking the law. This would get me sent to the Outside, alongside Adrian. I would never get to see my family again, my friends and... Francis. But I also wanted to know what he wanted to say. What if it was something important? What if it was related to the couple? I wanted to know about them. I knew that if I didn't go, the 'What ifs' would plague me for the rest of my life.

I took a deep breath and checked the time. It was already half past eleven. I had only half an hour to reach there. It would take me at least twenty minutes to get there which meant I had only ten minutes to get ready. I looked in the mirror at my disheveled hair and my eyes widened. I jumped off the bed and ran to my wardrobe. I quickly wore a pair of blue jeans and put on a blue top which made my grey eyes look bluer. I put my hair up in a messy bun and extended my hand as a machine put a black metal band on my wrist.

I looked nothing like myself--nothing like the calm collected twenty-one year old I was.

I looked at the time to see that I was already running late. Hopefully, there was no traffic at this hour. I voice called my Hover to me and as it glided over, I glanced at myself in the holographic mirror of my band. My face looked pale and drawn, my eyes too wide. My lips were my natural pink colour and looked bare without my daily colour. I sighed.

The front door opened and a ramp slid down, allowing me to climb up. I sat in the driver's seat and took the controller in my hand, driving to the ice cream shop.

By the time I reached there, it was already five past twelve. I landed the on the Hover pad near the shop and looked around, unable to see him anywhere. Maybe he hadn't arrived yet. I got down and the door closed behind me. I walked to the ice cream shop and waited for the door to open. When it didn't, I realized what time it was. Of course it wouldn't open at midnight. It wasn't scheduled for it.

I gave out a sigh and sat down on the ground, knowing it was clean enough for it. After all, it was illegal to litter and no one wanted to break the rules, not when the punishment could be so drastic. I heard footsteps and I drew in a breath. I withdrew into the shadows and waited for whomever it was to go. My chest moved up and down once and then I held my breath, trying not to make a single noise. That was when Adrian came into view and I closed my eyes in relief. Of course it was Adrian. Who would wander the streets, especially the fun park at midnight?

I walked in the light and Adrian's eyes lit up in recognition as he saw me. He was clearly out of breath, breathing hard. Sweat coated his face and I frowned at him. "What happened?" I asked, my voice soft so that nobody would hear us.

"I jogged till here. Of course I am out of breath." He replied, as if the answer was right in front of me.

I looked down, my cheeks going red. "Wait a minute. Did you bring your Hover?" he hissed, reprimanding me.

"Uh...yes." I mumbled.

"Are you mad?" he whispered but it was obvious he wanted to nothing more than to raise his voice. "What if somebody sees it?"

"It's okay. I can say that I came here alone but then went home with my partner. Francis will cover for me."

His eyes were incredulous as he asked, "And what are you going to tell him? That you met up with a boy, especially your designated foe at midnight?"

My cheeks reddened but I brought my chin up in a show of confidence. "I'll figure out something."

He shook his head and grabbed my arm, dragging me towards the exit. "Let go of my arm!" I hissed at him.

"We are leaving. We'll go to the White House." He replied, his eyes blazing but he released my arm, much to my relief.

"Are you crazy?" I asked, my disbelieving voice enough to make him look at me. "The White House will be the worst place to go at this time."

He pursed his lips. "Not as crazy as you," was all he said.

I muttered a series of curses which he studiously ignored. The rides that were glowing in different colours just a few hours ago now looked dead as a doornail that existed in the prehistoric times. I almost felt sad for the rides. During the day, they were loved and cherished but at night, they were left alone with no one to play and love.

I looked at Adrian and asked, "Why did you ask me to come here?"

"Because I need something from you." He answered, as flippant as always.

I made a frustrated noise and elaborated. "What do you need from me?"

"Remember that couple?" he asked and when I nodded, he continued. "I want to know why they brought in. I don't have access to the files but you might since you're in Control. That's why we are going to the White House."

My eyes widened. "That is not allowed."

"Neither is meeting with your adversary."

I pursed my lips. After all, even I wanted to know why they were taken. But going to the administration building at midnight and showing the records to a Regulator who also happened to be my adversary? That was just calling for trouble. "Come on, Ava." He whispered beside me. "You are the only one who can do this for me."

"What about Stephanie?" I asked as the White house came into view.

He didn't stop, just continued towards the building. I walked with him, not wanting to be left behind. He gave me a furious look at my words and turned away, not saying anything. I let him be. If he didn't want to talk about her, I wouldn't force him to. But after a moment, he answered. "I hate her. Stephanie."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because she is nothing like what I want. She is stupid and... and annoying. All she does is giggle at me. She doesn't understand anything I say." he said, his voice conveying how hard he was trying to rein in his anger.

I softened my face and replied, "I understand. She can be... a bit too much sometimes. But she's your partner and you are meant to be. Maybe one day, you'll understand why."

He just shook his head and continued walking. I thought for a moment and then said, "You know what? We'll go and see the file."

He smiled at me just as I heard some footsteps coming towards us. His dark eyes, looking darker at night, widened in panic as he said, "Someone's here."