Rob seemed to be happy, too happy. There was something happening that he wasn't telling me, and that scared me. I was running out of excuses to blow off his date nights, romantic walks, and expensive dinners.

It wasn't that I didn't like Rob. Well, not just that. I wanted to tell him that I was already in love, that my heart was no longer mine to give.

But I couldn't, so he was there. At every turn, he was there, demanding attention. I almost felt sorry for him, in a way. I turned the corner, and he was there. For once, he wasn't looking at me.

He'd found a group of friends soon enough. Of course, he had. It seemed like everything was getting handed to him and he knew it. I knew I'd had enough in my life given to me by the Alams, but it hadn't been instantaneous. Not like Rob's was.

I looked away before he could catch me looking at him. The last thing I needed to do was lead him on. He was smitten enough as it was.

I needed someone who would reliably in my corner. I needed someone to tell me about the latest alien romance they'd read. I missed the days when I was about to get married to Corey.

I found them in the hall, and they met my eyes.

"Guess you got out of having to marry me, huh?"

"I'd go back to you in a heartbeat."

"Well, you could've turned him down."

I shook my hand. "You don't get it."

"I get more than you think, Sonnet. I'm just not a snitch."

"I—"

"You don't need to say anything, Sonnet. You know me, I'm quiet. I'd never tell anyone."

"I need a friend like you, Corey."

They nodded. "I know you do."

"Do you want to have lunch with me?"

"I'm probably going to read the whole time."

"Still."

"I'd love to have lunch with you, Sonnet."

"Thank you," I whispered. They nodded like it was nothing. It was everything.

I took a deep breath.

I needed to do something, anything to stop myself from dwelling on it. I need T to come save me. I would need to wait, and trust. I trusted her with my life, but it was an impatient sort of trust.

I kept my head down, going to class. Being the perfect student. I would be the perfect student, of course.

I did work mindlessly, like the robots they seemed to have been designed for. I preferred being in my head when my thoughts were off. I moved between classes, like a dancer in a music box moved in a circle.

I found Corey for lunch. They looked up at me. Then, they looked back down at their book.

"Do you trust him?"

"Who? Rob?"

"Yeah, him."

"No."

"You shouldn't."

"What do you know about him?"

"Rumors travel fast. He's got connections with the government. How do you get those connections?"

"Turn someone in."

"By the looks of it, he probably burned multiple people. Or one very important person."

"I know he'd turn in anyone that he knew was in the rebellion."

They gave me a look that said You'll have to be careful.

"I know she was close to you."

"I can't hate him."

"I know."

Corey went back to reading their book, and that was the end of that. I didn't want it to be the end, but it was.

✰ ✰ ✰

I sat in the empty office. I didn't want to be in an empty office, but that was irrelevant, wasn't it?

Mr. McShane was late, and it left me with nothing to do but sit on his couch direct from the 80s and wonder where he could possibly be. I looked at my thumb, picking at a flap of loose skin there. I hadn't imagined being the chosen one ever being so boring.

By the time Mr. McShane came in, I'd already memorized every line of the shade that went over his old lamp. I'd been staring at it for about fifteen minutes.

"What were you up to?"

"I was just out receiving an intelligence briefing."

"Oh?"

"We're getting close to holding the terrorists who attacked our office accountable. But that's no concern of yours. Not right now, anyway."

"You're hiding something."

"You'll find that a lot here. We can't let anyone have information. Spies."

"You think I'm a spy?"

"I think you're untrained. I wouldn't want to risk you accidentally telling someone classified intelligence."

"You don't trust me."

"You'll earn it in time."

I nodded. I would. I knew that, and I was glad he knew it too.

He took a deep breath before continuing, "But that's not what I wanted to discuss with you. We've scheduled a date for your engagement announcement. We were thinking two days, May 10th and 11th."

I nodded. "That's less than a month from now."

"Yes, we want it to be in enough time to respond to this rebel activity. We want to show our citizens we're still here and we're stronger than those usurpers."

I nodded. Mr. McShane seemed to have a single focus. It felt good when that focus was on me.

"As we should."

"Robert, I'm going to need you to bring your fiancé in with you. We want to prep you both for the event, and we want to tailor it to fit both of you and your relationship."

I nodded. "Of course, sir."

I would get to spend more time with Sonnet. Mr. McShane had just helped me build some time for a date. My invites all seemed to fall through. I was confident that this wouldn't.

Mr. McShane wouldn't let it fall through, so it wouldn't. That was what I needed.

"Is that all for today?"

Mr. McShane looked almost like he'd forgotten I was there.

"Yes, I'm too busy for your training today."

"Good luck catching those rebels, sir."

He nodded. He didn't seem to care that I was there. I turned and left. I would be the one to deliver the message of our engagement party to our date.

I walked out of the building, barely glancing at the security guard on the way out. I raced to the train station. I wanted to be there as soon as I could.

As much as I'd been impressed by the train when I first arrived, it didn't move fast enough now. It could never move fast enough.

I raced out the door, sprinting up the steps to the mansion.

Sonnet wasn't on the couch reading, so I ran up to her room. I knocked on the door.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Sonnet was laying on her bed, reading a book. She looked invested in it.

"Is that good?"

"Yeah."

She didn't seem talkative. I wasn't willing to wait until she was.

"Our engagement party has been scheduled."

Sonnet looked up. I had her attention.

"When?"

"May 10th and 11th."

She gave me a funny look.

"What's wrong?"

"That's my birthday." She looked wistful.

"Really?"

"Yep, I turn 18 then. I was hoping it'd be a lowkey event, but I guess not."

"I could ask them to push it back."

"Don't bother. The government won't change anything for my birthday."

I looked at her.

"I could ask them to. They'd do it for me."

"They probably already booked the venue, Rob."

"You're right. Are you okay with that?"

"It doesn't matter, one way or the other."

"It matters to me."

She looked me in the eye. Her gaze was like a spotlight, brighter than any Mr. McShane could shine on me.

"Then it's okay."

I held her hand in mine. I wanted to stay like that forever, even as she pulled her hand out of mine and went back to reading her book.