The window closed and half a minute later, Blake stepped outside through the sliding glass door. He walked right past Lena to embrace Finn like a brother. Both flung their arms around each other and let their joy show by the smiles and laughter.

"Where have you been?" asked Blake as he loosened his grip.

"Everywhere," Finn chuckled, knowing not where to begin. "I have a lot to tell you."

"Why haven't you talked to me? What happened to you? You look terrible."

"I bet I do," said Finn, driving his filthy fingers through the mess of gray hair. "I walked through hell to get here."

"Tell me everything."

"I will, but not now. We need your help."

"We?" Blake said, baffled he noticed Finn's eyes aiming past him, and when Blake turned to follow the mysterious looks, he detected the faint shadows of a figure near his bike. 

The door slid open anew, and a skinny pale girl came sprinting toward Finn. Her short thin hair bounced up and down as she took off and jumped at Finn. With two strong arms, he caught her and stumbled backward.

"Finn!" she squealed, resulting in a hectic flapping sound nearby. Birds, no longer slumbering, were now flying off to a different tree.

"Hey monkey," Finn hugged the animated little girl as she dug her chubby cheeks deeper into his collarbone. His hands did not have to hold her up, for her legs and arms squeezed him tightly enough to stick like velcro. "Are you giving Blake a hard time again?"

"No!" she smirked at him, showing off the gaps of her three missing teeth, "Did you find the aliens?"

"Of course I did. Slimy, green, one-eyed folk."

Her eyes grew bigger. "Is that why you were gone so long? Did they take you?"

"No, they didn't abduct me. They're really friendly, told me to say hi to you."

"Wow!" She gazed up at the weak stars, her arms winding around Finn's neck. "What else did they say?"

"They said you should look out for passing bursts of light in the night sky. That's their ships whizzing by."

She giggled at him and poked his chin with her finger. "Wanna play rubber warper?"

"Um," Finn let her climb down and, with a tipped smile, said, "Another time. Go get ready for bed now."

Her playful smile turned into an irreversible frown. "Alright," she muffled and sauntered back inside and up the stairs.

"How?" Blake hurled his arms in wonder, "She's the devil's child, but whenever you're here she's a saint! With the halo and wings and everything. She always does whatever you tell her to do. Just how do you do it?"

"Now I know what it's like to be you," Finn said to Lena, suggesting that people usually obey her without second thoughts. 

Lena tittered at his joke, triggering his dizziness again and drawing Blake's eyes to herself. He stared at Lena long enough to make her uncomfortable, then he wished to be apprised.

"Who is this?" he asked.

"I'm Lena."

Blake looked neither satisfied nor enlightened, and Finn stepped in to rid him of confusion. 

"We met on Pluviam. Kind of a crazy story. I was just following the plan when she sort of ruined everything, but it was good that she did, well not at first. We had to run, but then Fortem left, and—well actually they came back but we didn't know that at the time. We were gone by then and almost died! But, spoiler alert, we made it. Anyway—"

Blake's mind was more tangled than before, still giving it his best to listen carefully to Finn's incomplete and oddly arranged sentences.

"It's a really long story," concluded Finn and gave up on a precise summary of their journey. "None of it matters right now. We need to make it to my apartment before the curfew starts."

"Good luck," Blake shook his head, "you've got less than an hour."

"I had hoped you may be able to give us a lift."

"I can't, I'm sorry, I have to babysit Brooke tonight."

"Can't Bailey watch her?" Finn suggested and desired a yes, but—

"No. She's on a date with her new boyfriend." Blake rolled his eyes at the sister that wasn't attendant, and then added, "Just take the train, you'll be there in no time."

"Lena doesn't have an ID. We mustn't be seen or questioned by the patrol."

Blake's eyebrows sank as he asked shyly, "What's going on?"

"I'm in trouble, Blake. We really don't have time for explanations."

Blake nodded. "Okay. I may have an idea."

He went up to his room and returned after a few minutes with a purple jersey and other stuff in his hands. He handed his older sister's jacket to Lena and told her to throw it on, then walked over to Finn and roughly forced a cap onto his head to hide his striking pigmentless hair. 

Finn slipped into the jersey and pulled it down to straighten it over his shirt while giving his thick KSP sweatshirt to Blake. If it had been anything other than a hockey jersey, it might have appeared shrunk on Finn, making him look like a giant, but fortunately, it just about fit his tall torso. 

Now both Lena and Finn were wearing the same logo with the same golden slogan: "Go Lions!"

"If anyone asks you," Blake looked at Lena, "you say that you're a cheerleader at Westlake High and that you forgot your ID. Oh, and do that thing that girls do."

"What thing?" She responded and zipped up the purple jacket with the white design.

"You know, add a little—I don't know. Charm? Be adorable, lovable, or something like it."

Finn leaned his head down onto his chest to hide a grin beneath the cap's beak. He knew Lena for her very unique personality; while she could very well be charming and lovable, generally she was feisty and insistent with an excess of impolite curiosity. 

Citizens of Kepler were overly reserved at most times, making her stand out like a single tree in a field of flowers. Finn could not imagine Lena to behave like a typical teenage girl, let alone a cheerleader. The thought alone made his diaphragm tickle. It did, however, make him feel extremely nervous as well. If authorities were to talk to Lena on their secret mission through the city, she was doomed to blow her cover, if not by her eccentric attitude, then surely by her accent.

They were all set to go, and Blake displayed precisely the comportment of a concerned friend. "If you get caught—"

"We won't."

"How can you be sure?"

"I'm one of the most intelligent people you know," Finn quoted Blake and grinned with confidence. "Those were your words. Remember? Piece of cake."

"Intelligence won't get you far. You'll need luck. Lots of it. Just do me a favor, will you?"

"Hm?"

"Don't disappear again. Be careful; avoid streetlights and teeming places. I'll come by tomorrow morning to check on you guys."

"Roger that. Don't ring the bell, just come in. You know the password." 

Finn turned around to walk to the street that would lead them to the urban.

"It was really good to see you again."

"You too," said Finn happily.

"Nice meeting you!" Blake called to Lena as she followed Finn. Mind-boggled, she goggled at Blake.

"Really?", she looked flabbergasted.

"You're supposed to say: You too," lectured Finn, then exhaled his worries and guided Lena out of the yard by pushing her shoulder blades into the direction of the street. 

He turned one last time to peek at Blake, whose thumbs shot up to align with his cheeks. He forged an overdone smile and waited until Finn and Lena vanished behind the corner of his house before releasing a fairly loud sigh.

Finn and Lena made it to the first train station in no time, though its platform was built high up in the air, and as they sneaked stealthily through the shadows and backstreets, they could follow the winding tracks from beneath. 

The sky had taken on a dark lavender-grayish hue and clouds emerged from the east. Finn walked ahead, always peeping through the gaps between street signs and parked vehicles to ensure that they were alone before scurrying to the next temporary hideout. 

The sound of the curfew whipped his heart and made it spin madly in his chest.