It’s time.

Wednesday, lunch hour in the club room with the girls like always. We are a big group, when you think about it. Six people. I’d call that a big group, at least. As such, it’s not rare for times when we’re all together to have conversations of our own in smaller groups.

Grace, Noelle and Sarah were talking about a book the brunette was reading and was trying to convince her friends to give it a go.

“It’s more porn, isn’t it?” Sarah asked, resigned. “Look, I admit I enjoyed the last one, but… For starters, you know I’m not big on books, but erotica turns me on if it’s good and it’s uncomfortable to be like that at home, especially without Oliver around.”

“This one isn’t erotica, though. It’s a **** mystery,” Grace said. “Yeah, there’s a heavy romance subplot, but it’s good so far.”

“Tell me again when you’ve finished it,” Noelle said. “I’m very picky with the books I read. I need to be sure it’s to my tastes or that it won’t have stuff I hate. Sometimes I even read a full summary before reading it properly.”

Grace made a disgusted face. “What? Why!? You ruin all the surprises for yourself that way.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t bother me that much and I make sure I’m reading something I’ll like. I don’t mind knowing some big stuff beforehand.”

“Huh. I see your point,” Sarah said. “Books are a big time commitment, so I guess it makes sense to be sure you’re getting into something you’ll like before starting.”

“Big time commitment? I can get through a book in a day or two,” Grace said. “You’re both just weirdos.”

“Grace, you read porn, you don’t get to tell people that,” Sarah argued back.

At the same time, at the other end of the table, Mila and Alice were watching videos on the former’s phone.

“See, I really like this girl,” Mila told Alice. “She does all kinds of fashion stuff. Makeup tutorials, hairstyle advice, tips for sowing and fixing your own clothes… I never put it into practice, though, hahaha. I’m really bad at crafts.”

“You just don’t try. You have a lot of sense for this stuff, Mila,” Alice told her. “I bet you could do it with enough practice.”

“But what if I pinch my finger with a needle?” Mila asked.

“You scream, lick your finger and try again,” Alice answered bluntly. She then looked at the video again, chuckling. “Though I admit that does look difficult to do. What is that actually denim or does it just look like it? It’s so stretchy.”

If you’ve followed along, you’ll have noticed that meant I was by myself, sitting at the middle of the table with half an ear in both conversations while I scrolled down my phone after having finished my lunch. And before you get the wrong idea, no, I wasn’t being ignored or anything. Lest you forget, I’m a naturally quiet guy. The girls had things they wanted to talk about, so I didn’t mind keeping quiet and doing my own thing while they did.

As for what I was looking at on my phone, it was just more comments on my videos. More general encouragement, a few rude words, some very rare constructive feedback… and yet more comments from that one person.

JustColors: I went for a walk while listening to your songs. It felt peaceful. Haven’t felt like that in a long time. Thank you and I hope we get a new original soon!

I set my phone down, threw my head back and took a deep breath. It was strange to think someone actually looked forward to my songs. A part of me believed it was a prank. After all, I wasn’t keeping my identity a secret like Noelle. I didn’t show my face often, yeah, and I wasn’t going around telling people in my school to subscribe, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some few had discovered the channel. Maybe some were the ones saying crap, maybe someone else was acting nice to try to pull something later. Maybe the stuff that had happened to Noelle was making me paranoid.

Oh, and speaking of. Noelle was still holding off on giving the agency an answer. It was both because she wanted to let some of the internet buzz die down and because she wanted to talk to her parents about the offer. I wondered what she’d do if they were against it. Would she try to convince them, go through with it regardless or be relieved she had an excuse to refuse?

That train of thought was cut short by my phone beeping. A message. I picked it up and saw the name on the screen first.

-Luke Allen: Mr. Brooks. I hope the day finds you well. I will be returning to the city tomorrow, so if you’d like to talk, I will be available that evening and throughout the rest of week.

I suddenly felt my chest tightening around my heart but I kept myself calm. The time had come. I needed to ask Mr. Allen to let me speak to one of his girlfriends. I began to feel hesitant, fearing how he would react. I mean, if he asked to talk to any of my girls or my family, I would tell him off immediately. Actually, I did tell him not to approach them, didn’t I?

Well, time to reply. I’d been thinking of how to say it for the last couple of days, so I began typing.

-Oliver: Mr. Allen, I actually have a request, one that would greatly help my own peace of mind about carrying on with this deal. I would like to talk face to face with Ms. Jennifer, if possible. I realize this is strange, and you’re free to deny my request. I simply want to ask her some questions about you. It can be at your hotel or any public place of your choosing.

I didn’t press send yet. There was one final line I could add, one that would put more pressure on Mr. Allen and possibly **** him to accept my request, but it carried a risk. I was aware of how much Mr. Allen wanted my help. He was going out of his way to meet with me whenever I said so. He had made this project his priority. Problem was that I had started to count on this deal going through. I needed the money for a house and more.

…

But if I couldn’t make sure it would be safe to accept this offer, then maybe it wasn’t worth it. Frey had said it. We’d be stepping deeper into the world of the occult and supernatural. Safety should be my first concern. If it looked like this could put me and the girls at risk, then it was better to look for another way. So with that in mind, I added a final line to my text.

-Oliver: If that’s not possible, then I fear I might not be able to continue conversations.

If my request offended him, or if he was afraid to agree and decided to cut contact with me, that was it. Our best chance at continuing our life together would be gone and we’d have to look for something else. Something far more difficult and with plenty more compromises from all of us.

It wouldn’t stop us, though.

Send.

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