I couldn't sleep. Again.

Sitting up in the bed I pulled out my phone. I only hesitated for a second before dialing the number I had memorized.

"Hello?" it took all the power I had not to break down at the sound of my mother's voice.

"Hi, mom" I whispered. My voice quavered and I hoped she didn't notice.

"Zoe? What's wrong?" of course she noticed, I was stupid to think she wouldn't. She's my mom.

"I just miss you…that's all" oh and I think your daughter may be dating a vampire, but don't worry…

"And you expect me to believe that?" her voice was soft, but I could read the worry in her voice. I bit my lip and prayed I wouldn't cry.

"Uh-huh" was all I managed.

Talking to my mother made me realize how lonely I felt here. There was no one I could talk to no one who could give me an advice on how to handle the situation with Sydney. I couldn't tell my mother about that and I certainly couldn't tell my father.

Maybe Carly would listen, but I knew she'd probably be on Sydney's side.

"Zoe, is everything okay? I thought Sydney was taking care of you"

"She is, mom" I responded quickly. I didn't want my mother to have to worry about us not getting along.

"Then what is it?" my mother always seemed to have a special power to make me want to tell her every feeling going through my body. I had never kept a thing from her in my life, and I didn't like having to cover this from her.

"It's just so different than I thought it would be," I finally said, "Being in the field"

I had a feeling my mother was smiling "I always told you it's not as glamorous as you thought"

I was smiling too now "But I wouldn't listen. I guess you're allowed to say 'I told you say' now"

"Well I am just going to say I love you instead" there was no stopping the tears now.

"I love you too," I whispered. I tried blinking away the tears, but they kept falling.

"I know that darling" my mother said "And I know it's tough being in the field and away from home, but just know that I am so, so proud of everything you are. And you will always have a place to come home to"

Despite my tears I smiled again. That was exactly what I needed to hear.

"Thanks mom"

We disconnected, and before I had a chance to do anything a knock sounded on my door. The hallway outside was dark, and at first I couldn't see who had entered the room. Then Eddie's familiar voice filled the room.

"I thought I heard voices" I think he smiled "What are you doing up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep," I whispered, pulling my duvet up around me, "and you?"

"Couldn't sleep either" he shut the door behind him, probably so we wouldn't wake anyone else, and I turned my nightlight on. Eddie had been smiling, but his smiled gone when he saw my face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, sitting down on the bed much closer than I would have liked him to.

I realized then my eyes must've looked raw from me crying, and I looked away embarrassed that he had seen.

"Uh, nothing. I'm fine"

"Fine's not really a feeling though" his voice was soft, and seemed to wrap around me like a warm blanket. It had been a long time since anyway had acted like they cared about me, and just for a second I wanted to just lean into him, and have him hold me. But there was a more rational part -the one I listened to- that told me to move further away.

"It works for me," I said. For some reason I felt annoyed with him. Everyone else had just shrugged it off when I was acting all sad. Why did he have to go and act like he actually cared? It messed with my head.

"I'm just worried about you," he said, and looked away. The look of worry on his face looked so real, and for some reason I couldn't take my eyes off him.

"You don't need to worry," I said. He looked up, probably wanting to argue with it, but I continued.

"I already have Sydney watching me. I'll be just-"

"Fine?" he asked, I rolled my eyes, and looked away. I hated the way everyone seemed to so easily read every emotion I had.

"Yeah…fine" he seemed to sense that I didn't want to talk about it, and then moved on.

"Well if that's really true I was wondering if you wanted to come for a drive with me? I could teach you?" I had to admit it was tempting, not only because of the fact that I would be driving a car, but also because I would get out of this house.

"Fine" I said again, and Eddie grinned at me.

"I must say you're getting better and better" Eddie told me. He wore a smile on his face.

I thought I was terrible, but Eddie kept telling me I was doing well. I wasn't sure whether he was telling the truth, or just being nice.

"Where are you going?" I asked him, he was the one driving now. We always drove somewhere remote when I was behind the wheel. That way I didn't accidently run over someone.

"I thought we could get an early lunch in town before going back" he said, with his eyes still on the road he added, "If you don't mind."

I was surprised to see it was 12 o'clock already. Time had flown by.

"I don't," I said earnestly. I much preferred being around one vampire, than the ones at home. Plus if I was being honest I had to admit Eddie wasn't the worst of them.

"Great" he told me. We drove on for another ten minutes. He pulled up in front of a small café. I didn't know this one, but it looked cute.

"Sydney says they have the best salads," Eddie told me, as he held the door open for me.

"How did you-" I started but Eddie cut me off.

"I have noticed you have similar eating habits" he said, and smiled triumphantly as if he had cracked some secret code, "No calories, right?"

"Uhm actually…I am a vegetarian" I said, he raised an eyebrow like he hadn't expected that.

"Really? No meat? At all?" I had to laugh at his expression. In the little time I had known Eddie there was one thing I was absolutely sure of: Eddie loved food. The other day he had spent almost five full minutes talking about how bacon made his life that much more worth living.

We had just sat down at a table, when someone called Eddie's name.

"Hey there Eddie!" A guy with red hair, and freckles approached our table smiling widely.

"Hi Micah" Eddie said and looked happy to see him.

"I don't mean to sound weird, but I just have to say you two make the cutest couple"

I almost choked on the diet coke I had just sipped, and looked up startled at the person standing next to our table.

"What?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah" Micah said, glancing between us "You look great together. Wow who is this?" Micah turned to me.

"This is Zoe" Eddie told Micah. I turned to him surprised that he hadn't started with saying we weren't together seeing as he knew this person.

"His sister" I said in voice a lot less polite than I'd usually use when I was meeting someone new.

"Oh my god! I'm sorry!" he blurted and blushed. I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

"That's okay" I said, "It's nice to meet you"

"Yeah you too!" he said, "I'm Eddie's roommate at Amberwood," he told me and I recalled having been told about him before.

"I thought you had left town to visit your family?" Eddie asked Micah.

"I'm leaving this afternoon! I'm so excited to see them again," Micah said happily. He seemed like one of those people who always smiled, and never got angry.

"Yeah I get that. It must be great to get to see them again," Eddie said wistfully, and I studied his face. I could tell that he was earnestly happy for Micah, but also that he wished it was him going to see his family.

I felt the same way. This would be my first Christmas ever without seeing my family, but at least I had Sydney. Everyone else back at Clarence's hadn't seen their family in a while, and I knew Eddie especially missed his.

"You're obviously not dating Eddie then, right?" Micah asked, and I didn't have to fake the frown appearing on my face.

"Obviously" I said.

"Does that mean you're single then?" Micah asked me. Now Eddie actually did start choking on his coke.

"Are you okay?" I asked. Eddie just nodded, but never moved his eyes off Micah.

"Don't you have a plane to catch?" Eddie asked, he sounded annoyed all of a sudden.

"Yeah…so what do you say Zoe?" Micah fixed his blue eyes on me again, and I felt self-conscious under his stare.

"She's seeing someone," Eddie said "Besides don't you have a girlfriend?" I shot him a grateful look.

I hadn't been on my date with Jackson yet, but I was definitely going to. Micah seemed really friendly, but I felt like one boy at a time was more than enough.

"We're not dating exclusively. But you have a boyfriend? That's too bad…" Micah said, and finally moved his eyes off of me.

"Well I better go now, wouldn't want to be late for my flight" Micah said, he glanced at me one last time, and I had a feeling he was hesitating.

"Tell, uh, tell Jill I said hi, will you?" Micah asked in a small voice. An awkward silence followed but Eddie broke it.

"Sure. We'll do that. Enjoy your holiday"

"You too" Micah turned back to his smiley self "It was nice meeting you Zoe"

"Yeah, you too" I said, and watched him walk out of the restaurant.

"What was that about?" I asked Eddie the second Micah was out of earshot.

"What was what?" Eddie asked, he picked at his food with a fork, I knew he was avoiding the subject, because this was the first time I had seen Eddie not eat his food.

"You know, the whole Jill thing? Micah got all awkward?" For some reason Eddie looked relived. I thought back to the conversation but didn't find reason to question anything else.

"Don't freak," he told me, I raised an eyebrow.

"Why would I freak?" I was even more curious now as to what was going on.

"You always do" Eddie told me, but I didn't agree. With the level of crazy I'd had to deal with these last few days I think I should get a medal for not having gone crazy yet.

"What? I don't always-"

"Do you want to know or not?" Eddie interrupted.

"I want to know"

"They used to date" Eddie told me, and when I didn't react at first he added "Micah and Jill"

"Micah and Jill?!" I gasped. Eddie leaned back, and looked like this was exactly how he'd expected me to react.

"I knew you'd freak" Eddie told me, and crossed his arms.

"Of course I'm freaking out! He's human!" I hissed, but lowered my voice in case anyone would overhear us.

"And?" Eddie asked as if it was no big deal.

"And she's a…" I bit my lip. I had been just about to say vampire in a public place "…And she's different" I ended.

"Listen we can't keep Jill locked up in her dorm all day"

"The main thing is that she's kept safe. Her revealing what she is isn't going to keep her alive"

"She has a right to live her life" Eddie snapped. I could tell that he strongly disagreed, but I didn't care right now. Didn't they realize how risky this was?

"Does Sydney know about this?"

"Of course she does" Eddie said "We had a talk about it before Jill even started dating Micah, and we both agreed she should have some kind of a life here. We work together here in Palm Springs, all of us, no one is kept in the dark"

"Well expect for one" I said bitterly, and crossed my arms.

"What's that?" Eddie asked, but I shook my head.

"Nothing. Doesn't matter" I said, and looked out the window. I couldn't tell Eddie how I'd overhead Sydney telling Jill she was lying to me.

"Zoe" I looked back at Eddie and his anger from before was gone, and he regarded me with kind eyes.

"If there was any danger with Jill dating a human we wouldn't have let her. Jill broke up with Micah because she felt like he was getting too close. Jill knows the danger, and she's careful. We all are" Eddie reached out like he was going to take my hand, but thought better of it and stopped himself.

I realized I'd been a bit hard on him too, and let out an audible sigh.

"Well if you say you're being careful…then I trust you," I never thought I'd ever say those words to a vampire, but when Eddie looked at me with those big brown eyes I was helpless.

"Thank you" Eddie said, and smiled at me.

After that the tension between us was undeniable. I didn't know what to say. I was just about to ask Eddie if we should go back home, when he leaned forward.

"How many stars would you give this place?" the expression on his face let me know he wasn't angry anymore, but I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Stars?" I asked, he looked around the place, and looked like he was taking in every single detail of his surroundings.

I had seen Eddie do this million of times before. Due to his guardian practice scanning a room for danger was second nature to him now. But the way he studied his surroundings now made me think it had nothing to do with guardian training.

"Like if you were a food critic and you had to analyze the food, the restaurant and oh I don't know the waiters' level of efficiency how would you rate it?"

I had to smile at him. When I was younger my father thought it would be nice to make every Sunday evening 'family time' which resolved in me having been to a lot of fancy restaurants. From the second we had entered the café I had enjoyed how down-to-earth it was.

I studied my surroundings as Eddie had done before. The menu card was written on a white wall in the café in many different colors, around it was painted snowflakes. The waitresses all wore big, red ribbons in their hair, and the boys wore red bowties. The inside looked as if Santa himself had decorated the room, it was the most Christmassy place I had ever seen.

The small café was everything the fancy restaurants of my childhood hadn't been, and I loved it.

"Well how many stars is the maximum?" I turned back to Eddie. He smiled as he realized I was going along with his game.

"Ten" he decided after pausing to think of it.

"Ten? Isn't it usually five stars?" I asked. Eddie rolled his eyes like I was the silly one.

"Not in this game. I decide the rules," I studied him for a moment, and then gave in.

"All right then ten it is. I think I will give the waiters nine stars," I said.

"Based on what? Looks?" Eddie gestured to a waiter around my age with brown curly hair, and green eyes. I turned back to Eddie, and made sure to frown.

"Based on efficiency and the rather elegant dress code. It had nothing to do with the young waiter," I said, and Eddie smiled like he didn't believe me at all.

"He looks over here every five minutes. I think you have a fan Zo" Eddie laughed, and I shook my head.

"Very funny, Castile" sarcasm dripped off my voice.

"It's true. You have a whole army of boys following you around here" this made me blush, and I looked down hoping he hadn't seen it.

"I do not!" I responded, suddenly Eddie placed a finger under my chin and lifted my head.

He smiled smugly "Oh? Then why are you blushing?"

"I am not! Stop saying stuff like that. We were playing a game, right?" I pulled my head away from his hand, and had to stop myself from wiping the place his skin had touched mine.

Eddie still smiled in that self-satisfied way "Right"

"Well I will have to give the food seven stars"

"Why only seven?" Eddie seemed to have his head back in the game, which made me relax a bit more.

"Well being a vegetarian I have tasted a lot of salads. This was good, but I was a bit disappointed. Due to the fact that it's all organic though I might have to raise it to an eight"

"You take it so seriously" Eddie suddenly said, I didn't move my eyes from his as I responded.

"I take pretty much everything seriously" that made him half-smile, and even I had to admit it looked pretty adorable on him.

"What do you do when you have fun then?"

"Fun? I don't know what that means," I said and it only made his smile widen.

"That was actually kind of funny," he said, still smiling that ridiculously wide smile.

"No it wasn't."

"How about the surroundings then?" Eddie gestured to the rest of the café "How many stars?"

Again I thought back to the fancy restaurants I used to dine in when I was younger. They had always felt awfully stuffy to me, like I couldn't breathe.

In this café though I could definitely breathe.

"Ten" I said confidently.

"I agree" Eddie's voice was soft, and it made me turn to look at him. He was looking straight at me, and the intensity in his eyes made me blush once more.

I couldn't turn away. His gaze had me locked, and I felt as if time stopped. The noise from the people around us disappeared.

A voice in my head told me he shouldn't be looking at me like that and that I should turn away, but it seemed impossible.

"Here's your bill" the waiter with the curly hair broke the quiet we had settled into, and I felt the urge to slap him.

Eddie seemed to snap out of it before I did, and paid the full bill before I had the chance to object.

I felt flustered all of a sudden, and as we drove back home I couldn't help wonder what had just happened between us.

We had to pull in at a gas station on the way back. I was just about to get out of the car when my phone rang. I looked at the screen, but didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?" I answered a bit hesitantly. Normally the only person calling me was Stanton.

"Hey Zoe!" Jackson answered. His voice sounded both excited and nervous, and I had to smile.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked.

"Well I was thinking it's time for our date soon, don't you?" he asked. I bit my lip, feeling bad about my answer.

Ever since Sydney had told me she used to date Trey, I felt bad about going out with his roommate. It would be impossible for Sydney and Trey not to run into each other at some point, and even though Sydney said it was fine I didn't feel right about it.

"I was thinking about that and, uh, maybe it would be a bad idea"

"Why would you think that?" his tone had radically changed and I felt sorry for him.

"I was talking to Sydney and she told me how she and Trey used to date, and I just feel like maybe it would be a bad idea"

"Wait a second Zoe. Sydney and Trey? They never dated" Jackson said, sounding as confused as I felt.

"Yes they did," I said, at least that's what Sydney had told me so it had to be true, right…right?

"No they didn't. Ever"

I didn't say a word on the rest of the way home.

As we walked in the door Sydney jumped up, and practically ran to me.

"Thank god you're okay!" she hugged me tightly, and I had to force myself to hug her back.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked her. She and Adrian were the only one in the living room.

"You didn't answer your phone! I was so worried when you weren't there when I woke up"

"Well we were out driving. I was actually driving, and then we had lunch" I told her. Relief flooded her face, and she finally stepped away from me.

"Thank god" Sydney said again, and ran a hand through her hair "You guys had lunch?" surprise filled her voice.

"Yeah, we went to that organic place you love. The one with the salads" Eddie told Sydney. She had gone to sit back down beside Adrian, and I couldn't help notice how close together they sat.

I would never sit that close to a vampire, and Sydney didn't even seemed to notice, or mind.

"Oh I love that place! What did you think of the salads, Zoe?" Sydney smiled up at me, and I felt conflicted when I looked at her. She seemed honestly interested in me, and I missed talking to her about normal things like salad, but still she was sitting too close to Adrian…

"Oh they're all right" I said, and shrugged.

"Yeah they only got eight stars" Eddie said, and grinned at me. I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help smiling back.

When I looked back at Sydney and Adrian, I couldn't help noticing the look in Adrian's eyes. He was staring intently at me, or actually it looked like he was watching something around me, but that didn't make any sense. His eyes moved to Eddie, and he looked at Eddie in the same strange way.

"Huh" Adrian leaned back with a self-satisfied smile, and crossed his arms. I had a feeling whatever he was going to say I wouldn't like it.

"What is it?" Sydney asked him. He had turned his stare back on me, and I felt self-conscious all of a sudden. What was he doing?

He snapped out of it, and turned to Sydney "I just think it's lovely that Zoe and Eddie are getting along so well" the hidden meaning in his words were loud and clear. I blushed the second he said it, horrified with the very idea of him suggesting we were more than friends.

I am not even sure if we were friends.

"Yes…that's nice" Sydney didn't read anything into what he said, and just looked a bit confused as to why he'd say that.

"It's great! They do look lovely together, don't they?" I think Sydney caught on to the fact that more was going on than she had originally thought.

"Stop" I whispered, but my voice was barely audible. I took a step back, and was surprised to find how shaky my legs were.

"No I just think-"

"Adrian. Shut. Up." Eddie sounded angrier than I had ever heard him, and for a moment I worried he might punch him.

I wasn't sure if I would've felt so bad for Adrian if he did.

"He's right Adrian. There's nothing going on here that shouldn't be" Sydney said, and actually laid a hand on his leg.

I couldn't stop myself. The words flew out of my mouth, and the second I had spoken them I prayed I could take them back.

"That's not what Stanton said"

"Stanton?" Sydney's removed her hand, and looked up at me" "Zoe? When have you been talking to Stanton?" her voice was on the edge of breaking

I placed my hands on my hips "Earlier this week. I met her outside of Palm Springs"

"She flew here?" Sydney asked getting up from the couch "What did she say?" Sydney took a step closer, and I tried to stand up straighter hoping it would make me look taller.

"A lot of things" I said crisply. Sydney eyes narrowed.

"What things?" her voice grew harsh, and suddenly she looked afraid.

"I don't know if I should tell you," I said.

"Zoe, this is bigger than you getting some medal from dad for being a good, little alchemist"

"I know" I said, "This is between you and me"

"Exactly!" Sydney said, "So please tell me what's going on"

"Before I do that I want you to tell me what's going on"

"What do you mean? What do you want to know?" I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

Despite the intense fear of the answer to my question growing inside of me, I smiled.

"Everything."