I was hitching a ride with Eric to the Charity Ball, staring at the moving streets and buildings that seemed to blur out of sight so quickly when he started a conversation out of the blue.

"So, you look very pretty today." I looked at him, he was still casually leaning back against his seat and smoothly steering the wheel, yet he wasn't back at all.

I glanced at my dress and… well I could say it was the one that made me look pretty. It was a simple white cocktail dress with a one-shoulder chiffon (if I'm not mistaken) long sleeve, the sole cuff encrusted with shiny beads. The dress itself reached down to the middle of my thighs, which I hoped was appropriate-looking. Overall, it had surprisingly stretched the features of my body nicely.

It was from Chloe's, my next door neighbor, and the one who also did my makeup. It wasn't much, just a little bit of blush-on and mascara. My lips were in the shade of deep red, my hair crimped and tied into a very neat bun and somehow she had gotten a way to give me a nice set of bangs (a style in the hair weirdly popularized by the Humans) from my hair that I didn't knew I have.

"You don't look so bad yourself, Eric." I smiled at him. It was one of the very rare moments that I saw Eric wearing something formal for once. His charcoal black tux looked really spiffy and not very scruffy-looking like his usual set of clothing. His dirty blond hair was spikier, sleek and glossy like he spent bottles of hairspray to work it to perfection.

"Heh, well you look like that actress from that summer movie." He said. I didn't mutter anything because I certainly didn't know what he was talking about. He then shot me a look. "Oh c'mon, you've got to be kidding me."

I shook my head, smiling. "Girl that lived in a cave, remember?"

"Can't believe there's a girl who doesn't even know that movie..." He mumbled yet still loud enough for me to hear.

It was my turn to shot him a look. "How come you know about it?"

He blushed, wide-eyed. "I uh, watch it with my dates and—"

"Ohoho." I laughed. "I'm on to you, Erik." I said while pointing at him.

"Ha-ha. Very funny." He huffed out a breath. "Anyways, if you're going to ask why I'm going..."

My smile had turned into a smirk. "Are the Red Hawks going to do something tonight?"

"No," He waved one hand dismissively, eyes still focused on the road. "I'm actually deciding to quit."

The smirk I had formed into a small 'o'. "I—I didn't know. Wow. It's... good. Yes, very good news."

"Yeah. Getting Grayson arrested and hurting other people, that's not what I signed up for. And to be honest, I really don't condone in hurting innocent people." He confessed.

I reached out to touch his shoulder. Not only it eased me a little just for the sake that he's leaving the very thing that I disprove of, but no matter how many wrong things he's made in his life, Eric's still a friend. I believed now that he would truly see the ways of the Red Hawks and how ruthless they were to not only the Atrians, but Humans as well.

"It's for the better, Eric. I promise you that. You don't have to worry about them anymore."

He breathed out a sigh. "You know, the only reason why I joined them was because of what happened to my father." He relaxed when he spotted the left curve and steered the wheel to that direction. "It's not like I blame them. It's just— well it's hard to trust a whole colony of aliens that sprung out of nowhere and surprised the whole world that we aren't exactly alone."

I chuckled. If only he knew. "Who knows, Eric? Maybe someday you'll appreciate them just as much as I do."

"Yeah, I'll only appreciate them when they leave." He scoffed.

I frowned.

"And when pigs fly with jet packs." He attempted to recover what he said because of my sensitivity over the issue. Still, it had managed to make me stifle a laugh. When I shook my head, I looked towards the window of the seat and didn't notice the looming mansion over the driveway. The car went slowly to a stop. "We're here."

After he parked, he opened his side of the door and went his way towards mine. He lent a hand after he opened the door for me.

"I never knew Eric was a gentleman."

He smirked. "Let's just say I didn't."

"Don't worry, my lips are completely sealed."

I exited the car and saw the expanse of the Montrose mansion. All of the lights in the house itself were opened, formal colors of white and purple draped around the mini stone pillars and the walkway was paved with a red carpet like those celebrities used to parade upon when I watch television. Even the lights and cameras weren't missing in this exclusive event.

Looking at the house, I had finally pondered something again in the back of my mind. That weird, overwhelming sense of familiarity of this place.

"Hey Eric. What's that word when you feel something that's already happened before, but you can't seem to put your finger on it?"

"What, you mean like Déjà vu?"

I muttered a 'huh' as more of a statement than a question. "Déjà vu..." I repeated.

Strange, I've always been to Grayson's house plenty of times, and I guess I should've gotten used to this feeling— this weird feeling every time I saw his house. Have I been here before, I mean way before I escaped from the Crate? But it wasn't familiar to me at all...

And then it suddenly was.

But like I said, I really couldn't put my finger on it...

For a party that was supposed to quite late, the first floor was already crowded with guests, a few students and teachers I've noticed were already around the house, and it's only around seven-thirty. The draperies were a bit different this time. Instead of the purples, there were the reds, and it was also hung in curtains and in other forms decoration they could've possibly imagined.

The people were already talking this and that conversations, merely blabbers and things inaudible already for me to keep track. Some were already at the bar, drinking very high quality wine that I assumed they couldn't possibly afford, and some already eating a fine dining experience coupled with soothing string and keyboard music from the band.

Eric already went on his way to meet up with his "friends", so I was completely on my own. But I guess it didn't matter since I have my own agenda for tonight.

So I went and tried to find Roman. Figures it would be easy to find an Atrian with markings all over his face in a crowd without one, but looking at it, I figured he wasn't around yet.

I checked out to the dining hall. Upon my surprise, I found Grayson.

He was talking to a female, older, probably his teacher or an aunt. His peripherals caught a glimpse of me and he instantly turned to my side. His eyes somehow glimmered and shined like he saw me for the very first time. Well, I guess it was the very first time he did truly saw me, until the moment I told him that I was an Atrian.

He very kindly excused himself to the lady, giving her his warmest of smiles that somehow rubbed off when he looked at me. When she was gone, Grayson then turned to my side and approached me.

"Hey," He then pulled me into a hug. "You made it."

After seconds of I didn't noticed when, I pulled back. "Wouldn't miss it for two worlds."

He then chuckled lightly. After that, he stared at me up and down. "You look... very beautiful."

"Thank you." I can't help but feel a blush escape from my cheeks. "And you..."

I then eyed him all over. His face was cleanly shaven, hair all glossy and slicked back. He wore a tuxedo set (with a matching puffy bow-tie), everything black except for the white shirt inside. It looked much like Eric's, but a little lighter and form-fitting. He looked very neat and clean in it but the flaps on his lapel were a little folded.

I reached out and held the flaps, straightened and tightening it, then moved upwards to the back of his collar, like partners in a slow dance, though his hands were nowhere near mine.

"Well you, look very handsome as well." I said finally, earning a 'thank you' also in reply.

He leaned in closer to my ear. "I never knew Atrians could fix up a tux like this."

I smiled softly. "We have something like this dress in our home planet. I used to remember fixing my real father's 'tux' when I was a kid. He's kind of an important person there so he wore this same set of clothing every time he goes out on his meetings. Anyways, back then, I remembered pulling out a tall chair and I always climbed on top of it. He then leans closer to me and he lets me fix his clothing for him." I then wiped away the nothings out of his suit, just to make sure he looked neater than he already was.

I leaned away an inch, to see how I've done. It looked perfect. "There, all done."

"Thanks." He grinned. "So, uh, you alone?"

"Yep. Looking for a friend actually, but I'm guessing he's not here yet."

"He?" Grayson then took a wild but very obvious guess. "You mean Roman?"

His glinting eyes somehow died when he mentioned his name.

"I guess I should've known." He then continued rather grimly.

"It's not what it looks like." Somehow, I recently noticed my hands were still on his chest, and I still didn't pull back. "Roman's really nice and all, but right now, he's just a friend."

"Right." The same word he whispered to me when things didn't make sense to him, like earlier today in the swimming pool. "Want to, uh, go out for awhile? In the gardens? Just until your friend arrives."

Somehow, I get this feeling that he doesn't like Roman.

"Sure." I nodded somewhat uneasily.

We went out to the gardens. The bustling of the party was reduced to murmurs around these parts. The cold night air prickled my defenseless arms, and it made me rub them on instinct. The garden itself was very nice if it weren't for my light shivering. Shrubs and bushes were properly trimmed, the grass was flat and not a leaf taller than the others. Figured for Grayson to live as luxurious as this.

"I want to know everything." He said, walking nonchalantly with his arms in his pockets. "About you."

"What about?" I asked.

"You know. You."

"Me living like a Human or me the Atiran?"

"Well, that's one way to go straight to the point."

I chuckled.

"Let's start first. I wanna know about the real you." He then continued.

I made a slight pause and I smiled. "Well, to start it off, I guess I'd tell you my name." I spoke, he didn't flinch or look fazed at all.

"Illana." I told him.

"So, you stayed in the Crate as a kid, suddenly discovered some sort of Atrian power, became an escaped convict, somehow got your markings removed, lived on that same apartment for years, and everything after that led to now?"

It took around half an hour to tell him everything, almost the exact same way I told Roman. Leaving out the personal parts, focusing more on how Mr. Fullers and I lived in the Crate and how we escaped. During the course of my storytelling, the cool air grew colder, and there was no fire to even out the temperature, no warmth to wrap around me, but at least I had Grayson sitting right next to me. It seemed cruel for my part, but I would've preferred that way. Just to be around him.

"Close enough, but at least you get the gist of it." I said.

He nodded repetitively. "I... get it." He leaned back and inhaled slowly.

"I guess it's just hard to take it in at first, but I'll get used to it. Still, it explained a lot of things though," He continued. I looked at him. "Why you don't exactly want to swim, why you always refuse to drink coffee, how you react when the topic involves Atrian..."

He huffed a chuckling breath. "And that day at the library."

I groaned haplessly. "You're never gonna let that go, are you?" I laughed.

"Nope!" He laughed with me. "Wow, my first guess was actually right." He wheezed when a tear prickled in his eye.

"Yeah, yeah, go laugh it up would you." I said, still smirking.

We continued with our laughing, his lips then forming up a smile when he receded. It was so contagious, I couldn't help myself to do the same.

I think he didn't notice it, but I had been looking at him the entire time.

He just, felt so relaxed right now...

It's like he was having the time of his life.

"Okay, I've got another question." He then said.

"Fire away."

He then contemplated for awhile, but when he finally spoke...

"Why not use Illana? It's actually a nice name you know."

My eyes sparkled when he spoke my name, my real name. "You really think so?"

"Of course." He smiled.

"And it doesn't sound strange to you?"

"Nope. Not in the slightest."

"Hmm," I silently mumbled. "Well I guess the name sounded so Atrian to me. It would cause a lot of suspicion... so I changed it."

"To Meredith Every." He commented. "Like Emery but with a 'v' instead of an 'm'."

Him mentioning her name made me cringe a bit, but I still made out a chuckle, a little longer this time.

"Remember Grayson, I enrolled a year before." I stuck my tongue at him.

Out of sheer randomness he reached out to grab it and I tasted the salty sweat of his forefinger and thumb.

"Eww!" I made a slight gagging sound. I took a napkin out of my purse and wiped my tongue with it and joked. "Alien germs in my mouth!"

"And I'm infected with your alien germs." He laughed and I made a scowl. Funny thing, his face instantly turned to worry. "Wait, are Atrians allergic to Human contact?"

I continued to scowl, but it was fake the whole time, and he bought it so easily. When his face contorted into worrier figures, I couldn't contain myself anymore and burst out laughing. His concern turned into confusion, then were a mix of relief and being slightly pissed off at what I did.

"You should've seen your face!" I said, still bursting with a few giggles every now and then.

"Now you're just getting back at me."

I came to after a few seconds, my hands wiping some of the tears that fell. I guess I'm slowly getting used to showing my Atrians side to Grayson. Now, I didn't mind if I get caught with my face glowing and all. It wouldn't matter because I'm already comfortable around him.

"No. I don't think I won't get anything besides the trauma." I softly chuckled for what felt like the millionth time now and he only replied by slumping back to the bench with his arms sprawled at the head of the backrest.

Telling him that, it reminded me of the past. That night with the boy. How in some weird, crude way I was attracted to both of them. How I was so curious to knowing one, and how I was being ecstatic just by being close to the other. They had the same "pull" towards me, just in a different method of getting me interested. And by some string of coincidence, they had the same features like their eyes and the color of their hair. I had already assumed once or twice that they could be the same person, but it was highly improbable.

"You know what's weird?" He suddenly jumped another question in the middle of my thoughts. I eased back to my seat but I kept on looking at him. "When you ran away the night during the crash, you didn't explain that part much, don't you think? I'm just curious, what happened during that time?"

It was the first time that I looked away for who knows how long. "Well, it's—"

But before I could even form up a sentence, one of the mansion's guards (probably a Red Hawk) appeared in front of us and cleared his throat.

"Pardon my interruption sir, but your father has requested your presence in his study hall."

Grayson sighed, slacking his arm just behind my shoulders and the other on the other side of the bench. "And he wanted me why exactly?"

The bodyguard looked at me, and then back to the one sitting right next to me. "It's something private."

Now it was my turn to slacken. As much as I'd like to, I'd rather let him stay with me or Emery or particularly anyone else besides his parents, but it seemed that escape was inevitable for him. "You should go." I sighed in defeat.

"I should." He got up, feeling ever reluctant to do so as well. Before he entered the house, he turned and his lips formed into a smile. "I had a great time. I'll come look for you again after?"

Seeing him so happy and content, I couldn't help but beam at him too. "Sure." I got up as well.

He went with the guy inside, making his way up the stairwell from the back. I looked at my phone's watch to know the precise time, and it was 8:14.

Maybe Roman's already here.

Even though it was probably one of the best moments I had with Grayson, because of the fact of my big reveal, I still had to go back and help Roman against the Trags. It was my Atrian duty anyways, and I just had to. For everyone's sake. Nodding to myself in determination, I went back to the hall and looked for him, and just as much as the time I took off finding him, I immediately recognized the teenage boy with the familiar set of markings etched on his face that differed him from the dozens of attendance.

And to my surprise, Drake was standing next to him.

"Roman." I called out his name and approached him. I took his sight. He was wearing formals with a cool dark shade hue and an oddly colored tie.

"Hey Meredith. Thanks for the invite by the way." He flushed me a strange look.

"Oh, and have you met Drake? I think I haven't properly introduced him to you yet." He said that with a casual smile on his face, looking at the said person, and then back to mine, but his eyes turned cautious. It's like he was warning me of something.

Maybe he doesn't want me to say anything that I may end up regretting.

So, I went to the flow.

"No need, we've been acquainted." I plastered up a fake smile, not sure if it mean for the flow or how I remembered his first time talking to me was dissing Grayson's brother.

"Yeah, I don't want to trouble her or anything." His eyes told me he got the point and he knew what I was talking about.

"Well then, what brings you here to us? Do you want to take pictures too, but I think we've already established the part about the whole Atrian celebrity thing." Roman declared.

"No, not really. I just, uh, wanted to ask you about the erm—project that I needed for my Atrian class. I know I shouldn't be asking you this right now and we're actually in a party and all, but—"

"It's alright." Roman interrupted me. "But due to our immense breakout reputation..." A photographer clicked a flash on his camera.

"We're really just busy s'all" Drake then finalized.

"Ah, right. Okay. I— uh, well if you're not busy anymore, I'll be right there in the other hall if you're up to it." I thumbed the other opened doorway behind me. I then smacked my lips. "Well, see ya."

"I'll do what I can." Roman gently smiled.

I nodded to him. I looked to Drake as well. "It's... nice seeing you too. In a Human convention of all places."

He gave me an awkward look but he didn't reply, just looking away and probably thought about other things more interesting.

"Anyways, I'll uh... go now." I pivoted my long-inch heels and went the other way.

Great, now I'm on a standstill. I don't really see the point in coming to this Charity Ball if Grayson's away and I could't help Roman because of Drake.

After minutes of my sitting on the corner of the bar (without even ordering I might add), I was greeted by Ms. Benton who took a seat next to me and ordered a sparkling white wine. I smiled at her but ducked my head back after. I know that most people won't approve a teenager like me to sip alcohol, let alone doing it in front of a teacher, but I think it would be more awkward the other way around. I just sat there in uncomfortable silence when the order came up and Ms. Benton slid the first drink in front of her and took a sip. Seeing her do that was already setting me off.

"So, I graded your essay test the other day, and I'd be glad to be the first to say that you passed remarkably well." Ms. Benton popped a simple conversation.

"Thank you Ms. Benton, but you might as well know, I'm really into Atrians—" which made me jerk in my seat with my weird innuendo. "I mean, I'm just a huge fan of them, I guess..."

"So I've heard." She only replied.

The silence loomed over for a couple more seconds again. Ms. Benton was a really nice teacher that I can say. In fact, she's one of the best. She was really dedicated to her work, but something was a little off about her. She seemed to be aloof in everything, but at the same time, especially observant.

Like she was now.

"Funny thing though, I rigged that test to be very hard. College level. Perhaps even more. A lot of students failed that test you know." She explained. I looked at her. "Don't worry, the points are going in as incentive instead."

"Why are you explaining this to me, Ms. Benton?" I asked.

"Well, it's strange, but not only that you passed it, you managed to score an A- in the test." She took another sip in her wine. "You and another girl from a different class. Zoe. You know her, right?"

I shifted in my seat a bit. "Yeah, she's... my friend, I guess."

"With great knowledge like that at such a very young age, I could see your growing potential in my line of work. What do you say? Do you want me to recommend you to my superiors?" She smiled.

"Thanks," Thinking about it, it would grant me a lot of attention if I did accept her offer for recommendation, and as far as I know, my whole priority in this whole thing was laying low for awhile. "But I think I've already found my calling elsewhere."

"Ah, that's too bad. Still, it's worth a shot asking you right?"

I only shrugged. Facing to her, my peripherals picked up Roman. I tilted my seat and faced him, who wasn't with Drake anymore.

"I uh, gotta go Ms. Benton."

"Sure, don't make me hold you up on your teenage life." She raised her glass at me.

I chuckled awkwardly and left.

Quickly, I moved towards Roman in the hallway of the mansion and he gestured me to follow him. We walked towards the back of the house, probably wanted to talk about something private and important. When we reached a certain amount of distance from the party itself, he stopped and looked at me.

"Sorry about earlier. I didn't want Drake to know I had you as my plan."

"It's okay, I understand. It's a good thing really, I was almost going to ask why you were with Drake earlier."

"Well good thing I managed to think fast." He smirked, but it was all gone the moment he looked both directions— much like what he always do to make sure the coast was clear, and looked at me with the same stern eyes. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Uh, sure. What is it?"

He huffed. "Before anything, have you seen Emery?"

"She arrived?" I asked in surprise. "I haven't seen her all night long."

"And Grayson?"

"His dad wanted to see him, so he went upstairs."

He closed his eyes and took a breath, slowly releasing it afterwards, as if easing up his tension.

"Roman, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing. Let's go find Emery first."

He took my wrists tight; it hurt, only slightly. A somehow protective Atrian instinct, what he was doing. I didn't get why he was acting so tense right now, and his pace was brisk, I couldn't keep up with the pace because of my heels.

"Roman, can we please stop? I can't keep up with you..."

We reached almost at the back of the mansion, where the door to the gardens were, and the back stairwell where Grayson left.

And as if by strange coincidence, Grayson was coming down the stairs.

And when he saw Roman dragging me along, he was very pissed off.

"Roman, can I help you with something? Party's not back here." Grayson said. I had noticed he only used Roman's name and completely ignored mine. Like I was free to lounge about and he couldn't.

"We're looking for Emery." Roman replied, his hands gripping mine a little tighter.

"Oh, she's with my mom. She's touring her around the place."

Roman only shook his head in disbelief. "C'mon Meredith, let's continue finding her."

When he moved, Grayson descended completely from the stairs and blocked our path.

"Where the hell do you think you're taking her?" Grayson then sized him up. He was indeed taller than Roman, only a few inches, but Roman was bulkier looking, almost naturally built to the bone.

I didn't know where this talk would end up to.

"None of your damn business." Roman snarled.

"Guys, stop this." I said, trying to calm them both down.

"You know, just because she's Atrian, doesn't mean you can take her wherever the hell you damn well please and waltz around the mansion like this was yours." Grayson said hotly.

Roman only gaped in surprise. "You told him?"

"I trust him." I pulled away from his grip and went to Grayson's side.

"Not so much as you think." He said. "C'mon, tell her Grayson. Tell her what you really are."

Tell me what?

Grayson chuckled darkly. "I'm not sure I follow."

"You know it's funny, I seem to remember you being in my pod without permission. Some part of Red Hawk plan to bug the place." Roman hinted.

Then I got what he meant.

I looked to Grayson, who at the same time stole a brief glance at me, and then quickly turning back to Roman before he could even caught up with our signal.

A signal that Roman knew.

And like that, Grayson formed an idea in his head, which I knew because I turned on my empathic abilities. He was going to repress the situation and turn all the blame to him, so I wouldn't get in the way.

"I think I get what's going on here." He coolly walked towards Roman. He raised two fingers and was about to poke the back of it to Roman. "I think I have two things that you want—"

Before it touched Roman's suit, he instantly grabbed it with fast reflexes, nostrils flaring and eyes bent on hurting him.

I quickly tried to split the two apart when out of nowhere, Emery appeared behind the three of us with a worried look on her face.

"What's going on?" She asked. Roman then tossed Grayson's hand roughly when he heard her voice.

Roman whispered to Grayson. "Go ahead, tell them both."

I knew what he meant. I knew that Roman wanted Grayson to reveal what his parents' true nature were. Yet he didn't say anything. It was just a lost cause anyways. The three of us knew, and we did nothing but danced around Roman and kept him in the dark. I had the reason to. Grayson was my friend; I knew him longer than most Humans and I knew he wouldn't do anything to harm me or Emery in any way. In fact, he even kept my secret to his parents, and that's already something in his predicament.

When the three of us still kept silent, he instantly popped the revelation. "Emery, Meredith, Grayson's been lying to both of you this whole time. His parents are the leaders of the Red Hawks..." He stopped.

He saw Emery kept on looking at Grayson, as if trying to ask him what to do. He was hanging, unable to reply because of the situation. I only ducked my head and didn't want to see any of it.

Finally, she gave in and had been left no choice.

"Roman..." She paused and looked at Grayson one more time. "I know."

He paused, more gaped and surprise at this revelation.

"You... knew?" He said, his emotions swirling with confusion and anger. But most of all, he was horrified. I could then feel him looking— no, glaring icily at me. "And you... this whole time..."

But unlike Emery, I was willing to try to explain to him right now. "Roman, it's not what you think—"

"NO! Stop explaining!" His voiced boomed, stopping me completely. "I don't get it..."

"I don't get it..." He repeated, slowly backing away and exited towards the gardens.

Emery approached Grayson, held out an arm that touched his softly. "I've got to talk to him."

"Go." He said.

Emery then ran towards the gardens as well, calling out his name in a worried tone.

She left and the two of us were finally alone again, but not how I expected the mood would turn out to be. Grayson moved to my side, looking over my worried expression. I mean, who wouldn't have been worried? I just broken someone's trust over me. I'd honestly thought that Roman would never know of Grayson's secret, somehow he did. Stupid. I should've thought about the situation more.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, bringing me out of my senses.

I breathed out an uneven sigh. "I didn't expect Roman to know what your parents are. What should we do, Grayson?"

"I don't know." He paused. "You told Roman about... you?" He said, changing the topic so easily.

"I did. He deserved to know. Just like you deserve to know."

"So, all this time you two were..?"

"I'm just helping him out, that's all. Besides, I needed him. I haven't seen another Atrian for years."

"Besides your uncle— err, foster father." He commented. "I understand."

Again, another uneven sigh. "What about you? I noticed you haven't been with Emery the whole night."

He blinked. "I... I didn't realize."

"Is something wrong with the both of you?" I asked, brows furrowed.

"No, no. It's just, well I've been busy with the party... and then learning about you."

I felt flying knots in my stomach, knowing the exact reason what had caused it. Regretfully, I had to do the right thing for him. "Grayson, you really shouldn't ignore Emery like that. She's your girlfriend." As bitter as it sounded in my head, I continued on. "You have to go talk to her."

"She's out there comforting Roman now."

"Then let's wait for her. Just until she comes back."

He nodded.

We waited minutes, neither of us speaking to each other. The mood was already severely killed and I couldn't help myself thinking about Roman right now. I didn't want him to hate me; he came close to me especially that night we were out looking for a safe haven. He was one of the few peoples I could trust, but when I broke his...

I just... It's hard...

I had enough of the silence, I wanted to talk to him, needed to talk to him. I needed to get Roman out of my head just for a little while. I don't want to worry about anything else related to him. I propelled myself off the wall and approached him. He stood up to his seat and was about to ask me something, but suddenly, we heard clicking of heels coming our way.

"Emery..." Grayson called out.

She was standing there looking relieved, but her emotions masked into something... something nice, but not entirely happy. It's different somehow, it's like she had been hit by something and there was that growing sense of realization that struck her nerves. Grayson approached her almost hurriedly, while I was tailing right behind him, but I had to retain my distance from her...

She felt... changed.

Emery looked at me first. "I'm not sure if everything's fine, but I've talked him out of it." She explained.

"Good, good." I breathed out a sigh of relief. I was pretty sure he would still be mad about me right now if I were the one that talked to him. Thanks to her, I think we may still rekindle our friendship. But I didn't trust her and what emotions she'd been emitting.

"Did Roman say anything how he found out about my parents?" Grayson then butted in. He then ushered us and led the way back to the party.

"No, he didn't."

When we got back to the dining hall, Emery stopped and looked at him.

"Grayson, I know you're a good guy, and I wanted to believe it doesn't matter who your parents are... but it does."

"Wait, does this mean what I think you mean?" I crossed my arms. What? Is she going to tell him now that it's his fault? What happened in the gardens? Some things were slowly starting to get sketchy.

Emery didn't answer that, and still kept looking at him.

"I wish I could change that, but I can't." His face saddened.

"Can't you at least stand up to them? If you tell them what you really feel, they might change their ways about everything."

Grayson then breathed out a sigh. "Look it's not as easy as it sounds—"

A phone call buzzed. It was Emery's.

"Sorry, it's Julia. I need to pick this up." She then went on her way and disappeared into the crowd.

"She left. Again." He just stared into the billowing mass of people.

"She did." I said. "What's wrong with her, Grayson? She just walked and then left you hanging again."

"I... I don't know." He said. "She's been acting weird all day long."

I huffed. "She's hiding something."

Grayson shook his head. "No, Emery wouldn't do that. Maybe she's just terribly busy lately."

"And then she forgets about you..." I mumbled.

"Sorry, what?"

"Nothing."

A warm hand palmed one of my shoulders, gripping it firmly. I gasped and turned my head, surprised to see Drake looking at me.

"Have you seen Roman?" He then suddenly asked, not a tone of worry in his voice. It's like he didn't even care.

"I—"

"Just answer the question." A more irritable tone of his voice this time.

"I don't know." I shrugged.

"Good. Help me find him."

And by the second time this night, another person attempted to drag me to my wrist in search for someone, in some place, but before he could do anything, I flicked my wrist to disarm his grasp towards mine. No. I would never leave Grayson, not how Emery did with her.

"What the heck are you doing Drake?" I snapped.

As if by instinct, Grayson stepped in front of me and walled me up, covering me from Drake who was only looking at me. Like I was his objective. It scared me, but thankfully Grayson was there before he could do anything. He held my arms as I started to heave my breaths because of what Drake did to me.

"You need to leave us." He said, his back against Drake's, his soothing hand trying to calm me down. "Or so help me I will send you to the Crate right here, right now."

Grayson threat actually sent shivers down my skin. Drake even felt it too; I could sense it in him. But then his intimidated state faltered and reverted back to his usual cocky, arrogant self. He then grumbled in response. He lifted his hands, waving defeat and backed away slowly. Drake then pivoted his feet and walked away through the crowd. I didn't take my eye off of him.

It was little after awhile that Grayson finally loosened his grip on me. he muttered a short 'sorry', thinking that he may have hurt me with how he held his hand, but I waved my hand dismissively saying, 'it's okay'.

"Why did he want you to find Roman?" Grayson then asked.

"I don't know. Maybe he needed something from him."

Drake was walking towards the bar, but I saw him lean his head slightly on a girl.

It was Zoe. She looked at me, then as if by reflexes, scowled at Drake when he whispered something to her. She held two cups of alcohol from her table and stood up. She then walked walked towards us and plastered a smile on her face.

"I admit, Drake is really a complete and total ass." She held out the two cups. "It's like talking to an underaged dickwad when it comes to him. Want some wine?" She offered Grayson.

Stressful as he was right now, he took one cup.

She then looked at me. I just blanked. "Well..?"

"Oh. I don't drink."

"C'mon Meredith. Don't be such a spoil sport." A waiter went by with a tray of filled wines. She never broke eye contact as she took one of the glasses. "Just have a drink and we could forget everything that has ever happened tonight..." She said dreamily.

Thinking about it... Well, I did want to forget. Tonight was one of those nights that I never wanted to happen. Even if I could just forget it in one sleep. I didn't want Roman to be mad at me. He was an Atrian, someone with my blood. He was also like a brother to me. To sum it up, he was very close and dear to me. To break his trust completely just because I disregarded the case, it made myself such a shallow person. I was foolish, reckless.

And I guess it was just hard for me to admit it.

I took the cup.

Zoe held out hers. "A toast. To forgetting the night." She clanked it on both of us.

Grayson chugged everything, I took a sip after. I instantly held it away as it burned hot in my throat. Was this what alcohol really taste like? Grayson was no less the happier. He drank the whole glass, hacking straight after. He even made a little cough, realizing that the drink was too strong.

"This is..." He tried to form his bearings, but he couldn't. "What's in this?"

Then, as if by mere coincidence, I started to lose my balance myself... It's as if I wanted to fall down and sleep... and lose... myself...

"Oh, nothing... just something special..." Her words started to slur. "Just for... both of you..."

I looked down... down... to my drink... Is that... Was that a leaf?

A voice... It came from behind me... "You... both of them..?"

"I needed... She was... way... Make Grayson... with us... get car." Pause. "Handle her... on this time."

Then... I lost consciousness after.