I was what? I didn't understand why Oliver introduced me to these people like this, but whatever I was, I was the last one. And it was time. Am I meant to understand this? Probably not. But I think I know someone who may have answers. God knows there's no fucking way Oliver's going to tell me what the hell he's talking about, but I bet when I go to class next, I could talk Allen into taking me to see Francois again. I don't care if he's going to fly off the handle again. I'm sick of being kept in the dark about everything.

But then, seemingly out of nowhere, the front door flew open. If I didn't know any better, I think a trail of glitter followed our new friend. However, the room remained unmoved and a rather flamboyant man strutted his way in, "What have I missed? Let's be honest. You all missed me."

"Hello, Flavio," Oliver greeted him, "Please sit down. Is your brother and his paramour joining us this evening?"

"Nope." Flavio, huh? He looks like a Flavio.

"Why are you late?" Oliver asked, keeping a scarily level head, "I told you eight o'clock, did I not?"

"Sue me," Flavio rolled his eyes, "Drag Race was on. I sure as hell wasn't missing that because you called."

"Flavio…"

"Fine," he groaned, throwing some money in the jar in the middle of the coffee table.

"You didn't strike me as the type to be into drag races," Oliver brushed it off, "Still, I wouldn't call it a viable excuse to miss one of these meetings."

"I don't think he was talking about that kind of drag race, Oliver," I gave him a nudge. Whoever this Flavio guy was, I think I like him. Out of everyone here, he might be my favorite.

"Who's the overgrown porcelain doll, Oliver?" Flavio got a good look at me. Alright. The jab was unnecessary. I may not like him as much, "Did someone get a new little?"

"She's not…!" Oliver calmed himself down in the next breath, "This is Amelia. Amelia, this is Flavio. Normally, I deal with his younger brother, but if we're comparing the two, Flavio is much more pleasant to deal with."

"Grazie," Flavio took a bow. Ok. He's still my favorite.

"Amelia is a very special little girl," Oliver continued on, taking the opportunity to gush over me, no doubt, "She's definitely bargain worthy. We'll call her our leverage."

I didn't like that. I didn't like that a single bit, "Oliver…?"

"Yes, darling?"

"Are you…" I didn't want to know the answer, but I needed to ask, "Are you using me for something?"

"What?" Oliver gasped, wrapping his arms around me, "No, no, no. Of course not, love. What gave you that idea?"

"Well," I pointed out, "You called me leverage, so that sounds like you're using me."

"No," he cradled me, reaching down into the candy dish on the table, "Here, darling. Have some chocolate."

"Ok." Oliver did make some damn good chocolate. It's not like I could say no.

"Now," Oliver continued, his tone taking on a much sterner quality, "She's off limits to all of you. She's my little angel and she's going to stay that way. Do we understand?"

"Fine," Kuro allowed.

"Whatever," Flavio ignored it altogether.

A light snore came out of Xiao, who had completely fallen asleep sitting up. Oliver shook his head, "Can someone make sure Xiao's alive?"

"I got it!" Ivan put a hand on Xiao's shoulder, "Wakey, wakey, Xiao!"

"I'm up!" Xiao snapped out of his mini coma, "What? What do you want?"

"Nobody's allowed to touch doll face except for Oliver," Flavio filled him in.

"I woke up for that?" Xiao groaned, drifting back to sleep.

"Xiao," Oliver scolded him, "Promise me you'll keep your hands off her."

"Yeah, yeah," Xiao waved him off, "No touchy touchy. Got it."

"Thank you," Oliver relaxed a little more, "Amelia, why don't you let the grown-ups talk alone? Ivan, keep an eye on her."

"Okie dokie!" Ivan got up and took my hand.

"Wait," I stopped him, "Why can't I stay here?"

"Because," Oliver pointed out, "You have a new friend. And it'd be rude if you were to leave him alone. Go on."

"Alright…" This guy seemed kind of…well…simple. I could probably get a little bit of information out of him if I asked really nice. It's bullshit that Oliver thinks I need to have a babysitter now, but I'll call it an opportunity. Ivan and I made our way into the den off the kitchen, far enough away from the party in the living room. Something about this guy seemed almost unsettling. How the hell was he so cheery? It wasn't like Oliver's brand of cheeriness. This seemed kind of unnerving. Like…A sadistic kind of cheery.

"I'm so happy to meet you, Amelia," Ivan beamed.

"You can call me Amy," I insisted, "Everyone else does. Except for Oliver."

"Can I tell you something to make you feel better?" he offered.

"Please," I allowed.

Ivan moved a little closer to me, keeping his voice down, "Alfred told me you went by Amy, too."

"Wait," my heart stopped, "You know Alfred?"

"Da," he nodded, "And I have message for you."

"What did he say?" I wondered, waiting with bated breath. Come on, Alfred. Come through for me.

"He says hang in there," Ivan reported, his joy relentless, "And he sends his love."

"That was nice of him," I was hoping for something a tad more useful than him saying hi, but I digress.

"You know," he sat across from me, "When Alfred described you, I expected to see someone else. Something completely different."

"Yeah," I grumbled to myself, "But Oliver happened…And loss happened…"

"I'm sorry to hear that," Ivan's smile fell, "Who was it, if you don't mind me asking?"

"My ex-boyfriend," I told him, "It hit me in a way I didn't think it would. I found out from reading the newspaper in line at the grocery store this afternoon. How shitty is that?"

He got up from his chair and hugged me tight, wrapping me in his big ass coat, "I hope he is in better place, Amy. Really, I do."

"Thank you, Ivan," I reveled in the genuine, heartfelt warmth. Maybe a little too much. My eyelids were having a hard time staying up. Before I get sick again, I should probably go to bed. After everything that's happened today, I was fucking exhausted. Ivan's coat wasn't exactly helping the cause either. It's so warm and comfortable, "I know Oliver told you to watch me, Ivan, and I appreciate your friendship in these trying times, but I'm tired as hell and I'm going to bed."

"That's ok," Ivan let me go, "If you'd like, I could give message back to Alfred."

"Not to be that skeptical bitch," I let out a little yawn, "But how do I know you won't run and tell Oliver?"

"Because," he promised, "I'm in regular contact with Alfred and Oliver has no idea. I'd like to keep it that way."

"Tell Alfred I send my love, too," I relaxed a little. Maybe I have an ally here after all, "And if I need him, I'll let him know. But for now, I think I got it handled."

"Ok!" Ivan was starting to find himself on my favorites list. The rest of Oliver's friends were kind of assholes, but Ivan was an absolute sweetheart and I adore him.

I left him in the den and headed toward the living room. It's too bad there wasn't an alternate route to the stairs. That way, I could quietly sneak to my room and Oliver would be none the wiser. The assorted murmurs in the living room rumbled louder and louder with every step I took. Not enough for me to make out what they were saying, but enough to know they were still here.

"You let me worry about him," Oliver's voice stood out from the rest.

"Are you sure you can handle it, Oliver?" Kuro asked, almost as if he were insulting him.

"Are questioning my integrity, Kuro?" Oliver growled.

"It's not that," Kuro clarified, "You were close once, Oliver. You can't deny that. I'm just wondering if it's your head or your heart making the decisions these days."

"If I can't handle my own…" Oliver caught me out of the corner of his eye, "Amelia…What are you doing in here? What is it, darling?"

"I'm tired," I leaned against the wall, "I'm going to bed."

"Excuse me, gentlemen," Oliver got up from his chair, "Feel free to talk amongst yourselves. I'll be back shortly."

"Take your time," Flavio scrolled aimlessly through his phone. I wish I could do that. Mine was still missing.

"Come now, poppet." Oliver took my hand and led me upstairs to his bathroom. Wait a second…I'm pretty sure I said I was going to bed. I'm too tired for the other bullshit, Oliver. But I had a feeling deep down that if I were to say something, he'd either yell at me or dismiss it altogether. So, I sat on the stool from under the vanity and let Oliver wash my face. Good call on his part, too. Between the mess on the pillowcase and the mess my skin would be in the morning, I didn't want either of those.

Then, like any other night, Oliver tucked me into bed. My comfortable, overgrown toddler bed. In my very soft pink room. I don't want to sound ungrateful. I'm sure Oliver put a lot of time and effort in here. Not to mention, he's never made me pay a dime of rent since I moved in, so I'll call that a win. But…When he said this was my room…None of this feels like me. None of what he's done for me has felt like me. Although, I bet if I find a black Sharpie around here, I could make a few improvements.

"So, Amelia," Oliver broke the silence between us, "What did you and Ivan have to say to each other?"

Aside from his message from Alfred and more sympathies for Reid than you've given me? No…Amy…Don't be bitter. I'm sure his crisis counselor instincts could sniff that shit out from a mile away. And that's further conversation I don't need and/or want to be having today, "Not very much. I wouldn't call the guy much of a conversationalist."

"I see…" he spoke softly. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was pissed, "You're not lying to me, are you, Amelia?"

Shit. Suppress, Amy. Suppress, "Of course not. I have no reason to lie to you, Oliver."

Smooth, Amy. Very smooth. It was enough to get Oliver off my scent, so I'll call that a win, "Good."

"Oliver…" I played up the innocence a bit, showing him exactly what he wanted to see, "Can I ask you something?"

"What is it, darling?" he took the bottle of face cream out of the nightstand.

"What was tonight all about?" I wondered, pressing my luck, crossing my fingers in hopes of getting some answers out of him.

"Just invited a few friends over," Oliver stayed cryptic, "We had a few things we needed to discuss. We had them handled. Nothing you need to concern yourself with. Now, you've had a long, busy day and you need to get some sleep, ok?"

"Yeah," I nestled down into my blankets, "I will."

"Good night, love," Oliver kissed my forehead and pulled the quilt over me, "I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night," I shut my eyes shortly after Oliver killed the lights.

Alright. Tomorrow, priority one: Find my phone. If I find my phone, then the world opens up again and I can go back to being a functioning human. Then, I can try finding a job, go to class, and live another day. Still…My heart hurts. I needed a hug. Like the one Ivan gave me, but longer. Much, much longer. Reid…I was holding out for you. I really thought you were going to get sober and we could get back together and pretend like none of the previous ugliness in our relationship ever happened. I was hoping it wouldn't end this way. Reid's death piled on top of Oliver's secret keeping and everything Francois has told me…It's a lot. More than what I need to handle. I'm heartbroken, confused…Who do I trust? Who don't I trust? What do I do? I think sleep deprivation is getting to me. I just need to shut my eyes and go to sleep. In the morning, everything will be better. At least I hope so.