Once again, I apologize for the delay! Busy, busy, busy!

Anyway, I spent a lot of time writing this chapter whenever I got the chance. I hope it turned out okay and not as hit-and-miss as I imagined it!

Oh, and by the way, guys, thank you so much for all of the reviews so far! I've finally reached a hundred and that's so amazing to me. I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, only my OCs.

Enjoy!

Chapter 21

"Try the button-down." Yugi said as he tossed a shirt to his "brother."

Atem snatched it out of the air. "Thanks."

Yugi watched in amusement as Atem buttoned it and adjusted the collar, then went to his dresser to put on some cologne. "Are you excited?"

Atem threw a look over his shoulder at Yugi. "I'm happy that I will get to spend some time with her, yes."

"Oh come on, Pharaoh, you've got to be a little more enthusiastic than that." Yugi's tone was playful. "We're talking about your old girlfriend here."

Atem huffed and shot Yugi a small glare, hoping the slight blush on his cheeks wasn't noticeable. He knew what the younger boy was trying to do. "Yugi, she wasn't my girlfriend."

"Oh, right. Technically, she was your fiancé." Yugi said, a sly smile sliding across his face.

Atem shook his head and checked himself in the mirror. "Technically, neither of those terms applied in ancient Egypt, so your argument is invalid."

Yugi didn't hesitate. "Well, there are these things called equivalents. 'Fiancé' is equivalent to 'I'm about to marry you.'"

"I wasn't-" Atem cut himself off when he noted the triumphant glimmer in Yugi's eyes. "You're teasing me, aren't you?"

Chuckling, the younger boy replied, "Consider it payback for all those times you've given me a hard time about Tea." He watched the former king shake a little in the shirt to get the sleeves comfortable on his arms. "Roll up the sleeves."

Atem cocked his head at him. "Why? It's not hot outside."

"Just trust me on this one. Tea says it all the time: rolled up sleeves apparently make guys about a million times more attractive."

"I'm not trying to get her to sleep with me, Yugi. It's just a date."

Yugi rolled his eyes. "You have zero experience in the dating area. That date with Tea you had a while back? Yeah, that wasn't really a date. That's not how dates actually work."

"And you know this because...?"

Ouch. Yugi laughed at his own mistake, having never been on a date himself. Atem knew this, of course. He had been there for most of Yugi's adolescence, physically or not. "Okay, so maybe I'm not an expert. But I've seen movies. I know how they go."

Atem snorted a little. "The dates in movies always end in sex, Yugi."

"Not always!" Yugi said a little too loudly in defense. Realizing his face had turned beet red, he looked away from Atem's smirk. "Sometimes they just end with...a kiss or hug or something."

Atem nodded slowly with eyebrows raised, mimicking what Erin often did when she was humoring someone. "Ah."

"Okay, fine, so maybe I'm not an expert. But don't you want to at least impress her? Make things move a little quicker?" Yugi knew his words carried the wrong message the second they left his mouth. He hadn't meant to bring up their impending deadline.

Atem stayed where he was, staring at the wall in front of him in silence.

"Atem, I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."

The king shook his head. "I know. And I understand that we're short on time. But Erin...I don't want to rush her." His words became quieter. "I don't want to force her to fall in love with me again if she's changed."

Yugi stood up and walked over to Atem, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Yeah, and that's understandable. But if we want to save her, we need her to remember. And you're one of – if not the strongest – links to her past."

Atem took a deep breath and nodded.

"Besides," Yugi added, "how different is Erin from Sagira really? From what you've told me, they're practically the same."

There was a moment of silence before Atem answered. "Sagira had known me for years before anything happened between the two of us. She trusted me completely, and would tell me everything when she felt she needed to. Erin has only known me for a few months, and she's been holding back so much that it's frustrating."

Yugi felt his heart lurch at Atem's words. He couldn't imagine what it was like to see the love of his life every day, knowing that she didn't even remember exactly who he had been to her. And then there was the curse...He wished so much that Erin would just open up and end his friend's suffering. "She will let you in. You just have to be patient."

Atem sighed, then checked his watch. "It's time for me to go pick her up."

As the king prepared to leave, Yugi said, "Drive safe." Since Atem had technically only been in his own body for less than a year, he hadn't had enough time (nor motivation) too get his permit or driver's license. Luckily, he had been sharing a mind with Yugi all throughout Yugi's driving lessons, and they had often switched bodies so Atem could try, so Atem was a fairly good driver. Kaiba, after a good amount of convincing, managed to find a way to forge a license and birth certificte for Atem about two months after the Ceremonial Duel that would pass through any formal system were he to get into trouble.

Not that Atem was one to get into trouble on purpose.

"Atem?" The boy in question stopped in the doorway when he heard his name. Yugi tried to put as much sincerity into his words as he could. "Have fun. Don't worry about everything else for tonight."

Yugi couldn't see it, but Atem smiled slightly to himself before leaving the room and heading out of the game shop.

He repeated Yugi's words over and over in his mind as he started the car he, Yugi, and Solomon shared.

Have fun.

Mom was so happy to hear about my date that she screamed.

Like, literally. She squealed like a fangirl whose OTP had just become canon.

I had originally planned on telling her that I was just hanging out with a friend (which was mostly true - Atem was only a friend for the moment, because I had no idea how things would go tonight), but Miri had built up to it with not-so-subtle hints for a half hour before I finally confessed. I planned on smacking the little turd later, but for the moment, I was too busy fending Mom off from the bathroom while I got ready to leave. She kept asking if she could fix my hair, or my makeup, or pick out my clothes.

"Mom, please." I called as she jiggled the doorknob. "I'm almost done."

The jiggling stopped. "You never let me have any fun, 'Rin!" She said on the other side. "He'd at least better be coming in to meet me before you two go anywhere."

"He is." I replied. Thanks to Miri.

I checked myself in the mirror. I hadn't been exactly sure what to wear, considering the chilly November air and the fact that we were only going to a pizza place and not somewhere fancy. In the end, I had chosen a white t-shirt, jeans, and a black leather jacket to keep warm. As usual, I left my hair down and kept my makeup light, only eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss. I took a deep breath. I'd never been so excited and nervous at the same time to go out with a boy before.

Opening the door, I was met with the ecstatic eyes of my mother. "Oh, sweetie, you look beautiful!" She said, grinning from ear to ear.

I laughed nervously. "Thanks."

She twirled a strand of my hair around her finger. "But I do need to trim your hair. It's getting long."

"I like it this long." I replied, moving so my hair would fall from her fingers back to its place a few inches above my waist. Mom followed me down the stairs.

"When's he getting here?"

"Around six-ish."

Miri's bedroom door opened. "This is something I don't want to miss!" She said as she trailed us.

I rolled my eyes in mock annoyance. "Why don't you stay up in your room, you little heathen?"

"Because then I won't get to meet your boy toy."

My nose immediately wrinkled. "Ew, please don't refer to Atem as my boy toy. It's creepy and it will scare him."

"Well, I mean, he's going out with you, so there can't be much that scares him." Miri retorted, earning an almost-real glare from me.

I checked my phone. 5:57. Please hurry, Atem. The sooner we can get this over with, the better.

Mom leaned against the kitchen counter as I rummaged through the pantry for the package of gummy bears I had hidden. "Aren't you going out to eat?"

"Yeah." I said, finding my prize and popping a green gummy in my mouth.

"Then why are you eating before you even leave?"

I sighed. "I don't know. I need to do something while I wait, and these gummy bears were calling my name." I chewed another one and walked away, avoiding my mother's eyes as she scoured my expression with an eyebrow raised.

"You really like this boy." She said matter-of-factly.

I stopped and nodded, only daring to turn slightly to look at her. "Yeah. He's a great guy."

She came up next to me and put a hand on my shoulder. I noticed Miri wasn't in the room with us, saving us her snarky comments. She was probably in the living room waiting for Atem to ring the doorbell. "Erin." Mom said quietly.

"What?" I asked, giving her a strange look. Was I being obvious?

"He's different, isn't he?" The glimmer in her eyes made me uncomfortable.

I took a long time to chew my gummy bears. He was. But not for the reasons Mom was probably thinking. And there was no way that I was about to tell her exactly why he was different from other boys. That might earn me a strange look and a lecture about how we can't just go around dating random boys we see in dreams.

Besides, I already knew that a date with Tom Felton was off the table. I didn't need to be reminded of the fact.

I opened my mouth to say that Atem was a lot mellower than other guys I had liked before when the doorbell rang. Mom immediately grinned and squealed a bit before making a break for the foyer. I sighed in relief and looked to the ceiling. Atem, you have impeccable timing.

Following Mom to the door, I found that Miri had already beaten us to it and was now standing there grinning up at an uncomfortable Atem. He was much taller than she was, but her attitude at the moment was making her seem like a bigger threat to him than she actually was.

"Atem!" I said, rushing over and putting a hand over Miri's face before pushing her away. "Sorry. She's like a dog."

He smiled warmly at me. "It's alright. She seems nice."

"Hello, Atem." My mother said, coming up behind me. I huffed and stepped out of the way so she could hold out a hand to shake his. In Dad's absence, she felt the need to show Atem who called the shots around the Stephenson household. "It's so nice to meet you. I'm Diana, Erin's mom."

Way to remind him who you were. I'm sure he wouldn't have guessed.

Atem took her hand in a firm shake, inclining his head respectfully. "And you. You have a lovely home." He replied in an even voice that I often heard him addressing Solomon with.

"Thank you so much." Mom said. She dropped his hand and looked to me. "I expect you two will be responsible and take care in following rules." It wasn't a question, it was a warning.

I rolled my eyes and shot a smirk at Atem. "Well, shoot, Atem, it looks like our meeting with the drug cartel is out of the question."

"Erin Michelle!"

I laughed. "I was kidding, Mom. We're just going out for pizza. It's not a big deal." I hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.

Mom turned a stern glance to Atem. "I need her back here by eleven. Can you do that for me?"

Atem nodded. "Yes, ma'am." He replied.

"Are we free to go now, officer?" I asked, giving Mom a please-let-us-leave look. I stepped a little closer to Atem.

Mom sighed. "I guess I'm out of things to say. Yeah, you two can go."

I waved and grabbed Atem's arm to pull him out the door with me. "Bye!"

"Eleven!" Mom called after us.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Miri shouted from the foyer window.

I groaned and apologized to Atem as soon as we got in the car, the door for which he had opened and closed for me. "I'm so sorry. Mom's like that, but I've never seen Miri so loud before."

He chuckled. "It's alright. They were excited."

I snorted. "Understatement of the century. Miri was probably just trying to get me back for all the times I've teased her about Mokuba."

He gave me a strange look as he shifted his black Volvo into drive. "Mokuba Kaiba?"

I nodded. "I guess I never told you about that. He and Miri really hit if off a while back, so I've been giving her trouble about him. He was even at our house last night for a 'study session.'" I made air quotes around the words as I said them.

"That's unexpected." Atem said, taking a turn onto the street that would lead to the city.

"I know. Kaiba's so...Kaiba, and then there's Mokuba, who seems pretty easygoing and sweet."

"Kaiba's been through a lot." He explained. "He's very protective of Mokuba. I'm surprised he even let him go to your house."

I raised an eyebrow at him, leaning against the window so I could face him more fully. Normally, I would have been surprised at how comfortable I already was on a first date, but the fact that it was Atem canceled out any and all shock. "What do you mean? You've mentioned that he and Mokuba grew up as orphans, but you never really elaborated. Did their adoptive father not treat them well?"

Atem sighed. "Gozaburo Kaiba owned a company that produced weapons of war. He happened to show up to the orphanage Seto and Mokuba were living in, and Seto saw his chance. He challenged Gozaburo to a game of chess, the stakes of which involved his and Mokuba's adoption by the millionaire. After they were adopted, however, life was never easy. Seto was forced to study for hours on end in order to qualify in Gozaburo's eyes as a well-rounded heir to his company and fortune. From what I know, there was a lot of anxiety and fear instilled into Seto's mind when he was younger because of this. As soon as he could, he took Gozaburo's business from his hands and turned it into the gaming corporation that we know today."

"Wow." I said. I didn't see that coming. "So...is it not okay that my sister is on the verge of dating Mokuba?"

He shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe Kaiba would warm up to the idea if he met Miri."

"He already has."

He made a face. "Well, then if he's still allowing Mokuba to speak to her, I would assume that she made a good first impression."

I nodded, Atem's logic comforting me.

We continued with small talk, about things at school and how Atem's head had been feeling (he still got some pretty bad headaches if he over-exerted himself), and just about random things that I would point out as we drove by them, like a woman who was walking about ten dogs at the same time. This led to a twenty-questions type game in which I was the only player, asking Atem anything I could think of until he stopped the car and we got out to walk into the restaurant.

Once we got inside, I looked around in awe. For a pizza joint, the place was pretty classy. We actually had to wait to be seated and everything. For some reason, I had been half expecting a teenager-infested, Pizza Hut-type hangout. It would have been fine by me either way.

However, my leather jacket suddenly seemed a little too casual.

"Still cold?" Atem asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I looked at him, a small smile on my lips. "No, just...impressed."

He raised an eyebrow. "You're impressed that I could pick out a pizza restaurant for you? Just wait until after dinner, then. You'll be blown away."

I snorted. "Alright, dirty innuendos aside, this place is really nice."

His eyes glittered. "What were you expecting?"

"A poorly-stocked salad bar in the middle of the room."

"What kinds of pizza places do you go to?" He asked, laughter in his voice.

I giggled a little. "The ones with gum stuck to the bottoms of the tables and a crotchety old lady named Gert taking your order at the counter."

He chuckled. "Now I am seriously questioning the quality of the town you were raised in."

"Hey, it had its perks. We had a frozen yogurt shop."

"Oh, well in that case, it's completely redeemed."

"Thank you." After smiling about our exchange, a thought occurred to me. "But seriously, what were you planning after dinner? There's more?"

He shrugged. I found it strange how such a casual gesture could still look so regal when he did it. "You'll have to wait. It's a surprise." He winked at me.

My heart skipped a beat. Gosh, how did he do that to me? "Well, then it'd better be a good one. I'm not easily impressed, you know."

He just smirked, both of us knowing that was a complete lie. The other day in art class, I went on and on about how amazed I was that there was still a saliva stain on the window from when one of the boys in the room had shot a spitball at Astrid and missed two days before. I wasn't even kidding, either. I was genuinely impressed.

We had to cease our conversation when the hostess greeted us and led us to our table, a small, two-person booth in the corner of the restaurant. Once our waitress came around, we had already agreed on drinks and a pizza. (In the car, I had discovered through my one-sided game of twenty questions that Atem's favorite pizza was cheese with olives, sausage, and green peppers on top, and I was eager to try it.)

However, after we ordered and got our drinks, I decided to start the game back up again to avoid the awkward silence that was sure to ensue. "So, if you had to pick any of the people in this room to hook up with tonight, who would it be?"

He had been taking a sip of his water when I asked that, and he choked on it a bit when he laughed. After wiping his mouth and letting me snicker at him, he gave me a weird look. "Is that a trick question, or are you serious?"

My snickers died down, and I managed to give myself a straight face. "Do you think I'm joking?"

He let out another short laugh at my tone of voice, then looked around. His cheeks had darkened slightly, and I grinned to myself. "Um...I don't know..."

I snorted. "Come on. Most guys already have an answer to this question." Though it's a good thing that you're so embarrassed to answer it. And it's adorable.

"Uh...and you're not an option?"

"Atem, you dog!" I said in mock offense. "And on the first date, too!"

His cheeks got darker. "I...I..." I began to giggle. His flustered expression was cute.

After a few more seconds of watching him struggle, I grinned at him and patted his hand. "I was kidding. You don't have to answer the question."

He narrowed his eyes at me, a smirk spreading across his face. "No, I was actually just about to say the lady at that table over there was wearing a particularly attractively-cut dress, but if you insist..." I opened my mouth to shoot a retort back, but he cut me off. "So now I'm going to ask you something. If you had to choose between walking home or getting a ride with someone in this room because I'm going to leave you here, which would you choose?"

I felt my face flush. He was messing with me for messing with him! Too bad I had an answer for everything. "I guess I would catch a ride with that guy at the corner table. He looks rich, so I bet he's got a super nice car."

Atem laughed at my answer.

I continued with the game. "Have you ever stalked somebody?"

"No. Do you enjoy making people uncomfortable when they buy you food?"

"Yes, but you're especially fun. What's your favorite Skittle flavor?"

He gave me a "Really?" look, which I laughed at. "Green. How many of these questions do you have saved up?"

I gave him a catlike grin. "More than you want to know. If there was a movie made about you, who would play you?"

And so we went on like that until our food came, and then we spent the rest of the time raving about the pizza and throwing stray olives and sausage bits at each other. I got so many to land in his water that he stopped drinking it.

There were times when his genuine laugh would emerge, the one I had heard that day in art class, and it would warm my chest with a strange sense of familiarity. It was a nice feeling.

After dinner, Atem drove me to the pier and we got out and walked around. We still asked each other questions, but this time, they were a little more personal. What did he think the meaning of life was? Did I believe in reincarnation? I had gotten to know Atem better in just a few hours then I had in over two months.

Finally, though, he asked a question I knew would eventually come up. "So, you have Miri here, but you've mentioned a brother. Where is he?"

I looked out over the ocean. "He's still in Missouri. With my dad."

"Oh, your parents are..."

"Divorced. Yeah." I gave him a smile. "But it's okay. I think both of them are better off apart."

"I'm sorry."

I shrugged. "Don't be. I guess love changes sometimes."

He raised an eyebrow at my weird statement.

And for some reason, I couldn't hold the real story, the one I had never told anyone, back any longer. "My parents were so in love that my grandma used to joke about how they made everyone sick just by looking at them. Dad was one of those guys that would throw himself across a mud pit of it meant my mother wouldn't have to step in it. He was pretty easygoing. I never saw him get really angry. Actually, if he was angry, it was mostly because he had bottled everything up until he couldn't take it anymore." With a small smile, I added, "I guess that's where I get it from."

"They got married when they were nineteen; Mom skipped out on college to have my brother, Landon, but went back a year later and earned her Master's while she was pregnant with me. They're both pretty smart people. Dad's an engineer and he earns a killing off it. Mom drifted toward architecture, and she's loved it for years. By the time Miri was four, Mom had worked her way up to the top of her firm. That was when I remember everything going to hell.

"The first time Landon and I had ever seen our parents fight in front of us was when I was ten, and we were eating lunch with Mom in the kitchen when Dad walked in, an envelope in his hand. He looked pretty upset about something. He asked if they could talk, but Mom refused, telling him to wait until she was done with her sandwich.

"Dad didn't take that too well. 'Diana,' he said, 'We need to talk about this now.'
"Of course, Mom said no again. A trait I got from my mother? Stubbornness. She went back to eating her sandwich like there was nothing wrong.

"After a few seconds of glaring at her, Dad waved the envelope around. 'Do you even care anymore?' He asked.

"Mom stood up really quickly and glanced down at Landon and me. 'Not in front of the kids.' She said.

"That was when the yelling started. Dad said something about how neglected we were already that we wouldn't care, and then an all-out war began. After a few minutes, Dad was the first to calm down and really look at us. He told us to go to outside, and we'd never been more eager to do just that. We could still hear the yelling from outside, but at least I could hum under my breath while I was swinging on the playground to tune them out. Later, after Landon and I had done some snooping around in their office, we found out that Mom had gone way over her credit limit buying furniture for our rooms. Not that we knew what a credit limit was at the time, but we were old enough to know that a limit was something you weren't supposed to go over. They were in debt, and Mom wasn't the only one to blame. Dad had his own expensive hobbies draining their bank account. Their stress would permeate the air in our house. There were days when they wouldn't even speak to each other to avoid more disagreements.

"They fought like that for years. Sometimes in front of us, sometimes making sure we weren't there. They made especially sure that Miri never saw them. But Landon and I could always tell when they had just finished screaming at each other.

"I guess that's why Miri was worse off than the two of us when Mom and Dad finally filed for divorce a year ago. Landon and I had seen their marriage for what it was; Miri had grown used to the illusion they put up just for her. They just weren't the same as they had been when they were nineteen.

We had stopped walking, as I had been so involved in pouring my heart out to Atem for no reason in particular that my feet had ceased moving. We were now standing at a railing, and Atem was watching me with a sympathetic gleam in his eyes. I felt the need to tell him why he shouldn't feel bad for me. My eyes wandered back to the moon over the ocean. "My parents aren't bad people." I said, looking back at Atem, his features softening. "I love my dad. But Landon and I were old enough to choose who we wanted to stay with, and we chose different sides. So when Mom decided to move east, she took Miri and me with her. And, I guess, here I am."

"Here you are." He repeated.

I took a deep breath and shook my head. I had just wasted five minutes giving him an unwarranted rundown of my childhood. It was time to learn something about him. "So, now that you know my life story, I want to hear yours. Where are your and Yugi's parents?" I paused a second at the slight frown on his face. "Or, do you guys even..." I trailed off. Oh god. Had I just asked a bad question? I mean, I'd never actually seen their parents. What if...?

He smiled a little, but I could tell it was forced. "It's alright. My mother died when I was too young to remember her. As for my father..." He looked down for a moment. "He...he was a great man."

"Atem," I said, leaning closer at the strain in his voice, "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

He looked back up at me, trying to give me a reassuring smile. "It's alright. Really."

I felt a little selfish. Here I had been, going on and on about my parents' (who were both still alive) fighting, and he had no living parents to speak of.

Nonetheless, I needed to lighten the mood. We were supposed to be having fun, after all. "Hey, what about your favorite movie? We haven't finished the game yet."

He smirked a little, visibly relieved at my change of subject. "Battle Royale."

I laughed a little. Of course. "Well, at least you didn't say Sharknado."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why? Is that a bad movie?"

"Yeah, it's a horrible movie." I replied almost instantly. "But it was going to be my answer."

"You admit that a movie is horrible, but it's still your favorite?" There was a touch of incredulity in his voice.

It was my turn to smirk. "It is what we love that kills us in the end." After a pause, I asked, "You've seriously never seen Sharknado?"

He shook his head. "Can't say that I've even heard of it before."

"Oh, buddy, that's gonna have to change real quick." I mocked about three different accents when I said that, but I didn't care.

He chuckled. "How about this question: if you were stuck on a desert island, who would you want as company?"

"That's a hard one." I said, tilting my head to think about it. "Probably...oh, I know! I'd have –" My phone suddenly went off, cutting my answer short. Frowning, I pulled it out of my pocket. "That's weird. Why is Tea calling me right now?" Remembering that I was being rude by even checking my phone on a date, I looked at Atem. "Is it okay if I...?"

He nodded. "She wouldn't be calling you right now if it wasn't important."

"Thanks." I said, putting the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Erin! Thank god! Sorry I'm calling you during your date, but this is an emergency. Joey and Tristan just went to a party, and I think something's wrong."

My eyebrows knit together. "What do you mean? What party?"

"Joey just called me and told me that Tristan passed out and he thinks that Astrid spiked his drink while she was flirting with him and now he's about to fight with Devon because he won't let them leave. I heard police sirens in the background and I'm scared, Erin. Joey won't pick up the phone." Tea's voice was panicked.

"They went to Devon's party? Why did they do that?" Atem's eyes widened. He could probably hear Tea because she was talking so loudly.

"They said he invited them. But the whole thing is fishy and I'm afraid that Joey and Tristan might be in real trouble. Devon fights dirty – his buddies pitch in. I don't want them to get hurt."

"Why would – never mind. Do you know Devon's address?"

"All I know is that he lives in the neighborhood next to yours. His house shouldn't be hard to find because there's music booming so loudly that you can hear it from a mile away. I'm two streets down from it. I'm too scared to go in by myself."

"Don't go in by yourself. We'll meet you there. We're on our way right now." Without needing prompting, Atem began running to the car with me. "Just stay there and we'll be be there as soon as we can."

Tea sounded on the verge of tears. "I'm so sorry for ruining your date."

"Don't worry about it. Just stay calm and – " My phone vibrated in my hand, telling me I had gotten a text. "I'll call you when we're close, okay?"

"Okay. Please hurry."

I hung up as we got to Atem's car, and as soon as we got in, I checked my text messages.

My blood turned to ice.

The unknown number had messaged me again. But this time, it wasn't just a vague taunt about Sagira.

This time, it was a photo. In it, Joey lay on the ground, bruised and unconscious, and Tristan was in the background, slumped over a table, also out cold. There was no one else in the picture, but by the looks of it, the party was still raging on. The words that came with the text read, Aren't these YOUR friends?

As I read it, a new message appeared. An address.

Atem sped out of the pier as I felt my panic return full-force.

They had found me again.

Ahhhhh! Sorry about the cliffhanger after my millionth disappearing act, but this chapter was getting really long, so I have to post it in two parts.

How about the brotherly scene in the beginning?

How was the date?

What do you think is going to happen to Joey and Tristan?

Why is the mystery number at Devon's party?

And, most importantly, who was Erin going to pick to have with her on a desert island?

Let me know your thoughts and predictions in a review! I still love hearing what you guys have to say!

See you next time (hopefully soon)!

-creativelybored