The next day dragged on uneventfully for Benny. Even his grandmother sensed something was wrong when he picked at his food. She'd made lasagna that night for dinner, which Benny usually enjoyed. Tonight, however, he kept glancing over at his phone, as if expecting it to ring, or beep with a text.

"Benny, dear. That phone's not going to do a backflip if you eat your dinner," she said.

Benny looked up, as though caught off guard. "Sorry, Grandma. Just on my date yesterday, Fayette kind of ran from something. I'm pretty sure it was a guy. And she says he's dangerous. Now Ethan's talking about the forest being magical, and Fayette won't answer her phone. And dating is hard," he groaned, putting his head on the table.

"If it's the Hercynian Forest you're talking about, then it does have a magical history."

"Please point me in the direction of something in this town that doesn't have magical history."

"Well, that fork in your hand doesn't."

Benny scowled, raising his head. "Thanks, Grandma. But seriously, do you think she ran from some sort of...I don't know, centaur or something?"

"This isn't Narnia," she answered, grabbing her empty plate and taking it to the kitchen. "Besides, it's not centaurs you'd need to worry about. Sasquatch, maybe. But centaurs are harmless."

"Uh, well thanks for the help." Benny stood to leave, but his grandma stopped him.

"Finish your peas. Then you're allowed to go upstairs and do as you please."

"That rhymed," Benny muttered under his breath, but she heard him anyway and raised her eyebrows at him. "Fine, I'll eat my peas."

Benny ate his peas in silence, trying to gather the information, albeit little, that his grandmother had given him about the forest. It wasn't much, but it could be useful.

Monday. Benny would never admit to it again in his life, but he had actually looked forward to this new week of school. He'd see Fayette in class, and maybe finally get some answers out of her.

Benny began walking towards his locker when Rory approached him. "How did that mission go?"

"Swimmingly." Benny didn't even look up as he answered, trying to get his books for the day from his locker.

"I still bet you could've used my help. I know people, who know people, who know some other people-"

"Rory, that is fantastic news. Look, here comes Erica. Go tell her," Benny said, shoving Rory into Erica's general direction.

"Hey, Erica. You look pulchritudinous today," Rory said.

"And you look pukish. Get away from me, dork." Erica threw her hair over her shoulder and continued walking, leaving Rory in the dust, as always.

"Benny!" Ethan shouted down the hall, accompanied by Sarah. "Come here!"

Benny grabbed the last book he needed, put them all in his backpack, and closed the locker door with more force than he intended. He walked towards the two, initially agitated with the day, until he saw that they seemed pleased about something.

"We saw Fayette earlier," Sarah practically squealed with excitement.

Benny face lit up. "So she's here, at school? Today?"

Ethan nodded. "We passed by her coming out of the washroom. I don't think she saw us though. But she is definitely at school today."

Suddenly, his whole mood shifted, and Benny felt elated. He would be seeing Fayette later, and if all went well, maybe things were okay between them. "Thanks a bunch. I'll see you both later."

He walked off, leaving Ethan and Sarah to themselves. "Oh, hey, Ethan. I have a question about the dance next Saturday."

Ethan immediately enlivened. "Uh...uh, yeah. Sure. What is it?" he barely managed to get out.

Sarah smiled, her pearly whites in contrast to her tawny skin. "Well, I need to find a dress, and the ONLY day I can go shopping is inconveniently the only day that Erica can't. So... I was hoping maybe you could go and give me honest opinions about the dresses I try on. So how about Wednesday?"

Throughout her question, Ethan felt himself getting deflated. "Of course. I'll help you out," he said, faking a smile.

"Thank you. You're a lifesaver." She stood on her tiptoes and pecked Ethan on the cheek. "I'll see you later!" she said and walked off.

Ethan felt his cheeks flush, and he couldn't contain the real smile that followed. He turned around all too quickly and ran into someone, knocking their books to the ground.

Ethan immediately apologized and began grabbing the books to help, and saw it wasn't just anyone's books on the floor. It was Fayette's. She leaned over to grab a notebook that Ethan had reached for at the same time, and his hand touched hers.

Beyond his control, he suddenly got a quick vision.

"Ethan?" Fayette said, reaching for the books in his hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to run into you, but I've got to get to class now. Thank you for helping me."

Ethan just stared into her green eyes, unresponsive. Handing her the books, she smiled and walked away.

According to the vision, Fayette was definitely hiding something, and Ethan couldn't figure out yet what it could possibly mean. But he had to find Benny, and soon.