- Gabriella -

"So is this the room you guys have been living in?" She eyed the place. Whatever she saw didn't seem to meet her expectations and she sighed. "Well, it's better than I thought. But I do feel that more furniture could be placed here. Oh and a mirror here."

"We are staying, not living." Vesna corrected as she rolled her eyes before placing her hand on her hip.

"Yeah. Whatever." Isabelle flounces with her hand without looking and heads to the remaining empty bedroom meant for her. Opening the toilet door, she glanced inside it. "The toilet seems okay."

Then she moved on to the wardrobe and threw its doors open wide. With a dismayed cry, she plops down onto the bed and narrows her eyes. "How am I going to fit all my clothes into this... this puny thing? Even if I were to pack in all my shoes it wouldn't even fit!" She pouted.

Isabelle is really perfect. Even the way she pouts makes her look adorable instead of average people who look like they are sulking.

I watched in amusement as Vesna rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall of her bedroom. "What do you think? That this is in the minister's courtyard? Obviously everything will be scaled down."

"Oh stop telling me that. This is a crisis!" Isabelle continues in distraught.

"Gods, woman. Please don't tell me you called your entire fashion wardrobe down here!?" Vesna stared at her in horror and disbelief.

Isabelle bit her lower lip as she stared at her. "Well, maybe a little? Like half?"

"Wait. I'm confused as hell. How do you even know the size of her fashion wardrobe if we just met each other?" I trailed off as I glanced between the two of them suspiciously.

With a huff, Vesna brushed back a curl of her hair which was stuck to her cheek. "Isabelle Ytger? Haven't you heard of her? She's the daughter of the prime minister and a social butterfly in the media. If it wasn't for how Damien had called her Izzie I wouldn't have suspected."

I stared at the petite girl in surprise. Isabelle Ytger. Of course, I've heard of her.

A famous influencer in the net and most of all she's Damien's adopted sister. There's a lot of talk about the two of them on the tabloids. Photos of them show that they have a very close relationship. It wasn't until in recent years, she announced she had to focus on the work her father assigned her and both of them kind of drifted apart. There were lesser photos of them laughing or hanging out together in parties and bars.

No one knew what sort of work the PM had assigned Isabelle, but everyone could see that she's making herself scarce. Nowadays, Isabelle Ytger only appears in certain parties and social events.

I studied her ebony wavy hair, porcelain skin and enchanting azure eyes. She definitely strikes me as someone who's very popular on the net. Like a celebrity.

"Really? Must we go there? What about you Vee? Don't think I can't recognize you." Isabelle stares at Vesna like a queen sitting in her throne rather than a bed.

"Vee?! Who? Where?" I screamed enthusiastically as Vesna flinched beside me.

"For Suola's sake. Does hearing my name deserve such a crazy reaction?" Vesna rubbed her ears and glared at me. I noted that they are slightly pointed and more angular than normal human ears. I've never really noticed but there are certain slight physical dissimilarities between demi-fae and humans.

"Wait. You Are Vee? YOU? The pop singer that topped the charts last month?" I gaped at her.

Vesna looks at me like I've grown horns on my head. "What? You really think so?"

"Well, I... sometimes I feel that your voices are similar but I've never heard you sing before so I'm not really sure. Maybe not. No, I don't think so. You look nothing like her."

She nodded at every word I said and made exaggerated agreeing noises. "Arghhh. You really are her! Oh my god I can't believe it!" I jumped up and down, before grasping her arm tightly. "Shit. Can you sing? Just one verse of your song?"

"As much as I would love to hear her sing, we still have the problem of my wardrobe disaster at hand. Sorry to interrupt whatever fangirl moment there." Isabelle huffs before she glares at the wardrobe again.

"Honestly, I think the wardrobe is pretty big." I offered as Vesna pried my hands off her, finger by finger.

"No. You don't understand Gabriella. Divas like Isabelle Ytger have an entire house full of clothes and she would still declare that it's not enough. This. Is. Based. On. My. Own. Experience." She finished as Isabelle opened her mouth but huffed instead. "What? I never said I wasn't a diva. As a famous singer and actress, I need to upgrade my fashion statement too."

Isabelle only rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, someone knocked on Isabelle's bedroom door and all three of us turned at the same time to the boy standing a little awkwardly at the door.

"Right. Let's go." Vesna pushed me out of the room before I could even protest. "Goodnight your icy royalness. It was good to finally meet you." She directed her words at Isabelle before walking out.

"Bye Isabelle. Night!" I called back before Damien gently closed the door.

I gave one last glance at his retreating shadow as I walked back to my bedroom. My mind is thinking back to the conversation we had. Frankly, I expected more from the leader of S.P.A.D., and his refusal to look into the suicide cases made me so disappointed that I was quite mad.

Why can't he put in a little more effort to look into it? I'm not asking him to solve it all on his own. He could just discreetly find out the cause of their deaths. I mean what can the HQ do? Stare and breathe down his neck all day?

I know I might be stepping out of line to tell him how he should run things in his squad. But humans are dying and he isn't even lifting a finger when he has the very capabilities to do so. Is this because humans aren't as good as demi-fae? I stared at my phone screen as I scrolled down my inbox, realising I haven't opened Res' messages.

I know I can't ignore them forever. Clicking it before I change my mind, I read the messages he sent.

"Hey Gabriella are you okay? Where r u?"

"Gabriella, strange things r happening since the night u disappeared without saying anything. R u ok? Did that boy do something to you?"

"Hey. Something happened to one of my classmates. I think you will hear it from Shayla and Jason. Won't be coming 4 usual meetups."

I rubbed my temples in quiet frustration. It has recently become a constant habit of mine. So when he said something strange he was referring to the number of suicide cases rising unprecentedly. Why didn't he explain it to me that day?

I hesitated with my fingers hovering over my keyboard, but I know I need to say something.

"Hey, I heard about your friend. I'm really sorry for your loss. How you doin?"

I hit send before I could think twice. Immediately, my phone started buzzing. Res' reply came in less than a minute.

"I'm great. Is it someone who's worried about me?"

I can feel him smiling through his message. He still has the mood to joke? Or is he trying to cover it with humor? I decided to play along.

"Oh, since you're fine, I'll save my concern for someone else." Press send.

My phone buzzed with Res' reply. He must be free now since he's replying so quickly. I was hoping he wasn't free so I didn't have to face him.

"Ouch. Please spare me some of your concern. Btw r u free now?"

"Yeah, I guess I am."

I glanced at the clock. Yep, still some time before bedtime. Not like I've been sleeping well these days. Ever since that incident, I have flashes of recurring nightmares.

"I have something I want to talk to you about. Meet you at the usual place in 15 mins."

I scrambled off my bed and grabbed a hoodie to protect me from the night's chill and also to cover my messy hair. Why is Res asking to meet me? Is it something to do with his friend's death? Or is it something important?

A million questions crowded my mind as I took the familiar route to the cafe. I reached the place just before 15 minutes and I saw Res standing at the counter. "Hey." I said.

"Hey, you want anything? Tea? I'll help you order." Res asked me.

"Yeah tea with a little sugar and cream," I said as I sat down on a table not too near to the counter but near enough that's convenient. The cafe is empty except for the girl at the counter who's taking the last shift. She left to give us some privacy after Res took our drinks from the counter.

"So you wanted to talk?" I asked Res as he placed our drinks on the table.

"They said that you had fallen sick, but I didn't buy any of it. What really happened that night at the welcome party?" Res looked at me, forcing me to face him.

I winced internally. Seems like Damien's cover story wasn't convincing enough. I took a sip from my drink, trying to think about how I should answer him. The tea is a little too scalding and I put it down immediately. Attempt one failed.

"I understand if you kept it from the others, especially since one of your new dorm mates is the prince." Res paused slightly as he spoke the words "new dorm mates". "But since I already knew his identity, I don't understand why you're trying to avoid me. Please tell me the truth Gabriella."

This time I couldn't help it, I winced.

"Well this..." and "Uhm..." were what came out of my fumbling lips. "Wait. Why did you hit Damien?" I blurted before I could take back my words.

Res looked at me in mock horror. Before composing his features. "Uhm... right... " He frowned slightly as he stared down at his hands. I took another sip of my tea while waiting for him to think of a coherent reply. Attempt two here I go. It's how I like it to be, not too sweet and not too milky, with just the right bitterness. But damn it, it is still pretty hot. Res spoke up after I just finished my second sip.

"Do you remember in the welcome party Mike made a comment of me coming because I liked a girl?"

I thought back to that fateful night where everything had started. It felt like ages ago. "I seem to remember something along the lines." I shrugged.

I remember it clearly, I even remembered my outburst.

"Well..." Res stared at me intently for a heartbeat before he ran a hand through his silky jet black hair. "You really don't know, do you?" He sighed.

"Know what? What am I supposed to know?" I asked him in frustration.

"Well, I hit that arrogant prick because you matter to me. Alright? I care about you because I like you." Res spoke quickly as he stared at my face gauging my reaction.

I sat there stunned. Whatever I was expecting Res to say, it wasn't even remotely close to this.

Res likes me? Since when? I mean I feel nervous around him and I was really happy to hear that Res cares about me, but all these are just irrational feelings. Idiot get a grip.

"Since when?" I blurted aloud the first question that came to my mind. Crap that wasn't supposed to come out.

"Since some time ago. And I think you do too, just that you haven't figured it out."