It was now the next morning. I was sitting at the kitchen island while my dad cooked breakfast. "So, what time did you get home last night?"

"I think around two," I answered honestly, sliding the salt shaker from one hand to the other, back and forth.

"Did you have fun?" he asked.

"Yeah, he took me to see the bridge. The water was really pretty, the stars were really pretty," I said, smiling to myself.

"Are you dating him?"

"No, Dad," I laughed. "I like him though. A lot."

"How well do you know him?"

"Well enough. We're still getting to know each other. Why?"

He glanced at me. "You should just know who you're getting involved with before you do."

I nodded in understanding even though he couldn't see me. "Dad, you know him, don't you?"

"Of course, I know him," he chuckled.

"No, I mean... you know him. From before. He knows you, you definitely know him too, don't you?"

He nodded, "Hmm. I was somewhat friends with his father when I still lived here. I watched him grow up every time I would come visit my parents. He was a good kid whose parents never did enough for him. Still don't. It's a pity. They never helped their son, never even bothered to ask if he was okay." He turned the stove off and grabbed two plates.

"And... I've been to Ilea before, haven't I?"

He slid my plate to me with the french toast on it. He sighed, nodding slowly. "He told you?"

"Yeah. He remembers me."

My dad blinked, seeming confused. "You both were three-years-old?"

"He still remembers," I shrugged.

"He must be in love with you then," he said nonchalantly. He's kidding, I can tell.

I rolled my eyes, laughing while taking a fork.

He grabbed the orange juice, pouring us both a glass. "We should cheers," he grinned.

"To what?"

"To your new beginnings since you've come to Ilea."

"New beginnings?" I smiled.

He nodded in response. I chuckled, both of us clinking our glasses before drinking. I set the glass down, watching him for a second, wondering if I should ask this. "You know what happened to him last year, right?"

He nodded again. "It was kept hidden from the kingdom but his father told me about it. Can you imagine his own girlfriend trying to do that to him?" He clicked his tongue, shaking his head in disapproval.

"You think he did the right thing?" I was pleasantly surprised. I thought he would have the 'don't date a murderer' opinion. Even though Callum isn't a murderer.

"Yeah," he shrugged. "There's only so much you can do at the moment when somebody is trying to kill you, I suppose."

I pushed the french toast around my plate. "And you know he's a darkling," I stated. "Right?"

His eyes widened in surprise. "Wow. I didn't think he would tell you so soon. Wasn't the principal meant to do that?"

"She was taking too long, he didn't want to hide it anymore," I replied.

"Good decision on his part. You deserve to know the truth, to know what you're getting into." I can't believe my dad knew about all this and didn't tell me. I had no idea that he could know.

"I'm tethered to him."

"Oh," he said, even more surprised. "Well... that makes sense too," he shrugged. He's being so nonchalant, it's getting weird now. "His parents and that girl's, Kiara?"

"Hmm," I nodded.

"They would always tell him that he was tethered to Kiara and he would always deny it. He never felt anything with her. They forced a relationship on two kids and now one of them is dead," he sighed. "Just be a little careful. Darklings are known to be a little territorial and possessive over the people they care about. Especially who they're tethered to. I trust him to take care of you. He—" He stopped talking when his phone rang on the counter. He answered it, "Hello?"

I finished the last bit of my french toast and washed the dishes, putting them away.

"Today, for lunch? Yes, of course! Of course, of course," he laughed. It sounds like he's talking to a friend. "Oh, did he now?"

I listened while rinsing my hands.

"Yes, yes. We'll be there by noon, Aaron. See you." And then he hung up.

Aaron Nikolai?

"Who was that?" I asked.

"The king," he said, putting the phone down. "We're invited to have lunch at the palace with them at noon. We've got three hours, take your time, get ready, hmm?" He ruffled my hair and then walked away.

I leaned against the counter, falling into thought.

How come we're suddenly invited to lunch? Oh. Oh, what if Callum told his parents that he's with me?

Jesus, we're not even dating yet. I sighed, running upstairs and to my room, opening the closet and trying to find a good dress. First impressions always matter, especially if they're my future boyfriend's parents.

Hopefully my future boyfriend.

☆*･ﾟ✫ ✫*･ﾟ☆ ✫*･ﾟ☆ ✫*･ﾟ☆

My dad stopped the car in front of the palace. It is freaking grand, you can definitely tell that it's a palace for the royal family here. My dad handed the key to one of the guards for safekeeping and I walked behind him, throwing my hair over my shoulder.

Fake it till you make it. Fake confidence is what I'm talking about.

Before we could ring the fancy, the golden button that I'm sure is a bell, the door opened.

I blinked in surprise when Callum stood there. "Mr. Desmond, come on in," he grinned, stepping aside. My dad said hello to him and then walked in while I just stood there, staring at him. He looked good wearing a black button-up. His sleeves were rolled up and the first two buttons were open so he didn't look too formal. I looked up at his face. He looked at me in confusion. "What are you doing?" he chuckled.

"Admiring the view," I mumbled, stepping inside, looking around.

He shut the doors, walking beside me.

"How come we were invited to lunch?" I asked softly, turning to him.

"My dad found out your dad moved back and asked me about you if we were friends. My mom thought we could invite you both over," he explained, his hand brushing against mine.

My fingers twitched for me to just grab his hand but I don't think that would be a good idea.

"This way," he grinned, leading the way to the dining room. My dad was already talking to his while Callum led me over there.

"Hi, it's good to see you again," his mom grinned at me, giving me a quick hug.

"You too," I smiled.

"This is Clara, my daughter," my dad said.

"Nice to meet you," I grinned, extending my hand.

"And you, oh, you've grown up so much. Last I saw you, you were around three years old, right?"

"Oh, yes. With the library incident," my dad laughed.

I turned to Callum, lifting a brow.

"I never finished that story, did I?" he asked me.

"No," I said.

"I'll tell you later," he chuckled, all of us taking a seat.

His dad sat at the head of the table, his mother to his dad's right, my dad sat beside Mrs. Nikolai, I sat opposite her and Callum took the seat beside me.

"So Clara, how are you liking Ilea?"

"It's good, I like it so far. It's really pretty at night," I nodded, looking from the candle stand in the center of the table to Mr. Nikolai when he asked me the question.

"It can't look better than New York does at night."

"Maybe not in that aspect but the stars are beautiful. We didn't see much if any in New York," I replied.

He nodded in response.

"And how are you liking Arcane High?" Mrs. Nikolai asked.

"It's great. It's really different, I've never stayed on campus before. It's fun though, I really like it," I answered.

"Made new friends?" she asked.

I nodded with a small smile. She's scary but I kind of like her.

"I hope Callum takes care of you," his dad said.

I glanced at Callum and found him already staring at me. He leaned back in his chair, tilting his head back too, and just stared at me. He looks lovestruck.

"Uh, um, yeah, yeah of course," I chuckled. "He's been taking care of me since my first day." I forced myself to look away from him.

"So, how many classes do you share?" my dad asked.

"All of them," Callum answered.

"Oh, wow. You have a friend set for the whole year," his mom chuckled.

I smiled as an older woman who must have been the housemaid came and set the food on the table. Everyone served themselves, including me and then we started eating. Our parents were mostly talking, occasionally asking me questions.

Callum grabbed the jug, pouring himself water and then pouring some into my glass too.

"Oh, I don't..." I trailed off. The glass is full now anyway. "Thanks," I smiled.

"No problem," he smirked, watching me.

I looked down at my plate, trying not to make it too obvious to his parents. It just doesn't seem like he's going to make that easy.

.

.

.

.

.