Day 6 was the longest and the most painful day of that week.

Bree couldn't bear to face Conner and hid in an abandoned building (about everything was abandoned anyway), hugging her knees to her chest. This time she really did attempt to conceal herself from the rest of the world, unlike that time when she just sat on the observation deck, waiting for Conner.

Her heart thumped erratically when she remembered the memory. Bree didn't know what propelled her to do that, and when she thought about it now, she wanted to die from embarrassment.

How could she let her heart stray so much?

Bree was usually a logical person. She did things step by step and preferred to plan beforehand. Even when faced with sudden interruptions, such as a classmate-turned-crush being of magical descent and her friend being kidnapped, Bree was able to keep a cool head and think of ways to solve the problems.

Well, unless that problem was a certain love problem.

Because Bree didn't give much priority to her emotions, when facing Conner after a whole year, it was as if a huge balloon full with buried feelings exploded within her.

When he held her hand, Bree could feel the sweetness gush out from her heart, making her warm all over. The old feelings came back, and a couple of new ones showed up. All those sensations, whether old or new, were overwhelming Bree. It was a confusing, muddled up mess. A confusing, muddled up mess that made Bree happy.

And that was why she ran away. Because she hated being confused. Running away like a selfish, cowardly little girl. Not caring how much she would hurt Conner.

Bree didn't want to imagine how Conner felt, but she forced herself too. He must have been heartbroken, and really confused too. Knowing him, he would put the entire blame on himself, while worrying about her-

Oh gosh. Pain prickled in her heart, and Bree let out a sigh of frustration. Conner didn't need to worry about her. After her... sudden escape, she didn't deserve that.

And yeah, Alex was totally going to kill her. A mere day after her promise, Bree broke it.

Bree wasn't a narcissistic person, but she knew that she was better than some other people at certain things, including acting.

But Bree only knew what people were on the outside, how to manipulate them, trick them for a while using her acting. She didn't have a lot of ideas on what was on the inside, their feelings, their motives, and their fears.

So actually, although Bree was a great actress, she did not really understand the feelings behind the face she put on. Even if she wasn't acting, she still had some difficulty in naming the emotions she felt.

It would be high time to get in touch with herself.

Bree closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. She leaned back against the cold concrete wall and exhaled.

As she recalled her memories with Conner, the emotions surged back again like an unrelenting tsunami. The girl then dd her best to pick them apart and analyze them, trying to apply her logical way of thinking in something that could only be understood by the heart.

As Bree had thought, Conner was upset and puzzled by Bree's behavior. The boy was in a sullen daze for the whole day, shuffling around and gave short replies to those who talked to him, or just ignored everyone.

This, along with Bree's disappearance, gave everyone else a basic idea of what had happened. Their friends began to discuss in hushed voices.

"They broke up before they even got together," Jack sighed.

"It's probably because I made a comment about them getting married yesterday," Red said, beginning to feel guilty.

"Teenage love is a very delicate thing." Goldilocks remarked.

"Exactly!" Red agreed loudly, recounting her teenage times when she had been obsessed with Jack, and had been convinced he was her true love. "Do we talk to Conner, offer him some biscuits and a talk on heartbreak?"

"I think we should let them be for a while. They have to learn how to deal with their problems." Froggy answered quietly.

"Besides, I don't think it's heartbreak. He looks more confused than sad." Goldilocks pointed out, mentally comparing his expression and Red's expression when Froggy was sealed in a magic mirror. Red had been practically a living zombie back then.

"True." Jack stopped momentarily to look at Hero, who was in his arms. The boy woke up and began to wail, his small arms flinging around.

"I guess it's feeding time!" Goldilocks took her son cheerfully and walked away, followed by her husband, leaving Red and Froggy.

"I hope Bree's okay too." Froggy muttered, worried for his friend.

"I can tell from first hand experience that love problems are hard." Red commented. "Hopefully these two will have a smoother relationship."

Alex returned to the base for lunch. Immediately, she noticed something was off with her twin. Alex had a bad feeling, but instead of confronting Conner about it, she decided to ask his friends about what they knew. After gaining a teeny bit of information from them (they didn't know much either), Alex decided to talk to Conner.

"Want to come with me to my next destination?" Alex asked her brother with a faux excited smile.

Conner blinked drearily and looked up at his sister. It took his mind a while to comprehend what was going on.

Before Conner could reply, Alex gave him a wide grin. "Great!" she declared, before grabbing his arm and dragging him towards a portal. Conner didn't try to resist, and let himself being pulled around by his sister, trusting her not to put him in danger.

"Where are we?" Conner asked as he looked around the foreign city after they had entered the portal.

"Not a problem now." Alex created a fluffy cloud for both of them to sit on. The cloud floated around the city at a leisurely pace. She gave her brother a serious look. "So, what happened with Bree?"

At the mention of Bree, Conner's face turned red and he inhaled. When he exhaled, the colour drained from his face and he looked tired.

"I... tried to hold her hand, and she was okay with it... until she suddenly ran away." Conner sighed, eyes downcast.

"Did she say anything?" Alex prompted.

"She said she was sorry." Conner recalled.

"Then," Alex said. "It's probably not your fault that she ran away."

Conner narrowed his eyes. "So you're going to put all the blame on Bree?"

"What?" Alex was surprised. "No. I just want you to stop looking so sad and only blaming yourself." Alex could clearly see by how Conner defended Bree, his brother really, really liked her.

The boy placed his head between his hands. "It's no use talking who's fault is it. We have to clean up the mess that I... we made."

"Now that's the positive mindset." Alex patted her brother's shoulder encouragingly.

"By the way, is it a girl thing? Running away I mean." Conner peeked at his twin.

"Everyone needs some time by themselves. And to be frank, you know better about Bree than I do. Leave her alone for a while, then approach her and ask her what's wrong." Alex suggested.

Conner felt his stomach twist at the idea. "What if I do something wrong when I talk to her? What do I say?" he asked nervously.

"Just be yourself." Alex said simply.

Conner had expected much more, as his sister was way more experienced in the love department than he was. His eyebrow quirked up.

"Bree is pretty comfortable around you when you're being who you really are." Alex explained. "In fact, I've never seen her so open before. She does that around you. So you can just be yourself."

Conner perked up. "Really?" he asked in a hopeful tone, reminding Alex of an excited puppy.

Alex laughed. "Well, yeah. From what I had seen at school, she was more reserved. You guys always chat and laugh freely."

"Oh... I see." Conner blushed and buried his face in his hands.

"Just talk to her, and it'll be fine." Alex comforted him.

Conner gave Alex a small smile. "Thanks for that pep talk, sis."

"No problem." Alex stood up. "Okay, I really have to work now." She summoned a long list and it landed in her hands. The half-fairy concentrated on reading the list full of names. "Better get going."

Bree still sat in her hiding spot, earphones in her ears as she listened to a few select songs. She was munching on a burger she had, umm, gotten, from a nearby branch of McDonald's.

To avoid food being spoiled, Alex had placed a spell so all food would stay the way they were through the whole week. Bree thought it was smart of her to have thought of details like food, because if you woke up one day and discovered every food was rotten, it would turn into an international crisis.

And no, Bree did not steal a burger. She took out some bills and placed it in the cashier counter, before carefully taking her change out. Then, she marveled at the machines that was used to make the products. Bree developed a particular interest in the machine used for making fries, and then she took a burger and went out.

Bree had done a lot of audacious things. Trickery, sneaking into concerts, piloting a plane, building a bomb, but she had never stolen anything. That crossed a line, and it would go against her morals.

Well technically, she hadn't really stolen anything. But manipulating someone to give them bikes by convincing him they were guests of a hotel? Been there, done that.

Bree played with the hem of her shirt absentmindedly. She knew she should return, because her friends were probably worried about her. But honestly, there was nothing dangerous out there. She was alone. Very much alone, in a city, a world virtually devoid of people.

As much as Bree wanted to be alone sometimes, she did not like the idea of being away from people for too long. The girl decided she would talk to Conner. She stood up and walked back to the base, rehearsing what to say, like how she did to prepare for oral reports at school.

Bree's mouth suddenly went dry when she caught sight of the strange assortment of a pirate ship, a blimp and a spaceship. It reminded her of Conner so badly, and just thinking about him felt like an iron fist punching a hole in her heart.

It was one of those rare times when Bree began to panic. Her hands trembled slightly as she climbed up to the base, and her heart was throbbing especially loudly.

The image of Conner, with his freckled skin, kind blue eyes and cheery grin floated in her mind. Bree felt her palm slick with sweat and she nearly lost her grip.

Relationships were a big deal. Bree knew this could very well be the turning point in theirs. From friendship, to something more. But was she ready for this commitment? Was he ready for this commitment?

When Bree finished climbing the ladder to the base, she had decided on more thing.

She didn't want to face Conner, and her intense feelings for him just yet.

She would do it all tomorrow.

Bree winced. She hated procrastinating, but well, she just wasn't ready. One more night to prepare herself.

Tomorrow would be her day.

The teenager nodded, as if to convince herself she would have the confidence to talk with Conner a mere day later.

(She knew she was just dragging on things and trying to avoid the unavoidable.)

Tomorrow.