I glanced at my phone again, the time staring back at me as I sipped at my coffee. 5:52 PM.

If this group was going to work, I'd have to let them know: early was on time, and on time was late. At least when it came to something this extreme.

The bell on the cafe door jingled, and I looked up to see Roy and Jade walking inside. Roy had offered a ride to all of us, but with the place we agreed to meet being so close to my house, I decided to walk. And Daniel, after experiencing Roy's driving the night before, decided he'd rather drive himself.

I waved to get their attention and Jade came to sit with me while Roy headed over to the counter.

"Hey," she greeted, sliding into the booth across from me, "you excited?"

I nodded, grinning. "I can't imagine what they've got planned for us. All I heard about at school today was people sharing the crazy stuff they had to go through to get accepted."

Jade laughed. "I know! I don't know how they came up with so many different hiding spaces. But I think no matter what, we're already at an advantage-- a lot of what I heard made it seem like most groups still haven't found their codes."

"I'll believe that, considering how close we came to missing ours."

As a beat of silence passed between us and the time ticked closer to six, I couldn't help but wonder where Daniel was.

"So how'd your parents react?" she asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Hm?"

"To you coming home so late," she elaborated. "Mine weren't mad or anything, just worried. I kept telling them I was with a friend, but... let's just say they're not exactly used to hearing that." She laughed sheepishly, continuing, "You should've seen their faces when I told them I was going out again today."

I smiled, looking down at my cup. "Yeah, my dad wasn't happy. But I told him I was with Daniel, and he knows he's a good guy, so he wasn't too worked up."

She nodded, glancing out the window before turning her attention back to me. Her hands were fidgeting, and her brow furrowed before she started speaking again. "Can I ask something?"

"Yeah, go ahead." I shrugged, intrigued by how nervous she seemed.

"Do you want the money because... you know... what The Seven posted about you?"

My eyebrows raised, and she took it as a response, continuing to ramble.

"I just mean, because, if so, I think it's a good reason. And I'm happy I can help you get justice- well, not justice. There's no justice for something like that, but-"

She stopped talking when a cup was set down in front of her, Roy sliding into the bench with his own coffee in hand.

"It's hot chocolate," Roy explained when he noticed the confused look on her face. "I didn't know if you like coffee, but I figured everyone likes hot chocolate."

"I- uh- thank you," she stammered, wrapping her hands around the gift. I noticed her cheeks tinge pink and felt my lips curve into a small smile. "You didn't have to do that."

I looked outside, searching for a familiar head of dark hair, but Daniel was still nowhere to be seen. I thought about what Jade said and pondered the question of how a girl I barely knew could understand my motivation so easily, while my own boyfriend still couldn't grasp why I didn't just "move on."

"It's almost time," Roy pointed out. I guess it was obvious what I was looking for.

"He'll be here," I assured them, although I was beginning to have my doubts.

5:57. No Daniel.

5:58. Still no Daniel.

5:58 and 30 seconds. Where the hell was he? Did something happen?

5:59. Screw concern- I was going to murder my boyfriend.

All three of our phones went off at 6, and I shot one more look out the window before turning my attention to the notification. Once again, it was a set of coordinates, with text underneath.

"Should we wait?" Jade asked. I scrolled through my texts with Daniel and saw that he hadn't even read them yet. My angry rantings had served no purpose.

I shook my head, feeling embarrassed even though I knew I wasn't responsible for Daniel's actions. This didn't make our relationship look so great, and that realization didn't make me feel any better. "He got the message, he can meet us there if he wants."

"Fair enough," Roy said, standing up. While Jade and I followed suit the door chimed again, catching our attention. It was Daniel, and I couldn't tell if I was happy or furious to see him.

"Where have you been?" I started interrogating him as soon as he reached our table. "You haven't been reading my texts, you're--" I checked the time, "at least two minutes late, and that's if you consider getting here at six being on time, which I don't."

"Relax, Mads, I got held up in traffic. I got here as fast as I could." He kissed the top of my head, dismissing my anger without so much as an apology. Once again, I couldn't help but feel ashamed.

"We ready to go?" Roy asked, obviously eager to leave. Jade was inching away from the table towards the door.

"Yeah," I confirmed. "Where's your car parked?"

"I drove here," Daniel announced. "I can drive us this time."

It was obvious the reason for his offer wasn't one of nobility, but it didn't seem to bother Roy.

"Nice," he said. "That dirt road from yesterday had my car all kinds of messed up. I took it to the wash after school, so I wasn't really looking forward to most likely getting it dirty again."

Daniel's shoulders sunk an inch. "Oh... right."

♧

hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! ♡