WARNING LOOK:

"Next time, I dare you to drag Louis god damn Hughes with you in there. You two cause me nothing but headaches! You stir up trouble, and he's just the unwitting accomplice! It's like a never-ending saga." Celeste shot Ezra a pointed glare before plunking down a tray overflowing with shawarma chicken. She then turned her attention to the other two. "I swear, I can't leave you two alone for a second without something going awry. Well, here you go, all the fixings for your shawarmas. Knock yourselves out."

"It's DIY time, folks," Ezra chuckled.

"Like arts and crafts, but with chicken," Damien laughed, his excitement palpable as he gleefully dumped an absurd amount of sauces onto his plate. With a devilish grin, he proceeded to stuff the shawarma bread to its breaking point, causing chicken to spill out in every direction. Not a hint of vegetables could be seen in that abomination.

On the opposite end of the spectrum was Louis, who meticulously filled his wrap with only vegetables, sparingly adding a tiny drop of sauce. The cousins watched, somewhat dumbfounded, before shrugging and continuing with their own creations.

"Need a hand with that?" Ezra offered when he noticed Maximillian struggling with his wrap. Maximillian had always been finicky with messy foods, and his clumsiness only exacerbated the issue. This high-maintenance guy even insisted on eating burgers and chicken nuggets with a knife and fork. Despite Ezra's efforts throughout their relationship, Maximillian's habits remained unchanged.

"No, I can manage," Maximillian insisted stubbornly.

"Do you... want your usual cutlery?" Ezra asked cautiously.

"These wraps are not meant to be eaten with cutlery," Maximillian replied with a slight twitch of his brow.

"Ah, good to know," Ezra grinned, placing a box of paper towels near Maximillian.

"So, it all started when I was just a wee little girl," Celeste began, her tone deadpan.

"Whoa, wait, hitting us with a flashback already?" Damien joked, settling himself into a more comfortable position, as if preparing for a riveting tale.

"Yes. Now listen."

Celeste recounted her experiences of being pulled into a different world, her tone more determined this time. She made an effort to delve into her memories, hoping to unearth any new clues, but her efforts proved futile. However, her earnestness gave Ezra insight into why she hadn't been forthcoming when explaining things to him yesterday. Now, with the possibility of Alice's involvement looming over everything, Celeste's demeanor was deadly serious.

The others listened intently, each lost in their own thoughts. When Celeste finished explaining, she looked each of them directly in the eyes and posed the question, "Well?"

All eyes simultaneously shifted towards Ezra, and Damien took the initiative to speak up. "Hey Ez, this lady that she met in that different world. Do you suppose she is..."

"Alicia Heathers?" Ezra finished Damien's sentence with a nod. "Yes, I arrived at the same conclusion. But it's only speculation at this point. We'll have to confront her about it at some point."

Maximillian shifted slightly in his seat, using a paper towel to clean his fingers after they got a bit messy with sauce. Then, seemingly addressing no one in particular, he posed a thought-provoking question, "I thought we were the only ones experiencing such a phenomenon. But now that there's another person with a completely different story emerging, do you suppose there could be even more people out there facing similar ordeals?"

A momentary silence enveloped the room before Ezra waved his hand, drawing the attention of the others. "I don't think there are," he began. "You know, the first time something like this happened to me, I posted an online question anonymously, seeking out anyone who might have experienced similar supernatural discrepancies. Despite the question garnering over seventy thousand views, I have yet to receive a single credible affirmation."

Ezra chuckled bitterly. "People thought I was just sharing a plot idea for some story, so they're now just using that question as a premise for their own creations. With so many stories being written online, more people are bound to come across it. And if they could relate, they should have sent in an affirmation. So far, Celeste has emerged as the only other person with a similar experience. If there are more, we'll only find out with time. We shouldn't dwell on it too much."

Everyone accepted that. Slowly, they began to recount their own experiences to Celeste, who listened with rapt attention. Throughout the retellings, it seemed as if she were possessed, her eyes wide open, only blinking after long intervals. By the end, she was unusually quiet.

Afterward, she started to confirm many details with the rest, asking for reassurance repeatedly. "So, the main character in that story, her lies come true. They really do?"

"Yes."

"She looks like Alice."

"Yes."

"Maximillian is the, uh... male lead."

"Yes, now get over it, Celeste..."

Celeste brought a hand to her lips, deep in thought, before a huge smile spread across her face. The sudden surge of relief and happiness was almost unnerving. Ezra narrowed his eyes at her reaction, sensing something amiss. He hit the table lightly to draw the boys' attention, subtly redirecting the focus away from Celeste. As his eyes locked with Celeste's gleeful gaze, he subtly opened his own slightly wider. Celeste recognized this expression immediately. It was their unspoken signal, a way of warning each other about something without drawing attention to it.

Ezra's subtle reaction was a clear signal for Celeste to reign in her happy expression, as it might arouse suspicion. Celeste obediently looked down, trying to compose herself, while Ezra addressed the others.

"What little guesses we had may be invalidated by the additional information Celeste has shared. Alice may not even be invo-" Ezra began, but he was cut off by Celeste's sudden outburst.

"She is!" Celeste's cry slightly startled the rest of the group. They looked at her in confusion, prompting her to hastily backtrack, "Don't say that, Ez. We don't know anything for sure. Maybe she is involved. Actually, she definitely is. But we shouldn't rule out any possibilities, right?"

Hearing Celeste's assertion, Louis felt a surge of frustration. He stood up, his tone measured but with hints of agitation. "You don't know anything. Let's just leave Alice out of this for now. We might find out more over time, but we shouldn't drag her into this when nothing is certain. If we're going to suspect her of being behind all this, then..." Louis felt a lump form in his throat, but he pressed on. "Then we're essentially suspecting her of murder. The murder of an innocent kid, no less. Because the story we're in killed off Micaela Wintour... Alice... Alice should be left to rest in peace at last. Wouldn't it be terrible to realize that your best friend was capable of such a thing?"

Celeste watched Louis with a mixture of bewilderment and introspection, her lips pursed in thought. After a moment of silence, she scrunched up her nose in self-loathing, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm pretty terrible too then... Because I don't... I don't care so much somehow. Micaela was just... She was just some girl from school."

The rims of her eyes reddened as Celeste spoke, her voice choked with emotion. "The only thing about her that left a lasting memory in my mind was that she disappeared... and that a few days ago, her dead body was found. That's about it. Nothing more. It's a pity... But Alice. She was everything to me. You all don't understand. That's why right now, all I care about is the possibility that Alice may be alive. My Alice. She might still be out there, right? That's honestly all that matters... I'm sorry."

She cupped her face and shut her eyes tight, inhaling and exhaling deep breaths. Celeste rarely turned so emotional, enough to almost make her cry. The only times Ezra or the others had seen her in such a state was when her father died. Apart from that, such emotions were always exclusive for Alice.

Louis wanted to argue further, but he bit back his words. Deep down, he felt horrible and disgusted with himself, but he couldn't deny that Celeste had a point. Micaela's death was one of the signs that hinted at Alice's involvement. It served as a clue to her possible presence.

No matter how horrid that fact was, Louis couldn't shake a hint of relief from it. He was also grateful that he hadn't been the one to witness Micaela's death. He feared he might start to harbor resentment toward Alice if he had. He never wanted to feel that way about her. He couldn't fault Celeste for her thoughts.

The only one among them who was genuinely and truly affected by this point was actually Ezra. He had seen with his own two eyes how Micaela was burned to death, her endless screams haunting him still. It was a brutal memory, a harsh, bitter reminder of their current situation. But Ezra steadfastly ignored Alice's possible involvement because he couldn't bear to attribute that scene to the Alice he knew. That's why he repeatedly mentioned that it was all a hypothesis and Alice may not be involved. In truth, he was probably trying to convince himself of this more than he was trying to convince the others.

Sensing the subtle tension in the air, Damien took a massive bite, now struggling to chew. He glanced at Maximillian, who whispered, "They must be dealing with some real deep, complicated emotions right now. Don't even bother trying to understand. I don't think your mind is developed enough to grasp the sheer depth of their conflicting feelings."

Damien struggled to chew and swallow the bite, rubbing his jaw afterward. Leaning sideways toward Maximillian, he whispered back, "Can YOU grasp it though? Or are we all just swimming in the deep end of the emotional pool with floaties on?"

"I am different from you. You're dumb in a more general sense. I'm stunted in my EQ as well as empathy."

"So does that mean you grasped it?"

"No," Maximillian replied blandly as he unconsciously placed his finally best-wrapped shawarma in Ezra's plate. When he picked up another set of ingredients to make his own, his action finally registered in his brain. With an annoyed frown, his eyes lifted to meet Ezra's twinkling ones. The other grinned at him, his previous momentary distress nowhere to be seen.

"Thank you, Max. Do you want me to rate it for you? You seem to have done a very good job."

"No need—" "Wow." "You really don't—" "Wooooooooow. Wow! Woooooah ho hoah! Ten out of ten, absolutely. Maybe because you did it, it even tastes twice as good. And you did it just for me? Awww. You all see this. He did it just for me."

Maximillian gave up trying to reason with him and simply went back to focusing on his own shawarma. Damien's less-than-subtle laughter threatened to pierce his eardrums, but it was tolerable. Maximillian didn't mind. At least Ezra's antics provided a welcome distraction from the dull atmosphere.

It was fine that way. What wasn't fine, however, was the obvious way Ezra and Celeste were hiding something from the group with their subtle gestures toward each other. Maximillian sensed that something was amiss. Hopefully, it wasn't anything too serious, considering the warning looks Ezra kept giving Celeste.