Tess

My ear twitched at the sound of the front door creaking open. Anna and I stick our heads from behind the wall and carefully watch Mel and Damian enter the entrance area.

"Hm…" I hum as I analyze their every move and expression; the truth cannot escape my eyes. Both of their faces are dotted with a light pink, and I can't help but let an evil grin stretch across my face. Something happened.

I fake cough startling them and I laugh as they scramble away from each other.

"We are having a meeting in about 30 minutes about a major mission coming up," I tell them. I feel Anna grasp my empty hand and she hurries to grab Mel's and drags up the stairs. I turn around to see Damian eyes following us up the stairs before he turns and walks down the hallway. We fumble into Anna's room before we plop on her bed, and I struggle to keep my beer upright to keep it from spilling. I lift the bottle to my lips and take a large gulp.

"Okay spill," Anna says and throws Mel a pair of sweatpants and a cropped t-shirt.

"About what?" Mel asks, feigning ignorance.

"Don't waste our time and just give us the juicy details," I throw another shot back while leaning against the wall.

"What she said," Anna agrees and crosses her arms to appear superior.

"If you're referring to the date," Mel inclines, "It went well."

"It obviously went more than well," I add.

"I mean the tea was delicious," Mel acknowledges from inside the bathroom.

"Dig deeper," Anna says, trying to push more details out of her.

"I mean he did get me this bracelet," Mel lifts her wrist to show us and Anna and I start giggling. "What's so funny?"

"He went out of his way to get you this bracelet," I say bluntly.

"With his own money," Anna adds.

Mel walks out of the bathroom. "Well he went out of his way to knock a couple of guys out that tried to…"

"WAIT WHAT?!" Anna and I yell in unison.

"Damian got in a street fight?" Anna asks.

"For you?" I add.

"We-Well," Mel stutters, "when you put it like that…"

I stand up and throw my hands in the air, "They are locked! It is official, guys, we are gonna have a new queen."

"Woah that is not happening," Mel ruins my moment of joy.

"Do you think Damian may see you as more than a friend?" Anna asks.

"Maybe, but I can't be concerned about that right now," Mel says while plopping down on the comfy seat in the corner.

"Right…Some reasons are more obvious than others," I sip my beer.

"What do you mean?" Mel asks.

"Obvious reasons such as staying focused on the task at hand and…well… you hate the government and he is…well… a big part of the government," I tell her and she simply hums. "The other possible reason is you are not emotionally ready to let someone in." Mel seems thrown off by this despite staring me dead in my eyes. She knows it's hard to hide the truth from me so she is being very careful with her words. Not wanting to make it any harder for her I break the silence, "Well it's about that time," I stand up, "We better head down for the meeting."